Mid-Week Memo

Hey Five Oakers,

There are a few things I want to share with you:

#1- This last weekend was the high point of the EVERYTHING series. We looked at Luke 12:35-48, where Jesus talks about life as a trust. We talked about giving an account to God for how we manage his stuff and the consequences of mismanagement. But the reward is quite amazing: he will serve us. As Tim Keller puts it:

“Jesus is saying, ‘…I’m going to gather up all my infinities and all the immensities of my being, all of my omnipotent power, and I’m going to bring it to bear on one thing when I meet you…. I’m going to inflict so much honor, so much joy, so much love, so much glory on you as I can.’

#2- The response time of worship was precious. It was very moving.

#3- We're thrilled that Stephen Kendrick, the co-writer and producer of Courageous, Fireproof and Facing the Giants, will be speaking at a men's event at Five Oaks on April 14 and then preach on Sunday morning the 15th (this is the weekend after Easter). It's going to be quite a weekend!

#4- Two of our staff are a little out of their minds. Tim Bubar (Student Ministries) will go to the youth district conference in Rochester BY FOOT in April...from his house in Cottage Grove...in THREE days! Jerry Meras (Impact Ministries) and a group of fellow nuts are planning to ride their bikes from CA to MN in August to raise money for next years Feed My Starving Children event...in three weeks...100 miles per day! I got so inspired that I went to my first spinning class at the gym this morning at 5:30am and survived. Maybe I'll get in good enough shape to ride my bike all the way across Woodbury some day! By the way, let Jerry know if you're interested in joining his team.

#5- I met my Kids Hope USA student on Monday, and we had our first weekly session! He's in kindergarten and we had a great start. I feel like I'm cheating, but Lois just brought home some materials for me to use with him in our mentor sessions (she's a Reading Specialist). One of the great aspects of this ministry is that every mentor and child has a prayer partner and I'm very thankful for mine.

#6- We received one card back this week from a guest saying, "I really enjoyed the worship music and am planning to bring my wife the next time I come.  Thank you!"

#7 - Have you registered for the Feed Event? Lois has 24 people coming from her school! Is there a group you can invite? Neighbors? Work associates? Register here.

#8- This weekend's message concludes the EVERYTHING series and focuses on our work: our work belongs to God. My hope is that you'll go to work (or school) on Monday with a deeper sense of its meaning and your purpose. The following week we start a three-week series on prayer based on Luke 11.

#9- Worship songs for this weekend include:

• "Glorious"
• "Jesus Paid it All"
• "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)"
• "Strong"
• "Glory to God Forever"

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend, and many blessing to you,

Pastor Henry

Mid-Week Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I have EIGHT things I want to share with you (one day late):

#1- I absolutely loved the choir this last weekend. They sounded great!  It was so high energy and fun backstage with everyone in the "green room." Thank you to all of you sang.

#2- Justin introduced a new song that's not easy to sing the first time around but I think it will be a favorite before long. And Tim did a great job teaching on influence from Daniel 2 in our EVERYTHING series. Even our influence belongs to God.

#3- Looks like some of us will start mentoring our Kids Hope students next week. Some of us went to a monthly convocation at Woodbury Elementary yesterday, met the principle and checked out the mentoring room. Looks like I'm being matched to a kindergartner. I can't wait to meet him.

#4- I'm starting a new three-week series on prayer based on Luke 11 in a couple of weeks. We're going to be selling copies of "A Praying Life" by Paul Miller at a reduced price during the series. It's the best book I've read on prayer. I can't recommend it enough. We also have ESV Study Bibles available at the Resources & Registrations table.

#5- Dale Peterson is one of the pastors at Eagle Brook Church. Dale is passionate about the church, reaching lost people and leadership. For a couple of years I was part of a pastor cohort he led through the Eagle Brook Association. Dale keeps in touch with all the pastors that have participated. Here's some really great news he passed on to us about recorded first-time decision in the last six months among the 30 churches that have been in a cohort (including us and Eagle Brook): 3,545! That's not a typo!

#6- Another small group doing Impact story: The Gerbigs are adopting a child from Uganda. AnaLisa (she was one of the choir leaders on the weekend) and her mom are there right now working in the orphanage for a week before bringing home their child, and their small group sent them oof with a care package and a financial gift for the orphanage.

#7- I think we're up to about 21 people (including Lois and me) in our Story of God group. If you haven't experienced this yet, we'll offer it again this spring, some time after Easter. Learn the framework of the Story and you'll understand the Bible better for the rest of your life.

#8- This weekend is week five of the EVERYTHING series. We're looking at the "Salvation" scene and a passage where Jesus tells several parables that drive home the entire theme of this series in a powerful and very encouraging way. Jesus says that if we orient EVERYTHING toward him, he will do two absolutely amazing things for us. Come and see what they are.

Hope to see you on the weekend.

Blessings to you,

Pastor Henry