New Year’s resolutions sort of repulse me,

but renewed commitments to walking by

faith, going deep in repentance, and seek-

ing hard after God invigorate me. It’s the

difference between routine broken prom-

ises and revival … the difference between

making a bigger checklist to accomplish

and moving heaven on your knees. I vote

for the later. And I pray that this year we

all w ill “ train ourselves for godliness” as

Paul exhorts Timothy (1 Timothy 4:7). Don

Whitney writes – “ Spiritual disciplines are

the God-given means by which we are to

bring ourselves before the Lord. And as

we enjoy a growing relationship with Him

through them, He changes us ‘for the pur-

pose of godliness,’ that is, He makes us

more like Jesus.” Do you want to be more

like Jesus? Then with a heart of worship

and a delight to know Him more, evaluate

– repent – commit.

It’s the perfect time of year for you to

Evaluate how you are doing in your prayer

life, Bible reading, serving, evangelism,

etc. And as you take spiritual inventory,

the Spirit of God will expose to you where

your have been deficient.

Let that evaluation lead you to Repen-

tance, not for the sake of dwelling on your

failure and having a pity-party, but to own

your apathy and move into action. Repen-

tance brings freedom … freedom to quit

pretending and the freedom to look full in

the face of Jesus and know He alone

makes you acceptable in the sight of the

Father.

Then you can Commit to seeking Him

with your whole heart (fall short) and seek

Him again and again. Knowing that your

performance earns you no greater standing

before God, but your pursuit of God and

progress in obedience is the path to your

greatest joy. William Secker writes – “ I

would neither have you be idle in duties –

nor make an idol of duties.” It’s always

about worship from the heart, so fight both

your laziness and your legalism, and with

laser-like focus give yourself to spiritual

maturity. You won’t drift into holiness nor

will courageous obedience be easy, but

without a grace-driven effort you will drift

into compromise. Let’s not let that be the

story of 2014.

Pastor Mark Spansel

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by

Donald Whitney

Podcast: http://sermons2.redeemer.com/

sermons/sermonlist/265, Work and Rest by

Tim Keller on March 23, 2003.

Blog: Thegospelcoalition.com, How to Read

the Whole Bible in 2014 by Justin Taylor on

December 26, 2014.

The Praying Life by Donald Miller

Thank the Lord

that that He pur-

sues you and

speaks to you

through spiritual

disciplines.

Confess to the

Lord what spiritual

disciplines are a

struggle for you.

Ask him to give you

a renewed passion

for Him in these

areas.

Ask that this year

would be a year of

great growth for

you, that your heart

will be soft to the

things he has for

you and you’ll ma-

ture in Him.

Pray for the con-

gregation of LCC,

that we would be a

well disciplined

congregation for

the Lord’s work in

NEO and across

the world.

I'm thankful for the privi-

lege of prayer that can be

exercised in so many ways

and places. I'm thankful for

Paul's reminders regarding

prayer:

--Pray without ceasing.

I Thess 5:17

--I thank God upon every

reminder of you, always in

every prayer making re-

quest for you all with

joy...for your fellowship in

the Gospel. Phil. 1:3-5

--The effective fervent

prayer of a righteous per-

son avails much. James

5:16

And Jesus' examples of

prayer in His time here on

earth. There is no specific

posture for prayer, how-

ever, the circumstance and

condition of my heart often

calls for one of kneeling in

thanksgiving, contrition and

petition. I may be lying in

bed as the Lord reminds

me of a need of the body in

the early hours of the day,

or standing w ith a brother

or sister who has shared a

need, or responding to

prayer chain requests or

Flock List needs shared by

my faithful callers. These

provide great opportunities

for prayer w ithout ceasing,

as God gives these remind-

ers.

Anita and I usually alternate

praying aloud during our

family devotions. And what

a privilege it is to sit around

a table with fellow prayer

warriors on Wednesday

nights, or on Sunday morn-

ings w ith pastors, elders

and others, asking the Lord

to work in the hearts of

you, His people, in the ser-

vices of the day. I can say

with confidence “ I' ll pray

for you” , because of Jesus'

faithfulness and promises.

