Grace Weekly, Feb. 22, 2010

Grace Received: A gift of God’s grace. That’s what the love letter we call Scripture is. It’s a means of encountering the God of creation, salvation,  the One who is the giver of life and all that is good.  I can’t state it as powerfully or poetically as David did in Psalm 119, but I do find God’s Word coming alive more and more these days.  I often pray on Sundays when we are together, asking that as we get into the Word,  God would cause the Word to get into us. I pray that is also happening throughout the week for all of us, as we carve out the time and create the space to receive God’s grace.  Throughout this first full week of Lent, I pray that your time in the Word is rich, and your encounters with the God who gave it to us, are real.

Grace Shared: Yesterday morning I enjoyed breakfast with a group of men (who are all old enough to be my dad J). We meet every Monday at Cracker Barrel where we eat, talk about life, spend time in the Word, and pray. We pray for our waitress, each other, our families, and for the pressing needs that are shared. Yesterday the list was long.  The number of physical needs was astounding, many of which had to do with members of the same Sunday School class.  The prayers were sincere and reflecting on that time I’m grateful for how God has given us the gift of the church – the gift of each other.  The sharing and bearing of burdens is a beautiful thing.  While we were sharing grace around the table where we broke our breakfast bread, there were many other people who were brought into that circle through intercessory prayer.  There are other groups of men and women who will be getting together to share grace in a variety of times of locations this week, people who know how important it is to invest in intentional, disciple-making relationships. If you’re not yet part of a Sunday School class, 2:42 group, breakfast club or coffee shop discipleship group, this Lenten season would be a great time to start.

Grace Extended: Grace House. FUEL. Celebrate Recovery. Room in the Inn. Teen Service teams. Every week throughout our community the people of Grace are engaging in grace-extending acts.  Sunday afternoon as the church board met, a letter of appreciation from West Creek High School was read.  A few months ago when we heard that several students were going hungry, funds were sent to address this problem and many students were helped. When we found out the need still exists,  one of your spiritual leaders made a motion and the rest of the board voted unanimously to send another $250 to feed hungry students.  I am so proud to be part of a church that is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, visiting the lonely, and blessing our community. 

Special thanks to Russ Godsave and all who attended or participated last Saturday night in the “Acts of Grace” fundraising event for the Peru Mission trip. It was an entertaining, exciting, and fattening (lots of great desserts for the auction!) event We had music, skits, door prizes, a red-tailed hawk that flew through the foyer and lots of laughs.  Pastor Dwayne was the auctioneer in an auction that raised $2100 for the trip which will be  HUGE help!

Coming up:

Friday Night – Celebrate Recovery                                                                                        

Saturday Morning at 9:00 – Children’s Quiz at Grace – in the sanctuary

Sunday after 2^nd service – Teens and Parents meeting with Pastor Dwayne to discuss the details of the 2010 summer youth mission trip

Sunday night at 6:00 – Vision Dinner at Spring Creek Baptist (kids under 10 will be at Grace)

Saturday, March 6 –TN District Improve Your Serve

Grace and peace,

Pastor Steve