Friday Free-for-All

Here are just a few of the numerous things banging around in my head as we charge into the weekend.

1. I am continually amazed at the talent that God has placed here in this church. Anyone who was present last weekend and laid eyes on the "empty tomb" on the pulpit knows what I am talking about. Our own artist-in-residence Patty Thomas created for us a visual effect that left most of us speechless. (Click on the picture to see large version.) Patty is just one of the hundreds of gifted and talented people God uses to bless this church. I am grateful to be a part of a body that is actively exploring ways for people to put their gifts to work to glorify God. You may never notice, but each Sunday morning worship is the net result of tons of volunteers giving their best for God.

2. This Sunday is Home Group Sunday. Home Groups are our way of making a big church small again. It is our strategy to create an environment of authentic community in the lives of our people. Each time Home Groups meet I hear great stories of how our Home Groups are ministering to people and changing lives. If you are not yet in a group just grab a copy of the discussion questions off the website and invite some folks to your home or to meet you at your favorite restaurant. It's that simple.

3. This Sunday morning is also the Sunday that we have invited all of the students enrolled in Western Hills Christian Preschool to worship with us. This ministry has seen some incredible growth over the last couple of years. More than 40 students are enrolled (many without a church home). So this Sunday we will do what we do best and welcome people into our time of worship. It is our prayer each Sunday for God to use our worship service as an avenue to connect with some one's life and introduce them to Jesus.

4. I am more convinced now than ever before that God's greatest dreams for this church lie in the future and not in the past. If we have the courage to hold tightly to His hand there is no telling where this adventure will lead.

Love Ya Much!

Scott

Average Parents

Today we have invited a guest blogger to share some thoughts with us. The essay is by Dave Boivie, one of our members at Western Hills. Dave is a great guy with an amazing story. Dave has a heart for people and a passion for God. May you be blessed today.

Average Parents

Most of you know that I was involved with drugs as a teenager. There always seemed to be some kind of trouble I could get myself or someone else into. As you can expect, I was a difficult person to be around because I was always angry about some trouble I had gotten into.

It is hard to imagine a home occupied by two teenagers being peaceful. Especially when the teenagers are brother and sister who fight about everything. This is not an easy home to bring peace to, and not a nice place for our parents to live either. Somehow our family survived all this confusion. Looking back, I am only now starting to realize why.

My Mother and Father were not perfect. I can remember mistakes they made, but there is one thing I remember even better. In spite of all the trouble I was to them, and the confusion that occurred, my parents loved me and made our home a warm and safe place. I remember my parents, not so much because they fed me and gave me a room to sleep, but because they loved me when I did not return that love. They may be average to some, but they saved my life, and almost certainly my soul as well.

We invite other submissions to be posted on this blog. If you would like to contribute an original article for consideration to be posted simply email it to us in Word Doc form.

Tragedy & Worship

Tucked away in the thousands of stories concerning the tragedy at Virginia Tech I found this blog post on MSNBC.com. I am reposting it here. May it be a blessing to you.

As the thousands drifted away from the candlelight vigil on the Virginia Tech drillfield Tuesday evening, a song rose from a circle of two dozen lights.

"O mothers, let’s go down. Come on down, don't you wanna go down? O mothers, let’s go down. Down in the river to pray..."

A woman in the circle, a generation older than the young men and women, said she had come up from western North Carolina to be with her son, a resident adviser in a dorm, an R.A. just like the first young man killed on Monday. She reached over to give him a hug as they sang on.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..."

The group grew to 30, singing from the heart, tears on many cheeks. They all knew
the same songs, the same harmonies.

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."

Was this an organized group, a church choir? No, she said, "just Christians."

"Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on..."

We wanted to know, what was her son's story? Her name? And how had a son's mother gotten through these days? "I don't want to be interviewed," she said gently. "This is worship. This is giving thanks."

Easter Egg Hunt

It never ceases to amaze me the way God uses this church.

This past Sunday afternoon, we went out and had a joint Easter egg hunt with our friends at Wayman Manor. Due to all the snow we got on Easter day, we had to postpone the hunt, but that did not stop God from using us as His hands and feet. Due to the generosity of this church, we had more eggs than we had hiding places. It looked like a sea of Easter eggs. Thank you for your generosity.


We continue to do things with/for Wayman Manor because we believe it is a place Jesus would spend a lot of his time if he were on earth today. The people who live there have been marginalized, are struggling with just getting by, and do not seem to have a strong relationship with Jesus. We go there to love on them and share the good news of Christ. And I think the message is getting across. Praise God!

The Video from Sunday

We showed this video on Easter Sunday. It is an introduction to our current message series that examines the impact of the resurrection on our lives. If you wish to listen to the audio of Sunday's sermon click here.
We will be in this series for the next 4 weeks. This coming Sunday we will explore what the resurrection has to say about our past failures. So if you have any time or event in your life you regret then this message is for you. Hope to see you on Sunday.

Love Ya Much

Scott

Snow Day

This past Sunday was amazing in so many ways. Obviously the snow was both a beautiful blessing and a curse (for those without power for 24 hours). What was more amazing than the weather was the enthusiasm and excitement that everyone had for worship. Considering the outside conditions we had an awesome crowd participating. I met many people that you had invited and many more who were coming back for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th times. God continues to bring people to us, giving us an opportunity to connect with them and connect them to Jesus. Thanks for being so passionate about reaching this community for Christ.