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Franklin Congregational Church

The Meetinghouse CrierOctober and November 2016

Church: 860-642-7887Parsonage: 860-924-5321

A word from Pastor Ryan

Revival For Our ChurchI have been preaching for a while now about revival coming to our church and to the surrounding community. I believe people will stream to our church to experience the presence of God in our midst. I believe they will be healed, delivered, and saved. I believe people will have their entire lives transformed by God’s power.

So, why would God bring this type of revival to us, and what do we have to do for it to happen?

First, we need to continue growing our faith by being exposed to the way the Holy Spirit works, through experiencing the Holy Spirit and then letting the Holy Spirit work through each of us.  For example, after I preached on prophecy, everyone broke into small groups and gave encouraging words to each other. This exposed us to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we using those gifts.  I encouraged everyone to use what we learned and practiced in how we interact with other people—by witnessing, by encouraging others, and by praying.  As we realize that we carry the Kingdom of God with us everywhere we go, and that it is our duty to be change agents in this culture, we will see people and society change around us. In order for lives to be changed, we must be courageous and speak up. We must be bold and share the Gospel, speak encouraging words, and pray for others. Change will not happen as long as we remain silent.

We must remember, however, that the change happens because God responds to us.There can be a lot said for what we do, but it really all comes down to the timing and movement of God.  He responds when we are ready for Him to respond—and when He is ready to respond! Sometimes we feel like we are ready…but, He knows best. All that to say, we could say and do all the right things, but it’s up to God to respond and manifest Himself when He wants to!  

Welcome to the Franklin Congregational Church and our newsletter – The Crier. Below are a list of services, classes and events for the month.

Sunday Services:

10:00 am Morning Worship

Small Group Bible study at the church: Thursday 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Check out our website atwww.franklinchurchct.-comand facebook at –https://www.facebook.-com/groups/192526960435/

Meetings:Deacons – First Monday of the month at 1 pm

Our Mission:“To be a catalyst for on-going revival, to become disciples of Christ, and to make disciples of our town, our state, and the nations, by the power of the Holy Spirit“.

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The good thing is, I have complete confidence that we are in the right place at the right time! God is going to manifest Himself here in a major, ground-shaking way—and, He’s starting to already! It’s very exciting!  I believe one reason is we are entering into deeper worship as a group.  And, we can go deeper in the Lord, further into His presence, and have more intimacy with Him. Worship is much more than singing songs, it’s THE avenue to enter into God’s presence, to give Him glory, and to receive everything that He wants to give to us. That is why it is very important for us to worship the Lord as David did—with total abandon! When we do, we will see how God responds!

As one becomes sensitive to the Holy Spirit, one will sense that He moves in and out of situations, often very quickly.  It’s as if the Holy Spirit come to check something out – staying if He feels welcome or leaving quickly if He doesn’t like what He sees. Because of this, we need to be very sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing—we are His Body, His Church, and His people after all. As we are sensitive to Him, we will know what makes Him happy and what offends Him. We will know what to do when He shows up—and what not to do. Just like a very close friend or family member, you know what makes them happy and what makes them upset. We need to know the Holy Spirit in the same manner, and make Him feel welcome in our church services.

Part of making the Holy Spirit feel welcome, and not offending Him, is being careful to not put Him in a box.  So many churches, and whole denominations, tell God (whether they use the actual words or not) that He must act a certain way.  They tell Him He can only do certain types of healings/miracles, or they tell Him He can’t do healings at all. They tell Him He can speak through a person one way, but not another.  While some churches err on the side of acting out of the flesh, I think the bulk of churches in the U.S. err on the opposite side by not letting God be God in His own House.  

I don’t think we are putting God in a box right now, but we must guard against the temptation to do so.  For example, if God shows up and wants to shake up our order of service…it’s His Church, we need to let Him do that.  If He wants to heal someone in a radical fashion, we need to let God do what He wants to do HOW He wants to do it.  I know this could be a stretch for some of us, which is why I mention it often.

