Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Choice

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

This past weekend as we celebrated Easter, Pastor Ron shared with us an incredible story of hope from the life of Louis Zamperini - an Olympic athlete and survivor of unimaginable atrocities as a prisoner of war in Japan in World War II. Pastor Ron shared incident after incident that sought to destroy Zamperini until all looked hopeless. It wasn’t until Louis’ eventual release from the prison camp that he met Billy Graham, and through Graham, Jesus Christ. Louis’ life, and the lives of many Japanese soldiers, was changed forever because Louis chose to allow Jesus full access to his heart. He was given a second chance.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Powerful and Effective Praying

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

The focus of this past weekend’s services was based around James 5:16b
the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
One thing that struck me right away as we sang together is that this God that we pray to is in fact mighty, awesome, able to do anything and in control of everything. It seems to me that too often our prayers are small and anemic. We pray with attitudes like: “I sure hope God can handle this” or “I know God could answer my prayer, but He probably won’t” or “I cannot honestly see how this situation could work out” and our variations on that pathetic theme go on and on. I wonder when we do this, if God thinks to Himself “I just wish they could grasp what I am able – what I am longing  to do in their life!” As we sang, “My Savior, He can move the mountains…” Oh, if we (I) could just get that.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

In The Mix

Contributed by:
Heather Everingham
connections coordinator

Community as defined in the Webster’s dictionary means:
1. A group of people who live in the same area.
2. A group of people who have the same interest.
3. A feeling of wanting to be with other people, or of caring about the other people in a group.
When thinking about the definition of community it seems to go hand in hand with small groups. Each of the above defining points even has the word “group” in it. I am so passionate about group life that when someone gives me excuses for why they can’t be in groups I often want to tell them that those are the exact same reasons you SHOULD be in a group. Not only does a group help you connect with other Christians, and keep you accountable, it also gives you a group of people who can be there for you and help you out through the adventures we call life.

Monday, April 11, 2011

"W" #10: Simple, Smooth, Successful Connection

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

My wife and I were treated to a "date night" this past Friday, which included a meal at one of our favorite restaurants, Texas Roadhouse. Apparently, it's everyone's favorite restaurant, and when we arrived at 6:40ish the wait was pushin' near an hour. As we crowded into the overflowing waiting area, the thought occurred to me, I don't care how good their food is, I don't think I can wait that long. Thankfully we didn't have to; we were saved by the splendor that is "call-ahead-seating." Instead of waiting an hour for our table, we waited fifteen minutes. The date was huge success.

Trusting the King

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

Like many this past week, my family and I were blessed to enjoy a trip to Florida for Spring Break. I use the word “blessed” because it was evident that our getaway was a gift.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The Illegal Substitution Penalty

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

If you are a football fan (and if you aren’t I would submit you should be!) then you are aware of a penalty that is occasionally flagged called illegal substitution. I must admit that when this penalty is called it always seems like it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. As parents, and specifically men, we can be very guilty of just such a penalty. Only the consequences of repeated substitutions can be much more severe than in a football game. What I mean is this.

Finding Victory In the Battle

Contributed by:
Alan Bugg
executive pastor

Growing up with two sisters, one a twin and the other two years older, created interesting dynamics around my home. As the lone boy, my sisters wanted to control me and I wanted nothing to do with it. I thought as the male sibling it was important for me to establish dominance, even though my twin sister matured faster and grew six inches taller than me by the seventh grade. My twin was athletic, popular, and accepted with the “in kids” and I was left only to watch, as the “shrimp” of the family and my class.