Mid-Week Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

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

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

#2 – Some of you noticed the signs last weekend about Radio Drive closing soon. We’ll be sending out information about that very soon. We knew work was coming and that the plan was to only close the road when a new tunnel was built and Hargis Parkway would serve as a detour. The plans changed on both fronts and no one informed us. They admit it was an oversight and have agreed to put up a sign or two south of us informing traffic that the road is open up to the church. It’s very disappointing and troublesome for us that the road coming from the north is going to be closed for 8 weeks, but the city’s reasoning is sound. We will have to make due. The detour is Woodlane to Military to Radio. We will post maps on our website and inform people on our phone message.

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

• Thanks Dan and folks for a really nice worship set. Loved talk about Jesus being at the center of our lives. Henry this series in Luke has been fantastic and transformative for my family. Thanks for the great message prayer card idea. Thanks also for challenging and exciting us about this next series. Great closing song!
• Savior King – powerful truth in the lyrics.
• Great opening set! We love you Dan. Great response set! Concert quality! 
• Music good. Solo great. Last song. Started a little rough rhythm, hard to follow at first. 
• My Savior King – beautiful. Thanks for great leadership of worship, Dan! So moving! Loved it!
• I miss Justin. 
• Liked last song. Okay Henry, will do! 
• Great message Henry! Thank you! 
• Just wanted to thank you for the Men’s Ministry. It is a wonderful ministry!
• Henry, thank you for the way you bring the scriptures alive in my life!
• What are we doing when the road is closed! That message was so great!
• With the blocking off of Radio Dr. will there be an alternate route to get to Five Oaks? [See #2 above.]
• You missed an important part of our mission – vs. 24:49. We are indeed with power from the Holy Spirit. [You must have been writing this note while I was talking about it. Ha, ha. Actually, I only called attention to it but did not expound.]
• As a visitor, I was sad there were no musical notes to read as we sang, so I didn’t sing. No hymnals?!
• I had a light bulb moment today… realizing that I’ve always known I’m custom-made and not cookie-cutter made! It will help me go forth better today!
• What a wonderful custom-designed personal message and challenge. In search of a mission. A great small group study topic, too – which is coming! 

#4 – In case you weren’t here when we played this in the service, this is a video that will be featured in our new website and you can use to introduce people to Five Oaks.

#5 – It’s the last weekend for the silent auction! Some great stuff there and a great cause. Don’t miss it.

#6 – Sign-ups for small groups continue this weekend.

#7 – Loving our new Story of God group. Great discussion last night. I keep learning something new each time I do this. And it was so great to hear from some of the folks what had motivated them to do it. One person shared that I had said SOG is a great thing to do if you’re searching for hope and she’s needing some hope right now. God’s story, a better understanding of his character and a better understanding of his Word brings joy. No doubt about it!

#8 - Here’s the sermon in 10 Tweets, week one of “The Mission of God” series, “It’s all Part of the Plan” (Luke 24:13-52):

1. God doesn't custom-make a mission for you like you do for your kids when they're bored. He does something infinitely better.
2. 2 disciples headed out of Jerusalem on the day he was to rise in Jerusalem. Even after hearing he's alive! They're walking away from hope
3. Jesus gives them room to talk. We’re surrounded by people walking away from hope. Walk with them. Give them room to talk.
4. Jesus shows them from the Bible that the whole Bible points to him, his death and his resurrection.
5. He reveals to the disciples through the Word & breaking of bread.
6. There's no better way to introduce people to Christ than getting them into the story of God in his Word.
7. Chester: Their eyes are opened around the table because the Scriptures were opened to them on the road.
8. Jesus adds one more element in the upper room. The whole Bible is not just about  him; it's also about the continuing mission through us.
9. The apostles never repeat the Great Commission from Jesus but they continually recall the Great Commission from the OT.
10. Your mission isn’t custom-made for you; you are custom-made for God’s mission.

#9 – Here’s the comment we received back from the cards we send first-time guests:

3/31 - Easter – it was a very nice service.  Enjoyed meeting all of you.  Thank you.

See you all on the weekend!

God bless you, Pastor Henry

Mid-Week Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

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

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

#2 – What a great weekend of worship and the proclamation of the gospel story through our Good Friday and Easter services! It was all an incredible spiritual meal for my soul.