One thing that really sets our church apart from others is what God is sovereignly doing behind the scenes.  I have mentioned it before, but not in great detail. God is putting together an apostolic team right here.  When Jesus set up His church, He put a particular structure in place.  I am a firm believer that it is His Church and He structures it the way that He wants to.  We have a choice to either accept or reject that structure, but we can’t change it and think that it’s alright to do so.  Ephesians 4:11 gives that structure: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors (that is, teachers).  Right now most of the Church in the United States does not have this structure—even though this is the structure that Jesus, Himself, instituted. God wants His structure in place so He can move in revival. An apostolic team is beginning to come together behind the scenes, and I think this is one reason we are beginning to see an increase in the anointing in our services.

When God shows up in our services, what will it look like? Honestly, it’s hard to say. Historically, there have been a number of revivals, or awakenings, that have really impacted society.  There are actually three defining movements: a refreshing that reenergizes the church, a revival that begins to bring many to salvation, and an awakening that changes society. The great awakening is one that went outside the walls of the church.  Society was impacted. Bars closed, people stopped getting in trouble, churches were filled.  Inside the churches there was a tremendous

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anointing where people were convicted of sin, people were healed, “fainted” under the power of the Spirit, groaned out of conviction, etc.  It was pretty wild stuff.

Again, when God starts moving in our church, we need to be careful how we respond. During the Great Awakening, a lot of seminaries and pastors did not like what was taking place.  There were a lot of people in Connecticut that shut down what was happening through the Great Awakening. In fact, they made it a law that traveling evangelists, like George Whitfield, could not minister in Connecticut!  You can read about the Old Lights vs. New Lights movements that sprang up as a result of the Great Awakening. All this to say: it’s not easy to let God do what He wants.  

In the future, people will look back and see what a great, wonderful impact this coming awakening had on society. But in the midst of it, we have to be careful not to insist on doing church only “our way.” So many people like to do church “their way,” and it’s hard to let go of that.  People don’t like change, but we have to be open to God shaking things up a bit. I don’t see this happening to us right now, but it is something that we need to watch for as God begins to do great things with our church.

The bottom line is this – we need to provide a place where God is welcome to do whatever He wants to do—His way.  We do that through our prayer, worship, repentance, preaching, and ministry in the gifts of the Spirit!  If we press deeper into Him, keep our hearts right, and let Him be God, awesome and incredible things are on the horizon!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ryan

Rev. Ryan Duck, M.Div., Th.M.Pastor, Franklin Congregational Church

A Word from your Deacons:

Deacons’ Corner

Looking back at the summer, it was extremely busy and successful. It started with a great Chicken BBQ, where every last piece of chicken was sold. Following right on the heels of the BBQ was our best VBS to date, with about 50 kids participating. Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who helped with both of these events.

A couple of “fixer-upper” projects have either been done this summer or will be done soon. The bell tower has been leaking for a number of years and progressively getting worse. We had a crew of 5-6 men fix it properly – it took them about a week, but it’s done! As well, the church septic leach field has stopped working. We are currently putting a plan in place to install a new leach field.

On the horizon:

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• A new Bible Study on “Caring Evangelism” meets on Thursday nights at 7. Come learn to live a life of evangelism with ease and freedom.

• We will have a Fall Chicken BBQ this year on October 15th. Please lend a hand however you can.

• The ecumenical Lebanon Thanksgiving Service will be November 20th @ 7:00 at St. Francis of Assisi, in Lebanon. Please plan to attend.

• We will be putting a little pageantry into our Christmas Candlelight Service. Please stay tuned for ways to help.

For the Deacons,Pastor Ryan

Small Group Study – Our study of Evangelism has begun. Please join us every Thursday night at 7 p.m. If unable, you can listen

to every lesson on our website under Sermons and Lessons.

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Is the Bible Intentionally Vague about the End Times?(This is a follow up piece to our last Bible Study on the book of Revelation. It puts this very difficult and controversial book into perspective.)

