pastor ricky newsletter

Dear Church Family,

Those that know me know that I love Christmas shows. A couple of years ago I wrote a Christmas newsletter article about one of my favorite characters, The Grinch! You can learn a lot of good lessons from some of the children’s show if you look closely. The Grinch is definitely one of them.

I have heard people sing about Christmas in many languages in my life, but “Fa Who Doray” has got to be one of the strangest! Some of you probably recognize the song, but some of you may not be familiar with it. It is from the Christmas Classic, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. One of the lines from the story goes like this, “Every Who down in Whoville loved Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did not!” It turns out the Grinch hated Christmas. He hated the songs. He hated the joy. He hated the presents and toys. He hated the whole season. In fact, he did everything he could to keep Christmas from coming to the folks in Whoville. What was the reason he hated Christmas so much? Dr. Seuss tells us that his heart was two sizes too small.

Where in the world do writers like Dr. Seuss and others get their inspiration for such characters like the Grinch in their Christmas stories? Well a good place to look is in the gospel of Matthew and the events in that original Christmas account. Matthew tells us about another Grinch, King Herod. Herod hated Christmas before he even knew what Christmas was. Like the Grinch, he tried to keep Christmas from coming. He would have killed the baby Jesus had God not warned Joseph to flee to Egypt in a dream. Instead, he killed every baby boy 2 years old and younger just to be sure. He probably would have detained the Wise Men had they not been warned as well. Why did Herod hate Christmas? Like the Grinch, his heart was also the problem. Herod had no room in his heart for anyone except himself. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Herod died an excruciating death. His final disease was sometimes named Herod’s Evil because of the severity of the illness and because of how evil he had been in his life.

That is where King Herod and the Grinch part ways. Unlike Herod, the Grinch had a change of heart. In fact the story says his heart went from being two sizes too small to…well in Whoville they say, that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!

The story of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a Christmas Classic to be sure. But upon close examination of this simple child’s story contains a truth that rings loud and true. A heart can change! A hard heart can feel again. A bitter heart can smile again. A dead heart can be made alive again. All because God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him, shall not die, but have everlasting life!

Merry Christmas!!

Pastor Ricky

merge student ministry

I don’t know if anyone noticed or not, but I haven’t written a newsletter since May! I didn’t even realize it haha. We did have a good summer, and the highlight of our summer was youth camp of course. We took more students this year than any other year, amen!

School just started back up and for me that means that things are back to normal! Merge started back up August 14^th and it’s been great getting to see everyone back again. I miss these kids more than they realize, and we can’t wait to support and encourage them this school year.

We kicked off the school year with our annual “Back 2 School Bash”. This is a great event to get students back to youth group and a way for them to invite their friends as well. I can’t wait to see how God is going to use our students as the school year goes on.

This month we will have our first 5th Quarter on September 6th at Big Red from 10:00-11:00PM. We will provide pizza, but we could use some snacks and drink, and of course some chaperones. If you can help in any of these areas just let me know and thank you!

Something else we have going on this month is our Girl’s Retreat! That will be September 20-21. Spots are limited though, and the cost is $35. I believe there are currently 10 available spots remaining, and sign ups close on the 11^th. If you have any questions, just contact Sascha or myself.

Thank you so for your prayers and support, we love yall!

Carlos

PRAY FOR THE WAR IN ISRAEL

pray that many will come to faith in jesus christ
PRAY FOR THE RELEASE OF THE HOSTAGES
PRAY FOR THE SAFETY OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS AND CHILDREN IN GAZA
PRAY FOR THE SAFETY OF THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES
PRAY FOR THE DEFEAT OF HAMAS
PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

Video click to watch

The Real Story Behind History's Oldest Land Dispute

W. M. U. events

Monday, November 11th The monthly Fellowship Meal was started in order to provide a contact and blessing to the ones to whom it is delivered. If you know anyone who we could be a blessing to by delivering the meal please let us know. We are always looking for people who we could serve. If you would like to join us for the lunch meal, we will begin serving at 11:30 a.m.

Sunday, October 17th will be our monthly WMU Meeting. We will meet in the Activities Center immediately following the morning services. All lades of the church are invited to attend.

Ladies More Mentoring Program

Ladies’ Mentorship Program Begins Soon!!!!

Please pick up a mentor or mentee application from the church foyer TODAY if you would like to be a part of this amazing ministry!

Our mentor training: Mentor Brunch & Training - Saturday, September 21, 2024, Activity Center, 8:00 a.m. - noon.

Mentorship Program begins the first of October! You do not want to miss out on this wonderful opportunity to partner with another woman to grow in our walks with the Lord

Prodigal Prayer

We will begin hosting a Prodigal Prayer meeting each month. This group will meet on the second Thursday of each month. Our first meeting will be on Thursday, September 12th. We will meet in the Church Library from 6:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Children's Church

We will begin holding Children's Church Services two times per month. On the first and third Sundays, the Children Will be dismissed after the song service to attend Children's Church.

Parenting classes

Kent and Mindy Fuller are going to teach a wonderful Parenting Class on Sunday mornings for approximately 8 weeks in the Activity Center, beginning Sunday, September 15th during the Sunday School hour (9:45 - 10:45 a.m)

WMU Fall Food Drive

Thank you to all who brought food for the Fall Food Drive during October. Food is needed for our pantry throughout the year. You can drop off items at the church office at any time.

Business Meeting

On Sunday, November 3rd we will hold a Church Business Meeting. The purpose of the meeting will be to review and discuss the proposed 2025 Church Budget. The meeting will take place during our 6:00 p.m. service. We hope all of our members will make plans to attend.

INGATHERING AND THANKSGIVING DINNER

Our annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Ingathering Auction will be held on Sunday, November 10th. We will serve dinner immediately following the Morning Worship Service, and the Ingathering Auction will follow. If you have items to donate for the auctions, you can bring them by the office at any time.

If you can help prepare the meat or dressing for our meal, a sign up sheet is posted in the foyer. All others can bring a side dish or a dessert to finish off our meal.

This is one of the highlight events of our church year. You do not want to miss it!