2 ways to be encouraging

Acts 4:29 "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,"

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The beauty of the book of Acts in the New Testament is that for the first time we see the church learning to live for Christ after Christ had ascended into Heaven. As terrifying as that may have been for them Christ commanded them, before he ascended, to go and teach all nations of what he had done.

And they did just that.

They grew in number, they gathered in fellowship as believers, and they encouraged one another daily. Persecution would soon follow, but they held fast to their belief in Christ.

So, how did they do it?

What should we do?

Be generous

In Acts 2 we read that people from all walks of life that began to follow Christ now mingled with one another like never before. Many people repented of their sins and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, they sat down to eat with one another, and they sold their possessions and gave generously to any person that was in need.

No, I don't mean you need to sell all that you have.

However, we should seek to be generous with what we do have. Being generous for some may surely be with their treasure, but for others it might be their time. 

Be generous in giving your time to encourage others to live for Christ. As part of the church we are to gather in fellowship to exhort and build one another up, encouraging one another. 

ask god for courage

In Acts 4 we read about the growing persecution the church faces after Christ has ascended. Peter and John had just finished healing a man and teaching a crowd in Jesus' name. Because of this, the Jewish leaders came and arrested them and threatened them to stop teaching in Jesus' name. Since the Sadducees could find no fault in them Peter and John were released. Once Peter and John gathered with other believers they prayed for God to give them boldness to speak God's word. 

They could've stopped right there... but they didn't.

God is our Creator, He is our Provider, and He is our Healer.

When we are discouraged and struggling, we as believers should come together and pray for God to give us courage to speak His word. 

Who can you encourage this week?

What will you do to make a difference?

Restore Kidz Update

With the "Blizzard of 2017" it seems like forever since we have gotten to hang out with your awesome kids! Just want to give a quick update of what Mr. Caleb started teaching on January 1 so your kids will be ready when they return this Sunday.

Mr. Caleb did a fantastic job of introducing this new Element in Kids Worship. He took time to share how everything we do can be a form of worship to our God. Whether the kids are attending school, hanging out at home or even playing sports they can still honor and glorify God.

How often, as parents, do we teach our kids through our actions that other things come before God? Over the past days of school cancellation we have spent a lot of time together as a family. We have played in the snow, watched movies, played board games and video games, as well as  watched the College Football National Championship (what a game). Though all of this extra time together I wonder what my kids have learned about Worship. We, the parents, are the ultimate teachers of what it means to Worship God.  

I think you will get a kick out of going through this memory verse with your kiddos. They made up motions to go with the words to help them learn God's this verse. In order to help your kids be more prepared for this Sunday will you take time to review this verse with them? Maybe even try to learn it with them.

This Podcast is created by the writer of our curriculum directed to parents. This Podcast is made so we, the parents, can be un to date with what our kids are learning in Kidz Worship.

Praying for all of the parents as we teach our kids about Worship thorugh our daily living. 

Restore Kidz Update

This month in Jr Church we are learning that Jesus is the Son of God. I already know what you are thinking... "What a fitting topic since Jesus is the Reason for the Season." Thats why you are the greatest parents ever!

 

This week in Kids Worship we learned about Lazarus. Even though Lazarus was dead and in the tomb for four days, Jesus still brought him back to life. How awesome that God loved us each so much that He sent His son to die for us. And He didn't stay dead! Jesus resurrected from the grave and is alive today!

Please take time to help your kids memorize the verse for the month. The best way for our kids to be excited about learning the verse is to see parents learning the verse. #challengeaccepted. 

Check out the Podcast below to know exactly what your kids have been learning in Kids Worship.

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This coming Sunday, the 18th, will be our Kids Christmas party. Please dress your kids or allow your kids to dress in a Christmas shirt or sweater. Homemade shirts and sweaters are strongly encouraged. We will have an abbreviated lesson followed by games, crafts, snacks, drinks and gifts. Parents don't need to provide anything more than transportation to 206 High St. 

Merry Christmas! 

The benefit of volunteering on the set up team

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Learning something new

On our set up team we have a wide array of volunteers that come in and have different areas to set up before our service on Sundays. Everything that you see at 10:30 had to be set up so that we could have service, and all of it has to be packed up after service. No one person does it all. We work together in a rotation of roughly 30 people each Sunday that come in at different times from 8:30-9:45 a.m. When someone has a question on how to set up their area there will always be someone to help give an answer. 

