SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE, JULY 31, 2016

KINDERHOOK REFORMED CHURCH - REV. RUDY VISSER, PASTOR

“To Know Christ and to Make Him Known”

Welcome visitors!  Please fill out a pew card and place it in the offering plate.

9 A.M.  CELEBRATION OF WORSHIP

  Following worship today, all are invited to enjoy fellowship and refreshments at the Lemonade Stand hosted by Donna Flansburg on the front lawn of the church.

Thanks to today’s ushers, Ted Call, Jerry Flansburg, Glenn Warren, Chip Wood

Thanks to today’s greeter(s), Jean & Stacey Hurst   

Preschool nursery available downstairs.  

  Prelude, Welcome, Announcements, and God’s Greeting

Drawing Near to God

  Call to Worship (screen)                                                                       Come Just as You Are

*Hymn  (screen)                                                                                    Rejoice the Lord Is King

  Morning Prayer

Allowing God to Shape Us

  Call to Confession

We may work hard to hide our faults and flaws from one another and from ourselves, but with God, we may run, but we cannot hide. Let us, in this moment of confession, stop running away from but towards God. 

  Prayer of Confession  (Responsive)
If we have been singing with our voices and kept the joy out of our hearts

       Lord, have mercy on us.

If we have prayed only for what was possible,

and hoped only for what we could see,
       Lord, have mercy on us.

If we have taken your grace for granted,

and expected instant answers to immediate requests,

       Lord, have mercy on us.

If we have thought of us waiting on you, and never pondered how you wait on us,

       Lord, have mercy on us.

If we have loved only those who love us,

       Lord, have mercy and forgive us. Amen.

  Assurance of Forgiveness  (Responsive)

By the mercies of God, I declare to you that your sins are forgiven. You are beloved, redeemed brothers and sisters of Christ. Thanks be to God! Amen.

       Thanks be to God. Amen.

God’s love is abundant and sufficient. The cross is for us a reckoning. Our debt is paid, and mercy flows. Friends, our God is a God of full pardon and forgiveness. 

       Thanks be to God!

Coming before God’s Open Word

  Prayer of Blessing

  Scripture                                                                                          Colossians 3:1-11 (p. 834)

  Message                                                                       “Setting the Mind on Things Above”

  Prayer of Thanks

Celebrating God

  Offering/Offertory                                                                                            Higher Ground

“Lord lift me up, and let me stand by faith on heaven’s tableland –

A higher place than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

  Doxology #809                                                    Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below.

Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)

All good things come from you, O God, and with gratitude we return to you ourselves, and all that we have, in union with Christ’s offering for us. By your Holy Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.   

  Pastoral Prayer, and The Lord’s Prayer

*Hymn of Devotion #568                                                               Take My Life and Let It Be

*Benediction, Blessing, and Response Hymn           My Friends May You Grow in Grace

  My friends, may you grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

My friends, may you grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 To God be the glory, now and forever, now and forever, amen. (2x)

  Postlude      

The KRC Outreach Ministry will be collecting redeemable cans and bottles from August 1, through September 30th, 2016, at the Kinderhook Transfer Station on 9-H.  All money received will benefit the Stop Hunger Now drive.  Please save your items for our "bin with a banner" located near the transfer station office, or call Tana (518-495-3621) if you need assistance.

VBS 2016 AT KINDERHOOK REFORMED CHURCH

“God is with me and will watch over me wherever I go!”

Genesis 28:15

VBS WILL RUN THIS SUMMER AT KRC FROM AUGUST 15^TH TO 19^TH, 9 AM TO NOON, with arrival and sign-in at 8:45 to 9 am daily.  All kids of our community ages Pre-K (3 and potty-trained) through Grade 6 are invited to this year’s fun and spiritually-nurturing program.  Forms are now available on the back table for pre-registering your children or grandchildren, and Christian Ed Ministry is looking for VBS volunteers to teach and to help. For information about the positive rewards of serving in this ministry and the relatively small time commitment involved, please speak with Patti Varga.

At Deep Sea Discovery, kids dive into God’s Word to see how He

has been with His people every step of the way. Hands-on service projects and sea science will help kids experience a VBS adventure like no other! KIDS WILL: Know that God is always with them!
Explore God’s presence in their lives!
Serve God by serving others!

