Welcome to Church!
We're so glad to have you worship with us as we get ready for the New Year. As we gather, I want to make sure you know how grateful we are to have you worship with us. It's a blessing to worship our way out of 2023 and into the new year alongside friends and neighbors.
This weekend, we continue our study of the early church in Acts. This week, we find the disciples facing real trouble with extraordinary confidence. In their experience we can find some lessons that might apply to us as we begin the new year following Christ here in Rock Hall.
After the service, take a few minutes to engage friends and neighbors in conversation, or spend some time in prayer. We hope you find our church is not just a place of worship but a community of support and love.
Thank you for being a part of our family today. My prayer is that our time together in worship would be a source of inspiration, reflection, and connection in your relationship with Jesus. If you have any questions or want to discuss your faith journey, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. My office telephone is 410-639-2144, or just use the question cards in each pew.
Richest Blessings!
Pastor Gary Priddy
Order of Worship:
Welcome Prayer of Adoration
Opening Worship
Prayers of the People
Message
What to Expect when God Calls
Acts 5:17-32
Pastor Gary Priddy
Prayer of Confession
Next Steps
Find practical ways you can take a first “next step” in your faith journey on our website.
Just go to nextsteps.yourrhc.com.
Closing Worship Benediction
Life is much more than an accident. Wherever I go, I believe God needs me there. Wherever I am, I trust God has put me there. He has a purpose for me being there -
Christ, alive in me, wants to do something through me, no matter where I am.
I believe this and go in His grace and His love and His power.
If you would like someone to pray with you, please come and meet one of our ministry leaders at the end of the service.
Songs for Worship
O Come All Ye Faithful
The Way
Always
Joy to the World
Message Text
New Life - Expectations
Acts 5:17-32
What to expect when God calls:
Undeniable Opposition
Acts 5:17-21
Adversity often accompanies obedience.
When ________ comes, it’s an opportunity to be faithful.
Divine Deliverance
Acts 5:22-25
Trust God more than your circumstances
Opportunities for Boldness
Acts 5:26-32
Jesus exchanged His LIFE for OURS, so we could exchange our LIFE for HIS.
New Life
Good news, there are only two ways to mess up 2024:
To forget that we are SAVED to SAVE OTHERS.
To forget that we need a SAVIOR.
Take it Home:
As you look to follow Jesus into 2024, what might be some areas where you would expect opposition to show up? Is there any scripture that comes to mind that might give you confidence in the moment?
In what area of your life are you needing to experience divine deliverance? As we discussed in the sermon, how can you begin to "coach yourself" through it before you get there? How did you finish the statement: "When ________ comes, it’s an opportunity to be faithful."
Are you spiritually moved by any particularly area of brokenness in our community, the world? If so, make a plan to get involved bringing change to it in 2024. If you don't particularly care about anything beyond yourself, are you willing to get on your knees and ask God to disturb you? If not, why not?
This Week's Announcements:
SIGN UP NOW to join us for a daily Wake-Up Call.
Wake-Up Call provides a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus who transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.
Click HERE to sign up.
Meet with Pastor Gary Do you have a question or issue you need to discuss? Pastor Gary is available for pastoral counseling with individuals and couples To schedule, just Click “Meet with Pastor Gary” on our website
Prayer Request Policy Change In order to maintain a more current prayer list, we provide a copy of this past week’s prayer requests. Submit prayer requests using the prayer request cards in the pews or the digital prayer request form on our website: pray.yourrhc.com Please make sure you have permission to share other’s information.
Current Prayer Requests
Our merger process
Our children and youth ministries
Caregivers and first responders
People of Ukraine
Our nation’s leaders
Healing of our nation
Israel and the Middle East
People battling addictions
Single parents and their kids
Pastor Gary and family
Bryce Holliday
Dickie & Bettie Porter
Frank & Mariann Dulin
Elmer Gustafson
Marge Kelley
Rick Reedy
Sandy Scanlan
Pastor Kenny Hickman
Pastor Bill Carroll
Rosemary Elburn
Cricket Hayes (PG’s Mom)
Kat Fithian
Jean Spence
Patricia Brown
Pastor David Kelley
Piper Foley
Emma Eller
Dean & David Wood
Active Military & their families including:
Trevion Hopkins
Kyle Schauber
Brock Willey
Makenzie Williams
Steve McCarthy
Tristan Hague
Dakota Collison
Geoffrey Andersen
John Pettit
Jonathan Conner
Dante Spagnolo
Homebound:
Phyllis Dierker
Jackie Price Williams
Edna Cox
This week's prayer focus:
Join us in focused and specific prayer for our church, our community, and our world. Be prepared to see God do great things as we collectively turn to Him in prayer.
Sunday - Our Mission: God, increase the desire of believers to fulfill the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20
Monday - Our Church: God, direct our vision for the Future. Proverbs 19:21
Tuesday - Our Leadership: God, help our ministers and volunteers persevere in Your work. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Wednesday - Families: God, help our families be committed to the Lord and His Work. Joshua 24:15
Thursday - Our Community: God, bring salvation to the lost. Luke 19:10
Friday - Children/Youth: God, help our young people set an example of godliness for others. 1 Timothy 4:12
Saturday - Adults: God, give our adults discernment to not be deceived by the world and Satan. 1 Peter 5:8
This week’s events:
Sunday
10:00 am - Weekend Worship @WC
Wednesday
Day of Prayer - Sanctuaries are open all day for prayer.
Thursday
7:00 pm - Worship Team Practice @WC
Sunday
8:30 am- Bible Studies @WC Hall
10:00 am - Weekend Worship @WC
11:15 am - Charge Meeting @WC
Sunday - January 14th
9:30 am - Weekend Worship @WC
11:00am - Weekend Worship @RHMC
WCMC - Wesley Chapel Methodist Church
RHMC - Rock Hall Methodist Church
