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Prairie Avenue
Christian Church
To be learning, loving, and serving disciples of Christ from the depths of our being to the ends of the earth.
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Worship Each Week & Daily Prayer |
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LIVESTREAM NOTE: Beginning October 3, only the 9:30 am service will be live-streamed on Facebook Live. A pre-recorded Modern service will be posted to our website.
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Did you miss a sermon or can't remember the good statement made by Pastor Jason recently?
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Since the beginning of our COVID-19 season, I have been working on improving my health. And unfortunately, I have some good news: watching your diet and exercising more works. For more weeks than I have ever done before, I have walked along the Nelson Park waterfront from the Devon Amphitheater to the fire hydrant next to Lost Bridge Road in Chandler Park each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.
What initially took over an hour and a half became just above an hour. Endurance improved, and now it is a near-effortless journey rather than an arduous ordeal. From grumbling to anticipation, I have lost 20+ pounds in about 9 months.
And then I started skipping a few days, and not monitoring too closely my food intake. The pounds started to return. I know what to do. But it does not mean I keep it up.
Eating well and exercising regularly are good habits. Health insurance companies often offer incentives and discounts for healthy behavior.
Our reading from Job is a quick summary, but with quite a description of Job's habits. He lives a disciplined life that included a successful business, leading a large family, and faithfully following God. Despite living an exemplary life, he is hit with blow after blow of major life tragedies. He loses his family, his farm, even his health, in an attempt by the satan "an accuser in God's court!" to try to get Job to curse God and die.
What follows is a bunch of tired cliche-filled "advice" from his friends countering Job's demand for God to answer him. The suffering does not relent, but God does indeed show up! And the lesson: despite our best efforts for a simple formula for a good life, nothing in our lives is guaranteed. Job sustains his faith in the midst of the suffering. We gain hope, not from the darkness of our suffering, not from pat answers in books, but from the God who sees our suffering and shares our pain. A good life takes both good and bad days as ways to recognize God's presence.
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Happy Birthday Prairie Avenue Reception
Sunday, October 3
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We will have a little cake and refreshment in the parlor following the 9:30 am service this week to celebrate Prairie Avenue's 97th Birthday |
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October Worship Series Begins October 10 |
Earlier in Mark's Gospel, Jesus told a crowd that if any would follow him, they should "take up their cross." Over the next three weeks, we will examine consecutive passages of Mark 10 to give us a little more insight into what Jesus was talking about. Interactions with a rich man, disciples James and John, and a blind beggar each reveal part of the challenge of taking up our cross. Discipleship and what it means for our day-to-day lives. |
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Grow in Faith
through listening, paying attention, and reading 5 verses a day
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Morning Devotion
Each weekday (Monday - Friday), Pastor Jason shares a brief 4-7 minute scripture reading, reflection, response, and prayer. The associated devotion is posted to Prairie Avenue's Facebook page.
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You may order your copy via amazon.com or use your local library! Remember an order on smile.amazon.com will generate a donation for Prairie Avenue Christian Church! |
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The Cost of Discipleship
Book Study Group Begins
Sunday, October 10
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In conjunction with our upcoming worship series, Take Up Your Cross, Pastor Jason will be leading a study group book discussion on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship.
What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
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Use Your Gifts by sharing five acts of love and kindness each week |
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Pray with Japan, October 3, 2021 - Global Ministries
Lectionary Selection: Mark 10-2-16 Prayers for Japan Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them." He also promised, "for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Gracious and loving God, we pray ... Read more
Read more
www.globalministries.org
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Give Regularly through five acts of generosity each month |
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Reconciliation Offering
September 26 & October 3
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Our special offering will be taken on October 3, 2021. Your advocacy and financial support are much appreciated.
For more than 40 years, Disciples have had a visible ministry to address racism in society. Gifts to Reconciliation Ministry, through its Offering or throughout the year, supports programs and initiatives aimed at dismantling racism.
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Reconciliation Ministry is not supported by Disciples Mission Fund. |
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A Future With Hope
2022 Stewardship Campaign
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Over the past year, we have experienced separation and togetherness, exile and return. At our core, Prairie Avenue Christian Church is a community of reunion, homecoming, and return. Now more than ever, in a world full of exile, our congregation stands as a beacon of hope, welcome, and radical hospitality.
With all this in mind, we invite you to join us in giving thanks for all the resources--spiritual, theological, physical, and financial--that support this indispensable work. You will shortly receive your statement of giving for this year, a special prayer written by a member of the congregation, and pledge cards for 2022.
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General Fund
Donations given to the Prairie Avenue Christian Church General Fund support the year-round ministries of the church. Your generous support keeps our building, staff, and operations working for the mission of the church. The mission of Prairie...
Read more
www.continuetogive.com
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Fundraising Project - reFresh Capital Campaign
Announced at the State of the Church address on June 30, 2015, the reFresh capital campaign has two improvement/update priorities: updating HVAC equipment and internet/network accessibility.
Read more
www.continuetogive.com
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For instructions in registering your Kroger Rewards Card, Click Here.
The Organization code for Prairie Avenue Christian Church is: BY235.
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Kroger Community Rewards Program News |
$32.21 was raised by 14 households who have linked their Kroger customer reward cards to support Prairie Avenue Christian Church. The quarterly contribution is for shopping at Kroger during April - June, 2021
Joining to support the ministries of Prairie Avenue Christian Church is FREE. Any transactions moving forward using the Shopper’s Card number associated with your digital account will be applied to the program, at no added cost to you. Kroger donates annually to participating organizations based on your percentage of spending as it relates to the total spending associated with all participating Kroger Community Rewards organizations.
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Get Your Disciples Apparel and Gear Here!
Get your Disciples polos, hats, and hoodies in a variety of colors. Order by the 15th to be included in this month's production! 10% of the proceeds benefits the Disciples Mission Fund!
Read more
store.disciples.org
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"When you shop for items or gifts at smile.amazon.com/ch/37-6056944, AmazonSmile will donate a portion of your eligible purchases to Prairie Avenue Christian Church at no cost to you!"
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Prairie Avenue Christian Church is a listed charity with the Smile.Amazon program. Please use smile.amazon.com, and choose Prairie Avenue Christian Church for your generous support. We received a $5.33 donation from the AmazonSmile Foundation as a result of AmazonSmile program activity between January 1 and March 31, 2021.
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Share Your Faith through inviting 5 people to church this year |
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Disciples Church Extension Fund names new president -...
The Board of Directors of Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF) is pleased to announce that it has named Belinda R. King, MBA, as the next President of the general ministry. With nearly two decades of experience in business banking, commercial...
Read more
disciples.org
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