We are receiving a great response from the message series called The Story (www.thestory.com) Week 5 conveyed God’s promise to His people during the Deliverance from Bondage  –  “…I will be with you always.”

When Moses first approached Pharaoh, he asked that God’s people be allowed to travel to the desert to worship their God.  At last, after an extraordinary confrontation and a miraculous escape, the time had come.  The Lord God met with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai and over a period of time revealed to them His covenant promises and the laws and commands that would guide and shape their identity as a nation.  From the burning branches at a bush on that same mountain, He had called Moses into ministry.  Now the entire mountain aflame with fire of God’s glorious presence, He extends that call to the entire nation.

The “Upper Story” of God continues to give clarity of God’s perfect plan and what it means to be a Christian, a Christ follower, in our “lower story”, your journey called life.

Join us this Sunday, as once again we open “The Story”, God’s Word and explore chapters in the Book of Exodus. “New Commands and a New Covenant” can be found in Chapter 5, p. 59 and Exodus 19-20, 24-25, 32-34, 40 of your Bible.

Testimony: “Quite often I have been asked what The Story is. What I tell questioners is that The Story is a condensed chronological account of the Bible telling the story of creation, what went wrong, and how all will be made right again. Who God is, who we are, and the meaning and purpose of life.”
Jim Barker, Adult Sunday School Teacher Oak Hills Church San Antonio, TX

A Request for information!!!!!! 

We are preparing for our Easter Celebration Outreach.  Many of you have faithfully invited friends, acquaintance, family, work associates, and others to Church on Sunday.  Please provide the following information by return email or fill out cards at Church. They will receive personal invites for Easter Sunday.

Name:

Address

Contact Phone

Email Address

Prayer Request:  See Newsletter or Facebook

Let’s make the next few Sundays an attendance priority.  The Living Water Praise Team and Praise Band prepare throughout the week for a God-centered Spirit-filled Worship experience.  We will break through to well over 100.  How awesome that would be!!!! 

Upcoming Events at Living Water Church of the Nazarene

7:00 PM – Wednesday, – Bible Study – The Gospel of John

Sunday

9:00 AM – Continental Breakfast and fellowship

9:45 AM – Sunday School All Ages

10:45 AM – Worship – “New Commands and a New Covenant”

6:00 PM Sunday, Feb 12 – Valentine Dinner for all Adults (Married, Dating, and Singles)

Call Pastor Ashley for Details and RSVP or Meagan Valentine

8:00 AM, Saturday, Feb. 11^th – Men’s Breakfast at the Church

Devotional from the movie “Courageous”

Call Pastor Steve for details 815.252.4744

9:30 AM, Wednesday, Feb. 15^th Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)

Call Tracey Baker for information

Sunday, Feb. 19 – Annual Church Meeting

2011-12 Church Report and Vision for 2012-13

New Church Member Installation – See Pastor Steve

Officer Elections

5:00 PM – Baptism for All Ages – See Pastor Steve

Sunday, Feb. 26 – Ronald and Shelly Miller – Missionaries from Madagascar

http://abnormalshelly.blogspot.com/

The Millers are Specialised Assignment Missionaries with the Africa Region Church of the Nazarene in the country of Madagascar. They are excited about the ministry and this blog will expand on their ministry and activities in Madagascar. They are blessed with two children, Abigail (born March 2006) and Malachi (born October 2007).

In HIs Service, Pastor Steve

May each of you have a wonderful, exciting, fulfilling, and blessed New Year for 2012.

Living Water Church of the Nazarene will begin the year with a message series that will open our eyes to
The Lower Story, our story, which is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course
of life; and the Upper Story, God’s story, which is the tale of His great, overarching purpose that fits all the
individual stories together like panels in one unified mural.

Discover the heart of God’s Upper Story-His master-plan unfolding in the lives of the Bible’s
character as well as in your own life-experience the joy that comes as you align your story with God’s story.

This Sunday I will introduce “The Story-The Bible as One Story of God and His People”.  Creation: The Beginning Of Life as We Know
It.  Check out www.thestory.com for additional information.

This would be a great time to invite someone to Church and together learn more of God’s grace and love.

 Upcoming Events at Living Water Church 508 W. Illinois Ave., Morris, IL

www.livingwatermorris.org

 Sunday – Message Series “The Story”

9:00   A M    – Breakfast and Fellowship

9:45   AM   - Sunday School for all ages

10:45 AM – Worship

Wednesday @ 7:00 PM  Bible Study – Gospel of John

Tuesday Co-Ed Volleyball – Scott Cook, 815-531-5314

Saturday Co-Ed Volleyball – John Costa, 630-888-6725

Jan 18, Wednesday – Mothers of Pre-School (MOPS) 9:30 AM at Living Water Church – Tracey, Director (tlb8305@gmail.com)

Jan. 13 (Note Change), Friday- MMA Nursing Home Services – 1:00 – 4:00

Jan. 20, Friday – Marriage, Inc Date Night – 7:00 PM ONU  http://www.celebrationofmarriage2012.com/

