Responding to Congressman Huffman

So what if an elected official admits to their struggles with faith?  List before commenting.

http://eurekafaithcenter.org/pastor-matt-messner-weighs-in-on-religion-in-politics/


http://kymkemp.com/2017/11/12/audio-congressman-not-sure-if-god-exists-reactions-to-rare-announcement-humboldts-last-week-of-news/

Good Friday & Easter

I am super excited for this weekend.  

We just "rehearsed" our Good Friday sermons and it is going to be powerful.  We do a team teaching and intersperse it with worship.  Our speakers this year are Rick Urban, Susan Jones, Tom McMurray V, Erik Garcia, Heidi Messner, Brandon Babcock and Rachel McMurray-Branscombe.  They will take us from The Last Supper to The Tomb.  You won't want to miss this.  There also will be prayer for the sick, communion and harp music (pre-service).  

For Easter we have exciting plans for kids and adults.  The theme is "Alive" and we have a choir, a skit, a photo booth, art from Matt Beard (local painter) and a message focused on the Gospel - What does it mean to be "fully alive"?  

Bring your friends  and arrive early.  

Also, your prayers would be appreciated:  

Dear Intercessors:

 

Please begin praying for this weekend!  We sense an urgency to request your help in interceding for the Easter and Good Fridayservices.  Here is how you can pray:

 

Staff & volunteers:  Pray for strength, wisdom and healing.  We seem to have an unusually large number of people battling illness right now – pray for health and protection.  Pray that God would bless and use all who are serving this weekend. 

 

Effective outreach: Pray that the Lord would draw people in by His Spirit for this weekend through personal invitations and the use of media.  Pray that many would come to Christ and return to the Lord. 

 

Children: Pray that every boy and girl would be blessed and have a wonderful Easter focused on the resurrection of Jesus.

 

Services: Pray for our musicians, tech team, ushers, singers, volunteers, speakers and actors.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would use every element of the service to encourage, to heal and to speak hope to every person.  Pray that the Lord would use Pastor Matt’s message to speak directly to each person.  Pray for an atmosphere of joy, hope and love. 

 

Attenders: Pray that every person would experience the love of God through their experience at Faith Center. 

 

Spiritual warfare: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood”  -- Pray against the forces of darkness who would oppose the great things that the Lord intends to do in people’s lives. 

 

Thanks again for your partnership in prayer as we celebrate the victory of God!

Much To Look Forward To

This week marks "four years" at Faith Center for Heidi and I.  It has gone by quickly and has been a wonderful experience.  We are thankful!  

As a Pastor, I'm primarily motivated by seeing God change the lives of people.  This is the most exciting part of my "job" and my calling.  This mostly happens during the routine days of our lives and through the systematic ministries of the church (services, youth group, outreach, Celebrate Recovery, small groups, etc.).

I'm excited about what is coming up at Faith Center and in our personal lives.  I enjoy the special events of the church and look forward to them throughout the year.  There are things that have not been planned that will be added in to our calendar as doors of opportunity open for us.  I thought I would share the things that I am looking forward to during the coming month, and year:  

During the next four weeks:

• Night of Worship with Darrell Evans (March 28)
• Next Gen Appreciation, with Chris White, CPD Next Gen Rep (March 26)
• Staff Retreat, with guest Andy Gilbert (April 9-10)
• Remodel completion (carpet, paint in the main building), including installation of stained glass windows (around April 12-13)
• Good Friday and Easter Services (April 18-20)

During the next year:

Hosting the National Day of Prayer Luncheon for our community (May 1)  

Foursquare Convention in Dallas

Family reunion this summer

Men’s Retreat in the Fall ("The Call of the Wild" - Guest speaker Dan Russell, Olympic Wrestling Coach, Pastor)

Mission trip to India in the Fall

Kid’s Karnival - Our biggest outreach of the year

Christmas at Faith Center (the play and candlelight services)

Israel in March, 2015

We're also pursuing some great leads for future concerts/worship nights.  

These are just a few things.  Much more could be mentioned (CR in the Park, Women's Retreat, VBS, camps, Come to Carson, community outreach, etc.).  I thought I would pass this along to you so that you also could share the excitement over all the great things that are on the horizon.  

Please keep it all in your prayers!!  

www.eurekafaithcenter.org

Mayor's Prayer Breakfast Controvery

Next week is the President's Prayer Breakfast.  

Whereas that event is allowed Constitutionally, at a city level, it is being questioned:

Times-Standard Article

I find it interesting how we pray when we face a national crisis or a tragedy, but in times of peace, we question the "right" to pray in public.  

It will be interesting to see how this plays out locally.  Whatever the outcome, God's people will stand faithful, steadfast and ferverent in prayer.  

Our church is available to host this event, if need be.  Leaders can set aside their titles and gather for prayer either way.  You can't stop people from praying.