An independent Baptist church.
Archive for December, 2011
I’m thankful for… the BIBLE!
I liked Keli’s testimony at the Praise and Pie night a couple weeks ago.
Is that your heart?
I hope so. That’s what the whole Bible Study series is about. Learning to hear what God said and, through that, what He is saying through His Word. You HAVE to get this. You HAVE to learn and know your Bibles. If you don’t, who will? If you think you’ll make it in life any other way, what way is that?!
I’m thankful for all of you who came out to church tonight, and my wife and I miss you very much. We’re still in Indiana, but we’ll see you Sunday, Lord willing. (Unless, of course, there’s anarchy and you all revolt or something… Hopefully Bro. Ken’s not planning some kind of overthrow… Hmm…)
Strange thought. Sorry. Love God, love others, do right.
Bro. Ryan
WINTER RENDEZVOUS DEPOSIT DUE – THIS SUNDAY, DEC. 4
We are asking for a $40 deposit if you are planning on going to the Winter Rendezvous on Thursday, January 5 – Saturday, January 7.
TOF CHRISTMAS PARTY – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
Please bring a snack to share and a $5 gift for a gift exchange. More details to come later.
BELL CHOIR PRACTICE – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11
If you volunteered to help, please meet in the sanctuary at 5 pm for practice.
WELCOME!
I pray you had a great Thanksgiving break.
I know you all can’t wait to get back to school, but there’s only one more day! (Oh don’t remind me, Bro. Ryan! Why do you gotta be like that?!)
Sorry. It’s part of my job.
Were you thankful this week? Last Sunday night at the Praise and Pie service in the Fellowship Hall, it was like we ran out of time because SO many people had SO much to be thankful for! What a blessing it was to hear so many of you speaking up, and we thank God for you.
Mrs. Jamie and I are in Indiana right now, and we REALLY hope your services go well this morning. Contribute to the preaching ministry of our church by doing YOUR part in Sunday school today. Remember?
- Say Amen!
- Use your Bible
- Stay awake
- Sit up
- Don’t talk
- Pre-read the text (if you know it!)
- Change
We sure love and miss you! Take care and we’ll see you next week,
Bro. Ryan
LORD’S SUPPER – TONIGHT
Don’t forget to go sit with your family during the invitation time so that you are sitting by them when you partake of the Lord’s Supper.
WINTER RENDEZVOUS DEPOSIT DUE – SUNDAY, DEC. 4
We are asking for a $40 deposit if you are planning on going to the Winter Rendezvous on Thursday, January 5 – Saturday, January 7.
TOF CHRISTMAS PARTY – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
Please bring a snack to share and a $5 gift for a gift exchange. More details to come later.
BELL CHOIR PRACTICE – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11
If you volunteered to help, please meet in the sanctuary at 5 pm for practice.
BE SPECIFICALLY THANKFUL
…or it’s not thankfulness.
Last Sunday was a huge blessing… Lexi and Keli took the initiative after church was out to ask Mrs. Rench who Mary Wright was, find her, introduce themselves and thank her for donating all the books and print materials for the Be Our Guest outreach.
You should have seen Mary’s face after they thanked her… priceless.
In fact, Mary practically yelled at me afterwards… “Bro. Ryan, you’d better stop telling your kids to come up and thank me… they’re making me CRY too much!!” J I’m not telling you to stop… keep it up!
SHE was thankful that YOU were thankful. Isn’t that a cool cycle? One person does something nice, is thanked, wants to do more, the “thanker” feels good that the “thankee” liked the thanks, and thanks others, and those “thankees” like to be thanked, so they become “thankers” of others… You get the point.
Be thankful. Be specifically thankful. “God, thank you for loving me.” Sure, that’s good… but how about, “God, even though I was a lying, blaspheming, adulterous thief, thank you for STILL sending your Son to die for me and take my sins away when I accepted Him as my Savior.”
