Blog

I want to make sure that everyone is aware of a relatively new resource that is available in the church bookstore. There is a section on the wall opposite the checkout desk that is now serving as our library. These books are available to church members to checkout and take home at no charge. The selection is rather modest, for now, but there are some great books available, and Lord willing the selection will grow over time.

Several couples from church attended the tenth annual Hand of Hope fundraising banquet on November 5. Close to 300 people attended the dinner in support of Hand of Hope's ministry. Pam Tebow served as the banquet's guest speaker this year, and the evening was filled with encouraging stories from Pam and several Hand of Hope volunteers and clients of God's power and mercy and goodness working through the prayers and activity of his people.

At our September business meeting we announced that Phil will transition to working half time starting January 1st. We see this as a tremendous blessing because it allows Phil to slow down some and yet have the church still benefit from his teaching and pastoral gifts.

I would like to share with you a little bit about my beloved home country, Japan. I am mostly Japanese with a mix of Chinese and Caucasian. I was born in Japan and grew up there until I was 11 years old. Although I had always had a special love for Japan, I had very little contact with the Japanese community and the culture after I moved to the states. Even after I became a believer and I began praying for and reaching out to unbelievers, I did not have any special focus on the Japanese. It was not until I heard about the tsunami in Fukuoka in 2011 that the Lord put a special burden on my heart for Japan and it’s people.

Last Sunday during announcements I shared some things regarding the upcoming senior pastor transition at SGC. Here I want to revisit a few of those, including what the role of lead or senior pastor is within the eldership, for the sake of those who weren't able to be there. Remember, your feedback is both welcome and desired.

This Sunday we launch both a new ministry team and a new element in our corporate gathering. The new team, Sunday Scripture Readers, will be devoted to the task of reading the Bible for our sermons. That is, instead of having the preacher read his main text, these men and women will read from the stage.

Last Sunday Phil spent a few minutes at the start of his sermon introducing his class on apologetics. The class starts tomorrow night at 7:00pm, and you can sign up here. Apologetics is not apologizing for the faith, though the words look similar. It is the study of defending the faith....

We work hard at things that we think are important. Of course, some of those things simply aren't—at least, not in the larger sense. Fantasy football is underway for many of us, and beating our cousin or co-worker or neighbor feels great in the moment and seems to justify the hours of research we did before making our draft picks. But this probably won't be remembered on our tombstone...even if we win ESPN's bazillion-dollar prize. Sometimes, though, things that really are most important go uncared for.

Mark and Sherri wanted to send a quick update to thank everyone for their support and prayers and encouragement, and also give a brief update of how the work at Agua Viva in Guatemala is going.