27 Nov “Why We Gather” – Apollo Beach
Announcements:
ALL LOCATIONS:
IN 2 WEEKENDS WE WILL BE TAKING OUR REALLY BIG THINGS OFFERING. THIS IS THE THIRTY WEEK MARK!
NEED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY CARE? OR HAVE A GROUP MEMBER IN NEED OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY CARE? CLICK HERE: HELP RESOURCES PAGE
NEW ENGLAND LOCATIONS:
WOONSOCKET
**NEW This Christmas, we’re enlarging our dinner table and hosting a Christmas Dinner for our community.
We will have a home-cooked menu and a fun night of activities for all ages. Help us make this a great time for our guests by registering to serve!
Click below to register!
Join us for the 2nd Annual Pie Party!
This will be pie-tastic!
Bring grandma’s best pie, bake your best pie, or buy a pie to share!
Join us on Sunday, November 12th, from 6 to 8 PM for a delicious and fun PIE PARTY! Invite a friend, enjoy all the different pies to share, and spend time with great people.
This is an event for the whole family.
Register today!
Woonsocket Pie Party Registration
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Reminder: Please check your planning center profiles for requests to join and also remove members from the list that no longer attend as well as add members not listed. Thank you.
LEADERS: WE HAVE CHANGED UP THE DISCOVER CLASS WHICH USED TO BE GROWTH TRACK AND ARE ASKING ALL LEADERS TO RE-TAKE THIS A SOME POINT. BELOW IS THE CLASS SCHEDULE:
1st Sunday : Discover Waters – after 1st service
2nd Sunday: NO CLASSES
3rd Sunday: Connect Class – after 1st service
4th Sunday: Baptism Class – after 1st service
IMPORTANT***** Please add
Go to your email, add no-reply@churchcenter.com to your contacts (PLEASE ASK ME IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND) THANKS!
no-reply@churchcenter.com to your email contacts so that you do not miss an email from Planning Center and have your members add it as well. This will ensure you do not miss a member request or any emails that come from the Planning Center site.
All announcements and the Waters Event Calendar can be found at: waterschurch.org/events)
Location Text Alerts:
| North Attleboro | Text “subscribe” to 508 695-1300 | |
| Norwood | Text “subscribe” to 781 762-3357 | |
| Apollo Beach | Text “subscribe” to 813 642-6979 | |
| Woonsocket | Text “subscribe” to 833 241-4837 | |
| Southcoast | Text “subscribe” to 508 809-3490 | |
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Ice breaker:
Q. What are the 3 top things on your bucket list?
There are several reasons why we gather. We must understand why we gather in church.
The Church is not the building, the Church is the people. We are the Church. When we are not in the church, it is just an empty building.
We are the body of Christ and we must continue to do what Jesus did while He was here in His physical body. He does the same things now, except He does them through His Spiritual body which is the Church.
We are a privileged people.
- We Gather to Worship the King.
Matthew 2:1-2
Jesus is a king. He was not born to become a king, He was born a king. He is the king of his kingdom.
The kingdom of God was, is, and is yet to come. There is coming a day when the kingdom of God will be physically here on the earth. People will see His kingdom and Jesus will be ruling in that kingdom.
For us to enter into His kingdom and be part of His kingdom, we must be born again; the Holy Spirit comes and convicts us.
John 3:3; John 16:7-8
It is godly sorrow that leads to repentance, not just feeling remorse for our sins. We must repent.
Everything that is done in church is an act of worship. Everything we do in the kingdom should be an act of worship. All of us are worshippers. We worship to acknowledge He is worthy and to glorify His name.
John 4:23
Q. What does it mean to live a life of worship? How can you incorporate worship into various aspects of your daily routine?
2. We Gather to Sing Praises to God.
God’s people have always been a ‘singing’ people.
Psalm 100:4
It is not just about singing we want a revelation. When we worship and sing, Jesus is in our midst. We sometimes forget this. We are often caught up in the way we need to do things in our service that we forget all about the King.
When the Spirit begins to move and the rivers of living water begin to flow, something real and dynamic happens that cannot be imitated.
We sing and praise Him for what He has done and when we do this, the Bible says that God inhabits our praises.
Psalm 22:3
Q. In what ways does singing praises during worship help to facilitate a deeper understanding or revelation of God?
3. We Gather to Give Thanks.
It is important to understand that we have to enter into His presence with an attitude of thanksgiving. This is not dependent on our circumstances, it is taking charge and control of your will and saying: ‘I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart.’
We need to be thankful for the wonderful things that God has done for us. We, as Waters Church, need to be thankful for the way God is blessing us, the way the church has grown and developed, and how we are able to preach the Gospel and reach many people all around the world.
Q. What are some specific ways you have witnessed God’s blessings in your own life or in your community? How do these experiences shape your perspective on gratitude?
When we come together as the Body, we must be ready to worship.
The Old Testament priests used to prepare themselves when they entered into the presence of God. Sometimes we forget that we are believer priests and we also need to prepare ourselves for the gathering.
Before coming to the gathering, we should make right with God, confessing and repenting of our sins and ask Him to help us so that when we gather with His people our sacrifices of praise and worship will be accepted by Him.
Q. How does knowing our worship needs to be acceptable to God influence your approach to worship both individually and as part of the congregation?
4. We Gather Because We Are Blessed.
As people of God, we are blessed. Our names are written in the eternal book of Life!
The devil is trying to take our attention away from the word of God and our eyes off of Jesus. It is prevalent that we remain rooted, grounded, and established in the word of God. Heaven and earth shall pass away but the word of the Lord will endure forever!
Romans 8:37-39
Challenge: Make a commitment to intentionally prepare yourself before attending the church service this Sunday as discussed above. Establish this as a weekly practice, and observe how it enriches and deepens your worship experience.
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