Here is part one of our video series “The Church” based on the “The Office” Sitcom.
Jul 092008
Jul 072008
- The weekend begin with the fourth of July and we did the American thing and went to the lake with some friends and ate a lot and spent a lot of time on the water with the kids and concluded Friday evening the fourth of July on the lake watch and incredible display of fireworks! It was awesome and we are grateful to the Samples for having us over. Our kids absolutely had a blast.
- My mom had a birthday this week and I was able to have lunch with her on Thursday and then we all gathered at my brother Butch’s house on Saturday afternoon for a homemade ice-cream and cake/hamburger/hot-dog celebration completely with watching Braves baseball and eating watermelon. What an American birthday celebration perfect for July! It makes me what to bust out in “The Star Spangled Banner”. I am sure most people are glad as a result of my restraint.
- We began our “The Church” series at CATG while we are still in ONE SERVICE at 10am for at least the month of July. I am not exactly happy about it but accept it as what is best for us right NOW!
- We opened the message portion of the service with “The Church” video number one for the series. I am biased, but thought it was funny and many others did as well. I will be posting the video on here tomorrow probably.
- My message was out of Acts 1 & 2 and focused on the fact that the Holy Spirit was not given for us to utilize gifts within the church or for us to retreat simply within the church but rather to ADVANCE the gospel of Jesus as WITNESSES to this community and to the people in our circle of influence. Jesus was the Light of the World but He came to shine His light in us and through us so we all could be little Jesus lights everywhere we go. You would have to see the visual illustration of me shining this huge hunting light on the disco ball and sending multiple lights around the room as they reflect off the disco ball. We reflect Jesus as we live life with Him in us and through us! Got it!
- Next week will be even better as we look at Acts 6 and the need for more people to get involved in order for us to accomplish and reach more. Together we can do more and reach more than by ourselves. Our “The Church” video this week will be hilarious! I promise.
- I helped Ric load up the equipment for the student retreat at the lake on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It is going to be awesome! Be praying for our students and Nathan and Katelyn and those leading the retreat.
- I am praying that our church becomes the light of Jesus and we shine in a way that people take notice.
- I received an encouraging email tonight from a sweet lady sharing that she senses the love that is coming from Jesus and through the church on Sundays through the people she is meeting. It was really sweet and encouraging.
- I am anticipating some awesome things coming ahead in the near future as we prepare for the end of the summer and school starting back. I think we will see some awesome things happen.
- We want to be collecting backpacks and school supplies this month of July. If you are shopping for school supplies please by enough for another child and you can bring it by the office or bring it next Sunday and we will distribute it to the schools and through a couple of neighborhoods. Let me know if you have any questions.
Jul 032008
We start a brand new series called “The Church” this Sunday! Since you don’t want to pay for the high gas prices to go on a holiday trip, join us for this fun new series. If you are not familiar with the sitcom “The Office”, you can go to the office episode site here and catch up on a few episodes to prepare for the series. We will take a look inside “The Church” through the lens of the book of ACTS.
Last week our some of our students spent a lot of time serving in a variety of ways in our local community. I would like to share some thoughts from Morgan, an upcoming junior at Loganville High School. It is so awesome to hear how God is working in her life. Our students meet on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in Walnut Grove at the CATG office. Listen to what your students might be missing:
“Everywhere, these kids were running out of houses after our car and a truck in front of us to receive these lunches. Now, I know you’re thinking… wow, you made lunches and gave it to kids in
monroe , but it’s so much more than that. You wouldn’t believe me if I said that 15 minutes down the road there were families with 4 or 5 children who couldn’t afford groceries, would you? Well, you should start believing, because it’s true. During the school year, these kids receive free or reduced price lunch at school so they can eat. But during the summer… they don’t have much. So, this AMAZING organization called “F.I.S.H. for Kids” makes around 2000 sack lunches everyday and delivers it to these kids who don’t have anything to eat. This sounds unrealistic because you live in a different part of the county, everyone here complains because they haven’t got that brand new car and they’ve had their license for 3 weeks.. yeah, I can’t complain because I have a car but I’m extremely blessed and even more thankful for that, but still… riding through these neighborhoods, seeing the houses and the condition they were in, and the children rushing to the car for a paper sack with a pb & j in it and hearing numerous children lie to you because they’re trying to get another lunch… I think it proved itself that poverty is everywhere, and it is definitely real.”“…but it’s just crazy to think that there are so many families a few minutes away that can’t afford groceries, when I complain every week that I save every single penny to buy tacobell, pay to get into a crappy show, and buy gas. I’m not saying that those things are bad either, but it makes me realize how truly blessed I really am. My Mom goes grocery shopping every week and buys junk for me to scarf down when I’m sitting at home doing nothing in between naps. I’m pathetic.”
“I can honestly say that hearing these kids say “thank you” after handing them their little paper bag is worth more than almost anything anyone has ever said to me….”
