BEING BORN AGAIN. August Events

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1 BEING BORN AGAIN Do you remember being amazed at a blade of grass, being surprised at how far a grasshopper jumps, wondering how drops of water form on the side of a cold glass on a hot day, or being excited to see the first snowfall of Winter? Do you remember the fun of chasing lightning bugs during a warm Summer s evening, or the of joy jumping into a puddle of water after a warm Spring rain? gave you, or how the sound of leaves crunching under your feet in the Fall made you giggle? Children see the everyday miracles of God and they are amazed at them every time. Children will spend hours watching these wonders and never question why or how they happen. They don t understand the scientific explanations of these events, and they don t care. They just love finding them. When you were young, were you scared by lightning, by a dog barking, or by your first jump into the pool? Who was there to help you when you were scared? Was it your mommy, daddy or maybe a grandma or grandpa? You could get through anything with their help. Children believe and trust without reason or cause. This may be why Jesus told His disciples to let the children come to Him because they would believe in Him without question. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Mt 19:14) Children trusted Jesus without question. The Kingdom belongs to believers who trust and believe in Him without holding anything back, without question, without explanation, without requirements, and without limitations. The Kingdom of Heaven is for the such as these. The Kindgdom is for children who believe and trust God unconditionally. Adults don t usually trust Jesus or understand Him. The Pharisees had a hard time understanding Jesus. The Pharisees were the religious leaders and taught the people about the Old Testament. In their time, there were few as knowledgeable about the Bible as a Pharisee. A person could ask a Pharisee anything about the Old Testament law and scriptures. A Pharisee would know the answer. They knew too much to trust Jesus. He didn t make sense to them and he didn t fit their reasoning. If we have been a Christian a long time or grew up in the Church, our faith could be like that, Jesus just doesn t make sense. In John 3, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus at night August Events August 1 8 am Men s Golf Tournament August 2 7 p. VOTA Yanney Park August 8 9 am Men B.K. North 7:30 pm Praise & Worship Night August 9 Lamplighter Potluck CSF Meal Elder s Meeting August 15 9 am Men B.K. North August 21 Blue and Gold Community Showcase 5-8 pm August 22 9 am Men B.K. North August 26 7 pm Momentum August 29 9 am Men B.K. North August 30 9 am Promotion Sunday Sundays 9:45 am Sunday 11:00 am Worship Mondays Small Group Saturdays 9:00 am Men s Bible Burger King North location Staff Chad Laughrey, Senior Minister Arlene Stoner, Secretary (Continued on page 2)

2 BEING BORN AGAIN (cont d from page 1) and said, Rabbi we know you are a teacher that has come from God for no one perform the signs that you are doing if God were not with him. Jesus tells him, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again. You can t see or understand the Kingdom of God unless you become like a child again. The wonder and simple ideas of being a child change into more complicated views of life when we grow up. We need things to have reason or be explained. Things aren t real if there isn t an explanation. Our faith in God can sometimes be like that. We only believe when He can be explained. Serving in Children s Ministry helps me, as a long time believer in Jesus, to keep my faith and excitement fresh and new. The kids that come believe God is real and that s enough for them. He doesn t have to be proved, explained, or put on display. Serving in our church s LocoMotion (Children s Worship) services challenges me to think about God in a new way. It makes my faith alive and exciting. Faith has to be exciting to share it with kids. I can t help but think about why I worship God when I watch a child get excited about worship just because God loves them. Why do you worship God? Is it because that s what you ve always done? Are you just checking in with God? Is it just a way to make God pay attention to you? Come to God and be His child again. A child that is excited about worship because God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die for your sins. Come to Him and renew the excitement of your relationship with the living and relevant God. Your Heavenly Father is excited about you. God Bless, Art Apple, Dear Congregation, To ensure that we stay within a budget and to be good stewards of our monetary resources, we are moving to a new policy where you must obtain a purchase order prior to making any purchase for the church. This is necessary so that you have authorization and also so that you have the Form 13 (tax exempt paperwork) with you. We are trying to set up next years budget and having the tracking that the P.O.s provide will be very beneficial. Failure to obtain a P.O. prior to making the purchase means that you may not be reimbursed for the purchases you make. Please plan your future purchases accordingly. If you have any questions feel free to contact the office or Ron Wymore.