In many ways being on the set up team is like living out Christianity. No one person does it all. All of us have questions, but we do our best to work with each other in answering those questions. We guide and lift up each other to do better in living for Christ. This is community, and this is Christianity together in one.

Are you ready to serve?

We are always looking for new ways to get our people at Restore involved with serving on Sundays and throughout the week as well. Would you like to get involved with our Set Up team or our other serving opportunities? Click the link below to get started - http://www.restoreportsmouth.com/life-track/

2 ways to be a blessing this Thanksgiving

1. Invite someone to your family gathering

I grew up in Hampton Roads, an area with a well-known military presence. Our extended family always made it a habit to invite anyone to Thanksgiving who couldn't make it home to their own family Thanksgiving. Through the years I've enjoyed turkey with many service-members, military spouses who were alone while their spouses were deployed, and anyone else who just happened to be away from home. Maybe you have a seat at your table. Make sure everyone has somewhere to gather this Thanksgiving, even if they can't make it home. I know a few families at Restore that have opened their home to individuals this Thanksgiving. My family will have a few joining us. Let's make sure everyone has a great meal with someone that cares about them this Thursday.

2. Donate your unopened canned goods

I know Restore Church just wrapped up a food drive, but it never hurts to donate more food to the food banks in our area. Be sure to keep track of any extra canned good you didn't need for that big meal Thursday. You never know how much difference a donation can make to the food bank. I've told the story before about how food banks were a real life saver for my mom when she was a single parent scraping by in the 1990s. Be thankful. Be generous. If you missed the food drive this month, don't worry. We will be accepting non-persiahbles Sunday for the local food bank.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

-Pastor Marc

This Week at Restore Kidz

What a stinking awesome day we had in Kidz Worship yesterday. I love the new room the youth are able to meet in at Restore. Everyone loves being able to see the lyrics to the songs and watch our videos on the Big Screen, not to mention the folding, stadium seats. Thanks to each of you and all of our volunteers for making Kidz Worship possible on Sundays!

We continued our study of Spiritual Warfare this week and we used Jesus as our example. Seriously! A lot of times you will ask a kid what they learned about and they will say, "Jesus" and if that happened to you, then it was true. We used the Bible passage (Matthew 4:1-11) telling about Jesus fasting for 40 days and being tempted by Satan. Our teacher talked to the kids about how hard it is to make right choices when we are surrounded by bad influences. Thankfully Jesus set the perfect example for each of us to follow. Take time to read this passage with your kids and talk about life struggles that each of us face.

As you talk about Jesus being tempted by Satan please make note of how Jesus responded. He didn't do wrong and then say "the devil made me do it" rather He quoted the Bible every time He was tempted. Discuss with your kids the importance of learning scripture and take time to go over our memory verse for this month. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this is a time you get to spend with family and friends and even get some much needed and deserved rest. We will see you and your kids this Sunday at 10:30 at 206 High St!

3 benefits of being a parent and a volunteer

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On our volunteer team at Restore Church at least half of our volunteers are parents. Most of them serve every Sunday or may be on a rotation to volunteer on a weekly or monthly basis. Most of our volunteers show up by 9:30 a.m. to prepare for our weekly service at 10:30 a.m. For some parents that hour of volunteering and having their children with them may seem daunting, but here are some benefits and why you should bring your children with you as you serve.

1. Fellowship

In the life as a Christian we are constantly striving to be more like Christ, and that results in us being more like-minded. Some of the best fellowship happens when you begin to volunteer along with others and work towards a common goal. Not only do you as a parent get to be in fellowship with other volunteers, but your children also get an opportunity to get to know all of the other children that come with their parents as their parents volunteer.

2. Being a part of our team children's church

Not only are we setting up for service on Sundays, but we also set up for our Restore Kidz and our Nursery every Sunday as well. Our parent volunteers are so valuable with these two areas. Many of our parents volunteer with these two ministries because they know how to work with children, and they love doing it as well. 

