Some of you have already returned to school (or your children have).  Others will be returning in the coming week.  School makes a major impact in our lives, and often it brings about a return to "routine."  I hope part of that routine will be Sunday worship at New Life if you live in our region.  We'll be continuing to worship at the South Butler Primary School at 8:45 and 10:15 through the fall.  That means Saturdays are still a day of preparation, as we've been focusing on the past couple of months here on Saturdays.

One of the aspects of the fall "routine" for many families is fall sports.  For some that means Sunday morning games and practices.  Since we won't be offering a Saturday evening (or any other evening) service this fall, that means you'll need to find a church that does, when you can't join us on Sunday mornings.  I'm NOT encouraging you to leave New Life if you have a child in a Sunday sport!  I'm just encouraging you to continue weekly corporate worship as part of your family's spiritual growth and development.  We recognize that we can't provide opportunities to meet every need of our families when we only have a building available on Sunday mornings.  (We're working hard to correct that challenge!)  We also recognize that at the end of our lives, when we meet Jesus, He isn't going to ask whether we attended New Life in order to get into heaven. He IS going to want to know that our lives demonstrated love and commitment to Him.

So, why not take some time today, to think about what you're going to do this fall to ensure that you and your family (if you live with someone in addition to yourself) will take full advantage of the opportunity corporate worship provides in helping us grow spiritually?  Folks say that failing to plan is planning to fail.  My experience is folks are right.  A little time in preparing and planning today, will provide big blessings to your family as you make corporate worship a weekly part of your fall routine.

Let's pray: Heavenly Father, thanks so much for the changing seasons of the year and of our lives!  Fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may make wise decisions regarding how we'll continue to grow spiritually throughout the fall months.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.