February 2013

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“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17).

In the 1960’s, Time magazine reported that a subcommittee of the US Senate was formed to discuss the topic of time management. After some time of researching the matter they were worried that with advances in technology the

biggest problem by the end of the century would be what people would do with all their free

time. They suggested that workers would have to work less hours or how many weeks a year they

worked or else they would start retiring earlier. After a little more than fifty years we can all

agree that the projections were not accurate or not even close. Today the average work week is

about 46 hours. So where has all the free time gone? Our biggest issue today isn’t that we don’t know what to do with our “free time” rather that

we are tired of being tired.Sooner than later we all need to learn how

to experience rest. We know that if we need physical rest we can always go to bed earlier or

take a nap. If emotional rest is what we need, we can always take a couple of days off. But

how do we find rest for a troubled heart? Where do we find relief regarding the problems that

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the Pa

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Tired of being Tired?

constantly weigh on our minds even after a nap or a vacation?Jesus presented the source for physical, emotional and spiritual rest 2,000 years ago and it is still available today. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). When Jesus said these words he was thinking of his disciples, the multitude who was present that day and yes, he was also thinking of you! He can see today a distressed and broken heart, the loss of hope, those who try to fill the void with earthly desires, and He calls you and me to find rest in Him.The “weary and burdened” that Jesus mentioned aren’t those who are physically tired but those who “weary” of soul and mind, which really causes one to be burdened with care. The biggest burden that humanity has carried over time is sin. This “burden” has caused us the freedom to speak to God face to face. It has caused families, friends, communities and nations to live without rest since Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden. Its greatest purpose is for humanity to be separated from the only source of rest, Jesus. This “burden” since Cane and Able has also fooled us into thinking that we can earn the rest that God gives. Cain believed that by bringing to God the best that his hands could labor he would receive rest. The pharisees taught that if you kept all of their man made laws God would give one rest. But the more people tried to keep all these laws on their own, the heavier the “burdens’’ of sin were.Jesus is very clear in that we can’t receive rest or salvation by our works. Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). The only way to receive rest and salvation is by accepting the call that Jesus makes today. “Come to me, all you who are

WHAT iS YoUr CALLing?

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Col 4:15 KJV) Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in his house.

When we look at the above verse we read that there was a church in the house of a man named Nymphas. Nothing more is known of him and this

is the only verse in the Bible where he is mentioned. Now I started out this article with this one verse and this brother who is mentioned only

one time in the Bible to bring to light the fact that each of us can have a personal ministry in whatever realm we are empowered in by the Holy

Spirit. Every true Christian has a spiritual gift which means every Christian is empowered to perform a ministry in a certain area.

For too long, many Christians have relegated their spiritual gifts to the giving of money to an organization, including the church, but have

neglected the gift that is within them. Unfortunately, too many Christians are settled into the belief that if they give money to a ministry or a church, they have then done all they could to send forth the gospel. A good home church is not the end of your ministry but it should be

the beginning of your ministry. We meet on Saturday morning, not to complete our ministry but to get a spiritual boost in our ministry. I don’t

know about you, but I am spiritually refreshed when I leave church on Saturday morning. It is the time when we gather together to be

ministered to and be re-energized.Now there is nothing biblically wrong with giving money to a church or

ministry, but I want you to think from a different angle. Let us say there is a church with 500 saved people in it. Those 500 bring their tithes and

offerings into the church and that is all they do as fulfillment in their ministries. Now we have one pastor preaching the Gospel. This means that

500 people have relegated their ministry to one man but that ministry stays within the confines of the church building unless they have some

type of outreach. Now the point I am making is, if those 500 people would view themselves as being empowered by the Holy Spirit to do some

type of individual ministry, there would be 500 ministries in that church and not just one! Do you see what I am trying to get across?

