M A R C H 2 0 1 2

I f you think about it, they are pretty flowery words for a fisherman. We like the

apostle Peter for his rough edges and brash approach to life. So when he writes in

his second letter, “… he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so

that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature …” (2 Peter 1:4) we

are compelled to ask what transpired in Peter’s heart to put such words and thoughts

into the mind of an otherwise simple man. His transformation speaks to us and our lives

today.

There are many ingredients to a transformed life, so I’ll not attempt a comprehensive list.

Let’s try for three…

The most obvious thing that ‘happened’ to Peter is time. Almost 35 years had passed

since Peter witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus. That is a lot of time to examine your life. His

letters are evidence that God had been tempering Peter over the years.

Yet, time alone cannot bring about transformation. It must be accompanied by a heart that is meditating

on the work of God in our life. We see the boldness of Peter in his Pentecost preaching. What we don’t

see are the days when he meditated on his own life and saw ever more clearly the grace, love and truth of

God in light of his own failings. We don’t see the brokenness, the repentance and the tears. We don’t see

the days when the grace and joy of God washed over Peter.

When we get to verse 4, then, his flowery words of “precious and very great promises” begin to take on a

greater emphasis. Over those years and in the course of all that contemplation, the words of Jesus and

the promises of Scripture became life for Peter. As he wrote to those who were suffering for their faith,

he writes with all his heart, “God has given us His promises, trust them, trust Him!”

Peter’s words are a significant calling for us. He is calling us to know God’s Word, to meditate on His

promises, to let them wash over us over the years. The deeper the roots of God’s promises in our hearts,

the more profound our trust in God becomes. The stronger our faith, the more we participate in the

divine nature of God, as Peter says.

Need strength, wisdom, grace? Do you have a yearning to draw closer to the Lord, to experience His life?

Take the words of Peter to heart and begin to work the promises and Word of God into your life.

By Pastor Mike Sindelar

CONTINUES THROUGH MARCH 4 See page 7 for scheduled events!

N eed a complete list of God’s promises? That would be a long

list! Here are some promises to get you started. Use these

references to meditate on God’s Word. You can also use them in

your prayer life as specific prayers regarding your life or for those

you pray for. God enjoys having His Word prayed back to Him!

2 Corinthians 1:20, Ephesians 1:13, Hebrews 12:26–28, James 1:12,

James 2:5, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 16:11

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is

through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

(2 Corinthians 1:20, ESV)

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of

your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised

Holy Spirit,” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV)

“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,

“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the

heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of

things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in

order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore

let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and

awe,” (Hebrews 12:26–28, ESV)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he

has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has

promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12, ESV)

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are

poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which

he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5, ESV)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is

fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures

forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

The Promises of God By Pastor Mike Sindelar

P A G E 2

M y sense of competition is apparently hidden to some folks.

But it seemed to have come out into full view in a recent

game of Mad Gab at one of our Life Group meetings. Accusations

of lying and cheating became more and more vehement as the

game progressed. I didn’t realize it was such a revelation. We all

concluded at the end of the game that it would be better if we just

agreed that we are all winners. I couldn’t agree more – as long as

my team wins.

Our group has been meeting since last fall. Most of the time, we

have some great discussions using the sermon outline of the day.

Our discussions usually include lots of theological rabbit trails, but

we all agree that our time in the Word is rich.

The power of a Life Group is also seen in the time of talking about

life and then enjoying a time of prayer.

Fellowship, Word and prayer. It’s been a great combination for our

weekly Life Group. For those in our Life Group, we are realizing that

we are all winners!

**Would you like to be part of a Life Group? Just contact the

church office and let us know, we will contact you with small group

possibilities. Join with us in the adventure of living out our faith

together!

By Pastor Mike Sindelar

P A G E 3

I love my freezer. It allows me to stock up on meat when

it’s on sale. I can pull it out days, weeks, or months later,

grill it, and still enjoy its tasty qualities without getting sick.

I love nightlights. When I wake up in the middle of the night,

needing to grab a drink of water, or attend to some other

type of business, this little light allows me to get where I need

to be without stumbling around like a drunken idiot.

These two modern inventions are not only beneficial for us,

but serve as a practical example of what Jesus meant in

Matthew 5:13-16 when he told his followers to be salt and

light.

Before the modern invention known as the freezer, salt was

used as a preservative. So practically, Jesus is telling his

followers to preserve his name. Here we sit two thousand

years later talking about the wonder, glory, and salvation

provided by Jesus. It seems those early followers were

effective at preserving. They told people about Jesus.

Before electricity, they had fire! Flame lamps would light the

way in the dark, providing sight where there would otherwise

be no sight. Jesus tells the disciples that they are to be like

these lamps, providing light to a dark and confusing path. In a

culture where people are being led astray by foolish doctrine,

belief, and practices, the disciples were to serve others so the

world could see how the works of Jesus give abundant life.

