grace•ology

Food Drive Extended -- Buy 1, Get 1 Free

graceKIDS is heading to the Destiny Foundation after church the Sunday to sort donated groceries. We are still in need of LOTS of donations.  The requested items are listed below and almost ALL are on sale (buy 1, get 2 free) @ your local Publix:

• Canned Green Beans and Corn (Green Giant brand on sale)
• Cereal (Kellogg's and Post cereals on sale)
• Instant Potatoes (Betty Crocker brand on sale)
• Peanut Butter

Collection bins will be in the lobby.  Let's fill them up!

Summer Service Projects for the Whole Family

   

Last Sunday we invited parents to join their K-5th graders for our first every Family ClubHOUSE.  We played, sang, laughed, learned, and prayed together.  We rocked the house!

We also "launched" our summer of service for the whole family.  In June, kids will be collecting essential food items and preparing snacks for kids who visit medical clinic @ the Destiny Foundation. In July, we'll focus on stuffing backpacks with school supplies.  There are three ways for families and kids to participate:

DONATE-SORT-DISTRIBUTE.

Check out the details here.

Week Three of the Fasting Challenge: Don't Give Up

We’re in the middle of our third week of the Fasting Challenge at Grace, and I am so encouraged by the things you have been telling me. Here are some quotes from the Facebook page:

The best parts of this fast are my much more frequent conversations with God: "God, please give me strength." ... "God, Why did I choose to do this?" ... "God, the evil one is telling me to pull into McDonald's." ... "God, thank you for being there for me." ... God is always there, and always wants to hear from us!!

Is it just me or does Scripture seem like food when you’re fasting?

As I've been fasting and feeling physical hunger, I have had to ask myself (and God) if I am really HUNGERING for Him. Do I feel the same pain if I do not have God in my life after just a few hours? Food feeds and nourishes us physically, but do I feel a true hunger for God if I haven't had my fill of Him today? I repent for my lack of God-desire.

Check out the Facebook page for more. There are stories on the wall and on the discussion tab.

Even if all you are getting out of the fast is being obedient to God’s call, you are getting somewhere. He will not trust you with much until He can trust you with little (Luke 16:10). Keep it up! 

I am also looking forward to week two in What Women Want this weekend. God is giving me some good stuff. Looking forward to this week’s Man Moment, too. Here’s a link to our video channel where you can see a slightly extended version than the one we showed in service.

It’s good to be home from a great vacation. See you guys on Sunday.

What the mohawk???

What would cause a seemingly level headed student pastor to shave his head into a blue mohawk? Your awesome students!!! This past six weeks the teenagers have been collecting change for our Grace Students "Change Wars". 

The purpose of the change wars was to help send students to camp who might need financial assistance. It also was to challenge the students to learn that every last penny counts and can make a difference for the kingdom. 

Our students raised almost $450 in change and that helped send several kids to camp!!! You should give them a big hand for doing this all on their own (Some of you may now understand why your purses were void of change, or maybe why you couldnt find any spare pennies lol!)  The guys were pitted against the girls to raise the most money and the chance to shave my head into a mohawk. PLUS which ever team won got to color my hair too. (PINK for girls and BLUE for boys)

I guess you can figure out who won.; ) Please be praying for us the week of June 15-19 as we head up to Auburn, AL for our Radius Missions camp. We will be serving at two gov't housing projects the whole week and attending camp at night. We are so stoked to be taking 17 students up to learn what it means to be hope to those who need it most. Thanks for your prayers and for your support!!!    -Norm

Fasting Challenge: Week One

Week one is almost over, Grace Fellowship fasters. Whether you fasted 1, 2 or 3 days, we are encouraged by you and the steps you've taken to pursue God this week, and we've enjoyed hearing from you about your fasts.

Kelly and I were reading some of St. Augustine's thoughts about fasting this week, and he had an amazing point: Fasting was the first command from God in the Bible and the beginning of God's law —"Thou shalt not eat." He says "Because we have not fasted, we fell from Paradise. Hence we should fast, so that we might return there." Wow.

If you haven't been visiting the Fasting Challenge Facebook page, be sure to check it out. Many people are sharing their experiences and encouragement on the Wall and on the Discussions tab.

Keep praying for your relationship with Christ and for Grace as we move forward together. We're praying for you.

Worship Set - 5/24/09

Worship Set:

Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin
Lord of all - Kristian Stanfill
Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill

Both songs by Kristian Stanfill are amazing worship songs and I believe that they both will become favorites at our church.

I normally do not post the song lyrics, but I had a request on Sunday to post Lord of All because of the chorus.  You can read them below.  Have a great week!!

