New Videos - VBS

Here is a look at VBS 2010. This video will be used to show folks how much fun our VBS is every year!

Take a look and tell us what you think!



Watch for these to start showing up on our web page and look for more new videos later this year!

New Videos - Lent and Holy Week

These videos offer an overview of the special services and activities that we have at the United Methodist Temple from Ash Wednesday through Easter.

Check them out and let us know what you think!



Tomorrow's video will take a look at VBS 2010 to give you an idea of just how big and exciting VBS is for us every year.

New Videos - General Worship

This video gives an overview of 3 of the services that we have here at the United Methodist Temple. Check it out and let us know what you think!



Tomorrow's video preview will take a look at Lent and Holy Week!

Shaun Groves Coming in Worship

On April 17th and 18th (in all services), we will be welcoming singer/songwriter Shaun Groves as he comes to lead us in worship, deliver a message of hope and tell us about his partnership with Compassion International. First, mark your calendars for these dates. Then, consider how you, your family, your Sunday school class, or your small group might partner with Compassion International in their work around the world.

Here is just a snippet of what is happening with Compassion's work in Haiti:

A Weekend with Shaun Groves

Encounters (our Saturday night service) started booking Shaun Groves (you've been reading about him in the Messenger) to do an evening where he would lead worship, deliver a message of hope, sing some of his original songs, and share about his partnership with Compassion International. This Saturday Evening with Shaun Groves has now turned into an entire weekend!

Over the next month, between now and Shaun's time with us on Saturday April 17th and Sunday April 18th, we will be sharing more about Shaun Groves and Compassion International on both the UMT and Encounters' blogs. Each week we will present you with a video or some pictures and information about the vital kingdom work that Compassion is accomplishing.

This week we wanted to start by just sharing a little with you about Compassion, so we offer you this video as an introduction:



If you have any questions about the events for the weekend of April 17th and 18th, please feel free to contact Russell in the church office.

By the way, to find out more about our special guest, Shaun Groves, go check out his website by clicking here.

Shaun will be in all three worship services on this April weekend...so mark your calendars!

Two Musical Worship Experiences on the Horizon

Part of coming together and worshiping as a group is telling about our story, the story of God, and how God's story intersects with ours. This is done week in and week out through the worship songs and hymns that we sing, the sermons we hear, the sharing of our gifts, celebrating what God is doing in our lives and praying for one another.

During special seasons of the Christian calendar, we have the privilege of experiencing our stories through special musical services provided by different choirs and groups within the church. This Advent season presents two incredible opportunities for us to experience the Christmas story through music!

After weeks of practice, our children's choir will be presenting their musical "Shepherds, Sheep, and a Savior" this Sunday at our 8:30 and 10:50 worship services.

On Sunday, December 13th, our Chancel Choir and orchestra will be presenting a Christmas Cantata at the 10:50 a.m. worship service. This cantata is the Christmas story from Prophecy to Fulfillment, with music and lyrics by Pepper Choplin, celebrated as if the story is brand new. It is his desire to offer us a fresh experience in singing of Christ’s birth. Choplin calls up folk styles to celebrate the story in Appalachian, Irish, Cajun and Early American flavors. There will be some new instruments in our orchestra, too.

Come and enjoy these special presentations of the Christmas story with your family and be sure and invite a friend!

More about Encounters

Over the last couple of days, we have come across a number of people that are still unclear about what Encounters is and what it is not. In an attempt to help clarify, I want to offer the following details:

Encounters is the name that we have given to a very large outreach program here at the United Methodist Temple. Currently, there are a number of different ministries that are occurring under the "Encounters - an outreach of the United Methodist Temple" label.

#1 - Saturday evenings we are having a worship service (currently taking place about every other week, but scheduled to be weekly after the first of the year). This is a third worship service at UMT and is open to EVERYONE. The service follows a different order of worship and has a different style and feel to it, but it is a worship service that is open to anyone that wants to come. At this service, we preach a relevant gospel message that is applicable to everyone. This is not, I REPEAT IS NOT, just a service for folks in recovery. This is a service for anyone wanting to grow in their relationship with Christ (just like any other service here at the Temple).

#2 - On Thursdays we are offering a Bible study that we are currently calling Midweek Encounters (but the name is subject to change) that discusses the 12 steps of recovery from a biblical perspective. Because the steps came out of the scriptures we feel that they have some relevance to all Christians whether they are in a 12 step program or not. We believe that the 12 steps are 12 steps to a life of freedom in relationship to Jesus Christ and as such, everyone can benefit from studying them. Very basic Christian principles are at the heart of these steps. Things like honesty, faith, hope, love, confession, amends making, etc are all taken directly from the scriptures. These are things that all Christians are directed towards. As such, this class is open to anyone that wants to explore the relationship between the scriptures and the steps as it relates to their lives.

