Tuesday, October 30

And the Winner Is...

Eric Colicott had the 'idea of the week' :-)

Last night, at the Atlantic concert, he suggested we do a series playing off of the movie "Transformers". Awesome idea Eric.

The Gospel message is that Jesus wants to transform your life. He wants to take your junk and give you a new life. That's the message of grace. You don't have to stay the same, you can be transformed. Sweet.

Monday, October 29

Pics


View of the Mill from our back deck. "Church on the hill, behind the Mill, in the Ville"

Way to go Bryan! I'm afraid of heights and not a big fan of getting shocked with electricity either. Our family is much brighter because of you!

Facebook 3

Happy Monday and Happy last week of October. Is it crazy how fast this Fall is flying by???!

Are you ready for all the little spooks this Wednesday? I didn't address Halloween in particular on Sunday...I encourage you to let your light shine, love your neighbors, love the children, and don't hide. Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world!

Facebook 2 was highlighted by an extended time of worship and pastoral prayer. It was powerful to see many people at the altar, being ministered to by God during the pastoral prayer. The message focused on the 'masks' that we wear, challenging us to be real with one another and real with God. We don't always wear masks, and there are times when we just can't spill everything in front of everyone. The point is, don't always bottle everything up. Take it to God. Share life with others. Be who God intended you to be.

This week is Facebook 3 and the theme is "Prayer". We've had a Facebook Wall up in the lobby for the past few weeks, encouraging you to post your prayer requests there. We're going to look at prayer and how easy it is to communicate wall to wall with God.

Coffee update - I just about froze my face off walking over to the Irving for a Peruvian today. Yeah, I know, it isn't February! Still, the wind was right up my nose ;-> The peruvian was well worth the trek. Had a Starbucks Friday night...very yummy...grande bold with just a bit of cream. Been making Java Moose here at the office. We had a meeting this morning and the java moose hit the spot!

Have a great week!
PT

Friday, October 26

Masks

Next Wednesday will be a day when you expect people to wear masks. Little people, especially, will be trying to disguise themselves, AND get rewarded for it. On Sunday, we are going to discuss the way God rewards us when we take our mask off and get real with God and others. It's part 2 in our"Facebook" series, titled: "Edit Your Profile".

Are you wearing a mask? Do you have any one, or any environment, where you can get real and just be who you are without trying to impress others? A great place to do that is in a small group. Mike and Diane Saunders are starting a new small group to give you a 'taste' of the small group experience. It's going to run for the month of November. That's your only committment - 4 weeks in November. Think about it.

Pastor Mark and Liz made it back from San Diego! It sounds like they had an amazing time at the conference (Youth Specialties).

Do you have 1st Wednesday marked on your calendar? November 7th is our 2nd 1st Wednesday. Based on the excellent response from our 1st 1st Wednesday (yes, that is confusing!) November's service should be even better! Supper @ 5:30...Children's Ministry program for the kids...youth-young adults-adults in the sanctuary...

One more thing...there are many new faces @ Olivet. Make a point this Sunday to seek out someone you don't know, introduce yourself, and get to know them a bit. We'll grow larger as we grow smaller!

Praying for you,
Pastor Tim

Monday, October 22

Facebook 2: Edit Your Profile

Yesterday was a blast! The kids did an awesome job on "I Am a Friend of God"! Way to go little people! Pastor Amy prayed, upstairs, with the big people. Yay Amy! We raised over $4700 in a special offering for the children's ministry. Woo Hoo! We talked about how we all want to belong and how we need to get connected. After service we all went in to the fellowship hall (the room of food) where 25+ ministries of Olivet were set up to promote their ministry/small group. The hall was jammed, the coffee was hot, the snacks were yummy...it was awesome. Have I said it was awesome yet? Have I used enough exclamation marks? Oh yeah, we even have a Facebook wall built in our lobby for people to 'post' prayer requests and praise notes on.

This week is Facebook 2: Edit Your Profile. Without giving too much away, let me say that we are going to talk about authenticity, getting real, and being who God has made you to be. I had people who couldn't make it this coming Sunday ask me what was going to be happening in the service this week because they hate to miss anything. Hating to miss church...what a concept!

Have a great week. See you on Facebook. See you Sunday!