By Veronica Neffinger

I remember when I first became a Christian at about the age of eleven. I began attending an evangelical church with my family. I discovered that there was a book that contained so many of the stories I had been familiar with growing up: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses, and of course, Jesus’ death and resurrection. I soon discovered that this book--the Bible--also contained prophecies about the end times and Jesus second coming. It wasn’t long before I

began hearing terms like “pre-trib, “millennial reign,” and  “rapture.”I discovered that beliefs about the end times were not only important to Christians, but that they varied widely. In his article “Disagreement about the End Times: Must it be Verbal Armageddon?” on Logos.com, Michael S. Heiser, while not arguing that studying the end times is unimportant, suggests that the Bible is intentionally vague about what will happen.

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There are a number of systems of belief about the end times which include the timing of events, what certain biblical symbols mean, and what is literal and what is metaphorical. Many Christians ascribe wholeheartedly to a certain system and attempt to make God’s Word conform to what they believe to be true.While studying what the Bible has to say about the end times, we must remember that, as Crosswalk.com’s Ryan Duncan notes in “End Times Errors Christians Need to Avoid,” placing too much importance on ironing out the details of the end times (something that God has chosen not to unambiguously lay out for us) can distract us from living for Him right now:“As I stated earlier, the most important time for Christians is the here and now. Our study of the End-Times shouldn’t distract us from the opportunities of today. God has commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), to seek justice for the weak (Psalm 82:3), and share His gospel with the world (Matthew 5:14-16). Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. God will take care of the future, we still have work to do.”

The Bible tells us that only God the Father knows the exact timing of Jesus’ return (Mark 13:32). If only God knows the details of this event, then it’s safe to assume our limited human brains will not be able to conclusively figure it out.This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to study God’s Word regarding the end times and pray for wisdom as we seek to discern what God is revealing to us, but, as Heiser stresses, we should “be gracious and charitable with believers who may not make the same interpretive decisions you do.” One thing we can be sure of regarding the end times: Jesus will come again, and if we have believed in Him, we will one day be with Him in heaven. Let us not allow the ambiguous details of His return to deter us from living wholeheartedly for Him right now or from loving fellow Christians who may hold different views than ours.

KEEPING OUR CHURCH CLEAN

Please take a turn at cleaning the church; if

we all work together the task will not fall

on just a few people.

Many Hands Make Light Work and more fellowship with friends.

Why - Not Gathering Together Will Hurt YouBy Kelly Balarie

Why am I always so hesitant to gather?Why do I always see the distance I have to drive?The screaming kids I have to transport?The house I have to clean?The work I have to prepare?The things I need to remember?I'm like the anti-Martha, I don't want to do anything to get ready because I am already tired. I just want to sit around at Jesus' feet, but I want to do it alone. I am not sure I am much of a Mary either, because I am pretty sure Mary didn't plan

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to close the door on the disciples before they arrived.

Can you even imagine that?How could I want to shut out modern day

disciples of Christ?Disciples who are ready to:Stir up Good Works and to Encourage:And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24)

Bring Christ with them:For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (Mt. 18:20)Light a House on Fire with Wisdom and Joy:Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16)Teach me Humility:Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Ro. 12:16)Build Love, Compassion and Humility:Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (1 Pet. 3:8)Foster Stronger Faith:So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Ro. 10:17)The real roots of Christian life are watered when we gather.They are watered when we look at a brother or sister and say, "I need you..."

Not when we say,I have figured out the way.

In my home I am going to stay,so I can stay above the fray.

When we do this, we start to spiritually decay.Christianity is meant to be an "I need you..." kind of thing. It's supposed to be an "I-can't-be-all-God-wants-me-to-be-without-you" kind of thing.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Cor. 12:27)If we all make up his body, is there a use for a head, without a neck?  If we don't have each other, can we, the body, really operate effectively?Rolling heads really can't serve God and they surely can't carry out God's mission on earth with any power. Rolling heads can't even speak coherent words because they haven't been fed by the body.Faith is really developed as we feed the body and build each part stronger.  Then each part can go and accomplish what it was set forth to do.As the body meets, Christ meets the body.As the body gathers, Christ equips it.As the body prays, Christ is present.As the body moves, Christ prompts it through his word.Christ equips his body, because his body is him. He comes to strengthen us, the body carriers, who are all at work building up the body of Christ, attaining the unity of faith and the knowledge of the son of God, until we attain the full measure of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).I want a "full measure of Jesus Christ", don't you?Until then, I am starting to think the secret to unity is found in this verse:"Be humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:2-3)

