DBC Family,
We wanted you to know that we are praying for you while you are in this time of flux. It seems that every 10 seconds things change. And at this point, the President is stating that “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.” Does that mean the business floodgates will be opened up when the 15 day federal advisement is done? It’s hard to know. The news is filled with the fact that Fairbanks counts of the virus continue to increase and that the next two weeks could be even worse. People of all ages have been affected: 7 month old babies, 20 year olds, retired folks, even spring breakers. But there are many, many people that have been hurt financially by losing business or losing jobs. It is such a challenging time and it definitely makes one think about how their needs are provided for. Regardless of what the government says or will say, God is still in control and will provide for all our needs, according to His riches in glory.

I was in Safeway today and made a video of something that I was thinking about regarding God’s provision. It can be found here. Also, for the kids, Chuck made a video about how God takes care of them. That can be found here. I hope that you enjoy these thoughts that we had. 

There are several things to pray about. Please pray for the North Star Council on Aging (Fairbanks Senior Center). The Director has had to make significant changes to the way Meals on Wheels and Congregate Meals are delivered to Seniors in Fairbanks and North Pole in order to protect all Seniors. The workers and Volunteers are tired and care so much for the people they serve, but the stress is building. They need prayer in a big way. Please also pray for the Rescue Mission, Food Bank, and all the different shelters we have in Fairbanks- and for the people who help keep those services going. Vilma George wanted to thank everyone for praying and said that she is recovering after her surgery.

If you are wondering what you could do to continue in Bible Studies and such, the entire RightNow Media library is available to you. Also, Good News Book and Bible is open too and the owner, said that she would be glad for you to come in and look around. They have many great resources.

Last, if you are wondering how you can reach out to people, like the Good Samaritan did, here are two specific ideas. The first one is for those that are blessed with a crafting ability. The medical industry is encouraging people to start making face masks since manufacturers haven’t been able to catch up on production yet. To find out more information, look here and here. The second idea is that you could contact some of our high risk folks in the congregation that need groceries picked up for them. It has been recommended that those over 60 not go out shopping. This will cause an issue for lots of people, but I know that there are MANY in our congregation that could help. It could make a huge difference!

Please let me know of anything that you need or how we can pray for you. 
Ivan ​

Hi Parents! Here's the scoop for this week....

Pastor Ivan and I are joining forces again this week so... you can study as you help your children get ready for Sunday.

The lesson is based on Nicodemus' conversation with Jesus. John is the only one who records this time. You will find our Lesson in John 3: 1-17. Our Bible point is that Jesus gives us eternal life.

I must admit some of this Bible story seems a bit out of reach for me. I can't say I totally understand it. It doesn't help that this is an encounter between 2 very intelligent people. I know Jesus was reaching Nicodemus at his level. We know from the text that Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews (which means he was a member of the Sanhedrin), he was a teacher of Israel, John 19: 39 implies he was wealthy, and John 7: 50, 51 tells us he defended Jesus before the Jewish authorities.

Nicodemus came to Jesus during the night. Maybe this was because it was the only time he could get away when he knew Jesus wouldn't be surrounded by people, maybe he didn't want people to know he was going to Jesus. Nic knew Jesus was different; at least understanding Jesus was sent by God. He was curious enough that he went to Jesus for more information. He implied others knew Jesus was sent by God.

One of the cool things pointed out to me is in verse 11. Jesus included the disciples when He said, "Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony."

You may want to review the story of Moses and the snake with your children if you have time. You will find that in Numbers 21: 4-9.

John 3: 16 is a well known verse. It sums up the Gospel really well.

May God bless you and keep you safe during this time.
Mr. Chuck

Dear Denali church family,
I hope that this email finds you well. The elders would like to invite you to our first-ever online worship. We have been working very hard to make it happen. I pray that it can be uplifting, even if it means doing and learning something new.

Within our RightNow page (see our updates page), we put the order of service and you can follow along like you normally would. Unfortunately, there is no Auto-play. You must click on each video element. While this could be annoying, it also means that you have time to get more coffee or flip the couch pillow! Please don't automatically give up just because it looks hard. I promise that you can figure it out. I've had to overcome a lot this week and I know that you can too.
​
Please let us know if you need anything, have any prayer requests, or would just like to talk. We are trying to understand what God wants us to do as leaders and as a chapel as we move forward into these uncharted waters that we are in. May God richly bless you as we worship together.
Ivan

Dear DBC family,
It seems like our world is in such a state of flux lately. Things are one thing in the morning and totally different in the afternoon. It gets to be extremely challenging to make heads or tails of what to do. As leaders at DBC, we have been praying fervently and seeking counsel as to how to proceed for our congregation. We know that there will most likely be those that fall on both extremes of what to do - cancel because of caution or not cancel because it is fearful. Yet we know that God has placed us in our positions as leaders and lead we must. 

