Wednesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here.

#2 – Loved the service of repentance this morning. Simple and simply beautiful time with God. Thanks to Nathan Stocker and Dan Lukas for leading us. Now looking forward to Encounter. Great day focused on launching the season of Lent in a new way for us at Five Oaks.

#3 – Here are your comments from the Communication Cards:

• Beautiful solo on the “You Are Faithful” song. Wonderful job on the first solo, also.
• Thanks for the worship set. Welcome back Ashley! Henry, terrific, paced, set-up to the message today and prayer to ready us for God’s word. Darn you Henry, beautiful message and closing story. I’m a grown man and it made me cry. We have hope!!! Fantastic closing worship set!
• Amazing music this week!
• God is faithful, even when I am not. Praise God!
• The opening song was fantastic. What is the title? 
• Thank you for telling that story, it made me cry! We know boys without much hope, we try to serve them in our home. God bless! 
• Really enjoyed “Never Walk Alone” solo. What a blessing to me this morning and to everyone else in attendance. Thank you.
• This service restores my hope! I so needed this today! 
• Loved Ashley’s passion while worship time, very inspirational, worship was awesome! So glad I’m a true Minnesotan and braved the weather, it was a great sermon and beautiful story.
• Beautiful job Ashley; could feel your awe of God! Welcome back. [Unfortunately for us (and especially for her family) she’s back to Australia at the end of the week.]
• Thank you for the Spirit led setting for a wonderful start to worship, (Opening songs, the reading and quiet time.) followed by a message encouraged me to go to God for – forgiveness, love, hope and a challenge to live for Him. 
• Thank you for letting Ash be part of the worship team this weekend. It will be helpful sending her back – being able to see she is learning! So thanks.
• Sound with feedback/reverb or whatever to loud is during sermon today – usually always for music. 
• Thank you for this message about hope today. I was losing hope in the hardship I have been dealt. 

#4 – Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:1-6, 24-30, “Up Close and Impersonal”:

1. We sin at the most inappropriate times.
2. You can be really up close to God without really loving God.
3. Judas betrayed the location where the leaders could find Jesus when he was away from the crowd.
4. "Judas the Scariest." Chosen as a disciple, mentored for 3 years by Jesus, performed miracles, saw Christ's miracles, and still...
5. What motivated Judas? Greed. And Satan capitalized on it. That’s all the Bible gives us, but it's sufficient explanation for most sins.
6. Failure isn’t final, except when it is.
7. Someone has said “the hand of him who betrayed Jesus has 12 names.” But actually it has many more…
8. Even your epic failure isn’t final until you die apart from God or your heart is permanently hardened to God.
9. Faithfulness is marked by humility, hardship and hope.
10. Stanley: “What do you do when it dawns on you that you’re the most powerful person in the room?”

#5 – Here’s a link to the ESPN magazine story.

This weekend we look at Peter's denial. I love the direction this message is going as I prepare it.

God bless you, Pastor Henry

Thursday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

There are several things I want to share with you today.

#1 – Get a recap of the service with highlights of our prayers, readings and songs here. 

#2 - Remember, Coffee House is on Friday, 7-9pm. Great fellowship, fun, food, beverages and live acoustic music. Here's this year's crazy Coffee House video.

#3 - Here's the Coffee House song from two years ago.

#4 - Here are the comments from the Communication Cards:

• Thank you for today’s message. The worship team was exceptional today!
• Pastor Henry, thanks for your passionate teaching on the Lord’s Supper – answered a ton of questions I had about “rules” of it at different churches. 
• Most freeing communion message ever.
• Pastor Henry, thank you for delivering such a sound message. PREACH IT! 
• Praise God for His church; this church. Keep trusting God, He, through you, is doing great things! 
• Awesome service! And worship. 
• ...This was a pivotal message for me. I have a desperate need for forgiveness; therefore I am worthy.
• That was very good! … it was such freedom when I understood communion the correct way. Thank you for explaining it by God’s word!
• Thankful today for my husbands birthday yesterday and having the opportunity to share another birthday with him!
• Kara, you rock – what a great clear voice for Hosanna. Great music this week.
• The worship set was so nice. Loved the vocals on Hosanna, great lead and harmony. Musical arrangements for all the songs were terrific. Tim, you are so relaxed, fun and thorough in doing announcements. You represent our church so well. Henry, you continued that. We are so blessed to have you guys! What a beautiful touching message. I learned so much from you. The Holy Spirit helps you/directs you in those messages. Thanks for submitting to the Spirit. Great close.
• WOW! A totally new way to look at celebrating communion – and the progression from Passover to Last Supper – an aha moment for me.
• I really missed upbeat music today and needed some. 
• Add paper recycling in the commons. 
• Thanks for AWESOME message and worship. Much needed for me.

#4 – Here’s the sermon in 10 tweets, Luke 22:7-23, “Savoring the Lord’s Supper”:

1. Communion is known by many names: the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the Mass. This was Jesus' 1st and last Communion.
2. The Lord’s Supper is more than an important ritual; it’s an opportunity for reflection.
3. The original Lord’s Supper took place during the Passover meal. It was a Passover meal.
4. The L.S. is the completion of the Passover. Christ's death on the cross is the completion of the entire sacrificial system.
5. It was God's plan all along. He designed Passover and sacrifices to point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
6. Jesus’ ministry on earth was about our exodus from our captivity under sin’s power to freedom in Christ.
7. “Now I come here instead, and I finish the evening with the body of Christ on my tongue, and I wash it down with the blood of Christ.”
8. The Lord’s Supper represents redemption embodied in a meal for a meal with God.
9. Tim Chester: “It’s the real thing begun in a partial way.”
10. Campolo’s father: “Take it, girl! It was meant for you. Do you understand me?”

#5 - Here are some of the Impact activities our small groups, our staff team and some families did this last quarter:

• Prepared and serving breakfast at Dorothy Day.
• Holiday bake sale raised $3K for World Vision.
• Volunteered with the Salvation Army in Somerset, WI, to bag and distribute Christmas gifts.
• Gathered donations for Operation Christmas Child, rang bells for Salvation Army, supported one of their members for the Haiti team.
• Sponsored 11 kids for Christmas through the Friends in Need food shelf serving Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul Park.
• Adopted a couple of families through Friends In Need food shelf in St Paul Park.
• Assisted at the Families Helping Each Other Christmas Party and distribution of toys for Toys for Tots.
• Went to the Woodbury Retirement Center and did activities with the elderly.

I'm blessed by you, your love and your service. Pastor Henry