Dear Fam,

The Summer Conference was awesome. If you weren't here - listen online, particularly to the Tuesday night (7/9) message - very powerful. We had a great time worshipping, heard great testimonies, ate and laughed a lot, and got called to be imitators of Jesus. One member wrote, "I feel compelled to send a huge thank you to Dr. Jimmy Agan for coming to Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church this week and preaching and teaching a most powerful and rich message. This series has me on the edge of my seat and is all I can think about. I've been a "Christian" most of my life but something the last two nights has changed in my heart and mind. The light switches are being turned on. It's about Jesus! Knowing Jesus! Learning about Jesus! Understanding Jesus! Then and only then can we start to live more like Him and last night the message on Patiently Enduring Hardships and looking at Luke and how Jesus took the worst possible outcomes at his most time of need and was patient, loving, kind, not angry, not demeaning or belittling. The Word has been powerful this week and thank you, thank you, thank you to Dr. Agan. Just awesome. SRPC is Awesome!!!"

• The Willow Creek Leadership Summit is at SRPC on August 8-9. If you are a community leader, business, medical or educational leader, it would be great to come and bring your whole team.

• As you may know, a couple of weeks ago the church staff surprised us (Diane and me) with recognition of our 30th anniversary here. Thank you for celebrating with us and for all those who wrote such beautiful cards and emails filled with affection and appreciation. We cherished each note and think God really likes us to have let us stay here for three decades!

• Our stellar children's ministry director is about ready to pop! Pray, pray, pray for Teri Hill as she is just a week from her due date for the arrival of her firstborn - Iva Jane Hill!

• Project Beautiful was just that! Here's a note we received from the leadership at Crystal River High School, "We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the members of Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church who volunteered their time to come out and help beautify Crystal River High School. We appreciate Robb and Dante Young for organizing the volunteers and gathering materials needed for the campus beautification efforts. As new administrators at Crystal River High School, we were humbled by the outpouring of support shown by the members of Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church. It was emotionally overwhelming to see adults, teenagers, and young children all selflessly working together to support our school. While the end results are more than we could have hoped for, what we truly came away with is the confidence in knowing that we are cared for by our community." Here’s the video!

• "When I go to churches and speak to children, I often start by asking them two questions: First, How many people here sometimes think you have to be good for God to love you? They tentatively raise their hands. I raise my hand along with them. And second, How many people here sometimes think that if you aren’t good, God will stop loving you? Almost without fail they raise their hands. These children think they have to keep the rules or God won’t love them. They think if they mess up God will stop loving them. These children are in Sunday schools. They know all their Bible stories. And they have missed what the Bible is all about." Read the rest of what Sally Lloyd Jones writes about how to teach children the Bible.

• This weekend in worship, we continue to look on the beauty of Jesus in Matthew 9:9-17. We'll be eating together, too -- as we receive the Lord's Supper. It will be great to be in God's house with you this weekend.

Love,

Ray

Marriage Conference, September 13-14!