Highlands Highlights

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1 Volume XI, Issue X October,2014 Highlands Highlights Kirkin O the Tartan, Oct 26 Everyone get ready for Reformation Sunday! We are going to have a Kirkin of the Tartan. This a special service that is particular to denominations that have a Scottish heritage. Often called dedication services, it is a day where the clans (families) of Scotland are dedicated to God s service and His guidance and protection is sought over them. The flags of the church, state and country will be dedicated along with the tartan banners of those members who are of Scottish ancestry. Men, feel free to don the kilt, and ladies anything plaid will do! We encourage anyone particularly those of Scottish decent to wear the national dress of Scotland! In an effort to make certain that those who come from a Scottish cal heritage are represented we ask that you would fill out the form in the bulletin and place it in the offering plate. Thank you so much! SUNDAY SCHOOL KICK-OFF BRUNCH OCTOBER 5, 2014 You are invited to join us Sunday, October 5, at 10:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall for our annual Sunday School Kick-Off Brunch followed by a puppet show presented by our own Highlands Productions. Inside this issue: From the Pastor 2 Wed night series, Soup Nite 3 Memorial 4 Memorial, Heritage week end 5 Puppet Ministry 6 Men s Association, WOC 7 Youth, MMO 8 You are never too young or too old to attend Sunday School. I would like to charge each of you to make a commitment to be present in Sunday School every Sunday that you possibly can. Bring your children, invite your friends, and above all, encourage our new members and visitors to come to Sunday School. We hope to see YOU at the brunch on October 5. Special points of interest: Oct 4 Men and WOC meeting 9am Sunday school kick off brunch 10am Oct 24 chili cook off 6:30pm Oct 25 yard sale 8am, BBQ sale 11am Oct 26 Reformation Sunday Kirkin O the Tartan 11am, congregational meeting

2 From the Pastor And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (ESV) Discouragement is something that most, if not all, of us face from time to time. It can be the result of the troubles and trials we face as well as some inability to achieve something or some goal we greatly desire. All of us at one time or another will find ourselves becoming discouraged. One of the tragic results of becoming discouraged is realized in the tendency we have to simply give up, to lose hope, to believe that it just isn t going to get better. We fall prey to the emotion of despair and we let it dictate how we feel and what we believe. When that happens we then become depressed and even worried about our future and perhaps the future of our family, our job, or perhaps our church. The men and women of Scripture are certainly no strangers to facing times of discouragement. Like us, they too would strive toward a better life and, more importantly, being better people who sought to love and live for the Lord. However, just like us, they too would find themselves falling short of achieving their goals. They too would face trials and troubles that would seem to drive them toward despair. And like us they would find that only as they continued in faithfulness to the Lord would they reap the harvest of good that God intended for them. You see, regardless of what happens to us in this life, whether it s something we might consider good or bad, God alone is the one who rewards us for our efforts. Staying the course, walking in holiness, trusting in the grace and mercy of our God is the only thing that really matters and the only way in which we will find ourselves ultimately blessed by God. We all know that in this world we will have trouble, just as Jesus said, and as such discouragement will be found around every corner. But if we continue to work toward the goal of being all that God has created, redeemed, and called us to be, we have His assurance that in the end we will be blessed as God Himself sustains and blesses us. Pastor Mark Page 2 HIGHL A NDS HI G HLI G HTS

