MIDWEEK MESSAGE #261
Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #261. I hope you enjoyed your long weekend and celebrated Labor Day. Fun fact: when I was going to school (you know way back in the Dark Ages) we didn’t start until after Labor Day. Finished Memorial Day weekend and started after Labor Day. A full three months of summer vacation!! And trust me when I say I looked forward to it and used e.v.e.r.y day to the hilt. 🙂
It is hard to believe it is September 2nd as I write this. It just seems like yesterday it was cold and snow was falling. 🙂 Although, if you live in Australia that is a true event! Come to think of it I don’t mind holding off on that for a while…like forever.
Our educator of the week is Mary Beckwith. Mary is a Special Education preschool teacher at Edgewood Early Childhood Center and has been teaching for 13 years. This is her second stint at EECC. She has been married to Matt (next week’s educator) for 13 years and they are the parents of Kaedence, Akaydia, Kayliana, and Aksel. Mary also volunteers to teach once a month in our Sunday morning pre-school class and serve in our nursery. Please remember to pray for Mary this week.
The young adult group will begin meeting weekly this Thursday, Sept 4th at the East’s. If you, or someone you know, is a recent High School graduate up to 25 years old, you are invited to join them! If you have any questions please contact Pastor Ryan at 812.585.0545.
This coming Sunday, September 7th, will be the first time “An Introduction to OVCF” will be
offered. It isn’t too late to make plans to come. One more time (for now):
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- A simple lunch (sandwiches, snacks, etc.) will be provided
- The session will be an informal, small group setting lasting 1-1 1⁄2 hours.
- Child care will be provided, if needed, by two of our teens.
- Please let me know if you have any questions.
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Sunday is also the deadline for signing up and paying for the Fall Ladies Bible Study. It will be based on the book, Now and Not Yet by Ruth Chou Simons. They will meet Monday nights from 5:30-7:30 from September 15-October 27. Each week they will have a themed pitch-in. The first meeting’s theme will be an appetizer pitch-in. If you have any questions please see Macy Carlson or Hope East.
YOUTH NEWS
Several of our young people did really well this week in their sporting events.
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- Alli Anderson ran a season best at the cross country meet last Wednesday which placed her 3rd overall. Best of all, OV won the meet!
- Aubrey Mangia also ran a good race and helped the team gain that win.
- A little birdie told me that CJ Wood is a cheerleader for the Junior High Fall sports teams.
They also won their games this past week. - The Middle School has a cross country meet this Wednesday. Tad Nicholson is a member of that team. I will have the results for you in next week’s MM.
- Want to become a Red Cross Lifeguard? The YMCA is looking for young people 15 years of age by the date of the final exam. This is a blended learning class schedule (in person and online videos). The certification is good for two years. If you are interested please contact the Y at 812.828.9622, ext. 101. It starts this Saturday so if you are interested contact them now! Sorry for the late notice. I just received it the middle of last week.
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Did you know the New Testament is just around the corner? In less than a month, September 28th to be exact, we will be in Matthew 1-4 as part of our journey through the Bible with our Everyday Gospel Devotional. I know for many, myself included, reading through the Old Testament has, at times, been a real challenge. It is easy to do the old “speed reading” thing and bypass reading the tough parts, especially the prophets. But it will be worth it all when you come to the end of Malachi, and then Revelation, and know you stuck with the program. Seriously though, thanks for hanging in there with me this year. I know it hasn’t been easy but I have so appreciated your words of support and kindness.
Jo and I went to Hobby Lobby last week. Actually, she went and I tagged along. 🙂 As you walk into the opening section where the check out and books/calendars are, you will be reminded of the upcoming yearly Operation Christmas Child event. We will soon be making information available to you about how you can take part in OCC.
Did you know we provide Bibles on the information table for those who may need one or forgot to bring one? They are the New Living Translation (the version I am using) and…get this…they are in Large Print. No more needing a magnifying glass to read the Bible!!🙂 We purchased the last batch in the ESV version and did not know how small the print was! Well, we alleviated that problem with Large Print. Feel free to pick one up to use on Sunday morning. If you happen to walk away with it, just read it all week. If you need it, keep it. If you like, we can put you in touch with a way to get a new Bible.
This coming Sunday my message will be A Picture of God from Ezekiel 23-42. Children will often wonder what God looks like. Well, obviously we don’t have a picture of God. Least not in physical form. But we do get a pretty clear picture of Him from Ezekiel. I look forward to sharing that with you this Sunday. Until then, know that you are loved. Have a great rest of the week!
Pastor Bill