       Cleaning out your attic or storage unit and not sure what to do with unwanted items?  Had a garage sale and have items that didn't sell? Should have had a sale, but didn't get around to it? Well, let us help! We will take your donations of unwanted items! The Reformed Dutch Church of Schodack at Muitzeskill will hold its annual Mini-Market on Saturday, August 13. (Please, no clothing, stuffed animals, or outdated electronics.) If you would like to donate items for the Mini-Market, call 732-7976 or 732-2471, to make arrangements for drop off. The Mini-Market opens at 9:00 a.m., while the BBQ will be served between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. BBQ price: adults $12.00, children under 12 $6.00.  Reservations are not needed, but BBQ is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Take out available.  Questions? Call 732-2471.   The church is located at the intersection of Muitzeskill Rd. and Schodack Landing Rd., in the town of Schodack Landing.

REMEMBER TO THANK & PRAISE GOD FOR 

• Pastor Rudy Visser, our Spirit-filled minister and leader of vision, and for the Christ-centered messages God gives to Pastor each and every Sunday for the spiritual nourishment and growth of our church family.
• the inspirational ministries of our guest preachers, Perry Jones, Tom McCrossan, and others who visit KRC from time to time.
• those men and women who have served or are now serving our country, and those who have sacrificed their well-being and lives for the peace & liberties we enjoy.
• all His provisions for our basic life needs, and the wonderful ways God shows His love to us, especially during difficult times.
• the many dedicated and hard-working friends and members of the Kinderhook Reformed Church Family who serve on Consistory, ministries, and committees; teach Sunday School; lead Youth Group, Bible studies, and prayer group; organize special events; prepare food, serve, and clean up for coffee hours, receptions, and dinners; and who always offer whatever support they can to those in need.

xREMEMBER TO PRAY FOR

• those who do not know Christ or who are struggling in their faith journey, especially Martha, suffering depression and having difficulty with questions of faith.
• Pray also that God will provide opportunities for us to witness for Jesus, and give us the courage and winsome words needed to make the most of these opportunities.
• Rev. Paige Convis, KRC’s new associate pastor, as she takes up her ministerial duties as full-time pastor to the Muitzeskill and Stuyvesant Reformed Churches.
• KRC ministries, programs & projects and those planning & administering them: KRC’s Consistory; KRC’s administrative ministries; Adult and Children’s Sunday School; KRC’s Youth Group; VBS; KRC’s small group ministries; Bible studies; Community Prayer Group; 1st Friday, and other outreach programs. 
• our state, national, and world leaders, that God will grant them the leadership skills, wisdom, and the personal protection needed to govern effectively and safely. Pray especially that God’s hand will direct our nation’s upcoming Presidential and other government elections.
• our military men & women, their families, and friends, that they may know God’s presence, protection, and peace.
• victims world-wide suffering natural and other hardships and tragedies: famine, earthquakes, and other climate-related disasters; economic instability; poverty, hunger, and poor health; political oppression, unrest, terrorism, war, displacement.
• those grieving the death of loved ones.
• those who, even after many years, still hurt from the void left by loved ones who have passed on from this world. 
• all who have suffered and struggled with significant recent loss of any kind.
• reassurance, peace, and dignity for loved ones nearing the close of this life.     
• those caring for the elderly, displaced, disabled, or ill.
• those awaiting test results or surgery; recovering from surgery, injury, or illness; or chronically ill: Steve, brother-in-law of Sara Schubert; Fred Borelli; Mark; Virginia Rothermel; Vicki Smith; Maggie; Art Gross; Angie Rivera; Susan Clause; Steve Shpur; Stacey Baker; Harriet Stockhoff; Ruth Edge; Merrill Johnson; Jean Skipper; John Bowen; Floyd Haber; Alan Dick; Paul Varga; Liz Carroll; Laurie Maul.
• those battling or recovering from cancer or in hospice care: Donna Scalera; Jay; Ron Dick; Steve; Dorothy Wheeler; Baby Szafran; TJ Vooris; Judy Alvarez; Leonard Blish; Carol, Elize Visser’s sister-in-law; Marlene.
• those facing challenges, stressful circumstances, and difficult decisions: Laurie; the Lamont Family; Greg Clause Jr and his mother; Donna and Jason; Amber, granddaughter of Erika and Merrill Johnson; Don and Phyllis Tymeson; Harry Sturgill; the alarming wave of new, young heroin addicts; those facing the challenges of a higher level of education or seeking a career; Vince Beaudoin; Libby Little -  copies of Libby’s latest newsletter, which includes official announcement of her engagement,  are available on the back table.
• residence-bound KRC family, Murray Leonardson; Joan Van Alstyne; George Clowe.

Regular updates are needed on the progress or condition of all individuals on our prayer and praise lists.  Please forward this information, as well as new requests, to krc@fairpoint.net or call 859-4158. 

PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS OUR MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES

Dave and Char Alexander, RCA missionaries, Taiwan;

Alight Pregnancy Center, Hudson

Perry Jones and Capital City Rescue Mission, Albany

Compassion International, KRC-Sponsored Children:

Evelin Chuquinia, 15, Bolivia              Giulbert Muguna, 18, Kenya

Alex and Fran Knauss, Trans-World Radio

Maureen Menard, Youth with a Mission

Dick and Carolyn Otterness, RCA missionaries, Hungary

Brian and Bea Post, Wycliffe Bible Translators

Seth and Melissa Rogati, missionaries, Young Life Ministry, St. Thomas

Betty Ann Stedwell, Christar International Mission

HAPPY JULY BIRTHDAY!

Sally Heimroth (3^rd), Virginia Rothermel (3^rd),

Patrice Lyons (5^th), Jay Rippel, (6^th), Will Ferguson (7^th)

 Dick Van Alstyne (13^th), Ted Tuttle (18^th), Edward Arnold (26^th), Glenn Warren (26^th), Carien Zietsman (28^th), Patti Varga (30^th),

Stacey Dunbar (31^st)

~STEWARDSHIP UPDATE~

This past Sunday, our weekly offering of $3,601 was well within our weekly need of $3,000 – praise God! As a result, the current budget deficit has been kept at $7,920 as seen in the figures below. Regular contributors are asked to “double up” on their giving if they miss a Sunday, and Stewardship Ministry urges that everyone give prayerful consideration to how they might adjust their giving to help keep income at a level that will meet daily operating expenses.   

Total income to date:    $91,704            

Total expenses to date: $99,624

Inspired by the abundance with which the Lord has blessed us,

 let us continue, as his faithful stewards, to be ever mindful of the need

 to maintain a weekly offering sufficient to cover our commitments.

                                             ~2016 CLASSIS ASSESSMENT~

General Synod:     $53.71   (Up $1.98 from 2015)

Albany Synod:       $29.00   (Unchanged from 2015)

C.  G.   Classis:        $  6.22   (Down $1.07  from 2015)

          2016 TOTAL PER MEMBER:        $88.93

                          (Up $0.91 from 2014)

Dear KRC Family and Friends, 

       We want to thank everyone who donated items for the recent garage sale held at the parsonage for the benefit of KRC. It did rain around noon, and we had less traffic than we had hoped for, but we were still blessed with sales totaling $226. 

       Everything that was left went to the Reformed Church of Schodack at Muitzeskill for their sale in August, and they were very thankful for the 3 loads of stuff!!

Sincerely,

Elize

                                     KRC 2016 CONSISTORY

                     Pastor Rev. Rudy Visser, President of Consistory

                                                       Deacons

Liz Carroll – ’16  Outreach, CITV Committee, Clerk  

Derick LaTorre – ’16  Cemetery, Stewardship, Treasurer  

Tana Thompson – ’17  Church Family

Chip Wood – ’17  Property   

                                                         Elders

                Merrill Johnson – ’16  Worship

                Patrice Lyons – ’16  Outreach, Clerk

Patti Varga – ’17  Christian Education, Vice President of Consistory

Barbara Vosburgh – ’17 Personnel and Pastoral Relations

                                                     KRC STAFF

                       KRC Office Manager          KRC Office Assistant          

                    Paul Clause – 859-4158            Courtney Wood                              

                            KRC Sexton     KRC Cemetery Supervisor        

                            Elize Visser                   Greg Clause  

COMING EVENTS

Today, July 31  

       9:00 am  Combined Worship Service

     10:15 am  Adult Sunday School - main floor Conference Room          

               The class continues its study of 1 & 2 Peter and Jude.

Tues,  August 2

       7:00 pm  Youth Group meets

Thur, August 4

     9:00 am  Small Group Bible Study meets @KRC

     10:00 am  Community Prayer Group @ KRC

Fri,     August 5

       6:00 pm  Friday Free Community Dinner – Doors open at 5:30 pm. 

Sun,   August 7

       9:00 am  Combined Communion Worship Service

     10:15 am  Adult Sunday School - main floor Conference Room          

               The class continues its study of 1 & 2 Peter and Jude.

Sat., August  13   Muitzeskill Reformed Mini-Market and Chicken Barbeque

Mon. – Fri, August 15 – 19  Vacation Bible School @ KRC

        9:00 - Noon   Deep Sea Discovery Adventure

Servers Next Sunday, August 7, 2016

       Ushers: Jim Baker, Max DiOrio, Merrill Johnson

       Greeter(s): Amy Deweerd

       Lemonade Stand Host(s): Elize Visser