God's Beloved + Sunday Morning Resources
Kimberly and I had the privilege to slip away this week for a couple days to process and talk about my upcoming surgery and what we were feeling. It’s been a long six months since we received my diagnosis of esophageal cancer. What a ride this has been! As we began talking, one thing that surprised us is that the treatment cycle and wait for surgery has been a catalyst for hurt feelings between us. I’m so glad that we were able to talk about some hard things and get “clean” with each other before the surgery cycle begins next week as we drive to San Francisco.
I believe her message from Sunday on being God’s BELOVED helped us both to express what we were feeling because we knew we were safe with each other and God, our Heavenly Father. He’s the one who has allowed us to go through this season, and like I’ve mentioned several times, we know we are not alone. So, at that moment, when we began to share hard feelings, we knew that God was with us. We are not alone, and we can safely share our feelings with God and each other.
We realized that we both needed kindness and empathy, but the way we need it delivered is different based upon our personalities, brokenness, and sensitivity. I’m grateful to God for giving us insight as we went to therapy and processed what we’ve been through together. We needed the perspective of our therapist as he also helped us see ourselves as God’s BELOVED. This time away was a gift, and we felt God’s tangible love and compassionate mercy.
Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate the road to surgery and recovery together. I will report to the hospital at 5:30am this coming Thursday, Oct. 21, for a 7:30am surgery that is projected to be about nine hours long. God bless you so much. I love you more than I can adequately express.
Fall is a great time to reach out to our community and SPREAD HOPE as we share the love of Jesus in tangible ways together. Your engagement in these efforts will be a huge part of Twin Cities Church being the hands and feet of Jesus to those who need to experience His love. Here are some highlights of upcoming opportunities to serve and give to our community.
Last weekend we linked arms together and provided free clothing to over 200 women through Sister’s Closet. Let me express my gratitude to the many volunteers who came to the church to sort and stack clothes, shoes, purses, hats, scarves, and accessories. It was such a thrill to see the joy-filled faces of women who left feeling valuable and with the feeling that someone cares.
FALL FAMILY FESTIVAL. One of our largest community service projects each year is FFF. This year’s theme is Animal Adventures. We’re going to spread out and utilize as much of our facility – indoors and outdoors – as possible to create a fun and irresistible environment where families can come relax and play together. We’re doing our part to make sure our FFF is safe for the community who will attend and for our volunteers.
FFF is such a FUN event, and we’re eagerly looking for a whole army of volunteers to help make sure that every family who attends will feel welcomed, have fun, and leave with all the candy they could ever have imagined. You can sign up to serve on our website or by contacting Mare or John. So many families in our community get their first real contact with our church through this event. That makes FFF a high-impact investment as we get to have a personal touch with the families of our community.
The next DRIVE-THRU FOOD DRIVE collection day to support Interfaith Food Ministry is Friday, October 22, from 8:00-10:30am. Please bring your non-perishable foods to the church, and we’ll make sure all the food gets delivered to Interfaith. This is a huge help to the resource-challenged in our community. We’re also receiving specific items to help Hospitality House. Here’s how you can find out what they most need. Just bring items from this list with your food donation.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD has been a way we’ve engaged for years now that allows us to reach out on a global way to spread the hope of Jesus during the holiday season. If you’ve never participated or want a review of why this is so important, just watch this video, and you’ll see the impact a small shoebox can have on the lives of children around the world. We have OCC boxes available at the church on Sunday mornings at the Spread Hope kiosk. Stop by, get yours, make a box, and return it to Twin Cities by November 21.
This SUNDAY we will continue our RADIATE LOVE series based upon the New Testament book of 1 John. John writes to correct error that had seeped into some of the second-generation church teachers in the region of Ephesus. He writes to encourage the Followers of Jesus in that region to exemplify the words of Jesus when He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” This week’s message is about Fighting for Real Love. Our world has many definitions of love, but the Bible’s definition is centered on God's love for us that Jesus demonstrated on the cross. It’s called the Gospel. In 1 John 3:11-18, John helps remind his readers of the importance of the message of salvation through Jesus’ love expressed for us.
Here are the links you’ll need to be fully prepared for Sunday’s Service:
Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others,
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