THE CHURCH VISITOR. What Will We Bare? SERMON TITLE: No Other Name. SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 4:5-12

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1 APRIL 21, 2015 RICHLAND HILLS CHRISTIAN CHURCH THE CHURCH VISITOR John 15:2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. And of course what kind of fruit are we called to produce? Matthew 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. What Will We Bare? I have included a picture with my article and it s of our little peach tree that could. It has literally hundreds of peaches and I have been going out to thin the crop to hopefully get something of better quality and size. That is if we can keep the squirrels and birds from getting them. Also the people who care for our landscape trimmed it some and if you didn t know it fruit trees generally bear fruit from new growth. Some of the illustrations that Jesus used in his teaching were about fruit trees. The fig tree that did not produce he told it to die. Matthew 21:19 And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, May no fruit ever come from you again! And the fig tree withered at once. The need for pruning in order for more fruit to be produced. So lets think about all three of these together. We are called to produce fruit of the Kingdom of God. We will be pruned and shaped as God sees fit to produce the most fruit. (Heads up: pruning is often painful) If we do not produce the fruit as we should the long term consequence will be that we won t exist. As we grow together as a church much more effort will be put into evaluating the quality and quantity of the Kingdom fruit we are producing that the world is hungry for. We will ask God to prune and shape us in whatever way is necessary to improve our yield for His kingdom. And in so doing we will continue God s work through the life of this church for long after we are all gone. So let s make a decision together to be as fruity as God wants us to be. And let us watch as the good fruit that God offers through our church brings new people into our midst who are hungry, some starving for the goodness of God s love, grace, and mercy. The fruits of God that will feed them for a lifetime. --Pastor Paul SERMON TITLE: No Other Name SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 4:5-12

2 CHURCH CALENDAR APRIL CWF Night Group (6:30 pm) Men s Bible Study (6:15 am) Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal (7:00 pm) Guitar Lessons (7:00 pm) Prayer Ministry (9:00 am) Seeker s, Pioneer s, New Adult and Youth SS Classes (9:15 am) Toddler SS Classes (10:10 am) Morning Worship Service (10:30 am) CWF Executive Board Meeting after worship service No Experiencing God Class All Church Picnic at Hurst Community Park (4:00 pm) CWF Visitation Day (9:30 am) Men s Bible Study (6:15 am) Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal (7:00 pm) Guitar Lessons (7:00 pm) SERVING SCHEDULE Worship Coordinator Jeff Stricklin Deacons (Month of April) Sidney Baker, Rita Rowe, Joan Burgett, Mike Visage Worship Leader Evan Lawson The Table (Bread) Jo Ellen Howard (Cup) Jim Phillips Children s Moment Norma Hopkins Greeters Ryon & Leah McCann Coffee Fellowship All Church Picnic Communion Clean-Up Dan & Ann Runnels PRAYER REQUESTS FOR OUR CHURCH FAMILY: Please continue to pray for the following: Gale Stephens Linda Baker Rachel Chaffin Diane Farmer Kathryn Holiday Jackie Zuefeldt JJ & Carla Alvarado s granddaughter, Reagan CONNECT CARDS Please make an effort to put your name on one of the connect cards that you can find in the back of the pews every Sunday. It is the only way we have to provide some idea who is here each Sunday. Also, you can include changes to personal information as well as prayer concerns that Pastor Paul and Laura can utilize in the office to better meet the needs of the congregation. Harold & Jody McClure Karla Richardson David Agan Nettie Campbell Dell Fielder Tommy Duer John & Maxine Gandy Victor Barnet Stan & Preble Lehew Gary Morgan Lisa Klaus mother April: 04/26 - All Church Picnic 05/03 - John & JoEllen Howard 05/10 - JJ & Carla Alvarado 05/17 - Graduation Sunday FAITHFUL ATTENDANCE & GIVING Sunday, April 19 Sunday School - 44 Worship Service - 88 Faithful Giving (4/19) - $ 3,151

