Taking Another Step of Faith

Greetings!

As we as a congregation have been exploring taking steps of faith over these past four weeks, we've discussed several aspects of faith:  1) the importance of taking our "first steps" and walking by faith; 2) the necessity of focussing our eyes on Christ to run by faith; 3) a "picture of the faithful person" who humbly lives and gives and loves by faith; and 4)  the dangerous potential of doubt in derailing our faith and the importance of discipline in maintaining our faith.  This series has been very timely for me as I have gone through a season of 

doubt...not doubt in God, but doubt and uncertainty of "direction".  

Through this season I have been surprised by the many ways that God has encouraged my faith, and I am excited and filled with hope that we are moving forward in ways that please God, namely "by faith".  This Sunday we will once again look at our God-given role as reconcilers, 

and our utter dependence on God (faith!) to enable us for our task.  

Let's come together by faith and encourage one another in this journey of faith!

God's grace and peace be with you all,

Dave

CLASS 101-Membership @ The River
10:15 am Sundays June 13, 20 & 27th

Would you like to know more about The River, what we believe and what makes us a family? Would you like to join the family? Sign up and come to these three - one hour sessions, that's all the time it takes! Sign up at the Welcome Center or respond here and we'll connect you! See you on the 13th.

Baptism Class
9:00 am Sunday, July 4th

What a great way to celebrate the 4th by declaring your independence from sin and faith and trust in Jesus Christ as savior! Let us know if you would like to be a part of this celebration, we'd love to support you as a family!

Child Dedication

Do you have a new baby in the family or even older children that you would like to dedicate to the Lord? We would love to support and celebrate with you. Sign up and let us know if there's any Sunday that you will NOT be around to help us schedule this very important event in the life of your family.

Prayer Chain

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Want Ads

These are the things people would like this week. If you can help contact the office.

Ann Harris(our custodian) - room to rent at night only in Iowa City.
Ann & Pat - houses to clean

Genesis Softball
5 & 6 pm Saturday May 8th @ Mercer Park

Genesis Church has a softball team this year. Come out and support their efforts and cheer them on! This is the first game of the season and is a double header. We will post other games when we get a full schedule.

Wildlife Weekends
9am - noon Saturday May 29th

Gareth Smith from Genesis Church is leading an outdoor adventure for kids in grades 1-6th. There are lots of fun activities planned to happen at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area on this day. Contact Gareth for more information about where to meet and anything else. 319.430.7737

Lewis Update

A New letter is in the Resource Center at The River. Pray for lives to continue to be transformed where they are located. See the letter for other requests.

Olesberg Update

As part of her responsibilities for Cape Town 2010 with Intervarsity, Lindsay gathered  seven Bible expositors for an Ephesians retreat.  They spent four days together in Cairo, where we were hosted by the Bible Society of Egypt.  They did a few tourist things together (including riding camels at the Pyramids) and met with some remarkable Christian leaders.  But the bulk of their time was spent around a rectangular table with typed out manuscripts of Ephesians, colored pencils, and reference books  (sound familiar?).    

She regards it as a lavish gift of God that she had the opportunity to dig into Ephesians with this amazing group of people.  They represented six regions of the world and hundreds of years of combined ministry experience. She was able to lead the time effectively. The group began to grow into a team, which is so crucial as they teach a book about reconciliation and unity in the Church.

Lindsay would like to ask for more help financially for this program.
On-line giving options can be found here.

Food Bank Needs This Week

We will be including the current needs each week in Go & Share....a way for you to help show the love of Christ! Lists are also available at church for you to carry in your wallet. Please place your items in the box in the foyer or if needed, in the fridge or freezer in the kitchen labeled for food bank. Also, please pray for those being served, that they would have relationships with Christ as savior and continue to grow!  This week we are in need of mac and cheese, mayonaise, ketchup, chicken noddle soup, spaghetti, toilet paper, paper towels, peas.

*More information about these and other updates is available in the Resource Center. Pick up a letter and pray! See how God works! Local opportunities are listed next to the updates.
We welcome your stories of how you see the love of Christ is being shared also, just email us, we'll pass it on .

Mother's Day Breakfast
8 am - noon @ Stars and Stripes Grill
3016 Muscatine Ave. IC