{"id":12562,"date":"2025-01-09T10:07:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/?p=12562"},"modified":"2025-01-09T10:07:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:07:38","slug":"midweek-message1-9-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/2025\/01\/midweek-message1-9-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Midweek Message1\/9\/2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>MIDWEEK MESSAGE #230<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #230. It has been several weeks since the last MM. I hope you missed me! If you didn\u2019t please don\u2019t tell me!\ud83d\ude0a<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My last MM anticipated <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the Christmas break. This one anticipates going back to school. Well&#8230;only if the weather <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">cooperates. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed when the weather report for this past <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sunday was snow, snow and more snow. I had been looking forward to preaching the first of the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Burning Hearts sermons in person, but instead took a detour. I\u2019m so glad for the live stream that <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">makes it possible for us to make a change like we did and still be able to include anyone who <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">wants to watch and listen. Granted, it isn\u2019t like being there, but it is the next best thing. Unless, <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">of course, you want me to come to your house and preach the sermon. Nah&#8230;never mind I even <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">said that! Please just keep in mind that we made the decision to just do live stream because we <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">love you and want you to be safe. I wrote the preceding paragraph before the snow started <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">flying. Guess the weather people were correct this time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With school back in session, I want to get back to praying for specific individuals. Before the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">break we had been praying for some of our homeschool moms. This week please pray for <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Michelle Lippert. Michelle has been married to Geoff for 10 years. He is a commercial plumber <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">for a company in Indianapolis. Their daughter, Marla, is 15 and a freshman. I asked Michelle if <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">she had any hobbies and she said she enjoys crocheting, sewing, and reading. They have some <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sheep but her real heart, she says, is for her dogs. She has 3 Chinese crested dogs and a small <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">little terrier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This MM will involve a lot of catch-up since we have been out of the loop for a couple of weeks. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here is a list of upcoming events which involve our OVCF family and friends. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For the youth there are several items to remember. <strong>ROOTS<\/strong> will resume this coming <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sunday, January 12 at 5 pm at OVCF. Pastor Ryan would love to reconnect with each of <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">you! <strong>DEEPER<\/strong> will resume meeting this Wednesday, January 8th, at 4:00 pm at the East\u2019s <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wednesday Night Conversations<\/strong> will be starting back up on Wednesday, January 15th at <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">6 pm. My plan is to do WNC until Wednesday, March 12th, since the 19th is during Spring <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Break. The topics for discussion will be 9 Common Lies Christians Believe. I\u2019ve read the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">book twice in preparation for the class and it lends itself to a lot of discussion. There is <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">no sign-up sheet so please feel free to\u00a0 come. In the event school in cancelled due to that <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">white stuff that falls from the sky, WNC will also be cancelled.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <strong>Connections Women\u2019s Ministry<\/strong> will be having a Coffee and Chocolate get together <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">on Saturday, January 25th from 2-4 pm at OVCF. Bring a treat to share and enjoy <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">spending time with other ladies for the afternoon.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">OVCF has hosted the Legislative Breakfast for the Chamber of Commerce for the past <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">several years. This year will be no different. The first breakfast will be Saturday, January <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">25th. It normally meets on the 3rd Saturday of the first 4 months (this year due to a long <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">session for the lawmakers), but a scheduling conflict caused them to make a change <em><strong>for <\/strong><\/em><\/span><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">this month only.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Something different is coming! One of the characteristics of families is gathering around the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">table to eat. The staff talked last week about having more pitch-ins to allow us to spend more <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">time together as a church family. When OVCF was just a mere baby, we used to meet at the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Owen Valley Sports Complex. One Wednesday night a month we used to have a pitch-in that <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">was well attended. When we moved to this building we stopped having pitch-ins. Then we <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">went to two services (as we are now) and it became difficult to find a good time for one. The <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">folks in first service wanted to be involved, but that meant they would leave and have to <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">come back two hours later. So the staff (Pastor Ryan, Diana and myself) got our heads <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">together and came up with the hair-brained scheme of trying to have a pitch-in on a <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Wednesday night. Jeff Carlson used to be fond of saying, \u201cOne of our strengths is trying <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">something new. If it doesn\u2019t work, well then okay. We will try something else.\u201d We aren\u2019t sure if <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">the Wednesday night idea is a good one or not, but we can at least try. If not, we will go back <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to the drawing board. Please set aside that date-Wednesday, January 29th at 6:00 pm-for a <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">pitch-in. We will set up in the main auditorium in anticipation of a good group.\ud83d\ude0aYou bring<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">the food. We will provide the plates, utensils, and drinks. *My WNC group will not meet that <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">evening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I trust you are reading your <em>Everyday Gospel Devotional<\/em> (EDG) daily. Did you know we wound up <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ordering 135 books? I told a friend that number and he was shocked. His exact words were: <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cDude, that is phenomenal!\u201d He and his wife are also taking part (from AZ). They are also <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">committing to watching the live stream to stay current. My sermon this coming Sunday is Two <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Recipes from Genesis 16-34. Reading the Scripture and staying current in EDG will sure help <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">you understand more, as well as make my job easier. \ud83d\ude0a<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One last thing before I go: this past Sunday I read something at the end of the sermon which I <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">said I would include in the MM. Here is that reading:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No matter how much we know the Bible; no matter how long we have known the Lord; no <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">matter how intelligent you are in spiritual matters; no matter how many facts you know; no <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">matter how spiritually mature you may think you are; we all rely on God\u2019s transforming grace. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be grateful you were included in that grace and accepted His offer of salvation. If you haven\u2019t <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">why put it off any longer?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My goal and hope is that as we go through the theme of Burning Hearts I will be able to leave <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">you with something to think about and chew on for the week ahead. Thanks for joining me on <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sunday and in reading this MM. To the new folks: WELCOME! Just know you are loved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pastor Bill<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MIDWEEK MESSAGE #230 Hello everyone and welcome to Midweek Message #230. It has been several weeks since the last MM. I hope you missed me! If you didn\u2019t please don\u2019t tell me!\ud83d\ude0aMy last MM anticipated the Christmas break. This one anticipates going back to school. Well&#8230;only if the weather cooperates. I have to admit I &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/2025\/01\/midweek-message1-9-2025\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-midweekmessage","category-ovcf-news","nodate","item-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12563,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12562\/revisions\/12563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}