• WORSHIP and THE WORD at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM
  • Nursery, 4s and 5s, Kids 4 Christ
  • This morning we welcome Kingdom Ministries, a local youth drama group led by Jean Rogers.
  • Pastor Mark Boucher, “How Can I Pray?” (Matt. 6:5-15)
• CHRISTIAN EDUCATION at 10:00 AM
  • Adults meet in the Youth Chapel for the summer.
• THE TRUTH PROJECT SMALL GROUPS, 6:30 PM

JOIN US THIS WEEK

• MONDAY 7:00 PM—Prayer
• TUESDAY
  • 7:00 PM—Prayer
  • 7:30 PM—Christian 12 Step
• WEDNESDAY
  • 5:45 PM—A.L.I.V.E. Homeschoolers Prayer
  • 6:30 PM—FAMILY NIGHT
    • Rainbows (girls & boys, 3 up to K)
    • Girls Ministries (grades K-8)
    • Royal Rangers (boy’s clubs, K-12)
    • Adults & Impact Youth Ministries John Bevere DVD series: Honor’s Reward
• SATURDAY
  • 4:00 PM—African Fellowship Prayer (Onos’ home)
  • 7:00 PM—All-Church Prayer

ANNOUNCING

• THANK YOU to all who helped with Vacation Bible School this week and to all who blessed the homeless by giving time and energy to the Hospitality Network this past week. “‘For your work will be rewarded,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:16).
• THE AFRICAN FELLOWSHIP meets this Saturday, 4:00 PM, at the home of Manny and Beatrice Onos for prayer and fellow-ship. Call 978-345-2040 for more information or directions.
• MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY! Media Ministries needs YOU! Help is needed—especially for duplication. If you can volunteer some time to help each week or occasionally, please connect with Robin Labrousse, Ann Chester, or Pastor Rafael.
• A WATER BAPTISM SERVICE will be held at the Annual Church Picnic on Sunday, August 24 (Ripple Beach at Sunset Lake in Ashburnham). Please fill out an application card at the Welcome Center if you desire to be baptized in water (turn in the card at the Welcome Center, in the offering, or at the church office). A class will be held the morning of the 24th, 10:00-10:50, which you should make plans to attend.
• THE DISTRICT MUSIC CONFERENCE will be held Saturday, September 20, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, in Agawam. The cost is $25/person and $15/student. Registrations must be in early. If you would like to attend, please see Pastor Rafael to sign up and pay. We will be taking the church van.

HOMETEAMS MEETING THIS WEEK

• Christians in Action (Proiettis)—Tuesday, 7:00 PM
• Branches of Messiah (Wheelers)—Wednesday, 6:30 PM
• YACC for Young Adults (Riehles)—Thursday, 6:30 PM
• Women of Faith (Telliers)—Friday, 10:00 AM
• Pick up directions at the Welcome Center. You are invited!

CHURCH LIBRARY

• The library, located next to the Youth Chapel, is open:
• Sunday: 10:00-11:00 AM, after second service, 6:00-6:30 PM
• Wednesday: 6:15-6:30 PM and after Family Night ministries

TAKE THE LAND OFFERINGS TO DATE

• Original Loan Amount: $600,000
• Paid Down from Church Budget: 52,016
• Total Offerings, 6/07 - 7/08: 89,490
• Current Loan Balance: $458,494
• Average Monthly Offerings: $6,629
• At an average $9500/month extra applied each month, the loan should be paid off by Aug 2011.

NEEDS IN OUR CHURCH FAMILY

• A young woman in the church is looking for work. She has almost 10 years experience in the accounting and credit department areas. If you know of anything, please e-mail her at mkeylida@yahoo.com.
• A sister in Christ is seeking a home with the same. If you can help, please call contact the church office. God bless you!
• A man in the church needs transportation from Fitchburg to work in Ashburnham. Also, the construction firm he works for is hiring. If you’d like more information or could help, please call the church office.