May the Lord help me to be

faithful.

Elder Don Schoenwald

Interested in sharing what God is doing in your life? Submit

your testimony to leroychapel@leroychapel.org to be

considered for a future newsletter.

January & February 2014

January 4-15th

Ethiopia Trip

Remember to pray for Jeff Pierce,

David Ortiz, Hilary Ortiz, Kate

Spansel and Jill Butler as they are

ministering in Ethiopia.

January 8

Clubs Ministry

Our weekly Wednesday night pro-

gram from 6:30 - 8:00pm for stu-

dents is starting up again. Pioneer

Girls (K-6th) will meet at the Chapel.

STIR (7th-12th) w ill meet at the

Chapel and then carpool over to the

Schoenwald’s. Tree Climbers (K-

2nd) and Stockade (3d - 6th) meet at

the Cornerstone. Battalion (7th -

12th) meets at the Chapel. These

are great opportunities for your chil-

dren to be discipled and learn life

skills. Cost is $20 for the first child

and $15 for the second, every child

after that is free. To register please

contact the Church Office.

January 9

Mastering Motherhood

If you are a mother of any age or

hope to be, than we invite you to be

a part of our Mastering Motherhood

program. Our time together consist

of teaching and a small group book

study. We meet Thursday's at the

Chapel through the school year. The

cost is $10 and you can sign-up at

the Church Office or just show-up.

January 9

Men Doing Business

Every second Thursday of the month

in the Chapel basement at 8pm a

group of men meet to “ do business”

together w ith the Lord. Doing Busi-

ness is the act of prayer among broth-

ers in Christ. We share what’s going

on in our lives and lift one another up

in prayer. Our hope is that this time

would build a greater transparency and

vulnerability with the men of LCC.

January 10 & 11

Men’s Bible Study

This ministry season the men will be

studying the book of Ecclesiastes.

They meet every Friday morning at

6:00 am at Sunny Street Café or Satur-

day morning at 6:30am at Grand River

Community Chapel. This is a time of

fellowship and digging in to the riches

of God’s Word w ith brothers who are

desiring to grow and be encouraged.

January 15

Women’s Bible Study

Our Wednesday night Bible Study is

going through the book “ The Disci-

plines of a Godly Woman” by Barbara

Hughes from 6:30 - 8:00pm through

the Spring at the Center. This book

discusses the daily disciplines of a

woman’s life. It w ill be a time of great

encouragement and fellowship. Regis-

tration is at the Information Center.

January 24

Klondike Overnight

All Battalion young men are invited to

participate in the Klondike Overnight at

Stony Glen Camp. This is a great op-

portunity to meet young men from

other churches and participate in some

fun competition. For more information

please contact Gary Schoenwald

440.286.7353.

January 24

STIR Overnight

A sleepover for all girls 6-12th grade

will be at the Schoenwald’s. This is a

great time of fellowship, there will be

crafts, baking and snow activities for

more information please contact

Denise Schoenwald, 440.286.7353.

February 9

Winter Fun Festival

Leroy Community Chapel will be host-

ing a night out for the Leroy Commu-

nity at 6:30pm. This will be an evening

of games with blow-ups and snacks

for the whole family. It’s a great time

to invite your friends to come and hang

out. For more information or to volun-

teer please contact Pastor Jeff Pierce

at the Church Office.

February 21-23

Youth Winter Retreat

The Student Ministry of Leroy Commu-

nity Chapel will be having its Winter

Retreat at Camp Fitch this year and is

open for all Jr. High and H.S. students.

The cost is $30 per student for the first

two students of each family and free

for all other siblings. We will be leaving

from the Center at 6pm on Friday the

21st and retuning to the Center on

Sunday the 23rd at 4pm. It's going to

be a quick but fun trip that will Lord-

willing spiritually encourage and chal-

lenge our students. If any students are

unable to make the first bus on Friday

evening there w ill be another vehicle

leaving on Saturday.

March 1

Membership Classes

We’ll be having our Core classes for church membership March 1 from 8:00am to 3pm, lunch will be provided. Please register in the bulletin or call the Church Office.