August 10, 2011
JESUS’ ARMY
Last week, my son and I attended a professional soccer game in Portland. The Timbers were playing the LA Galaxy, who were on a fourteen game winning streak, and at the top of the league. Portland is known for its rabid fans. And trust me; there is no fan in the world, in ANY sport like a Timbers Army fan! This was a HUGE league game. It was the first time LA had been to town, and they had two of the world’s biggest names in soccer on the pitch! The place was electric.
It is hard to describe what it was like in the stadium. There was electricity in the air. It was alive! It was insane. The fans began chanting and dancing an hour and a half before the match. During the game it NEVER stopped. There were chants of “we adore you,” “bury me in green and gold” and all sorts of noise. It was INSANE. These people were 100% sold out for their team. Nothing in the world mattered more to them. It was a BLAST! I’ve never enjoyed a sporting event more.
It got me thinking about our faith. Why is it SO easy to act like a sold out fool for a team, but SO hard to do so for Jesus? And trust me, I was screaming as loud as anyone! We have NO qualms when it comes to letting the world know all about our love for a certain team, or band, or movie…but when it comes to letting them know about our Savior, far too often that’s a different story!
I wanna' be as sold out for Jesus as any sports fan is for their team. I want to be dancing in His love hours before church! I want to sing praises to Him so much that my throat hurts! And we should be doing that! We were MADE to worship him and go “all in.” So, why don’t we do it? What is holding us back? That’s my challenge…..worship next week like the Timbers Army. Give God 100% of your energy, and let’s see how THAT FEELS!
– Pannell
Our Second Annual Summer
Worship Encampment at Emigrant Lake
will be held on Sunday, August 21. We will have worship services beginning at 10:00 a.m. followed by lunch and activities. Parking fees are $4.00 per car. Please bring your lawn chairs, games, and a potluck dish to share. There is a sign up sheet posted at the back of the auditorium with a list of foods to bring. We will provide the meat, but ask that you bring the side dishes. Please RSVP on the list posted at the back of the auditorium, so that we know how much meat to provide.
If you need a ride to the lake, please let Terry, Brian or the office know. We will have a shuttle service leaving the parking lot at 9:00 a.m.; otherwise, please drive yourself to the lake.
Services at the building: We will have our worship service at the building beginning at 10:15 a.m. We will have No Bible Class and No Nursery Care that morning and No Evening Worship that day.
Clothing and School Supplies Giveaway
and Carnival
Saturday, August 27 - 11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.
Our annual carnival will be held at the same time as our Clothing and School Supplies Giveaway. Boxes are in the Fireside Room to place your clothing donations in. We also need new packages of socks and underwear for all age groups. Money may be given to September Flock, the church office or placed in the contribution and marked for school supplies, as September will do the shopping for the supplies. Cost is $20.00 for elementary supplies; $35.00 for junior and senior high supplies. Also, we need backpacks. We will accept very good, clean, used backpacks or you may purchase a new one and donate it. We also need donations for hot dogs, buns and chips for the carnival. Please let Betty Lake know if you can donate food items.
We need all volunteers to be at the church building at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
****Volunteers are needed on Friday, August 26, at 9:00 a.m. to help sort the clothing. If you can help, please contact Betty Lake.
West Main Bible Institute will begin classes on September 8, at 7:00 p.m. All students must complete an application form and applications need to be received by August 19. If you have more questions, please contact Dan Beeks.
Missing Tapes -- We are missing one of the tapes for the Sunset Bible Institute Classes. The title is “Distinctive Nature of the Church, Vol. 1.” We need this tape to start our class in September. If you know of its whereabouts, please return it to Dan Beeks ASAP. Thank you for your help.
Women's Retreat -- Ladies, get ready for a real treat - our Women’s Retreat is just around the corner! This year’s theme will be Having the Mind of Christ with guest speaker, Liz Pence, of Hope Revealed Ministries and family friend of the Christopher’s.
The retreat is Friday, September 30 – Sunday, October 2 at Sugarloaf Cottages Resort at Lake Shasta, California. The registration fees are $95.00- $155.00 depending upon what you sign up for. Also, there is a $5.00 discount for registering and paying by Sunday, August 28. Scholarships will be available. September 25 is the last day to register.
Please see Jessie Pannell with any questions and to give your registration forms and money to. Registration forms are available in the lobby. Please come, and invite your friends!
Prayer Requests and Praises . . .
For Connie Kennedy who will have surgery August 12. If you can help her after surgery, please give her a call as it will take eight weeks for her to heal ... For Ferne Scott who fell while traveling and fractured the second vertebrae in her neck. She hopes to return home this week ... Corinne Christhopher has been having a lot of back pain recently ... For Jenny Way- that she can make progress from her brain injury ... For April Olson’s first year at South Medford High School to be a good one ... For the family of Ethan Jostad, who passed away Monday ... For Carol Burchett, mother of Terry Burchett, that her broken collarbone continue to heal ... For safe travel for Patsy Brophy ... David Mayes requests prayers for his friends, Cora Sawyer and Barbara Peterson, for their growth in the Word ... For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
Praise: Terrie Becker gives thanks for her apartment and that Living Water Counseling wants her to be a paid employee. She says, “God is blessing me so much.”
Placing Membership -- We would like to welcome Jackie Godfrey who placed membership with us last Sunday. Please welcome Jackie to our West Main Family if you haven’t met her already.
Wedding Bells -- Love was meant to be shared with family and friends!
Stan and Jessica Johnson are pleased to announce the upcoming marriage of their son, Gregory, to Jessica Decker on Saturday, September 3, 2011, at Sapphire Point in Dillon, Colorado. Gregory and Jessica are registered at www.honeyfund.com/wedding/gregandjessi and at Macy’s. Please see the wedding announcement and photo that is posted on the courtyard bulletin board.
Letters for Mark Dickison -- Mark Dickison will be leaving for Navy Seals boot camp on August 17th. If you would like to send him a note of encouragement and support, please use the note cards that are located in the lobby in the colorful round box. We will be giving all of the notes to him on August 15.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Aug 21: 2nd Annual Encampment at Emigrant Lake
Aug 27: Clothing & School Supplies Giveaway and Carnival
Sept 8: Bible Institute Classes Begin
Sept 30-Oct 2: Women’s Retreat
Nursery Help is needed for Sept 4th. Please contact Diane Liles if you can help.
Coffee Servers are needed for September.
