Dear Fam,
Kickoff weekend is this Saturday & Sunday. No - this isn't yet the beginning of college football or the NFL - we have to wait another agonizing week or two for that! This is the weekend we kickoff the new church year. What makes this weekend a "can't miss" weekend other than the fact that we'll have a virtual plethora of balloons, signs and banners that say, "Kickoff Weekend?" We'll have signups for small groups, education classes, Pastor's Class, joyous worship, preaching from our new sermon series, "A Heart for God" and food. We'll have fresh pretzel bites and sodas on Saturday night and a blizzard of belly-busting doughnuts on Sunday morning! The best part of the weekend will be having everyone back together in the Father's house ready to reengage in the mission He has given us!
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As we begin a new year together, it's a good
time to remember why there is an SRPC. "SPRC exists to see broken people
healed through experiencing the grace of God, through inclusion in the family
of God and through service in the mission of God."
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What are the defining characteristics of SRPC?
These are not listed in order of importance and are not always true of us. They
are the church we aspire to be.
§ Honesty--SRPC is
to be a safe place to be honest. There is a profound starvation for
authenticity in our culture. If the goal is to look like we have it all
together, we would just have to do a lot of pretending and there would be a lot
of self-delusion. The goal is to rest in Jesus' "perfection" and
respond to it with trust, love and joyful obedience. Only the broken need the
Healer.
§ Generosity--We
give stuff away. Visitor gifts, children's ministry swag, coffee, scholarships
to everything, Bibles, cokes, ice cream.
§ Gospel Centrality--The
Bible is principally a story about what God has done for us, not what we are to
do for him. What God has accomplished via double imputation is not only the
pardon of our sins but the adoption into the family and favor of God. At SRPC,
the sins of the "religious" are challenged as much or more than the
sins of the prodigals. Thus prodigals find the church safe and older brothers
have their self-righteousness exposed.
§ Change--We are
not afraid of change because we are not afraid of disappointing God or making a
mistake. We don't have to find security in nostalgically preserving past
practices; our security is in our Father's unchanging love for us.
§ Children-focused--We
believe that Jesus is crazy about children and we should be as well. We are
passionate about successfully handing the baton of faith to the next generation
(Matthew 19:14, 18:6).
§ Unity--We don't
waste time on internecine infighting. We spend our energy on the mission.
Church, school, elders, staff, old, young - we are one family.
§ Laughter--Healthy
families laugh together a lot. We have a great Dad and his children love to
laugh together.
§ Community--We
are committed to be family for a community without one. The space dedicated in
our sanctuary building for being together bears out this value as does the
astounding number of small groups committed to doing life together.
§ Welcome--We have
become an amazing hodgepodge of broken people--Celebrate Recovery, The Path,
Teen MOPS, New Horizons, Grief Share, divorced, sexually addicted . . . as we
have been welcomed by the Father, we welcome.
§ Expectancy--God
is at work. He is always at work to accomplish his purpose. Every gathering is
approached with expectant wonder anticipating what God will do to bring healing
and renewal to another person or family.
§ Presence--In a
community of transience, SRPC and its leadership is committed to stay--to be
faithfully present here so that our community might flourish.
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Marriage Conference is September 13-14--What Did You Expect? Redeeming
the Realities of Marriage. It won't take long for you to realize
that your marriage hasn't escaped the reality of sin or the brokenness of the
world. It's what you do next that will make all the difference in the world in
the character and quality of your marriage. Have you ever wondered why some
couples reach a place of unity, love, and understanding in their marriages
while other couples seem trapped in the same struggles year, after year, after
year? The surrounding culture would lead us to believe that a marriage of
unity, love, and understanding is rooted in romance. Scripture would rather say
that a good marriage is the result of worship. Does this confuse you? Then,
this marriage conference is for you. Learn how practical these insights are for
the everyday issues and situations of a real marriage; and, learn the practical
steps that will help couples know how to get from where they are, to where God
wants them to be. "When Paul Tripp teaches, preaches or writes he does so
through the lenses of the Gospel. In 'What Did You Expect' Paul faithfully and
brilliantly lets the Gospel bear its weight on the messiness and beauty of
marriage. I found the book to be helpful personally and we use it extensively
at The Village." - (Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Dallas,
Texas). This conference is for designed for married couples of all ages as well
as SINGLES! One single said, “I really enjoyed the conference even though I am
single. I felt that it wasn’t awkward to be here, and that the information was
very helpful in terms of all relationships, and it was great to shatter
illusions of the idea of marriage as what satisfies, and to help prepare for
dating and eventually a marriage relationship.” Sign up at church or online.
