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When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages." To that, Calvert replied, "We died before we came here
."
~
We all come to those places of letting go and laying down in order to move forward into what the Lord calls us into. May He find us faithful and fully willing to do His will.
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This Sunday's Message -
Creating A Jesus Culture
I am excited about ministering this Sunday on CREATING A JESUS CULTURE. I feel led to cast some vision concerning where we are heading. Can an atmosphere of God's presence and power be sustainable? What would be the results of a culture created that allowed each of us to walk in the full potential of our destinies? Is this possible? Please be in prayer about this important service together. Hope to see you Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and remember to invite a friend.
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This Sunday, we will be praying together as a congregation as Jeremy and Stephanie Rogers publicly dedicate their daughter, Mary Lillian, to the Lord. This is always a precious time. Please pray for the Rogers family on this special occasion.
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I wanted to say a big "Thank You!" to the leaders of our congregation. They work hard, love much, and are so supportive of the vision the Lord has given us. I also want you all to know who they are:
ELDERS (Oversee the Congregation and it's Leaders) David and Vicki Clark Russell and Sandra Harper Eddie and Mikki Lawrence (Senior Pastors)
STAFF (Oversee Their Respective Ministry Areas) Franie Deaton - Children's Ministry Allison Fisher - Preteen Ministry
Andrew Lawrence - Worship Pastor Anna Laura Lawrence - Nursery Ministry
DEACONS (Oversee Various Areas of Practical Minstry) Mike and Mammie Clark
Mark and Nancy Forsythe
Terry and Lynda Rogers Mike and Vicki Sledge
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Update on Our India Missions Project
Following is a message I just received from Pastor Rao whom we have connected with in India concerning the bore well we are paying for. We thank God for your giving that has helped make this possible.
Dear Brother, greetings to you once again. How are you doing? I am very busy over here and could not be able to write you. We try to dig the bore wells in 2 locations but in one place we found the rock and another place we went up to 200 feet but no water, the driller said they cannot promise any water up to 500 feet, I was little bit upset with the 2 locations. So we are drilling in another location by this Wednesday so kindly pray for the project, we may found the water, thanks.
Let's all pray that they would strike water!!
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This Past Tuesday Night...
The Thanksgiving Fellowship meal was truly a blessing as the ARK and GRACE HOUSE family met together to share a meal and a lot of love. We had a ton of people, loads of food, and the place was filled with chatter, joy, and excitement. Thanks to everyone who brought food and/or helped with the setup and clean up. God is so good and what He is doing in our midst is so precious.
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Children's Christmas Event
During part of our Sunday morning service on December 16th, our children will be sharing a special Christmas presentation with us. This is always such a blessing to see children working together to remind us of the wonders of the Christmas message. Remember to invite your friends to come and be blessed.
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Our Upcoming Holiday Schedule
Our service schedule will remain the same on Sundays, but we will not be meeting on the following two Wednesday nights.
~ Wednesday Evening, Dec. 26th (No Service) ~ Wednesday Evening, Jan. 2nd (No Worship Service but there will be a prayer gathering)
Please enjoy this special holiday time with family and friends. We do pray and blessing for all of you who will be traveling and away during this time as well.
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We are grateful to the team that has agreed to be trained and to serve in setting up and taking down our new portable baptistry. We also are thankful for the person who gave a special offering to pay for the baptistry. We are having some plumbing work done, and the team is going to do a "wet" run to make sure everything works properly....and then....we will have our first baptisms in our building. Yeah God! Please let us know if you are ready to be baptized?
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GRACE GROUPS AND MINISTRIES TO BUILD CONNECTION WITH GOD AND OTHERS
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For over 4 years now, we have been meeting as a group of men to connect more deeply with God and each other. I invite any of you men to join us any Tuesday morning. We meet at Grace House at 6:30 a.m. This is a very informal, interactive, and open time around God's Word. I always enjoy leading this group. Come and join us. Contact me with any of your questions about this group.
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Each Wednesday, beginning at 9 a.m., we have a faithful group of people who meet and pray. This is a time of intercession. prophetic decreeing, and engaging God's heart through prayer and worship. You are invited to join with the ladies who lead this time of prayer for our congregations, city, region, nation, and the nations. Contact Charlotte Matthews for more information.
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Married Couples Class - Weds.
We have an excited married couples class that meets each Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. in the Grace House Children's Center. Bryan and Melissa Gregg lead this group and there is rich fellowship, an interactive style of Bible study, and an atmosphere of love and acceptance. If you are a 20 to early 40 something couple, jump on board and see your marriage enriched! Contact Bryan and Melissa if you have questions.
