July 2022 Newsletter
Did you know Sabbath School is meeting outside for the summer? Join us for thoughtful discussion at the trees near the walking track behind the Village Market.
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Upcoming Events
EXODUS - Light Bearers Convocation
July 5-9 // 6:30-9:00pm
Collegedale Commons
Register for free online at: https://www.lightbearers.org/exodus/
Vespers
No Post-collegiate vespers this month - we hope you'll join us in attending the Light Bearers EXODUS Convocation series at the Collegedale Commons
Social Event
Gym Night
July 30
Time and location TBA
Sabbath School
Weekly // 10:30 am
Outside by SAU's walking track (see map above)
Please note that on the first Sabbath of each month we will participate in outreach in lieu of discussion
Women's Group
Weekly // Wednesdays // 6:30 pm for dinner, 7:00 pm for Bible study
Location subject to change, monitor updates on Facebook and weekly newsletters
Men's Group
Weekly // Wednesdays // 8:00 pm
Focus room in the South Atrium of the Collegedale Church
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Announcements
EXODUS Light Bearers Convocation
Exodus is about more than just Israel's deliverance from Egyptian captivity. After crossing the Red Sea, Israel still had to undergo a process of internal, spiritual liberation. And much like their deliverance from Egypt, this was not something they could achieve themselves. Freedom is scary though, because we have to leave behind what’s familiar—identities, ways of thinking, ways of coping. But if we don’t step into the unknown, we bypass growth, meaning, joy, and fulfillment we couldn’t otherwise experience. When we take God up on His offer of deliverance, we begin to follow Him because we want to, not because we are afraid or obligated. We live from a place of abundance, not scarcity, from a place of peace, not anxiety. We see others as teammates rather than obstacles or tools. It’s the land of milk and honey, and God wants to take you there.
July 5-9 // 6:30-9pm at the Collegedale Commons
Register for free at https://www.lightbearers.org/exodus/#register
Devotional Authors
Do you enjoy the short devotionals shared here in our monthly newsletters? Do you have a story to share? Do you enjoy writing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we'd love to feature your short devotional in one of our upcoming newsletters! You've heard from many of our leadership team members in these monthly devotionals, but we also want to hear from you! Submit your story here.
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Devotional Thought
I recently took a trip to Colorado. There are these never ending stairs that are built into the side of a mountain just outside of Colorado Springs. I imagine that all the stairs I have ever climbed were combined into this one location. It was a lot of stairs, 2,744 stairs to be exact. So why not climb them? As I climbed these awful, tortuous stairs, I found that the last 500 stairs took every effort and mental strain just to convince my shaky legs to take just one more step. You may be thinking, at least the top was a good reward. No, the top was not a good reward because there was no magical carpet to take me down, there was no escalator, elevator or fancy ski lift I could ride down. I had to, you guessed it, take the stairs. And to be honest, gravity was a good friend, but my legs felt just as awful. There was satisfaction though, in completing a difficult task, conquering what I did not like, finding success in spite of the difficult journey. That last part is what I want to focus on a bit here. I usually think of God as a sedentary God. Sitting on His throne, judging, ruling. And He does do that, the Bible is clear. But something I realized is that God is also a God in motion. He is searching, walking, oftentimes running all for us. There are a number of parables that exemplify this, the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son. All these stories demonstrate that God is on the move and He is looking for me. When I feel alone, discouraged and far from my purpose, far from my God, it is then that if I listen I can hear the feet of Him running. He is running to me, to find me and restore me back to the understanding that I am His child and nothing will ever change that. Like the awful mountain I walked, I see God journeying a difficult journey to find us. And when He does, despite the pain and difficulty of the journey, the success of us being found is truly satisfying.
Moses Maier, Collegedale Post-collegiate Sabbath School Coordinator