Join a Growth Group in January!

January is the perfect time to be a part of a Growth Growth.
Pastor Rick Warren would like you to consider six reasons
to be a part of a small group.....

1. A Growth Group moves me out of a self-centered
isolation. It's a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic
love. It's a classroom for learning how to get along in
God's family. You learn how to care about others and
share the experiences of others. It's biblical! 1 Cor. 12:26,
Eph. 4:16, Rom. 12: 4-5, Col. 2:19, and 1 Cor. 12:25.

2. A Growth Group helps me develop spiritual
muscle. Being a passive spectator by just attending
worship services will never help us grow to spiritual
maturity. Eph. 4:16 tells the story. If you want to
develop your spiritual muscles be sure to give them
a regular workout by participating in a small group!
Isolation breeds self-deception because we go
unchallenged. Real maturity shows up in relationships.

3.  A Growth Group confirms my identity as a 
genuine believer.  "I can't claim to be following
Christ if I'm not committed to any specific group of
disciples." John 13:35, Gal. 3:28, John 17:21
1 Cor. 12:27 When we come together in love as a
small group from different backgrounds, it's a witness
to the world.

4. A Growth Group is the best way to share my
God-given mission to the world. Think of the model
that Jesus shared with us. Even he had a small group.
Together, we are to spread and share the Good News.
We are his hands, feet, eyes and heart. Eph. 2:10.

5. A Growth Group will keep me from spiritually
backsliding. We help to keep each other on track.
Hebrews 3:13 tells us to 'Encourage one another
daily...so that none of you may be hardened by
sin's deceitfulness.'

6. The Body of Christ needs me! God has a unique
role for each of us to play in his family. This is called
your 'ministry' and God has gifted each of us for
this assignment. 1 Cor. 12:7. Your Growth Group is
the place God designed for you to discover, develop
and use your spiritual gifts and talents.

Micah 6:8 Shoe Box Style

We've come a long way over the years with
our shoe box numbers and our strategy to get
the job done but one thing that has never changed
is the blessings shared and received for the
givers and the receivers!

This year two Growth Groups joined together to
complete our Micah 6:8 projects. We inspected,
sorted, and packed more than 400 shoe boxes,
donated by members of New Life Church,
to be delivered for Operation Christmas Child.

 

 This year we ordered the official Go Boxes and they
 certainly made things so much easier than when
 we first started back in 2001 raiding our closets
 for available shoe boxes to fill and wrap!

Through people's cash donations and bags of
extra goodies, we work filling lots of additional
boxes.

Samaritan's Purse shipping cartons have really
helped with the packing for shipping. Our guys did
a great job assembling, packing and tracking our shoe
box count! By the time we finished, we had filled 28
cartons with 428 shoe boxes from the New Life
Church family and friends.

Check out our teams at work!

Friday morning a new team gathered at church to
load the trailer for delivery!

They may look a bit young but let me assure
you, they are strong and very eager to help!
This special team is Pastor Paul and Ann's
 grandchildren visiting from Costa Rica!

The trailer fully loaded, we all headed out to make
our final delivery for the season.

A special 'Thank you' to everyone who helped us
make this another great success. Each shoebox
if filled with so much more than mere toys, treats
and school supplies. Each box is filled with love,
the love of the person who packed it and the love
of God! It doesn't get any better than that!

Paraphrase It!

The members of our Growth Group are sharing an
exciting adventure together and we're seeing people
change and grow right before our very eyes! Last night
we watched with delight as God continued His great
work in a member of our group during our discussion
time while learning about the Paraphrase method
of Bible meditation. As we read  Hebrews 4:12 over
and over again, thinking about what God was saying to
each of us and putting it into our own words, we
witnessed as God spoke to one gal's very pressing and
personal needs and provided comfort, and reassurance
that He is always with her, at her side, no matter what!
Watching her catch this message that was so personal to
her was inspiring. We Listened as she prayed aloud,
feeling safe and accepted. After a while longer as we
hugged and said our 'good-byes', we agreed that we
are thankful for the opportunity to spend time getting to
know one another and God so much better!
By the way, I checked in with our 'gal' today and she is
still 'pumped' by the work that God did in her last night!
We are truly blessed!

Probe It!

One of the things that I love about this Rick Warren study
of '40 Days in the Word' is the weekly introductory information
like last weeks' teaching about how to enjoy 'quiet time'
with the Lord! This week our memory verse James 1:22
sets the stage as we learn that Bible study without application
in our lives is dangerous! You read right, it's dangerous
because it can lead to pride and arrogance.
Applying the Bible is hard work but the Holy Spirit
provides the strength, determination and will power
needed to press through to apply the truth and make
the needed adjustments in our own lives."The challenge
in Bible application is to discover the eternal
truths that never change, and then apply them in a world
that is always changing."

The Probe It! method of Bible meditation by applying
S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S.questions.....
S- Is there a sin to confess?
P- Is there a promise to claim?
A- Is there an attitude to change?
C- Is there a command to obey?
E- Is there an example to follow?
P- Is there a prayer to pray?
E- Is there an error to avoid?
T- Is there a truth to believe?
S- Is there something to praise God for?

