Good Morning Trinity,
 

I pray you are having a blessed week. Give thanks to the Lord for the good and the not so good. He will lead you through all circumstances. Here is your scripture reading and devotion for the week.  

 
Judges 7: 1 – 25

 
There is a statement that has been used by many in trying to explain why God has called them into a certain situation. Whether it would be a calling to pastor or to the mission field or ministering to the needy or a friend. The statement is this, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the call.” In other words if God wants to show the world His power, He will do so through the weakest individual by human standards. If a message needs to be delivered to Pharaoh, He will use one who stutters to speak His words such as Moses.

 
This is exactly what God did when He chose Gideon to lead Israel against the Midianites army. Gideon in his own words was the least of his father’s house and his father’s clan was the least in Manasseh. When we realize our weakness, then we are able to see His strength. The Lord doesn’t choose us to glorify ourselves but chooses us to show His power and glory.

 
What is it we remember most about Gideon? Do we remember him as the great warrior, defeating an obviously superior army with just 300 men? No, he is remembered for something much more important than being a warrior. Gideon is remembered for his trust and faith in God that defeated all odds.

 
Do you have the trust and faith in God to be all He will ask you to be? Open your heart to the possibilities He will place before you. He is an awesome God to serve.

 
God Bless,

Pastor Dave

I hope and pray you are all having a blessed week. I know our lives can get pretty hectic and busy, but don’t forget to praise the Lord for the many blessings in your life. That means you will have to stop for a moment and consider the blessings He has placed before you. If you don’t stop and consider Him you could really miss something special. Here is your scripture reading for the week.

Luke 22: 39 – 46

One can only imagine the agony that Jesus must have been experiencing at the moment He went to the Mount of Olives to pray. Even with His disciples by His side, Jesus’ desire was only for the One He could truly pour His heart out to. Jesus was about to take those final steps to the cross to become as John the Baptist stated in John 1: 29 “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus was about to take on the sins of a fallen world and who could He come to at such a moment?

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.” Words spoken that for even the briefest of moments shows the humanity of Jesus. And in the humanity of Jesus there was only One that He could come to when the weight of a moment became too much to bear. Jesus brought the weight of that moment to God the Father and in His agony Jesus prayed more earnestly. It says then in verse 43 that there was an answer to Jesus’ prayer and that an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen Him in His hour of need.

Take this cup from Me; nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done. That is not a prayer that we would normally make in the face of an agonizing situation. We would normally ask to be delivered from something that we would much rather not have to go through. Make it go away, please. When we pray that God’s will be done in our lives, do we really mean it? Is it alright for God’s will to be done in our lives as long as it doesn’t inconvenience us? Are we more of a people who think our plans must be God’s plans because our plans are what we want to do and God wouldn’t want us to do something that might cause us discomfort? I’m sure our comfort after all is what’s most important to God.

Do we treat God as a blessing dispenser for our lives, or are we truly concerned for His will to be done through us? Do we use Him to help us dodge the trials of life, or do we look to Him to strengthen us through them? Do we expect God to be all about us, or are we all about God? Maybe there are just some things we are supposed to go through. Will your faith be strengthened by them? You do have a choice.

God Bless,

Pastor Dave

Announcements:

Wednesday

Wednesday

Saturday

Sunday

I pray you all are having a great week. Let me take a moment to tell you something that has been on my heart today. Thank you for being a part of the Trinity family. You are appreciated and prayed for. We have so much to be thankful for. The Lord has been so good to us and I was thinking how special it is when we can get together as a family on Sundays and worship Him together. Here is a scripture reading for you to enjoy today. 

Romans 12: 1 – 2

When you read this passage that Paul has written and see the way he begins the 1^st verse you can hear the pleading in his words. “I beseech you” to me says that Paul is appealing to our will. That God calls us to make a choice in the way we live for Him. A conscious choice that we make every day.

There is a battle that is fought every day and you and I are right in the middle of it. You may think that you are able to stand on the sidelines and not be a participant in this battle. But sooner or later you find yourself having to get involved because without your consent you’ve been dragged right into the middle of it. 

What are the spoils for the victor of this battle? You are the prize believe it or not and the battle is over your spiritual mind. On one side, the world strives to convince you to conform to the ways of the world. On the other side a renewing or transforming  of your mind through Christ Jesus. The choice is yours to make and every day the battle is on.

