Pastor's Pen

Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR, NEW LEAF! Isn’t it wonderful to wipe the slate clean and welcome the year of 2021? 2020 is now a not-so-distant memory and many of us are glad that it is behind us. We learned so many new things about: COVID – SOCIAL DISTANCING – PANDEMICS – UNPRECE-DENCENESS - MASKS…..the list goes on. Now we wait to see what the New Year brings!

This year has also brought us good things – new life to our church and new ministries such as the GIVE ‘EM GAS ministry, the DONUT DELIVERY ministry, the FOOD BOXES for the needy, the FOOD CUPBOARD ministry, the NUEVA ESPERENZA (the ministry to the orphanage in Honduras) all of these brought to us from our mission team. If YOU would like to be plugged into ANY of these ministries, see Ann Wiley, Kris Zemla, Tom Batchelor or either of our pastors. We’d love to have you join us as we serve those in need!

Pastor Rick Oaks, when he spoke to us Dec. 13, talked to us about how we give our lives to Christ two different times. The first time we give our lives to Him is when we accept Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. Some of us remember the exact date and time when ‘being born again’ happened to us, others don’t. It’s OK either way. The fact is…IT HAPPENED. NOTHING can change that. The sec-ond time we give our lives to Christ should be at the start of every new day.

As part of our daily devotions, we should give the Lord every part of us so He can use us for His glory! As part of my time with my Father every morning, I say this prayer. Honestly, it has become such a part of me that when I don’t start my morning with it, I feel just a wee bit hollow inside.

How about we all try it? You can write your own prayer if you like or just pray this with me. Try it for about a month and see if your day goes just a little smoother, your worries are a bit less troublesome, your heart is a little less heavy and Jesus seems a tad closer. Watch how the Lord changes your life as you surrender it to Him fresh and new every morning!

Love the Lord † Love One Another † Make Disciples Of Jesus Christ
Father, on this day, increase Your will in me and decrease my own for You are my strength and song. I worship You this day and sing Your praises even when I can’t understand why things are the way they are. Thank You for putting this new song in my heart!

May my life be a sweet offering to you as I seek to follow You and to love You with all my heart, soul and mind. Use my mouth, my hands, my feet all of me as instruments of Your peace. May I be a light in the darkness for others. I give to You my life, my talents, all that I am and ever will be. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.
May the Lord richly bless you this day and throughout the New Year!

Pastors Scott & Jan

WHAT IS THE VISION OF OUR CHURCH?

Obviously we have God’s Great Commandment and Great Commission as our number one priority, we want to love God, love others and make disciples.
“Without a Vision, the people perish.” This short verse found in Proverbs 29:18 tells us that we should not be a people who are willing to “Ready! Shoot! Aim!” We should have a target to shoot at and be prepared to Ready! Aim! Shoot! God has led us this far, and He shall surely lead us on! Really? To where shall He lead? Do we have a plan? How wonderful to know that God met us in our need and loved us to much to leave us there – that He has a plan for our life and it is this: 2 things. To:

1. Connect
2. Grow

Connect

Doing life with others helps us to connect in community and establish meaningful relationships.
Jesus had a team He "did life" with. He ate with them, walked with them, and ministered with them. He developed meaningful relationships with them and developed a strategy through which all humankind could be reconciled.
The early church connected in very natural, organic ways: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46 NIV). They loved to eat a good meal together, laugh together, and pray together in one another's homes as well as in their large temple gatherings.
 

Grow

Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52 NIV). Once you have connect-ed in relationship within the church, it is time for you to grow!
I read this story about a father talking with his daughter and her five-year-old friend, Elizabeth, about birth-days. Elizabeth’s was March 30 and the father’s was March 27. "Our birthdays are three days apart," he said to her. She looked up at him and remarked, "Yeah, but you grew much faster than I did."
That brings us to a question…How fast are you growing?
I know some of us are growing in places that we don’t want to. I am reminded of that as I look at my own expanding waistline! But there is a kind of growing that we are considering that we want to be a part of our lives. This is in the growing of the church – not just in numbers, but in our knowledge of God’s Word while being in Connection with one another.
We are developing a plan that will offer home group studies on different books of the Bible: the first book being the book of John. Scott will then be preaching on what we have studied the following week. This is a great way to connect with others your age within the church while learning by digging deeper into God’s word. There will be LOTS more information in the coming weeks as to how it all works, but plan on being a part of the growth and vision of our church by joining a home group.
So, Connect (join a home group) and Grow (by learning more of His word with other believers)! This is the way it happens! Now, Go Give ‘em Heaven!
There will soon be a meeting for all those interested in being a part of our home groups. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open as to the date and time. It IS coming!

Pastor Jan