Here we are two thousand years later striving to serve others

so they may see the wisdom of Jesus’ way of life. It seems

those early followers were effective lights in the darkness.

But for some reason, two thousand years later it seems that

many followers of Jesus are stuck with this mindset of either

being salt – telling others about Jesus, preserving His name,

holding fast to biblical morals, etc, or light – loving others,

helping those in need, showing compassion to those who are

Freezers, Nightlights, & the Gospel by Pastor Andrew Peterson

hurt or lost, etc. There seems too often to be a divide

between the two.

In Matthew 5, Jesus is clearly teaching that gospel

proclamation and gospel action go hand in hand. Verse 16

says, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see

your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” How will

our community know to praise God as a result of our works?

Because they’ve heard about his love from those doing the

work!

So church, are we talking about Jesus, as we serve others in

the name of Jesus? Let’s not forget this basic truth; we are to

be salt AND light. Both are necessary as we strive to make

the name of Jesus great in our surrounding communities.

P A G E 4

Exciting plans have been made to upgrade

our ministry facilities. Together with an up-

dated Mission and Vision for the future of

Valley Free, God is laying a solid foundation

for a new generation of ministry.

How can YOU be involved?

Pray Valley believes in and is dependent on

the power of prayer. Pray for dependence,

faithfulness, anticipation and vision for

this project. Pray about what part God is

calling you to play in this new vision for

Valley.

Give Gifts can be made in the form of cash,

checks, appreciated stock or online trans-

fers. Please fill out a pledge card to give us

an idea of how much money we can ex-

pect to have for the project.

Serve If you have skills, services or materials

that you can provide at or below market

rates, contact the church office. Once the

capital campaign is complete, we will hold a

meeting to evaluate the assets available with-

in our church and determine how they can

best be used to help complete this project.

Giving as of February 19th T ransition is simply moving from one condition to another. It’s

like an airplane preparing for landing. When you hear the

sound of the landing gear dropping down, you know that this fly-

ing machine is about to become a land vehicle. When you hear

that sound, you prepare yourself for the transition that you know

is just ahead.

As we all know, Pastor Andrew Peterson and his wife, Brittany, are

planning to transition out of the youth ministry here at Valley in

June. A transition for Andrew and Brittany also means a transition

for our youth ministry! For both the Peterson’s and the youth min-

istry, the transitions are coming soon.

As a church, we are taking steps to anticipate and prepare for the

next season of youth ministry. One of the initial steps has been to

meet with the student, college and adult leaders of our youth min-

istry to gather their thoughts on the next steps for our student

ministry. The elders have also been discussing the role of a youth

director and also the direction of the ministry in light of our new

purpose, mission and values. Pastor Mike has been working with

the Evangelical Free Church to get counsel on this critical step in

the ministry of Valley Free. We are also taking steps to put the job

opening and description on a pastoral search website.

Our ministry to youth remains a high priority and value here at

Valley. Our goal has been and will continue to be that our youth

ministry remain strong and dynamic through the upcoming transi-

tion. You can expect to hear regular updates on the search process

and future plans for this key ministry.

In the meantime, we all need to be praying! Pray for wisdom in the

process for all those involved. Pray for the decisions to be clearly

God-led. Pray for unity, faith and joy in the process. Pray for our

youth ministry to be positioned for effective ministry to our stu-

dents and to the community. Be sure to give lots of praise to God

for the blessing of Andrew and Brittany to the ministry here at

Valley. They have done a great job! Pray for their transition to fu-

ture ministry as well.

By Pastor Mike Sindelar

P A G E 5

Expect Great Things From God † Attempt Great Things for God

A pioneer of the modern missions movement, William

Carey captured the essence of a dynamic faith.

Trusting God means expecting Him to do great things in

our lives. It means we have an accurate picture of the

greatness, glory and heart of God. He longs to work great

things in us. It’s been said that God is offended by any-

thing less than bold, confident prayers that call on Him to

fulfill His promises and plan.

Based on that accurate view of God, we can then step out

to attempt great things for God. When we are willing to

give God the glory and to ask Him for big things, He stands

ready to do the impossible through us.

When you give your tithes and offerings at Valley Free,

these same dynamics are in play. Your giving is a matter of

personal worship and discipline. We expect God to take us

deeper into the joy of His life when we participate in His

call to obedience and faith in giving. Giving is a practical

step of faith that leads to greater faith.

Your giving is critical to the mission and ministry of Valley

Free. When we give generously and sacrificially, great

things are accomplished for God. Your giving makes the

ministry and kingdom impact of Valley Free possible.

Let’s follow the call of William Carey...

Expect great things from God,

attempt great things for God!

How do we give at Valley Free?