Jan. 27, Friday – Family Movie Night, “Courageous” – 7 PM

Feb. 5, Sunday – Communion and “Lunch Bunch” – 12 PM

Feb. 11, Saturday – Men’s Breakfast – 8:00 AM

Feb. 12, Sunday – Adult Valentine Dinner – 6:00 PM

Feb. 15, Wednesday – Mothers of Pre-School (MOPS) 9:30 AM at Living Water Church – Tracey, Director  (tlb8305@gmail.com)

Feb. 19, Sunday – LW Annual Church Meeting – 12:00 PM

Sunday,
Nov. 27 10:45 AM – 1^st Sunday of Advent

HOPE – Psalm 80:1-7 and
Isaiah 64:1-9

Sunday, Dec. 4  10:45 AM – 2^nd Sunday of Advent

LOVE – Mark 1:1-8

Lunch Bunch

Wednesday,  Dec. 7^th  4-8 PM

Living Water Bell Ringing at Wal-Mart

Sunday, Dec. 11 10:45 AM – 3^rd Sunday of Advent

JOY – John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sunday, Dec. 18 10:45 AM – 4^th Sunday of Advent

PEACE – LUKE 1:26-38, 45-55

Children’s Christmas Program

5:00 PM – Adult Christmas Party

Saturday, Dec. 24^th 5:00 PM – Christmas Eve

Candlelight Communion Service

Sunday, December 25^th 10:45 AM – Emanuel God With Us

A community wide Praise  and Testimony night – “What’s your Story?” – will be held on Sunday,
November 6^th at 6:00 PM. The event will be hosted by Living Water Church of the Nazarene (www.livingwatermorris.org)
at 508 W. Illinois Ave in Morris. (Canal Port Plaza next to the Grundy County Historical Society)

Faith and Hope are built when we hear how God has answered prayers, provided for needs or strength, given guidance,
healed, or restored relationships.

God is always working in the lives of His people. Join us for a night of fellowship
and encouragement as we hear and share testimonies of how God is working in our
lives. The testimonies will be your story through God. A few minutes of sharing
a scripture verse or a God moment in your life.

When we hear testimony of how God healed, saved, encouraged,
uplifted, taught or delivered someone, then many times our friends, neighbors,
coworkers, family members, and others will give more thought to examining the
claims of Christianity, attending a worship service, or turning to God in
prayer. A simply told Christian testimony can provide a more effective witness
for Christ than the most skillful rhetoric or the most intelligent apologetic.

The key phrase to  remember when delivering a testimony is the same key phrase of any story: but  then ….

• I was hopeless, But then …
• I didn’t care who I hurt or
  which bridges I burned, But then …
• I was addicted, heading for the
  grave. But then …

This phrase and these stories will will grip you. We all want to know how and why someone changes.
But often, testimonies skip over the “but then.” We go from “I was lost”
immediately to “I am found. I have peace. I’m assured of heaven.”

Maybe this is because few of us have a Damascus Road experience – a dramatic voice from heaven or
miraculous encounter that changes everything in one instant. More often, we
give our lives to Christ and then believe our new life is not interesting to
others. Or we experience some life setbacks and minimize God’s continued work in our life.

But your life is  interesting. Your life with God’s story is valuable and helpful to others.
Don’t think your testimony isn’t worth telling if it doesn’t contain a
miraculous game-changing event. To many people – especially those who are
hurting – rarely realize the importance of the miracle when even one person
invests time, energy, and emotion into the life of another. These are God
ordained moments in our life.

Tell your but then… story, and be specific. Do not move to but now until you’ve covered but
then. If you’ll do that, and follow these few, quick suggestions, then
you’ll have a solid Christian testimony that you can share with the world,
regardless of your command of grammar, syntax, wit, or rhetoric:

1. Read A Testimony From The Bible

Read one of the great testimonies of people in the Bible. Abraham and Isaac, Joseph, Moses, King
David, Esther, Joshua, Peter, Paul, John and the countless other people that God worked in and through.

2. Pray For The Spirit’s Help

Sometimes our thoughts get so jumbled we don’t even know what we should ask for when we pray. But the
Bible says the Spirit prays for us. (Romans 8:26). In the same way, God knows
our story better than we do. He can help us tell it well.

3. Remember

Before writing your Christian testimony, think about your life prior to Christ. What obstacles were
you facing? How did you feel whenever you were alone with your thoughts? Why did you need to change?

4. Outline in Three Steps: Before…, But Then…, After…

There is a reason why the three-point outline is so effective for a wide range of testifying to God’s
presence in your life – it’s clear and it works. Stories traditionally have a
beginning, middle and end. In the first point, tell us what life was
like before, and why you needed to change. In the second point, tell us what
brought about that change, and how the change occurred. In the third point,
tell us where you are now – how you feel, and what you expect in the future.