It is the same situation with para-church ministries. Let us say there is a solid ministry on the radio and 5,000 people are giving faithfully each

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month. The preacher on the radio says that we are all banding together to get the Gospel out through his radio ministry, and that is true. However, 5,000 people have now relegated the Great Commission to one man instead of having 5,000 personal ministries to go into places radio preachers cannot. There is nothing that says we cannot have a personal ministry simultaneous with supporting our church or good, solid ministries.The lack of personal ministry is alarming. Christians seem to feel that once they write their check to a ministry or attend church, their obligation is done. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When did the Great Commission end? We sing that great Hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers” and one of the stanzas says, “Like a mighty army, moves the church of God.” WHERE IS THAT ARMY? Take a look at an army. You have a General commanding thousands of troops into battle. Now who does the fighting? Is it the General or the Troops? It is the troops! What Christians have done is instead of fighting in an army, they send the General into battle and the troops stay home. The parallel is that the thousands of Christians allow one pastor or radio preacher to do all the ministry, while they do nothing. Then they go to church and murmur and complain that the unbelievers are overtaking the church and country. With no opposition, it is easy to conquer!The time has come for Christians, especially in these last days, to halt the practice of consigning ministry to others. It is unfortunate, but many media ministries are falling by the wayside and are accepting ungodly religions as acceptable paths to Heaven. Too many of these media ministries are only out for the money and the main speakers are normally unqualified to be sole spokespeople for Christians. It is time for Christians to take back the fort and rebuild the army and move mightily. I do not find anything in Scripture where we are to transfer our responsibilities of evangelism totally to anyone else. That is nothing more than laziness and dereliction of duty. There is supposed to be 50 million Born Again Christians in the United States. That is approximately 1 out of every 6 people. You mean you don’t have the time to hand out 5 tracts?The Pastor or Elders cannot do your work for you. They are only one person each and they cannot get into places that you can. They can’t get into your work place, your places of leisure, or your extended family, or the streets of your town. I think you get the message that there is a ministry designed for every Christian. Christians need to reevaluate their involvement in reaching the masses for Christ. We have a mandate to go into all the world. If our physical boss tells us to do something, we would do it immediately or we would fear to get fired. Then how come the one who redeemed us for eternity gives us a commission and we neglect it. This is an indicator that we are more closely tied to this world than we want to admit. As a Christian, if you do not get involved with personal ministry, then what is your reason of existence? Think About it! When the Lord calls you home, what will you have to show for all those years on earth? Will you give Him a stack of TV Guides or Souls?

Elder; Fedly Prophete

March Birthdays

THIS MOnTH

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The Social committee is planning a game night and bake sale on March 24th. Bring you favorite game if you like. The bake sale will be raising funds for the Social Committee’s 2013 events. Volunteers are needed to help with set up, serving, supervising games, clean up ect. Please

On March 2nd north Valley will have the privilege of having Hugo Chinchay, Stewarship Department of the Potomac Conference, speak in the worship service and give a seminare in the evenign concering personal finance. All who wish to attend the seminar please contact Pr. Ramos

The Prayer Team would like to remind every one that there is an opportunity for prayer every Sabbath at 9:00 am at the front of the sanctuary. This is a time to prepare your heart for the Sabbath and lay the week that is behind you to rest.

There is also an opportunity for group intercessory prayer every Saturday evening to close the Sabbath from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The food pantry is very low and in need of replenishing. Please bring non-perishable canned or boxed food to help refill our pantry. If you would like to give a monetaray donation,please place your gift in a tithe envelope and mark it FOOD.Thank you for the help, and may God richley you for your generous gifts.The Community Service Team.

