The Parent’s Night Out has been cancelled due to snow. Check back for rescheduling.

Physical exercise is valuable, but spiritual exercise is even more valuable:
It promises rewards both in this life and the next.
- 1 Timothy 4:8

Pathways is partnering with Hanley’s Fitness to spread the Good News about Jesus. Every Saturday evening at 5PM Hanley’s makes their gym available for free to anyone who wants to come. They follow the open gym time with a Bible study aimed at answering real questions and meeting real needs. It’s a great opportunity to share what Jesus has done (and is doing) in your life.

Hanley’s is also offering what I consider to be the best health club value in the area. New members can join for just $299.99 a year. That’s $0.83 a day! You can find out more about the gym at their website: Hanley’s.

Hanley’s is located at 121 Industry Lane in Forest Hill. Their phone number is 410.836.0770. Tell them Pathways sent you!

Stan

Dashing through the snow… OK, we’ll probably only get a few flurries, but the weather reports are calling for a little SNOW just in time for our Christmas Party! Very cool!

Good food, great friends and a lot of fun. This year’s party begins at 5:30 and ends… well… when it ends. Bring your favorite holiday dish (enough for your party and a little extra to share), and a gift for our WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE. Gifts should cost $5.00 or less, and the stranger they are – the better.

Bring a friend, bring food, bring a strange gift and a sense of humor. We’ll see you Saturday!

Kairos:(καιρός) the appointed or proper time, season or age. The right time.

Kairos groups begin the first week of October and run through the second week of December. This fall we will all be reading through the book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. You can sign up for a group through the links below.

Sunday Night 6:00 PM in Belcamp. Stan Graham
Monday Night 7:30 PM in Street. Gary Miller
Tuesday Night 7:00 PM in Bel Air. Nicole Cox
Tuesday Night 6:30 PM in Abingdon. Jim Crouch

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
- Hebrews 10:24

The Way of Jesus is a way of community and encouragement. Not only are we responsible for helping others along the way, but we need the help of others as we follow Jesus in our day-to-day choices. Wrestling with our faith alone is not only hard, it’s foolish – and frankly, it isn’t the way Jesus taught us to live. No matter how smart, disciplined, moral or well-balanced we might be – we need others and they need us.

• Because hearing a message once a week isn’t likely to change your life 
• Because worshipping in community once a week is likely to leave your spiritual gas tank on empty                                     
• Because praying with and for your church family is a daily privilege and responsibility        
• Because we all have gifts, talents and abilities which God gave us to honor Him and advance His Kingdom
• Because it’s not just helpful, it’s good and pleasant to journey with other followers of Jesus
• Because we need to discuss, encourage and equip one another to live the full life Jesus makes available to us
• Because those who have yet to meet Jesus need honest conversation, genuine community and the love of Christ         
• Because those of us who have met Jesus, need that too
• Because we all need a place to get to know and become known by others

Kairos is back at Pathways!

Groups are now forming. For more information or to sign up, just send an email to stan@pathwaysweb.com.

It’s impossible to grow in the way of Jesus without spending time in Jesus’ story.  As a community, we’ve committed to reading through the entire Bible in one year.  It only takes 10-15 minutes a day, but it’ll make a positive impact on the rest of your life. 

Here are a few hints and suggestions as you read:

• Pray before you read: ask God to reveal Himself to you through His word
• Don’t get stuck on difficult passages – keep reading.  If you don’t understand something, write yourself a note and get back to it later.  Some things will become clear over time, so give it time.
• Remember the Bible is God’s story, and Jesus is the main point.  That won’t be apparent in every reading, but keep it in mind as you read – it will help you figure out the point of some of the stories and conversations.
• The Bible contains many conversations: God speaking to people; people speaking to God; people speaking to people about God; and people speaking to people about people (and things).  What God says is always true.  What people say to or about God or one another is sometimes true, sometimes not.  When people are wrong about God (like the Pharisees and false prophets) – the Bible will let you know (sometimes God corrects them directly, sometimes he sends prophets to do it).   
• Have fun with it.  This is the greatest story ever told, it has drama, humor, wit and wisdom.  Enjoy. 

Stan begins a new series dealing with how God calls us to carry out His mission. Stan uses some of the more recognizable figures in the Bible and how God called them to relate God’s call for us.

In this message Stan explores Abraham’s story.

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The Pathways Community has been blessed with a baby boom, but with blessing comes responsibility: namely, that we’ll do everything we can to raise these children to become Christ-Followers. So, on Sunday, May 31st, we’ll be holding a Child-Dedication Service followed by our quarterly 5th Sunday Feast. Bring your favorite brunch food and celebrate God’s blessing on our community.

Pathways is hosting a Mother’s Day Tea at the Harford Family House in Aberdeen on Saturday, May 16th from 3-5 PM. We’re going to pamper the ladies of the house and give them a rare opportunity to relax and reclaim their worth as a child of God. Contact Ali for details.

While reading Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey, I stumbled upon this gem from C.S. Lewis.

“For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality; and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline and virtue. For the modern mind, the cardinal problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of man; and the solution is a technique.”