3 Countryside Christian Church Elders Meeting Present: Present: Chad Laughrey, Max Richardson, Tim Erickson, Greg Smith, Roger Watson, Ben Kinnison, Chad Anderson, Arlene Stoner Max Richardson opened meeting with prayer Arlene Stoner: Arlene asked the elders if it would be OK to purchase from different suppliers for the church s office supplies. She said that she can get discount pricing from vendors other than the ones that we typically purchase from. Arlene also asked about being able to use a debit card for purchasing church supplies. The elders agreed that she could purchase supplies for the church from any vendor that she would like and told her that we would visit with Ron Wymore about getting a debit card from the bank. Chad Anderson: Chad shared with the elders some recommendations from the missions committee regarding the percentages that Countryside is giving to the various ministries that we support. The recommendations from the missions committee with input from the elders are as follows: Discontinue the $100 per month that is given to the Reach boutique Discontinue the $100 per month that is given to Nebraska Christian College Discontinue 1% to CIY with our emphasis on funding students who attend these conferences Begin giving 1% to TRAC Begin giving 1% to Connection Christian Church for one year for start up assistance Begin giving 1% to a discretionary fund for various needs Lower giving to CSF from 4% to 3%. 2% would go directly to support the international student ministry and 1% to the general fund for CSF The elders agreed that a letter would be composed and sent to CSF and CIY explaining the changes to the amounts that we will be giving to support their ministry. Chad Anderson also mentioned possibly looking for a way to support a ministry that is taking the gospel to closed countries in Africa and rescuing girls from sex trafficking. Youth Minister: The elders have put packets and advertisement material together for the possible hire of a future Youth Minister. The decision was made to get a better grasp of our financial projections before officially posting the ad. Two Services: Discussion was held regarding how having two services has been working for the church. The elders would like to get some feedback from volunteers and the congregation about their thoughts of having two services since we have been trying it for several months. A survey will be made available to the church to provide a way for members to give feedback about having two service times at Countryside. Closing: Meeting was closed in prayer by Ben Kinnison.

4 Secretary Notes: There are several changes taking place at Countryside; since I am one of them I will give you a bit of interesting things I have found out since starting last month. Did you know we have a TON of movies and books that you can borrow?? I think every Veggie Tales movie ever made is in the office waiting for you to check them out! I understand that I am not in a lot right now but as the summer concludes I will have hours that are consistent, probably 9 5, but that will be in September s newsletter.. Right now I am in 12:30 5:00 if you want to borrow anything or just say hello!! Did you know that if you are interested in doing foster care there are meetings here at the church every week to answer all of those questions?!?!? I am doing a little re-arranging and the large bookcase by the welcome center will have free books that you can take home. Also, in trying to leave a better planet for our kids I ordered a recycle bin so if you are having an event or gathering, at the church, please recycle what you can, the list of acceptable items is on the refrigerator. I appreciate everyone giving me time and overlooking all the errors as I learn this new job. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming and it has been much appreciated! Have a blessed day. Arlene Sunday August 2nd 7:00 PM Pibel Bible Camp Women s retreat Friday, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 Please call the office if you are interested and I will get you a flyer. Yanney Park (Inclimate weather back up site is:) Countryside Christian Church

5 Join us! Praise and Worship Night Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 pm During the 11:00 Worship Service every Sunday!! If you have any interest in helping with LocoMotion and watching the kids get excited about Jesus...see Art Apple!! Kingdom Kids will start Wednesday, September 2 at 7 pm All kids 3 years old through 5th grade are welcome to join us! There will be singing, playing, learning and so much more! Watch for more information! Momentum will meet August 26 at 7 pm. Call the office if you have any questions.

