At RUMC we find ourselves in the middle of what many would consider an uncomfortable situation.  Our church is in the middle of a campaign – a debt reduction campaign, and it’s also the time of the year when we’re all asked to make a commitment regarding our stewardship for the year – how we will commit to giving back to God by investing with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.

Seasons like this within the body of Christ can be looked at as an opportunity to lean into God, to publically claim dependence upon him and put our money where our mouth is.  Better yet – it’s a chance to put our money where our heart is.

But unfortunately, anytime money is brought up, for many of us it’s more like the fine print on the screen image (above) We say, whoa, money? Mind your own business!  As a matter of fact, most Americans don’t want to see a connection between our faith and OUR use of OUR money. We think that churches ought to stick to spiritual things and stay away from talk about money.

But it turns out, there is literally no subject which Jesus (the head of this church) talks about more.

• 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables deal with how to handle money and possessions. Almost half!!! Obviously, Jesus thought money was a spiritual thing worth spending time on – worth teaching about.

• In the Gospels—1st four books of NT that tell the story of Jesus’ life—one out of ten verses, 288 in all, focuses directly on the subject of money. That’s interesting, isn’t it? The Bible talks about tithing—giving ten percent. The Gospels—the books about Jesus—tithe. They devote ten percent of their verses to the subject of money.

• In the whole Bible, there are about five hundred verses on the subject of prayer and another five hundred on the subject of faith. There are two thousand on the subject of money and possessions.

What we do with the stuff we have is important to God.  To say “mind your own business” is just to recoil back into that selfish, safe place of ignorance – that’s not what we’re called to.

What we do with the stuff we’ve been given (talent, time, money, etc) – our STEWARDSHIP of these things is important to God.  So as a church we’re going to talk about it. We will do it respectfully, and in a way that doesn’t embarrass or hurt – that’s why our Offering Boxes are in the back of the room during this service.  Because we understand that how we approach money as a church can become a stumbling block for many people.  So we removed that potential issue, by inviting you to go to the plate instead of the plate coming to you.  

I’ve heard it said this way:  “The scriptures deal with money matters, because money matters.”

One recent study suggests that Americans spend 75% of our time relating to money. That includes earning it, spending it, investing it, thinking about it and worrying about it. Money matters.

 Jesus put it this way: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  In other words, where you’ve invested your money, you tend to invest your heart as well.  So of course we’re going to talk about your “treasure” in church – we can’t just mind our own business.  The business of the church is cultivating these hearts – and these hearts are connected to our treasure.

So we’ll spend a few weeks talking about different aspects of giving, of stewardship – and what we’re called to in these areas.  Please don’t run.  Don’t shut down and mumble, mind your own business – This, my friends, is our business.  And I’m excited – because this is going to challenge us.  People grow when they’re challenged – and I think we’re going to see some growth!

So we sang a couple songs: Hosanna (Hillsong) and Unchanging (Tomlin)
Our mission statement video was shot during the fabulous Fall Carnival the week before.

John spoke on the focus of the night.  The idea that the secret to giving is that it cost you something.  He shared the story of David buying a space to build an altar to God.  The man who owned the space offered it to David for free, along with anything else he needed.  But David realized how, though generous, the offer would take away from the purpose of the sacrifice.

David’s response to the man’s offer was this:
“”No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”  (2 Sam 24:24)  He understood that a cheap and easy gift just wouldn’t mean the same thing.  John spoke on that idea, and challenged us to consider the “cost” of our gifts – not just in the monetary value they have, but in how our sacrifice is connected to them.

It was also All Saints Day in our tradition.  So we spent some time remembering those saints who went home in the last year.  We lit candles for the church members who had passed, and people were invited up to light candles for other friends, family or loved ones who they wished to honor.  It was very solemn and beautiful. 

It was ALSO the first Sunday of the month, which is when we celebrate communion.  So John segued from costly gifts right into Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  We took communion – served to each other (you receive, then turn around and serve the next person, then they do the same – very cool!).  The band played Communion (Third Day) and I Will Not Forget You (Pasley). 

