Our Blog

March 2016 Pastor's Points

Dear Church Family,

I am very excited to share with you a few points to consider this month.
 
•We have now filled the two vacant pastor positions on our church staff.  Nick Scott and Jared Mitchell come to us with passion and a love for the Word of God!  I love the fact that we have two young pastors who are convinced of the importance of the Gospel and the truthfulness of God’s Word.  We are going to see the benefits of their conviction as we participate in gospel saturated worship and discipleship that will focus on knowing God’s truth and speaking it in love to each other and to those outside the church as well.  I could not be more excited!!

• March 20^th is going to be a special time of worship as we gather on Palm Sunday. We will consider the sacrificial love of our Savior from scripture, and then we will participate in the awesome reminder of that love at the Lord’s Table. Also, on this Sunday we will be led in worship for the first time by our new worship pastor Jared Mitchell.  I pray that you will make every effort to be here to experience this Sunday with your church family!
  
  
• Also, please know that our Easter Eggstravaganza is right around the corner on March 26^th. We need candy donated and people willing to fill the thousands of eggs that will be hunted on that day. This is a great event that helps us build a bridge to those in our community.  Please bring your family and friends, and be intentional to invite those who may not have a church home.  If you can help with any of the details of this event please contact April Sharp and let her know that you are willing to help.  We need you to make this event happen!!!
  
  •March 27^th is EASTER SUNDAY!!  I pray that your family will be in town to celebrate the reality of our risen savior!  Bring your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers because I believe God is going to speak powerfully through His Word to us on this day!  I am praying for followers of Jesus to be encouraged and challenged in their walk, and I am praying for people who are far away from God to be made new in Jesus Christ.  We will have all three services on Easter, but we will not have our 2:42 groups to allow us to have sufficient parking on this Sunday.
   

I am convinced that God has awesome things in store for us right around the corner!!  Plug in to what God is doing in your church and ask God to use you like never before.

I love you and I love being your pastor,

Pastor Alan

March 2016 Student Ministry

PRAY FOR THE ONE RETREAT - MARCH 4-6

Please pray for our group as we head to Highland Lakes conference center this weekend. This year’s theme is extremely important for each student in our ministry. We have been working hard on finding a way to train our students in apologetics (forming a reasonable defense for our faith) while still engaging the student’s hearts. Our world is growing in hostility toward Christians and we must train our students how to engage this hostility with grace and reasoned thought. At the same time, we want to be careful not to merely give them good arguments for the faith and only engage their mind, but we want them to grow in their love and affection for Christ through this event. We have landed on three main topics: one God, one Word, one Way.

During the first talk we will examine why it is reasonable to believe in the existence of the creator God, the God of the Bible. We will also discuss how we experience and have a relationship with God. The second talk will consider the trustworthiness of the authoritative Word of God and how it should bear weight on our lives personally. The final talk will examine the life of Jesus and why we should follow Him. 

Please pray that the Lord would save students, heal hearts, and rejunivate us through this weekend. Pray for wisdom and patience for all the leaders as they engage the hearts of our students and point them toward Christ.

Five Reasons to Prioritize Family Worship

Not too long ago, I sent out an email about a book released by Donald Whitney called Family Worship. In this book, Dr. Whitney encourages families to worship together in the home. The email linked to a five day challenge meant to help families establish a time of worship together. I think it is vital for our families to be talking about the Gospel as a family and spending time seeking the Lord as a family.

In a recent blog post, Dr. Whitney outlined 5 reasons that family worship should be prioritized (original post can be accessed by clicking here):

1. God deserves to be worshiped daily in our homes by our families.

2. There’s no better way to speak the gospel into the lives of your family members every day.

3. There’s no better way to provide a regular time for your children to learn the things of God from you.

4. There’s no better way for your children to see the ongoing, positive spiritual example of their parents in real life.

5. Isn’t this what you really want to do?

I really hope you will consider setting aside time each day or week to worship the Lord and talk about the Gospel as a family.

Much Love,

Mark