Hey, so we’ve been meeting weekly for 3 full months now! and to be totally honest it has kept me very busy. In fact if you go back three months and compare before we began having weekly worship gatherings to now having weekly worship gatherings you will see a huge spike in everything that I do. Hours worked, people met, cups of coffee bought for meetings, cell phone minutes used…and it’s all to be expected! Praise God for being able to be busy with Kingdom work.

One of the things that I have failed at, however, is keeping all of our supporters and friends updated each week.

To remedy that problem I’ve asked Cherron, and will ask others, to help me with our weekly updates. I’m excited about how Cherron and others will report the happenings of what Jesus is doing here in DeKalb as it will provide alternative perspectives.

I will of course continue to contribute updates but I truly want them to be weekly so Cherron, and others’ help is greatly appreciated by me.

Also, I continue to update my blog with updates, thoughts, and happenings as often as I can. You can keep up with things happening here there as well. (www.reachingdekalb.net/wfeetw). To, Facebook and Twitter (www.twitter.com/pastorjamie) provide numerous updates throughout each day.

For now, here is a quick letter from Cherron.

Grace and Peace,

Jamie

Dear Friends,

It’s me, Cher, Jamie’s wife!  Jamie has given me this opportunity to share a different perspective on what is new and exciting here with TcD.

Like so many here in DeKalb, I did not grow up “in the church”.  I was 23 years old when I began my spiritual journey and first darkened the doors of a church on my own.  So, I know what it is like to walk into a new place on Sunday morning and feel very nervous.  “Where do I go?  Where should I sit?  Am I dressed okay?  How do they do things here?  Should I talk to anyone?  What if I don’t have a bible?”  I understand the anxiety of being a visitor or even a new member who is trying to make friends and get plugged in.  And, my heart especially goes out to people with little or no church background, or who may be bringing with them hurts from past church experiences.  A few weeks ago, God spoke very clearly to me as to where I needed to serve on Sunday mornings:  as a Greeter!  And, so far, I have found so much joy in welcoming people with a smile at the door to The House Cafe, handing them a program, pointing them in the direction of our coffee and breakfast goodies, introducing them to some of our regulars, and trying to make them feel at home, safe, and welcomed.  And, with every week bringing at least a handful of new faces, I consider serving this way exciting and such a privilege!  I pray they feel the love of Jesus from the moment they arrive!

Speaking of Sunday morning worship gatherings…we have been meeting weekly for 12 weeks now!  Jamie is preaching a mini-series in Mark entitled “Do You Still Not Understand?”.  Our attendance has been in the twenties and sometimes thirties, with many new visitors each week and have noticed that a number of them are returning with friends in tow!  Recently, we discovered a small room in the basement level of The House Cafe that we were able to set up for a nursery.  It has been going very well with two workers and three or four little ones each time!

Earlier this month, we had our first baptism service!  All four who were baptized went through membership classes beforehand.  It was held at our house, outside, in a horse trough!  As each member was being baptized, a friend read their testimony of coming to faith in Christ and the transformation that they were beginning to see in their lives as a result.  Needless to say, it was a very moving service with lots of tears of joy!  After the service, Erica’s parents, who came to see her baptism told me that they were so pleased that their daughter found TcD, and how they had seen a drastic positive change in her life.  Jamie and I have also seen a change in Erica, especially at Community Group as she is absorbing scripture and applying concepts to her life!  It will soon be time to fill the horse trough again, though, because we already have a few more people ready for baptism.

I could go on & on about the exciting things that God is doing in DeKalb through TcD!  Your faithfulness in prayer and support is a tremendous aide in making the Gospel proclaimed here, and lives are being impacted.  Please know how grateful we are to you!  Here are a few ways that you can specifically support us this week:

Pray:  Please pray that we would continue to see people come to new life through the Gospel.  Especially those who work at The House Cafe that have been hearing the message of salvation each Sunday and whom we have been engaging in spiritual conversation week by week.

Give:  As many of you know, last week our balance became low and we found ourselves in a difficult situation.  We praise God for providing for our basic immediate needs through many of you.  However, now we are needing to catch up to meet our monthly needs again.  If you would like to give either a one time gift or become a monthly giver to the ministry, you can make your check out to Redeemer Fellowship Church: 1125 Oak St. Saint Charles, IL 60174. Please mark it clearly for the DeKalb Church Plant.  All financial gifts are tax deductible.

I am so glad that I finally get the chance to thank you for your love and support of us!  A dear friend reminded me that the call to go and plant this church was not only on Jamie, but me as well.  So, from both of us, thank you!  May God bless you!

“Leviticus used to be the first book that Jewish children studied in the synagogue. In the modern church it tends to be the last part of the Bible that anyone looks at seriously. Because Leviticus is largely concerned with subjects that seem incomprehensible and irrelevant today – rituals for sacrifice and regulations concerning uncleanness – it appears to have nothing to say to twenty-first-century Christians.” (Gordon Wenham, author of the Book of Leviticus for the New International Commentary Series).

While Leviticus may appear to have nothing to offer Christians today we know, “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable…”

As we soon begin preaching through the second half of the Gospel of Mark, the main theme of which is the suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection of Jesus, reading through Leviticus together will enhance what we will learn in Mark and aide in giving us understanding of why Christ was made to suffer, be rejected, and die.

Before beginning your reading this week in Leviticus read Hebrews 10.1-14 and keep this passage fresh in your mind through our reading of Leviticus, perhaps the most neglected book of the bible in modern Christianity.

Congregation Reading Plan Schedule For This Week:
Monday, September 21…………..Leviticus 1.1-17
Tuesday, September 22…………..Leviticus 2.1-16
Wednesday, September 23………Leviticus 3.1-17
Thursday, September 24…………Leviticus 5.13
Friday, September 25……………..Leviticus 5.14-6.7
Saturday, September 26………….Leviticus 6.8-7.37