Many of the most stirring passages to me are visions God gave to his people. There is the vision of a land flowing with milk and honey set before the people as they leave Egypt for the promised land. The vision of Isaiah to a people in exile of a new Jerusalem that lives in peace, justice and prosperity in Isaiah 65, and the vision of John of the new heavens and new earth at the end of Revelation. Or we could think of of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 who had a “confidence in what they hoped for and assurance of what we do not see.” We serve a God who often places before his people a vision of a world yet to be, a vision of not only what could be, but what will be by his power.

This weekend, our staff and Consistory are dedicating Friday evening and all day Saturday, along with some significant homework to prepare for this weekend, to discern together God’s Dream for our church. Our time together will be facilitated by Doug McClintic from the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes. Please pray for safety, energy, open minds and ears, and hearts sensitive to God’s leading.

Connect to God
As we continue this sermon series on the Ten Commandments, we are reminded, just like the Israelites were, sometimes we need to go back to the basics. Simply put, God says to us, “I am the Lord your God.” “There are no others.” The question is, has something in our life moved to that number one position and pushed God to another position? Exodus 20:2-6 reminds us once again the order we need in our life to be called God’s people, followers of Jesus Christ.

We will also celebrate the baptism of Josiah Roger, son of Matt and Katie Wagner during worship on Sunday. We give thanks to God for the gift of this child to our community.

We will also receive an update on Hand2Hand as they begin their ministry year with the first distribution of food to Grandville students on September 28.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
The High School Youth Group will be holding a fundraiser at Culver’s on September 24 from 5-8 pm. This is a great night to support our youth and connect with friends from Zion. Join us on the 24th!

Do to reveal requests, we have reopened and lengthened the time to order a Zion shirt. Don’t miss out on this chance to pick up a cool shirt and show your Zion pride. Orders will close for the final time this Sunday. You can place an order for a shirt here

Serve the World
We support a couple of ministries engaged in church planting in Nepal. Currently, it is illegal to evangelize in the country and yet multiple church planters are courageously going into villages and towns to tell of the hope they have found in Christ. In the next several weeks, two different groups of leaders will be traveling from the US to Nepal to support, train, and encourage these planters. Please be in prayer for both of these groups.

Administrative Details
We give our first time visitors a new 30oz Zion travel mug and a free beverage at Biggby. But, you can get your very own Zion travel mug, too. We will be selling the mugs for $20 and you can buy as many as you want. They come in two colors, silver and gunmetal and both have a cool looking Zion logo. Cups will be available for purchase in the lobby following worship. (If you don’t want to buy one on a Sunday, they will also be available from the office during the week.)

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $174,003.20
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $162,370.31

For the past several days, the news media have been covering Hurricane Florence as it makes its way toward the Carolinas. The storm looks huge, rain could be a deluge, winds devastating, and flooding severe. Many in our congregation have friends or family in the path of the storm. We pray for all those affected by this storm and for their safe return when things calm down.

While we are unlikely to ever face a hurricane in Michigan, we all face storms in our lives. On Tuesday, I had lunch with Bob Offringa from Activation International Ministries and he told a story of facing potential arrest in Tanzania because of fraud on a government officials part. Think about going to jail in a remote country for something you did not do. Truly terrifying. His life was at risk. The ministry hung in the balance. The winds of this storm were great.

And then on Tuesday night, during our Elder’s meeting, an elder shared  Romans 5:1-5 that helped them through a difficult storm and we were all reminded of the personal storms in our lives. Lost jobs. Passing of parents. Miscarriages. Betrayals, We all face storms in our lives.

I love the song Fierce that compares the love of God to the power of a storm, but also highlights how before we ever cry out in the storm, God is already there. Before we call, he answers. There will be storms in life, but our God often meets us in those storms, if we will just call out to him.

I am reminded this week of Isaiah 65 which casts the powerful vision of the new Jerusalem when God sets all things right. No one is hungry. Everyone has a home. Old and young are valued. And then at the very end, God says this:

Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.

God is ready to listen. He is closer than we can imagine. By his Spirit, he is right inside of us. And, our God can use even the storms of life to shape and change us to become more of who he made us to be.

For my friend Bob, before everything got straightened out, in the midst of the storm, God brought a new connection to his ministry. Someone with access to the highest levels of government in the country. And now, the legal issue is resolved. They have found a new way to operate in the country that saves all sorts of time and money. And all because God sent a storm that brought new peace.

May God protect those affected by storms this weekend and may God be with us all in the storms we may face.

Connect to God
After God rescues the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, he brings them to Mt. Sinai where he gives them the law, which includes the 10 Commandments. These commandments are not guidelines for all humanity, but a call from God to live as a counter-cultural community. They produce a people who are in our daily lives a sign, a signal, and a witness that god has not left the world to its own devices. Instead, God has come to rescue, save, and restore all that has been broken and marred by sin. This first week of our series, we look not at any one command, but at their invitation to us to live as a holy priesthood.

We will also be commissioning everyone who works in the area of discipleship at Zion this Sunday. This includes Children and Worship Leaders and helpers, Sunday school teachers and helpers, Youth leaders, and Small group leaders. We are thankful for all those who give so generously of their time and talent to help us grow in our relationship with and knowledge of God.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
We celebrate with Scott Lang and Leigha Palm who will be united in marriage on Friday evening. May God bless them with many years of joy together and may their love for one another model Christ’s love for his bride, the church.

This Sunday, we begin the Sunday School year for kids ages 3 years old through 8th grade. Classroom information will be available in the bulletin on Sunday.

The High School Youth Group will be holding a fundraiser at Culver’s on September 24 from 5-8 pm. This is a great night to support our youth and connect with friends from Zion. Join us on the 24th!

We had a great response to our 729 groups. If you signed p, you should be contacted by the end of this week to choose a specific date for your group to meet. If you haven’t been contacted by Sunday morning, please contact Pastor Greg.

Serve the World
CityFest was last weekend downtown Grand Rapids. According to official CityFest records: more than 33,000 people attended and over 1,800 people made public confessions of Christ. Each person who made a public confession has been connected with a local church to encourage them on their new journey with Christ. We give thank to God for all those who gave of their time, their ideas, their prayers and finances to make CityFest happen and even more we thank God for live changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I (Pastor Greg) was involved in conversations about CityFest from fairly early on and I know this was a passion of Rich DeVos. He longed to see people in Grand Rapids transformed by the same hope in Christ he had found. As many mourn his passing this week, we also give thanks for his vision and heart to share the gospel all the way to the very end of his life. May God give his family comfort in this time of grief and fill them with the Christian hope of the resurrection to come.

Administrative Details
Beginning this fall, we are giving our first time visitors a new 30oz Zion travel mug and a free beverage at Biggby. But, you can get your very own Zion travel mug already on Sunday. We will be selling the mugs for $20 and you can buy as many as you want. They come in two colors, silver and gunmetal and both have a cool looking Zion logo. Cups will be available for purchase in the lobby following worship. (If you don’t want to buy one on a Sunday, they will also be available from the office during the week.)

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $163,128.00
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $143,910.31