3 New Video Series Beginning Wednesday October 1 Who Is the Holy Spirit? by Sinclair Ferguson Although the Holy Spirit is sometimes the forgotten Person of the Trinity, His presence and work is found throughout redemptive history. In this twelve-message series, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson traces the work of the third person of the Trinity through Scripture - from creation to the work of Christ to His dwelling in our hearts today. Along the way, he sheds light on the vital role the Holy Spirit serves. Dr. Ferguson s goal is to help us know the Holy Spirit as a person, in addition to knowing of His power and work within us. 1. Order from Chaos 7. Rivers of Living Water 2. The Face of God 8. A Heavenly Birth 3. The Spirit of the Lord 9. A Heavenly Helper 4. Dwelling Within 10. Walking in the Spirit 5. Trinitarian Fellowship 11. The Inward Groan 6. The Sustainer 12. The Spirit of Sonship Dr. Sinclair Ferguson is a Scottish theologian known in Reformed Christian circles for his teaching, writing, and editorial work. He is a professor at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, commuting from Scotland where he is an assistant minister at St. Peter's Free Church of Scotland, Dundee. He serves as Dean of the D.Min program at Ligonier Academy and served as senior pastor at First ARP in Columbia, SC. Soup Nite Thank you ALL for your willingness to serve. It was a good time to fellowship among God's people on Monday. It was a gorgeous day for a cook out. Thank you to George O Farrell and Bob Statham for manning the grill! Thank you to Andrea Eklund and Kristy Summers for the awesome cupcakes. We had many new people come to the cook out this time. I'm sure that our regular patrons, that we look forward to seeing each month, will be back in October! God brings us the people we are to serve on any given Monday and it's our desire to serve who comes and prepare what we can. We have learned that we cannot go by the numbers. Since we did have new people, we also have new prayer concerns. Please lift up these families in your prayers... A father is looking for work in the police force or prison security, another family only has one working parent and, a single Dad, just started a new job but is facing the challenges of raising a daughter alone. Our next Soup Nite is October 27th. We will serve Crock Pot Tamale Pie! Yummy!! There will be sign up sheets in the Fellowship Hall beginning on October 19th. Jane and I are very much appreciative of your hard work in preparing and helping each time we do this. We hope you are receiving the blessings from it! In Christ, Carrie V OLU ME XI, ISSU E X Page 3

4 In Loving Memory Roy Allen Davis, MD March 4, 1923 August 31, 2014 The Seashore THE WEAVER My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily Oft times He weaveth sorrow And I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper And I the under side I love to walk by the side Of the sea, With the wind and the waves just you and me. Water splashing our Barefoot feet Seagulls looking for bread Or meat. Our footprints sink in the Softened sand, Our spirits soar with The birds This day was made to set the soul free. How happy I am that God Shared it with me! Not til the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reasons why The dark threads are as needful In the weaver s skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned He knows, He loves, He cares Nothing this truth can dim He gives his very best to those Who leave the choice with him Page 4 HIGHL A NDS HI G HLI G HTS

5 Memorial for Bob Acker will be Oct. 11. at 1pm here at Highlands Robert Leon Acker was born Oct.1, 1945 in Wadsworth Ohio, and passed away Sept.10, Bob graduated from Wadsworth High School in 1964 and then proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. After the Navy Bob began his career in the Railroad industry and retired from that in Bob was a Volunteer fireman and EMT-A for 36 years. He was actively involved here at Highlands, along with the American Legion, S.A.L. GA and Gwinnett Woodworkers Association, Gwinnett Woodturners, Leader in Boy Scouts of America, Navy SeaBeas Veterans Association, P&O Rod & Gun Club, N.R.A. and American Hunting Club. Pam is asking that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to Highlands in Bob s honor. Everyone is invited to the memorial service on Oct. 11 at 1pm here at Highlands. You Are a Church with a Women s Ministry! Your initial thought may be, we don t have a Women s Ministry. We beg to differ, because God s love, you see places all women in a church family tree. Whether you have but two of you meeting or with so many more you are greeting, over coffee, tea, or friendship bread, Bible studies, or inspirational books read, decorating a wreath and a Crismon tree, you are a church with a Women s Ministry. Coming together to visit sick and shut-in, preparing meals for someone s next of kin, or discussing problems, stress and strain, seeking guidance to keep each other sane, sometimes sharing a childhood memory, you are a church with a Women s Ministry. Discussing great blogs with original ideas, or pinterest, or Etsy, or recipes, etcetera. VBS, crafts, or Bonclarken for fun sisters together, who knows when we re done? Girls Nights, retreats, or a slumber party, you are a church with a Women s Ministry. Trips to Wal-Mart, Target, or Sam s prayer partners or Titus 2 Programs, Many organized Circles of ladies, showers for brides and showers for babies, Homeschool support, sisters, we be You are a church with a Women s Ministry. Written by Sherry Bartlett. Heritage Week end & WOC On Oct 25th we will have our annual BAR BQ sale and the women would like to have a yard sale at the same time. We are forming teams to help with this project. Team 1 would help organize, advertise and set up the yard sale. Team 2 would price items on Friday evening after the chili cook off, team 3 V OLU ME XI, ISSU E X would sell the items on Saturday, and team 4 would remove items that did not sell and donate them to a charity. We will join the men on Oct 4th for breakfast at 9am and break into our separate meetings at 9:45am. Please plan to join us as we make plans for all of our fall and Christ- mas activities. All women that worship at Highlands are encouraged to be at this meeting. Anyone wishing to donate items for the yard sale will need to bring them to the church Friday Oct 24th. These items are a donation and all proceeds from the sale will go to the Women of the Church to use for church functions. Page 5

