Immanuel Leidy’s Church

PULPIT Schedule

Jun 25, 2023

Guest Speaker Denny Barger

Bulletin

Jun 18, 2023

Guest Speaker: Bill Teate

Bulletin

Jun 11, 2023

Guest Speaker: Nate Sims

Bulletin

Ushers

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Thoughts to Think On

Although I was aware of this phenomenon prior to becoming a parent, my children have reinforced the concept of selective hearing. Most people are aware that this happens, that you focus your attention intentionally on a specific source of sound or spoken words. You might still hear noise from the surrounding environment, but only certain parts of sound information are processed by the auditory cortex of your brain’s temporal lobe. That’s fancy science-y jargon to say that your brain is only capable of taking in so much information at one time, so involuntarily you really won’t hear everything happening all at once. I can tell my children to do something, and only minutes later do I find myself repeating the instructions because they didn’t hear me. Of course, then I get frustrated, but the immense irony is that I am guilty of the same selective hearing. I will be focused on a task so intently, that I’ve inadvertently tuned out the rest of the world. My kids or wife will be forced to repeat themselves when trying to talk to me, too.

In my Sunday School class last week, we were going over the story of Joseph. One of the things we noticed among the multiple tragedies that befell Joseph was a curiously repeated phrase. In Genesis 39:2, when Joseph was sold to Potiphar, it says that God was with Joseph, and he became successful. Later in verse 21, when Joseph was in jail, it says that the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. Verse 23 also repeats the phrase, that the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. Sure, Joseph was a hard worker and he persevered under hardship, but I think it’s easy to miss the point of the story. Just like a Father to His children, God is trying to teach us something… It’s something very important… it’s so important that He repeats it to us three times in the matter of one chapter of the story. The personal flourishing that happened to Joseph was not specifically because of anything he did, but it was always to bring glory to God in front of Joseph’s family and also in front of the great superpower of the world, Egypt. Everything that Joseph did or ultimately became was because God was with him, and God used Joseph to save lives and carry out His plan for the people of God.

Just like Joseph, God repeats His refrain throughout the Bible that He’ll never leave or forsake us, either. He says it to His people in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31.8), as well as the New Testament (Heb 13:5-8). There’s countless other instances or iterations of this promise, too. But more than that, we know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us when we confess Christ as Lord and accept His free gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Spirit is with us forever (John 14:16). Watch your selective hearing in your daily life: don’t let God’s important messages get lost in the noise of life. Life is really busy, and it’s easy to focus on things that are happening. But don’t miss what God is trying to tell you. He repeats them because He means it, and He repeats it because it’s important for us to hear it!

Tim Leidy

Congratulations to Our Graduates

Our list of graduates this year is pretty meager. But that doesn’t mean our graduates are not eager to strike out for new endeavors! We congratulate each one most heartily and pray for God’s blessing and guidance upon them.

High School Graduates

Mariah Foote is graduating from Pennridge High School and will continue to work at Old Navy for the summer. In the fall she will attend Messiah University studying Physical Therapy. New empty nester parents are Jim & Ginna Foote.

Abbey Hall is graduating from Souderton High School and headed to Montgomery County Community College to be a Secondary Math teacher, she will continue working at Color Me Mine Pottery. She is daughter of Ed & Cheryl Hall.

Riley Peck is graduating from Souderton High School and is heading to Shippensburg University for business with a focus on marketing. She is the daughter of Ken & Nicole Peck.

College Graduates

Madison Fluks, daughter of Farrah McClaskey is graduating from Drexel with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She was offered a job at Special Metals Corporation in New Hartford, NY. Madi and her husband will be moving there sometime soon.

Brian Lafty, Jr, is graduating from Franklin & Marshall College with a degree in Business, Organizations & Society, and a stellar football career. He is the son of Brian & Jenny Lafty.

Pulpit Schedule for June

We welcome the following men to Leidy’s Church as we hear the message they have for us:

4th Nate Sims 18th Bill Teate

11th Nate Sims 25th Denny Barger

Summer Sunday School

Have you ever considered how many missionaries Immanuel Leidy’s Church supports? Do you know where they all serve or what sorts of work they do to spread the Gospel? This summer, our kids, ages Toddler – 6th grade will be learning about various missionaries that our church supports and will be participating in memory verse challenges. Starting on June 18, kids are invited to come to the Choir Room at 8:45 to open in singing, followed by a time of learning in smaller groups. If you have any questions, please contact the church office.

