Contact Us
New Song Community Church
118 West McClendon Street
Lady Lake, 32159
Phone: 352-633-8596
Be Prepared
Be Prepared
My husband and I have accepted a call to a new church. We are in the process of moving to another part of the state, a different city, and a new ministry. We will live in a new house and worship with a new Body of believers.
The church we will serve is also preparing to receive a new pastor. We all look forward with anticipation to this new thing God is doing.
Likewise, Isaiah reminded the Israelites that they needed to prepare for a new thing God was going to do. “. . . Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (40:3–5).
The prophet Isaiah used imagery the Israelites would have understood. To prepare for the coming of a king, roads would have to be straightened and cleared to make the king’s travel smooth. A grand banquet would be prepared for his arrival, and every detail of his visit would be worked out. A herald would also travel along to announce the king’s coming.
In Matthew 3:3, John the Baptist quotes from this prophetic passage as he reminds the people to prepare for the coming Messiah. How should they prepare? Through repentance. They were to change their way of thinking and turn their backs on sin. Repentance was the prerequisite for receiving forgiveness and salvation. John urged the people to repent because he knew the King was coming—they needed to prepare.
Is your heart prepared as we enter this Christmas season? Have you cleared the “roads” of your heart from any obstacles preventing you from receiving the transformed life He longs for you to have? Is your heart prepared to welcome Jesus into your everyday, ordinary life?
Allow Jesus to fill the empty places in your life. Humble yourself before Him and give Him access to the rough and uneven places that need to be smoothed. Only He can make a straight highway for our God in the desert. And then, prepare to see the glory of the Lord!
CMA Mission Highlight – November
“Hungry for God”
by an Alliance International Workers in Asia
Just as Wednesday evening prayer meeting was about to start, Manao’s face lit up as she checked her phone. “Can we wait a few minutes to start? A friend is on his way.” Beam, a young man Manao’s age, came a few minutes later, having jogged about half a kilometer to get to church. We went around the small group gathered there and introduced ourselves. This was the first time Beam had ever been inside a church building!” I want to know God,” Beam said. He came to the right place!
Beam had seen a few testimonies of Christians on YouTube. The one that really gave him hope was of a man who had been into drugs and served time in prison. Now that man is a strong Christian, God has turned his life around and he even has a ministry to people currently in prison. One thing the man shares on YouTube was his amazement that God would love everybody, the “good” people and the “bad” people like himself.
Beam’s own dad has been in and out of prison Beam’s entire life, so Beam doesn’t know him that well. His mom, who gave birth to him at only 17, abandoned him at birth, so he has no relationship with her. He was raised by his dad’s mom and an aunt. “I did okay in elementary school,” he shared. He was in the same grade as Manao. Then he went to high school in a larger neighboring city. That’s when he got into the wrong crowds and dropped out of school in the middle of eighth grade.
Now 17 himself, he has a good job at a local store and is living on his own in a small apartment. He was making plans to study for his high school equivalency. He figured there has to be more to life than just working. He started seeking to know God. He connected with Manao on Facebook when he saw that she was a Christian now. They hadn’t seen each other since elementary school. Manao invited him to church.
He participated fully in the meeting as we sang, shared from the Bible and prayed.
As we ate fruit and had some fellowship after the prayer meeting, it was obvious this young man was ripe for harvest. Bale, another teenager in our church, started to share the Gospel with Beam. He was ready to ask Jesus into his life! Praise God.
The next day, my husband Edmet with Beam for discipleship Bible study. Beam had already started reading the Bible on the app he had downloaded and had watched about half of the Jesus video that is also on the app. “Beam is so hungry for God’s Word. He’s like a baby bird with his mouth open wide saying “feed me”. What a delight to teach him!” Beam had even asked Ed for some more Gospel tracts, like the ones we gave him after prayer meeting, so he can give them to his friends.
Sunday, Beam came in time for Sunday school. His face was “beaming” as he took it all in. Everyone welcomed him to the family. He shared with Ed later that he was so thankful for the warm fellowship that he experienced at church. It is something that had been missing in his life.
Please pray for this new disciple of Jesus, that he will grow strong in his faith. He has been telling everyone he is a Christian now. His girlfriend is a university student living about an hour away. Pray that she comes to faith too.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
Church Work Day
Church Work Day
Saturday, November 23 9 AM – ??