6 August Server s Schedule Entrance Greeters Sound Booth Techs Instrumentalists August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30 HS Class Ron Wymore David Morehead Nathan Cudaback Kayla Wentz Nancy Schanbacher Women s Friendship Class Aaron Cudaback Tim Sharkey Mike Cudaback Chad Anderson Classroom A-1 Mark Butts Brian Vavra Tim Sharkey Kayla Wentz Carter Hollis Jan Wymore Classroom A-2 Aaron Cudaback Dave Morehead Mike Cudaback Chad Anderson MS Class Aaron Cudaback Mike Cudaback Chad Anderson Vocalists Nursery 11:00 Service Max Richardson Mark Butts Jan Wymore Hannah Baker Susan Weiler Tammy Shields Tyler Shields Kayci Chase Ceara Robles Bethany Shaw Randy Stocks Alisha Cudaback Suzi Hoffman Katie Smith Lilian Smith Vicky Sharkey Melissa Anderson Randy Stocks Tami Chaviano Laura Larsen Bethany Shaw Shaelyn Cudaback Susan Weiler Randy Stocks Rachelle Warner Ceara Robles Vicky Sharkey Kayci Chase Randy Stocks Sarah Cudaback Kid s Worship Art Apple and Crew Art Apple and Crew Art Apple and Crew Art Apple and Crew Art Apple and Crew 8:30 Service Communion Thought 11:00 Service Communion Thought Mark Butts Art Apple Ron Wymore Tim Erickson Nate Hepner Ben Kinnison Roger Watson Joe Warner Greg Swinney Dewayne Brand 8:30 Servers Don Burwell Jeff Baker Tom Heaston Jim Larsen Mark Loseke Aaron Wentz Max Richardson Lonnie Allison Tim Erickson Nate Oberg Tim Erickson Nate Hepner Greg Linn Mert Feikert Don Burwell Jeff Baker Tom Heaston Jim Larsen Mark Loseke Aaron Wentz Max Richardson Lonnie Allison Greg Linn Nate Oberg 11:00 Servers Steve McBee Joe Warner Ray Shields Brian Vavra Greg Smith Bryan Chase Rich Krieg Roger Watson Brent Hollis Carter Hollis Scott Hoffman Tom Silvers Murl Tiede Brian Blakley Joe Warner Ben Kinnison Roger Watson Ray Shields Brian Vavra Greg Smith Bryan Chase Rich Krieg Roger Watson Brent Hollis Carter Hollis Scott Hoffman Chad Anderson Murl Tiede Brian Blakley Joe Warner Ben Kinnison Joe Warner Ray Shields Brian Vavra Greg Smith Bryan Chase Rich Krieg Shut In Communion Roger Watson Pat & Heide Epley Jim Larsen Mark Loseke Dewayne Brand Communion Prep Crystal Stocks If you cannot serve on the Sunday you are scheduled, please find a replacement or trade with someone.

7 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 8 am Golf Tournament Roxanne Bascom 2 Tyler Shields 3 4 Desiree Smith 5 Don Woolley 6 Alice Thompson 7 8 7:30 pm Praise & Worship Night Jeff Baker Kelly Kinnison 9 Lamplighter Potluck CSF Meal Scott & Betsey Seger 10 Shawn & Shari Heaston Ben & Kelly Kinnison 13 Mark & Becky Butts 14 Taylor Kinnison 15 Hannah Hepner Vivian Smith Jan Richardson 19 Charlotte Schnacker Lonny Schnacker Blue and Gold 5 8 pm Terry & Judy Silvers PM?? MOMENTUM Jodie Shields Kayla Wentz 30 PROMOTION SUN- DAY 31 Please check in the office before scheduling activities or meetings. Not all activities and meetings are included on this calendar. Thanks!

8 Countryside Christian Church th Ave Kearney NE Phone: countrysidechristian1@gmail.com Website: August :30 Worship * 9:45 am Sunday * 11 am Worship Nursery and Kid s Worship will be available during 11:00 am worship service. Every Week