Like I wrote on Sunday… Don’t be too general; be specific and write it down. Don’t write, “Be thankful,” write:
- Ask Bro. Ryan or Bro. Ken to point out Mary Wright
- Thank Mary Wright for the notebooks.
- Write mom and dad a thank-you note.
You’re a blessing to us and we thank God for you basically every day. I really mean that.
Bro. Ryan
QUICK MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY – TONIGHT
Anyone who’s available for a few minutes after church, please stick around to help Mrs. Rench put out our Christmas hymn books. It won’t take very long.
WINTER RENDEZVOUS DEPOSIT DUE – SUNDAY, DEC. 4
We are asking for a $40 deposit if you are planning on going to the Winter Rendezvous on Thursday, January 5 – Saturday, January 7.
TOF CHRISTMAS PARTY – THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
This will be at Bro. Ryan’s house from 4-7pm. Please bring a snack to share and a $5 gift for a gift exchange.
BELL CHOIR PRACTICE – NEXT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11
If you volunteered to help, please meet in the sanctuary at 5 pm for practice.
WELCOME!
I try to work on my productivity as much as I can. One book that I found particularly helpful is called Getting Things Done, and a MAJOR step in his process is writing things down.
So I try to write everything down. Phone calls come in, I grab a pen and write down the salesman’s name and use it. Someone asks me for something… I pull out a pen and paper and write it down so I won’t forget. When I get to my office, especially after a Sunday, I go through all my notes and things to do. I hate forgetting things, and I hate letting people down. Writing it helps me.
One reason you all received a notebook was to help you write things down. Taking notes is a valuable skill to learn, because any time you make a commitment to do something (“Sure, I’ll bring that to you next week…”), you obligate yourself to either do it or be a liar. “I forgot.” Well, you still lied.
I try to write everything I can down, and I use a little checkbox system. Every time you hear something you need to do, write it down and put a little empty box next to it. When you do it, check-off the box. Simple or huge, write every little step and check it off, one by one. Don’t be too general; be specific. Don’t write, “Be thankful,” write:
- Ask Bro. Ryan or Bro. Ken to point out Mary Wright
- Thank Mary Wright for the notebooks.
- Write mom and dad a thank-you note.
Step by step. Don’t write, “clean up facebook wall,” write:
- Unfriend ____
- Post a Bible verse
- Delete all posts with profanity
- Revisit my profile page and compare each listing to Phi. 4:8-9
Life is made up of specifics. So get specific and be productive. Take notes! Write it down. It will help you. Enjoy your books!
Bro. Ryan
PRAISE & PIE HELPERS NEEDED – TONIGHT
Any ladies who can help cut pies and help with the serving tonight, please be at the church kitchen by 5:30 pm.
MIXED ENSEMBLE – 5:30 practice tonight.
QUICK MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY – THIS WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23
Anyone who’s available for a few minutes after church, please stick around to help Mrs. Rench put out our Christmas hymn books. It won’t take very long.
WINTER RENDEZVOUS DEPOSIT DUE – SUNDAY, DEC. 4
We are asking for a $40 deposit if you are planning on going to the Winter Rendezvous on Thursday, January 5 – Saturday, January 7.
TOF CHRISTMAS PARTY – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
Please bring a snack to share and a $5 gift for a gift exchange. More details to come later.
“BE OUR GUEST” WEDNESDAY
was last week.
What?! Do you want MORE stuff?!
Hey people!
I’ve been working this week on several things, including two MAJOR events that I’m getting very excited about: the Youth Winter Rendezvous and the Preaching Rally!
The Youth Winter Rendezvous this year will be in Wrightwood, CA, at an actual campground. Meaning, we’ll have ping pong and foosball and all that, and we’re going with Lighthouse Baptist Moreno Valley and Liberty Baptist Newport Beach. The three of us youth pastors will be preaching the four sessions we’ll have, and I’m uber-excited (that’s like… super-super excited) about the week (Jan. 5-7, 2012).
