Connect @ Grace

This summer, 15 of our High School Students attended a conference and witnessed a movie, Love Costs Everything (watch the trailer here) - a documentary about the real-life heroic struggle of Christians facing persecution because they live and love as Jesus taught.

As a response the this film 4 of our students committed to raise $2000 each – an $8000 goal.  The money being raised for this is directly going to help support the persecuted church in India, through the mission of Central India Christian Mission.

Already to date, our students have raised a little over $6000 towards their goal.  Through the Pizza Hut tip night the students plan to raise the remaining $2000.  Please join us that evening!  RSVP through Facebook.  Let’s pack the HUT!.

Way to go Grace Fellowship!!!  Our first blood drive was a HUGE success!!!

Our goal was 75 donors…

Eighty-three registered in to donate…19 were deferred (not able to give due to anemia, recent surgery, etc.)…64 successful donations take by the Red Cross.  The average drive is 20-30 donors.  They were very excited that 31 donors were “first timers!”

The amount of blood donated on this ONE night will help approximately 192 hospitalized patients!  One of the best parts of the evening was when the Red Cross was cleaning up and wanted to know what time our services were!!  They said they noticed how kind the donors were to them and each other!

A year ago, the folks at Orange that produce the curriculum we use in Maliki Land (preK) and Rush Hour (elementary) put out an app that helps Parents to connect each week with their family.  Now PreK content is included in the App!

Parent Cue App provides parents with simple Cues throughout the week that remind them to pause and make the most of everyday moments with their family. Every month, Parent Cue will focus on the same ideas that we focus on in Maliki Land & Rush Hour so it makes it easy for the church and the home to stay Orange. This resource can be purchased in the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace; or search for it by entering ParentCue. It could be the best $1.99 you spend this week!

Dear Parents:

CONGRATULATIONS!  We are so glad to have the opportunity to celebrate with you.  You have been entrusted with the precious gift of new life, and we look forward to partnering with you as you embark on this parenting journey.  We hope the Baby Dedication Celebration will be a memorable occasion for you and your family.

Baby Dedication Celebration is not just an event; it is the beginning of a partnership.  We want to do more than throw a party.  We want to approach this milestone with purpose.  As your church, we are one of your greatest supporters, cheerleaders and guides.  We hope that this time of Baby Dedication Celebration will be a first step in our partnership together.

Here are the steps we’d like to walk through with you:

STEP 1) LISTEN TO THE PARENTING TALKS PROVIDED AND COMPLETE THE HOMEWORK.

This is an important first step in the process because we want to inspire you to invest in the things that will matter the most to your child’s future. We want to help you get off to a great start as you parent your new baby.  To receive a packet, please call the office (987-7763) or email Jonathon at jmitchell@connetatgrace.org.

STEP 2) ATTEND THE PARENT ORIENTATION ON EITHER MAY 8^TH OR MAY 14^TH.

Once you have listened to the parenting talks and completed the homework, please call the office (987-7763) to RSVP for the night you will be attending. The Parent Orientation will be May 8^th or May 14^th from 6:30-7:00 pm.

At this orientation, we will share important information about our preschool environment and give you some of the last “need to knows” about our Baby Dedication Celebration.  Feel free to bring your baby with you.  This orientation will not

STEP 3) LET’S CELEBRATE!

That’s right! The last step in the process is to attend our Baby Dedication Celebration on May 20thduring the main services.

You will be the greatest influence in your child’s life. As your church, we want to be your biggest fan and trusted guide. We look forward to celebrating this special day with you.

You will learn the specific details concerning this event at the Parent Orientation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: jmitchell@connectatgrace.org or call 987-7763.

by Jonathon Mitchell

A few weeks ago, I sat in church listening to a woman in our congregation share a communion meditation about God’ generosity towards us.

She shared a common thread of thought that I’ve heard before.  Edna is the mother of an only child.  I’m an only child.  Edna shared the thought that she’s not sure she could give up her one and only son like God did.  She told the people seated, “I love you.  But I couldn’t give up my son for you.”  And the thought came over me, “neither could I!”

But then it hit me.  God is not selfish.  Duh!  You probably read the title and thought that.  But hear me out…

There is not a selfish bone in God’s body.  Selfishness is sinfulness, and sin and God are two things that CANNOT coexist.  God is not selfish!  I cannot presume to understand how God thinks – he is God, and I am human and sinful – but I would argue that God sending his son to Earth to die in order for us to be restored to him was not a decision that took him a while to come to.  ”I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15 ESV).  This was an immediate response of God to when sin entered creation.  God knew that his son Jesus was going to be the one to conquer sin and restore his creation back to Him.

I don’t feel like I’ve completely resolved this thought in my own head, but I do feel like it’s something to think about.

