The Word has the ability to change you: save your soul, change your personality, heal, restore, deliver, and maximize fruit-bearing. To get results though, the Word must be engrafted into your life.

Once I visited a Washington state apple-grower. He grafted Fuji branches to his already established Red Delicious trees. To my surprise, he explained that the superior Fuji apples would grow from the grafting. When we receive God’s Word, better fruit is produced.

We get the Word in our lives by spending time pouring through its pages and meditating on what it has to say. When you and the Word are one, the devil can’t defeat you any more than he can defeat the Word of God. All the devil can do is try to hinder the engrafting process, try to trip us up and let the little foxes—the bitterness we hold on to, the “small” sins—come in and spoil the vine. (Song of Solomon 2:15).

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:4-5, 11

Before you die, God wants to use you to do some extraordinary things. “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green” (Psalm 92:12-14).

God has done a great work in you, but He wants to do a great work through you. You’ve got a part to play by keeping your heart with all diligence, by stopping sin in its beginning, by choosing the love walk over bitterness. Then you will yield quality fruit your entire life.

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright ©2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture quotation taken from the 21st Century King James Version®, copyright © 1994. Used by permission of Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.

There is a law of sin and death, but there is a higher and overriding law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The superseding law of what God will do in our lives is as real as the “law of lift” that Orville and Wilbur Wright discovered when they first flew an airplane. And this life in Christ Jesus will enable us to face and override anything the devil throws our way.

When we face obstacles with the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus backing us up, we know that as we hit rough headwinds God will make us “ride on the high places of the earth” (Deuteronomy 32:13). Trust God in every situation and stay engaged in the fight. Pray a little bit, get in the Word, and pray a little more to get your mind renewed. You can address your obstacles with the confidence that God who has begun a good work in you will complete it! (Philippians 1:6).

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5

God is at work in you causing advancement and change in your life. So when you encounter tough circumstances, remember that “the new spiritual principle of life in Christ lifts [you] out of the old vicious circle of sin and death” (Romans 8:2 Phillips). Whenever the wind starts to blow, turn and face it with the confidence that you have the victory and are called by God to carry this good news to the world!

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright ©2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright ©1960-1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Copyright ©1958-1972 by JB Phillips; The Gospels

7:30 PM Service

Communion will be served at this special service.

Saturday, April 3

Easter Egg Hunt

9:00 – 11:45 AM

Kids ages 1 – 12 are invited to hunt for thousands of eggs filled with treats! Everyone is welcome to enjoy costumed characters, pony rides, face painting, games, prizes, and much more! A minimal cost will apply for food and some activities. This free event will take place outdoors, rain or shine.

Easter Sunday, April 4

Celebrate with us as we honor Jesus at four services!

6:30 AM Sunrise Service

Outdoors, weather permitting; no Children’s Ministry.

8:00 • 9:30 • 11:15 AM Services

Easter is Familiy Sunday! Grades 1-6 attend service with their parents. Children’s ministry will be available for ages birth – Kindergarten.

I am patient.

I am kind.

I am not jealous.

I don’t brag.

I am not arrogant.

I don’t act unbecomingly.

I don’t seek my own.

I am not provoked.

I don’t take into account a wrong suffered.

I don’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoice with the truth.

I bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

LOVE NEVER FAILS!

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

In 2010, God is calling us to remove obstacles. He wants to rain down righteousness, but in order to receive it we must break up any hard ground in our hearts. The ground becomes hard when it’s trampled. In the same way, life can make our hearts harden so that fresh rain runs off instead of entering the soil of the heart. A tender heart is absorbent.

Water is essential to life. In Genesis, the Philistines filled Isaac’s wells with dirt, which stopped them up and blocked the flow of life-giving water. Isaac had to work at re-digging the wells until he finally reached a place where water flowed and he could live in peace.

He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” Genesis 26:22 The Message*

Just as Isaac literally dug wells to restart the flow of life-giving water, God is asking us to break up the fallow ground in our hearts to clear the way for His flow of life. Analyze the places where the enemy has thrown dirt down your wells and cultivate your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). Bitterness, hurt, and the flesh can clog up your heart. Be careful what you watch and listen to, and bridle your tongue. There is so much at stake!

The world doesn’t need your limited human resourcefulness; it needs living water flowing out of you. You are designed by God to be a dispenser of wisdom, an answer to someone’s problem, help for the hurting, and a carrier of the presence of God. Believers are designed to be conduits of God’s love and care. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38). Clear out the obstacles and let rivers of living water flow through you!

Press On!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

8:00 AM – 3:00 PM

3rd & 27th Wards

Spring is coming! Service International and St. Louis Family Church are teaming up again to serve our St. Louis neighbors. We’ll get to help with different projects in over 120 homes! Read more to find out how you can be part of Love The Neighborhood this spring.

Volunteer Info

Lunch will be provided. No childcare will be available. Volunteers ages 12-17 will be assigned to work with their parents. Please attend one of the orientation meetings listed below.

Volunteer Orientation

Thursday, March 18 • club xL / Youth Auditorium • 7:00 PM

Other Service International Opportunities

• Kosovo Dental — April 16 – 25
• Kosovo JUMP! — June 25 – July 4
• Liverpool –July 1 – 10

For information about volunteering with St. Louis Family Church or Service International, call 636.733.8367.

SI’s medical and construction teams are home from Haiti. The doctors and nurses treated nearly 200 sick and injured at the hospital in St. Marc, and the construction team made critical repairs at the hospital and the base. To read the moving account of a surgeon who served on the medical team or to make a donation to Service International Haiti Relief, go to serviceinternational.org.

Continue to pray!
• Pray for specific direction from the Holy Spirit regarding our next steps in Haiti.
• Pray for the hearts of the people of Haiti.
• Pray for the missionaries who continue to serve in Haiti.