Dec 20, 2014 January 9, 2015 ACORN Seeds For Growth Joy-Filled Gratitude & Anticipation Oakwood Community Church 11209 Casey Rd Tampa FL 33618-5306 813.969.2303 www.oakwoodfl.org The mission of Oakwood is to... Transform ordinary people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Oakwood is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America. Just a week away and Christmas will be here! Rush, rush, rush! As we strive to wrap up our preparations for Christmas Eve and Day, resolve be like devoted Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25 & 38) by looking forward to Christmas with profound gratitude that God fulfilled His promises to provide for us a divine Rescuer from our sins. Let us also live in continual anticipation of the certain day that is coming when our Rescuer-King will return and powerfully usher in His kingdom in all its fullness and glory. Pray to God on those two themes every day through Christmas Day. If you are part of a family, guide them to join in with you. As we do we will be filled with joy, our families will be also and most important of all, our Lord will have a Merry Christmas too! Among so many, consider God the Father s promise when He declares to His Servant-Messiah, You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6, NLT). ~ Pastor Paul Inside this issue: Christmas Eve Bonfire 2 Members Vote 2 Upcoming Messages 3 Serve The Church & World 4 BFF Celebration 5 PowerHouse News 6 Marriage Matters 7 Kids Corner 8 Calendar at a Glance 9 Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/occtampa
Page 2 Christmas Message Series Christmas: God s Marvelous Promises Fulfilled Through His prophets, God has made some truly marvelous promises to us concerning a coming Messiah-King. God fulfilled these promises in a dramatic manner at the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas. We can experience God s promises in our lives right now! Let s celebrate what Christmas can mean for each of us now and in the future. ~ Pastor Paul Invite your family and friends and join us for these special pre-christmas services. Our Christmas season services will also feature our annual Christmas Eve Bonfire service. Dec 21 10:30 AM Born to Save Dec 24 6:00 PM Born to Assure Christmas Eve Bonfire Service. Bring your lawn chair, a flashlight and insect repellant and join us for this annual event outside of PowerHouse. In the event of inclement weather, this service will be moved to the Worship Center. Following the Bonfire Service, we will have coffee, hot chocolate and refreshments available for any who want to stay afterward for fellowship. We would welcome any extra Christmas treats or goodies you would like to bring to share. Members vote on 2015 Budget Members will vote on the Proposed 2015 Budget on Sunday, December 21. Copies of the Proposed Budget are available on the table in the back of the Worship Area. If you have any questions regarding the budget, please contact one of the elders or deacons. If you will not be at Oakwood on December 21 or you prefer to vote in advance, you may email your vote to office@oakwoodfl.org by noon on Friday, December 19, with your name clearly identified in the email. Schedule Change for December 28 There will be no education classes 15 9:15 AM on Sunday, December 28. We will have our regular 10:30 AM Worship Service with nursery care for children birth through 23 months and full TreeHouse Ministry for 2 year olds through 5th Graders during the service. Sunday, January 4 we will resume our regular schedule with Education Classes for all ages at 9:15 AM and our Worship Service and TreeHouse ministry at 10:30 AM. Holiday Office Schedule Due to the holidays and staff vacations, the Church Office hours the week of Christmas are limited. If you need to come to the office, please call before you come to make sure someone will be there.
