It’s Time To Rebuild

January 27, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Friends,

One of my favorite stories is about a personal hero of mine, Thomas Alva Edison. He invented the incandescent light bulb and the automobile battery, and he pioneered the film industry. It’s not just his creative intelligence I admire but also his tenacious spirit.

Toward the autumn years of his life, he worked in a modest building that resembled an old barn. There with his son, Edison would work late into the night laboring diligently to perfect his inventions. One evening, in an attempt to improve the retention of a battery’s charge, an unfortunate combination of chemicals caused his experiment to burst into flames. Flickering tongues of fire went licking and lapping up the side of the dry old barn. Within a few minutes, the whole barn was ablaze.

Edison’s apprentice son ran out of the barn in time to see the 60-foot flames devour the entire building. Quickly realizing that his father was nowhere to be seen, he began to call out desperately for his father. “Dad! Dad, get out of there!” He feared that his father might be inside, going down with his precious life’s work. “Dad!” he cried, as he frantically ran around the barn searching for any sign of his dad.

Just as he came around the corner for a third time, he almost ran headlong into his father whose hands were thrust deep in his pockets. Both his smock and white hair were now covered in a thick layer of black soot. He stood oblivious to it all, gazing intently at the flames.

“Dad! I was afraid you would go down with the flames,” cried his son in sheer relief.

Without taking his eyes off the flames, Thomas Edison said, “Son, go get your mother!”

“But why, Dad?” asked the shocked son.

The senior Edison answered, “Because your mother comes from a very small town and she has never seen a fire like this!”

After a couple more minutes, the whole barn was just a smoldering heap. When it had finally been reduced to ash, the legendary Edison turned to his son and asked, “Do you know anyone with a tractor?”

“Sure, Dad. A guy down the road has one. But why do you want it now?”

Edison said, “Because it’s time to rebuild.”

***Source is unknown

Hope to see you Sunday,

Pastor VG

 

A Franciscan Prayer

January 17, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless every single one of you with anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people so that you may work for justice and freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain and rejection and starvation and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you, yes you, can make a difference in this world so that you can do for Christ what others claim cannot be done. May God bless you with a heart that breaks for the things that break his heart; may God bless you with a divine tenderness. May God give you an ear that hears his voice. May God increase the anointing upon your life, for you have been filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the grave. In Jesus’ name we pray…Amen.” via Jon Weece

 

Introducing Route 66

January 12, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

Eastside Family…

This past Sunday morning marked a new class start for The Institute of Spiritual Growth…

Route 66 kicked off the new year with a general overview of the Bible, and each week will now focus on a new book. Led by Dan Robertson and a host of other teachers, this study will give you more confidence in rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and give you a big-picture perspective on God’s redemptive plan, and how each book plays a role in God’s plan and the canon of Scripture.

Please make a more in-depth study of Scripture your goal this year and plan on attending.  All are welcome, and you can move in and out of class as you please, since each week will be a stand-alone course. Click on the following link to learn more: http://www.eastside-cc.com/?page_id=806

The class meets in Room 118 and starts promptly at 9:30am. Childcare is available. This week will be an overview of Genesis.  Hope to see you there!!

Elder’s Nomination

January 9, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Family,

Eastside Elder’s are opening the process up for the church family to nominate names to serve as elders. The names nominated has to be men. ONLY men can serve as elders at Eastside Community Church. If you are interesting in nominating someone to serve in this position then click on the following link to download the nomination form: Elder Recommendation Form

Nomination forms will be received from January 15, 2012 until Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Midnight. The Elder Nomination Form can either be hand delivered to Pastor Virgil and/or Chris Clark or submitted via email at vgrant@eastside-cc.com. Click on the following link to see the complete documentation of the process which will take place - EldersQualificationsGuidelines

Once the nomination forms have been received then each person will be notified of their nomination. They will have 30 days to complete the elder’s application process if they choose to pursue this calling.

Again, the deadline to submit a name for consideration as elder is Sunday, February 12, 2012.

Blessings,

Pastor Virgil

 

 

Staff Position Needed at Prince of Peace Home for Girls

January 7, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Friends:

I serve on the board directors for an all girls home in Guatemala City, Guatemala  called Prince of Peace Home for Girls. Prince of Peace is looking for a couple to come on staff to be assistant directors of independent living.

Here is the job description for the position: Prince of Peace JD-director Ind Living 2011

This position is a self-supporting position and requires that you raise your own funds.

We need your help in the following ways: prayer and some more prayer; re-post this on your Facebook Page and/or Tweet it for us. We need this to go viral. We would appreciate any help that you could provide.

Blessings,

Pastor Virgil
 

Bible Storytelling 101

January 6, 2012 in Featured with 1 Comment

Dear E-News Friends,

Greetings! I hope you are anticipating Sunday’s worship gathering at Eastside Community like I am. I am so excited about our launch of a new sermon series called Christianity Illustrated. We have put a lot of prayer and work into this sermon series. You will be very impress when you see the small group resource (click on the following link to view it in PDF: Christianity Illustrated) which we have created for this series and you will be equally impressed when you see the design of the stage. BTW, BE EARLY on Sunday. If you are late then you will miss out.

On Sunday, we as a church will take a GIGANTIC step in the direction of fulfilling our vision of Disciples Making Disciples by utilizing the methodology of Bible Storytelling in small groups. We will actually be storying each of the parables that I will be preaching on from the pulpit in our small groups. This methodology has already helped millions of people around the world to learn and remember the Word of God. Bible Storytelling is simple that – the telling of a story from the Bible.

