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The Christams Conspiracy: Hope 11-27-11

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Newsletter December 2011

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Newsletter December 2011

Calendar December 2011

Feed My Sheep 11-20-11

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Weekend Update 11-18-11

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Weekend Update 11-18-11

Parents & Children 11-13-11

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Weekend Update 11-11-11

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Weekend Update
11-11-11

The title of the film was intriguing, even as the story was absurd.  The story covered an absent minded professor whose desire to see matter shrink without deformation led him to create a machine that did just that.  When an accident occurs and his children were in the path of the machine’s impulse, they were subsequently shrunk too, then tossed out with the garbage.  The slow realization of what had happened led to the search to find the children and the eventual reversal of the process. The story of “Honey, I shrunk the kids” was born and theaters crowded as we took in the story.

As I sat watching with my children, a thought occurred to me.  There have been times that I should have said, “Honey, I shrunk the kids.”  It was not in the context of a lab experiment gone wrong especially, it was in the crucible of parenting that it happened.  There were times my analysis of their behavior shrunk their little hearts and made tears appear.  There were times when clear expectations unmet meant a moment of consequence had arrived and frustration shrunk a smile into a cloudy frown.  There were times when the anger boiled and the words arrived much too quickly, then I shrunk their hearts with the same fatherly words that had once shrunk mine, even though I had said I never would.  Once in a while, the confidence I had tried to build into them was shrunk to tiny proportions of the effort exerted.  The time to rebuild it took exponentially more time than the time to shrink it.  I had to say, “I am sorry” more than once, for eventually, I too felt diminished by what transpired.

It has always seemed a cruel irony that the little fellows come without an owner’s manual from God.  From the moment self-awareness comes to them, we struggle to teach, train, raise, instruct, love and nurture them in environments rich enough that they can leave our homes and be fully functional adults.  Our desire to achieve that uncertain outcome, coupled with our own anxiety about failing as a parent, often means we exert control measures that are less about changing behavior and more about changing how we feel about ourselves as parents, dealing with whatever expectations we may have for ourselves as a parent.  Our children know it often, even if they fail to have the language to articulate what they experience.

How then did God intend for us to be as parents relating to children?  What did God do as a father who made sure his only son was born into – you know it – the family unit?  How is it that Jesus could realize the call of God upon him enough to lay down the craftsman’s tools and take up his cross?  Could it be that Joseph and Mary were ideal?  Hardly.  Mary and the family had their own control issues. Don’t believe me?  Try to remember the story of Jesus being told that his family was waiting outside of a place he was speaking to take him home, convinced he was mad or possessed.

What marked the family of Jesus?  Perhaps just this – the environment was just safe enough from shrinkage that he could grow in wisdom, stature, and in the love and respect of God the Father.  How about ours?

See you soon in the place where the Father sings over us in song, disciplines us when we are wrong, and loves us beyond compare.
Pastor Mark

SERVING IN MINISTRY

November Greeters-Team #2
8:00     Melba Dyal, Eldene Amundson, Norm Amundson, Betty McCann
9:30     Lyn Gan, Becky Martin, Misty Lindsey
11:00   Debbie Hand, Lee Hand, Robert Horn, Ginny Moe, Sue Minor

November Ushers-Team #2
8:00     Doyle Smith, Randolph Young,Sandra Young, Dick Yetter
9:30     Julie Perez, Ana Battles, Deanne Battles, Kevin Battles,
Sheryl Shioji, Sarah Shioji
11:00   Phillip McCoy, Dave Chicka,Judy Chicka, Johnelle Moore,
Victor Moore, John Magruder, Charlie Birkelbach

Coffee Time
9:00    Bill Hooten & Ginny Moe
10:30  Carol Pancoast & Alleen Burkholder

Muggers
Doug & Cindy Wright

Media Ministry
Manny González, Bob Phillips,
Dave Beck, Don Wilkinson,
Marty Alexander, Robert Underwood, Rick Snow

The Gathering Band
Alan Shioji, Felipe Perez, Jackie Gaines, Charles Ogren,
Steve Putnicki, Paul Behrendsen, Adrien Reyes,
Melissa Ogren, Mary Gaddy, Kerry Boone

Hospital Ministry Visitor
Frank & Zoe Dean Middleton

Acolytes
8:00     Madelyn Schmidt, Bonnie Abbott
11:00   Stone Smith, Christopher Martinez

Altar Flowers
Sunday’s altar flowers are given by Lee & Debbie Hand to honor the birthdays of Duane Bowers & Nathan Bowers.

