Gather Together
This weekend, we have two exciting events!
July 14, we will celebrate the grand opening of our Lighthouse with our neighbors. There will be plenty of food - ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs and lots more! - fun for the kids, and an opportunity to meet and greet our neighbors.
July 15 is our annual worship service at Hagg Lake. Beginning at 11:00 am, we will have lots of singing, lots of joy, and the chance to remember our baptism! There will be a potluck following, at the lake.
Ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw, salad...All we need now is YOU! Come this Saturday, July 14, from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, and share the joy of our new building with each other and with our neighbors. If you would like to contribute, you may bring chips or pre-packaged desserts (sorry, no homemade items -- bring *them* to Hagg Lake on Sunday!) You may also contribute monetarily to the party expenses. See you on Saturday!
Question: In a sentence what does grace mean to you?
Answers:
Our mission trip is coming up soon! So please bring your sports equipment and medicines to donate by Sunday, July 22. We need to weigh everything and distribute the weight among the ten who are traveling to DR. Thanks to you, we've received 88 pounds so far -- but can carry hundreds more! See the list in the church lobby this Sunday of items to contribute.
We need 8-10 volunteers to work the Dairymaid ice cream booth at the Washington County Fair. Our shift is Sunday, July 29, from 5:00 - 9:30 pm. As in years past, Westside will receive 15% of the profit and all our tips! We usually raise around $800. Please contact Sandy Holt if you can help.
Question: How have you encountered the love God has for you?
Answers:
When Paul went to Ephesus it was a time of great revival and transformation. People repented en masse. The bonfire that burned belongings was purported to amount to 50,000 days wages. Miracles happened among them. Demons were ousted. Life came into that place. Here in the 2nd chapter Paul describes the “before and after” picture of their lives. Here’s what your lives looked like before, and here’s what they look like “after.” In that is the work of Grace. How have you experienced God’s before and after in your life? What used to bind you, deal death to you, trip you up that no longer does? Jesus deals a real deal unlike any other. Today we will hear this in a remarkable testimony. Come worship!
Items donated for the auction need to be at the church by Sunday, July 15. You may bring them during office hours, Tuesday and Friday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, or to church this Sunday or next.
Thanks for your support!
Monday, July 9, 11:30 am Lunch Bunch, Family Room
Monday, July 9, 1:30 pm Westside Readers
Tuesday, July 10, 6:30 pm Bible Basics, Lighthouse
Thursday, July 12, 6:30 pm Girls of Grace
Friday, July 13, 10:00 am Life Group
Saturday, July 14, 8:30 am Men's Breakfast, Family Room
I was standing in line, freezing, outside of the kiosk at Bridgeport Mall to order something for dinner. I had been stuck three hours at the Apple Store, and while my computer rested in the warm building, I was standing, shivering in line behind this guy ordering lots of burritos. While we waited we chatted, teeth chattering, and discovered we were both clergy, and that I knew and had worked with his predecessor at MacLaren Youth Authority. Chaplain Sean Page is a delightful, vibrant light at MacLaren, and a joy to meet. Therefore, I’ve wanted you all to meet him too. He is coming to share about his work and about the fact that there are many kids who have lost their ways and need the chance to meet the Father. God had already been working in my heart about volunteering at a prison, but had not found a way. Then Sean was in front of me, and God opened this really BIG DOOR. Meeting the youth there in MacLaren has been so impactful. God has worked in my heart and given opportunities for His Word to impact their lives. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Sean and hear God speak through Him.
Tuesday, July 3, 6:30 pm Bible Basics, Lighthouse
Friday, July 6, 10:00 am Life Group
Host Families are needed for this summer's Japanese students. Your family provides food, lodging, and transportation for 13 nights, from July 24th to August 6th. They will be learning English at True Life Fellowship Church in the mornings, and then going on a field trip each afternoon. The family receives $30 per night for expenses. Contact Mimi Imai at 971- 352-0007. It's well organized and fun!
Question: What makes you feel the richest with Jesus?
Answers:
Some specific items are still needed for the auction: gifts for the $25 table; wine and soda in glass bottles; and oral auction goods, such as jewelry, travel opportunities, and tickets to events. Remember that the donation form is online, under the Auction tab. It's also available in the entryway of the church.
Did you know that some scholarship money is available? If interested, please contact Pastor Brian after July 1.
The excitement is building!
The words Paul employs in prayer for the people in Ephesus are powerful. They are dynamic. There is a sense that he knows exactly what needed to be written for them to hear what they too could pray for themselves. We are learning to sit, to “rest” in what God has provided for us -- that we are chosen, adopted, born into God’s family, redeemed, saved, and seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms, indeed, sealed by God’s holy spirit. The list of what God has accomplished is impressive. And to note that where we have been seated is above every rule, power, authority in ANY age. This is quite a statement especially to a people living in a place replete with demonic forces. What Paul said was that there’s nothing to compare with Jesus. There’s no power stronger. So often in our lives we allow all kinds of powers to dwarf God, but in actuality, nothing is bigger, NOBODY is bigger than Jesus. Come sit in the powerful gift of the provision of this Heavenly Father, this Lord, through the person of Jesus. Come receive. Come experience. Come be filled. This Sunday we are just going to practice that very thing as Josh Hobson, a friend of Westside, leads in worship while Pastor Brian is in England.
This Sunday is our Fourth Sunday Feast! Bring your favorite "picnic" dish to share. Will it be something "traditional" -- fried chicken, watermelon, potato salad -- or are your picnics more exotic? It will be exciting to see what you bring! We promise delicious food without any ants!
UPDATE: Volunteers have been found to help Kathy move. She still seeks a caregiver. And she is in need of pots/pans/utensils for the kitchen, and furniture. Gently used is fine. Items may be brought to the church; please label "For Kathy."
Kathy, an elderly, disabled woman, is looking for someone to do various chores and grocery shopping for her. You would need your own transportation. It would require about five hours a day of your time and she is offering $1500 per month. If you need somewhere to live, a live-in option is also a possibility; same pay and free rent.
If you have limited time and are available now, she also needs help relocating to her home from a local hotel. No furniture, just bags, to be moved.
If you can help, please contact the church office to get her phone number. The office is open Tuesday and Friday between 9 am and 3 pm.
Question: What is a dream you have had but never seen materialized?
Answers:
Pastor Brian would like to borrow 2 large duffle bags to take to the Dominican Republic (to carry the supplies we're gathering). He will do his best to return with them. If you have one (or two!) available, please email the church office. Thanks!
The people in the great metropolis of Ephesus knew much about power and magic -- in their realm magic was real, not just imagined. People manipulated power for their own ends. They sought control of others and sought the blessing of so-called gods through their spells. Paul exhibited a power unheard of, however. It was something that thwarted all their attempts at power and control. It hindered their spells. It broke their strongholds and it was not rooted in many gods but in One God, whom Paul called Jesus, who as a man had died, come again to life and ruled over all powers and principalities in the heavenly realms. There was no one like THIS ONE. And the people of Ephesus bowed to Him, burned their scrolls and charms, and in return discovered a grace and a life never before experienced. With Jesus came freedom, and a named identity they had only dreamed of. It was something to sit down in, to rest in, to find hope in. This was new. It was a grace, an undeserved favor, and it held a deep meaning. Come enter worship and discover anew a place to SIT, to REST, and to BE all you’ve ever dreamed possible.
