Category: EBC News

How long can you hold your arms in the air? How long before your arms get tired? Do you remember the biblical account in Moses’ life when his arms got tired?  We won’t be looking at that scene in our present sermon series, but it is a powerful story that speaks to where we live life.
 
In a battle against the Amalekites at the end of Exodus chapter 17, there is an interesting twist to the Israelites defeating their enemy.  Whenever Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  As you can imagine, after a while of Moses holding up his hands, he got tired.  So, two guys come alongside of Moses and each grab one of his arms to hold it up.  In essence they are saying, “Moses, keep doing your part and we will help you.”  
 
The church is called to come alongside each other to help them stay the course.  Just when we might say, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going,” others lift us up.  Just when we are too weary to parent, to stick it out in our marriage, to make it through another week, to live with this pain, to keep our arms up, the church family is nearby.  As we saw from Moses’ life this past week, there are times when in our weariness we need to share the load and find relief of some additional tasks.  There are also those times, as in Exodus 17, that we need people holding up our weary arms in support and love.  Either way, church, we need each other.  Going the distance requires the help of others.
 
We were made for community.  I hope you have others around you helping you keep your commitments, sharing the load, putting courage into you, and spurring you on to love and good deeds.  Community groups will be in full stride in a few weeks.  The name community groups is not accidental.  It is in smaller groups that meet regularly where community is experienced, where the one another admonitions of Scripture are lived out, and where we taste what being the church is all about.  Sign up begins this Sunday.  There are two new groups added to our existing groups.
 
Please be in prayer for the neighborhood block party happening this Saturday.  We just learned that there is a carnival taking place at Leavitt park around the same time.  Not sure what that means, but that while it was a surprise to us, our sovereign Lord was not surprised.  He’s got this!
 
Hope you are planning on attending the picnic and baptism on Sunday, September 8.  Baptism classes will be held the next two Sundays during the first service in room 102.  Check out the details below.
 
As you continue in your week remember Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11.  “Come all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”  Remember Peter’s words in his first epistle, chapter 5- “Cast all your cares on Him because he cares for you.”  Praise God that He never sleeps or slumbers, but that His eyes are constantly on us…even when we sleep!  EBC, rest in Him!
 
Blessings, Pastor Brian

“This car climbed Mt Washington.” You’ve seen the bumper sticker, I’m sure. I can remember driving the Mt Washington Auto Road as a kid. If you have ever driven towards Mount Washington (or any mountain), you know that they look one way in the distance but as you get closer, they look different. When you look at a mountain, even though it’s the same one, you would describe it differently from a distance, from down below, from the middle or up top.

That’s a lot like the Bible. God’s Word is a book with a lot of layers. When we come to God’s Word it has many applications. That is not to say, Scripture means one thing one time and something different another time. But depending on which part of the mountain you want to look at, you can apply it many different ways. This is why God’s Word is so rich! We can come to it again and again and see something fresh.

People often ask me about my process for sermon preparation. It has many different steps, but one important step in the process is observation. As Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying, “you see, but don’t observe.” When it comes to reading God’s Word, whether in preparation to teach or for our own personal time, asking, “What do I see?” is a critical question in mining the depths of God’s Word. I encourage you to make some observations about the passage of Scripture you are reading. My desire for you is that you are a self-feeding believer.

Not too long ago, I had the privilege of feeding my 8-month old grandson some yummy mush from a jar. I say “yummy” because that is what I said as I “air planed” a little helping of this green stuff from the spoon to his mouth. He would open wide and the food would go into his mouth, except those times he turned his head and it landed on his cheek. But I digress…

My point is feeding an 8-month old food is cute and appropriate. But what if I was still doing that when he was 8 years old? You would observe that something is wrong. Either the child was not developing as 8-year old’s do or it was time for that child to feed himself. How many believers are not feeding themselves God’s Word but only relying on what the preacher feeds them once a week? When I have heard that believers leave a church because they aren’t being fed God’s Word, I wonder if contained in that statement isn’t a self-indictment. I am not suggesting that it is unimportant to be fed on Sunday mornings, but as Howard Hendricks puts it, “Sitting under the teaching of God’s Word ought to be a stimulus, not a substitute for getting into it ourselves.” Are you getting into God’s Word yourself? What do you see/observe when you read it for yourself?

