*** A teaching moment from Fr. Andy:

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1 Church Office: THE SOLID ROCK CHURCH Mailing Address: 3601 Cypress Gardens Rd Cypress Gardens Rd., Suite Q PO Box 926 Suite C Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven, FL Winter Haven, FL (863) Weekly Epistle Services: Sundays 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays: Prayer 4:30 - Supper 5:30 - Service 6:15 p.m. Soaking Prayer: First Wednesday of the month and by appointment Our New Sign Now you can invite everybody to join us at TSRC. We re easy to find with our new sign. No more little red arrow pointing us to our sanctuary. The new sign was installed this week, and it looks GREAT! The Rocket.34 1

2 The Season is: LENT Sun., 3/01/09 Gen 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; I Peter 3:18-22; Mk. 1:9-15 Wed. 3/4/09 HEALING Dt. 9:13-21; Psalm 49; Heb 3:12-19; Jn:2:23-3:15 Humility and Obedience A teaching moment from Fr. Andy: Selective discipleship 'False Christs will arise,' Jesus prophesied. And it has been so. There have been religious quacks advancing great claims for themselves, and poor psychotics saying 'I am Jesus Christ.' There have also been misrepresentations of Christ, caricatures which depict him as fiery zealot, failed superstar or circus clown. And coming nearer to home, there are our own distorted images of Jesus. 'Follow me,' he said. 'Yes, Lord,' comes our glib reply, 'we will follow you.' But which Christ are we following? The Christ some follow breathes love but never judgment, brings comfort but never challenge; while others among us are alert to his commission to evangelize, but have somehow never heard his call to care for the poor, the sick, the hungry and the deprived. The apostles took up the theme of following Jesus. We are to 'imitate' him, they wrote, to 'follow in his steps'. What it will mean to do this depends on our understanding of the Jesus in whose shoes we are to walk. So let's look again for the *real* Jesus, the authentic Jesus of the Gospel records, over against the popular dreams which men have dreamed. Certainly our Christian lifestyle depends on the kind of Christ we envisage and believe in. --From "Walk i n His Shoes" (London: IVP, 1975), p. 3. The Rocket.34 2

3 A Letter from Shristi Thoresen Dear friends, This week, I am leaving for a ten day adventure to the Mardi Gras. I will be traveling with my school of worship, intercession, spiritual warfare and prophetic evangelism. Your prayers will be greatly appreciated as we try to get God's heart for the people of New Orleans. So far, this school has blessed me in so many ways. At the moment, I am feeling an intense heart ache concerning the value of life and each individual soul. I am not really sure what to do with these feelings, but prayers and intercessions are flowing as freely as ever before. I am especially hungry with an overflow of joy to minister to the Wiccan and Pagan communities of America. These were one of my primary prayer focuses while being home in December. In case you are unaware, I am currently based out of Denver, CO. It is great to be back after spending a summer here in My heart is stirred for the people of Denver and I intend to stay here for this quarter at the very least. May the Lord continue to bless you and bring you into his glorious Presence! I long to behold the fire and intensity of His heart for the lost, broken and hurting. I love you all very much. Drop me a note when you have the time. I would appreciate hearing from any and all of you. Sincerely, Shristi Joy. The Lenten program, Story, has begun. The first week was wonderful. Good video; good conversation; good insights. If you re not currently joined to a group that s taking advantage of this Lenten devotion, please join in. For more information, you can call the church office or Joe Plummer at You ll be glad you didn t miss this. The Rocket.34 3

4 Meet Our New Nursery Coordinator Eleanor Louden has cheerfully taken on the role of Nursery Coordinator for TSRC. Thank you to all who have donated furniture and toys, and to all who have agreed to work in our nursery. This is a need we have had for a long time, and we are thrilled to be able to offer this service to young families. The nursery is available from 9:45 a.m. on Sundays until announcement time during the service. Children (ages birth to 3 years) are to be picked up at announcement time to ensure they receive their blessings at communion, and so that our workers do not miss communion. There will be two Millstone Millstone trained workers in the nursery each week. Help us get the word out. Nothing would be more of a blessing than to have to open the nursery for Wednesday services and for educational events. We salute you, Ellie, for taking on this job! You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering. Henri Frederic Amiel The Rocket.34 4

