9_8_2015

September 7th 2015

COMMUNITYFREE CHURCH WEEKLY

This news is as much for everyone of us as it is for the Rochester family. We have sown long hours in prayer for them, offered support and encouragement, and stood firm in a battle that at times didnʼt seem winnable.Yet we continued to stand firm, not in our strength, but the knowledge that God will fight for us, and He did!As you heard on Sunday morning, we received news that Abigail and Savannahʼs biological father conceded his rights, KICKING OPEN the door to John and Julie Rochester to adopt the girls this week! PRAISE GOD! PRAY and PRAISE God as we head into Wednesdayʼs adoption. Thank Him for he is SO good!

This picture of julie signing the papers is as much for you as it is for them, a gift from God!

Peggy Shapiro from “StandWithUs: Chicago”, sharing on the Iran Deal, Sunday night, to a crowd of 50-60 people. Many commented that they were impressed that CEFCM was willing to engage tough issues and take a stand. We as a church will never trade tolerance for truth.

PRAISE GOD!

Psalm 127:1God this is your

project and place - fill it with Your

Glory!

AWANA starts September 13th, at 6:00pm

As of today there are over 75 kids registered for the 2015/2016 AWANA program that starts September 13th, at 6:00pm! With the challenges of a fresh start no one knew what this year would hold, but faithful volunteers met, prayed, listened, learned, and have led us to this point where we are hoping to meet even more kids with the Gospel in the coming months!This past weekend volunteers handed out 200 brochures at the River Festival and registered 5 kids!Please take a moment today and share AWANA with someone you know!

It is my hope that you have fallen deeply in love with the gospel that saved you. The kind of love that wants to shout from the rooftops the name of Jesus Christ. But sometimes a love like this is hard to put into words. Thank God He gave us the words.

Therefore, I want to challenge each and everyone of us to read memorize the gospel, to preach it first and foremost to ourselves and then out into the world seeing lives changed for God’s Glory!

It is the good news that a just and gracious Creator has looked upon hopelessly sinful men and women and has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin in the resurrection, so that everyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord will be reconciled to God forever. (1 Corinthians 15:1-12)

The Gospel is a message that is to be proclaimed by every believer (Mark 1:14; Acts 14:21, Romans 1:16, 1 Peter 1:12).

Starting tomorrow construction will begin on the nursery. Two things need to happen as this starts. First, we need to pray. Pray for the safety of the workers, for the construction, and over all of it how God will use that space for His glory!Second, we are blessed to have folks working in our building everyday for a number of weeks. My question now is: How can we bless them? A plate of cookies?...Brownies?...A homemade lunch one day?...... Some snacks?

Letʼs love these guys like crazy in such a way that for months they will talking about the time they worked on that church in Mahomet. Not for our glory mind you, but for His!

Tasha will have a list going out Wednesday to sign up to share something! As always PRAY:

Many may not have noticed that this past week our website went through an overhaul to update graphics, features and functionality. This took roughly 20 hours (every graphic, text, ect is custom made) and was done for no cost (Our website only costs us $120 a year to host because we do 100% of the work ourselves). If you have a chance check out the updates at: " www.communityfreechurch.com

The Community group page (cfccommunitygroups.yolasite.com) was also updated for folks interested in this ministry. Lastly, we are in the process of creating a page specifically for Kidʼs Ministry that will coincide with the launch of the new nursery.

Isaiah: The King and His Glory “The Laborers are Few”Pastor Jason Schifo 9/6/15

Introduction:" See as Jesus saw." Feel as Jesus felt." Do as Jesus did.

Exposition:" Matthew 9:35-38" Matthew 4:23" “Compassion”" " Matthew 18:27" " Matthew 20:30" " Mark 1:40-41" Matthew 7:13-14" 1Corinthians 1:18" Hosea 11:8Thomas Watson"“We may have to force our lord to punish us, but we never have to force Him to love us.”" Ezekiel 34:8, 20" Matthew 23:4Billy Graham“The most effective witnessing tool I have is a healthy understanding of my own sinfulness” " John 4:35" Acts 1:8" Matthew 10:1

Our weekly newsletter that comes out on Tuesday contains a copy of sermon scripture outline along with any quotes and references. It is my hope that this helps you in reflection on the work that God did through his Word. Each outline is broken down into the introduction, exposition, and conclusion. To highlight that we are a church that takes great care to exposit the Word.

Tuesday " 9/8"" Community Groups ! ! ! ! The Schifo Home 6:00pm

Wednesday 9/9"! Youth Group 6:00pm" " "" " " " Elders Meeting 7:00pm" " " "Thursday " 9/10" Worship Practice 7:30pm !Saturday ! 9/12! Act Like Men 7:00am

" " " " Beth Moore 9-4:00pm" " " " “Audacity” Simulcast" " " " Windsor Road Christian Church

" " " " Celebrate Life 4-9:00pm" " " " Holy Cross Church ! ! ! ! 405 West Clark Street, Champaign

Sunday ! 9/13" " Christian Education 9:30-10:30am" " " " Counter Culture with Jerry Unger! ! ! ! Godʼs Prophets with Bruce Henrikson! ! ! ! Precepts Upon Precepts Womenʼs ! ! ! ! Study !! ! ! ! Sr. High School Jake Barrett! ! ! ! Jr. High School Ronda Ekberg" " " "" " " " Childrenʼs Church 10:45am" " " "" " " ! ! Mrs. Lori Stalter

" " " " Worship Gathering 10:45am" " " " Isaiah 40 “Glory of Comfort” Pastor Jason" " " "" " " " 6:00pm First Night of " " " " " "

There will be a Beth Moore simulcast shown at Windsor Road Christian Church on Saturday, September 12th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is to join the simulcast is $20.00, and lunch is an additional $10.00. The subject will be Beth Mooreʼs new book, "Audacious". If anyone is interested in going, please let Deb Henrikson, 586-2918, know by September 1st.

