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It is a beautiful fall day here, friends! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine after our series of rainy, gloomy days! Man do I wish my office had a skylight in it! 

We had a great first Roots Night last week! Thanks to all who joined us for dinner and discipleship! More so, thank you to all the volunteers who helped make it possible! There are still some volunteer vacancies and there are still LOTS of seats available in the adult discipleship classes. I hope you’ll make a point to join us next time, on October 16th. Pastor Kevin is leading a study on “The Great Passages of the Bible.” His group meets every Wednesday, not just on Roots Nights. Kerri Kreider and Mary Etta Reinhart are leading a group discussion on the “Essentials of Discipleship.” 

It was a joy to worship with many of you last night at our World Communion Day Love Feast. We all shared in staff meeting how beautiful it was to hear so many voices singing together in the Sanctuary with our opening music. It really is so sweet to trust in Jesus.

This week I’ll be out of the office an extra day as I’ll be attending and serving in at the ANE District Conference on Saturday. Scott and I are serving as delegates with Karl and Sue Auker. I am also serving as the conference Parliamentarian, using some fun, but very random, skills I have from my FFA days!

We’re excited to share lots of building project updates with you on Sunday. As always, your patience and flexibility in this process is so appreciated. We’re getting closer and closer to the end of construction. Please prayerfully consider contributing to this project!

I hope you’re marking your calendars with many of the events that October holds. Here's a few in case you missed it… 10/16: Roots Night, 10/18: Dutch Blitz Tournament, 10/19: Crop Walk, 10/25: 5th Quarter, 10/26: Alpha and Omega Fundraiser. You can also find all of these on the newly renovated website!

What WE’RE Learning This Week: A nugget of what our Lil’, Youth and Adults Roots heard this week

Our Family Theme: The Marks of a True Christian

Our Root Text: Romans 12:1–21

Verse of the Month: Romans 12:2

How Every Generation Lives This Out: Read the Bible together! What characteristics of a true Christian given in Romans 12:3–21 are easier for you to live out and which are harder?

Check Out This Week’s PARENT PAGE

*This can also be accessed in the D6 Family App

What I’M Learning This Week: Sharing what I’m reading and listening to lately

We’re studying Romans in my Tuesday night Bible Study, D-Group. It’s been fun to overlap with what we’re studying in Sunday School with the D6 Curriculum, as we’ve also been in Romans. I’ve been stuck on this verse this past week, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Romans 4:18). Against all hope he hoped. That verbiage seems so strange to me. The CSB reads it as “hoping against hope,” even the kids Bible (NIrV) reads kind of funny… “when there was no reason for hope, Abraham believed because he had hope.”

It’s not that I don’t understand what this verse is saying, I get it. Abraham had hope when there was no reason to hope. I think it’s strange to me because this earthly life gives us so many reasons to feel like there’s no hope. It truly feels like we’re against all hope, all the time. But somehow, Abraham still had hope. And as we continue to read we see that he hoped against all hope and didn’t weaken his faith (vs 19) and he did not waiver in unbelief (vs 20). He was fully persuaded (vs 21) that against all hope he hoped in God’s faithfulness to his promises. 

We’re right around the corner from an election, our neighbors are suffering from natural disasters, there’s so much hopelessness around us, and maybe we’re fighting it within ourselves, too. Suit up (Ephesians 6), my friends. The end of chapter 4 tells us why Abraham had such hope and why we can too, despite all odds, it’s Jesus our Lord and his resurrection. 

Make Every Week Count: Parenting, Grandparenting & Spiritual Mentoring Resources

Something to Read: Here’s a great tool to read and memorize scripture - Write Through the Bible, Junior: Philippians 2:1-18

Something to Listen to: A MUST LISTEN! Doesn’t matter how old the kids in your life are, this podcast is SOLID! 5 Questions Every Parent Must Answer Before Giving Your Kids Social Media

Something to Follow: Well Watered Women is a great women’s Bible Study resource site. They’re closing their store for a season, now’s your chance to shop! Grab their advent study while you’re there!

How Can You Pray? Prayer Requests and Praises from Roots Ministries

PRAY for the decisions, discussions and reports that will be shared at the ANE District Conference this weekend. 

PRAISE for an energetic start to our Wednesday Roots Nights!