Also, the Preaching Rally is coming together nicely, and I am already praying that it is an impactful day. I sent Mrs. Mary the graphics yesterday (by the way, don’t forget to find out who she is and thank her!), and very soon I’ll be receiving postcards, letterhead, announcement sheets, posters, notebooks and more, all with the theme plastered ALL over them.
The theme I’ve chosen is intentional in every aspect, and, just like last year, every session, every song, every decoration, and hopefully everything we do will drive home this one point in lots of different ways. I’ve announced the theme to some of you, but I’m waiting a little while longer before really announcing it, because I haven’t ironed out all the details just yet.
Anyway, I hope you’re already praying for these big events like I am. It’s all for a purpose, and most of that purpose is for YOUR spiritual growth, so YOU can have an incredible life as you obey the Lord. That’s it!
Bro. Ryan
SATURATION SATURDAY – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19
We’ll meet at 9:45 in the fellowship hall. Please make every effort to come help us invite people to our church! This is a pretty important way you can spend a couple hours on a Sunday morning.
PRAISE & PIE HELPERS NEEDED – SUNDAY NIGHT
Any ladies who can help cut pies and help with the serving tonight, please be at the church kitchen by 5:30 pm.
QUICK MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY – NEXT WEDNESDAY, NOV. 23
Anyone who’s available for a few minutes after church, please stick around to help Mrs. Rench put out our Christmas hymn books. It won’t take very long.
WINTER RENDEZVOUS DEPOSIT DUE – SUNDAY, DEC. 4
We are asking for a $40 deposit if you are planning on going to the Winter Rendezvous on Thursday, January 5 – Saturday, January 7.
BELL CHOIR – SUNDAY, DEC. 25
So far, we have Aaron, Lois, Anneliese, Matthew, Daniel, David, Arron M., Sam, Alisha, and Cassi. The next practice will probably be Sunday, December 11.
TOF CHRISTMAS PARTY – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
Please bring a snack to share and a $5 gift for a gift exchange. More details to come later.
“BE OUR GUEST” WEDNESDAY
It was last week. Now it’s time to get to work!
Hello movie stars!
If you STILL don’t know what I’m talking about when I’m calling you movie stars, you missed it last Wednesday. Seeing Bro. Ken in a giant beard and a beret… priceless.
Basically, one of the major points of last Wednesday was that all of you should greet all of you all the time. Guest, regular attender, teacher, whatever… greet everyone and you’ll be covered on the “friendliness” thing. Make it a point to always make a great first impression on everyone, especially the new people, and we’ll sit back and expect God to do the rest.
If you truly love God, you’ll love others as well. Let it show by working at loving others. The easiest way to do that is a simple greeting.
Also, if you know who Mary Wright is, be sure to tell her “Thank you” for the gifts and for all her work. She donated all the material and labor for those notebooks you received, and she deserves a lot of thanks for her work.
We love you and hope you can make it this Wednesday!
Bro. Ryan
SATURATION SATURDAY – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19
We’ll meet at 9:45 in the fellowship hall. Please make every effort to come help us invite people to our church! This is a pretty important way you can spend a couple hours on a Sunday morning.
“BE OUR GUEST” WEDNESDAY
It’s here. (*cue epic music)
Next week.
Be there, or be square.
One week away! Okay, so maybe it won’t be super epic, and maybe you’re expecting something like $1M cash prize giveaways or something… “Be Our Guest” Wednesday won’t be anything like that, but it is incredibly important. (can’t you tell by the color announcement sheets? Oooooh, aaah!)
We want you to get this. GOD wants you to get this. He wants you to love others like yourself; meaning, He wants you to do to others as you’d want others to do to you; meaning, He wants you to get out of your comfort zone and learn to love others; meaning, He wants you to stop playing ping pong, notice guests, and form a line to welcome them and talk with them.
“Be Our Guest” Wednesday isn’t about a program. It’s about a mindset.
