We Love Wayman Manor!

Wow! What an awesome experience! The Western Hills Church went to the Wayman Manor apartments and lived out the love of Jesus.

For those who don't know, the Wayman Manor apartments is a place where the teens and others regularly minister (Once a week in the summer and once a month during the school year). The teens come together with the Wayman Manor kids to play games, draw, apply fingernail polish, play with play-doh, sing songs, learn about Jesus and share a snack.
Yesterday, the 20/20 Groups (and a few other groups) put on an incredible Fall Carnival for the kids and families at Wayman Manor. Faces were painted, wet sponges were thrown, candle flames were squirted out, rides were taken on an antique fire truck, hot dogs were eaten, kids bounced on air, mass amounts of candy were passed out (I could go on & on) and FUN was had by all.

Western Hills wasn't just the Hands and Feet of Jesus yesterday, they were also His Arms. I saw the loving Arms of Jesus wrapped around the kids and families of Wayman Manor through everything you did!

This church continues to go above and beyond to live out the love of Jesus. The people aren't satisfied to be "the church in the pews." Our people continually seek out ways to be the church in the community and in the lives of others.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making the Fall Carnival a blessing. Thanks for the mass amounts of donated candy, for sponsoring fun booths and for genuine smiles and love displayed.

- Scott Seela

Rock-n-Roll

The stone, that will decorate the front of our worship center, has arrived! The front/pulpit area is almost ready for the stone to be added. Soon the masons will go to work to fix the rock to the waiting wall. Things continue to move along smoothly and quickly. Keep praying for God to place a sense of mission on our hearts to utilize this beautiful worship center as a tool to proclaim the love of Jesus.

Keep Checking In,

Scott

It Keeps Going...

The work continues! This week the walls were sheetrocked and a MASSIVE amount of electrical work was done. As you can see in the pic the walls are no longer the dark paneling and the sockets for the wall sconces are in place. Everything is really starting to come together. My prayer for us is that as the worship center gets ready we get ourselves ready to worship. It is not the decoration of the room that makes it holy, it is the presence of God in the lives of the worshippers. May we be ready to worship God in this place.

Keep Checking In,

Scott

How can you tell? Part 2

It seems to me in the theological/religious world we are more interested in being right than being like Jesus. Most of our discussions spiral downward into debate then simply into arguing. Often we (me included) are more caught up in our "position" on certain theological issues than we are consumed with the nature and character of Christ. So often have I been so wrapped up in the debate that when an example of Christ comes into my view, it hits me like a bucket of cold water, shocking back to clear vision, even if only for a brief while.

Consider the nature of Jesus that is being exemplified in the tragic Amish school shooting. Following the shooting donations from all over the country have poured into the community. They now exceed more than $1million. When asked how the money will be spent the leaders stated that a portion of the money will go to the KILLER'S family! The Amish consider the family of the killer to also be victims of this horrendous crime.

If an Amish religious leader and I were to sit down together, we would probably have numerous disagreements on how to interpret certain scripture. We would most likely disagree on numerous doctrines. But what I could not deny, is that the nature and character of Jesus is being reflected in a community when it is willing to not only forgive the family, that brought so much grief, it also blesses them. Sounds a lot like what Jesus did for me on the cross.

May the character and nature of Jesus be also alive among those of us who worship with the Western Hills family!

In HIS Grip,

Scott

How can you tell?

"They will know you are my disciples by your _________." This statement found in the Gospel of John is,at the same time, one of the simplest and difficult statements by Jesus. It seems that so often we have tried to fill in the blank with many things Jesus never intended. In my life and experience some of the things we have tried to fill in the blank with are...

• doctrine
• clothes
• church buildings
• sign
• college
• tracts
• political party

Unfortunately none of these are what Jesus said. He said the world will know we are disciples of his by our LOVE. This is the way that Jesus himself tells us we will be recognized, because it is LOVE that most clearly reflects the nature of Jesus. In the end it is more than our belief system but our behavior to others that sets us a part from the world. This is why I am so excited about our Carnival in Wayman Manor. We will go into the community and show the love of Jesus. And if we take Jesus at his word they will recognize who we belong to!

See Ya Sunday,
Scott

Wearing our Hearts on Our Sleeves

Our Fall Carnival is just a little more than 2 weeks away (Sunday, Oct. 29). This event is for our us to go into our community and be a blessing. As a church we not only believe in Jesus, but we go and BE Jesus to our community. We will go to Wayman Manor to show them the love of Jesus. To help us be clear about our message we have designed some T-shirts that say "WE LOVE WAYMAN MANOR." We will wear our hearts on our sleeves. The shirts will be available for pre-sale this Sunday at the Coffee Spot for $5 apiece. Supplies will be limited so if you would like one then bring your money and reserve your shirt asap.

Remember we still need candy and your ideas for a booth. Just contact Scott Seela to let him know how you want to be involved.

I am proud to be a part of church that is willing to go where Jesus would go!

Scott

New Message Series Coming Soon...

Starting on a Sunday, Oct. 29 we will begin a new message series that will explore all that Jesus has to say about our MONEY! It is hard to believe, but Jesus actually said more about money than he did grace, baptism, and salvation combined. You can not be a devoted follower of Jesus and ignore all that he had to say about your finances. Our spiritual lives are not seperate from our financial lives. Jesus teaches that they are intimately interwined.

I want to challenge you to think about someone who you can invite to hear this series. This will be a group of messages that will be relevant and practical for all of us.

See you on Sunday!

Scott

New Bible Seminar Rotation

I've heard many positive comments about our new Bible Seminar format. Neil Haney & Larry Matthews have done a great job kicking off the new format with their two series!

I wanted to let you know about the next two series that begin on Sunday, October 15.

In the Fellowship Room Venue, a series titled Chasing After the Heart of God: A Study of the Life of David will be brought by Jason Bullock. Scripture paints a picture of David as a man who struggled to be a faithful follower of God in a chaotic world. Although clearly a servant of God, David made some very public mistakes. This series will focus on David’s relationship with God through the peaks and valleys of his life. Of all of the heroes of faith, it is David who is referred to in Acts as a man after God’s own heart. What lessons could we learn from the life of David that might one day allow the same thing to be said of us?

In the Family Life Center Venue, a series titled A Legacy of Spiritual Discipline: Guess Who's Watching will be brought by Mike Stirman. When it comes to spiritual disciplines, what we hear and what we see often don’t match up. This series will address the importance of practicing spiritual disciplines as well as some “how-to’s”.

So don't miss out on what's coming. Join us at 9:00 am, grab a cup of coffee at the Coffee Spot and pick a series to join.

Hope to see you there!

-Scott Seela