a glimpse towards Sunday 11.1.13

My family gets a kick out of Halloween.  We like to engage our neighbors and not hide.  We project Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” onto our garage door.  We usually get standing audiences.  This year we made a big cave out of our front porch.   Kids had to come into the cave and get their candy from a creepy old man (Lauren… not me!).  All the while, several adults from our community group sat outside and engaged the beggars of all ages.

All that prep, and then the night’s over.  Just a few candy wrappers in our lawn remain as reminders.

Now the push and preparation points towards Thanksgiving.  I can smell the prep already.  Pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, garden-grown corn, and Aunt Marla’s homemade rolls.  Ohhhh the prep!  And then it’s over.

Only… the push for Christmas will already be underway, and hitting hyper mode with Black Friday.  We ready, prepare, and brace ourselves for such great and big events.  Ever wonder what Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas would be like if we didn’t prepare?

I’m doing a big wedding in a few weeks.  Can you imagine if no preparation was put into such an enormous undertaking?  Imagine the mess and chaos… and disappointment.

On Sunday, we’re talking about preparation.  Jesus said we should be on guard, watch, and prepare for His coming.  What does THAT mean?  Are we even close to the skies splitting?  Sunday’s message takes us into one of the most hotly contested passages of scripture within the whole of the Bible.  We’ll be tackling it head on.  Mark 13:1-27.

What do we do with thoughts of the end times?  How DO we prepare?  How SHOULD we?  An affluent, comfortable culture wonders if such a cosmic event is even worth a second thought.  Desperate folks in third world countries are banking on it.  What do you do with Jesus pointing to a culminating day when the Son of Man comes in the clouds?

Come Sunday and let’s do some prep work.  We’ve prepared a great service to help us apply a difficult text.  Bring a friend.  Who doesn’t like a story with a good ending?

See you on Sunday.  I’m anxious to teach at 9 & 11 a.m.!  REMEMBER, TIME CHANGE IS THIS SUNDAY.  Set your clocks back, and grab an extra hour of sleep before you come to church!

Blessings,

P.S. – Our 24/7 week of prayer is about to start.  Have you signed up for your time slot?  The creative stations are going up, and we’ll be praying transformational prayers.  CLICK HERE to sign up!

Weekly Giving |10/27/2013

$37,155.19

Weekly Need $29,000