BULLETIN INSERTS

Pastor Mark Boucher

Text: Psalm 112:1-10

• WORSHIP and THE WORD at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM
  • Nursery, 4s and 5s, Kids 4 Christ
  • We will share together in Communion this morning.
  • Pastor Mark Boucher will minister from God’s Word: “Hope for Tomorrow” (Psalm 112:1-10)
• CHRISTIAN EDUCATION at 10:00 AM
  • Adults meet in the Youth Chapel for the summer.
• THE TRUTH PROJECT SMALL GROUPS, 6:30 PM

JOIN US THIS WEEK

• MONDAY
  • 9:00 AM—Vacation Bible School begins
  • 7:00 PM—Prayer
• TUESDAY
  • 9:00 AM—Vacation Bible School
  • 7:00 PM—Prayer
  • 7:30 PM—Christian 12 Step
• WEDNESDAY
  • 9:00 AM—Vacation Bible School
  • 5:45 PM—A.L.I.V.E. Homeschoolers Prayer
  • 6:30 PM—FAMILY NIGHT - Movie Night in the sanctuary
• THURSDAY 9:00 AM—Vacation Bible School
• FRIDAY
  • 9:00 AM—Vacation Bible School
  • 7:00 PM—VBS Closing Service
• SATURDAY 7:00 PM—All-Church Prayer

ANNOUNCING

• OUR ROTATION WEEK in the Interfaith Hospitality Network begins today. There are still several slots to be filled for the week to minister to homeless families who are being housed at St. Bernard’s Convent. Please stop by the MIHN table in the foyer for information and to sign up to be a two-hour on-site host or an overnight host. You are needed!
• VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL BEGINS TOMORROW! Please be in prayer this week for our director, Kim Johnson, the teachers and helpers, and all of the children that will be participating in this great week at Avalanche Ranch. We’re expecting God to do great things! There will be a closing service at 7:00 Friday night.
• A MOVIE NIGHT will be held for the whole family this Wednesday at 6:30. Because of VBS, we will all meet together in the sanctuary to watch Ken Davis in “The God of Second Chances.”
• A WATER BAPTISM SERVICE will be held at the Annual Church Picnic on Sunday, August 24 (place to be announced). Please fill out an application card at the Welcome Center if you desire to be baptized in water (turn in the card at the Welcome Center, in the offering, or at the church office). A class will be held the morning of the 24th, 10:00-10:50, which you should plan to attend.
• THE DISTRICT MUSIC CONFERENCE will be held Saturday, September 20, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, in Agawam. The cost is $25/person and $15/student. Registrations need to be in early. If you would like to attend, please see Pastor Rafael to sign up and pay. We will be taking the church van.

HOMETEAMS MEETING THIS WEEK

• Christians in Action (Proiettis)—Tuesday, 7:00 PM
• Branches of Messiah (Wheelers)—Wednesday, 6:30 PM
• YACC for Young Adults (Riehles)—Thursday, 6:30 PM
• Women of Faith (Telliers)—Friday, 10:00 AM
• Pick up directions at the Welcome Center. You are invited!

CHURCH LIBRARY

• The library, located next to the Youth Chapel, is open:
• Sunday: 10:00-11:00 AM, after second service, 6:00-6:30 PM
• Wednesday: 6:15-6:30 PM and after Family Night ministries

TAKE THE LAND OFFERINGS TO DATE

• Beginning Loan Amount: $600,000
• Regular Principal Payments: 14,072
• Extra Principal Applied: 125,962
• Current Loan Balance: $459,966
• At an average $9500/month extra applied each month, the loan should be paid off by Aug 2011.

NEEDS IN OUR CHURCH FAMILY

• A sister in Christ is seeking a home with the same. If you can help, please call the church office. God bless you!
• A man in the church needs transportation from Fitchburg to work in Ashburnham. Also, the construction firm he works for is hiring. If you’d like more information or could help, please call the church office.

BULLETIN INSERTS

None this week.