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Rooted - Preteen Ministry
We are so excited about "Rooted" which is our ministry to preteens led by Allison Fisher. They are currently working on a human video which they will be sharing in one of our services soon. Each Wednesday they meet to study the Bible together and learn how to live a life rooted in Christ during this important transitional time in their lives. Our preteens are awesome. All preteens are invited to attend this weekly gathering to build relationship with Christ and one another. Contact Allison Fisher with your questions.
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Franie Deaton, who directs our children's ministry does a great job of teaching our children truths that will help them build their lives on Christ and the truths of His Word. Each week's lesson is packed with object lessons, biblical truths, and lots of interactive fun. Our children begin the service with we adults at 9:00 a.m. and then transition to their own children's worship around 9:45 a.m. or so. See Franie if you have questions and to let her know if you would like to be one of her assistants occasionally. We also can use good helpers.
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We have some awesome little ones in our nursery. Jesus instructs us to love these little ones and to create an environment where they are coming to him. Anna Laura Lawrence leads our nursery team. Please let her know if you would like to help with this important ministry at Grace House.
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Our worship team does an awesome job leading us in worship week by week. If you have gifts and abilities in this area, and have been faithful in attending Grace House for a while, and are willing to meet with someone to help access your skill level, or if just would like to know more about our worship team, contact our Worship Pastor, Andrew Lawrence, and he will be glad to help you.
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If you have a heart for missions, whether it is to go on a mission trip or to support those who are willing to go, stayed tuned for announcements about upcoming mission opportunities here at Grace House. Eighteen of us saw God do tremendous things in our lives and the people in Trinidad on our last mission trip. We are planning now for a possible trip to Carriacou this coming Spring. Sam Lerch is our point person for our missions trips, so contact Sam for more information.
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Food is a staple for all our lives and some people have needs in this area, especially in these economically challenging times. We desire to help more and more people inside and outside of our congregation in this area. Larry Bullard is our point person in helping with this important ministry. We are building a list now of those who need help as well as those who would like to help in this area.
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Shelia Gray is leading a crochet class that will meet at Grace House. If you want to learn or already enjoy crocheting, please consider joining in. Knitters are welcome, too. There is a sign-up sheet on the counter in the Welcome Center. The caps that are made are prayed over and blessed and given to people battling cancer.
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Special Opportunity This Christmas Season!
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Jessica Clayton, a member of The Ark, is beginning a Wrapped in Love ministry. She will head up a small group to make easy 2-step blankets. She will teach a class at Grace House/The Ark on how to make these easy projects. Some of the blankets will be given to a new shelter in Sheffield called Heavenly Grace. The Huntsville police have also asked for us to donate for their domestic violence cases and rape victims that they often find unclothed. We will be a part of providing blankets for them to offer these women as cover when they go into these situations. Jessica said that we could help in three ways: monetary gifts, hands on making of the blankets, and actual donations of the fleece material for the blankets. If you'd like to be a part of this ministry, let me know or let Jessica know.
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Let's Start the New Year with Unified Prayer!
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January 2013 - A Month of Prayer
We will be joining with The ARK during the entire month of January for a time of focused worship and prayer. Each day in January from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. there will be worship and prayer going on in the worship center at Grace House. The ARK has hosted this the last few years for the month of January and it has always been a great time of seeing the body come together seeking God's heart. Everyone is invited to come and go as you please. There will be people scheduled to be present in these times as well. So there will be 12 hours of prayer each day of the entire month.
We will follow our regular worship schedule as far as our services are concerned. So please be in prayer about this important season of coming together to pray.
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A GOOD DEED A man died and went to The Judgment, they told him , "Before you meet with God, I should tell you - we've looked over your life, and to be honest you really didn't do anything particularly good or bad. We're not really sure what to do with you. Can you tell us anything you did that can help us make a decision?"
The newly arrived soul thought for a moment and replied, "Yeah, once I was driving along and came upon a person who was being harassed by a group of thugs. So I pulled over, got out a bat, and went up to the leader of the thugs. He was a big, muscular guy with a ring pierced through his lip. Well, I tore the ring out of his lip, and told him he and his gang had better stop bothering this guy or they would have to deal with me!" "Wow that's impressive, "When did this happen?"
"About three minutes ago," came the reply. ~ Aren't you glad we get into Heaven because of what Jesus has done and not what we do?
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Know Someone Who Would Like to Receive These Updates?
If you are aware of someone who would enjoy receiving these updates from me, just forward this email to them and let them know just to click the link below and they can sign up and opt in to this email list. This is a great way to stay more up to date on the happenings around Grace House and the ARK. Thanks for helping.
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