Some Notes Regarding Missions

June 4th features an Open House at Life Turning Point Philly. It takes place from 1:30 to 4 and all are invited to 5200 Wayne Avenue to share in this glad occasion.

June 9th – June 18th Phoenix and Elijah Smith will be on a mission trip to Alaska. They would appreciate our prayers.

June 11th we will welcome Steve and Kelly Marks as they give an account of their ministry in Thailand with Christian Veterinary Mission. This will take place in the Fellowship Hall during the Sunday School Hour.

July???/August ??? we will send work teams down to Life Turning Point Philly to continue the renovation of the Carriage House. Pray the dates will be established SOON!

Vacation Bible School

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Have you seen the sign outside? Then you’ll know that our Vacation Bible School program, Keepers of the Kingdom, is happening July 31 – August 4!

During that week, we are going to gather in the evening for an exciting outreach to the children and families in our community. We will start with a family dinner at 5:15, followed by a program from 6-8 with hilarious skits, energetic songs, fun games, creative crafts, and transforming Bible teaching.

We are engaged in an epic battle for the hearts and minds of our youth. Every day, they’re bombarded with lies about who they are, who their Creator is, and where their salvation comes from. Thankfully, God has given his children armor to wear in this battle between truth and lies, light and darkness, good and evil. During VBS, the kids will learn how they can be part of God’s kingdom through salvation in his Son and equipped with the armor of God to become Keepers of the Kingdom and strong in today’s battle for truth.

Planning is underway, but we will need lots of volunteers to help VBS run smoothly! Would you consider partnering with us? There are many ways to serve! Some ways you can help:

– Kitchen prep/serving/cleanup to help with our family dinner served before the program

– Group guides, station leaders (games, craft, Bible lesson), and song leaders during the program

– Decorators and set builders prior to the week of VBS

– Prayer partners leading up to and during the week of VBS

If you’re interested in helping, go to the VBS page* on our website at www.leidyschurch.org/vbs and click to register (there is a volunteer form in addition to the kids registration on there), or contact the office for more information (office@leidyschurch.org).

Ladies of Leidy’s

Inviting all ladies to join us on Tuesday evening, June 6th in Room 123 at 7:00 pm. We will be doing a follow-up on the Rummage Sale and the Ladies Tea, as well as planning a potluck summer event. This will be our last meeting before the summer break. Hope to see you there.

O.A.S.I.S Trip

Plans have been made for a trip out to Amish country to a family farm for a wonderful authentic Amish dinner. Levi and Lydia Stoltzfus open up their home for dinner at 12:00 p.m. We will be going September 7^th and the cost is $18. We have a number of people already signed up and if you are interested, please contact By or Dottie Rimmer at 215-257-3424 or Denise in the church office.

We will be car-pooling so we will need drivers and riders. Please tell By, Dottie or Denise which one you will be. The ride out there is less than 1 ½ hours.

Within the Fellowship

Our sincere Christian sympathy to family and friends of Esther Davis, and to Fern Vasey and Pearl Walter at the death of their sister, and to Dianne Nase and Bonnie Pross at the death of their brothers. May God be with them at this time.

Consistory

Present: Brian Shoemaker, Jerry Kulp, Shaun Permar, Francis Weiss, Bob Ott, Kendall Musselman, and Tim Leidy Absent: Ken Merritt, Aaron Vogelzang, Jim Kinney

Francis called the meeting to order at 7:36 PM. Several men opened in prayer.

Minutes from the Consistory Meeting of May 10^th were approved as well as the following revision to the Minutes of October 5th, 2022: “Gary Filson chose not to participate in the Christmas Concerts that are being planned” was revised to “Gary Filson chose not to lead the choir in the Christmas Concerts that are being planned.”

Francis Weiss presented a weekly financial update prepared by Jim Kinney. Our current deficit, which includes the $100,000 borrowed from the Renovation Fund, is now $72,542. At the end of April it had been $85,951. This is a month to date (April 30th to May 17^th) deficit reduction of $13,409. Month to date designated funds total $25,146. A meeting to discuss Abundant Life’s delinquent rent at the HUB will be planned for the near future.

In preparation for Denise Kulp’s delayed retirement, Consistory, in consultation with the secretarial staff and communications team, is working on creating a secretarial job description that will be finalized by June 1^st.

