Mid-Week Memo

in

Hi Five Oakers,

I have TEN things I want to share with you,

# 1- Dan Lukas did a great job leading worship last weekend. A big thank you to worship band. I love the first song they did for reflection, "Search Me." It's a Dan Lukas original. We've done it at least one other time, and it's a perfect song for reflection and response.

"Search Me"

even the dark is light to you

nothing is hidden from your eyes

steal away the broken lies

breath truth, bring life

search me and know me

discern my thoughts oh God

search me and know me

see if there be any wicked ways

# 2- We looked at another encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees (from Luke 11) and I noted five traits of religious hypocrisy. One was that it is OCD on minors and MIA on majors. I love that a high school student came up afterward with his note sheet and asked what those letters stood for. His note sheet was full of his notes!

# 3- Here are all the comments from the Communication Cards:

  • Great music, great song choice. “Washed White as Snow” was great for Palm Sunday. Nice job Dan. “Let God Arise."
  • If you want people to recite things on the screen, speak slow enough people can get the words out. Music was great!
  • Great job on the worship set. Loved the crescendos! Really appreciating our drummers lately – the nuanced strokes. Henry great example with coffee cup – vivid! Excellent message, Henry! Your pauses and pace were very effective. Great closing song.
  • Great message. Thanks.
  • Great message Henry! It challenged me, especially the part about resisting change.
  • Powerful message. 
  • Henry, thanks for the extra encouragement for the men’s event. Your little tidbit about you and Lois is much appreciated!
  • One of the most powerful messages I can remember. Ever. Thank you. [That means a lot to me coming from you. Thank you.]
  • Good job Dan Lukas.
  • Great job Dan and worship team.
  • Especially appreciated Dan’s call for reflection after Christ be the center of our lives. What would that look like… made me really thing about what I was singing and challenged me to live like that.[I agree. Love the way he went back to that part of the song and asked us to reflect on it. Both Dan and Justin deeply and passionately want to LEAD us into worship...straight from the heart to our hearts toward God.]
  • Thank you worship team.
  • Thanks for your mid-week memo’s Henry. First response song was awesome!
  • Loved the message, but where’s Palm Sunday? [Not sure if you were looking for more of if you missed the Call to Worship at the beginning of worship. That's where we focused on it.]
  • I love Five Oaks – awesome church, awesome people, awesome staff. Thank you.
  • Thanks for your honesty, Henry.
  • Thanks for your promotion of the “Courageous” event. It’s going to be awesome.
  • I forgot my notebook, wished for a small spot to take notes on bulletin, inspired sermons need notes for me to study later. [Not sure if you're aware that we have outlines on tables as you come in. Check it out. If you forget to pick it up, don't be shy. Feel free to get up and go get one. And I'm really glad you take notes and reflect on the message!!!]

# 4- After looking for feedback from a bunch of people we decided to keep our summer outdoor service, baptism, and all-church picnic at Hudson on the St. Croix River. It'll take place on July 22, so put it on the calendar. We want to add some new elements this year to keep it fresh. If you've not been baptised as a believer in Christ, maybe this is your year!

# 5- Jerry Meras is moving along in his plans to bike from CA to MN this summer with a group of Five Oakers to raise money and exposure for Feed My Starving Children (and to fund our event for next year). He met this week with people from FMSC and they are already proving to be a huge help in making this a great event. They are full of great ideas.

# 6- For all of you who love statistics, here's some information on the volume of sound in our worship services in relation to other sounds and OSHA standards for safety:

  • Normal Conversation - 60-65dB
  • Telephone Dial Tone - 80dB
  • Hand Drill - 98dB
  • Snowmobile/Motorcycle - 100dB
  • Mower (at 3 ft) - 107dB
  • OSHA Daily Permissible Noise Levels (hours per day)
    • 90dB - 8 hrs
    • 92dB - 6 hrs
    • 95dB - 4 hrs
    • 97dB - 3 hrs
    • 100dB - 2 hrs
    • 102dB - 1.5 hrs
    • 105dB - 1 hr

We normally run our volume in our gatherings around 93-94dB with peaks up to 95-96dB. Just thought you might be interested.

#7 - The book edition of the 40-day guided journey through the Bible that I wrote arrives this week in time for the next Story of God 7-week small group experience. (Register to attend here.) I did the self-publishing thing through Amazon (great experience), but I hope to make some more edits and seek out a publisher in the coming year. If you have any inroads with any publishers and could put in a word for me, let me know. I think it's a unique tool that can help a lot of people become biblically literate and enhance understanding for people who have been reading the Bible all their lives. 

# 8- The Good Friday service will be very similar to last year. It was very moving and high effective. We ran out of room last year, so arrive early. Sorry, but we're not ready to do two yet. Maybe if we run high again this year we can consider it.

# 9- Easter is going to be awesome because (1) it's all about the resurrection (you can't go wrong with that); (2) we have a great Faith Story on video; (3) we're singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and we're having the full complement of Response Stations;  (4) my message is shaping up really well and focuses on 1 Corinthians 15:13-20 (I've got a great opening illustration that sets things up and serves as a metaphor for the message); (5) Christians will be challenged to live in the reality of the resurrection (and better understand what that means); and (6) the gospel will be clearly presented and people will be crossing the line of faith. It doesn't get any better than that so bring yourself and your unchurched friends and participate as heaven cheers!

# 10- Have you registered for the Easter service you'll be attending? 9:45am on Sunday is closed! Register for an open service here.

God bless you and see you on the greatest weekend of the year,

Pastor Henry