We wrapped up the night with Marvelous Light (Hall) and hugs all round.  It was a good night.

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road, but she did start receiving Disability!!

:: Pray for Louis Savor’s mother – she had a heart attack last week and is recovering slowly.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

:: Pray for Tony S – his truck died – and he and Andrea are moving back in together.  Pray God is in the midst of it all and provides another vehicle.

The Water’s Edge worked alongside RUMC Children & Youth Ministries to present our Fall Carnival on Sunday.  This is a community event – we encourage our congregation to invite friends and neighbors.  This year we had it outside – it was beautiful weather!  Water’s Edge folks were in charge of the meal we made and served and the band played during the event. 

So there were hotdogs fresh off the grill, homemade chili, carnival games with candy prizes, a hay ride, a bouncy house and slide, face painting, a cake walk and crafts for the kids.  All with The Water’s Edge band as a sound track.  We had a costume contest, too – there was a very impressive parade of children in all sorts of outfits.  We were hoping to have a couple hundred folks, but we think there were 350 at least!  It was great!  Half of the folks who came out I didn’t know! 

So I don’t have anything to blog about.  I could thank all the wonderful volunteers who worked hard that night.  And I could thank the church for going out onto such great limbs with us.  It was a great night!  I’ll try to add a few pictures soon!

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: On Monday there was a beautiful funeral, with half of Ringgold in attendance, for Coleman Burroughs - be in prayer for his family as they grieve.

:: Pray for Louis Savor’s mother – she had a heart attack last week.  Louis went up to  be with her.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

Our church is entering a season focussed on stewardship.  It’s that time of year for our yearly stewardship campaign, and we’re also working on a Debt Reduction Campaign as we seek to work down the money owed for our new building.  Not the easiest of topics for many people.  So this Sunday we kicked-off by instilling some vision in folks. 

We wanted to help everyone see how God is working in and through our church, much of which is made possible because of our physical plant.  We wanted them to have a bigger picture of where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’d like to go.  So through some hard work, we compiled lots of information.  The information was passed on in the way of a tour of the building.  So both in the morning and last night, people were divided into tour groups.  A Tour Guide led the way and at each point in the journey they shared information with their group.  We had some yummy food stops built in as well.  And even folks who have been members of the church for many years learned stuff!

So the Water’s Edge started with a song – “Because of Your Love” Tim Hughes – and then Con & Beth got up to share.  They walked us through the details of where we are with the building funds and where we’d like to be.  They shared from the heart about their take on the process and how important it is to be involved.  To give back to God in proportion to how much God has already given you. 

They showed a DVD that we had made for the campaign.  Here it is if you’d like to watch it: Campaign Video

And then we took the tours.  Upon returning we sang a couple more songs - All We Need by Charlie Hall & Song of Hope by Robbie Seay Band – and John wrapped the whole thing up with some thoughts and a prayer. 

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Coleman Burroughs - he will be going home soon.

:: Pray for Darlene Stone =  hip replacement surgery went well -  Lots of recovery ahead.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

This Sunday night we focussed on WATER & STONES. 
In the center of the room a baptismal pool and a bowl of river stones.

We opened with “Filled With Your Glory” by Starfield & “I Will Lift My Eyes” by Bebo Norman.
John did a talk about Baptism and what it means.  Why we do it the way we do.  Why God wants to connect to us the way he does.  Then we watched Jen’s story on the big screen.  She was baptized that night and so before that happened we got a chance to learn more about who she is and what her journey with God has been like.  When the video was done John called her forward and we began working through the baptismal liturgy.  Jen had asked for full immersion, so that’s what we did!

Following her baptism we shifted gears from the water to the stones. 
Stones have had a recurring theme in the story of God throughout history.  I told them a piece of that story:

It’s found in the 3rd and 4th chapters of the book of Joshua.
This is way back in Old Testament times God’s people were finishing a 40 year journey in the wilderness – it was a journey that should have taken only a week or two by foot, but they had many lessons to learn before they could emerge from that wilderness.

But it was finally time for them to enter the Promised Land!
They had to cross the River Jordan to do so.  God was leading them through every step.  He told the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant to go and wade into the Jordan River.  This might have made them nervous, the Jordan was flowing at flood stage at the time! But they faithfully walked in.