There are five categories of giving at Valley Free. These in-

clude:

General Fund: This is the foundation of our regular

commitment to giving. These funds are used for the

daily operation of the ministry.

Missions Faith Promise: These gifts sustain our mis-

sions effort. Our missionaries depend on these funds

for their ministries.

Helping Hands: This fund is available for immediate

needs of those in our church family or community

that need a short term lift.

Light on the Hill Campaign: Recently introduced, we

have set a goal of renovating our facilities. This is a

short-term project, which will run through 2012.

Occasional Needs: These gifts include special offer-

ings for guest speakers, Love, INC, etc.

With the introduction of a capital campaign, giving of our

tithes and offerings can seem overwhelming. They need not

be! As you take intentional, prayerful and sacrificial steps in

giving, we believe God will meet all of our faith goals. It is a

critical part of our faith walk with the Lord.

By Pastor Mike Sindelar

As approximately 100 million people sat around to watch the Super

Bowl this past month, we were all bombarded with hundreds of ads,

vying for our attention and money. Some products were necessary; others were desirable, and some downright offensive,

wrong, and destructive.

Such is the world we live in. As we sat around with CruX watching the game, we had a practical chance to practice the lens

for viewing culture (Receive, Redeem, or Reject) that we’ve discussed this fall in Sunday school.

As Christians living in a culture which displays values contrary to that of God, we must daily make the choice of what to do

with culture. Do we receive it? Do we reject it? Do we redeem it?

Our students are bombarded with these daily decisions at an alarming rate. The Super Bowl ads and half-time shows are

simply what they deal with every day packed into 4 hours of television. So, would you join me in praying for our students,

that God would give them a heart for redeeming the lost culture around us, and the wisdom to know what to receive, how to

redeem, and when to reject the confusion that our culture relentlessly throws at them?

Sponsored by … “rooted and established in love” (Eph 3:17)

P A G E 6

by Pastor Andrew Peterson

The winner of this year’s Super Bowl Party’s Best Chili was

Mike Duzan! The following is Mike’s version of the “recipe”

for his chili…

Regarding my chili recipe...I don't have one. I

decide what's going in it while at the grocery

store. This time around, I used the following

ingredients (at least those that I can remember), in

various amounts until it taste good:

1 bottle V8 Spicy

about 8 oz of my own sauce/mix from our garden

(tomatoes, various peppers, onions, garlic, etc.)

chili powder

taco seasoning

2 cans chili beans

2 large green bell peppers, seeded and diced

2 large banana peppers, seeded and diced

1 or more onions, diced

very large shallot, diced

minced garlic

2 large red bell peppers, 2 jalapenos, 1 habenaro (all

of these roasted/charred, peeled, seeded, and

chopped)

ground beef

pork sausage

ground lamb

Minimum of 8 hours in the crock pot on high, unless

it starts to burn!

P A G E 7

that it isn't overflowing. Contact Shirley Carlson at 952-448-3717.

Bunk Bed Ministry—Looking for volunteers to deliver and set-up bunk beds on an as needed basis. Contact Peter Larson at peterpamlarson@msn.com.

Nursery Volunteers for Sunday Mornings—Have a grateful heart? A love for kids? Then contact Jan Schmit at jschmit@valleyfree.org or 952-448-6144, ext. 204 for more information on our needs in this area.

Nursery Supervisory Team for Sunday Mornings. For more info and/or to volunteer contact Jan Schmit at jschmit@valleyfree.org or 952-448-6144, ext. 204.

Greeters—Couples or singles welcome! Volunteers will be put in teams of 2 or 3 to greet those coming to our Sunday morning worship service. Contact Jim Bentson at (952)448-4697 or j.a.bentson@gmail.com.

Bountiful Basket—A great opportunity for a family or small group. Responsibilities include taking donations from the church to the Food Shelf at the beginning of each month and checking the donation area regularly to ensure

Service Opportunities

Bread Ministry—Cultivate your servant heart by helping with this ministry to needy families in and outside of our church. Contact Kristin Westland at krwestland@yahoo.com.

Video Team—We are looking for people with a passion and gift for sound, lighting, video, or editing. Contact Garth Berquist at lolobjork@comcast.net.

Kids Church Volunteers—spend 45 mins once or twice per month teaching little ones (grade 4 and younger) about Jesus. You’ll get even more out of it than they do—what a blessing!

P A G E 8

As Christians, we try to wrap our minds around all the fabulous

characteristics of a God who loves us so much He sent His son to die

for us. Our kids have been discovering some of those very attributes

and we’ve been going in alphabetical order!

See if you can fill in the missing letters. If you need a hint take a

stroll down the Education wing or ask one of our Super Smart

Sunday School Kids!

