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God Is Good
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8).
Every good thing we enjoy comes from God. He is good.
Your health is a blessing from God. Your life itself, every day you live, every breath you take, are wonderful gifts from Him. God is good.
The food we eat, the roof over our heads, our families, and all that we have and enjoy, come from Him. God is good.
The greatest gift is Jesus. He died on the cross, and God raised Him from the dead. We have new life, abundant life and eternal life through Jesus. Jesus our Lord saves us from our sin. He redeems us and reconciles us to God. Through Jesus we have access to the Father. God is good.
God’s Spirit lives in us and strengthens us. The Holy Spirit gives us peace and joy. The Spirit fills us and gives us spiritual gifts. The Spirit transforms us into the image of God’s Son. God is Good.
God’s Word, the Bible, is His revelation of absolute truth. The Bible, His Word, is inspired, true, final and infallible. God has revealed to us all that we need to draw near to Him and receive salvation in the Name of Jesus through His Word. God’s Word equips us to be victorious and walk in the Spirit. God is good.
Through all this we have communion, intimacy with God. We enter His presence, his throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), the Holy of holies (Hebrews 10:19), through the blood of Jesus. His spirit testifies to our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). We cry out “Abba” Father (Romans 8:15). God is good.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
| | Phillip Walton Speaks Sunday Morning August 2nd | | |
Our beloved pastor emeritus will bring the morning message on Sunday August 2nd at 10:00 am.
Phillip and Jane Walton served at ERCC for over 30 years. They have many precious ties and relationships with our people.
We are so happy to have them back for a Sunday!
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Greg Pruitt of Pioneer Bible Translators
Speaks Sunday Morning August 9th
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You won’t want to miss Sunday morning August 9th. Greg Pruitt of Pioneer Bible Translators will speak in our 10:00 am worship service. Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) is a ministry used by God to plant churches and translate the Bible into the languages of the world’s least reached people groups. PBT has 157 language projects underway currently. Translating the Word of God into these spoken languages has the potential to reach 535 million people.
One of the goals in our 2026 ERCC Ministry focus is to host at least 2 missions’ speakers on Sunday morning during the year. In January 2026 Doug Gamble spoke at ERCC representing the mission’s ministry of GNPI. So with Greg Pruitt’s visit to ERCC this month we will fulfill this objective.
| Caleb Gray Speaking Sunday Morning August 30th | | |
We are blessed to have Caleb as our Youth Minister at ERCC. He will bring the morning message on the last Sunday of August. He will be enlisting the help of some of our youth and children.
Don’t miss Caleb’s presentation of the Word of God on Sunday morning August 30th.
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Once every quarter we have a month with 5 Sundays. On those 5th Sundays, we suspend Junior Church and kids of all ages sit with their parents in adult worship. (We do still provide a nursery for infants on the 5th Sundays).
During these special Sundays we have an emphasis on the family and children. We ask kids to participate in the 10:00 am adult worship with Scripture readings. In this way we actually use our youngsters to deliver the message of God’s Word.
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We are inviting ERCC family members to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on Thursday, August 13th.
We need to continue praying for our nation, our families, our children and grandchildren, our marriages, our church family and the lost. God moves in powerful ways when His people pray and fast (Matthew 4:1-17 and Acts 13:1-3).
Let’s also pray for our spiritual growth as we participate in the upcoming seminar “Empowering Subjects”.
If you have any serious health problems, please consult your doctor before fasting. There are different ways to fast. You may decide, for instance, to give up desserts or soda for one day or longer. Or, if you are healthy, you may wish to do a water-only fast for a day or more.
Great things happened when the church fasted and prayed in the New Testament. Let’s ask God to lead us and to manifest His power as we serve Him.
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Do you want to be closer to God? He says: Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). The Holy Spirit says: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Pursuing holiness is a pathway into a closer relationship with the Father in heaven "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Come with an open heart to receive the Word. This two-part series starts Sunday morning August 16th. Pastor Wright will dig into the Word of God and teach on this important theme. This is intended to challenge you and help you grow in your faith.
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Baptism Class
Sunday, August 16th
9:00 - 9:45 am
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If you have yet to be baptized biblically, we invite you to join Pastor Wright on Sunday, August 16th at 9:00 am in the education building, 2nd floor. This is a single-session study, so please don't miss it. In this study you'll learn from Scripture that water baptism is for believers, it is by immersion, and it depicts the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you haven’t yet experienced Biblical baptism, you need to come to this class and you need to be baptized. As Ananias said to Saul, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’” (Acts 22:16).
