Dear River Reach Family,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Every human achievement is dependent on empowerment. We will never accomplish something beyond the level of our empowerment. Our outlook on a mission depends upon our estimation of empowerment. Too often our hope, encouragement, and motivation crash because we measure life based on our own power. With a few exceptions, most people realize the enormity of their limitations. The Christian life and our God given mission in life call for a level of power far beyond anything we possess within ourselves. The Book of Acts opens with an encouraging reminder that God will give us the power through His Spirit to accomplish everything He calls us to do. This Sunday we will meditate on the power God promises to give us!

Sermon: “Empowered to do God’s Will” – Acts 1:1-11

Shepherding a Child’s Heart Class continues this Sunday @ 6:00pm

Details: Sunday evenings @ 6:00pm starting February 10th; 12 Sessions;

Assignment: Read Chapter 4: “You’re in Charge”

Book: Shepherding a Child’s Heart – I have more books available for those who need them. A study guide may be downloaded here. I will also have a few printed versions available.

Praise the Lord for a great start to the parenting class last Sunday evening! I appreciate the good discussion and rejoice that God enabled a good group of you to turn out. May the Lord bless you for your desire to honor Him by learning how to shepherd the hearts of your children to love and serve Jesus Christ.

Pizza at the Pastor’s this Sunday evening!

Jen and I would like to invite whoever is able to join us for a short time of pizza and fellowship at our home this Sunday evening following the Shepherding a Child’s Heart class. We realize it is Sunday evening and you might need to be getting howe, but we invite you to join us for as short or as long as you like!

Refresh Conference Date Change to March 24-27!

We look forward to a time of annual spiritual refreshment through the ministry of Matt Herbster at the end of March. Initially we had scheduled March 31-April 4th, but we found out this week that Brother Herbster had accidentally scheduled us for March 24-27th. The good news is that our spiritual refreshment will be here one week earlier!

Upcoming Events:

• Sunday 2/17 – 9:25am – Sunday Classes (Adult and Children’s classes)
  • 10:30am – Morning Worship: “Acts: Your Part in God’s Plan”
  • 6:00pm – Shepherding a Child’s Heart class
  • 7:15pm – Pizza @ the Pastor’s House
• Wednesday 2/20 – 6:30pm – Prayer and Bible Study
• Friday 2/22 – 6:00pm – Ladies Night Out
• Save the Date: March 24-27 – Refresh Conference with Matt Herbster

Prayer Requests:

• Carolyn’s vehicle situation
• Spiritual growth for those being discipled
• Safety of those traveling
• Our nation to repent and turn to God
• Someone that the Lord can use you to lead to Christ
• Someone that the Lord can use you to lead to follow Christ
• Peace in our nation and around the world
• Our missionaries as they serve the Lord around the world

Blessed to be your Pastor!
Matthew Rowley