Scripture
Ephesians 5:15-21, 6:1-4

WAYS YOU CAN BE INVOLVED . . .

aLONG THE roAD WITH cHRIST

Join us on the
Pathway to discipleship!

wHY – yOUTH

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Husbands & Wives 11-06-11

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Weekend Update 11.4.11

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WEEKEND UPDATE
NOVEMBER 4, 2011
Leroy Elms, celebrated author of The Lost Art of Discipleship, tells the following story in his reflections on discipleship:
One spring our family was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. “I’m sorry,” the waitress said. “I can’t bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken.”
At first I was dumbfounded. We were surrounded by millions of oranges, and I knew they had oranges in the kitchen–orange slices garnished our plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. We were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it.
Christians are sometimes like that. They may be surrounded by Bibles in their homes, but if something should happen to the Sunday morning preaching service, they would have no nourishment for their souls. The problem is not a lack of spiritual food–but that many Christians haven’t grown enough to know how to get it for themselves.
If asked, how would you respond to Elms?  Would you say the same thing about others in worship?  Ah, it’s always easy to point the finger at another, but what about us?  Is there as much dust on our own Bibles as there is on someone else’s?  Do we often seek to ignore the need we have to give ourselves to becoming more mature by hoping some delivery system will do it for us?  After all, isn’t that what our consumer culture trains us to expect?  Of course it is.  Culture gives us lots of information, but can offer little wisdom in how to utilize it.  Culture gives us a plethora of opportunities to go, be and do, but little responsibility in discerning what might be best for us.  Culture prompts us to wait for something that is intended to make life better, but usually delivers yet another distraction instead of improvement.  What do we do?
For the past couple of  months, we have been encouraged to invest in our own growth by volunteering again our own time, talent and treasure to Christ’s use.  We have been given “guides” and been offered opportunities to expand our minds and enlarge our hearts toward God. In the end, I wonder, how have we done?   Have we determined to put forth the effort to grow or have we waited for the machine to deliver it for us?  Of course, God will never break down or cease to be willing to deliver, but I believe the less we make ourselves available to God for growth, the further we get from it.  If you’ve not involved yourself in a means of grace with your time, talent and treasure, do so now.  There is really no time like the present to end cultural frustration and disappointment by involving ourselves in growth.
See you soon in the place where His means of grace deliver every time.
Pastor Mark
 
SERVING IN MINISTRY
November Greeters-Team #2
8:00     Melba Dyal, Eldene Amundson, Norm Amundson, Betty McCann
9:30     Lyn Gan, Becky Martin, Misty Lindsey
11:00   Debbie Hand, Lee Hand, Robert Horn, Ginny Moe, Sue Minor

November Ushers-Team #2
8:00     Doyle Smith, Randolph Young,Sandra Young, Dick Yetter
9:30     Julie Perez, Ana Battles, Deanne Battles, Kevin Battles,
Sheryl Shioji, Sarah Shioji
11:00   Phillip McCoy, Dave Chicka,Judy Chicka, Johnelle Moore,
Victor Moore, John Magruder, Charlie Birkelbach

November Communion Servers– Team #2
8:00     Suellyn Lehrschall, Dave Lehrschall
9:30     Kevin Battles, Deanne Battles, Sheryl Shioji
11:00   Allison Butler, David Butler, Johnelle Moore, Victor Moore,
Marilyn Stanley, Charles Stanley, Victor Mireles, Ramona Russell

Coffee Time
9:00    Nancy & Jerry Roberts
10:30  Michelle & Tony Aguilar & Family

Muggers
Doug & Cindy Wright

Media Ministry
Manny González, Bob Phillips,
Dave Beck, Don Wilkinson,
Marty Alexander, Robert Underwood, Rick Snow

The Gathering Band
Alan Shioji, Felipe Perez, Jackie Gaines, Charles Ogren,
Steve Putnicki, Paul Behrendsen, Adrien Reyes,
Melissa Ogren, Mary Gaddy, Kerry Boone

Hospital Ministry Visitor
Marilyn Stanley

Acolytes
8:00     Nicholas Valenti, Sophia Valenti
11:00   Sarah Carter, Robert Ferrell

Scripture
Ephesians 5:15-21,
22-24