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Thanks again for all the support - financially and through prayer. The prayers were heard and God's provision was evident. As church members and the community was gathered together the night before we left to thank us and send us of, one of the pastors of a local church talked about the importance of water.
He said water brings life to a community. That without water, people are forced to send most of their day fetching water. People are left in filth. Plants die. Animals die. People die. That bringing water to a community truly brings life. He was able to share how this small group in Migori county was given life when the well was drilled. The community was grateful. Then he compared that water with the Gospel. How Jesus is like that water. That when Jesus is brought to a community, Jesus brings life. It was a profound statement that I have been thinking about ever since. As someone who was raised in the church and have been in relationship with Jesus nearly my whole life, I was struck by the metaphor. Watching a community literally go from desperation to hope, from dying to living, just because of water. Then to have that compared so clearly with Jesus and His Spirit. NewLife - let us not live as if we don't have water or don't have enough. Let us not live a life as if we are not provided for when in reality God promises us that He will provide and demonstrates it. Let us not live a life that misses the power of having Jesus in our lives and community. Jesus brings us life! Let us celebrate it. We have a community service this Sunday at 10:30. Let us celebrate and worship of Lord and Savior as a community because it is Christ who brings us life. We were once dead but have been saved. Receive that - think on that and rejoice in that. Blessings brothers and sisters, Kyle 
“We must simplify our approach to Him.” A.W. Tozer
I believe Tozer has it right! We must simplify our approach to our Heavenly Father. Jesus cuts through to the core of the issue, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matt. 6:33) He’s telling us directly what our priority should be and what it means to prioritize our Heavenly Father and His kingdom. This brings simplicity to the forefront. For when we have Him as our priority, we have perspective on everything else in our lives. When we look to Him first, our lives have focus. This is where Martha got herself into the swirl of many details and much serving, which became a distraction for her. What had begun as a fellowship meal had taken on new meaning for her and ended up becoming her focal point, all the while Jesus was in her house and she was missing Him. As I said on Sunday, let’s not be too hard on Martha. We’ve all had those times and seasons in our lives when things and busyness get in the way and we lose our focus on Jesus. But let’s also learn from Jesus’s kindly correction of Martha, to keep the main thing as the main thing. That’s the heart of simplicity: Keeping God as the main “thing” in our lives and centering on Him throughout our days. As the hymn admonishes us, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus... and the things of earth will grow strangely dim.” Let’s turn our eyes upon Him, even now, Pastor Andy PS- Here's a link to what Cheryl read on Sunday
Simplicity Questions:
When Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pipin, Gandalf, Legalos, Boromir, Gimli, and Aragorn took off in pursuit of the ring in The Fellowship of the Ring, there were adventures ahead of them that they didn’t, or couldn’t, anticipate. Forgive me for being repetitive but they had a fellowship. It started formally but grew to become personal, deeply forged in the joys and sorrows of their shared journey as they were striving to save the world. They had a bond that would transcend many things.
That’s the story of fellowship. It can be unexpected but extremely meaningful. And in the end, it’s our fellowship that will carry us through life. That’s why it’s so special then for John to invite his readers and us into fellowship with him because his fellowship was with the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). Let’s not forsake gathering together and encouraging one another (Heb. 10:24-25) so we can rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15) and seek the Lord together. So then, when you walked into the sanctuary on Sunday, I would imagine that you didn’t expect to be watching a demonstration of our new Short Term Study! As I shared with you on Sunday, we’re pressing into a new way of gathering folks together to study, encourage one another, and share life for a while. If you weren’t able to join us for the service on Sunday, I encourage you to watch the recording of our live streamed service (linked below) to see what I'm talking about. Finally, if you still think fellowship is not an important part of the Christian life, then I encourage you to check out the number of people the Apostle Paul extends greetings to in Rom. 16:1-16. Indeed, I think that Paul’s greetings tell us otherwise. Let’s walk with Him and one another! Pastor Andy Click to View Last Sunday's Service Fellowship Questions:
Let's each take our TURNS praying for the Kenya team: T- Travels- The team travels back home Friday & Saturday U- Use- That God would use the team members for His kingdom R- Return- That God returns them safely home at the end of August N- New- That God would do something new in Kenya, the team member's lives, and in NewLife S- Steven's Sutures- That God protects his surgical sight from infection and the stitches are removed easily next week. The Kenya team includes NewLifers: Titus, Kyle, Clayton, Jason, Charlie, and Steven 
Prayer! It’s more than speaking to God. Prayer is a profound opportunity to interact with our Creator, to humble ourselves before the King of Kings and seek His will.