And just as God had promised, the waters began to pile up in a heap upstream. The priests with the Ark stood in the middle of the river bed as the whole nation of Israel crossed over into Jericho.  Some estimates put them at more than 2 million people strong!  I can’t imagine how big a “heap” that river water must have been in by the time they were all across.

Once they were across, GOD spoke to Joshua: “Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe, and tell them, ‘From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.’” (Chapter 4 vs 1-3)

When Joshua gave the instructions he told them, they were doing it
“so you’ll have something later to mark the occasion. When your children ask you, ‘What are these stones to you?’ you’ll say, ‘The flow of the Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest of the Covenant of GOD as it crossed the Jordan—stopped in its tracks. These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” (Chapter 4 vs 6-7)

Tonight we might hear that in these words…
“These stones will help us remember the mighty acts of God”
“These stones, smoothed by water, have been shaped by God as we are being shaped.”
“These stones are markers of God’s love and provision and connection.”

I don’t know about you, but I live in a dry, rough and scary place a lot of the time – and that’s just what’s happening inside my own head.  This world is often hostile and the negative things that thrive in it are always tempting me to turn away from what’s right and good. So as I watched Jen get soaked through with that water tonight, I longed for that experience of feeling the cool comfort of being cleansed and renewed by the touch of the Holy Spirit.

So tonight we’re going to each have a chance to do that and we’re going to also mark the occasion with stones as the people of God have done for thousands of years. It’s all about water and stones.

As was said earlier tonight: through water and the spirit, we renew the covenant that was declared at our own baptisms, and we acknowledge what God is doing for us. We again affirm our commitment to Christ and the Church.

So if you would like to “remember your baptism” then as the band leads us in worship you can come forward. Don’t feel like you have to form a line, just wait for the right moment. Reach your hand into this water and take a stone. Then touch your forehead with the water and say something like: I remember my baptism, and I am thankful.

That stone is yours to keep as a marker of this occasion.
Yours to place in a spot where it will help you remember the amazing gift God has given in new life and in forgiveness of sins.  So when people ask you, what does this stone mean?  You can tell them.

The band played “I Will Rise” by Chris Tomlin & “You are the Light” by Steve Fee as people came forward.
After a closing prayer, we played “Made to Worship” by Tomlin as Jen stood in the middle of the room being hugged and welcomed to our family.

It was a great night!

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Coleman Burroughs - he will be going home soon.

:: Pray for Darlene Stone =  hip replacement surgery went well -  Lots of recovery ahead.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Toni R has gotten a GREAT job offer!   Pray all falls into place as God intends.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

Sunday night was fun!  This is our second year to celebrate and thank God for the very special love between us and our pets during The Water’s Edge.  Oct 4 was the Feast Day of St. Francis which is traditionally when this service takes place.  It was messy and beautiful and real.

We had The Neel Family (the husband and wife play in the band each week, but all three of their kids are extraordinarily talented, so all 5 of them pulled together some bluegrass for us for the night) set the tone complete with mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass!  They played in the background as people got to know each other and their pets – we had some “get to know you” questions on the screen (stuff like: what’s the weirdest thing your animal has ever eaten, etc.)  We had a special assortment of snacks available that night – only some of which were for people.  After some fellowship, we had a couple folks share about the blessing of having a pet and what it means to them.  We sang a couple songs together – I’ll Fly Away & I Saw the Light.  We used some liturgy to get us focussed and then John invited each family to come up one at a time to receive their blessing.

My favorite part of the night: during one of the singing songs, one dog started barking, then another joined in, and then another… mid song they were all going crazy and IN TIME to the song - awesome.  We had 3 cats this year to balance out all those dogs, and we almost had a bird!  Maybe next year!

Here are few photos of the night.  (Click the picture to see it up close)

We tried something new this year in conjunction with the blessing.  Amanda (a saint with a passion for animals) set up a Pet Adoption Event at the church as one of our Random Acts of Kindness.  She worked with McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center to set it up.  It was raining, so the turn out was low, but it was very positive!  Several of the McKamey volunteers stayed for the service and had two of the adoptable dogs blessed!!  Pretty cool.

