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Prayer Corner
We are taking
the plunge - a new, fully qualified teacher offered to take over my contract at
Shadow Ridge High School if I wanted to leave teaching at the end of the
semester vs at the end of the school year. I've decided this opportunity is
from the Lord so I'm leaving teaching Dec 18. This is a big step of faith for
me and my family as the budget at FourteenSix is so up and down that a full
time salary is rarely consistent - but we're putting our trust in God and
moving forward. I would ask that you pray for us as we take this big step. Take
a minute and pray right now...
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This Coming Sunday, December 6, 2009
Jesus said "Behold, I
say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already
white for harvest!" The Master wants us to be aware of the opportunities all
around us. So often we think of missionaries as those radical people "over
there" or we think of ministry in terms of the paid, professional staff at the
church. But the backbone of the Kingdom of God is people who see the opportunities
and act on them, not just those who devote their livelihoods to service. Come
on out this Sunday as we explore the exciting stories of ordinary people doing
extraordinary things for God, things you can participate in. See ya Sunday. Coming up.... December 13 -
Revelation Ch. 2 (part 3: Pergamum) - "To the angel of the Church of Surprise write..." December 20 - Revelation Ch. 2 (part 4: Thyatira) - "To the angel of
the Church of Surprise write..."
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A Word of Encouragement
Philippians
3:13 (NKJV)
Brethren,
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If
we honestly believe God has a plan for our lives then it would be wise to
consider how well we're doing. Sometimes, God leads us to set a goal or develop
an idea but we can get distracted - even by our own success. The apostle Paul,
who wrote these words, was one of the most prolific missionaries in history and
wrote about 2/3rds of the New Testament. But as he reflected on the goals he
felt God had set for his life he concluded, "I do not count myself to have
apprehended" - in other words, I'm not there yet friends! It would have been
easy for Paul to "chill out" - after all, he had accomplished more for the
Kingdom than most people. But Paul understood that so long as he was alive, he
had something more to do for the advancement of God's kingdom on earth.
Paul
learned to "forget what was behind" and "press toward the goal". The success of
the past is in the past. The failures of the past - are in the past. Our task
is to remember that God is the God of the living, not the dead (and the past is
dead to us). We need to press on because the "upward call of God in Christ
Jesus" is a lofty calling. Perhaps God once called you to participate in the
children's ministry at your church. It would be easy to say in your heart "I've
been there, done that. I've done my time of service. It's now time to for
someone else to help." It could be that God has indeed called you on to some
other point of service but if not, could it be that you need to "forget what is
behind" and "press on"? God is calling us to be involved with the advancement of
His kingdom all the way to the last minute of our lives - all the way to the
end.
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Thank You
Thank you to
an anonymous giver, outside our regular attenders on Sunday morning, who
pledged to send 4 checks over the next 4 weeks to help us fund the mailer in
January. We are grateful to our supporters from afar - thanks friends.
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Vision
Part of
discipleship is learning to reach out with the message of Jesus to the
community around us. As a church we want to develop opportunities for our
people to do outreach and while we may be small, big things often have small
beginnings. We want to develop outreach that is relevant to this culture -
something people will understand. For this reason we're starting a tradition of
an outdoor candlelight Christmas Eve outreach (something we've never done
before). Eventually, when we have our own facility, I envision tons of lights,
a living nativity, plays, and music - the works. But we're starting with a
simple sing-a-long with candles in the park, Christmas Eve. See ya there.
Don't forget - We're trying to get the word out about
FourteenSix and I need your help. Will you set aside just $37.50 each week for
4 weeks, put it in an envelope marked "invitations" and put it in the offering
basket? If I can find 40 people to do this, we will raise most of the money we
need to send out our next set of 30,000 invitations to our church. Email me today at pat@fourteensix.com
and let me know I can count on you for the next 4 Sundays.
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Special Announcements
December
5 - Women's ministry breakfast: At Athena Bonner's house, 9 AM
December
6 - All Church After Service FEAST. Meet the family in the park after
church for hot dogs and other goodies.
December 12 - Men's Power Breakfast. 7 AM, Desert Palms Restaurant.
December 20 - Children's Ministry Christmas play - at church, Sunday
morning. See what the kids have been practicing all month, you'll love it. 10 AM
December 24 - Candle-light outreach at Kingswood park. Bring your parkas,
singing voices and smiles, 6 PM. Cider and hot chocolate (and candles)
provided.
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