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Perhaps, the biggest reason why I may not want to meet is that I fear I won't bear up under another or I will get annoyed or I will judge. I am afraid. Perhaps, it's not even about them, but it is about me and my fears.But, here is the thing, if we are the body of Christ and Christ lives in us, then in a sense, there is nothing for me to fear. Because "there is no fear in love. But perfect love (the perfect love of Christ) drives out fear..."Gathering as a body, unites the body in love and, through the power of Jesus Christ, fear is cast out.

Who needs to fearwhen Christ has already made me entirely secure

in his loveand incredibly significant through his promises?

In this, there is no longer fear when others gather near, but only a deep knowledge that Christ is near.

Forgiveness By, Dominic Secchiaroli

Did you ever spend too much time thinking or be-ing frustrated, irritated, or bitter at someone for something they did or did not do? You spend hours then days then years focusing on someone that hurt your feelings.

I have spoken to so many people throughout the years that could not get through the emotional pain of something that happened years ago. Let’s think about it for a minute. That situation has brought you to bouts of rage, depression, anxiety, and worry. All that time could have been spent on our future, our children, parents, career, and min-istry. If this is you there was advice which I read in the bible that helped me tremendously and set me free from anybody and everybody that would or could offend me. I realized that Jesus died on the cross and forgave me of all my sins. And if He did that for me, and there was plenty to forgive, then why was it so hard to do it for someone else? Then He told us what to do in relation to what He did for us.  

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, for-giving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 6:32

There are multiple biblical scriptures that before God will pour His love on us that we need to for-give others. Here’s one of them;

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also for-give you.” Matthew 6:14

This could be the reason for lack of peace, joy, and complacency as God is telling us that if we would only forgive He would bless us with all of this. We all have individuals that it just seems al-most impossible to forgive them. But Jesus gave us some advice;

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Luke 6:27

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Matthew 5:44

Most people’s advice seem to contradict Gods ad-vice, but it’s the results were looking for. Their advice seems to lead us down a road of destruc-tion, and Gods advice leads us to a place of peace. It doesn’t need to make sense to us, we just need to trust God and take His results. .That just seems just so difficult to do. But what I found out was that by taking Jesus’ advice, some of those people have come back to be great friends, to bless me, to lead me to other great rela-tionships. ( and there may be times when thoughts of un-forgiveness for that person come back to you, but just tell those thoughts that I forgave those people by faith.) But more importantly, it brought me the freedom to move forward freely in the purpose that God intended me to pursue.

“Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I for-give him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

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 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:24-26

October:

October 8 - National Children's DayNational Children's Day is a day to celebrate our appreciation for children and to be reminded how precious they are.

October 9 – Leif Erikson DayLeif Erikson Day is a United States observance on October 9.Leif Erikson led the first Europeans to set foot on North American soil. This date was the day the ship Restauration arrived in New York Harbor at the start of the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States.October 10 – Columbus DayColumbus Day is a observance honoring Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492. The holiday is observed in the United States by banks, the post office and most governments and schools, while most businesses remain open. Display U.S. Flag

October 15 – FCC Chicken BBQ!

FallChicken

BBQ

Saturday October, 15th At the Church – 31 Meetinghouse

Hill Rd, Franklin, CTSittings 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Tickets at the doorEat with us and enjoy the good food and fellowship!

October 18 – Sweetest DayWhile it sounds like a day to be with your Sweetie, Sweetest Day is actually a day to make others feel special.

October 24 – United Nations DayIt commemorates the origin of the United Nations Organization on October 24, 1945 when the UN Charter was ratified by almost all permanent members of the Security Council. 

October 31 – Reformation Daya religious holiday celebrated on October 31, alongisde All Hallows' Eve, in remembrance of the Reformation which is hailed as the "beginning of the Protestant movement”.