Remember there is victory in Jesus. 

God Bless,

Pastor Dave

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30pm Family Night in the Annex – come and join us for a great time of worship  

Sunday – 8:30am Trinity’s Traditional Service – Come and enjoy great traditional worship – bring your friends

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for those attending the Contemporary Service

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for Kids and Youth

Sunday – 10:00am Sunday School for those who attended the Traditional Service

Sunday – 10:30am Trinity’s Contemporary Service – Come and enjoy great contemporary worship – bring a friend 

I hope you are having a blessed week. Just a reminder of the change in service times for this coming Sunday. I’m looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday. Here’s you scripture and devotion for the week.

The One Sure Way To Deal With Your Stress

“Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 12:6

There’s a man I heard about who went to the doctor one day suffering from stress. The doctor gave him a regimen of exercises to do. But one thing he told him to do first was to go off by himself for a while and look at something big.

“Look at something big?” the man asked.

“Yes,” replied the doctor. “The first step in dealing with stress is to get perspective on yourself.”

In Jesus’ life on earth, He often slipped away from the crowds to spend time with His Father and reflect upon His greatness. We, as believers in Christ, can learn from His example, taking time away by ourselves to gain perspective on our own lives and reflect upon the greatness of God.

The key to overcoming stress is to walk humbly with God every day. Take time at the beginning of your day to reflect upon His infinite vastness. When you do, you’ll find that reflection will energize you and melt away whatever stresses you face!

SPEND TIME DAILY REFLECTING UPON GOD’S GREATNESS AND YOU’LL BE ABLE TO OVERCOME WHATEVER STRESS YOU FACE.

Announcements:

Wednesday – No Family Night this week – but we’ll be back together on the 29^th – see you then

Thursday – 1:30pm Caps of Love send off at St Leo University – Come and join the festivities connected with sending off the Caps of Love

Thursday – 4:00pm Volunteers are meeting in the pavilion on the east side of Zephyr Park to help feed the homeless. If you have been looking for a way to help serve the Lord, this may be your answer. It’s amazing what a blessing this can be.

Sunday – 8:30am – Trinity’s Traditional Service – Come and be a part of the traditional hymns and worship

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for those attending the Contemporary Service – Meets in the Discovery Room (kids) and Agape Room (adults) of the Education Bldg.

Sunday – 10:00am Sunday School for those who attended the Traditional Service – Meets in the previous office space in the Education Bldg. 

Sunday – 10:30am Trinity’s Contemporary Service in the Annex – Come and be a part of the contemporary music and worship.

Good Morning,

This morning you are receiving 2 scripture readings to consider during the day. Sunday I spoke of God’s test for Abraham and Abraham’s faith that God’s test would be to the glory of God. There’s should be no doubt that Abraham had a very special relationship with God. It was a relationship though that was not built overnight. There were many trials, tribulations and stormy seas that went into building that special bond between God and one of His children. Your first scripture reading today is Genesis 12: 1 – 3 to understand that the journey God had planned for Abraham started first with a single step of faith. Do you have a faith that allows that first step in the journey or will your faith keep you home. Here is your next scripture reading and devotion.

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1-4

Some believers are plagued by feelings of condemnation. Either they think they’ll never live up to God’s expectations for them or they’re nearly drowning in guilt over past sins. These men and women cannot seem to shake the sense that God is displeased with their puny efforts at being Christ like.

The book of Romans confronts this lie head-on: “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). When the Savior went to the cross on our behalf, He lifted the blame from our shoulders and made us righteous before God. Those feelings of condemnation do not belong to us; they are from Satan. He amplifies our guilt and feelings of inadequacy and then suggests that’s how the Lord feels about His “wayward child.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Our sins are wiped clean, and we are chosen and loved by God.

(John 3:36). Sin is a death sentence (Rom. 6:23). Anyone who chooses to cling to sin instead of seeking divine forgiveness must pay the penalty, which is an eternity separated from God. Two synonyms of condemn are ‘denounce’ and ‘revile.’ Those words certainly describe Jesus’ statement to unbelievers in Matthew 25:41

There is no condemnation for those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. The believer’s penalty for sin is paid, and he can stand blameless before God. Trust in the Lord’s love and let go of Satan’s lie. God’s beloved children are covered by His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30pm Family Night in the Annex – great time for family of all ages

Wednesday – 7:00pm Choir practice

Saturday – Before you go to bed remember to turn your clocks back 1 hour

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for all ages. We have a class for you to get involved with.