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Coleman Burroughs - he will be going home soon.

:: Pray for Darlene Stone =  hip replacement surgery went well -  Lots of recovery ahead.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Toni R has gotten a GREAT job offer!   Pray all falls into place as God intends.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

It was the last night of this series!!  We’re in the middle of a monsoon, so there was a small crowd, but God was good and held the rain back for a couple hours right before, during & after the service, so we could do what He and I had planned for the night!

Intake is a medical term referring to all that we consume in a given period of time.  The night was about getting a handle on our intake – looking to see how much of it is good for us, and how much of it is just junk.  We all take in a certain amount of stuff that is just not good for us, that get’s in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives.  And it’s obvious that we’re taking that stuff in as we look at the way we’re living.  It comes down to that old phrase: garbage in, garbage out.

So we started the night with a couple songs: “All We Need”  by Charlie Hall – great lyrics for this idea.
And then we used a Shaun Groves song called “Welcome Home” – here are the lyrics:

Take, me, make me all You want me to be
That’s all I’m asking, all I’m asking

Welcome to this heart of mine
I’ve buried under prideful vines
Grown to hide the mess I’ve made inside of me
Come decorate, Lord
Open up the creaking door
And walk upon the dusty floor
Scrape away the guilty stains
Until no sin or shame remain
Spread Your love upon the walls
And occupy the empty halls
Until the man I am has faded
No more doors are barricaded

Chorus:
Come inside this heart of mine
It’s not my own – Make it home
Come and take this heart and make it
All Your own – Welcome home

Take a seat, pull up a chair
Forgive me for the disrepair
And the souvenirs from floor to ceiling
Gathered on my search for meaning
Every closet’s filled with clutter
Messes yet to be discovered
I’m overwhelmed, I understand
I can’t make this place all that You can

I took the space that You placed in me
Redecorated in shades of greed
And I made sure every door stayed locked
Every window blocked, and still You knocked

So from there we used this cleaning out our house metaphor to get a handle on our garbage.

John spoke some about what God wants to do in us and how much he wants us to say no to the garbage.
He used Proverbs 4:23-27
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

We then invited the people to respond to God’s invitation to clean house.  We had set up with tables and chairs in our space, and at each table were sheets of paper and markers.  The task was to write down each piece of “garbage” that we need to stop taking in, that needs to get cleaned out of our house.  Write it down, wad up the paper, and then write the next one down, until we each had a little pile of garbage.  Just outside the worship space emergency exit doors we had two fires going.  As people finished writing down their garbage they brought their pile of trash out to the fires, and offered them up to God.  We heard the song “At The Foot of The Cross” by Kathyrn Scott during this exercise.  Here are some of those lyrics:

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

Very cool as we saw the ashes of our garbage burning, to remember that God will make all things beautiful!

When we all finished, I reminded us of Jesus words about cleaning house:
Matthew 12:43-45 (The Message) “When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.”

We made commitments to say “no” to the garbage – and we sang “From the Inside Out” & ”Mighty to Save” by Hillsong United.  Perfect prayer lyrics for the night’s topic.  Asking God to cleanse us from the inside out and being thankful that he can move those mountains in our lives.  It was a good night – we only had a little trouble with the fire smoke coming into the worship space, but hey, for a while we’ll enjoy being reminded of what God did that night!

Next week: Youth Sunday!
So I won’t have a post as they’ll be in charge, and I’ll be gratefully out of town on vacation!

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Coleman Burroughs - he will be going home soon.

:: Pray for Darlene Stone =  hip replacement surgery went well -  Lots of recovery ahead.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Toni R has gotten a GREAT job offer!   Pray all falls into place as God intends.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

:: Pray for John P’s grandmother – she’s going through a rough period right now.

:: Pray for the people negatively affected by all this crazy weather.

Great and messy night at The Water’s Edge last night! 