6 Highlands Productions We begin our new Sunday School year at Highlands this month. There will be a Kick Off Brunch and Puppet Show on October 5th during the Sunday School hour at 10am. We are excited, with renewed anticipation, in growing our church through this ministry. Please pass the word out...highlands Puppets aren't just for children, they teach life lessons that sometimes only adults know or understand. However, the children know it's all about the puppets! The first Sunday of each month we will give a skit in the Fellowship Hall at the beginning of the Sunday School hour, 10 am. After the skit is over, the younger children's classes will go into a classroom and sing songs. After song time, they will then do a craft that relates to what they learned during the skit. We are hoping this first Sunday will be an outreach to our community. Highlands children can invite their friends and family members to join us for these special Sundays. While each Sunday is special to Christians, we would like others to know just how special it is by inviting them to worship with us. We are in the process of having a sign made to go up out in front of the church along Grayson Parkway, each week before the 1st Sunday, reminding our neighbors about this date. We are also sending out evites to the members of Highlands with children, the MMO families and also our past VBS families, making sure everyone is invited! Highlands Productions is continuing to do a puppet show on the 3rd Thursday each month for the MMO. This begins our 3rd year with the MMO and we have decided to branch out into other areas of Grayson. We hope to do shows for the library, day care and senior centers. Please PRAY for us as we take this ministry to new venues and get people interested in what puppets can do for us! In His Service, Carrie Page 6 HIGHL A NDS HI G HLI G HTS

7 Highlands Men s Association The Men s Association has several projects either currently active or in the planning process. The in-progress project is the lawn equipment building currently under construction at the back of the church in the playground area. As schedules allowed, the men have worked 2 or 3 hours at a time pouring concrete, framing, installing shingles and installing siding. The project is almost complete, and will secure our lawn equipment, and protect it from the weather. Our next activity in the planning stage is the BBQ during Heritage weekend. The Men s Association will smoke 18 to 20 hams overnight. The hams slowly cook with hickory wood which gives the BBQ its famous Highlands flavor. On Sunday November 9, the Men s Association is going to sponsor a brunch, during the Sunday School hour, honoring US Veterans. We are asking our Veterans and those who have Veterans in their family to bring pictures, uniforms, or other military memorabilia to display in the Fellowship Hall. Maybe we can have a contest to decide who has changed the most since their military days! Our next scheduled meeting will be on Saturday, October 4 at 9 AM. Breakfast is served prior to the meeting. I encourage all the men in Highlands to attend. Whether physically helping with projects or helping with planning, your service is building God s Church! Ladies Bible Study Tuesday Nights 7PM How will you live the rest of your life? What kind of person will you become? Do you want to see Christ's life formed in your life? Do you want to become the person God had in mind when he created you? Do you yearn to touch the world for God's glory and advance His kingdom? The book we are studying this year will help us to "number our days... that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 Join us as we discuss and try and discern the direction our lives will take, and encourage one another to a closer walk with God. Women s Ministries of Second Presbytery Annual Meeting On Sept. 27th several ladies from Highlands and the ICOC joined all the women of Second Presbytery for the 16th annual meeting. We enjoyed fellowship with each other and shared and learned new ideas that other women s ministries are doing. We were inspired by two speakers that encouraged us in our faith and evangelism. Each church brought a basket of items that represented things about their church and ministries. We labeled each item in our basket with how the item represented a particular ministry at Highlands. These baskets were used as door prizes, and the woman that won ours loved that everything was labeled and said that it would make a great keep sake. Thank you to those that made and donated items for our basket. V OLU ME XI, ISSU E X Page 7