The study is intended to prepare you for water baptism.
Tacos, donuts, coffee and juice are served at the 9:00 am hour.
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New Members Class
Sunday, August 23rd
9:00 - 9:45 am
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If you are a guest attending ERCC regularly, this single-session class is intended to provide you with important information about the congregation. We would love it if you were to decide to join our church family, but attendance doesn't commit you to join.
Pastor Wright will teach the class at 9:00 am on Sunday August 23rd.
Tacos, donuts, coffee and juice are served at the 9:00 am hour.
The class will be held in the Education Building on the 2nd Floor.
| | Ladies, please make plans to attend the South Central Texas Women’s Retreat, Friday and Saturday, September 25th & 26th at the Sunday House, 510 E. Main St. in Fredricksburg. | | | |
The theme will be “Fill My Cup” with guest speaker Peg Arnold. If planning to attend, Millie Borelli has registration forms which are due to her with payment by Sunday, August 9th (the form cites the due date as August 17th, but Millie will need to collect the forms and payments sooner).
The cost is $50 for Saturday only which includes lunch. Cost for the entire retreat ranges from $105 to $250 per person which includes hotel and meals and is based on the number of occupants in a room (from one to four). Also, there are only two ADA rooms that are first come, first served.
Ladies can order an optional T-shirt “Fill My Cup, Romans 15:13” on the registration form as well for $17 - $30 depending on size. If ordering a T-shirt, payment will also be due at the time of registration.
For more information or questions, please contact Millie at (210) 347-3568 or at mjborelli@satx.rr.com if you don’t see her at church.
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BACK TO CHURCH
Mexican Potluck September 13th
You won’t want to miss our Back-to-Church Mexican Potluck, at 11:40 am on Sunday September 13th. Please bring your favorite Mexican dish and sides. Bring enough for your own family and to share with your church family.
The first Christians “ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46). We enjoy the same fellowship today at ERCC!
| | Enjoy these pics of our kids being fed the Word during our Vacation Bible School (VBS) that was attended by 36 children every morning on July 20-24th. We thank all our volunteers that worked so hard. God blessed us with another fabulous VBS! | | |
STCH Ministries
"Faith and Finance"
Presented by Larry Stark at ERCC
Starting the Week of September 15th
Do you need help managing money? Do you seek financial wisdom and self-control? You should commit to taking the Faith and Finance Course being offered at ERCC starting in September by Larry Stark.
You will need to commit to attending the course meeting each week for 10 weeks. Each evening will usually start at 6:30 pm or maybe 7:00 pm.
Each class will last 1.5 hrs., and a meal will be provided if held in the evening. It is very important to be in each class so as to not fall behind and then not understand the lessons being taught.
Currently, the course is planned to begin the week of September 15th and end during the 3rd week in November.
Please fill out the form below and give it to Larry Stark by August 16th or ask Larry if you have any questions.
| | | | Follow Up Discussions
at 6:00 pm
Every Sunday
In August | | |
Empowering Subjects is a seminar and follow-up Bible study and discussion series. Its purpose is to equip you to be a servant focused on growing the Kingdom of God.
Come with an open heart and expectation. You will learn. You will grow. You will be equipped to serve King Jesus.
| | SUNDAY EVENING SCHEDULE
6:00 - 7:00 pm | | |
August 2nd
- Empowering Subjects
- Week 8
August 9th
- Empowering Subjects
- Week 9
August 16th
- Empowering Subjects
- Week 10
August 23rd
- Empowering Subjects
- Week 11
August 30th
- Empowering Subjects
- Week 12
| | | There is a class for everyone! | | | | |
August Birthdays
7th: Sandie Ramones
9th: Mark Wright
13th: Loa Allen
13th: Eden Haoson
24th: Cindy Martinez
24th: Michael Mas
29th: Elmer Williams
30th: Bill Workman
| | If you're new to ERCC, please send your birthday (day & month) to Jerry Kline. Email him HERE. We want to celebrate with you! | | We thank God for Sydney. Each year she draws on her professional skills as a public-school teacher, and she channels her expertise for the organization and direction of the Vacation Bible School of ERCC. We are grateful to Sydney and for her labor of love with the children at ERCC. | | | | |
Our Mission Highlight for the month is the North Burma Christian Mission based in Thailand and led by Joel and Marilyn Kopang.