Speaking of sitting under the teaching of God’s Word, beginning on September 8, our sermon series will we will be looking at Second Timothy and the importance of leaving a legacy. Community groups will begin that week as well following along again in the sermon series. Later in September (9/22), we will resume our Sunday morning Bible study (9:00) on the book of James.

There are many other things happening at EBC this month and the months to come, so stay in the loop. You don’t want to miss the picnic and baptism on 9/8 and the business meeting and ice cream on 8/28. There are also baptism classes and a financial review scheduled this month.

Look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we feed on God’s Word together!
Pastor Brian

As most of you know, a few years ago as a church we adopted the ISKI people in support of the work Seth and Rochelle Callahan among the ISKI people in Papua, New Guinea.  Here is an update from André & Aurélie who are co-workers with the Callahans.

We are very encouraged by the growth of many in their spiritual life. Our dear Iski friends live in misery, sometimes hunger, and they work hard in their gardens, however this misery turns into a blessing because they are well aware that this world has nothing to offer them. Their hope rests in God alone and He answers their prayers daily.

We have recently translated Luke 6, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.”

As she was working on this chapter, Brigita said, “It’s very true! As long as we are on this earth, we will live in pain and hard work. We have practically nothing, but it does not really matter because we have what matters most, salvation in Jesus! Nothing in this world can compare to what Jesus offers us, nothing! We are richer than many.” Then she said, “We have Jesus, and Jesus hears our prayers.”

Last Sunday was the first public wedding in Oguru. In Iski culture, marriage is an ill-defined term, people go out together, move in together, break up, a bit like in the West. There is no wedding day but a “trial period” that often ends in separation even after the birth of a child. Since 2017 Christians have been waiting for the opportunity to show their obedience to the Lord and their difference. Last Sunday Bitris and Moombi were married in front of the community of the church, it was a joyful celebration but also an example and an encouragement for all.

We also praise the Lord for Leoni who gave birth to a baby girl last week. Both are doing well. The baby is healthy but really small and we think she is born ahead of time. Please remember them in your prayers. Leoni had lost her firstborn child in 2017, pray that this baby girl can grow strong.

Three nights ago, a young woman called Damaris also gave birth to her first child. It was not going well.  Time was running out and the baby was not coming. Previously, before the Gospel, we had also witnessed difficult births: everyone was afraid, the women would leave the room one after the other and try to find out what could have caused this. Perhaps the father and the mother had had an argument recently? Had “harmony” been disrupted in one way or another? The father would come and shout apologies to his wife from under the house, hoping that the restored harmony would help them deliver the child…

But tonight it was different! All the women had gathered around Damaris, staying with her all night and praying for her. Lucy said, “We were not afraid because we had put Damaris in the hands of our God. We were powerless to support her but the Almighty God was with us that night. When the baby was born, we could only praise His Name. Thanks to him, a new life was born in Oguru.”

God answers prayers! He is alive. Thank you for your prayers for us. This week, we ask you to pray for rain. The last few weeks have been very dry and our water supply is at the lowest, we have barely enough for a week.

Thank you for your prayers,
André & Aurélie

We gather to go! You have heard me say that before. I love gathering with you each Sunday for worship. God is glorified each time His people collectively enjoy Him and joyfully respond in praise. Worship is an end in itself. God’s goal is that all the peoples of the world worship Him.

Our worship fuels evangelism. This is what compels us to reach others with the gospel. We long for others to know the One who has made Himself known and who has redeemed us. We gather to go!