8 Youth This month the youth group has been getting back into the swing of things. At our Wednesday night meetings we have continued working through the DVD series "Notes from the Tilt-a- Whirl" by N.D. Wilson. The focus of the past few lessons have been on the problem of evil. We have touched on topics such as - What is evil? What is the problem of evil? What is the solution to the problem of evil? Why does God allow evil in his world? The DVD series has helped facilitate a number of great conversations in the youth concerning good and evil, apologetics, and suffering. This series has also helped us to look at the world in a more evangelistic manner, with concern for those around us who do not believe in Christ. During Sunday school this month the youth covered the book of Numbers, as well as began a study of the book of Galatians. In the study of Galatians we have begun to look into the problem of circumcision that the early Church faced. We have discussed why it is important that new Christians do not need to first become Jews in order to then become Christians (as the circumcision party thought). This discussion led us into a discussion of justification by faith or by works where we were able to look at the Reformation and see the clear focus on justification by faith in the Reformers. Upcoming Events: Saturday October 25th - The Youth will be participating in games and a bake sale at the Church Barbecue! November (Date TBD) - The youth will be going on a mystery retreat! Youth Prayer Requests: Please pray for both Tyler and Theo Edmondson who have suffered football related injuries to their right and left (respective) shoulders. Theo is doing physical therapy for the next few weeks, and Tyler may need surgery. Highlands MMO & Preschool The fun has begun!! New teachers and new students have set the stage for a great new year! The students seem very excited to learn all that their teachers have begun to teach them. They love snack and play- ground time, and they even love music time! There are still spaces available, so if you know of anyone interested, please tell them about our program! Thanks!! Page 8 HIGHL A NDS HI G HLI G HTS

9 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 MMO 2 MMO 3 4 5:30 Bell Practice 6:15 Choir Practice 6:30 Youth 9AM WOC & Men s meeting 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Holy Spirit Bible Study 5 6 MMO 7 MMO 8 MMO 9 MMO :30 Bell Practice Jackie Rice Dottie Davis 6:15 Choir Practice Mac Dorton 9:00 Worship 9:45 Fellowship 10:00 Brunch Sunday School Kick off 11:00 Worship 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast 7PM Ladies Bible Study 6:30 Youth 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Holy Spirit Bible Study Virginia Winters MMO 15 MMO 16 MMO :00 Worship 9:45 Fellowship 10:00 SS 11:00 Worship Mike O Farrell Megan Sinclair 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast 7PM Ladies Bible Study 5:30 Bell Practice 6:15 Choir Practice 6:30 Youth 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Holy Spirit Bible Study Nancy Smith David Harris MMO 21 MMO 22 MMO 23 MMO :00 Worship 9:45 Fellowship 10:00 SS 11:00 Worship 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast 7PM Ladies Bible Study 5:30 Bell Practice 6:15 Choir Practice 6:30 Youth 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Holy Spirit Bible Study Angela Weatherly Lee Ragas 6:30PM Chili cook off Yard Sale 8AM BAR BQ 11AM MMO 28 MMO 29 MMO 30 MMO 31 5:30 Bell Practice Joey Hunt Leng Conn Alyssa Gill 6:15 Choir Practice 9:45 Fellowship Thomas Kuykendall 6:30 Youth 10:00 SS 11:00 Worship Kirkin O the Tartan Congregational meeting 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast 7PM Ladies Bible Study 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Holy Spirit Bible Study

10 Worship Times And Activities Sunday: 9:00 AM Contemporary Worship service 9:45 AM Fellowship W/Coffee and Pastries 10:00 AM Sunday School for all Ages 10:30 AM Choir Practice 11:00 AM Traditional Worship Service Important Phone Numbers (770) Phone (770) Fax Tuesday: 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast at Main Street Restaurant on Hwy 78 in Snellville 7:00 PM Ladies Weekly Bible Study Wednesday: 5:30 PM Bell Practice 6:15 PM Choir practice 6:30 PM Youth 7:00 PM Dinner 7:30 PM Bible Study Pastor: Mark Hornby Youth Pastor: Chris McCoy Music Director: Bonnie Hornby Secretary : Alexia Cundey Saturday: 9:00 AM Fellowship Breakfast (Periodically) 9:45 AM Highlands Men s Association & WOC meeting Highlands Presbyterian Church PO Box 847 Grayson, GA Highlands Highlights October, 2014 Newsletter Candle Lighters: Oct 5 Nate Edmondson Oct 12 John Mark Avitabile Oct 19 Nate Edmondson Oct 26 John Mark Avitabile CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Warmly Welcoming our Members & Visitors each week: Oct 5 Charles Roberts, Earl Thomas, Hal Gill, Paul McInnish Oct 12 Annetta Harper, Maxie Lee, John Lovern, John Avitabile Oct 19 George O Farrell, Stan Whitaker, Bill Houston, Lee Hunt Oct 26 Tim Jordan, John Avitabile, Bill Wright, Russell Smith