So many things get in the way of prayer, but in the end it comes back to a choice. Do you want a prayer life that imitates Christ or a prayer life that imitates the world? The world prays - Let my will be done. Give me what I want. Listen to me. Fix my temporary struggles now and look at what I am doing so that you see I deserve your favor. Christ prays - Let not my will but yours be done. Eight simple words that have life altering effects on our prayers. If we can just realize that praying isn’t about us at all. Prayer is about the One whose throne we are approaching. Our prayer life is a statement of our faith. What does your faith look like? Let us not water down what prayer is. It isn’t a vague term that simply means a human talking to a higher power. Prayer is an acceptance that we can do nothing without Christ. An expression of our faith in God’s power and a desire to know Christ more. (John Piper) All who are reading this, let’s take a prayer challenge. Using the four Ps - presence, posture, purpose and priority let us begin a new way of praying. Let expect to receive from God. Let our hearts be opened with God's will at the center of our desire. Let us be challenged to pray at least once a day with the intentionality of the four Ps for the next week (or longer) and see God using our prayers for His glory. Blessings to you all, Pastor Kyle Let's each take our TURNS praying for the Kenya team: T- Travels- U- Use- That God would use the team members for His kingdom R- Return- That God returns them safely home at the end of August N- New- That God would do something new in Kenya, the team member's lives, and in NewLife S- Steven's Sutures- That God protects his surgical sight from infection and the sutures are removed easily next week. The Kenya team includes NewLifers: Titus, Kyle, Clayton, Jason, Charlie, and Steven 
“The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.” George Mueller Our brother, George, is correct in his assessment. Do you want a quick answer to how you are doing spiritually? Answer this question: what place does the Bible hold in your life and thoughts? Is it a priority to regularly be in Scripture, marinating yourself with it in some form or fashion? And, this begs a second question. Even if you say this practice of time with God in His Word is important to you, are you actually engaging in it? That’s the real question which will give you an accurate reflection. Below are the ways we discussed of marinating ourselves with the Word so that we are walking with God, being transformed by Him, obeying what He says, and being on mission with Him. Ways to marinate in the Word to become seasoned Christians. We do this by:
By way of reminder, the bulletin handout contained definitions and explanations of biblical meditation that I found helpful. If you missed it, you can click on this link to it or let us know and we'll send you a copy. Dear friends, let’s marinate in His Word so that we are tasty Christians! Pastor Andy Reflection Questions
Bible Project Video about Psalm 1              
The spiritual practices are absolutely essential for our growth and maturation in Jesus. There’s no way around it. As we spend time with Jesus, He not only transforms us but we get to know Him better. And, as we get to know Him better, we’re motivated to join Him on His mission. These practices are called “means of grace”, which means they’re pathways that enable us to know His grace experientially. Perhaps the best part is that they are very practical. While it’s easy to imagine these practices to be very mystical, they are biblical, hands on, and for everyone who follows Jesus.
The practices are:
No wonder Paul tells Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7)!! Let’s go friends, it’s time we get training! Pastor Andy Reflection Questions
Behold, I am coming soon.