3. Your kids will learn from you

1 Corinthians 1:1 "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

We should be imitators of Christ as we serve being willing, gentle, and loving with other people. Children can often tell when their parents are genuine and when they are not primarily because they see them at home and at church. Your children are watching and imitating you so that they know how to react to certain situations and how they should live their lives. This too may seem daunting but it is an amazing opportunity for our parents to imitate Christ through serving, and for their children too see the love and affection of Christ through them.

When do you feel closest to God?

I am part of a small group that's going through questions about God. One of the questions posed this week was, "when do you feel closest to God?" I had to really stop and think. I can name many instances I've had intimate times with God, but the timing is always the same. I feel closest to God when I've take a big risk for His kingdom. Whether that's inviting someone to church, sharing the gospel, investing actual dollars in missions, or just leading the church into a risky situation that only God could see us through, it always results in a real dependence upon and closeness with God. I believe it happens for a few reasons.

1. My faith is tested. I'm afraid too often I avoid situations that will stretch or test my faith. I enjoy the safety of the status quo. Testing isn't something to avoid. It's something to lean into.

2. My ideal resolution does't happen. In my mind I imagined God would fix this another way. I assumed He'd use some method I can wrap my head around. It rarely happens that way. This forces me to realize it was never my leadership or sensibilities that resolved the situation.

3. My faith is strengthened. God shows up, or guides, or fixes whatever was amiss. The end result is always the same. My faith is strengthened through the testing. This is why I tend to be more of a risk taker (in terms of my faith) the older I get. I've seen Him do amazing work in me and through me. I hope to take more risks and see God do more in the days ahead.

So let me ask you. When do you feel closest to God?

-Pastor Marc

This Week at Restore Kids

So, from what I hear, there were some adults in the "main service" who overheard what was going on in Kids Worship next door. It was a great Sunday in Kids Worship and our attendees got really excited and involved. It is very cool to me that the adults get to hear the kids and vice versa. I am sure as a parent you want to know your child is not being lectured in a silent room for an hour. And for a child to hear adults singing and listening to preaching is something that will stick with them when they are old. Needless to say, the things happening at Restore Church are good and I am thankful to be a part!

Ephesians 6:12 is the memory verse that Restore Kids are learning in the month of November. As you can see this is a long and challenging verse so our volunteers implemented a game with motions and shouting to help the kids learn Gods word. Go through this verse with your kids at home and see if they might remember some of what they learned Sunday.

Our Big Idea for the week was Spiritual Warfare is a daily battle. As an adult this statement should make way more sense than it will for your kids. Mr. Corey taught the kids about putting on the whole Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and the importance of preparing ourselves for the temptations that we will face on a daily basis. Our volunteers used the equipment a baseball catcher uses to describe the Armor of God and compared it to the protection we need to face daily Spiritual Warfare. 

Please take a few minutes to listen to this weekly Podcast to stay up to date on what your kids are learning. I hope you will find this resource useful in taking life lessons and teaching your kids on a daily basis. 

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Have a blessed week!

What do we do when our candidate loses?

No matter who won last night many woke up this morning feeling as though they'd lost. I never promote a candidate or party. I also haven't voted for a major party Presidential candidate in many years. So I'm well accustomed to waking up the day after an election to find that "my candidate" didn't win. And yet, every election I determine that my duties toward these newly elected officials are the same: I will pray for them. I will honor them. I will respect them. (Romans 13:1-7)

I knew months ago that today we'd be dealing with a President-elect that many of us didn't like (Trump and Clinton have some of the lowest likability numbers ever polled). Regardless of who we like, we have a Christian duty to respect our elected leaders (on every level). I can honestly say that I've prayed for, honored and respected President Obama. I will do the same for President-elect Trump. Do I have serious disagreements with their policies and/or behavior? Sure. Does that negate my responsibility as a believer? No.

This morning I have two choices. I can trust God with these results and do my best to be a good citizen. I can also allow worry, fear and doubt to cloud my mind. I can wonder how God would let this happen. I can wallow in my disbelief of what I'm seeing. One of these options requires faith. I choose faith, not doubt.

Here's where I find my comfort:

The kingdom of Jesus is so much bigger than America.

Four years isn't much when compared to the 2,000 plus years the church has been on the move.

God isn't worried one bit.

-Pastor Marc