Wesleyan’s and Global Justice

Several new initiatives have begun in the Wesleyan Church which include college students and the opportunity to minister to those who are suffering from human trafficking.  Check out the following links for more information on what is happening:

IWU Students Help Fight Trafficking

Wesleyan’s Stand Against Trafficking

Seven47 Wrap-up

Seven47 comes to a close for the Spring semester and finished in style.  For the last three weeks, we have been meeting at the Gray Barn in Upland, IN and had a wonderful time.  Thanks to all the students who led in worship and participated in this new venture.  Production is already happening on next fall’s seven47 series at College Wesleyan.  All students and incoming freshmen will be invited to a social event on September 6th to “get to know” each other and celebrate the new school year.  We will kick-off seven47 Sunday nights on the 13th of September and will be planning once-a-month Saturday services in Upland beginning with the 19th of September.  Hope everyone has a great summer.  Please stay in touch on our facebook group (747) and if you are in the area, join our College Wesleyan 20thirty Window for a young adult connection!

God Bless,

Pastor Thad

Me to We Day

If you are looking for something significant and life-changing to do on Saturday, May 9th and are in the Marion area, I want to invite you to our first Me to We seminar.  We will be discussing the major soul shifts in a person’s life and how it affects your involvement and future with the church.  The FREE seminar begins at 9 am at JC Bodyshop and will be over no later than 3 pm.  All materials, food and refreshments are provided.  More than 25 young adults are already signed up for this event and we would love for you to join us.

To sign up prior to Saturday, please email sarah.westfall@collegewes.com!

Pastor Thad

Seven47 Comes to Upland

Starting Sunday, April 26th, Seven47 is relocating to Upland.  Rides from IWU are available and a shuttle will be leaving at 7:15 pm from College Wesleyan Church.

The location is the Grey Barn (168 South Second Street, Upland, IN)

Service starts at 7:47 pm

Worship, Interactive Study, Communion, and Fellowship!

Everyone is welcome to join us!

Jason

The words of Jesus in John 6:35 says, “I am the bread of life.” I always thought it was interesting that they use a piece of food to describe Jesus, but then I realized what it meant to be the bread. Bread was a staple food in the New Testament, more so than it is today. Everyone fixed it for every meal, sometimes all they had to eat was bread. So to call Jesus the “Bread of Life” it is saying that you need Him daily, sometimes all you need is Jesus. There are many things you can fast from such as electronics, television, e-mail, your little brother; but most people fast from food. Food is something that everyone needs to survive, when you go without it for a few days you start to really understand the necessity of filling your stomachs with something to eat. You begin to long for it, you earn to fill up your fuel and stop having your stomach growling. You can apply the same principle to your daily walk with Christ, when you don’t have him everyday you start to fail; you aren’t as strong as you once were. Just as you long for food when you fast, you also long for God. This week as you fast, fill the time that you would normally be eating with God. Go to the Prayer Chapel to pray and read the Bible. Spend time with God, because He is what will fill you up and keep you from being hungry again!

Jason Stephens

Space Shuttles

Starting this Sunday, February 15th, seven47 will be providing transporation to and from Taylor University.  Jordan Oelshlager and Robert Hilson will be driving the shuttles, along with others who are being trained.  If you are interested in being a part of the seven47 community and live at Taylor or in the Upland, IN area be at the Dining Commons (DC) at Taylor University each Sunday night for a ride.  Vehicles will be in the parking lot across from the DC from 7:00 pm to 7:15 pm before leaving and will return between 9:15 pm and 9:30 pm.

Aaron

Hey everybody!  For those of ya who don’t know me, I’m Aaron Bither, a third year sports management major who can be very talkative so I’ll try to keep this short.  Pastor Thad preached about meekness this week and personally it really hit home for me.  I was a person who thought my plans were really important and that I was working towards those plans.  And then God had me transfer out here away from family and friends, which was soon followed by a not-so-nice knee injury that required surgery and my loss of ability to play sports (which was pretty much my life).

I’ve since realized how my plans don’t matter as much as God’s plan for my life.  This is where a gentle acceptance, also knows as meekness, comes in.  As Christ followers, we are called to become like Christ  Jesus us one of the best possible examples of meekness in Mark 14:35-36.  “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father’, he said, ‘everything is possible for You.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.’”

Christ did not want to go through the suffering needed for our sins, yet he was still willing to accept the Father’s decision.  It doesn’t mean that he gave up his power or that we will have to give up all of ours, but instead that it all goes under God’s control.

It takes a lot of time and effort to be able to pray to God and be able to accept what he says.  but in the end, it can be one of the most rewarding things done in life.  We should also spend some time in solitude for our prayers, because I don’t know about you but I personally have a hard time just stopping to pray while others are around.

I want to leave ya with one quick question, “When will you be able to spend some quality time talking with God?”

Aaron Bither

Meekness

Many people asked for the full Serenity Prayer and the information for the prayer beads, so here goes:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen. –Reinhold Niebuhr

The information for the prayer beads is as follows:

http://www.solitariesofdekoven.org/Prayer_beads.html

May prayer become a habitude of yours!

PT

Robert

Confession – Well I should probably start this out by confessing that I am super late writing this blog. I told Pastor Thad that I would do it Monday night…..and its now Saturday morning. In all honesty I don’t have much deep insight on this topic because I’m not too good at it myself.  I do know this though, I sin everyday, and everyday Jesus Christ covers my sin. The least I can do is own up to mistakes and confess to him my sins. His love covers me, his blood cleanses me, and his grace delivers me.

Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.“

Robert Hilson

Chris

Confession and Repentance typed by Christopher Lash but inspired by God

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Yunno, confession is a hard thing to do in this day and age. We, as Americans, are taught to keep everything hidden. Our culture tells us that when we sin or do something wrong, we should try to put it out of our minds. But, trying to forget our sins ends up just hurting us in the long run. Unconfessed sin just leads to destruction. We start to believe that we can handle everything on our own and we do not need God. This train of thought is not what God wants for His children whom He loves. He wants us to live every day to the fullest. But how can we do that when feel so bogged down by the sin that easily entangles us? The solution, as given in scripture, is confession. Guilt is a powerful thing that is brought on by the Holy Spirit. God wants us to confess our sins so that he can purify us from all unrighteousness. This is done by telling God the sins that we have done wrong and asking him to purify us. We need to want to be purified in the refiners fire. I am out of shape. I need to go to the Rec Center. I can confess that I need to go to the Rec center to work out more, but unless I actually change my ways, my confession for wanting to go to the gym does not really matter. The next step after confession is repenting. Repentance is seeking to change the wrongful behavior. So just as I confessed that I needed to go to the gym, the repentance is really what mattered. I needed to actively seek and change my harmful behavior (of just sitting on the couch eating Twinkies). We need to confess and repent. We need to tell Jesus that we are sorry for our sins and ask for forgiveness. Then we need to actively turn away from the sin. Turning away from the sins requires discipline and determination. It takes discipline and determination to do devotionals every day. It takes discipline and determination to resist temptation. It takes discipline and determination to seek God in all you and lean on Him all the time.

Meditate on these questions: What sins have I not confessed? Have I moved into the zone where I have actively sought to change my behavior? Do I dive into God’s word every day? Am I in a constant state of prayer? When was the last time I honestly poured my heart out to God and earnestly sought His forgiveness? Remember that Jesus loves you and there is always forgiveness. Through your confession also remember “Sin remembered fondly has not been truly forsaken.”

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” Proverbs 2:23 (NIV)

Chris Lash