Grace Community Church is taking October 10th and having a day of service “Don’t Go to Church be The Church”.  I have the privilege of contacting some of the folks who the church will be serving on October 10th.  The purpose of this day is to “serve without agenda”, Grace Community believes that Jesus in and through the church (which is people) should make the community a better place.  I just left one of the homes that needs some yard work and general cleanup.  The lady I talked with, who might be the sweetest person ever, told me that when our leadership came to lunch at the senior center and volunteered to do “anything that need to be done” she went home in tears.  Her husband is not in good health and things are starting to pile up.  As I talked with her she said the most precious  life-giving thing to me. We were talking about the different things the volunteers could get accomplished when she stopped me and spoke with passion and hope, “you know Jerris, when the church serves the community in this way I believe it makes Jesus smile”…..tears….. hugs.  I can’t think of a better way to spend Sunday, October 10th then doing something that makes Jesus smile.

Yesterday at Grace Community Church was amazing!  Families dedicating children to the Lord and 5 adults confessing their commitment to Jesus through Baptism!  As the church worshiped and celebrated new life the atmosphere in the room was electric…..or maybe the spirit was moving…..I would say the morning was incredibly life-giving!

It’s been said by many and I agree, there is nothing more beautiful or powerful than the local church!  I am so humbled, blessed, and excited to be a part of Grace Community Church.  I am believing God today for “one more”.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Change…….

That simple word can cause a lot of chaos. Some folks get physically ill at the thought of change while others seem to thrive on constant change. Sometimes change happens and no even realizes it, other times it seems to rock our world because we didn’t see it coming.

I tend to look at things practically; I like to look forward and try to predict needed change. Sometimes I’m right, other times require something different than I imagined. These are the bread crumbs I am following right now. Grace Community Church is growing, this is a good thing! We believe there is always “one more” that needs to be transformed by Jesus and this is changing the way we look. As I continue down this trail there are a few realities I come to. Eventually we will have to figure out space issues, probably in our children’s area first. Someday parking will be an issue to figure out and there will come a day when we don’t fit in the auditorium. Don’t panic…..nothing is changing today, but as long as we stay healthy and focused on our mission to see transformation happen, eventually we will have to make some adjustments (code word for change). Pray for your staff, elders and management team as we prayerfully seek wisdom regarding the best adjustments to make in days, weeks, and years ahead of us.

So, for a few days a group from Texas invaded our church.  I have a few thoughts about the weekend with the expanded version to come later.

1.  I love Grace Community Church!  I was reminded again of the amazing fellowship, passion, vision and unity that we share.

2.  I love being around University Students!  There was a different vibe in our church for a few days.

3.  I love the opportunity to share our (Grace Community) story and try to inspire the next generation of leaders to think about the possibility of a better way of doing church.  I believe in our church to the core and want others to see that everything can be done in a life giving way.

4.  A fresh coat of paint is worth the effort.

What did you enjoy about this weekend?  I would love to hear your thoughts about the invasion of a group of Texans.  What did God show you as we served and lived together for couple of days?

Jerris

A spirit of discontent has emerged as a common thread of conversation and prayer request over the past several months. Not the kind of discontent where people are frustrated or angry, but the kind of spiritual awareness of God working and stirring hearts. The Spirit has us asking different questions about our life, giving us a discomfort with average, mediocre or lukewarm faith. Many folks at Grace have expressed a sense of Holy Discontent. I believe this is God preparing us as individuals and a church for what is to come. I have found a resource from Willow Creek that I believe will help several in our church begin to better understand this fire burning within them. Click the link below and begin to better understand how God has and continues to use Holy Discontent to transform lives.

http://www.myholydiscontent.org/

I would encourage everyone to click the tab “find your firestorm” and begin working through the “finding” and “feeding my Holy discontent”. I would love your feedback over the next several weeks.

Jerris

ABOUT THE MESSAGE

Many people are walking too close to the line when comes to sexual sin.  We all need “Moral Margin” in our life.  If you could not be with us at Grace yesterday you can watch the message at the link below.  Also, don’t forget to talk it over this week.  You can find the Talk It Over sheets to the right of the message as a PDF file.

http://findinggrace.com/messages/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Church Online - pray for our online team as we lead this Wednesday night at 10pm.  This weeks topic should make for some interesting conversations.

Super Bowl Party - This coming Sunday bring your favorite party food and a drink to share.  We will begin to gather around 4:30pm.  This is a great opportunity to invite a friend to join you at Grace.

ABOUT THE MESSAGE

Week #3 of Margin was a good challenge for me.  I like the simplicity of “if you don’t have financial margin you either have to make more money or spend less”.  If you could not be with us you can watch the message at  http://findinggrace.com/messages/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Illinois Marathon - We need 30 volunteers to help with an Aid Station on Saturday, May 1st.  You can sign up at the church this coming Sunday.  We need 10 more volunteers to join us the first Saturday of May.

Housing for University Students - A group of 40 University Students will arrive in Champaign on March 13 and need housing for a couple of nights.   The group will be in Champaign working at our church and in the community.  Your responsibility will primarily be housing.  Some transportation will be needed but the group will have vans rented to take care of the majority of the transportation needs. Please let me know how many students you could house and if you have a preference of male or female.

2009 Contribution Letters - 2009 Contributions letter are available.  Look for Mary Howard this coming Sunday to pick up yours.

Church Online Launch - Pray for our church online team as we go live this week!  Our team is running the Wednesday, 10:00pm experience.  Invite a friend to join you this week at church online!  If you can’t join us at 10pm….no worries!  There are over 30 church online experiences every week.  Check out the schedule at http://internet.lifechurch.tv/times/

Margin is a good thing!

ABOUT THE MESSAGE

Week #2 of Margin was amazing.  One my favorite quotes from the sermon was “Business does not equal importance, meaningfulness and I added Godliness”.   If you missed the message you can watch it at http://findinggrace.com/messages/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Join LifeChurch.tv for a time of prayer for Haiti. Tonight at 7pm at the following link.  http://internet.lifechurch.tv/2010/01/night-of-prayer-for-haiti/

Illinois Marathon - We need 30 volunteers to help with an Aid Station on Saturday, May 1st.  You can sign up at the church this coming Sunday.

Housing for University Students - A group of 40 University Students will arrive in Champaign on March 13 and need housing for a couple of nights.   The group will be in Champaign working at our church and in the community.  Your responsibility will primarily be housing.  Some transportation will be needed but the group will have vans rented to take care of the majority of the transportation needs. Please let me know how many students you could house and if you have a preference of male or female.

Grace and Peace,

Jerris

Yesterday’s schedule was a little full, but a what a great day!