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November:November 1 – All Saints DayAll Saints Day is a feast honoring all of the saints both known and unknown. Also called All Hallows Day, it is celebrated November 1st following Halloween and preceding All Souls' Day. November 2 - All Souls' DayAll Souls' Day is celebrated on November 2nd following All Saints Day. The celebration, also called Defuncts' Day or Day of the Dead, is a time to commemorate the faithful departed.

November 6 – Daylight Savings Time Ends.November 8 – Election DayPlease exercise your right to vote!

November 11 – Veterans Day and Armistice DayVeterans Day is the U.S. holiday celebrating the official end of World War I on November 11, 1918. It commemorates  the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I and was originally celebrated, and still in some countries, as Armistice Day.

Remembrance DayRemembrance Day also known as Poppy Day and Armistice Day is celebrated to commemorate the end of World War I, World War II and other wars and the sacrifice of veterans and civilians.

November 24 – Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is a U.S. Holiday to give thanks to God for the harvest season

and to remember the first Thanksgiving . It is a time for family and friends to gather together for a dinner or feast.

November 27 - Start of Advent The Advent season marks the beginning of the Christian year across many western churches in the United States. Its length varies from 22 to 28 days, starting on the Sunday nearest St Andrew’s Day and encompassing the next three Sundays, ending on Christmas Day.

The cartoon this month, reminds us that we may have had our last outdoor Baptism until next spring.

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This house is a house of Prayer The Deacons have a daily “Prayer Min-istry.” Each day of the week, one deacon is scheduled to be in the sanctuary for one hour of prayer.

If you would like to join us please call one of us and we will arrange for a time to meet at the church and pray together.

Irene Morgan 642-7036 Ray Morin 642-6404Margaret Ayer 642-4318 David Ayer 642-4351Marilyn Briggs 884-8340 Bob Wheeler 642-7668

"Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces."  S.D. Gordon

Helping Others “We who are strong must be consider-ate of those who are sensitive about

things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do

what is right and build them up in the Lord.  For even Christ didn’t live to

please himself. As the Scriptures say,

“The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”  Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be ful-

filled.” Romans 15:1-4 (NLT)

It is our job as Christ followers to help those around us. Not only are we meant to help those who don’t know Christ, we are called to be “strong” and “considerate” towards our fellow brothers and sisters to help them in their walks with the Lord.

How are you doing in this area?Are you following Christ’s example of living to help those around you?Or are all your actions and motives to benefit yourself?

Jesus set the example of how we need to live. We are called to sacrifice ourselves in love for the world around us, including the family of believers.

Reminder- the bible says: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (NIV)

Christians Don’t Need to Have it All Together?

by Charles Stanley Matthew 9:11-13There is a common misconception that believers should be perfect. Pretending to have our lives in order, many of us wear happy faces and speak words that sound acceptable. At times we’re ashamed to admit our shortcomings, as if they should not exist. Salvation through Jesus, however, doesn’t change the fact that sin is present in our life. When we’re born again, God forgives us and sees us as righteous. Yet our battle with sin continues till we arrive in heaven.

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In fact, striving for perfection actually can be a trap that pulls us away from living a godly life. Functioning in this way is a form of relying on our own capability. Jesus said that He came to heal the spiritually sick because they recognized their weakness. With an awareness of our inadequacy comes the realization of our need for Him.The world sees successful individuals as powerful and self-sufficient, but Jesus didn’t care about these qualities. Instead, He wants people to be aware of their own brokenness. This is the foundation for godliness.We should accept our neediness and seek God passionately. Doing so allows the following attributes to develop: a hunger for God’s Word, faithful service, deepening trust, and decision-making based upon principle rather than preference. Patiently and mercifully, God matures us.Be careful not to cover up your sins in order to look like a “good Christian.” Without recognition and confession of our sinfulness, we are unable to rely fully on God. It is only with this awareness that we can passionately seek Him, obey in His strength, and confess with repentance when we miss the mark.

May God Bless you, your family, our church, and our country during this wonderful season of Autumn and may you have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family!