Our topic for getting fit in: Relational health.  When everyone got into the room, the floor was open with chairs only around the edges of the room.  We started with our normal announcements, watched the intro video for the week (Andrew’s attempts at training for Mr Universe continue to go well!) and then we started creating our small groups.  Once everyone was in a group of 8 or so, each received an oblong table cloth.  They laid it on the ground and the whole group stood on it.  I told them that the cloth was actually a magic carpet – that they were flying mid air – and that now they needed to flip over the carpet without losing anyone!  No stepping off the carpet!  So the groups started talking, thinking, hugging and laughing!

Most of them accomplished the goal, and we started unpacking the experience.
We started off by making some observations: there were 2 different relationships happening.  1) the relationship between you and your group, and 2) your relationship to the carpet.  I asked if the two relationships were connected and they said, yes!  That the group was dependent upon each other – and how well they functioned together was directly related to how well they did on the carpet.

I suggested the same is true in our relationships with each other and with God.  We started talking metaphorically:  the goal of flipping the carpet – is like our love & relationship with Christ.  And the interaction with your team is much like the interaction that happens with fellow man, both Christian and not. Those two relationships are connected in the same way the carpet and your group are.

Matt 22:36-40 (TNIV) says this about these relationships…
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

“and the second is like it” – is an interesting phrase.
Some translations say “the second is equally important”

One of the commentaries I read said, “It is like it, for it is founded upon it, and flows from it; and a right love to our fellow man, whom we have seen, is both an instance and an evidence of our love to God, whom we have not seen”

You can’t have the one without the other – they are connected.  The Cross itself visually reminds us of this relationship connection.

I asked the groups if they have succeeded in flipping the carpet over if they had all acted independently and without cooperation?  They could not have of course. 

They talked in their groups about how they have found their earthly (horizontal) relationships affecting your (vertical) relationship with God.   And we’d all admit (at least I know Eric and I feel this way) that it often would be easier to be a hermit – but we’re not called to that.  We’re called to each other – the family of God – and in EVERY relationship we’re in there is potential for the reflection of our heavenly relationship with God.

As I read that Greatest Command three other words strike me – heart, soul & mind.  And as I thought about how “the 2nd is like it” I got to thinking about those 3 words and our horizontal relationships. So we looked at them individually.

We asked what loving God with all your HEART looks like?
In our horizontal relationships – it seems to me the heart might reflect FORGIVENESS in our relationships – How can being forgiving OR NOT affect the health of those relationships? Does it affect your relationship with God, too?

We asked what loving God with all your SOUL looks like?
In our horizontal relationships – it seems to me the soul might reflect OPENESS in our relationships – how can being open OR NOT affect the health of those relationships? Does it affect your relationship with God, too?

We asked what loving God with all your MIND looks like?
In our horizontal relationships – it seems to me the soul might reflect RESPECT in our relationships – how can being respectful OR NOT affect the health of those relationships? Does it affect your relationship with God, too?

I know sometimes it might seem like exercises like these are pointless and a waste of time. I’ve often though the same of the horizontal relationships in my life – but I think in reality, there is so much to be learned by experiences like these, through conversations like these, in the process of connecting to fellow believers, I connect to God.  Relational Health here on earth is so important because it is directly connected to our heavenly relationship with God.

We sang the song “Unashamed” by Starfield as a prayer of relationship with God and then Jonn shared with us some of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians about Relational Health.  He used Eph 4:29-32 (The Message)
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.  Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.  Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Most of us have a lot of work to do to get our horizontal, earthly relationships into healthier shape so that our vertical, spiritual relationship with God will be healthier, too.

We sang “You Are So Beautiful” by Third Day and “Happy Day” by Tim Hughes.
The children from The Fishin’ Hole came in and showed us the project they had been working on over the last bunch of weeks: a bible quilt full of the stories they had been studying.    We cheered and took a picture and we all went home.

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Coleman Burroughs - in the hospital now.

:: Pray for Darlene Stone = had hip replacement surgery this morning – went well!  Lots of recovery ahead.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni R, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

:: Pray for John P’s grandmother – she’s going through a rough period right now.

