St. Paul's Church

April 30, 2014 

The Lord said, "I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant."

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness..." 

(Joshua 24:13-14)

Dear St. Paul's,

I can't tell you how exciting it was for me to be able to share the news about the Flamevine property on Easter Sunday.  And I know that many of  you feel the same way that I do-completely overwhelmed by God's lavish gift to us.  I explained that the building is being given to St. Paul's by an anonymous benefactor. People have asked me, "You do know who the benefactor is, don't you?"  And I smile.  "No, I don't know who it is."  I honestly don't know who it is, and out of respect for the benefactor and for God, I don't want to know.  God knows, and that's all that matters.

And ultimately, as grateful as I am for the faithful human benefactor, I know that we have a divine Benefactor who is the provider of every good and perfect gift.  He's the One who's worthy of all our thanks and praise.  And I'm reminded of the Israelites when they were finally settling in the land of Canaan.  When they took possession of it, the Lord provided land which was already producing fruitful harvests in fields which they did not plant.  And God provided move-in-ready houses which they did not build.  How do you possibly thank God for something so great?  

Joshua says, "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness."  This gift has been given to us for a purpose.  The building is God's building.  He's giving it to us so that we can bring Christ to the world.  As Dean Sparks told us during that time of waiting for God to provide,  "We need to be spiritually prepared for the building."  And then Robin and I had that revelation that the new building was not really about providing a more comfortable place for adults, but rather about providing a great place for children to hear about Jesus.  "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

It is a joy to serve the Lord with you.  Please continue to pray every day about the new building, and for the children who will come to know Jesus as a result.

Gratefully in Christ,

Pr. Jon

MEN, LAST CALL FOR ANYONE INTERESTED..

 

LENTEN DISCIPLINE

GIVE UP AND GIVE BACK

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Lenten Discipline.  Your faithfulness and commitment to the program enabled us to donate over 350 food items to the "Breath of Heaven Ministries."  The children (both Sunday morning & the Skimmers) brought in over 50 of those food items!! 

I was able to see and hear first-hand how much our donations meant to the "Breath of Heaven Ministries."  I saw cans of soup being handed out to the homeless and juice being given to a young family with a small child (they were living in their car).  I heard thanks to our coffee donations they can now offer a cup of coffee to those in need. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time 

we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9

SKIMMERS

The Skimmers (children 8-12) continue to meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  We have continued to participate in outreach projects including decorating cakes for the Homeless Family Center children each quarter.  As you can see the children are quite creative. 

They will be decorating 3 cakes for St. Paul's upcoming Bake Sale on Sunday, May 18^th, which will benefit the mission trip to Belize. You won't want to miss the opportunity to buy one of these beautifully decorated cakes!!! 

Angelina & Elizabeth

Gabrielle

GOING NORTH?

Let us know when you will be going north for the summer, and when you expect to return, on the church Friendship Form or call Norma in the church office 231-3552 with that information.  We will look forward to your return in the fall.

 BIRTHDAYS 

(Please call the church office if your birth date or