God is at work in and through us.
June has been a great month, filled with testimonies of God miraculously at work in our midst and around the globe. We continue to rejoice with Anna Grijalva for the Lord’s merciful touch that brought her back from certain death to a full recovery, quickly returning to work serving others through the gift of medicine. We were blessed by the reports of how the Spirit of God is sweeping through Africa, with hundreds of thousands coming to faith, and also by the powerful teaching by Pastor Jones from Celebration Churches International in Harare, Zimbabwe. Our children and neighbors enjoyed an action-packed VBS followed up by summer camp with great testimonies of God at work as only He can do in the lives of our youth and children.
As July begins, it is ushering in the high temperatures, but the Reunion Church never lets a little heat stop us! July is going to be sizzling (forgive the pun), with strong biblical teaching as Pastor Steve continues teaching from the prophets Joel and Amos in The Movement – a Righteous Revolution teaching series. The Equip Adult Discipleship Training Program offers two new courses starting 7/2 including Old Testament Survey and The Practical Practices of Leadership. You can register for class here.
Both Children’s Ministry and Student Ministries have a full schedule of activities to help children and youth grow in their faith. Children’s Ministry is requesting parents RSVP online for summer events as some are on a first come, first served basis. Children’s Ministry also has a paid position open on Sunday mornings. If you are interested, reach out at childrensministries@thereunionchurch.life.
There are wonderful activities for the entire church as well as men’s and women’s ministries – be sure to check the calendar below. You can always check the online calendar for what’s going on, and of course, now you can check it in the Reunion Church app.
The Reunion Church mobile app is here! You can download it on Apple or Google app stores. (Note: Apple approval is still pending, so keep checking the Apple App store.) The app functionality includes the opportunities to check your children in to church virtually, read the Bible in the app, access sermon notes, e-mail ministry leaders, view ministry calendars, tithe, read the blog, and connect with all of the Reunion Church’s social media accounts. Additionally, you can receive push notifications about events, etc. when you use the app.
July - here we come - bring on the sizzle!
 THE PASTOR’S CORNER The Movement – A Righteous Revolution Amos Five Joel 2 Introduction – Joel 2 The prophet Joel, whose name in Hebrew means “Yahweh is God,” was called by God to minister to the southern kingdom of Judah. Other than knowing his father’s name (Pethuel), there is not much information on who Joel was other than a chosen messenger of God Almighty. I like that. Some biblical scholars have found common ground on the time of Joel’s ministry and writing at around 835 B.C. when the then seven-year-old Joash sat on the throne of Judah (Southern Kingdom). However, Jehoida the High Priest would have functioned as the real ruler of Judah until Joash came of age. But there are some evidential events that would also suggest a 500 B.C. time period. There are significant similarities in Joel’s style of writing to that of Hosea and Amos, biblical prophets who also ministered to Israel and Judah in the 8th to mid-7th century after Joel’s ministry. This gives reliable evidence that Joel was a contemporary of Hosea, Amos, and Zephaniah. In fact, the verbal parallels between Joel 3:16 and Amos 1:2 and Joel 3:18 and Amos 9:13 are of note. Our focus will be on the prophecy of Joel chapter two. The word of God came to the prophet Joel in the disastrous moments of a most traumatic event for the people of Judah. What moved Joel to preach and document this historically verified message was a literal invasion of Judah by insects. Take a moment and imagine enough locusts to blot out the light of the sun. The first two chapters of Joel provide us with a sobering clarity that the locusts were a plague used of God to exact His judgment for their rebellious and Godless behavior – they no longer possessed the fear of the Lord. The people are encouraged to grieve for their sin and cry out to God. Joel 1:5 “Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine-drinkers, over the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:11-13 “Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the fields are ruined. Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God.” Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” |
Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation.
Joel 2:17
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, “Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations.