Sunday – 10:15am Come and Worship with us

Prayer for Christians to Vote

 Dear Father, we do not take lightly what You have done in our nation. We appreciate not only the right but the privilege we have to vote. We pray that we as well as others, will use that privilege wisely, seeking Your will as we consider the qualifications of those for whom we are to vote. 

We pray for our Christian family (the body of Christ) that they would see the right to vote as a gift from your hand and avail themselves of this opportunity. 

May there arise such a force of righteousness in our electoral system that it would affect every realm and level of government in our nation.

 We pray in Jesus’ name that the powers that be would gain a profound respect not only for the political strength of the Christian community but for our spiritual influence in our nation as well.

 We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Hope you are having a great morning and an even better week. Enjoy your cooler weather and lower humidity knowing the Lord has brought both to you. Remember to worship Him and thank Him daily. Here’s your scripture and devotion for the week.

Your pathway to joy in any circumstance                       By Jack Graham

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

>Romans 12:12

What do you think is the one thing that really brings about joy and passion in our lives? I’ll tell you this: It’s not money. Money can get people going, but it won’t make them live with passion. I’d also say it’s not happiness. It doesn’t matter how happy someone is… happiness alone is a dead end road.

Christians

But in Christ, we have a blessed and joyful hope that death isn’t the end. And it’s not a hope that wishes… it’s an eager expectation based upon a sure promise. It’s not just pie in the sky; it’s as sure as it can be!

Frankly, I talk with many people whose hope has run out. They’ve stopped believing in God’s promises and, as a result, have lost the joy that comes with the Christian life. Don’t lose hope. Cling to God’s every promise, and you’ll discover joy that goes beyond any circumstance!

KEEP YOUR EAGER HOPE IN THE PROMISES OF GOD, AND YOU’LL DISCOVER JOY THAT GOES BEYOND ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30pm Family Night in the Annex – Great time for the whole family

Friday – 4:00 – 7:00pm Trinity’s Most Fabulous Fish Fry – Bring your friends and enjoy the best fish fry in town. $7.00

Saturday – 4:30pm – 7:00pm Trunk or Treat at the Avalon Park West Clubhouse. Bring your car and your candy and set up with us at the Avalon Clubhouse. It’s our chance to introduce Trinity to our new neighbors.

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for all ages – Come at get involved with a small group

Sunday – 10:15am Trinity’s Worship Service – Come and bring a friend.

National Protection

 Most High God, we come to You in the name of Jesus, asking for divine protection for the people of this nation. We pray for the safety of every man, woman and child. Keep us from harm’s way and provide protection from plans of destruction that our enemies have plotted. Stop strategies destruction that our enemies would try to evoke.

Give wisdom, understanding and discernment to those who provide protection. Help us to be watchful and alert to signs of wrongdoing.

Provide insight to national and local authorities on ways to guard, defend and insure the safety of all American citizens both at home and abroad. Help us to unite with government leaders and law enforcement personnel in making this country a safe place to live, work and play; allowing Americans to enjoy freedom without fear.

We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

Good Morning Everyone,

God has blessed us with another day, let’s be glad and rejoice in it. I hope you all are having a great week. I’m looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday. Here is your scripture and devotion for the week.

When You Hate Valentine’s Day 

by Amy Carroll

“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18 (NIV)

I remember the year I skipped Valentine’s Day and created my own personal boycott. I glared at cards and roses in the store as I shopped, snorted at commercials with lovey-dovey messages, turned my head away from couples holding hands and built a wall of protection around my aching heart.

Just months before I stared uncomprehendingly across the table as my first love and fiancé repeated his previous sentence, “I just don’t know if I can be faithful to you for the rest of our lives.”

Suddenly, I felt an unfamiliar feeling. Instead of being drawn to this man, I had the overwhelming need to flee. My ears heard my mouth form the words, “Then I guess I can’t marry you,” as I stood and walked out of the student union.

In the exhaustion of mid-finals study, my tired mind and thudding heart could hardly grasp what had just happened. Not only had I allowed myself to love deeply and completely, but I was convinced marrying that man was God’s plan for me.

Until that moment. When it all shattered.

Where once I felt loved, I now felt rejected. Where once I felt secure, I felt rocked. Where once I felt sure of my happy future, I now felt lonely and unsure of myself.