Call the church to join a group today, or visit: communitygroups.yolasite.com

Please join us September 25th, for a virtual 24 hour prayer vigil where we will be joining churches all over the world in praying for Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American pastor who is currently serving an eight year prison sentence in one of Iranʼs toughest prisons simply because of his faith in Jesus.

Since his arrest in September 2012, he has been beaten, and emotionally and physically tortured. Yet, in a letter to his wife, Naghmeh, he wrote:

“… like the rats I can scream with joy within those prison walls and worship my Lord in joy and strength. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. Amen.”

We pray that he may continue to hold fast to the Lord and find joy and strength in Him while he remains in prison. His wife, Naghmeh and their two children have remained in the United States, so please pray for their comfort and peace as they wait on the Lord during this difficult time.

What do I do? This Sunday and every Sunday till the 25th there will be a sign up sheet in the back of the church. Sign up for 1 hour over the 24 hours and covet to PRAY for Saeed and his family. There is nothing to “attend” it is something you do where you are.

PRAYER VIGIL

ISLAM CHRISTIANITY

and

withRobert Sievers

September 25th at 6:00pm

Register by calling 217-586-5165

CONVERSATIONS MATTER

This next installment of “Conversations Matters” promises to be very interesting as Bob walks everyone though the end times as laid out in Quran and compares it to the Biblical text. In addition he will offer historical understanding of the region of the Middle East. Trust me - this will be good stuff!

September 24th, 2015 7:00-9:00pm

LIFE BANQUETOnce again this year Community Evangelical Free Church is a table host for this event. That means that we want to host and fill tables with people who are pro-life and passionate about coming out to celebrate Living Alternatives 30th anniversary with them!

The special Speaker this year is pro-life actress Sheri Rigby.

Where?" Hilton Garden Inn – Champaign" " 1501 S Neil St,, Champaign, IL

When? " September 24th, 7:00-9:00pm

How Much? The evening is Free. There will be an opportunity to " " support Living Alternatives but there is no pressure to " " do so. Register by calling: 217-398-6311 today.

Why? "" Because we believe that abortion is one of the great " " issues of our time and we want to fight it wherever, " " and however we can. Therefore, every member and " " attender of CEFCM is invited to attend this event!

Do you want to stand against the evil of abortion and be an encouragement to those who have dealt with abortion?Attend the “Celebrate Life Gathering”, September 12th, at Holy Cross in Champaign, from 4:00-9:00pm. Pastor Jason will be sharing a few words at this event. (405 W Clark St, Champaign)

Consider representing CEFCM at the monthly Champaign County “Celebrate Life” meeting. They are working to build partnerships that fight abortion and help those struggling with the effects of abortion. The first meeting is September 14th, at 7:00pm and St. Patrickʼs Church, Urbana, Illinois.

Starting on September 23rd, 40 Days For Life will be peacefully praying outside the Champaign/ Urbana Planned Parenthood facility. Through this ministry many, many lives have been saved as God opens doors for conversations with those going into the clinic for abortions. We will have 2 hours per week that CEFCM is tasked to be outside the clinic. Please pray about joining this ministry. Sign up in the back of the church.

These two new studies are starting September 13th! Sign up this Sunday at the church

2 New Studies Starting September 20th -Register Sunday at Church!

Do you want to study the Bible? Do you want to get to know others who are passionate about Godʼs Word? Do you want to grow to know more about God?

Then think about attending Bible Study Fellowship this fall. For the first time a study on the entire Book of Revelation will starting in mid September 2015 through May 2016. Each expositional study has three parts: a study guide you complete, a small group discussion where you talk about what you learned, and a lecture on the weeks materials. This gives you the opportunity to hear it multiple times. Menʼs Bible Study Fellowship will start September 14th, 6:45pm, at First Baptist Church of Savoy. There is a program for kids 1st grade through High School. Womenʼs Bible Study Fellowship will start September 15th, 9:10am, at First Christian Church in Champaign. There is a childrenʼs program birth through preschool. This is an excellent FREE opportunity for the whole family to study through a book of the Bible together every week!

For more information please see Michele Shafer ([email protected]), Tasha Schifo ([email protected]), or Pastor Jason (who attends the Monday night Menʼs Study).

Prayer Retreat

mini

Where: Lake in the Woods ParkWhen: October 17th 9am to 12pm (Lunch provided afterwards)

We will be having our first “mini” prayer retreat at Lake in the Woods park where we will pray, seek God, and together see what He is saying to us. We will be using a book that Pastor Jason and Jan Piasecki recently read, “Divine Strongholds” by Terry Terkyl.

If you would like a copy (encouraged) please call the church office. The donation is $10 per book. We will also have some scheduled coffee times to gather, pray and discuss the book.

When was the last time you were able to spend an hour rocking a baby? When was the last time you

were able to give your undivided attention to a curious infant?

 The baby/infant nursery needs your loving touch. We have many babies coming to Sunday School and church each week and their parents could use a break so they can focus on God. During this time it is our chance to tell these little ones how

much God loves them. Say “YES” to serving on

a rotating team. See Michelle Shafer (shafer5@mchsi) or Tasha Schifo ([email protected]) today!

Now is Your Opportunity!

Weekly Bible Reading

On September 23rd, at 12:00pm we will be having a new member luncheon and class. At CEFCM we donʼt look at membership as simply adding numbers, but as a means where you can use your voice to guide the mission of the church. As a congregational church every voice is equal and every voice matters. Please consider joining us.

In addition the Elders would love the opportunity to sit down with prospective new members to get to know them better ahead of the membership class.