#3 - Came to Believe is the name of our Christian 12 step meeting that is specifically directed towards people in recovery. It operates like any AA, CA, NA or other 12 step group, but is open to people wrestling with any kind of addiction. This is a place where we can hold one another accountable to our programs of recovery and process what is going on in our lives from week to week. It is also a place where we do not have to check our relationship with Christ at the door.

#4 - Random Acts of Kindness are just our ways of being missional and evangelistic. Maybe a better way to put it is that these are additional opportunities to reach out to our community with the love of Christ. Sometimes this means taking care packages to families waiting in ICU, while other times it means working on a house (painting, etc). Through small gifts of service we are able to share the love of Christ with people in our communities.

#5 Lifegroups - Because the larger faith community meets on Saturday evenings, they miss out on Sunday school opportunities. Lifegroups is the small group version of Sunday School. These groups get together to pray for one another, study together, and serve together. These little communities help keep people from becoming disconnected in the larger community of faith here at the United Methodist Temple.

I hope that these descriptions have been helpful. I would ask that you do me a favor: if you are still unclear about any of the new outreach ministries or about our new worship service, please ask. It is important that everyone know and understand what is happening. With the right information, we can help direct people to the best fit for their worshiping and growing needs here at the Temple. To meet with me or find out more information about these happenings, please call the church office or email me at acts242@hotmail.com.

Many thanks and many blessings,

Russell

Encounters Update

There are a couple of really important things getting ready to take place with our new ministry - Encounters - and we wanted to take a moment to pass along the information to you.

MIDWEEK ENCOUNTERS:

What is it?
- a 13 week study that looks at the twelve steps of recovery from a biblical perspective. It will be a time of worship, prayer, testimony, Bible study and growth.

When is it?
- Thursday evenings beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Where is it?
- The United Methodist Temple, 4101 Highway 73, in the Life Lessons room.

Who can come?
- Absolutely anyone. Whether you are just curious about the workings of the 12 steps and how they relate to the Bible or are looking to grow in your own journey of recovery, all are invited to come.

Additional info:
- Childcare is being provided free of charge
- A sandwich dinner is being provided free of charge
- All materials are being provided free of charge

Please RSVP to the church office or by emailing acts242@hotmail.com if you are planning on attending to where we can have enough food and materials for everyone.

LABOR DAY FAMILY FUN DAY

On Monday, September 7th, we are going to open our hearts and doors to family and friends for a day of bounce houses, super slides, games, food, door prizes and other give aways...all absolutely free of charge. The best part is that the majority of the activities will be indoors, so we will play and fellowship come rain or shine (and think about how nice it will be to beat the heat for a little while!)!

If you and your family or friends are not doing anything on Labor Day, come by and see us at the church between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to join in the festivities.

ENCOUNTERS WORSHIP

Mark your calendars for Encounters first worship service at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th! Childcare and a children's program will take place during worship (we will release the kids part way through the service).

This is the first of our preview services, which gives us (and you) an opportunity to worship together and iron out any glitches between now and the time we launch in January. We will have about 7 or so of these between now and the end of the year.

Please join us for these and other events coming soon here at the United Methodist Temple! And keep an eye out here, in the Messenger and Template for even more news.

Preparing for Sunday Worship

Have you ever run up against the odds? Have you ever been discouraged by people and obstacles in life? If you answered yes, then you won't want to miss Rev. Jesse Brannen's sermon entitled "Discouragement" this coming Sunday.

As preparation for Sunday worship, we invite you to sit with the passage of scripture that Rev. Brannen will be preaching from. It comes to us from the prophet Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 6b-13, and reads as follows (from the New International Version):

"Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, 'Why is the house of God neglected?' Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers."

We look forward to seeing you Sunday morning!

Our Concert with Jana Alayra

If you hang around the United Methodist Temple for very long, you will discover two very important things. First, we have programming and worship that reaches a variety of interests. Whether it is contemporary or traditional, children or adults, discipleship oriented or social, there is something happening at the Temple for just about everyone. The second thing that you will notice with anything that the Temple undertakes, is a level of excellence. We simply won't engage in a program or outreach that doesn't meet this core value of ours.

To that end, huge props must go to our Children's Director, Brook Wommack, for her work in organizing and implementing an incredible Vacation Bible School kickoff last Sunday. For those who weren't able to be at the Temple last Sunday night, we were blessed with the return of Jana Alayra. She lead us in more than an hour of worship, story telling, testimony, dancing and laughter. It was an incredible time of fellowship and worship together. The sanctuary was alive with more than 200 people in attendance.

Here is a slide show containing some of the great moments of the concert (my favorites are the ones with the dads dancing with Jana!):



Special thanks to Jana, her husband and Brook for another great concert!