Abundant Life Fellowship - Life Begins With Christ

Pastor Brenda Nagunst

Sunday Services at 10:00
Sunday School at 9:00

PO Box 74, Chewelah, WA 99109
203 North 2nd Street East
​(509) 935-8029
abundantlifechewelah@gmail.com
Welcome to Abundant Life Fellowship. We are a Free Methodist church located in lovely Chewelah, WA. As a body of believers, we strive to advance the good news of Jesus Christ, to reach out to the lost and wounded among us, and to make our church a safe place for people to experience God's love and to be empowered for service through being conformed to His image. If you are ever in the heart of Stevens County, please stop by and worship with us and discover what the Lord has in store for you.

Weekly Bulletin

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Verse of the Month

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
~ 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~

Livestream Our Service

Watch our Sunday Service live via our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215120366406390

Fellowship Time

Please join us for some refreshments and pleasant company in the fellowship hall following the worship service. Please bring finger food for everyone to enjoy. We hope to see you there!

A Word from the Pastor - November 2023

Have you ever thought about the difference between thankful and grateful? We often use those two words interchangeably. When you look them up, they are synonyms; however, each word is slightly different with its own nuances. I decided to take some time to see what I could discover about the difference and share my findings with you. The philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel said that thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude, and gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. He also said that thankfulness may consist merely of words, and gratitude is shown in acts. (Wither 2019)

Thankfulness is the first step toward being grateful. It’s often an emotional response of joy or happiness (another set of synonyms we may want to look at some time) to something that happens to us in our favor. It is when you get excited about something that went well for you, or you received something you’ve wanted but didn’t expect. People often express thankfulness by being excited and saying, “thank you.” That’s about where it ends. When the moment ends, the feeling of thankfulness soon follows.

What about gratitude? Rather than an emotional response gratitude is a choice, independent from what happens to us, it is long term, and at a deeper level. here thankfulness is dependent on what happens to us, it’s short-lived, and more surface level.Gratitude is intentional. We can practice being grateful by focusing on the blessings in life, or what is good. It’s an attitude we choose to have. When I was young, I remember thinking I didn’t want to grow up to be a grumpy old woman. I’ve discovered that if I practice being grateful, rather than critical, there is less of that grumpy old lady escaping out.

As we grow in gratitude, we start to look at things in a more positive way; we see the good in things and situations that others might not see. Times can be hard, but we can still have an attitude of gratitude. This does take practice. I have a friend who has a gratitude journal. There are all kinds of things that can be written in this journal, like the qualities of God that you admire most and why, or simple things like running water or electricity. Another way is to send a friend or someone you know a card to let them know how much you appreciate them just because. You can practice gratitude by dwelling on the good in life and recognize the blessing all around you. Paul tells us, in his letter to the Philippians (Phil 4:8), to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and honorable. These are a few ideas on practicing gratitude, I’m sure you can come up with your own ideas too.
Pastor Brenda

 SMALL GROUPS

Brown Bag Bible Study
Wednesdays at noon
Chewelah Prayer Walk/Ride
First Thursday at 8:45 am
Rarrick Prayer Group
Mondays at 3:00
Barbee ​Prayer Group
Wednesdays at 4:00
​Yada Yada Care Group
Tuesdays at 11:00