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

• Thanks for the reminder, despair and worry need not and should not consume me – I have hope! 
• Wonderful message of hope, Henry!
• Loved Sarah’s faith story.
• Thanks for a beautiful service! 
• Really like the new program!
• Good service, thanks Pastor Henry. Happy Easter! 
• Who am I to think my sins are any worse, I am forgiven!
• Henry, I appreciate the personal antidotes especially the story of Russ and Lynn [from last week]– wow!
• I really needed to hear that my failures don’t determine my destiny. I like Dan’s Mr. Roger's sweater too!
• Great music – How Great Thou Art – wonderful worship. Moving and motivating – faith story. praise God for His goodness, forgiveness, salvation, power and love. 
• Powerful music! Beautiful.
• Sarah, you are a beautiful woman. A beautiful Godly woman. Pastor Henry, thank you for this message. 
• Great choices on worship sets! Thanks for energy and joy in song. Henry, eight words led to difficult destiny – I love it! Thanks God. 
• New program format is great, really like seeing the songs we are going to sing. The map of worship stations is good addition.
• Thanks for the terrific, beautiful opening. Thanks Jesus!
• Great message, Henry. Thank you so much for sharing God’s great news for us with us! Powerful testimony from Sarah Bower – thank you. 
• Happy Easter!
• He is Risen, Indeed! 
• Alleluia! 
• Thank you for the nice service! 
• Pastor, I understood intent of analogy of Pope and beggar, but am not sure if some may have misunderstood it thinking you may be ascribing credit to Pope’s authority, otherwise I can only thank God for all your preaching and teaching. God bless. [Just need to say that I didn’t tell that story in every service because of time issues, in case some of you are wondering.]
• Great service – loved the songs, message and faith story.
• Willing to give it ALL for Him.
• Great time of worship.  Thanks for sharing the faith story!
• Wonderful service.  Thank you.
• Great service! 
• Great service – music and message were perfect.
• Beautiful service Henry – BUT still appreciate the ‘Dark’ service 6 years ago that kept us here.  Worship team was fabulous – I had chills! 
• Really needed the message today.  Thank you Pastor Henry!  Sara’s message was so touching and a great reminder/example that there is ALWAYS hope!
• Thanks for the great service!
• Thank you Henry, and nice Dan L.  Loved story of beggar and Pope.  Sara B’s story, too – choked me up, reminded me to never lose hope.  Have missed church w/all of you! 

#4 – Here’s the Easter Faith Story video. 

#5 – About 17 adults and children indicated a first-time decision to receive Christ and almost as many adults indicated a desire to learn more about beginning a relationship with Christ!   

#6 – Lois and I launched another Story of God small group last night with an orientation and fellowship time. I always look forward to the insights the group members bring from their reading. We discuss our first week of readings next week.

#7 - Here’s the Easter sermon in 10 Tweets, “Risen” (Luke 24:1-12):

1. We deny death’s inevitability; God denies death its power.
2. They came thinking death had defeated but learned that he had defeated death.
3. You can cheat death once or twice, but eventually death catches on and beats you.
4. “…then all who belong to Christ will be raised…” (1 Corinthians 15:23)
5. Our hope trumps our troubles.
6. Neuhaus: The times may be bad, but they are the only times we are given. Remember, hope is still a virtue, & despair is still a sin.
7. Our hope trumps our troubles because it’s based on God’s Word.
8. Your failures don’t determine your destiny. This truth is captured in 8 simple words: But Peter rose and ran to the tomb... 
9. Apart from the resurrection, what do you think would have determined Peter’s destiny.
10. If you're life feels stuck, meaningless, the product of your mistakes, be/ of the resurrection, your failures don't determine ur destiny.

#8 – I feel very sad that we’re wrapping up Luke this weekend. In some ways, though, this next series, “The Mission of God,” is a commentary on Luke 24:47 and we're launching the series this weekend by focusing on last passage in Luke. I’ll explain how so this week. It’s an incredible but often overlooked verse that will send us on a search of God’s mission from the entire Bible and of our role in that mission.  

#9 – Here’s the comment we received back from the cards we send first-time guests:

3/24 We loved the sermon and will come back for Easter. We are new in town from IL.  My church from there (Willow Creek Community Church) emailed me a list of churches and yours was one of them.

See you all on the weekend!

God bless you, Pastor Henry