We took our church to the park this last Sunday night – right down the street from the church.  We grilled out hotdogs and fed anyone who was hungry that happened to be in the park that night.  Due to looming bad weather, we didn’t set the whole band up this time, but we did have some music going on acoustics and there were fun things for the kids to do – face painting took top billing again!  We ended up with a great crowd, even though it was storming that morning.  And we were glad to have a chance to be God’s family in the midst of our community.  Many thanks to the folks who worked hard to pull it together.  Next week we’ll get back to our “Fit for Life” series!

We’re on our third week of getting Fit for Life!
Our series is rooted in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (TNIV) Which tells us to “train ourselves to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

So we are looking at several aspects of our health of how our bodies are honoring God – OR NOT! 
We decided first off that no one should be nervous about this – we’re all broken, and the church is a place for hurting people – a hospital for sinners not a museum for saints – so we should each do your best to be open and honest and be challenged to grow!

The 1st week we talked about our Emotional Health – how common it is to struggle in this area. And we said the key is Prayer & Thanksgiving.

Last week we talked about our Physical health – how our bodies are a temple in which God dwells, so even though this is all just a blip on the radar of eternity we’ll spend with God in a heavenly body – we want to make the most of this earthly body now as a way to honor him!

And last night we  talked about Covenant Health – by that we mean how each of us is held accountable through covenant relationships. Accountability is the process of someone helping another to stick to their commitments. That can happen in different ways.

I pointed out a couple of examples of what this can look like.  The decor in our room for this series involves a series of portraits.  Each week I point out a couple of them and explain why they made it to this spot of honor.  Each picture is of someone who is not perfect, but who is “fit for life” in different areas.

I introduced Craig Gross –
He’s an evangelist.  He and a friend started XXXchurch.com which is a non-profit organization that aims to help those who struggle with pornography. Its target is consumers and those in the pornography industry.  Launched in 2002, the organization gives its vision as: “XXXchurch is the #1 Christian porn site designed to bring awareness, openness and accountability to those affected by pornography. We are an on-line community that tours the world speaking at colleges, churches and community centers. XXXchurch.com exists to help those who are in over their heads with pornography, both consumers and those in the industry.”

XXXchurch.com also offers accountability software called X3Watch. The software logs all questionable websites that a user accesses based on content type and then sends a report to an “accountability partner” of the person’s choosing. The program is free to download.

Craig is just one person who is working to help people find freedom in Christ.  This kind of addiction is VERY common and it’s a problem for Christians as much as anyone.  And a KEY in finding that freedom is someone holding you accountable.

That can happen with a partner – one person helping another. It can be more than that – sometimes a small group of people is even better… this is The First Small Group – a picture of Jesus with his disciples at the Last Supper.

As we were thinking about small groups and how powerful and helpful that interaction can be. How accountability and covenant can be a big part of what happens in small groups – I thought I need to get a picture of whoever came up with the idea of small groups – we realized, well that was Jesus!

If Jesus thought it was this important – shouldn’t we?!?!

We did a couple songs at the beginning of the night – “Everlasting God” by Tomlin & “Everything Glorious” by Crowder.
We watched another silly intro video of Andrew preparing for the Mr Universe Contest.
We then divided into small discussion groups = this is one of our regular formats at The Water’s Edge.  And no more fitting a night than this to utilize it!  Here’s the material we worked through:

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION:
- What happens to you when your life is shared with other people?
- What happens to the people you share with?

Hebrews 10:24-25 – Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

- Why does this scripture encourage us to meet together?
- If you’ve had a small group experience, share examples of the love and encouragement you’ve found.  How important has that help been in your life?

Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another.

- Why is it that another person can tell you something that you already know, and it takes them saying it for it to become real?  (“you seem unhappy” – “actually, I AM unhappy.”)
- Who in your life right now is able to “sharpen” your character in a healthy and loving way?  Do you do this for someone else?  What is hard about that process?

Below are the “One Anothers” of the Bible – read through the headings – these are the instructions the Bible gives for how to hold each other accountable as brothers and sisters in Christ, whether in a small group or just one on one.

