Winter Weekend

The snow has been falling in northern Michigan and it is just beautiful! I may ultimately get tired of dealing with snow living up north but I'm not sure I will ever get tired of watching it snow. Even though this weekend is going to be snowy and cold, it will also be filled with many ministry opportunities here at Gaylord E-Free Church to meet people right where they are at and help move them to where God wants them to be. With this in mind, my weekend will include 4 main areas of involvement.

CREATIVE IDEAS MEETING - Saturday morning at 7am I will meet with our Creative Ideas Group under the direction of our Director of Worship (Joshua Rupp) to brainstorm creative ideas for our next message series that we are calling, "Meeting & Moving: A Purpose that Melts in Your Mouth" which will begin February 26 and run through Palm Sunday, April 1. This team is gelling so well and I am so pleased and excited with the impact they are having here at Gaylord E-Free each and every Sunday. It's hard to believe that creative juices can flow at 7am on a Saturday morning, but this group makes that happen!

BABY ELIJAH MEMORIAL SERVICE - Later Saturday morning I will be speaking at a Memorial Service here in the Chapel at Gaylord E-Free for Elijah Wilkes, that I have been lovingly calling "Baby Elijah" who passed away last Sunday, about 1 month after his miraculous birth. What a thrill it has been to get to know Baby Elijah's parents. They are a wonderful couple whose faith has remained strong through a very difficult time. I am so very proud of them. As a pastor, it is a distinct privilege to walk through the highs and lows of life with the people God has brought to our church. I am praying that the story of Baby Elijah and the wonderful God that formed him in his mother's womb will have a major impact on those who will gather to celebrate his life this Saturday.

THE NOAH PROJECT - This Sunday with be week #2 of our new message series through the life of Noah. I can't wait for you to see the stage in the Gospel Center on Sunday. The ark is under construction and Noah, along with his 3 sons, will continue to work on it all through the message this coming Sunday. Be sure to be careful, especially as you leave the service Sunday, because rumor has it that wild animals are already migrating toward Gaylord, no doubt to load the ark. This past week 3 different people told me about frightening encounters they had in our church regarding coming face-to-face with a lion! I'm not kidding. So, if you see an animal Sunday, take my advice, don't try to feed or touch them (and please watch where you step)!

LUNCH WITH PASTOR SCOTT & LAURA - This Sunday following our worship service, my wife, Laura, and I are going to have the privilege of having lunch with many of the new people to our church! We are looking forward to getting to know each of them better.

It is definitely going to be a Winter Weekend physically here in Gaylord, Michigan, but with it there will be so much ministry that will be involved that it will keep us nice and warm spiritually. Some of the opportunities will be easier than others and some will be more exciting than others, but all of them will no doubt be used of the Lord to impact people for eternity, and that is what Gaylord E-Free is all about!

Welcome, Weekend!