5 H ealing Service 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5:14 This week is our monthly healing service. Be sure to take advantage of the soaking prayer available the first Wednesday of each month. Soaking prayer is also available on an appointment basis. If you are too ill to come to the church, a prayer team will come to you. Call the church office to set an appointment. The service will be held at 6:15 p.m., following the Wednesday evening supper. During Lent, there is no need to bring a covered dish. The Lenten suppers consist of soup and sandwiches, which will be provided. "There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow." Orison Swett Marden So pray expectantly. Flower Ministry Diane Barrett is no longer able to chair the Altar Flower ministry. Anyone who would like to serve God by seeing that the flowers are available and arranged on the altar for Sunday services, please call Diane and let her know. She will give you all the information on how to do this very easy job. Please, someone volunteer to do this necessary duty. The Rocket.34 5

6 An Update on Good Sam Orphanage JANUARY 2008 Through your prayer, support and assistance, in the year 2007 we managed to do the following: A. Major Construction: - Two new dormitories - One staff house - One building with 12 toilets and 12 bathrooms - Renovation of the existing buildings B. - Buying a vehicle - Paying the cost of the borrowed vehicle that was involved in a deadly accident on June 30, Securing an area that was connected to ours (six people were compensated) - Installation of solar power - Buying stock food for the year Meeting all education expenses for Primary and Secondary school children, - Meeting expenses for every aspect of the running cost for the GSO for the year 2007 C. - Fencing the whole area - Planting trees in the area and over the fence - Digging a temporary well for water supply - Running workshops and seminars for education purpose - Christian Education/Bible studies. As a result 18 children at the GSO were baptized during X- mas day - Ten children will receive confirmation on January 13, Maintain our relationship with friends and supporters of the GSO overseas and locally "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Sir Winston Churchill The Rocket.34 6

7 The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "If you'll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven." "I don't think I'll be there," the boy said. "You don't even know your way to the post office." Need Some Help? The Saturday Morning Men s Cursillo Group is available to help out with things like moving smaller items, rides to church or church functions, or doctor s appointments places you ve been unable to get to minor repairs well, you get the idea. If you have a need such as this that they can do, they will be happy to do it. If they can t fulfill your need, they will do their best to find someone who can. You can reach the group at , which is Chipper Allen s phone number, or call Joe Plummer at Chipper or Joe will be happy to hear your request and do whatever they can to assist you. God bless the Men s Cursillo Group. The Rocket.34 7

8 The most recent group of Avoiding the Millstone graduates. Sherry Zeller, Deb Barrieau, Sherry Smith, Eleanor Louden, and Chandra Baker, surrounding their trainer, Joe Plummer. TSRC can be especially proud of its Avoiding the Millstone training record. We have 33 Millstone graduates in our congregation. Way to go, Papa Joe! REMEMBER CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, SUNDAYS, 9:00 A.M., IN THE OFFICE We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges. The Rocket.34 8

9 A note from Mary Thoresen On February the 27th and 28th I participated in the World Vision 30-hour famine relief program. I was attempting to raise $360 to support a child with food for an entire year. Thank you to everyone who put a donation in the collection jar that was in the narthex on Sunday, the 22 nd, and Wed. the 24 th Notes of Praise As we come to worship, may it be a time when we turn our eyes and focus, to see only Jesus (not the worries and distractions of our everyday lives). May we come with open hearts, ready and willing to listen to Him, to God s Words, to pay attention and to respond. The Transfiguration Gospel has a couple of short key phrases, which I have highlighted here. It is my prayer that the music will help you to see only Jesus, and to listen to Him. Last week, February 22 nd, we were blessed with the whistling melodies of Marion Ballard, and the offertory song, I Can Only Imagine, by Ryan Plummer. You will be blessed and inspired again by the following worship music: March 1- (Flute) Recorder Group led by Ellen Zeller March 8- Dalton Meyer- cello Singing His Praise, Mary Thoresen The Rocket.34 9

10 We can be a blessing to very many by doing very little. Here are a few outreach ideas you can do on Sundays when you come for worship: Pregnancy Center Drop off a baby item in the basket in the Narthex Street Angels Bring a can of food for them. They feed many people every week, and hand out groceries. When you get a BOGO at the grocery store, why not keep one and turn in the free one to the Street Angels can. TSRC Have you gotten your business cards yet? Be sure to leave a TSRC card whenever you shop, eat at a restaurant, have your hair done, or talk to someone at your doctor s office. OUTREACH TEAM Volunteer to be part of the TSRC Outreach Team. Help to identify and coordinate outreach projects for TSRC. This very important and very necessary team is now being formed. To be a part of this exciting work, please call Fr. Andy and tell him to count on you! There will be a training session for acolytes on Sunday, March 8 th, after the worship service. The training session will last approximately one hour. If your children or grandchildren would like to serve God on His altar, please have them at this training. If you have any questions or need more information, please call the church office. Til Next Week, The Rocket.34 10