Prestoncrest Internet Ministry

 

April 27, 2008

I promised last week a follow-up on the many replies I received from my Sunday Reflections a week ago. So here they are today. I listed a list of a sampling of the comments I received from you. Again I thank you all so much for your replies, delivered with honesty in love. That was very apparent to me. It is easy to see the love that you have for this church, its people and its future. Check out some of the desires, wishes, and ideas from your fellow members.

Worship
- Openness to allow people to worship in their “way”
- Welcoming people to share their lives (good and bad) during an invitation or prayer time
- Enhance singing during worship

Ministry Areas
- More ministry (programs) for women
- Evangelize more within our community and local cities
- Increase efforts to support marriage, both preventative and responsive
- Increase benevolence to those in need outside our church: the poor, the orphans, those who are disadvantaged.
- Encourage participation in ministry activities

General Thoughts
- Become a more inclusive church
- Communicate more about prayer needs within the church
- Connect our 2 “congregations” better (meaning 1st service and 2nd service people)
- Increase visibility into ministry happenings

There is a quick snapshot of some of the responses. So what do we do next? Well, I always love to hear your thoughts and welcome any reply back to me. Even better, I think, is to share thoughts with others as well. Talk about these with friends, family, elders, deacons, or ministers. If you feel comfortable, add you comments online to this blog so others can see and reply as well. You can do that below at the bottom of this page.

It is one of the most famous songs in history. We all know the song Amazing Grace. This week someone sent me a video with a rendition of it that I thought was very powerful, both in how the song was sung and the story behind the song. I hope it touches you like it did me. Enjoy the song in the video below.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found;
Was blind, but now I see!
 - Amazing Grace – John Newton

Now join me as we “Focus on the First Day.”

God bless,
Mike

Prayer Time

1 Corinthians 10:31

Join together as one body in worship and prayer on Sunday. Whether you sing during Prayer Time, pray with your family or a big group, give it all to God. That is what he wants from us.

Communion

Nehemiah 8:5-12

I’ve always found it interesting that our regular memorial of Jesus is a meal. Why is that task done by eating and drinking? Perhaps one reason is that eating and drinking is a normal part of our every day lives. The Supper is very special, but we should not save our thoughts of Jesus for only the special moments. Let the little things you do, like a daily meal, also remind you of this great gift from God.

Sermon

“Investment: Avoiding a Success that Fails” (Bob Chisholm)
Luke 12:16-21

As we continue through our series on the parables of Jesus, Bob will help us look at the importance of doing things in God’s way. That is the plan that will always succeed. What is that plan? Be there on Sunday to find out.

We are encouraged to be a family of believers that choose to come together each week in worship. Come this Sunday with a desire to not just come to church, but come to truly be the church.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 9:08 pm and is filed under FOTFD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.