Memorial Day

Memorial Day; the unofficial start of the summer season.
Memorial Day; a day for cooking out and being with family.
Memorial Day; a time for golf.
Memorial Day; means school is almost over for the year.
Memorial Day; a three day weekend.
Memorial Day . . .

Memorial Day: a time to Remember!

Memorial Day is a time set aside for us to remember and give thanks for all those who have gone before us. Take some time this Memorial Day weekend to remember and give thanks for parents, teachers, friends, and others who have impacted your life. In the past Memorial Day was a time to go to the cemetery, lay flowers on the grave of a loved one, and remember their life.

In preparation for worship this week take some time and read John 11:1-45. This a story of Jesus visiting a cemetery, and then doing something extraordinary.

Grace and Peace,
Rich

Time for CAMP ! ! ! !

I don’t know anything that we can do to help our kids know Jesus better than sending them to camp. Every year kids enter a relationship with Jesus for the first time; grow in their relationship with Jesus: hear calls to missions and ministry; experience the forgiveness and grace of Christ; and experience real Christian community like nowhere else. Maybe you can tell, I believe in camp! I’m excited about this year’s camping opportunities. Here is the schedule for this year’s camps:
June 15-19 OneWay 8/9
June 22-26 OneWay 10/12
June 29-July 3 OneWay 4/5
July 6-10 OneWay 6/7
(The numbers to the right of the camp name are the grades the camper will be entering in the fall of 2009)

You can find more info at:
www.cetacanyon.org
www.camp09.info

And as always we are in need adult volunteers to give a week of their time to work camp this summer. I can’t think of a better way to spend your summer break than helping kids experience the grace of Jesus! See Scott Smith to help with OneWay 10/12 and see Rich Jones to help with OneWay 8/9 and either of us can help connect you with the directors of the other camps.

Also, Ceta Canyon is hosting an Open House this Sunday May 17th from 2 - 4pm. This is a great opportunity to check out the camp!

Grace and Peace,
Rich

A Passion for Jesus is a Passion for Missions!

A passion for Jesus is a passion for Missions.

I believe that the basic premise of the church is this; we exist to reach people for Jesus. You have probably heard me say in church, and elsewhere, that “the church is the only organization in the history of humanity that exists primarily for those who are not yet a part of it.”

Genesis 12:1-3 tells us that the people of God are blessed to be a blessing and that all the nations of the earth are to be blessed through the people of God. Exodus 19:5-6 tells us that the people of God are to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests; the role of priests is to mediate between a holy God and a broken people-to help people know the one true God. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us how Jesus commissioned the first believers to go into all the world making disciples of Jesus Christ. And Acts 1:8 tells us that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to go to the ends of the earth as witnesses for Jesus.

All through the Scriptures we see that God is on a mission to bring all of humanity into a relationship with Himself. And His means for accomplishing that mission is the church; us. We who have experienced the life-transforming grace of Jesus in our lives are to then become extensions of that same grace in the lives of others. Our passion for Jesus must be a passion for others to experience Jesus. In other words, ‘a passion for Jesus is a passion for missions!’ Let me paraphrase Stan Cosby, ‘Missions is not a program of the church; the church is the tool God uses for missions!’

Grace and Peace,
Rich