Nobody likes it when the church talks about money.  Ironic, since Jesus talked about it more than heaven, hell and salvation combined.  That’s the thing about Jesus; he’s not afraid of the truth.  We are.  We don’t like to admit we’re so tied to our possessions that we find it difficult to trust God for our needs.  We don’t like it when we’re challenged to release what we think we need to survive.  We don’t like it when we’re faced with our lifestyle choices that reflect more selfishness than service.

Yesterday I spoke on greed.  Greed tempts us to buy more than we need, to own more than we can use and to keep for ourselves what God wants us to share with others.  It is driven by the fear that you will not have enough.  It is idolatrous in that is causes us to seek our identity, our security and our comfort from the things of this world rather than the God of this world.  You can’t serve both God and money.  It’s a struggle we don’t like to admit and one we will not fully conquer this side of heaven.

But there’s good news.  At Grace Fellowship we are learning more and more the joy of generosity.  Two weeks ago Grace Fellowship raised over $7000.00 in our Gracepalooza Extravaganza to send 14 children to Royal Family Kids Camp this summer.  One week later these same believers raised nearly $6000.00 to rebuild the church in India through Central India Christian Mission, after watching Love Costs Everything.  And in the midst of this generosity Grace Fellowship received two of its largest general fund offerings ever!  In three weeks time over $55,000 was given to extend the kingdom of God in our world.

Jesus told us the truth:  we are far happier giving than receiving (Acts 20:35)!

by: Jonathon Mitchell

We’ve been covering a lot of turf in Rules of Engagement as we’ve walked through the Armor of God, and how God has equipped us w

ith everything we need to handle all that Satan throws at us.

I wanted to give you a some more details and resources from today’s sermon, The Power of Prayer.

I read the story of The Lord’s Prayer from The Jesus Storybook Bible. 

Also, if you’d like a day-by-day way to pray for yourself, your spouse (or future spouse) and your kids, download this guide here:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3388407/prayer%20list%20for%20husband%2C%20children%2C%20myself.pdf

We’d love to hear how God has impacted and changed your outlook through this series.  Leave us a comment, and let us know.

Persecution is a reality for nearly 200 million Christians around the world.  Daily, they risk their lives simply because they believe in Jesus.  They could surrender, or convert, or quit but the love of Jesus is worth the sacrifice.  For many of them, this road leads to death.

This simulcast features the critically acclaimed documentary film, “Love Costs Everything” with an important message from Francis Chan and features experts on the subject of the persecuted church.

Traveling from the jungles of Columbia to the war-torn streets of Bagdad, “Love Costs Everything” tells real-life stories of Christians standing firm in the face of death.

Details:  Sunday, March 11th.  Dinner @ 5 pm.  Movie begins at 6 pm.

Use the Connection Card on Sunday to indicate your interest and number of family members attending.  This event is being sponsored by the following teens: Mackenzie DeMars, Logan Anderson, Colin Fritts, Kaitlyn Dock, Tatyana Hemphill who have pledged to raise $8000 for the persecuted church in India for CIY in association with the Voice of the Martyrs.  A FREE WILL OFFERING WILL BE RECEIVED. 

(*Note to Parents: This is a PG-13 movie.  Due to the graphic nature of the content in this film, children will be dismissed into the Rush Hour room for activities following the dinner.)

by: Jan Perzee

Two weeks ago, while on a mission trip to put a roof on a Christian school, I attended church in Miguel Aleman, Mexico.  This church is located in a border town which has experienced a tremendous amount of violence over the last couple years.   At the time we were there things were relatively peaceful because the presence of the military is extremely evident.  But the signs of past violence are everywhere.  The hotel we stayed at had bullet holes in some of the glass windows and we saw a bombed out home courtesy of the drug cartel. We also heard stories of the children, at the school we were working on, having to sleep under their beds because of gun fire outside and not being allowed to go outside to play for months.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I entered their church, and was surprised at the joy, love and excitement experienced in worship.  I enjoy our worship time here at Grace, but they put us to shame.  As I stood there worshiping a feeling of recognition came over me.  I remembered a time after the loss of our son and daughter when I thought maybe I’d never experience joy again, but our daughter Juli had this barn dance every year with her friends, so we went.  And as we danced together suddenly there was this explosion of joy among us.  We talked about it afterward and finally decided that after you’ve been in the pits of despair you are more able to appreciate and experience the emotion of joy.

I think that’s what I experienced at that church.  They had been through a terrible time together.  The Bible sometimes speaks of this as being refined as by fire.  On the other side they came out realizing what things were most important and what was not important at all.  Their love for God and each other was obvious. They had become a true community of believers.

The verse that kept coming to mind was Hebrews 12:2 speaking of Jesus- “Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame.”  When Jesus decided to go to the cross for us, he knew this was going to be a horrible experience, so instead of focusing on the terribleness of the cross, he instead focused on the joy that he would experience afterward in the people who would be rescued from sin and hell.  I know some of you are experiencing tough times right now and you may be wondering if you’ll ever feel joy again.  If you press into Jesus, if your hope is in Him, I promise that you will come out on the other side refined like gold and full of joy.