Pastor Mark Boucher

Text: Isaiah 55:6-9 “Take the High Road”

INTRODUCTION:

1. Friday night, as a family we traveled to Boston.
   1. We stood on the east side of the Charles River.
   2. I imagined the British occupation of Boston in 1775 and pictured Washington and the Continentals in Cambridge.
2. Then I realized, America is still at war …
   1. This is not a war for national independence, or against terrorists.
   2. This great struggle is the war for the mind and soul of America.
3. Isaiah the prophet presented God’s people with truth.
   1. Isaiah witnessed the decline and fall of Israel.
   2. Isaiah saw the thunderclouds coming toward Judah.
   3. *God led the prophets to warn and offer hope.
4. I can’t change America, but I can change myself.
   1. Our change can be a powerful weapon in the hands of God.
   2. *Even the most introverted person influences about 10.000 people in his lifetime.
   3. Change is an inside job … starts with our mind, thoughts.
   4. Forces in America encourage people to ignore God.
   5. You can preoccupy yourself with a host of activities and media saturation and hardly even think of God.
   6. The lack of God always pulls us lower in morals, decency.

QUESTION:
What will it take for us to change from lower to higher … from our thoughts to God’s thoughts?

ANSWER:
We must choose the right road. We must exercise our faith in what God says. How?

1. Believe what God says about Himself.
   1. Do you believe that God is wise enough to reveal Himself?
   2. God proclaims, “I am available” (v.6)
   3. He is high and holy, but has invited us to come up.
   4. “He can be found” (v.6)
   5. Some hold on to thought like: “you can never really know if there is a God.”
   6. Some say, “God has hidden Himself in the universe.” Nature.
   7. He is near.
   8. “Call on Him while He is near.” (v.6b)
   9. “He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27)
   10. God proclaims, “I am merciful.” (v.7b)
   11. He desires to freely pardon (v.7b) (Hebrew “multiply pardon”)
   12. He revealed His mercy in His Son sent from heaven.
   13. “But he was periced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
   14. *Some people say they believe in God’s availability and mercy, but it makes little difference in how they think and live. They live down low.
2. We must believe what God says about ourselves.
   1. God says we must seek Him. (v.6)
   2. As Americans we are searching for spiritual experience.
   3. Seeking God pushes us outside our self-centered, self-deceived thoughts. (I can do it alone.)
   4. God says we must be willing to turn, change. (v.7)
   5. This is true for the non-believer.
   6. *I had to be willing to turn to God and forsake sin.
   7. This is true for the believer. (The message of Isaiah was first to God’s people.)
3. God says, choose the high road. (vv.8-9)
   1. God wants our life filled with beauty, awe.
   2. Being filled with the thoughts of the world only bring you down.

Our culture affects us more than we realize.

Why does God want us to take the high road?

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Choose the high road …

• WORSHIP and THE WORD at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM
  • Nursery, 4s and 5s, Kids 4 Christ
  • The monthly Missions Offering will be received today.
  • Pastor Mark Boucher, “Choosing the Higher Road” (Isaiah 55:6-9)
• CHRISTIAN EDUCATION at 10:00 AM
  • Adults meet in the Youth Chapel for the summer.
• THE TRUTH PROJECT SMALL GROUPS, 6:30 PM

JOIN US THIS WEEK

• MONDAY 7:00 PM—Prayer
• TUESDAY
  • 7:00 PM—Prayer for Israel
  • 7:30 PM—Christian 12 Step
• WEDNESDAY
  • 5:45 PM—A.L.I.V.E. Homeschoolers Prayer
  • 6:30 PM—FAMILY NIGHT
    • Rainbows (girls & boys, 3 up to K)
    • Girls Ministries (grades K-8)
    • Royal Rangers (boys’ clubs, K-12)
    • Adults & Impact Youth Ministries
    • John Bevere DVD Series: “Honor’s Reward”
• THURSDAY 6:30 PM—VBS Workers’ Meeting
• SATURDAY 7:00 PM—All-Church Prayer