The despair lasted for months; the fog just wouldn’t lift. I kept trying to fix things, but the relationship was too broken. Still, I couldn’t seem to move on.

I continued my regular activities with a plastic smile to cover my broken heart. I even went to church and kept going through the spiritual motions, but instead of turning to God for healing, I withdrew inside.

One night, alone in my apartment, I felt God drawing me. At first I resisted. Finally, with a sense of dread (I was convinced God was angry with me for pushing Him away), I lay flat on my bedroom with my face to the floor. Waiting for God’s wrath, I experienced in a way I’ve never felt before or since, the overwhelming, physical presence of God’s love. He surrounded me, enveloped me, comforted me and began healing me.

Maybe you’re facing Valentine’s Day this year without that loving feeling. Maybe you’ve been betrayed by a friend, rejected by someone you love or rocked by a bad romance.

Can I gently remind you of an important truth? A truth that made all the difference to me?

If you are God’s child, you are involved in the greatest love story ever created. Jesus created you, knows you inside and out, and loves you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. You can celebrate love this year just like everyone else, knowing that you’ve got a deeper understanding than anything that’s advertised or on the shelves in a store.

Twenty-seven years later, I think back to those devastating days with a wry smile. The younger version of myself, who thought that things couldn’t get better, has walked through the hurt into a future that has turned out to be bright — not perfect, but definitely joyful.

Jesus was there through every painful step of those early days of break-up, and He truly used heartbreak to do good things in me. Although I couldn’t see it then, God, in His infinite goodness, was there cupping His loving hands around my broken heart and shaping something beautiful. Even if you can’t see or feel that healing at work, I can confidently tell you He’s doing it for you even now.

God, I come to You shattered and brokenhearted but with a heart full of faith. I believe You not only can heal me but You can turn this despair into joy. You can use my healed hurt to make me more compassionate. I pray You would give me the determination to celebrate Your love story this Valentine’s Day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (NIV)

Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (NKJV)

Announcements:

Wednesday

Wednesday

Wednesday

Sunday

Sunday

Tuesday

Good Morning Trinity,

I hope you are all having a blessed week. I pray you are all lifting Trinity in your prayer times. Remember our God hears the prayers of the righteous. Go to Him with all your cares and concerns. Here is your devotion for the week.

Inexcusable

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The second chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is a dark, sad passage, but it opens the door to the richest blessing the human heart can contain: salvation by grace.

The opening words: “Therefore thou art inexcusable,” are blunt indeed, but God exposes our sinful condition only so as to save us from it.

This is where most philosophies and the Bible clash head-on. Most philosophies close their eyes to the sinful nature of man. They argue, generally, that man is inherently good, while overwhelming evidence bears witness that he is inherently bad. Therefore human philosophy offers no salvation from sin and its just penalty. Only the Bible does this with its “gospel [good news] of the grace of God.”

In Paul’s day the Greek philosophers condemned the uncivilized pagans for their open immorality and wickedness. But while preaching virtue these moralizers themselves practiced vice, and God said:

“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemns thyself; for thou that judges does the same things” (Rom. 2:1).

It is the same today. Multitudes of self-righteous people are outwardly cultured and moral, but they forget that God looks upon the heart and sees hate as murder, jealousy as theft and the lustful look as adultery. He considers, not what we do, outwardly, but what we desire to do or wish we dared to do. He sees the desires and motives of the heart.

But thank God, “Christ died for sinners” — guilty sinners, and all who come to God by faith in Christ are “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

“Inexcusable,” or “justified freely by His grace,” through faith in the Christ who died for our sins? Which will it be?

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30pm Family Night – come on out and enjoy the fun

Saturday – 8am Boy Scouts Yard Sale at Trinity – Come out and support our Scouts

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for all ages. Try it out and see why these classes are growing

Sunday – 10:15am Worship At Trinity – Bring a friend and enjoy this time together with the Lord

Tuesday – 12:00pm & 7:00pm Bible Study on the Rapture Revelation.

Good Morning Trinity,

I hope you all having a wonderful week. As busy as we all seem to be, I hope you will take time to do 2 things. Number one to thank the Lord for all that is in your life, great and small. Number 2 is to reach out to someone who may not be as fortunate as you. Being less fortunate is not always a matter of finances, it can also refer to someone who is lonely. Maybe you know someone who is just going through a tough time in their life. Let them know the comforting hand of Jesus Christ reaches to all in need. Here is your scripture reading for this week.