Our philosophy of evangelism at EBC is that all followers of Christ are called to influence those in their web of relationships with the love and good news of Christ. Where God has placed you is your “mission” field. God has also placed his people in this facility on Washington Street in Laconia to reach our neighbors for Christ.

On Saturday, August 17, a team from EBC will be representing the EBC family at our first annual neighborhood block party. In my years spent in Portland, Maine, Donna and I were quite intentional in establishing positive relationships with our neighbors. For several years, we initiated a block party. It started out with just a few families, then over time, neighbors looked forward to the annual block party. Our hope is that this block party for the church neighbors might even inspire you to consider hosting one in your neighborhood.

The church’s block party will be funded through local outreach but will still need help from the EBC family. The meat and the drinks will come from the church budget. You can help by providing some kind of salad or dessert. People will be needed to set-up on that Saturday and others needed for clean-up when the event is over. Please sign up this Sunday. Also, we will be looking for a few people to be at the event to man the bouncy house, help with games for the kids, run popcorn machine, help on the grill, and mingle with our neighbors. See Donna or me if interested.

Since we do not want to “overwhelm” our neighbors with too many people from the church, this block party is not for the entire church. There will be other outreach opportunities where you can jump in, such as, church booth at the Laconia pumpkin fest and trunk or treat.

Our time for fellowship is not at this block party, but at the church picnic September 8th. There will also be a baptism at the picnic. Baptism classes will be held on August 18 (for children under 13) and August 25 (for those 13 and over). Both classes will take place during first service at 9:00.

Hope to see you Sunday in our newly air-conditioned worship center. As long as there are no setbacks, HVAC should be operational this weekend, at least upstairs. And I say, “Deo Volente” (Lord willing).

Blessings to you,
Pastor Brian

Harmony!  A song sung in beautiful harmony is pleasant to the ears.  Harmony is defined as, “the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progressions having a pleasing effect.”  In other words, same song but with different parts by the ones singing.  Don’t you love listening to good harmony?  Don’t you enjoy music done in beautiful harmony?

That is what God wants the church to be.  It isn’t that we are all singing exactly the same thing, but we all have our part and somehow it all comes together.  My heart was blessed by the harmony of this church family around the On Goal soccer camp.  There were many parts that came together.  There was money needed to get certain campers to even attend On Goal. There were hosts homes and meals provided so that coaches were taken care of.  There was food donated, supplies delivered to the park, popsicles and water for hydration and many other details managed to make it all happen.

Then there was the picnic on Saturday!  Grills were picked up and dropped off, tables were set up, ice buckets filled, food prepared on the tables, grilling of hamburgers and hot dogs, people directing the whole operation and there was beautiful harmony!  All the various parts contributing to the same task.  There is something beautiful and irresistible about watching unity in action!  The Psalmist declared, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony” (Psalm 133:1).  

A loud thanks to all those who helped and prayed and gave to this event!  You can check out the video of the 103 kids and 15 coaches with the link here.

One follow-up to this outreach event is the church neighborhood block party on August 17.  This block party is for our neighbors here on Washington Street.  The local outreach team is working on the details. This block party is for the purpose of being neighborly and building relationships with the people in our backyard, so a limited number of people from the church are needed at the event on August 17.  If you would like to be of help either behind the scenes or to engage our neighbors at the block party then contact Donna Green.  

Other outreach events are scheduled for this fall so stay tuned. And our hope is that the gym roof and floor will be ready by this fall for community basketball and adding volleyball for the purposes of outreach as well.  

The annual church picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 8, at Opechee Park.  Pick up some lunch and head over to the park anytime from noon to 3:00.  There will be a baptism at 2:00.  Bring lawn games and chairs.  If you would like to be baptized contact the office or Pastor Dan or me and plan on attending one of the baptism classes in August.  

Hope to see you Sunday.  I love Sunday mornings as the various parts of Christ’s body come together to sing, fellowship, serve, and grow in the Lord as each part does its work!  To the God of unity and harmony be all glory!  

Pastor Brian