Page 3 Tuesday Prayer Time Everyone is invited to special prayer sessions with the elders and deacons on Tuesday, December 30, from 7:00 7:45 PM. We will meet in one of the large rooms in the Children s Center. Our focus will include God s financial provision, our spiritual vitality, and ministry fruitfulness. There is no childcare, but children are welcome to attend. Financial Report Year-to-date through November our offerings are $54,000 less than expenses. Would you please consider helping Oakwood with an extra gift as we enter this season of giving and praise? You make a difference! The elders praise God for you - and together we all rejoice in partnering for the gospel as God s grace flows through us. Your tithes and offerings, including a special end of the year gift, are very important for our closing out our year in a healthy financial position and entering into the New Year with vitality. You can give securely through our website by clicking the link below: https://secure.etransfer.com/ecomm/donation/donation1.cfm?d2org=oakwoodcc&d2tool=donate To be credited by the IRS for a 2014 tax deduction, all year end gifts must be received or postmarked no later than Dec. 31, 2014. Praise God for our partnership in the ministry of Oakwood! Praise God for gifts given in faith, joy and Love! Upcoming Messages December 28 My Son Left Home Today Galatians 4:4 We will ponder the magnitude of God the Father s loving gift to us in sending His Son to fight and die to bring us liberty. Two other special features of our worship will include one of our folks sharing the highlights of their personal spiritual life story and our observance of communion with God through the special means of partaking in the Lord s Supper. January 4 The Wonders of Grace 4-Part Series When we experience or give grace, it creates wonder. It is a rare quality that always lifts, inspires, and brings life. Like a diamond, grace has many sparkling facets. In my upcoming Bible message series beginning January 4, we will gaze at four dimensions of grace that we can both receive and give in our new year and our years to come. May we all continually experience and give the gift that generates wonder. Invite a friend to worship with you, especially during this series. ~ Pastor Paul
Page 4 Opportunities to Serve the Church & World Be An Angel You can help supply Assure Women s Center (formerly Pregnancy Care Center) with items needed for babies and their mothers. Please take an angel from the tree in the lobby and purchase the item written on the back. Place the unwrapped gift under the tree by December 28 and these items will be taken to the center to help stock their shelves for ministering to women and children.. Assure Women s Center is supported through the Missions giving of Oakwood Community Church. Our Oakwood Prayer Team has also provided ornaments on this angel tree that you can take to remind you to pray for Assure Women s Center. Be sure to pick one up for your family. Coming again is the opportunity to serve clients of Metropolitan Ministries at the Metropolitan Ministries Christmas Tent on Tuesday, December 23 from 3:00 6:15 PM. We still have room for a few more people. Sign up at the Information Center in the lobby. Naomi s Daughters is a ministry for single moms that provides clothing to the moms as well as the children. The Oakwood family, along with others in the community, provides donations of clothing, food and money to keep this ministry moving forward. Your continued donations of new or gently worn clothes and non-perishable foods are greatly appreciated. Donations can be left on the screened area in the back of the gray house on our property. There are bins provided for your donations along with tax deductible forms. Pantry needs: cereal, canned goods, rice, pasta, paper goods, personal care items, etc. Other needs: School supplies, baby items (clothes, furniture, etc.), children s clothes & shoes, adult clothes & shoes. Please pray that we can continue to reach people in this ministry and show the hands and feet of the Lord to those who come through our doors. Blood Pressure checks Blood pressure checks on January 4 the kitchen following the Worship Service. Don t miss this important health screening.
Page 5 BFF Report On Sunday, December 7, we had a grand BFF Celebration hearing reports of how our $100 investments blessed others in the name of Christ. Here are some pictures from our celebration and some of the ways the funds were invested. Baby caps, Goats Dolls for orphans Kosher fridge World Vision child support Bible study scholarships Christmas money for single dad w/ 3 kids Tip for struggling waitress Chickens Devotional books Blankets for homeless Shoes for neighbor boy Countries other than the US touched by BFF Funds Afghanistan Armenia Cambodia China Czech Republic Dominican Republic Haiti India Romania Togo Venezuela Made food baskets for neighbors Gift baskets Boxes of toys Naomi s Daughters help Travel assistance Outreach to college students in China Pillows for heart patients Shoes, Bibles Assure baby bottles with money (single moms) Camps scholarships Moving help Garage sale to raise more money Christian radio Evangelism in India Bake sale and garage sale Missionary support Replace stolen items Help lower-income person Families with children with cancer Outreach to children at Village Fest Poinsettia outreach to neighbors Struggling young pastor Missions trip to Romania (gypsies) Migrant workers Newborns Packages to missionaries Books, Blankets Metropolitan Ministries Gideons ministry -- Bibles Gift certificates for couple with many challenges Children s ministry in Chicago Laundry
Page 6 PowerHouse Schedule Dec 21 Students led Christmas Message Dec 28 Christmas Movie Night Jan 2 Lock-In Jan 4 No Youth Group PowerHouse Lock-In Jan 2 @6:30 pm Jan 3 @7:00 am Bring $20.00 Ice skating excursion and broom ball Food Bag Delivery Drivers Needed Our PowerHouse students have a monthly ministry assembling food bags that are distributed to medical clinics in Tampa, Lakeland, Haines City and Winter Haven. We are in need of people who can help with delivery of these food bags, especially to Lakeland, Haines City, and Winter Haven. The food bags are usually assembled on the second Sunday of each month, and need to be delivered on the Monday or Tuesday following assembly. The next delivery time is January 12 or 13. If you can help with delivery or would like more information, please contact Cindy Giannone at (813) 969-4136. Food Bag Ministry Our PowerHouse students have a monthly fundraiser assembling food bags that are distributed to medical clinics in Tampa, Lakeland, Haines City and Winter Haven? These bags are distributed to indigent patients at the clinic to provide some basic food needs of the patients and their family. PowerHouse teens can raise money for summer mission/conference trips by participating in our monthly Food Bag Ministry, typically on the second Sunday of each month. Our next Food Bag Prep day is Sunday, January 11 right after the Worship Service. Teens can raise extra funds by helping shop for the food and/or helping with delivery of the food bags to the medical clinics. Shopping for the next fundraiser will be Friday, January 9. Meet at Aldi at Bearss & Florida Ave. at 5:00 PM (or contact Cam Whipple) if you want to help. For more details contact Cindy Giannone at (813) 969-4136.