Write down your thoughts and applications! Notice
that every phrase in S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S.  contains a
verb! That means that we're expected to take action!

What a Team!

Meet our Growth Group team for the fall 2012 quarter!

You might recognize some familiar faces and notice some new ones!

L to R: Paul & Pam Gionet, Kristi McIntyre, Darlene Ouellette,
Brian & Laurie Babcock, Sally Dyer and Danielle Caron.

Last week we met new Believer and Kristi's beau
Colonel Ryan Voss! Colonel (his name)  joined us for the
first time! Welcome Colonel and Congratulations for your
your new life in Christ!

Our study of Rick Warren's '40 Day...' has really been exciting!
We're learning lots and enjoying great discussions. All Growth
Groups have been challenged to complete a Micah 6:8 project
and we are excited to once again fill, sort and pack shoe boxes
for Operation Christmas Child. I'll post pictures after our
Dedication Sunday, early in November!

' Picture It'

I love surprises, don't you? Though 'Picture It' is the focus of the second method of Bible meditation, Pastor Warren surprised us by starting this weeks' session with how to best enjoy Quiet Time with God. Our Growth Group discussion revealed that carving out the time each and every day to read and study the Word was often a real challenge for us, so we appreciated the simple plan Pastor Warren provided. "Seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Rev. 6:33. What does that mean to you? The word seek is so important because it directs us to make drawing close to God our #1 priority and it implies that we need to take action.

God deserves and desires our devotion! As we turn to God and give Him our devotion, we get direction, we gain delight in God and we grow more like God! Have you struggled with quiet time? It seems that once my feet hit the floor every morning, my day can take on a life of it's own so I have made a daily commitment to dive into the Word early while enjoying my first cup of coffee before the phone starts ringing and I begin working on my To Do list. What's your Quiet Time action plan? Don't have one? Why not start today?

I love this this simple plan for Quiet Time! If this is new to you, start small 5-10 minutes!
* Wait on God (quiet and still)
* Pray briefly (short opening prayer)
* Slowly read a section of Scripture (aloud if possible)
* Meditate and memorize
* Write down what God shows you
* Have your time of prayer

The 'Picture It" method of Bible meditation works best when you're reading a narrative, story or parable. Imagine what the scene looked like and try to see yourself as one of the active participants. What would I be thinking about and feeling as the scene played out? What character do I identify with? What is God saying to me and what does He want me to do?  When finished meditating about this, jot down your thoughts, observations, questions and any other action steps you need to take.

I hope that you're enjoying the techniques being shared in this series as they reveal how we can each enjoy a very close, personal experience with God!

Posted by:
Sally Dyer

The Start of Our 40 Day Journey

Welcome to our Growth Group blog. If it's your first ever visit or your first visit in a while, why not take a look around? You'll discover a wide variety of postings dating back to 2009! Our blog has provided us with a perfect way to share our memories of special occasions like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, service projects, study topics and so much more. We'd love to read your Comments! It's easy! Type your comment, along with your name, in the box provided at the end of my post. Comment as Anonymous. Hit Preview just in case you'd like to make any edits, then Publish.

Over the next few weeks, we'll detail information about the '40 Day Journey'. Pastor Rick Warren says that "No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than to study and act upon God's Word." We'll learn six techniques of  Bible meditation to increase our knowledge as we study the Bible and we hope that you'll check in here regularly to get an update. This last Friday, we started Session One PRONOUNCE IT! The memory verse  for Week One is "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. " Colossians 3:16a . Pastor Rick Warren, through a DVD, tells us that "the ultimate purpose of the Bible is not to inform us, it is to transform us. God doesn't want us to just be hearer's of the Word, He wants us to be doers of the Word- living gospels- sharing the good news of Jesus Christ not only in our words, but in our lives." The 'Pronounce it" method of Bible meditation is simple. Why not try it? Read this weeks memory verse over and over again, but emphasize each word in the verse one at a time. After each word, stop and write down your thoughts, even if it's just a word or two. Now look at your life through the lens of this verse. How does this truth apply to your life today? After you have thought about an application, write it down. Then finish your time by talking to God about what He said to you in His Word.

 During the next 40 days, strive to spend quiet time with God every day and love, learn and live God's Word!

Posted by Sally Dyer
Group Ministry Coach

Battle Road

Charlie and I were both born and raised here and have
lived our entire lives just a few short minutes drive from
where the American Revolution started back in 1775!
So when Austin started sharing his love of American history,
it was a tour that we just had to take! Though Battle Road has
undergone many changes since 1775, the 20 miles of winding,
hilly roads, even today, still follows generally the same route,
passing sites of some of the bitterest fighting and historical
buildings nearby.

Our first stop was at the Minute Man Visitor Center where
we enjoyed a multimedia theater program called "The Road
To Revolution". It introduced us to the story depicting Paul
Revere's Ride and the battles at Lexington Green, North
Bridge, and along Battle Road. Honestly, it was one of the
very best parts of all of the tours that we enjoyed.