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The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible
and it deals with the oldest question in human history – suffering. Job is a
dramatic story of pain, loss, justice, God's sovereignty, bad advice, tragedy,
eloquent speeches, and mercy. While this story takes us headlong into suffering
as a question it pulls us into the larger question of God himself. Many have
found in studying Job, that they are drawn in not simply as an observer, but as
a participant walking with Job to meet God at depths previously not thought
possible. Taught by Adam Jones. Click here for more
information or to register.
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I take particular delight in seeing the
fruitfulness of sons and daughters of SRPC in other places. Here's
the latest from Phil Gelston - who came to SRPC without mom or dad and was
converted in the student ministry.
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This weekend I'm preaching on 1 Samuel 16:1-13.
Did I say there would be doughnuts? See you there!
Ray
August 8, 2013
Dear Fam,
It's great to look back and remember the ways God blessd us in 2012/2013 at SRPC:
- Summer conference with Jimmy Agan—solid teaching, sweet worship, encouraging testimonies, good food!
- Growth—attendance was up though our local community was down. A whole host of newcomers began attending SRPC.
- Christmas Concert & American Hymn Festival were great.
- Camp Seven Rivers—great leadership, staff and attendance. We added two weeks and pulled if off “effortlessly.”
- The MORE Campaign—what’s not to like! The congregation ate it up from beginning to end. The home groups, the large group events, the financial commitment was stunning!
- SRCS Revival—Dana James’ leadership, the church’s support, an incredible faculty and academic excellence have led to the community wanting an SRCS education for their children. We have had the best single year of admission growth in our history.
- New Staff/Young Staff/Talented Staff—Marty Cates arrived to lead our student ministry. Steve Stack took over our Building and Grounds team. Jillian Folkerts and Emily Pullen were hired to strengthen women’s, children’s and student ministries. All our young staff recently hired—Brandon Lauranzon, Chad Robison, Adam Hill, Teri Hill are thriving in their jobs and have made SRPC a more dynamic places.
- Adult Education Classes were pursued voraciously—Everything we offered met with heightened interest, the Church History and Marriage Classes had 150-200 attendees in each!
- Powerful Moments—The SRCS Children lining the roadway as fallen soldier, Kevin O’Rourke’s casket came down Highway 44 and into our parking lot for his memorial service. Markindey Sineus singing, “Be Still My Soul” at his mother’s funeral. Steve Saint playing corn hole with his grandchildren in the narthex in June—the culmination of a year of painful but powerful healing from his spinal injury.
- Staff Babies
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Noelle Hope
Lauranzon
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Hattie-Grace
Virginia Cates
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Iva Jane Hill
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- Summer Sundays, Family Missions Trip, Caryn Poloske, new screens and projectors in sanctuary, the DR Team, Party on the Lawn I & II, Beauty and the Beast, Community Outreach at the Scallop Jam and Inverness Christmas Parade, Aimee Kelso leading MOPS, Jeff Brake leading Celebrate Recovery, video testimonies, Christmas Eve, Willow Leadership Summit, sermon discussion small groups, remodeled school offices, preaching on the “Old Paths,” Middle School Edge retreat and High School Breakaway at Hilton Head. In 2012/2013, SRPC felt the smile of our Heavenly Father. Praise be to our great God.
- I'll see you this weekend in worship as we conclude the Beauty of Jesus series and celebrate the Lord's Supper together.
Love,
Ray