Consistory received an inquiry regarding our interest in selling the land we have set aside for the pavilion and ball fields. This inquiry was discussed and dismissed. Another inquiry was received from a for-profit organization, expressing their interest in renting or potentially purchasing the HUB. Consistory is now in the process of gathering information regarding potential options for renting to a for-profit organization.

Plans were made to satisfy AV and other needs for the wedding at Leidy’s Church over Memorial Day Weekend.

Preliminary discussions were had regarding the potential of hiring a pianist/organist for Sunday worship.

It was noted that Tony Wilwert and Roger Jones have been organizing the ushers each Sunday and are doing a great job. Jerry Kulp will coordinate with them to integrate the hospitality team. Elders and deacons will station themselves at the exits of the sanctuary to greet people as they depart.

Current committees were reviewed. A discussion was had regarding the best way to restructure them. Some preliminary decisions were made, which include Christian Education, Pastoral Care/Shepherding, and Worship all being designated to Spiritual Council. Teams that will be led by Consistory are: Financial, Communications, Missions/Outreach/Benevolence, Property/Kitchen, Evangelism, and Food. Note: Consistory as a whole will plan and implement a calendar of events with the goal of at least one event per month. These will be discussed and planned at the monthly Consistory meetings.

After a time of intercessory prayer for spoken concerns, the meeting ended at 9:46 PM.

June Ushers

Dave Guntz, George Frueh, Gary Brown, Doug Elliott, Tony Wilwert.

New City

Question 31: What do we believe by true faith?

Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words: We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of god the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Jude 3: I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Commentary – John Wesley

But what is faith? Not an opinion, no more than it is a form of words; not any number of opinions put together, be they ever so true. A string of opinions is no more Christian faith, than a string of beads is Christian holiness. It is not an assent to any opinion, or any number of opinions. A man may assent to three, or three-and-twenty creeds: he may assent to all the Old and New Testament (at least, as far as he understands them) and yet have no Christian faith at all.

. . . Christian faith . . . is a divine evidence or conviction wrought in the heart, that God is reconciled to me through his son; inseparably joined with a confidence in him, as a gracious reconciled Father, as for all things, so especially for all those good things which are invisible and eternal. To believe (in the Christian sense) is, then, to walk in the light of eternity; and to have a clear sight of, and confidence in, the Most High, reconciled to me through the Son of his love.

D.A. Carson

“We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” So begins what is universally called the Apostles’ Creed. Strictly speaking, it was not formulated by the apostles. It emerged in the second century. But it is called the Apostles’ Creed because the summary of what is given in the creed reflects the doctrine of the apostles, the doctrine of the New Testament in summary form. It’s an early Christian confession. But it is so early, and has been used so widely across Christian denominations all around the world, that it is one of the rare things that unites all Christians in common belief.

If you read it through carefully and slowly, you’ll see there’s explicit mention of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, of creation, the virgin birth, the coming of Christ, his rising from the dead, who Christians are, what it means to have the Holy Spirit working within us, and so forth, all in very brief compass in words that millions and millions of Christians have either memorized or recite every Sunday or sometimes use as part of their private devotions.

It’s important to remember that creeds are shaped, at least in part, by the era in which they are formulated, not because the Bible changes, but because the questions that we ask of the Bible change just a wee bit from time to time. Other creedal statements, for example, that were made at the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century ask and answer slightly different questions. But the Apostles’ Creed is regularly said by Christians all around the world because it was written so early that it was used before a lot of the later important doctrinal divisions set in. And within this framework, it very ably summarizes the gospel in just a few sentences. In some ways it is a kind of second-century attempt to recapitulate what we read, for example, in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15, which itself is a very simple creed. What is the gospel? Paul asks. Well, first, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and then various things are added and added and added until we have a summary of the great good news and its content—that God in the fullness of time sent forth his Son to die on the cross, rise from the dead, and bring to himself a vast number of the people that Paul calls the new humanity.

So when you gather for public worship on the Lord’s Day and recite the creed, remember that behind the mere words on the page are two thousand years of Christian history. The creed serves to link Christians across cultures and languages and space and time as together we say we believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

June Birthday & Anniversary

Birthdays

2 Cameron Gillis, Wendy Murphy

3 Sarah Kulp, Evelyn Niederhaus, Jacqui Shafer

4 Elijah Smith

6 John Greene, Jim Smedberg, John Vasey

7 Rose Hicks

8 Hazel Krier

9 Tony Kapusta, Daytona Lepping

10 Judy Leidy

11 Shirley Kulp

13 Angela Kinney, Sharon Kostishion,