March Birthdays

Justin Ford 1

Mitchelle Whitacher 2

Tamara David 3

Laura Werachowiski 3

Stephanie Bacchus 3

Jonathan Lemarroy 4

Sue Smith 6

Henry Mullins 7

Katrina Black 11

Cheri Wills 11

Luther Deel 12

Ivy Cobb 12

Charles Lockhart 14

Rochelle Holenbach 17

Hubert wills 20

Jeff Hartless, Sr. 27

Nicholas Jones 27

Cindy Conner 31

In The RecIpe Box

Roasted Vegetable soup with heRb dumplings

Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and chop the butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, and sweet potato into 1-inch chunks. Cut the leeks into chunks. Peel and quarter the onion. Leave the garlic cloves unpeeled. Toss with enough olive oil to coat, plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of chile powder, if desired. Spread the vegetables evenly on two baking sheets. Roast until tender, 30-40 minutes. Squeeze the soft, roasted garlic from the skins. Working in batches, puree the vegetables in a blender, adding vegetable stock as necessary to achieve a smooth consistency. Transfer the puree to a large pot along with the remaining vegetable stock and the bay leaf. Season to taste, bring to a boil, and then simmer for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and rub with your fingers or a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the herbs. Add the milk and stir until combined. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough into the simmering soup. Cover the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. To serve, ladle soup and dumplings into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

diRections:

dumplings ingRedients:1 tablespoon f inely chopped marjoram1 tablespoon f inely chopped parsley1 tablespoon f inely chopped thyme1/2 cup milkChopped parsley, for garnish

1 cup f lour2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon kosher salt2 tablespoons chi l led butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 medium butternut squash3 carrots 2 medium parsnips1 sweet potato2 leeks, white and l ight green parts only1 yel low onion

soup ingRedients:4 cloves garl ic, unpeeledOlive oi lSaltPepperChile powder (optional)7 cups vegetable stock1 bay leaf

2B JOYFUL

In The Beginning Genesis Chapters 1 - 11

1 2 3

4 5 6

7

8 9 10

11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20

21

22

23 24 25

26

27 28

29

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

1 second son 5 first book 8 surrounded by river 9 grandson of oldest man

13 Ham was his father 14 symbol of God's promise 16 first home for first couple 17 author of first book 19 _______ was called heaven 20 a bird 24 ________ was upon the face of the deep 26 land where there is gold 27 first woman 28 first man 29 but Noah found ____ in the eyes of God

DOWN

2 let there be ______ 3 river flowing from the garden 4 Noah planted a ___________ 5 type of wood 6 a third son 7 first five books

10 Adam had _________ over the . . . 11 first son 12 ______ of good and evil 15 mountains 17 oldest man 18 first form of evil 21 walked with God 22 son of Noah 23 an _______ branch 25 where Cain dwelt

IN THE BEGINING

In The Beginning Genesis Chapters 1 - 11

1 2 3

4 5 6

7

8 9 10

11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20

21

22

23 24 25

26

27 28

29

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

1 second son 5 first book 8 surrounded by river 9 grandson of oldest man

13 Ham was his father 14 symbol of God's promise 16 first home for first couple 17 author of first book 19 _______ was called heaven 20 a bird 24 ________ was upon the face of the deep 26 land where there is gold 27 first woman 28 first man 29 but Noah found ____ in the eyes of God

DOWN

2 let there be ______ 3 river flowing from the garden 4 Noah planted a ___________ 5 type of wood 6 a third son 7 first five books

10 Adam had _________ over the . . . 11 first son 12 ______ of good and evil 15 mountains 17 oldest man 18 first form of evil 21 walked with God 22 son of Noah 23 an _______ branch 25 where Cain dwelt

Speaker Schedule for March

Mar. 16 - Pr. RamosMar. 23 - Rick Cooper

Mar. 2 - Pr. RamosMar. 9 - Fedly Prophete

FRom The edIToREveryone is welcome share comments and suggestions, birthday information or corrections,stories, quotes, recipes, puzzles, or jokesPlease send to: nvsdanews@gmail.com

The deadline for april’ newsleTTer is Tuesday, March 12Th.

Also you can find a copy of the newsletter on our church website at: www.northvalleysdachurch.com

March’S SunSet Schedule FRidaY satuRdaY

3 - 2 6:14 p.m.

3 - 9 6:21 p.m.

3 - 16 7:27 p.m.

3 - 23 7:34 p.m.

3 - 30 7:40 p.m.

3 - 1 6:13 p.m.

3 - 8 6:20 p.m.

3 - 15 7:26 p.m.

3 - 22 7:33 p.m.

3 - 29 7:39 p.m.