- Which of these is the easiest for you?  Why?
- Which of these is the most difficult for you?  Why?
- Which of these have you experienced – which have you done for others?
- Which of these would you like more of in your life?  Why?
- If you’re not in an accountability relationship now – do you think you might get involved in one?

Love one another – John 13:34-35, John 15:12; 17, Rom 13:8, 1 Th 4:9, 2 Th 1:3, 1 Pet 1:22, 1 John 3:11; 23, 1 John 4:7; 11-12, 2 John 1:5
Do not oppress one another – Lev 25:17
Be at peace with one another – Mark 9:50, I Thess 5:13
Show hospitality with one another – John 13:14, 1 Pet 4:9
We are members one of another – Rom 12:5, Eph 4:25
Honor one another – Rom 12:10 
Do not judge one another – Rom 14:13
Do not excuse one another – Rom 2:15
Do not fight with one another – Gal 5:15
Serve one another – Gal 5:13
Do not envy one another – Gal 5:26
Admonish one another – Rom 15:14
Greet one another – Rom 16:16, 1 Cor 16:20, 2 Cor 13:12, 1 Pet 5:14
Care for one another – 1 Cor 12:25
Bear the burdens of one another – Gal 6:2
Show deference to one another – Eph 4:2
Forgive one another – Col 3:13
Be kind to one another – Eph 4:32
Submit to one another – Eph 5:21, 1 Pet 5:5
Do not lie to one another – Col 3:9
Provoke to good works one another – Heb 10:24
Comfort one another – 1 Th 4:18, 1 Th 5:11
Concern yourself in the affairs of one another – Phil 2:4
Do not hate one another – Titus 3:3
Do not speak evil of one another – James 4:11
Pray for one another – James 5:16
Be like-minded toward one another – Rom 12:16, Rom 15:5
Do not hold a grudge against one another – James 5:9
Highly esteem one another – Phil 2:3
Have fellowship with one another – I John 1:7
Edify one another – Rom 14:19, Rom 15:1-2, Eph 4:16, Eph 5:19
Teach one another – Col 3:16
Do good to one another – I Thess 5:15

When the discussions were done, we challenged people to do the work of finding or creating a covenant relationship for themselves – a place where they can be held accountable and help hold others accountable.  We gave out a resource sheet full of ideas (on-line resources, small groups our church offers, John Wesley’s questions used for accountability with others = if you’d like this, just send me a comment and I’ll send it to you!).

We closed with a couple more songs: “The Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman and “Filled with Your Glory” by Starfield.
It was a good night!

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – things are going better than expected.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni R, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

:: Pray for John P’s grandmother – she’s going through a rough period right now.

2nd night of the series, FIT FOR LIFE. 
- We sang a couple songs: Sing to the King & Oh Praise Him
- We watched the 2nd installment of Andrew’s Mr. Universe training (a silly video piece to laugh at and intro the theme for the night)
- We talked about a couple people who have shown what “fit for life” in this area can look like: Richard Simmons & the first guys to summit on Mt. Everest (1953) Tenzing Norgay & Sir Edmond Hillary.  Their photos, along with others, are part of the decor in the worship space.  Encouraged folks to bring in pictures of people they know who are “fit for life”

- Chuck Frye, a man who has had his share of health troubles, come out the other side, and now takes his fitness very seriously and appreciates the joys of physical fitness every day, shared his story with us.
- John followed up from there with our theme verse:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.

We are a temple in which God dwells.  Part of our responsibility in being Christians is honoring God in and through and with that temple.  So that’s more than just NOT polluting it with negative influences, it’s also taking good care of it. 

- We passed out some info about Physical health, some stats, reality checks and ideas for how folks can start changing things.
- We sang a couple more songs: Wonderful Maker & Here is Our King

The “Fit For Life Challenge” is going great!  Everyone is working hard to accumulate points for exercise, good eating and weight lost.  So far, Eric is winning!  There are 4 more weeks of competition – we’ll see how it goes!

Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a very rough road.  Pray for hope and healing and a willingness to hang on tight.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – things are going better than expected.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni R, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.

:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.

:: Pray for John P’s grandmother – she’s going through a rough period right now.