We have been praying for the government and our national and state leaders to be able to make wise decisions. And this week, there have been a lot of decisions made. Today we learned that in our state alone that we are now up to 12 cases and several have been non-travel related. This will most likely accelerate as testing increases. At a pastor’s meeting I attended today, one pastor talked about how the virus works and who is affected. Sometimes we think that it is only us that would be affected. But he said that it ripples out for 5 layers and affects way more people than just you and your family or even your friends. 

We have chosen to be cautious, but not guided by fear. With that in mind, we will not be meeting for worship together at DBC for the next few weeks. We also will not have AWANA or any other church activities. We know that this is a major change and it is something that we do not decide lightly. We also know that Hebrews 10:25 commands us to not forsake the fellowship. Though God’s plan is clearly for us to worship together, we believe that we can still fellowship, even without being able to meet in person. 

We have begun preparing for this Sunday’s worship in various ways. We plan to have a worship music playlist, a Communion message, a lesson for the YftL kids, a Bible Study for adults and families, Corporate Prayer and Announcements. If that sounds like our regular services, that is by design. We will be utilizing RightNow Media and incorporating our video teachings onto our page. On Sunday, we can worship communally in going through each of these service steps. Though we won’t be meeting together because the building is closed, I believe that the Holy Spirit will still be active since the Church is open because WE are the church. Please see our updates page for more infromation.

If you have made it this far, please know that we seek to glorify God in all that we do, even if it is when we can’t meet face to face for a time. Thank you for being patient and thank you for trusting us as your elders.
​Ivan

I wanted to send an email out to let you know that we are thinking about you and praying for you. As we seek God’s guidance as to what to do for this Sunday and the future weeks, I wanted to share something that I’ve learned lately. I was putting away things at home and I had a brand new container of Clorox type wipes. Those things are like gold right now as some are selling on eBay for $25 per container! That’s crazy! Well, I happened to not be holding the box very well and the wipe container fell off and landed on it’s lid, cracking it in the process. It hurt to see gold hitting the ground! Just kidding. But it did make me realize that if I didn’t put it in a ziplock bag that it would dry out soon and become useless.

It reminds me of the verse Jesus talked about where what use is salt if it loses its flavor. Thankfully up here most of us have been given an abundance of resources. But if we hoard these resources, is it much good? I don’t mean to take away from your families needs, but I wonder how God can show us how we can help others around us - especially those that are scared or fearful. God laid on my son's heart to help out a few small businesses in town that didn’t seem to be equipped with cleaning supplies. God provided 2 spray bottles of disinfectant - on clearance - and someone abandoning a 6 pack of paper towels. So when the supplies were dropped off, the workers couldn’t really believe that we would give these things to them without expecting anything. That’s because the world is not used to seeing kindness, just for kindness sake. I don’t say these things for any other reason but to encourage you and your family to begin to ask God how you can use this time for Him and how you can help those whom He might have you reach out to in love one way or another. Who knows, but maybe you are in this spot right now to affect change for eternity!
Ivan

​DBC Church Family, 

Life can change so fast. I went off grid for 5 days for camp and it seems like everything changed. Fear and anxiety seem to be so high. Yet, I am reminded of our lesson on Saturday. Our theme for the weekend was God’s love and Saturday we talked about how His love overcomes. I used Styrofoam balls and acetone to illustrate that when we are filled with the Love of Christ, He will take our fear and anxiety away and use them as a beacon of light and hope. Yes, I did light the acetone on fire. It is so easy to get caught up with the cares and concerns of the world that we forget that God wants us to rely upon Him (I came back and needed to remind myself of this). With all that is going on with the Coronavirus we have the ability to cast our burdens upon Christ and through that shines as a beacon of light and hope to the world around us. If you have a few moments please read through Matthew 6: 25-34.  

Jared

PS -Check out this link to an article on talking to kids about the virus. 
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/march/how-to-help-our-kids-deal-with-fears-surrounding-covid-19.html