FAIRFIELD

GOOD NEWS “KNOWING CHRIST AND MAKING HIM KNOWN”

August 2016

Fairfield Reformed Church

360 Fairfield Rd.

Fairfield, NJ 07004

973-227-5428

FairfieldReformed@

gmail.com

From the desk of Pastor Scott:

I’ve written a blog (Random Responses) on and off for about 10

years now. Sometimes I shared my own original writings, some-

times I commented on current events and sometimes I shared

bits and pieces from wise Christians from times past. The other

day I just happened to be looking at the archives from August of

2006 and came across a little piece I shared from a sermon I had

read by Charles Spurgeon. Called the “Prince of Preachers,”

Spurgeon is my historical mentor and inspiration and I often find

his words penetrate deep into my spirit. The following is the

selection I shared with my readers 10 years ago and I think it is

still important, maybe even more so today.

“Oh Christians, would you be happy? Be much in prayer! Would

you be victorious? Be much in prayer!—“Restraining prayer, we

cease to fight. Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright.”

Mrs. Berry used to say, “I would not be hired out of my closet for

a thousand worlds.” Mr. Jay said, “If the twelve Apostles were

living near you and you had access to them—if this communion

drew you from the closet—they would prove a real injury to your

souls.” Prayer is the ship which brings home the richest freight.

It is the soil which yields the most abundant harvest.

Brothers and Sisters, when you rise in the morning your business

so presses you that with a hurried word or two of prayer, down

you go into the world. And at night, jaded and tired, you give

God the last end of the day. The consequence is that you have

no communion with Him.

The reason we have not more true religion now is because we

have not more prayer. Sirs, I have no opinion of the churches of

the present day that do not pray. I go from chapel to chapel in

Cont. from pg 1

this metropolis and I see pretty good congregations. But I go to their prayer meetings on

a week evening and I see a dozen persons. Can God bless us? Can He pour out His Spirit

upon us, while such things as these exist? He could, but it would not be according to the

order of His dispensation, for He says, “When Zion travails she brings forth children.” Go

to your churches and chapels with this thought—that you want more prayer.

Many of you have no business here this morning. You ought to be in your own places of

worship. I do not want to steal away the people from other chapels. There are enough to

hear me without them. But though you have sinned this morning, hear while you are

here, as much to your profit as possible. Go home and say to your minister, “Sir, we must

have more prayer.” Urge the people to more prayer. Have a prayer meeting, even if you

have it all to yourself. And if you are asked how many were present, you can say “Four.”

“Four? how so?” “Why, there was myself and God the Father, God the Son and God the

Holy Spirit—and we have had a rich and real communion together.”

We must have an outpouring of real devotion or else what is to become of many of our

churches? Oh, may God awaken us all and stir us up to pray, for when we pray we shall

be victorious! I should like to take you, this morning, as Sampson did the foxes—tie the

firebrands of prayer to you—and send you in among the shocks of corn till you burn the

whole field up. I should like to make a conflagration by my words and to set all the

churches on fire till the whole has smoked like a sacrifice to God’s Throne.

If you pray, you have proof that you are a Christian. The less you pray, the less reason

have you to believe your Christianity. And if you have neglected to pray altogether, then

you have ceased to breathe and you may be afraid that you never did breathe at all.”

As we prepare for the new season in the life of the church, let us be sure to bathe the

whole of it in much prayer – to His praise, honor and glory!

REMINDER:

Our Tuesday evening Prayer Time will

resume meeting on Sept. 13th.

Meet with us from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in the

Ivory Room every Tuesday to pray for our

country, our church and the needs brought

before the church.

August 2016

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6

7

Communion

8 9 10 11 12 13

Jackals

Game

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29

Consistory

Meeting

30 31

Forgive & Forget

Dingbats are visual word puzzles from which a well known phrase or saying has to be identified.

Bible Dingbats

Answers elsewhere in newsletter

Update from DeCicco’s

Phil, Shirley and family are living with Phil’s sister in Somerset County

near Princeton and involved with Stone Hill Church. They sold their

house in Costa Rica and were considering buying a house in northern NJ

to be closer to their ministry; but they may wait to let their son John

finish high school with his class.

Philip has been networking with Hispanic churches, mobilizing them to

reach the muslims that live in their community. He has also been

discipling and mentoring a couple of Turkish believers that are new in

their faith. He is weekly in the Paterson/Clifton area in the Turkish

community developing relationships and sharing the gospel. Anybody

interested in going with him to help will be welcomed and trained in

sharing with Muslims.

During this past month of Ramadan, Muslim fast, they went to an Iftar

dinner at the Turkish Cultural Center, where Philip has not only taken

Turkish classes but also been able to develop good relationships,

including the Director of the Center. This time, he brought a Turkish

Bible as a gift to the director and the center. Pray that God will use this

gift to bring truth and life.

Shirley is teaching Spanish in their church learning center and is helping

with ministering to Hispanic women. She also home-schools Anna Maria

(12 years, going into 7th grade) and Louis (6, starting 1st grade).

Son, Philip, completed his first year at Carnegie Mellon College in

Pittsburg. He was on the Dean’s list of honors, was in the drama

program and part of the school Cru outreach.

Son, John, just completed his junior year of public high school. He plays

the guitar in the youth group worship team.

Please pray for Phil, Shirley and their family’s health, safety and the

work the Lord has given them to do.

August

1 – Allen Conover

11 – John Griffin

16 – Wanda Kucinski

Saturday, August 13 Jackal’s Baseball Game Yogi Berra Stadium Montclair State Game time: 6:05 PM

Fireworks follow the game

H

9 14 9 19 4 17 18 1 11 17 9 9 18 ,

H H

18 1 3 19 9 4 3 13 , 13 1 3 19 4 8 9

9 18 11 9 3 9 13 5 18 11 1 11 19 9

H H H

19 9 4 3 11 11 19 9 11 19 5 18 15 17

H C H H

12 19 5 6 19 15 1 13 19 4 17

H L

10 3 9 10 4 3 9 13 12 19 1 2 1 8 9

H

19 5 16 .

This is a Bible verse from I Corinthians.

Each number represents a letter. For instance in this cryptogram

each 2 stands for an L, each 6 stands for C, etc. (see legend below)

L C H

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Have you seen the steeple with its

new lights? They are on a timer that

lights it from 8 PM til 11 PM. Best

viewing is, of course, after dark.

Many thanks to our always-working

Buildings and Grounds “crew”.

Ten Commandments

Samaritans Purse just began the fifth season of Operation Heal our Patriots, their ministry to wounded combat veterans and their spouses. By the end of this summer, they will have welcomed 160 couples to Alaska to help them strengthen their marriages and find hope in the Lord as they deal with life-changing wounds suffered in the war on terror.”

“Samaritans Purse covers all the costs, including transportation, lodging, activities and aftercare to give couples this unique opportunity.” Make sure you read the flyer posted on the Missions bulletin board to see a report on this work being done for our veterans and wives!!!

Serving

Americas

Heroes