Fellowship Community Church in Mount Laurel
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God is Good

2/29/2016

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I have so many times heard and been convinced of God's goodness. And yet, it seems that as soon as there is difficulty, that is the very character trait that gets called into question. The whisperings of the serpent's original deceptions linger in our daily circumstance when we wonder, "does He really want what's best for me?" and, "is He really good"?

I like that this song has two parts. The verses and courses, which you may be familiar with, recount His goodness. Despite circumstance, tragedy or perceived indifference, it is repeated again and again through scripture that His character is Good, and that he seeks to bestow everything good upon us.

The bridge that is added meets us in a very real place, in how this often plays out in our lives:
Lord, we believe
But help our unbelief
Lord, we believe
But help our hearts to sing


This is pulling from Mark 9, where a man asks if Jesus can do anything to help his son. 
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

​Yes, help us believe, and help us live as thought we are assured of His unyielding goodness.

Ben Panter
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The Consequences of Ideas

2/26/2016

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The Consequences of Ideas
I have been listening to a book called The Consequences of Ideas by R.C.Sproul. The book has shared ideas from Descartes, Hume, Kant, and John Locke. They share their ideas about who God is and how things were made. As I contemplated some of the ideas of these philosophers, I started to think about one particular idea of how things came from nothing. I figured I would use this idea to write this blog. I waited for a few hours and nothing happened. I still had nothing. I waited for a few days and still nothing happened. I had nothing. A post did not just appear out of this nothing, I had to create it or there would be no post. 

​I think about this in reference to the world and how it was created. Similar to my post, the world around me had to have a creator. There are so many beautiful things in this world for it have just come from nothing without someone orchestrating it.  My conclusion is that we have an amazing creator that is behind the majesty of the universe. From the cosmos to cells, each of these has been spoken into existence by an amazing God who loves us enough to create us from the ground and speak His life into ours.

Tim Hunt
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Graciously Shepherding our Hearts

2/24/2016

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Mike and kids
Raising kids is tough. Moments of gutting it out with discipline issues, long sleepless nights, choosing to respond in grace over anger, and creating moments of intentional time together. Tough. But isn't that the way of The Father. Graciously shepherding our hearts when we've run, creating moments full of meaning for us to enjoy as we worship Him, and then Jesus. In some ways I think of the "long sleepless night" that the trinity had broken over their new creation craving control and giving way to the temptation for power. Maybe they too stayed up late, heads together, hatching the craziest plan ever: "Jesus, son, it's time. You'll live, reflect me, give your life, and unleash grace for all to see and receive." Man. What a night. I love being a dad. I gratefully consume donuts and coffee with them as I fight through the bad moments, rejoicing that I've been set free.
Oh Jesus, help them know you.

Mike Candy
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Our God Alone

2/22/2016

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This week I thought I'd share what I think is one of the best songs we've added to the worship set over at the Collingswood campus. I'm a big fan of The Brilliance and the music they produce, and I'm always excited to be leading with this song.
I just love how this song takes us through 3 movements in the questions it asks. They're broken down like this:
1. ​Who made it all?
2. Who came to save us?
3. Who will reign forever?
For me it is often these simple reminders of the truth that lead to a fuller worship experience. The reminder of who God is, what he has done for me, and what the eternal story will look like.

​We Will Worship Our God Alone.
Ben Panter
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You have been Grafted In

2/19/2016

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Picture
I wasn't really sure what would happen to this maple log while I tried to split it the other day, considering the "olive branch" growing out of it. After successfully splitting the piece, I was taken back by the vivid picture of the strength and "oneness" of the secondary branch that was grafted into the Vine. It makes me rest in the strength of the vine that I have been grafted into.

​#Romans11:17-21
“If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ‬

​#John15
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Scott Parker
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"Misremembering"

2/17/2016

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​A few years ago Roger Clemens famously created a new word in describing the testimony of a fellow pitcher for the NY Yankees.  He said Andy Pettit "misremembered" the facts of their conversation.  While not too good on the vocabulary side, it gets high marks for creativity.
We all tend to misremember things. Sadly, God's people have always struggled with that.  The Israelites' ingratitude to God  in the wilderness was heightened by not accurately remembering life in Egypt. They grumbled about the good old days of "the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  (Exodus 16:2,3)  Creatively, they forgot the part of being SLAVES... working 24/7, no weekends, no days off, lives of drudgery, hopelessness and humiliation!!  The great wilderness sin was a spirit of ingratitude, and its expression thru grumbling.  Intentional praise and thanksgiving is the only antidote.  It  enables us to not misremember and embellish the past, because we are living contentedly in the present.
Intentional praise and thanksgiving is the only antidote.
Mark Willey
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All Glory Be To Christ

2/15/2016

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This morning I wanted to share with you a song that was a part of our worship at the Collingswood campus yesterday. It is a fantastic contemporary hymn that is packed full of truth. The chorus is very simply:
All Glory be to Christ the King!
All Glory be to Christ!
His Rule and Reign we'll ever sing,
All Glory be to Christ!


This exclamation echoes the doxology at the end of Jude 1...
JUDE 1:24-25
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 
to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Ben Panter
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Where Were You?

2/8/2016

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Job 38 New International Version (NIV)
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me"...

---
And then God goes on to question Job.

I think many people simply see these concluding chapters in Job as God putting Job in his place, that even the very righteous need to be reminded that God is in control and they are not. There is profound truth there, and certainly we are called to surrender all to the will of God in recognition of His sovereignty. However, to stop there would still paint an incomplete picture. It would be very easy to read this as a reminder that we have no right to question God but it seems to be better framed as a reminder that the Lord who is both Sovereign and Good is the one who has charted eternity past to our forever future. 

So, when I start thinking about this it seems to naturally relate to a passage in Matthew 6 about how God cares for everything down to the lilies and sparrows. With these thoughts we see that God is over the micro and the macro, which ultimately frees us to live without fear and worry for what may come. 

This seems to be not as much "putting Job in his place" as it is a reminder of God's place as sovereign Lord over all, with love and our best interest in His heart. Enjoy this song as a reflection on that.

​If you want a fuller explanation of all the depth captured in these concluding chapters in Job, click this link to listen or read a sermon by John Piper.
Ben Panter
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An overflow of praise and a surrendering of my heart.

2/4/2016

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​Worship: an overflow of praise and a surrendering of my heart because of Christ; what he's done, who he is, and the grace that been shown to me. Historically, worshipping in song has marked special moments along the way for me. Seasons of doubt, fear, guilt and shame as well as moments of repentance, joy, and gratitude. All part of it. Looking ahead to our high school winter weekend and the chance to pause to consider our identity, I can't wait to share in moments of worship alongside other surrendered hearts. Be glorified, my God. ‪#‎wiredww2016‬ ‪#‎grace‬ ‪#‎identityinchrist‬
Picture
Mike Candy
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Rock of Ages

2/1/2016

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​You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
Isaiah 26:3-5 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
Ben Panter
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Worship Services

Sunday - 9 & 10:30am

Location

1520 Hainesport Rd.
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054

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Phone: 856-235-1697
Email: info@fellowshipsj.org
Fax: 856-642-3909

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