In 2023, not many can stomach this kind of accountability and consequential reality, but clearly, the Lord had good reason and just cause to send judgment upon the land and the people. Joel’s message was God’s response to a devastating and deadly plague of locusts. The plague was so far-reaching that every aspect of human life in Judah was put at risk. This included the daily offerings/worship in the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been mandated to be maintained and continued with full access and opportunity for communion between God and the people during the plague. In other words, the Church did not shut down during the pandemic – it was the one place they were instructed to go and gather. Joel’s understanding of God the Creator and God’s creation allowed him to clearly see the locusts as symbolic of the Creator, carrying out judgment on a defiantly disobedient nation. They still had their religion, they just no longer had a right or righteous relationship with their God. Joel describes the severity of the judgment twice—first in literal, then in figurative terms—providing evidence to not only Joel but to all who would hear and receive his message that he had begun to witness nothing less than the Day of the Lord. Amos and Zephaniah had spoken of that Day using descriptive terms of inescapable and inevitable darkness paired with intolerable and unbearable suffering. The clouds of locusts that obscured the sun and devoured the food supply was not the final Day of the Lord but were certainly a fore-taste and fore-telling of that Day. Yahweh marched with them, the death of His incorrigible people on his mind.
The intensity and severity of the judgment were described twice—first in literal, then in figurative terms—and proved to Joel that he himself was about to give witness nothing less than the actual and final Day of the Lord. Amos and Zephaniah had spoken of that Day in terms of inescapable darkness and intolerable suffering. The clouds of locusts that obscured the sun and devoured the food supply were truly a devastating and tragic day of Judgment, but they were only a signal and fore-warning of that great and final Day.
On Judah’s Day of the Lord, Yahweh was still there with them, the suffering and death of His unrepentant and un-reformable people on his mind. In spite of His just judgment, also on His mind was their redemption in response to their repentance. The very temple that had been stripped of its offerings and sacrifices could reform be the site of a return of the people to their one and true Yahweh. The very priests who wrapped themselves in sackcloth to wail at the altar could repent and be the leaders who after humbling themselves would return to righteousness and covenant relationship. Yahweh was ready for change and so now the prophet Joel charged the people of God to also be ready for change. A Righteous Revolution.
God’s Peace to You,
Dr. Stephen Isaac – The Reunion Church
What’s Cooking in July at the Reunion Church?
NEW EQUIP COURSES
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PRACTICAL PRACTICES OF CLASS START DATE: Sun., July 2, 2023 |
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OLD TESTAMENTSURVEY
CLASS START DATE: Sun., July 2, 2023
Most Christians don’t understand the Old Testament’s pattern, unity, or progression. They know stories of Moses, Noah, and David but are unsure how they fit together, or the key doctrines found in these 39 books. This 8-week course provides a chronological approach, with a book-by-book analysis of important details and emphases. If you want a better understanding of the whole Bible, this course is the place to start. |
REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS
07/18, 7 PM – ROOTED COLLEGE GROUP, DM @reunionrooted ON INSTAGRAM FOR LOCATION
07/8, 9 AM – EVERYMAN MEN’S MINISTRY OUTING @ TOP GOLF (101 & GLENDALE), $5 EACH
06/22, 5pm – WINGS WOMEN’S MINISTRY – DUE TO VBS, THERE IS NO REGULAR MONTHLY GATHERING. INSTEAD, WE WILL SERVE DINNER TO VBS STAFF.
SUNDAYS
9 AM – 10 AM
EQUIP ADULT BIBLE CLASSES: PRACTICAL PRACTICES OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP TAUGHT BY CHRIS ELLINGTON, OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY TAUGHT BY BRIAN WOODARD
MOVEMENT YOUTH GROUP – JULY TEACHING SERIES: ME AND THE CHURCH
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY (NURSERY-6TH GRADE)
10 AM – 10:20 AM
GRACE’S CAFE – FRESH BAGELS, MUFFINS, PASTRIES, COFFEE
10:30 AM
COMMUNITY WORSHIP GATHERING
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY (NURSERY-6TH GRADE)
WEDNESDAYS – 6:30 PM
CAMPUS COMMUNITY CARE GROUP
MOVEMENT YOUTH GROUP
REUNION KIDS CLUB (NURSERY-6TH GRADE)
OFF-CAMPUS COMMUNITY CARE GROUPS
MEET IN VARIOUS HOMES ON DIFFERENT WEEK NIGHTS AROUND THE VALLEY. CONTACT COMMUNITY CARE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
PHONE: 623.979.5465
E-MAIL: info@thereunionchurch.life
www.thereunionchurch.life
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