Page 7 A Marriage That Ages Well Part 2 Linda Dillow In the previous issue of the ACORN, we saw that Linda Dillow did not have a good marriage model growing up and desiring a better marriage relationship than what she grew up observing asked God, What do I do to create a successful marriage, one that ages well? He placed three words on her heart: Pray. Plan. Persevere. In the last issue we looked at Pray & Plan. Persevere Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be, David prayed (Psalm 39:4). Life is short, and marriage is too. The minutes of our marriage pass so quietly, so consistently, that we fail to realize the time is ticking away, so I go back to my prayer: Lord, let me live my marriage by design. I only have this year, this month, this moment to grow in intimate oneness. I must think deeply because one of these days, much sooner than I want to face, one of us is going to be sitting beside the deathbed of the other, holding a frail, clammy hand. We ll look into each other s misty eyes during those aching, final hours, and the memories will flood through our grieving minds in a raging torrent. regret telling my husband why I respect him. But I ll tell you what I will regret: I will regret the hundreds of hours we spent fighting. I will regret the times I held a grudge. I will regret griping, venting, and complaining. I will regret not really believing that our time as lovers and best friends was limited. On my 50th anniversary, I realize anew that God gives us anniversaries as milestones, significant points in the passage of time, specific yet mute reminders that more sand has passed through the hourglass. He builds them into our calendar once every year to enable us to make an annual appraisal not of the length of time we ve been married but the depth of our intimacy. Not just to remind us we ve been married longer, but to help us determine if we are now married deeper. My choice to pray, plan, and persevere has given me a deep marriage that ages well. My friend, it is never too late to pray, plan and persevere in your own marriage. Today you can begin living your goal as a wife and build a marriage that will age well. I will not regret a single dreamy walk we took together in the park. I will not regret the time we stayed up so late talking and holding each other that we were both zombies at work the next day. I will not regret all the times we made love and let the housework go. I will not regret choosing to love this man, so different from me. I will not Linda Dillow is co-founder of Authentic Intimacy, and co-author of Passion Pursuit: What Kind of Love Are You Making? Connect with her on Twitter at @Linda_Dillow. Used with permission from TodaysChristianWoman.com
Page 8 Kids Corner
Oakwood Community Church 11209 Casey Rd Tampa FL 33618-5306 813.969.2303 www.oakwoodfl.org Our Staff Lead Pastor - Dr. Paul B. Phair Director of Ministries - Dave Dorsey Director of Worship Arts - Andrew Reilly Coordinator of Youth Ministry - Dr. Paul B. Phair Coordinator of Children s Ministry - Dave Dorsey Office Manager - Martha Dorsey Secretary Melanie Hoglievina Office hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Education Classes: Sundays - 9:15 AM Worship: Sundays - 10:30 AM Our Elder Team Mark Beale Edson Bustamante Pete Kluck Paul Phair John Schneider Rob Weyand Our Deacon Team David Conner Matt Fucarino Larry Giannone Luke Piazza Gigi Yuen-Reed Ray Ross Mike Wyatt Dave Young Calendar at a Glance Dec 21 Compassion Offering Dec 24 Christmas Eve Bonfire Service December 28 No Education Classes @ 9:15 AM Jan 2 PowerHouse Lock-In Jan 4 Blood Pressure checks following Worship No PowerHouse meeting tonight Jan 11 Board Meeting PowerHouse Food Bag Ministry Jan 18 Compassion Offering PowerHouse Night Spiker Volleyball The Oakwood ACORN is a bi-weekly E-newsletter from Oakwood Community Church, published to keep our church family and friends informed about events and people at Oakwood. Articles may be submitted via e-mail to Office@oakwoodfl.org. Article deadlines and publication schedule is: Deadline Publication date News for dates including Jan 2 Jan 7 Jan 10 Jan 23 Jan 16 Jan 21 Jan 24 Feb 6 If you have received this email in error or want to be removed from our e-newsletter distribution list, please hit the reply button and put unsubscribe in the subject line and you will be removed immediately. Missed a Sunday message? Listen online @ www.oakwoodfl.org/messages/