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Hope you are enjoying this week of great weather and the last week of Daylight Saving. If you still have analog clocks and/or non-Internet connected digital clocks around your home, remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night before heading to bed. And then enjoy that extra hour of sleep! (Otherwise, we'll plan to see you at the END of our Worship Gathering. 😉)
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And now to Erin's next installment in our One Thought series from John 1...
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Accepted
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When I transferred my sophomore year of college to John Brown University, I met this incredible girl from Kansas named LeAnn. She was kind enough to sit next to the lonely transfer student in our Integrated Humanities class as well as make sure I received invites to various campus activities. So you can understand why, within a couple of months, I developed feelings for LeAnn that went beyond just friendship. And so while on a walk one clear December night, I asked her to be my girlfriend.
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And wouldn't you know it? This incredibly intelligent, fun, passionate, caring, beautiful young woman told me a crystal-clear "no." How could she reject a short, nerdy, uncool guy like me?!?
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So can you guess what I did a few months later when I noticed LeAnn starting to hang out around me and my friends, or finding excuses to stop by my dorm room? I rejected her! I told myself that if she could reject me, I would give her the same treatment right back.
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I know, I know... really mature response by me. (Just so you know, my rejection lasted all of two weeks...) But isn't that what we do? When someone rejects us, we want to reject them right back. We try to boomerang back upon them the pain they inflicted upon us.
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Thankfully, that is not how Jesus treats us.
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Jesus Doesn't Reject the "Rejectors"
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Today's One Thought passage is John 1:10-13. Take a moment to read it:
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[Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:10-13 (ESV)
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Jesus made humans, yet humanity rejected Him. But rather than act like immature college-aged Erin, Jesus didn't reject us back. Rather, He went to the cross to give His life for those who rejected Him.
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So here's today's One Thought: You've been accepted! You've been accepted by Jesus, not because you are cool, intelligent, talented, or good-looking. You are accepted because you were made by God in His image, and you've been purchased by God through Christ's blood. And when you accept Jesus' work on your behalf, you become an accepted Child of God, born not of blood or flesh, but born of God.
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May this thought of your acceptance cause you to worship Jesus and celebrate your salvation today!
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Fill a Bottle
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If you missed the table of bottles at Riverwood, be sure to grab one on Sunday to help us raise money for Alternatives Pregnancy Center. Just fill it with loose change (or checks) and bring it back to our Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 20.
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Daylight Savings Time Ends
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On Saturday, remember to "fall back" this fall. Set your clocks back one hour before going to bed and you'll be on time for our Sunday morning Worship Gathering at 9:30 a.m.
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Food Pantry
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On election day, Nov. 8, we hope some of you can find the time to serve at the Waverly Food Pantry. Setup begins at 4:15 p.m. at the Civic Center. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/waverlyfoodpantry
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Just For Fun
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Besides getting together with loved ones for a delicious meal, November is full of reasons to celebrate. Some of the November "holidays" include "World Kindness Day," "Go for a Ride Day," and my favorite, "National Nachos Day." What "day" would you include?
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