Church guide

Starting this upcoming Sunday, we are returning to our regular schedule with three morning services, and our children's ministry program resumes during the eleven o'clock hour.

In our 6:00 Communion service we will consider together, from God's Word, how coming to the Lord's Table can strengthen our trust in God's goodness, and deepen our devotion to Him. You're invited to join us...

South Church's annual public festival is September 8th, 2019! Find more at https://www.facebook.com/events/359379465005336/ and SouthLife.org

Register for Fall women's Bible studies today! Women's Ministry table or southlife.org/womens-bible-studies

Like clockwork, men get together every Wednesday evening, to study the Bible and pray. Make plans to join them and deepen your understanding of God alongside these experienced men. For more info: http://southlife.org/event/mens-bible-study-wednesday-evening

The South Church Israel tour in early 2020 filled quickly but we have been able to add several openings. If you are a single female willing to share a room with another single traveler we have one space available. We also have room for one more double booking of either a couple or two individuals sharing a room. Please contact me ASAP for more information: [email protected]. http://southlife.org/event/biblical-tours

Registration begins this Sunday (Aug. 11) for "UNEXPECTED" and you will want to register early (see below)! I know you are probably wondering, what in the world is UNEXPECTED? Unfortunately, if we told you all of the fun, inspirational and surprising elements of the evening it would no longer be “unexpected”. Hint: the theme for 2019 is “Pink Palooza”. We encourage you to join us and we promise it will be delightful. Tickets ($10) will be available on the 11th of August at the gazebo and includes yummy desserts along with an ‘unexpected’ sweet pink gift (while supplies last).

AWANA IS ALMOST HERE! Registration is now open! Sign up your children online or visit our table on Sunday morning. Want to get in on the fun yourself? Join the Awana team and serve this year with our children! To sign up, or find our more about the Awana program, visit http://southlife.org/awana

The plans for the 6:00 evening service have changed for tonight -- so we invite you to come as Pastor Don and I do team teaching: key lessons for life and ministry from 2 Timothy 4. -- Pastor Doug

August 25th at our 6:00pm Service, we will have a special focus on adoption. The aim is to promote the good work of adoption among the people of God (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14- 3:1; James 1:27). We will spend some time thinking about biblical foundations for adoption, rooted in the character of God. Then we will have a panel discussion with several families from our church who have adopted so that we can learn from their experience.

Kingdom Rock Kid's Choir - Registration is now open for the Kingdom Rock Choir. If you have a 3rd through 6th grader and they love to sing, they might want to be a part of KRC. They meet on Sundays at 6pm and perform one musical presentation per semester and occasionally sing on Sunday morning. 1st rehearsal is August 18. Go to Http://www.southlife.org/KRC/ to register your child today.

For as long as I've been a professing Christian, and for as much theology as I've come to know, I have always still struggled with truly living confidently in God's love, in a way that is expressed in joyful allegiance to Him. Preparing for this Sunday's sermon, triggered by a quote from James Grier about true faith as 'confidence plus allegiance', has been a very great help to me the last few days, to get a better grasp on all this, and so I hope and pray (and anticipate) that the truth from God's Word I'll be sharing might be a real help to others too (because it IS God's Word). -- Pastor Doug (9:35 Balanced Service; 10:55 Creative Svc.)

Since the church website is 'under construction' I'm posting a link to last night's Indonesian trip presentation here on our FB page, for those who have asked about viewing it.... https://boxcast.tv/view/evening-service-925236

Parents – We hope you’ll give your kids to us “on loan” for A Day at the MUSEUM which is our theme for B.I.G. this year. B.I.G. (Becoming In-depth with God) is for kids who have completed 1st-4th grade and will run August 4, 11, 18, 25 and Sept. 1 first hour. (9:35-10:45) Through visiting our Galleries and seeing many exhibits full of artifacts, the kids will learn about King Solomon who ruled with great wisdom that God had given him. We’ll discover that God knows everything about the past, present, and future! We are praying for a BIG group at B.I.G. to hear about our BIG God! NOTE: Nursery-Kindergarten will continue to run both hours

Ladies, save the date! Thursday, Sept. 5 “UNEXPECTED”

A godly example....

We are looking for those interested in serving in either the music or media ministries. Interested in the band, vocal team, orchestra or audio visual ministry? If so, please contact Pastor Corb at [email protected] or 517- 322-2000.

