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Pastor Justin Searles - Marengo
Genesis 25:29-34
29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
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David Althoff from The Orchard Barrington shared the following testimony about how he has seen God work in his life at his baptism. For most of my life, I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I believed in Jesus, but only in an intellectual way, shaped more by church tradition than by a personal relationship with Him. I thought my success, security, and happiness depended entirely on my own efforts. I worked tirelessly to provide for my family, to control outcomes, and to fix every challenge that came my way. Sin wasn’t something I thought about because I measured life by my own standards, not God’s.
Ninhursag Avakian from The Orchard North Shore shared the following testimony about how she has seen God work in her life by calling her to serve. I serve with the middle school girls and the young adults both at the North Shore campus and at the all church gatherings. I have been so blessed to be serving in all three ministries and have been able to grow in each role. With the middle school girls, I have been blessed to see a student give her life to the Lord and get the honor of walking alongside her in her journey with Christ as her leader.
The Staff at The Orchard Itasca shared the following testimony about how they have seen God work through the ministry of the Forest View Nursing and Rehab Center. We began this ministry last year and have set up quarterly visits to the facility. Each time, 15 people meet there at 2 pm. Some people just engage with those in the common areas, talking with them, praying with them. Others, including Pastor Ryan go door-to-door and visit with those who are in their rooms. We take gift bags each time to hand out to both residents and staff.