My God is…

A – Almighty King

B – B _ _ _ _ _ _ _ l

C – Creator

D – Deliverer

E – E_ _ _ _ _ s _ _ _ _

F – Friend

G – Guide

H – H_ _ _

I – Immanuel

J – Just

K – K_ _ _

L – Love

M – Merciful

N – N_ _ _ _sh_ _ _

O – Owner of All

P – P_r_ _ _ _

Q – Quite Amazing

Pointing our kids toward Jesus!

Operation Christmas Child had it's best year ever! Here is how God

multiplied shoe boxes in 2011.

Internationally, the total was 8,620,009

In the U.S, the total given was 6,051,799 shoe boxes—a 9.5%

increase!!!

Regionally (MN, WI, ND, SD, and IA), the total received was

297, 350 Gospel Opportunities—a 5.13% increase.

In 2011, over 30,000 teachers were trained to teach ‘The Greatest

Journey’, the discipleship program that follows the boxes. Over

800,000 children had the opportunity to go through ‘The Greatest

Journey’. Right now, shoe box distributions are taking place all

over the world, with an estimated 30,000 different Gospel events

that will be taking place this year using shoe boxes as the gift to

open the hearts of children to hear about the greatest gift of all!

We are privileged to be part of this global, gospel ministry. Thank

you to each of you for the part you have played this year. As we

each do what we can, with what we are given, the Lord does

mighty things.

Psalm 96:3 “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous

deeds among all peoples.’

By Jan

By Candace Wisely

TH 1 7:00 pm Worship Team Rehearsal

SU 4 8:30am 8:45 am 9:00 am 10:00 am 6:00 pm

MISSIONS CONFERENCE All-church Breakfast Kids Missions Sunday SMS Worship Service CruX

M 5 7:00 pm Men’s Bible Study

TU 6 6:45 pm Women’s Bible Study

TH 8 7:00 pm Worship Team Rehearsal

F 9 TBD CruX Event—Waterpark of America

SA 10 7:30 am Men’s Monthly Breakfast (Perkins, Chaska)

SU 11 8:45 am 10:00 am 6:00 pm

Children’s Sunday School/SMS Worship Service CruX

M 12 12:30 pm 7:00 pm

White Cross Men’s Bible Study

TU 13 6:30 pm Missions Outreach Team

TH 15 7:00 pm 7:00 pm

Worship Team Rehearsal Web Team Meeting

SU 18 8:45 am 10:00 am 6:00 pm

Children’s Sunday School/SMS Worship Service CruX

M 19 7:00 pm Men’s Bible Study

TU 20 6:45 pm Women’s Bible Study

TH 22 7:00 pm Worship Team Rehearsal

F 23 11 :00 pm CruX Event—Skyzone All-Nighter

SU 25 8:45 am 10:00 am 6:00 pm

Children’s Sunday School/SMS Worship Service CruX

M 26 12:30 pm 7:00 pm

White Cross Men’s Bible Study

TH 29 7:00 pm Worship Team Rehearsal

See bulletins for weekly updates/changes to this calendar

P A G E 9

Sunday, March 4

All Church Breakfast 8:30-9:00 am

The Missionary Outreach Team invites you and your

family for breakfast prior to Sunday School. Great food

and fellowship to kick-off the last day of our Mission

Conference!

Kid's Mission Sunday School 8:45 am

Experience missions through food, language and fun!

The Mission Team has prepared a morning of learning

and fun!

8:45 POWER UP! Meet down in the Youth Room to

get instructions for your mission (should you

choose to accept it).

9:00 You and your STAR color team will embark on

a missionary trek that will span 3 countries. Eat

your way through Spain, learn what to say while

visiting Jordan, introduce yourself to a Romanian

and meet a real live missionary!!

9:45 When you have completed your journey, have

mom or dad pick you up in your regular Sunday

School room.

Sunday Morning Studies, 9:00 am

Guest Speaker - Brad Dewing, Community Life Coordi-

nator, MacLaurinCSF.

Worship Service - Within Our Reach

Guest Speaker - Dr. Bryan Bademan, Director of Mac-

LaurinCSF. The believers call to proclaim the gospel in

the context of local culture.

Sunday, March 11

Sunday Morning Studies 8:45 am

Short Term Mission Team Presentation—Come hear

about potential opportunities to serve with a short

term mission team.

952-448-6144

Fax: 952-448-5119

office@valleyfree.org

150 Engler Blvd

Chaska, MN 55318

MARCH: KIDNEY & BAKED BEANS—80

March 4—8:45 am

See previous page for details

MARCH 9

WATERPARK OF AMERICA

MARCH 23

SKYZONE ALL-NIGHTER

11PM-8AM

APRIL 27-30

DISTRICT BLITZ

$50 DEPOSIT DUE 3/25

Saturday, March 3—9am-1pm Lunch provided RSVP to Pastor Mike at 952-448-6144 or mikes@valleyfree.org