5. Be specific.

Make your testimony concrete by including details. Obviously you need to exercise wisdom as your
testimony relates to other people – especially if it casts them in a bad light.
There is a time to refrain from naming names. But in general, include specific
events, places and people. This will make your testimony more concrete to
others. For instance:

“At Starbucks I ran into my old friend Carla, whom I hadn’t seen in ten years. As we talked I could tell
there was something different about her. When she invited me to come to [Your  Church Name] with her, it surprised me.”

Instead of:

“I ran into someone I used to know. She invited me to church.”

The power of specificity even makes fictional events seem real — how much more so, a story that is true?

6. Most importantly, remember it’s all about Christ.

You didn’t save yourself, heal yourself, or become more like Jesus on your own effort. The gulf
between sinners and our holy, perfect God is only surmountable through the
cross of Christ. Keep the focus where it should be, on God’s work in You
through His Son, by His Spirit, rather than on your own self-help plans.

“If you are a Christian you have experienced God’s power. You might say, “I don’t have one of those
crazy stories, like …drug lord to ‘Jesus is Lord.’ But that’s lame. Your
testimony and God’s story is powerful and interesting to others.

Every testimony is a tribute to God’s power. It’s only by God’s power that we step out of death into
life, that we are transformed out of darkness into the kingdom of light, with
God’s son Jesus Christ. We need to pray for wisdom to communicate this message.

Once again, you and your family are invited to a community wide Praise and Testimony night on Sunday,
November 6^th at 6:00 PM. The event will be hosted by Living Water Church of the Nazarene (www.livingwatermorris.org)
at 508 W. Illinois Ave in Morris. (Canal Port Plaza next to the Grundy County Historical Society)

Please email your  testimony to Pastor Steve Cook at cooksd7@aol.com or call 815.252.4744 if you are
unable to attend this evening. With permission someone will read the testimony  during the evening.

To God Be The Glory,

Pastor Steve

The colors of fall are dramatic and breath taking.  The annual flowers in front of our home remains
vibrant and alive.  The contrast of blooming flowers and leaves changing from
green to vibrant oranges and yellows are rarely seen.  Usually frost hits, the
flowers wilt and die before the trees change their colors.  But this year, God
has allowed the seasons to interact with one another. 

Summer is full of life and energy, yet fall hosts a beautiful array of vibrancy before the
inevitable. First vivid colors, then to brown and brittle, and then the leaves
fall to the ground.  The annuals die, trees and perennials prepare for the long
cold winter found in the mid-west. 

These new lives, my children having children, has caused me once again to pause and reflect on the
responsibility God entrusts us, God’s Word, and His commands. 

I would like to hear from you.  What are some on-purpose, life changing, legacy making,
traditions you are doing that changes your family tree – today and tomorrow?
These will make some great quotes to place on Living Water Church’s web-site for
others to witness God’s promises and power. Send me an email at cooksd7@aol.com

Note: MaryAnn and I just returned from the Chicago Central District Pastor and Spouse Conference.
Exceptional time of regeneration, worship, a Word from God, and fellowship with
other ministers and spouse from Chicago Central District and Wisconsin
District.  Thank you Church for investing in your Pastor’s well-being.

A take-away quote from Dr. Daniel Ketchum, “When the enemy reminds you of your past, remind him of his
future!” And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and false prophet had been throw.  They will
be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10

Look Ahead Calendar

October 23 – New Message Series begins – “Heaven Is For Real”

October 28 – MMA Nursing Home Service 1:00 – 4:00 PM

October 28 – SDMI Workshop at Joliet 1^st Church – Sign up sheet at Church

October 30 – Message Series – “Heaven Is For Real”

Thursday, November 3 – Serving at St. Vincent’s Table (Homeless) 4:00 – 6:00 PM

November 6 – Message Series  – “Heaven Is For Real”
Holy Communion and Lunch Bunch Turkey Dinner

November 13 – Message Series – “Heaven Is For Real”

November 16 – Mothers of Pre-School (MOPS) 9:30 AM at Living Water Church – Tracey, director (tlb8305@gmail.com)

November 20 – Dec. 11 
Christmas Series begins – “Illuminate – An Advent Experience”

Pastor Steve Cook, Lead Pastor

“This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians
3:13-14).

Pastor Steve

Come Sail with Us on an Expedition of the High Seas

The Living Water Church of Morris, 508 W. Illinois, Morris, IL. will be sailing the High Seas at Vacation Bible School. We would like to invite all children ages 2 years to 6th grade to join us on this expedition. The expedition is slated for July 31st to August 4th at 6 p.m. and going to 8 p.m.

Each night we will be studying the Bible, playing games, watching videos, making crafts and sharing in the fun of exploring the mighty love of God. As always this fun filled adventure is free of charge.

We would love to have your child come and join us at Vacation Bible School and sail on the High Seas. To sign up for VBS please contact Pastor Ashley at : pastorashley512@yahoo.com or (815)

To conclude our funfilled expedition we will be having a School Fun Fair on Sunday, August 7th, we will have more details to follow.