3 Please join us for food, games, and fellowship at the RHCC All Church Picnic!!! Sunday, April 26th 4:00 pm Hurst Community Park in Hurst 601 Precinct Line Road Membership and Fellowship committees will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, iced tea and water. Last Names A - L: Please bring side dish Last Names M - Z: Please bring dessert Directions to Hurst Community Park: From the church parking lot, go EAST (right) on Glenview Drive (which turns into Pipeline Road), take a RIGHT on Precinct Line Road. You will drive past a baseball field, then turn RIGHT on Oakwood Avenue. Hurst Community Park will be on the RIGHT. Binion Elementary TEACHERS & STAFF LUNCHEON The tentative date for the Spring Teacher s Luncheon at Binion Elementary is Friday, May 15th. We will create a baked potato bar for the staff including Smoked Brisket and Pulled Pork as toppings and all the other fixin s with a salad. If you would like to help work this luncheon or provide desserts, a sign-up sheet will be in the Gathering Area this Sunday for both. Any monetary donations to help cover the costs of this meal would be appreciated as well and can be included in the offering for the next few weeks. This meal truly is a great way to say THANK YOU to all the staff that work with the 700 children that attend Binion every week. TEXAS RANGERS GAME & FREE CONCERT MAY 3-2:05 PM You are invited to join a group of RHCC family and friends to the Texas Rangers Game and Free Concert by Casting Crowns on Sunday, May 3, beginning at 2:05 pm. The cost will be $12 - $15 per person, depending on the number of people that we have sign up. If you have any questions about this event, please call Rachel Walther at (817)

4 Going and Growing A resource that has been made available to any church member is provided through the Christian Ed ministry and it is called Right Now Media. This organization provides learning and instructional opportunities for anyone interested in growing in their faith in many areas including Bible study, leadership, marriage, youth and children, finances, and much more. Over 10,000 resources are available. It also has a section that includes nearly 1800 Christian cartoons. Many of you have been sent an invitation, but I will resend it to those who have not logged on. The materials can be accessed from anywhere on a smart device and I hope you take some time to look at some of these resources for yourself. I am also (monthly) sending the leadership team videos for leadership development and this could become a valuable resource for our church if we will take advantage of it. PARENT S NIGHT OUT A SUCCESS! As you can see, the kids were having a blast on the playground in the courtyard! Many thanks to the Christian Education Department who made this night possible. The CWF will be serving lunch for an I Can Still Shine event on Saturday, May 9th from 11:00 am until around 1:30 pm at Birdville Baptist Church in Haltom City. We will be serving lasagna, bread, salad and drinks. Anyone interested in baking a frozen lasagna, serving at the luncheon, or providing homemade cookies for dessert, please contact Judy at or Shelly at RHCC 2015 Leadership In the Gathering Area we had sheets with the RHCC 2015 Leadership listed. These did not include the names of our Deacons and Elders. We now have new sheets that include the Deacons and Elders. They will be available for you on Sunday.

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6 SO PROUD TO BE A PART OF RICHLAND HILLS CHRISTIAN CHURCH I just wanted to share something that happened this week here at RHCC. We have quite a few people that come into the office needing help with gas, rent, food, etc. on a weekly basis. We assist them in the best way possible. But this event started with a phone call... On Thursday morning we received a call in the church office from a young lady asking if we held funerals in our church for non-members. You see, this was a very difficult situation for the family of the deceased (both financially and emotionally). The funeral home was not big enough to hold the many young people that would attend, and other churches turned them down. I told Pastor Paul about it and knowing the nature of our family here at RHCC, he did not even hesitate to open up our church to this family in their time of need. He was asked to officiate at this young man s funeral - a man who he knew nothing about. He wanted to reach out to these young people and let them know how important it is to have Jesus in their life. I was told that a young lady from the funeral was one our guests on Sunday morning (along with her 3 year old daughter) because RHCC made her feel welcome. We asked for volunteers to help out at the funeral (and I want to thank those that did just that - Terri Williams, Jean Plummer and Joan Burgett). The family wanted to have a dinner in the Fellowship Hall afterward. Doug Fulk set up the round tables and chairs and Terri Williams made the place look beautiful. She wanted the family to have a nice setting - she even bought nice napkins and made tea for the family (what a servant s heart). I just wanted to say Thank You to RHCC and all who opened up their hearts to serve this family in their time of grief. This family will always remember the kindness of God s church for opening the doors in their time of need. --Laura Pickard Secretary