Second Update of the Month

I guess I don't update this as often as I should, so let me give a recap of what has been going on and is going on.

Here's what's going on at Bessemer. Worship in the park on July 15th with Bessemer Church went extremely well. It really was a wonderful day. As for what else is happening at Bessemer, I've been really busy there this month, trying to get as much done as possible before I start school. I've read several books, trying to find ideas to help with our ministry at Bessemer, and the best one I've come across is by a pastor from Zelienople named Graham Standish, who wrote the book _Becoming a Blessed Church_. I think it will prove to be extremely helpful in renewing our church, and already I've seen many signs of renewed life and vitality which I know is a sign of the presence of God's Holy Spirit among us. It's exciting.

We met last Wednesday for a time of worship and prayer, followed by an hour meeting to discuss what we would like to do as a church. It went very well, and we came up with a mission statement, which I will post on here after it is approved on Wednesday at the official session meeting. They have many great ideas, and I know we're on the same page, which is great. Saturday we sold pie and ice cream at the Bessemer Community Days and had an opportunity to make our presence known in the community that way. It was wondeful.

I preached Sunday on the Fruit of the Spirit, with texts from Hosea 1:2-10, Luke 1:1-13, and Galatians 5:16-25. I preached for the first time with only an outline, some quotations written down, and the Bible in front of me. This was quite an accomplishment, since to this point I've only used manuscripts. This makes me happy! In our confirmation Sunday School class, we talked about the Holy Spirit, and had a good discussion. It was a good morning of spiritual nourishment.

So that's about it. Today I'm installing a new toilet in the house since the other one cracked (and I'm not sure how I did that, but whatever). Blessings to you wherever you are, and once I get sermon info for Sunday, I'll pass that along.