Wonder and awe surround you Lord
Glory and fire light your way
Day after day the heavens proclaim
The beauty of the holy One

We will respond
With joy in our song
Your enemies rise
Your enemies fall
Your fire consumes them all

There is none so high and holy
King of kings the one and only
You are adored
You are the Lord of all

Mysteries unknown
Are known to you
All wisdom is yours to reveal
You hold in your hand the days of all men
All life and breath are Yours to give

The start of the fasting challenge

The Grace Fasting Challenge starts this week. I am so proud of the people who have signed up to take the huge step of faith of fasting 1, 2 or 3 days a week for four weeks, and I’m excited about what God is going to do because of your commitment to take this next step in faith. 

I know that it is a huge step for many of you. Most of us have never considered fasting as a part of our lives as Christians. It doesn’t really make sense to us. How could just giving up food for a time bring us closer to God? The answer is that taking away something basic that you rely on in your day can’t help but reveal the things you trust in more than you trust in Christ. Your eyes will be opened to how much you find joy in the things of this earth more than the things of God. 

I am encouraged already by one of the posts on the discussions over at the fasting challenge Facebook page from someone who has already done their day this week: 

“Wow! I was not even fully into the idea of fasting - I knew that I would stick with it if I made a commitment, but didn't understand how I could grow closer to God by doing it. Well...God has already laid on my heart that I am not trusting Him in every aspect of my life and totally changed my attitude. I look forward to all that He will reveal to me during this month.” 

Today is Memorial Day, and you’ll hear a lot today about what a great country we live in. We definitely do, but the downside of living in a place where our needs and wants can be met in an instant is that it smothers our opportunities to trust Jesus for what we need. Hosea 13:6 says “When I fed them, they were satisfied; 
when they were satisfied, they became proud; 
then they forgot me.” That sounds exactly like us, and I’m convinced we need a discipline like fasting to create need in our lives and to know that only Jesus satisfies. 

Here’s one of my favorite Psalms of confession for you to read when you fast this week. I also encourage you to pray your own prayers for our church and for a renewal in your relationship with God. I am praying for you.

Grace Fellowship Fasting Challenge

Pastor Mike issued a huge challenge for Grace yesterday: participation in a 28-day period of fasting. You can choose to fast 1, 2, or 3 days a week from May 24th to June 21st. 

If you missed it, or you're still praying about joining the challenge, here are some links for you:

The audio of Pastor Mike's message yesterday

A PDF download of the flyer with all the information on the challenge

A link to the Facebook page where you can "become a fan" of the Fasting Challenge to sign up to participate. 

A link to a good online article about fasting. This article discusses some tips for longer fasts than we'll be doing, but good basic principles are there.

If you aren't on Facebook, you can email us to tell us you'll be a part of the fast as well. We'll be posting prayers and encouragement throughout the 28 days on the Facebook page and on the blog. 

People are already commenting on the discussion on Facebook:

"I'm too accustomed to being satisfied in my life. I'm praying that some hunger will help me better feel what it means to be living in Christ."

"i believe in the power of prayer and know God will transform Grace in the next few weeks. the possibilities i can come up with pale in comparison to what God can do, and i'm exploding with anticipation and excitement."

"I am hoping my fast will help me simply stop and listen to Him."

We're excited about what God will do in our church and in your life during this time!

A Standing Ovation

The crew at The People's Clinic sent along this "standing O" for our recent $30K Generous Life donation to the Destiny Foundation ($90K to Destiny so far). Keep fulfilling your Generous Life pledges, Grace. They are making a daily difference in the lives of people in Central Florida, and they're preparing the way for the building God has in mind for Grace Fellowship. The best is yet to come!

Grace volunteers: this one's for you.

Shout out to our amazing volunteers: this hit the inbox from someone emailing to register for our NEXT membership class coming up on May 17th.

I am so excited to become a member… I can’t wait!

I have to tell you that I missed 2 weeks of Grace Fellowship because I was on vacation... I cried in service last week because I was so happy to be back!

I look forward to services every Sunday and have taken something back from each and every message Pastor Mike has given.  I came to Grace through your fear post card.  I had just hung up the phone with a friend talking about my fear, checked the mail, and there it was!... This is the first time that I really have felt at home in a place of worship. 

I have even brought a friend with me that is agnostic and he loves attending Grace also.  He wants to have faith, but just hasn’t found it yet.  I know that in time, he will come to accept Jesus in his heart.  I am really looking forward to that day!  I have prayed on how I can help to bring him to Christ when I know that my faith could be stronger, and Grace is making it happen for the both of us. 

THANK YOU to all the volunteers for all of your hard work at Grace Fellowship.  You are making a tremendous impact on peoples’ lives, bringing them closer to Christ and saving others that have never known him.