UPDATE: The 2020 Israel tour is almost full. We have room for one couple / or set of roommates and we have one individual female who is looking for a roommate on the tour. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to reserve these remaining spots. http://southlife.org/event/biblical-tours

South Church's annual public festival is September 8th, 2019! Find more at https://www.facebook.com/events/359379465005336/ and SouthLife.org

Have you ever dreamed of walking where Jesus walked?

Today in Creative Service.... So Will I (100 Billion X) [lyrics below] God of creation There at the start Before the beginning of time With no point of reference You spoke to the dark And fleshed out the wonder of light And as You speak A hundred billion galaxies are born In the vapor of Your breath the planets form If the stars were made to worship so will I I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made Every burning star A signal fire of grace If creation sings Your praises so will I God of Your promise You don’t speak in vain No syllable empty or void For once You have spoken All nature and science Follow the sound of Your voice And as You speak A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath Evolving in pursuit of what You said If it all reveals Your nature so will I I can see Your heart in everything You say Every painted sky A canvas of Your grace If creation still obeys You so will I So will I So will I If the stars were made to worship so will I If the mountains bow in reverence so will I If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I For if everything exists to lift You high so will I If the wind goes where You send it so will I If the rocks cry out in silence so will I If the sum of all our praises still falls shy Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times God of salvation You chased down my heart Through all of my failure and pride On a hill You created The light of the world Abandoned in darkness to die And as You speak A hundred billion failures disappear Where You lost Your life so I could find it here If You left the grave behind You so will I I can see Your heart in everything You’ve done Every part designed in a work of art called love If You gladly chose surrender so will I I can see Your heart Eight billion different ways Every precious one A child You died to save If You gave Your life to love them so will I Like You would again a hundred billion times But what measure could amount to Your desire You’re the One who never leaves the one behind Songwriters: Joel Houston / Benjamin Hastings / Michael Fatkin So Will I lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

Does God exist? Why were we put on this earth? Why do bad things happen to good people? Most of us wrestle with these kinds of questions, and sometimes our life circumstances are difficult to understand. So we want to give people plenty of opportunity to find some answers. That’s why at South Church, we have pastors and teachers who teach us from the Bible. Throughout the week, we offer classes and small group studies, communities of people who are searching the scriptures for truth together. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we sure want to point people to the One who does. So come and join us at South Church….to worship God, to connect with His people, to serve Him…and LEARN.

The Chosen Ministry is for adults with developmental disabilities and is a treasured part of the life at South Church.

Whether it is the hurricane in the Philippines or the crisis in Liberia…there will always be an urgent need to reach hurting people. Here at South Church, we care about these people. That is why we send support to organizations that are on the front lines, helping countries in mortal crisis. But we don’t stop there…we send people. We want everyone to know the love of Jesus so we send our very own. We know it is impossible for one church to reach everyone, but we want to do our part. This is our aim…and this will always be…our calling. We invite you to come to South Church on Sunday...to worship God, to connect with His people, to serve Him…and to send.

It was October 1889…a small group of people decided they wanted to help impact the young downtown capital of Michigan so they built a tiny little church on South Street and called it the South Street Chapel. There, they began to reach out to those around them. Now, 125 years later, that tiny, little church has moved and grown up to be a gathering of at least four generations, working together, trying to help. There are many challenges that face our city and we don’t claim to have all the answers, but, we, at least want to help where we can. Come and join us….to worship God, to connect with His people, to serve Him…and to help.

GROW - When kids are little, it might feel like you have all the time in the world to teach us everything you want us to know. You want us to grow up knowing how much God loves us. But there’s a whole lot to know, and we’re growing up fast. Pretty soon, we’re going to be on our own in the world. At South Church, parents don’t have to do it all alone. Our children’s ministry is full of great teachers who love kids and want to partner with parents to teach their children the scriptures and inspire them to love Jesus and serve Him with all their heart. If you read the Bible, you will see that kids are special to Jesus, and if you visit our church, you’ll see that kids are pretty important around here too. So come to South Church…a place for the whole family to worship God, connect with His people, serve Him…and grow.

South Church - SING What if all we ever did in church on Sunday morning was sing…all that we could learn, was from the songs. Would we understand more clearly who God is? We invite you to come and visit us at South Church….to worship God, to connect with His people, to serve Him, …and sing.