Here is an update taken from their most recent newsletter to the church.
| | | Greetings to you all. We have so much to share with you, but we fear the newsletter will become too long. However, you will see why it is so long when you read all that has been going on. Without your support or your prayers, we would not be able to accomplish what God has called us to do. He is using you too for His Kingdom, and we rejoice that we can join hands and come together with you to do this! Praise the Lord!. | | |
Phaung Gyi Village- Myanmar Trip
On May 25th Joel and Jeremaiah left Chiangmai airport to fly directly to Rangoon. Though the flight was delayed from the morning to the afternoon due to a typhoon that hit Rangoon, in the end they arrived safely around 3:30 pm, and they were able to meet up with the folks who came to pick them up and help them check into a hotel. That evening, Joel’s middle brother’s son K-Shin picked them up and took them to a Burmese restaurant. The next morning Joel’s nephew Naw Jar came to pick them up, and they headed to Phoung Gyi, Naw Jar’s village. Joel had visited this village once before last year, so everyone greeted him with joy and excitement. Though the weather was extremely hot, when it rained it was bearable. The first night they had no mosquito nets, and they were both chewed up by mosquitoes. Neither got much sleep. There was no electricity except for a few hours a day when they would be able to charge battery backups or phones or draw water from the well. The few fans ran on these batteries, but they did not last the whole night. We really felt bad for the situation they were living in.
The word was out that Joel and Jeremaiah had come to teach classes from the Bible for four days. Invites were sent out by word of mouth, and over 60 people showed up for the classes. Both Christian and nonChristians showed up to attend. So, on the morning of May 27th Joel taught from 9:00 am to noon. His subjects were “How to Grow Spiritually” and “How to Walk with the Lord Every Day.”
| | All those who attended listened attentively, and they asked lots of questions when given the opportunity. They interacted very well in the class. Joel said it was so rewarding and fun to teach them. After lunch Jeremaiah picked up teaching the class from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. He taught on “Living a Faithful Life in Christ” and about “Tithing.” In these classes they were asked to read Scriptures from the Bible. Some could read and some still did not know how to read, but they truly enjoyed the challenge. On Saturday the 28th, four people accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and were baptized. | | There are six more waiting to be baptized. They are working in government jobs and were not free to come that day. Naw Jar will baptize them as soon as they are ready. Pray for these new believers and the work here. | | Joel, Jeremiah, and Naw Jar took turns preaching Sunday’s services. | | Joel had a devotion for the hostel children before bed. | On Sunday May 31st, they had a wonderful service, which started at 10:00 am and ended at noon. Once the service began, the children were invited up to sing songs and do a few action songs. Then Saithoons’ daughter played the keyboard, and her brother sang a solo. The smaller children were invited up to recite Bible verses in front of the whole congregation. Saithoon’s daughter & son provided the instruments like the guitar and keyboard to all the songs the youth performed that day. Joel said it was just wonderful to see and hear these new and younger generation learning to love God and worship Him with sincere joy. | | Joel preached for 30 minutes. They sang some hymnal songs, and after that Naw Jar preached the communion sermon and served the elements to the congregation. That whole week of Bible study and seminar was a great time of learning and growing in the Word and coming together as God’s children. Many non-Christians who came to listen and learn from the seminar and the church service were so touched and moved that they in turn wanted to go home and share what they learned. | | |
With great love and appreciation,
Joel and Marilyn Khopang
| | ERCC Shirts With ERCC Logo | These shirts are a good way for us to advertise our church when worn around our community and help people at our outreach events identify us. | | | | | |
The cost is $20 (price has no profit for the church). Both Men's and Women's styles are available.
Several shirts of each size are currently available for purchase, but if we're missing your size, orders will be taken for future periodic purchases from the shirt supplier..
See Rose Kline if you'd like a shirt!
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ERCC Facebook Group
We invite you to join our ERCC Facebook Group. It is one of our ministry objectives to use social media to reach more people. This is especially important in relation to young people today.
A few discussion ideas for using this forum are:
- What's your favorite thing about church?
- What is your favorite church event?
- What was your favorite quote from the service last week?
- Providing a Praise Report on an answered prayer
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Chris Engstrom
Jerry Kline
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If you'd like to give to ERCC as a direct bank transfer or use a credit card or debit card, you can use the safe and secure Tithely app. You can also setup your account to make your gift recurring on any schedule you want. Questions? Ask Jerry or send an email HERE. | | | |
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ERCC Text Messages are used to send out important short-notice news and reminders to your smart phone. Most months, only one or two messages are sent, so you won't be flooded with text messages if you sign up. Stay informed by being on this list! | | | |
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Receive our Monthly Newsletters electronically to your email inbox. They automatically format to whatever device you are using, including smart phones! | | | | | | |