Jesus in Rev. 22:7 The book of Revelation is a reminder that Jesus is coming back for us! This fact is worthy of our taking time to ponder and dwell on in our lives. While Revelation has some hard to understand things as well as just plain hard things in it (such as the Tribulation), the letter was intended to give God’s people hope, both then and now. Thus One of the major themes of Revelation is for us to keep our hearts ready for the coming back of Jesus. This is seen especially in Rev. 16:15, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be exposed!” We are to stay awake, not letting the world, our daily routines, or the many frustrations that can build up in life distract us from the main thing. As the phrase goes, “Keep the main thing the main thing”! The Tribulation also will require us to stay awake in the Lord so that we are not only ready for Him but so that we stand strong and are discerning about the events happening in the world and our lives. Most importantly, those who are going to be saved are those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life or, as it’s also called, The Book of Life. This is stated several times in Revelation as seen here, “And if anyone’s name was not found in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). It is absolutely imperative that we put our faith in Jesus so that He will save us from our sins. When we put our faith in Jesus, that’s how our name gets written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. If you haven’t asked Jesus into your life as Savior yet, please don’t wait! There will be several links attached to this NewLife News. One will be the lyrics of the song/poem that Kim Reiss read during the testimony time. The other links will be two videos from the Bible Project that are great explanations of Revelation that you might find helpful. Thank you for going on the journey through the Bible with me this past year and a half! We made it all the way through! We will begin a series on the Spiritual Practices this Sunday. Continued Blessings on your journey with Jesus, Pastor Andy Reflection Questions
Bible Project Overview of Revelation Links: Click below for a printable page of the song lyrics to "He Is" that you can tuck in your bible. 
Welcome back to WCBK where we broadcast the Heavenly good news 24 hours a day. Whether you’re a new listener to this station or go way back with us, we’re so glad you tuned in today. Our mission is actually quite simple but has profound effects for those of you who take it to heart. We’re here to proclaim that God has called you; you are beloved in God and you are kept by Jesus (Jude 1:1b). That’s right, Beloved listeners, you are called by the Father to Himself. He wants you in His family, He wants you in the kingdom of His Beloved Son, and He sent His Son to rescue you.
Beloved listeners, if you haven’t guessed it by now, you are beloved in God. It's the core of who He is, literally, to love you. And, He wants you to know this, remind yourself of this truth, and to regularly meditate on it. The third part of our broadcast message is that we are kept by Jesus. He’s the one who makes this close fellowship with Himself and the Father possible through His death, resurrection and High Priestly Heavenly Intercession for each of His children. He’s the One who asked the Father to send His Holy Spirit to each of His believers, and He is our Good Shepherd. I’m sure, Beloved Listeners, that you can see how important and transformational these truths of our identity are in Christ Jesus, our Lord. This isn’t just a one time message, it’s the message of a lifetime. This is WCBK and this is our life-changing message. Won’t you join us in continuing to listen with our hearts tuned to the Father? We’re Called, Beloved in God the Father, & Kept by Jesus Beloved, He is Able! Pastor Andy Reflection Questions
In 2 John, the Apostle John gave loving instructions on how to walk in love and be discerning as a church, and in 3 John, he wrote a personal letter to a brother in the Lord named Gaius.
We actually don’t know much about the church he was writing to or specific details about Gaius, other than that Gaius was very much living out his faith. In 3 John 2, John prays that Gaius would be in good health, even as his soul was “getting along well” (NIV). This tells us that Gaius was in a very good place in walking with the Lord and His truth which was resulting in Gaius’ soul being in a good place. Now, this topic of soul health as Christians could be an entire sermon series (which maybe someday it will be ). But, I would like to offer some observations from John’s writings that I think we would find helpful in this discussion:
What can we say in response to this? I think the Psalmist said it best, “Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Ps. 103:1 Pastor Andy Reflection Questions
From Pastor Andy
“-that which we have seen and heard we proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3, ESV Didn’t Eric do a great job teaching on Sunday? He covered and explained several important topics from John’s letter. One thing Eric pointed out was that John was an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, that he was the last surviving among the 12 apostles. Thus, John was instructing the people of God about how to live and be discerning once he was no longer be with them. As an eyewitness, John had the privilege of knowing Jesus very personally and closely. John’s ministry flowed out of that. He said his fellowship was with God and Jesus and then invited the readers into the same fellowship. It's vital to our lives and ministries that we also walk in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son, for the sake of our souls and for the sake of the ministries we’ve been called to by Him. This all came out of John seeing and hearing Jesus at work. I think we would be wise to learn from John’s model, so keep listening to Him and keep watching for Him at work. Keep walking the good walk with Jesus, Pastor Andy Please read 2 & 3 John for our time on Sunday. 
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