Daniel 1: 3 – 17

I think we all at one time or another have had to make a decision to either follow the crowd or not. It’s not a decision for only the young to make but a decision we find ourselves having to make regardless of age. So in fact age has nothing to do with it. We’ve seen comedy skits on television before when someone has to make a decision and there is a devil sitting on their shoulder telling them to “go ahead do it nobody will know.” Of course on the other shoulder you have an angel saying “don’t listen to him you know it’s not right.” Remember Flip Wilson, “the devil made me do it”? Now some of you are asking “what’s a Flip Wilson”? Showing my age again.

It would have been easier for Daniel to have eaten the delicacies provided for himself and the others who were being trained to be servants for the king of Babylon. But as scripture says “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.” Today Daniel would be called one of those stick in the mud Christians. Fact is though, Daniel was only following the dietary laws given him by the Lord. Daniel wasn’t trying to be a “holier than thou” kind of guy, he was standing for something he believed in. Maybe I should say it this way, he was standing for Someone he believed in.

I think it’s an old saying and maybe I’m not quoting it correctly but this does fit, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” If you haven’t had to take a stand for Jesus there will come a time when you will have to make that decision. Do you go against what you know is right to follow a crowd and not be singled out as a “stick in the mud”? When someone tells a joke about Jesus do you laugh with the crowd or voice your displeasure? People get all bent out of shape when you tell a political joke in the wrong company, but when did someone ever show that same displeasure over a joke about the One who gave His life for you.

When you read the Book of Daniel it is so interesting to see how God used Daniel in a mighty way and blessed him for his faithfulness. But the Lord never would have used him if Daniel had decided to become one of the crowd. Sometimes you have to stand apart.

God Bless,

Pastor Dave

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30 Family Night begins. This week we are having a special baptism service. Don’t miss it.

Friday – 4:00 – 7:00 Trinity’s Most Awesome Fish Fry in the fellowship Hall. Why don’t you treat a friend to a fish fry?

Sunday – 9:00 Sunday School for all ages. Come and be a part of these growing classes

Sunday – 10:15 We Worship Together. Come and join us and be a part of a growing family

Tuesday – 12:00 and 7:00 Bible Study in the Agape Room – Great class, come and be a part of it

Good Morning Trinity,

Hump day is here at last. You know the rest of the week is a downhill slide right into the weekend. Then you get to sleep in a little bit on Saturday morning. You’ll notice I didn’t say anything about sleeping in on Sunday morning because you have to be up bright and early to go to Sunday school at 9am. I do hope you all are having a wonderful God filled week. The kind of week where everything just goes right and makes you feel like coming to church to thank God for the blessings in your life. But what if you’re not having that kind of week? Here is your scripture reading for the week.

Romans 8: 35 – 39

It doesn’t matter if you’re punching a clock so to speak or if you’re retired, we can all have good weeks and weeks when nothing seems to work out the way we planned. Maybe it’s through those rough weeks that we realize we are not in control of our surroundings like we thought we were. That can be a rude awakening for some of us.

But listen, maybe through that rough week you’ll realize that you have a lifeline. A lifeline that has been present from the moment you decided to trust Jesus with your life. Maybe you realized it in the beginning that He was there but as life went on and you got busy it was a fact that you kind of forgot. If you’ve already read the scripture reading, read verses 38 and 39 again. It’s a powerful promise that the God who created you has made to you, because He knew you would have days or weeks that just made you feel like you were in this life alone. I think you need to realize how important you are to Him.

God Bless,

Pastor Dave

Announcements:

Wednesday – 6:30pm Family Night starts with fun games and singing. Fun for the whole family so come and join us.

Thursday – 7:00pm Cantata “On A Hill Too Far Away” Bring your friends and be blessed by a great performance

Sunday – 9:00am Sunday School for all ages. Start your day off right

Sunday – 10:15am Worship begins – It’s Easter Sunday so bring your friends to church

Notice: We are looking for donations to purchase the sheetrock (wallboard) for the new wall in the fellowship hall. Cost per sheet is $11.00 and if you would be interested in helping it would be greatly appreciated. Call the office and let them know you would like to help or see Dick Hewitt in church this Sunday. Thank you.