Monday Memo

Hi Five Oakers, RSVP/ASAP Here are most of the comments and questions from the weekend Communication Cards:

// I will keep inviting. [Yes!]

// I just love the heart and talent of our worship team. Thanks for serving as you. Thank you Henry for that inspiring message and clarifying our mission. Beautiful closing song!

// Loved Discovery Class! [Sorry to have missed it because I was in Israel. So glad you went and enjoyed.]

// Wow! Powerful and moving message! Thank you for feeding my spirit.

// Thankful for the bold invites who invited us back to Five Oaks… life changing.

// Amen.

// Thank you for an excellent message!

// I like to see communion at the center focus with the lights to the side. [That's the idea. Thanks.]

// I really like the new bulletin. It is much more useful. We are also enjoying the changes with Rush hour and middle school small groups. [Good to hear! Thanks for letting us know.]

// Church is freezing – can they turn heat on soon or turn blowers off please? [Our new system is in need of some adjustments. It was not working in the Worship Center. Sorry.]

// Hi, during the summer I was baptized. I’m a sixth grader. I still tell people about God, but people won’t listen. What should I do? [First of all, don't stop. God wants us to be faithful in our witness, but we have to leave the results to him. But here are a couple of other thoughts. People are often more willing to hear what we are good listeners, show an interest in them and in their thoughts and ideas, treat them respectfully, hang out and have fun, be a good friend, and show a willingness to help them if they need it. But remember, Jesus was all those things, and still most people rejected him. Same with Paul and the new believers in the book of Acts.  So don't quit! In time you will experience some fruit.]

40-Day Guided Journey through Acts

Hi Five Oakers, IMG_9456

If you didn't get started yesterday on The Story of Acts, start today. It's five days of reading each week, so if you read on Saturday, you'll be all ready for Sunday.

If you did not get the book, contact the church office right away at office@fiveoakschurch.org. Kent O'Grady will get a .pdf of the introduction and Week 1 out to you via email.

We are out of books, even though we ordered over a hundred more than we sold for the FOR [ ] series last fall! I am working on preparing an ebook version, but it probably won't be available until later this week. If you bought a print version, the ebook version will be free.

I spent most of the day yesterday working on my sermon for the weekend right there where I took the picture above, with a view of the Mediterranean. Most of the other people in the group were baking in the sun on the beach. I like baking on a beautiful beach, but I'm serious when I say that I preferred what I was doing, getting to work on my sermon in this setting. It was a perfect day! I can't wait to see all of you this weekend and launch our new series through Acts called "Invite."

Blessings, Pastor Henry