A mindset of outreach. Reaching out. Beyond yourself. Working. Trying. Stretching. Being uncomfortable. Not being lazy. Having a spirit to work. Having a spirit to serve. Having a spirit that desires others to know God like you know Him.
Do you know Him like that? Do you want that for others? I hope so! I pray that you do! Every time I preach, I expect that you’ll turn closer to Him because of the power of His Word!
Teen, go ALL OUT in this outreach thing. “Bro. Ryan, I’ve given God ALL my keys… I’ve surrendered my WHOLE life, and I want to be used in this outreach program wherever I can. Put me ANYWHERE in this outreach program and I’ll work as hard as I can, I’ll be as faithful as I can, I’ll have the heart I need and I’ll encourage others to join me in my quest!”
That kind of a spirit IS an epic quest! J That kind of a spirit is so rare in a teen, and anyone who’s willing to be used like that is easily setting himself or herself up to be a loner… because few people want to make that kind of sacrifice.
Most people are busy with their games. Or too scared. Or nervous.
“I didn’t see the guest.”
Okay. First, look for them. Second, maybe you saw them and acted like you didn’t.
If you have that rare pioneer spirit to set out on a quest to serve God even if no one else will, you will be a loner… UNLESS there’s a whole group of teens with that same spirit. THEN… the one who doesn’t come to soul winning, doesn’t ever greet guests, doesn’t write postcards or texts, and doesn’t seem to really care about others will feel like the loner!
That’s what I mean by creating a mindset. This shouldn’t have to be drilled into you, “Hey, go say ‘hi’ to that guy over there. Hey, go have that girl sit next to you in church. Hey, did you meat those new kids over there yet?” It should become SUCH a part of you that it’s just instinctive: If there’s someone here and I don’t know his or her name, I WILL find it out, remember it, and talk with them a little bit.
Like it’s your job.
If you got paid to be friendly, would you be friendly? If yes, then be friendly. But you’re not getting paid. Work at it! Be here next week to learn how!
Bro. Ryan
MOVING – This Saturday after doorknocking – First three guys to talk to me. Pizza lunch provided. Maybe 2-3 hours of loading a truck.
Dear Teens,
A couple few things have been really great lately…
First, it’s awesome to see so many people out on Wednesdays! The church gym was packed with thousands of fans and media as we played our furiously amazing beach ball volleyball extravaganza last Wednesday, and some of your saves could only be described as… epic.
Okay, so we didn’t have thousands of fans there, but there HAVE been a lot of you showing up on Wednesdays, and it’s a blessing to see that you want to be in church to learn about learning how to learn to learn God’s Word. Wait… Anyway, learning how to learn God’s Word for yourself will change your life. I really mean that. Let God teach you.
Second, your spirit for outreach is evident by how many of you come every week (or almost!) to soul-winning on Saturdays. That spirit is what our church needs to be about, and when God blesses and we see guests in our class, I pray you have a burden to see them saved, baptized, and become faithful to church. (Oh, and I pray that burden helps you talk to them, too!)
Third, how cool is it that so many people are getting baptized! Baptism doesn’t save you, but it’s a step of obedience that the Bible commands, and anyone who’s already been saved needs to be baptized. If you haven’t yet… go for it! It’s not that bad (right Bri?) Even if you were saved when you were 5 years old but never got around to being baptized, what would hold you back? It’s nothing to be flippant about, but it’s nothing to worry about either.
I hope you’re constantly helped by God’s Word. CONTRIBUTE today to the atmosphere of our church services, and do your part to help our church have a spirit that loves Bible preaching (like we talked about on the past few Wednesdays.) We love you SO much and want SO badly for you to make it. Basically everything we say and do is intentional, and we want to have an impact on you, even if you don’t realize what we were doing for another 5 or 10 years.
Love God, love others. Do right.
Bro. Ryan
“BE OUR GUEST” WEDNESDAY – Nov. 9
Please don’t miss this service as we unveil our new Outreach program.