ANNOUNCING

• VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REGISTRATION continues in the foyer. Stop by the VBS table to register your children who have completed Kindergarten through 6th grade.
• JOIN US THIS TUESDAY NIGHT at 6:30 as we gather to pray specifically for Israel. See Gus or Dale Wheeler if you would like more information.
• OUR ROTATION WEEK in the Interfaith Hospitality Network begins next Sunday, July 13. Please stop by the table in the foyer to sign up to prepare or provide a meal or to be an on-site two-hour host or overnight (sleeping) host. What a great opportunity to be a blessing! You are needed!
• VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IS JUST ONE WEEK AWAY! There will be a final workers’ meeting this Thursday, 6:30 PM, in the Youth Chapel. If you are available this Thursday through Sunday to help decorate, please drop by morning, afternoon, or evening. We’ll be having fun making preparations for our exciting week.
• A WATER BAPTISM SERVICE will be held at the Annual Church Picnic on Sunday, August 24 (place to be announced). Please fill out an application card at the Welcome Center if you desire to be baptized in water (turn in the card at the Welcome Center, in the offering, or at the church office). A class will be held the morning of the 24th, 10:00-10:50, which you should plan to attend.
• ISRAEL TRIP DEPOSIT DUE: Are you planning to go to go on the trip to the Holy Land next February 23 through March 4? The $350 deposit is due NOW. Please direct any questions you may have to Fumio or Elaine Taku.
• LOST AND FOUND is filling up again. There are several Bibles, umbrellas, articles of clothing, etc. that need to be claimed. The lost and found is in the hallway near the church offices.

HOMETEAMS MEETING THIS WEEK

• Christians in Action (Proiettis)—Tuesday, 7:00 PM
• Branches of Messiah (Wheelers)—Wednesday, 6:30 PM
• YACC for Young Adults (Riehles)—Thursday, 6:30 PM
• Women of Faith (Telliers)—Friday, 10:00 AM
• Pick up directions at the Welcome Center. You are invited!

CHURCH LIBRARY

• The library, located next to the Youth Chapel, is open:
• Sunday: 10:00-11:00 AM, after second service, 6:00-6:30 PM
• Wednesday: 6:15-6:30 PM and after Family Night ministries.

TAKE THE LAND OFFERINGS TO DATE

• Beginning Loan Amount: $600,000
• Regular Principal Payments: 14,072
• Extra Principal Applied: 124,724
• Current Loan Balance: $461,204
• At an average $9500/month extra applied each month, the loan should be paid off by Aug 2011.

BULLETIN INSERTS

Pastor Mark Boucher

Pastor Rafael has been involved in music since he was five years old. His main instrument is the flute, and he plays six other instruments professionally (clarinet, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums). He has led choirs, orchestras, music schools, and bands in churches and secular fields. He also composes, arranges, and writes music.

Pastor Rafael’s qualifications come from years of experience and study including Canada Christian College, Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, and Berean School of Ministry. He has had ten years of experience in sound, two years of experience directing video and editing, and five years of experience in church drama.

“I am originally from Brazil. I was raised in a Christian family in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I have also lived in New York, Boston, Toronto, Canada, and Cape Coral, FL. I have a heart for worship. I am limited, but my God isn’t. He has given me great dreams [for Leominster Assembly of God]: various types of bands and orchestras, several choirs (worship, church, women’s, men’s, youth), multiple worship teams, sound teams, video teams, a drama team, and, possibly, recording CDs from the church worship team.”

Pastor Rafael and Flavia celebrated their first wedding anniversary on July 7. Be sure to congratulate them and encourage them in their new marriage and new ministry!

My sisters in Christ, like so many roses,
add beauty and peace to my life.

Truly their open hearts and arms
ease my troubled strife.

A gentle smile, an understanding hug
fill my heart with love.

On eagle’s wings I soar in flight
ever thankful to God above.

I gather a bouquet of these living blooms
and clasp them to my heart,

Knowing their kindness carries me on
that welcomed me from the start.

I know I’ll see my sisters in the Garden of Life
turning their faces to the Son

Once again we’ll embrace with our hearts in joy
The heavenly goal is won.