The home of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell and their
children was a prosperous farm and tavern. Travelers
to and from Boston stopped and shared the latest
news of the day. On April 19, 1775 the British soldiers
marched proudly by on their way to Concord, but they
returned under heavy fire.

So many things reminded us of our own house! We are
priviledged to live in the Hildreth House, a historic house
in Lunenburg, MA. Though it was built originally
to serve as a grain storage warehouse, it was moved
to it's current location right after the Civil War!
The  front of the Hartwell Tavern and the Hancock-Clarke
House and the kitchens reminded us of our own house. Our
living room fireplace with the bee hive oven to the side of the main
fireplace, the crane for the cooking pots and even the
little cabinet door just above the fireplace mantle are
just like the kitchen pictured from the Hartwell Tavern.

Check out this spectacular stone wall! These served
a real purpose in establishing the boundaries of their
property as they cleared the land for farming. With the
addition of the wooden fencing it served as an
effective corral!

Volunteer reenactors are an important of the
park programs and they bring life to the minute-
men who defended life and liberty! Believing that
a full-time army was a threat to their liberties, the
colonists relied upon part-time militia for their
defense. By 1775 many Massachusetts towns had
recruited from among their militia elite companies
of 'minute men' ready to march at a 'minute's'
notice. They were very well trained and many had
fought along side the 'regulars' during the French
and Indian War and they were also paid for their
service!

In my last posting, I commented that Austin was
a bit overwhelmed during his visit here by the hilly
countryside and trees, trees and more trees everywhere!
We were reminded by each tour guide and park ranger
that these trees didn't exist back then! It was all farm land!
Amazing! Austin would have felt a bit more at home then, I think.

Watch for the next posting: Buckman Tavern 1710, Hancock-
Clarke House 1737 and the Munroe Tavern 1735!

Sally
.

Our Guest from A Different World

Earlier this Summer, Charlie and I had the chance to open our
home to Austin Westlake, who traveled across country to serve as
an intern at New Life Church. Austin was excited and perhaps a
bit nervous about coming to NE but he wanted his internship
to be a time when he would be stretched and experience many
things that he'd never learn in a classroom.

Austin took on a wide variety of assignments and two of his
projects that garnered front page coverage in the local newspaper
involved installing 6,300 American flags on the front yard of the
church to celebrate Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

When Austin wasn't working on a project at church, he
could likely be found in his favorite spot, the screen
porch out behind our barn! As an avid reader, I think he
read an average of one book a week!

Though, as an intern, Austin was able to experience most
aspects of pastoral ministry and spent countless hours
in the church office doing whatever was asked of him,
our time spent with him was family time! He had fun learning
to cook with Charlie. He tasted his first and last steamed clam
but loved  his first taste of lobster. 

As Austin's 12 weeks with us was coming to an end
it was time for the guys to check the car's readiness
for the trip back to Missouri.

Charlie explained how to change the oil and replace the oil
filter.

And to repair the regular and persistent slow leak
in a car tire.

Meet Austin's fiance Lauren! He proposed  this week
and she accepted. Though we didn't have a chance to get to
know her, we enjoyed  her short stay before they headed
back to Central Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri!

Oh, you might wonder why the title, A Guest from
A Different World?  From Austin's perspective, he was
coming to a part of the country filled with hills, trees and
windy roads! Even our weather was strange to him, especially
in May when it was colder and wetter than usual. Everything
was different! 

Charlie and I were hopeful when we said 'Yes' to opening
our home! Austin was an answer to prayer and we look
forward to staying in touch!

Watch for another posting! We spent lots of time touring
Lexington & Concord's Battle Road , the Minuteman Museum and lots more!

Stephen Ministry Sweet Fun

What fun! Yesterday, most of our Stephen Ministry class
met at Cherry Hill Ice Cream for a time of fun, relaxation
and of course some great ice cream! Our very own 'Action'
Jackson organized this 'first' outing and what fun we had!

You can see by the smiles that everyone came
with a good appetite and Jackson ( R side green shirt)
was our organizer in chief and cheer leader!
Thanks Jackson for the tasty treat!

This group started out a little tentative and shy
but they have bonded and become real friends!
We are so excited about serving together for two
years (maybe more) and getting to spend time together socially.

Bernadette, Simon and I were surprised with a
thank you gift. Since I represented the leadership
team, I can only try to convey our delight in
working with and  training this group to serve as
Stephen Ministers! God has very special things
in store for each of them as they walk along beside
someone's who is hurting.

Life is sweet with so many wonderful people
we call 'friend'.

Our America's Birthday Celebration

When the 4th of July rolls around on the Summer calendar,
we know that it means that lots of us will be together again!
It's just something that we do! It's an interesting mix of long
time and new friends.The 4th this year was a really hot ,
muggy day but the pool provided plenty of relief and
lots of fun!

Check it out for yourself!

Great fun!