Here is the basic format of Bible Storytelling:

1. Small Group Leader shares a particular story from God’s Word in his or her words.
2. He or she then ask the members to open their Bibles to the story and as a class they re-build the story step by step.
3. The small group leader then asks some questions of the group to allow them to unearth the principles and the truths that are in the story.
4. After they have discussed the story then they read the story from God’s Word.
5. Each participate is encouraged to share the story in the coming week.

Here are three benefits of us using Bible Storytelling….

First, deep truths can be communicated clearly in a short amount of time. The stories take only about five minutes to tell. Then the small leader asks questions and allows the group participants to dig out the truths God has placed there. Leadership development happens naturally in the context of the group.

Second, the stories are memorable. After the small group meeting, participants are encouraged to tell the story to others in their spheres of influence. Parents take the story home and share it with their children. Churches like Real Life Ministries have found that orality-based small group is an effective way to develop a biblical worldview in both children and adults.

Another advantage to Bible storying is that small groups remain “open.” Someone can join the group at any point, which is not always the case with other small group methods.

If you would want to learn more about Bible Storytelling then check out these links:

Biblical Orality
Baptist Press 10 Part Series on Bible Storytelling

If you are not connected to a small group then I would encourage you to join one today. Contact Greg Gillum at ggillum@eastside-cc.com to get connected.

See you Sunday,

Pastor VG

New Sermon Series Coming

January 2, 2012 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Friends,

Join us on Sunday, January 8, 2012 as we start an exciting new sermon series, Christianity Illustrated, exploring 12 of Jesus’ parables. When Jesus wanted to drive home a point about God, his kingdom, and how life worked in the kingdom, he often did it by telling a story, a parable. Jesus is going to be our teacher over the next 12 weeks, and he’s going to stretch our minds, pierce our hearts, and shape our souls. By the end of our journey, you will know God better than you ever have, love him more than you’ve ever loved him, and live more faithfully than you ever lived before. Our prayer is that each person will discover the life-changing truths from the parables of Jesus.

Everyone will receive a copy of the Christianity Illustrated small group study guide. This guide will serve as our study resource for the entire 12-week sermon series. Additionally, we are challenging each small group to embrace a more missional focus during this study. Information about this missional project is included in your study guide.

Each small group leader will receive adequate copies for their entire small group – please ask your small group leader for details.

Happy New Year,

Pastor VG

Mini-Post

December 30, 2011 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Family,

For those of you who wait until the very end of the year to honor God with your giving, you have until midnight tomorrow night (12/31) to make it count for 2011. Please go to www.eastside-cc.com and click on the red GIVE NOW button to convey your gift.

I will be providing a financial update after the first of the year including total amount giving and total amount given to missions. A record  breaking year in 2011 financially. Thank you for giving faithfully to the various ministries of Eastside.

Happy New Year,

Pastor VG

 

 

New Year Kick-Off

December 28, 2011 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Friends,

Join Eastside Community Church as we kick off the New Year with a BANG!

Who doesn’t love a fresh start? New Year’s Day, the first of the month, or the dawn of a new day…how do we use first like these to get our hearts and our priorities in line with God?

Join us as we find out what to do FRIST on January 1, 2012 at 10:50 am.

Join us as we start the New Year off with a week of prayer and fasting. If you have not already picked up your 2012 Prayer and Fasting Guide you can click on the following link and download it for free:  ECC Fasting Guide.

We are expecting God to show up and show off in 2012. Join us January 1-7, 2012 as we corporately seek the face and the favor of God.

Click on the following link to learn more about Eastside’s 2012 Goals and Objectives.

Happy New Year,

Pastor Virgil

Quick Holiday Update

December 26, 2011 in Featured with 0 Comments

Dear E-News Friends,

Christmas is over. The New Year is quickly approaching. Here are a couple agenda times to pass on to your small group group members and friends….

1. Resignation letter from Larry Taulbee:
“After prayer and careful consideration I have decided to resign the position of Elder at Eastside Community Church. It has been both an honor and privilege to serve in this capacity and to help shepherd a very special group of believers who have chosen to be a part of this fellowship. It is my desire that God will continue to pour out His blessings on this body and lead us individually and corporately to accomplish our Church vision of Disciples making Disciples.”

2. Upward Volunteers Needed:
What is needed?
 i. We need referees each Saturday for Upward games.
ii. We need volunteers to do devotion during halftime of each game on Saturdays.
Upward games begin January 7th and will run thru February 25th.  If you are interested or need more information please contact Carla Perry @ cperry@eastside-cc.com or 859.893.4757

3. Volunteers Needed for Meals on Wheels:
Need people to sign up for the next Home Meals Delivery week
i.      Monday, January 02- Friday, January
ii.     Takes at most an hour and need to report to the BCM Bldg on EKU Campus at 10:30 AM on their scheduled day.
Call or text Laura Johnston at 859.200.1858 for more info or to sign up for a day to help out.
Have a great week,
Pastor VG
PS End of year Giving In the course of year-end tax planning, you may find yourself considering special one-time donations. There is a growing trend among donors to make contributions to their favorite organization vie the Web during the final week of the year. As you contemplate year-end gifts, please keep Eastside Community Church in mind. We welcome your donations through the giving page on the church website at www.eastside-cc.com.
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