It’s that time of year again! Come join us As we do a little extra spiffing up, inside and out,
before the holidays! There is a job for anyone and we need your help.
Please join us at 9 AM and with help, we should be done by noon.
The coffee will be hot and the water will be cold, but the blessings will be many.
Please Help!
Wednesday Night Bible Study
6:30 PM
\Wednesday Night Bible Study – Soul Keeping!
In this video-based Bible Study, author and pastor John Ortberg helps us discover what the soul is, why it is important, how to assess the soul’s health, and how to care for it so that it contributes to the depth and beauty of our relationship with God and others.
Subject: Bahamas Update
Subject: Bahamas Update
Dear Pastor/Official Worker,
We are in conversation with CAMA as well our church in the Bahamas as to how best to come alongside of them during this time of crisis and great need. Once we have a plan in place we will inform you all. Rev. Tom Olney has agreed to serve in the role of Disaster Relief Coordinator for our district. He is in contact with CAMA and Rev. Wells in the Bahamas. Once we get updates and put a plan in place we will inform you. Please be in prayer for our churches in the Bahamas and our leaders there as they seek to be the hands and feet of Christ in that country. I am including a brief update I received this morning from Nathan Wells, son of Rev. Genius Wells and serves alongside of him in shepherding our congregation, Chapel on the Hill. These churches are still very much part of our district family as well as our Christ Centered, Acts 1:8 Family.
Update: “Hello, the Bahamas has gone through the worst storm in our history. It’s worse than what you see on the news. In the next few days we will know the exact body count. Many residential settlement are completely destroyed. Families have nowhere to go. There has been an overwhelming show of support from surrounding countries including the United states. At the church we have a few that have experienced loss due to flooding. Our roof has sprung many leaks that has been exposed even more due to the feeder bans that Nassau experienced. Over all, the recovery road ahead will be very long. Mentally, and spiritually people are at a weird point. Sorry I can’t put into words. Pray for the children because this will have an effect on them! I will be in touch.”
Blessings…
Rev. Alfredo E Gutierrez
District Superintendent
Do It Anyway
Mother Teresa’s Do It Anyway Poem
(Though often attributed to Mother Teresa, the author is Kent M. Keith)
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Chosen to Impact the World
Chosen to Impact the World
We are women chosen by God to impact this world. This statement can be intimidating. As a young woman I wondered, “Has the Creator of this universe really called me for such a daunting role?” It was challenging to think that I could make a significant mark on others, much less the world. How could a woman from a small island live up to this expectation?
When I was 24 and about to get married, my future husband was serving as lead pastor at a church with a dynamic ministry in the community. My home church also served effectively and was one of the largest churches on the island. The pastor’s wife, Carmen Maria Lopez, played an influential role in my church. Many people came to know the Lord through her ministry. She was a sought-after counselor and mentor to many women in the church, including me. Before my wedding, I approached this woman for advice on how to be an effective pastor’s wife. I was expecting a long conversation with many ideas on how to do church ministry well. However, to my surprise her advice was very simple: “Love Jesus with all your heart, and do everything to exalt His name.”
Her counsel resembled Jesus’ response to the teachers of the law when they asked Him which was the greatest commandment. He told them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and vwith all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:29–31) I have treasured my mentor’s words in my heart and have sought to love God, allowing Him to use me as a vessel of His love for others.
Today I realize it’s not so difficult to impact the world for Christ. The Scriptures show us that the Lord uses ordinary people like us to make a difference in the world. As we read in 1 Peter 4:10–11, each of us should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If we speak, we should do so as if we are speaking the very words of God. If we serve, we should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all God may be praised through Jesus Christ.
As we love Him with all our being and love others as ourselves, God will equip us to accomplish His purposes in our lives. We may not see our names in history books, but many will remember us as women who loved Jesus and shared His love with them – women who impacted the world.
Member at Large. Hilda was born in Puerto Rico. Women’s ministry has always been part of Hilda’s life. Hilda and her husband, Rosilio, work at the C&MA National Office and attend North Springs Alliance Church in Colorado Springs, CO.