Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Paul & Karen Albaugh at the passing of their son-in-law, Terry Eng, on Friday, July 10. The funeral was held yesterday in Westminster, MD.
SYMPATHY: to Todd Couzins at the passing of his mother, Nancy Couzins, on Sunday, July 12. A graveside service was held yesterday in Hanover, PA.
SYMPATHY: to Christine Albin at the passing of her husband, Ron Albin, on Saturday, July 11. A Memorial Service will be held here at the church on Saturday, August 29, at 10:00 a.m. in the Auditorium.
CONGRATULATIONS: to Charles & Alma Bednar on the birth of their great-grandson, Callan Roe Hetrick, on Thursday, July 9, weighing 7lbs, 12 oz, and 20½ inches long. The proud parents are Benjamin & Jennifer Hetrick.
CONGRATULATIONS: to Lee & Joan Dillon on the birth of their great-granddaughter, Ameigh Jo Pease, on Sunday, July 12, weighing 7lbs, 3 oz, and 20 inches long. The proud parents are Christian & Alyssa Pease.
THANK YOU: Thank you all so much for the love you've shown to both Rick and myself by your prayers, cards, food, and encouraging words during my surgery and continued recovery. We are truly blessed to have a loving, praying church. There Is no place like Open Door! God bless, Pastor Rick and Carol
SUPER SIXTIES LANCASTER TRIP: Sign up by July 22! The trip may be cancelled if there is insufficient interest. Please sign up ASAP if you would like to go.
From My Heart
I want to share something with you in this week’s “From My Heart,” and I want you to sit down after a while and turn to Isaiah 43:4-13 in your Bible and read a prophecy about the Lord drawing the Jews back into the Land of Promise, which is today Israel. After the Babylonians came to conquer Jerusalem, the Jews lost their beloved land, promised by God to Abraham, and they did not come back as a nation until 1948.
So, this prophecy from Isaiah was spoken 2,700 years ago and was not fulfilled until May 14, 1948. But…it was fulfilled! God Almighty began calling Jews from the east and the west, and from the north as well as the south, to leave their homes and their homelands and come back to the tiny little nation which God had miraculously brought into existence.
In verse 7, notice the Lord said He “created” the Jews for His glory. He also said He “formed” the Jews. And then said He had “made” the Jews. That is the only way anyone can explain the nation of Israel: their existence as a people and as a nation is because God Himself has “created,” “formed,” and “made” the nation!
The process of what is called “The Diaspora” took place over many centuries. It started in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians came and conquered the 10 Tribes of Israel, and the Jews of the northern tribes were scattered. In 586 B.C., the Babylonians came and conquered the two Southern Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and again, there were Jews displaced! In 70 A.D., the Jewish Temple was blown to pieces by the Arabs, and once again the Jews fled into every corner of the earth.
But in 1948, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled, and God began to bring the Jews back into the land which He had promised to give to Abraham’s seed. The Jews have poured into the land of Israel over the last 78 years and are still coming weekly. They have been persecuted more than any other group of people and are still persecuted today. Even here in the United States of America, the Jews are persecuted in horrible ways. Hitler tried to extinguish the Jews from existence and executed around 7 million Jewish men, women, and children in World War II. Sadly, Jewish persecution happens today and all over the known world.
The Lord is not finished with the Jews just yet, and will judge the world during the Tribulation Period, using the Jews to stand against the Antichrist. God Almighty has been using the church since Pentecost to reach the world with the Gospel, but the church is about to be called up to meet the Lord in the air, and when that happens, God will once again work with the Jews to reach the world with the message of Christ’s redemption. So, God needs the Jews in the Land of Promise to fulfill His promises. Have a great day!
Pastor Norris