A n E ncouraging W ord

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1 Church Office: Mailing Address: 112 Avenue D, SE, Ste. B THE SOLID ROCK CHURCH P.O. Box 926 Winter Haven, FL 1410 Dundee Road- Winter Haven, FL Winter Haven, FL (863) Weekly Epistle Services: Sundays 1:00 p.m. and Wednesdays 7:00 p.m. Wednesday Prayer 4:30; Supper 6:00 p.m. Soaking Prayer by appointment and first Wednesday of the month A n E ncouraging W ord Robert Louis Stevenson once complained, 'I cannot hear what you say for listening to what you are.' Actions speak louder than words. Jesus rebukes those who give mere lip service. Instead, he demands life service - the faith we proclaim with our lips expressed in and through our lives. Our speech, actions, and lifestyle can never earn us salvation but they do represent the fruits of our faith. They are the external and essential evidence of our faith (or lack of it). Lip service is easy; life service is tough. Lip service is no more than intellectual assent to some proposition; life service is living it out in word and deed. Lip service is cheap; life service demands sacrifice, suffering, inconvenience. In our homes, neighborhood, and workplace, what fruit do people see in our lives? Do they see a rich harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control which testifies to the lordship of Jesus in our lives?" The Season is: ORDINARY TIME The Rocket.24 1

2 This week s readings are: SUNDAY, 11/23 Ezekial 34:11-16, 20-24; Psalm 100; Ephes. 1:15-23; Matt. 25:31-46 WEDNESDAY, 11/26 (Thanksgiving) Deut. 8:7-18; Psalm 65; 2 Cor. 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19 Testing Testing Testing 1,2,3 Testing Remember to take your spiritual gifts test at The Web site says the test will take about an hour nope, not true. It won t take more than 10 minutes, TOPS. Fr. Andy is still waiting for your results, so him with your scores. And if you d like to take another one, you can test your leadership style at This test will take about 6 minutes, and is just a fun thing to do. Both these tests will be helpful to you in knowing where and how you can best serve Our Lord. MINI PARISH MEETING AFTER SUNDAY SERVICE. VERY IMPORTANT. PLAN ON COMING TO THE PARISH HALL AFTER THE SERVICE FOR SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS. "Kindness leads to radical life-change" Steven Sjogren The Rocket.24 2

3 Diane McGill, the attorney in the office next to our church office, is going to have a yard sale/garage sale on Dec. 5-6 in the parking lot at the office. If anyone wants to bring things AND STAY TO SELL THEM they are welcome to join her. You could borrow a table if need one, just call the church office to arrange for that. PROJECTOR For those of you who were at the Sunday service last week, you are aware of the great projector system that Joel used. Wasn t it easy to sing without having to hold up a book? Having the words on the screen was great! Truth is, a system like this has been on our wish list for quite some time (actually on the Tree of Life). With a system like this, we could do away with nearly all books, and have the words to our songs and the words to our service responses all on the overhead. It adds a real ease to the service. We have been given a gift of $1,000 towards the purchase of a system like this. The total cost would be around $1750. If you would like to donate something towards the $750 balance, you can place your donation in the plate. Just be sure to specify that the funds are for the projector system. The Rocket.24 3

4 DID YOU KNOW: The Old Testament Apocrypha include several books and passages not found in many versions of the Bible. Of the books found only in the Apocrypha, how many are named for women? There is just one, the Book of Judith. The apocrypha also includes an extra passage for the Book of Daniel -- the story of Susanna -- which is not a book, as well as extra passages for the Book of Esther. In Sym pathy: Arthur Bartholomew, who used to attend Holy Cross Church before his move to Arizona about two years ago, died Monday, Nov. 17 in Scottsdale, AZ. A memorial service for Arthur will be held at Holy Cross Church on Monday, Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m. Rest eternal grant to Arthur, O Lord, And let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. The Rocket.24 4

5 "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." --Former President Abraham Lincoln from Mary Thoresen Deb Barieau's daughter, Bridget Gossett, will be back with us this Sunday. God's anointing was on the music of Bridget last time she sang for us. We look forward to the blessing that we know we will receive again. Dalton Meyer, also, will be adding to our worship singing with cello music. Next Sunday, November 30th, Evan Marsh will again be playing clarinet for our worship service. Thanks to John Wells and Joel Finnesgard, who shared their gifts and talents in music worship with us. While we enjoy the music of a few musicians, think of how blessed the Israelites were when the ark was brought to the temple. 2 Chron. 5:12-13 speaks of the musicians playing cymbals, harps, and lyres, and 120 priests playing the trumpets, joined by lots of singers. How wonderful that must have been! This is what they sang, "God is so good! His faithful love endures forever!" May we all gather faithfully in worship, praising God for His goodness and faithfulness. HELP!!! We are in desperate need of nursery workers. Those of you who have taken the Millstone training class, please consider this important ministry. Call the church office or the church mouse and say you will help set up a nursery. We have one worker; we need two, at least. The Rocket.24 5

6 A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, "Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait." Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus." November 23, 2008 Mini Parish Meeting January 5, 2009 Crown Ministries Course Orientation January 28-31, 2009 Winter Conference Greensboro, N.C. Til Next Week, The Rocket.24 6