"Life@First Congregational" 9/24/08
Published: Wed, 09/24/08
 "Loving God, Loving Others, Serving the World"
Volume 4, Number 3 September 24, 2008 |
| Big House This Friday! |
 Word is getting out that Big House is the place in Lake Worth for children and families to come and have fun and learn about how much God loves them and how we can love one another. If you know someone who still hasn't made it to a Big House service, forward this email to them so they can check out the Big House website. Remember, we'll have food and games starting at 6 PM and Big House starts at 7 PM. See you there! |
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Food Drive
 Remember, we are in our final week of collecting food for C.R.O.S. ministries. C.R.O.S., Christians Reaching Out to Society is an organization in our community, supported by local churches, that works to help those in need in our community. Due to current economic conditions, the number of people who are in need of assistance has risen dramatically and C.R.O.S. is in desperate need of food for those they help. We have collected 40 bags of food out of our pledged 100 bags. If you can bring a bag of groceries this Sunday, even if you have already brought one, it would be greatly appreciated. |
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This Week's Sermon  Due to some technical difficulties, we do not have recordings of the past two weeks' sermons.This Sunday, we explored why, despite our strongest desires and best intentions, we often tend to avoid community. Some of the obstacles we talked about included sin, pride, fear, and shame. Next Sunday, Jason will share about how we can start moving toward community. | |
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Now For an Obvious Metaphor... The thing is, if those trees are cared for, they will grow into beautiful, strong trees. If they are cared for, watered and fed, they are going to thrive. It will take a long time. Many of us will not be around to see them in all of their glory. But we planted them in expectation of what they will become.
In our age of microwaves and real estate flipping, it is difficult to remember, difficult to comprehend, that many, probably most, endeavors of value take time and consistency. Becoming a disciple of Jesus, which I believe is life's most worthy endeavor, takes a long time. Sometimes I get frustrated that I am not becoming who God says I can be fast enough. Sometimes I want to (and occasionally I do) quit. But with spiritual growth, as in other great journeys, the process is just as important as the destination. And often we cannot even see the growth until we look behind us and see how far we have come.
If you're ready to plant, to start the process of becoming a Spirit-led, Spirit-filled disciple of Jesus Christ, I've posted a few thoughts about that on my blog. And I would love to talk to you about it. Give me a call or email me!
Friday, 9/26
6:00 PM Food and Games
7:00 PM Big House
Monday 9/29
7:00 PM Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Centering Prayer and Meditation, Parlor
Tuesday 9/30 |
It Has Been Proven...
...that 100% of church growth comes from visitors!
As a church, we are undertaking several projects this fall to communicate to our community that God loves them and we do to. On October 18th, we will again "Reverse Trick-Or-Treat," taking candy to the folks in our neighborhood. On October 26th we will be hosting an old-fashioned Fall Festival at the church, complete with hot dogs, bobbing-for-apples, and sno-cones (ok, it's a Florida fall festival!). On November 4th, we will be providing hospitality for the voters from the two precincts that vote at our church. All of this will be in addition to our usual monthy Big House and some additional youth activities.
We need your help! Be considering now what part you can play. We would love everyone to donate a bag of candy for our Reverse Trick or Treat. If you are able, we would love to have your help taking the candy to our neighbors. Maybe you can help host our Election Day refreshments for a couple of hours. If you can pitch in and help with the Fall Festival, let us know!
 We also want to make sure that we really connect with those who take the risk to come and visit us. We are looking for some people who would be willing to call and connect with guests, letting them know that we are glad they chose to come and finding out if there is anything we can do for them. If you are interested in this vital ministry of Connection Partners, contact Jason. You Know Someone...
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On Monday, Harvey and I planted some saplings that the Eden Place neighborhood association was kind enough to donate to us. We were thinking it might be a hard job. It wasn't. The trees were tiny. Really tiny. They aren't much to look at. In fact you have to be standing on top of the things to even see them. As we were planting them, a neighbor walked by and told us they were going to take forever to grow. They are Live Oak saplings, about 5 feet tall.