Pastor Tim

Tuesday, October 16

The Facebook Series

Good morning Olivet! Hopefully your week is off to a good start. If you are having an 'off' day, go do something to 'make' someone else's day, and you will feel much better ;-)

Sunday was awesome! On a cold and rainy October morning the parking lot was absolutely crammed! Woo Hoo. (very technical, spiritual term) Pastor Mark preached a very relevant message on why we do ministry to kids and teens. The band was cooking as usual and worship was straight at Jesus the way it should be. I had someone (from another church) tell me recently, "Preach good, do worship right, minister to kids and you will grow a great church".

The Facebook Series starts this Sunday!! If you aren't already on Facebook, now would be a good time to sign up, find a bunch of Oliveters and get into the series. If you are never going to sign up for Facebook, no worries. the series will still make a lot of sense to you as we look at how God wants believers to be connected, to be authentic, and to stay dialed in to him.

Here is a classic text for you to ponder this week as Facebook prep: Acts 2:42-47

We had our October board (Leadership Team) meeting last night. I am continually thankful for this risk-taking, outside the pew, faith believing, do something different, all about changed lives, group of leaders!

-Tim

Tuesday, October 9

Tuesday after the Big Eat!

Thanks to all of you for making Thanksgiving @ OWC a great day! There were 242 people there, celebrating God's grace. There were 29 kids in "The Factory" Sunday morning! Pastor Mark ran out of chairs for Senior High Youth on Thursday and had 20+ teens involved with "The Factory" on Sunday! When we reflect on 1st Wednesday, Youth, and Sunday...it was quite a week in the life of OWC. God is good.

On the radar: Uncle Phil's rehearsals start this Sunday. Dust off the poodle skirts :-> If you haven't heard, Uncle Phil is making a return by popular demand, Nov 16 & 17. This Sunday we are focusing on "Reaching the Next Generation". Isn't it good to come to a church where the youngest person isn't in their 50's??! New series kicks off on October 21st: "Facebook". We're going to look at connecting, community, authenticity, prayer, etc. We're going to look at Scripture and see how God has intended for us to be connected with others and connected to him. You'll even have an opportunity to post on God's wall! If you are Facebook, get connected with all the 'Oliveters'. If you aren't, why not open a Facebook account for at least the next few weeks?

It's Tuesday...but Sunday's 'a comin'!

PT

Saturday, October 6

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is an absolutely gorgeous day in the Ville. If some of you are at Beulah, you are probably willing to argue that it's even more scenic at Beulah. Ha! Either way, we have much to be thankful for.

1st Wednesday was an excellent evening! It was so good to see the families eating together, sharing together, watching kids together, etc. Joy Cummings and her team did an outstanding job at feeding 100+ people spaghetti, garlic bread, caesar salad, dessert, coffee, tea, etc all for $3/adult! Way to go Joy!

I'm looking for the right words to describe the service. Unrushed would be one that comes to mind right away. We were simply able to worship, take communion and focus on the Cross without worrying about announcements and stuff. Ruthie led us in a perfect blend of Cross-centered worship. Very powerful! Can't wait until November's 1st Wednesday service.

Tomorrow is the 4th and final week of our LOST series. It's been a lot of fun and I know that God has used this series to help people see the ways we can be "LOST" and FOUND! Tomorrow's theme weaves into Thanksgiving with a focus on grace and the question: "Are You Who You Want to Be?" The text (for all you keeners) is 2 Corinthians 9:10-15

We had our first "staff get together" at the parsonage last night!! Pastor Conard and Debbie, Pastor Mark, Liz, Emily and Abbie, and Pastor Amy all joined us for food, more food, and then some food. Oh yeah, we also played "Catchphrase". Good times for a great team.

Back to my Irving Peruvian Coffee (I'm hooked) and getting ready for tomorrow.

PT

Wednesday, October 3

Tonight

“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.”
- Robert Jarvik, Artificial Heart Developer
--Great quote from our District Superintendent's newsletter.


A great sense of expectancy is building for tonight's "1st Wednesday" service. Hope you are planning on being here with us!



Tim

Monday, October 1

1st Wednesday

Good morning and happy Monday OWC!

Yesterday was an amazing God-blessed day at OWC. If you missed it, buy the DVD. Oh yeah, we don't have DVD's. You'll have to talk to someone who was there. It's pretty obvious that God is blessing, new people are coming, lives are changing, the Spirit is working, and momentum is building.

There were 234 in attendance and over $10,000 in offering. That is not a typo. Pick your mouse up off the floor, do a dance, and thank God. :-)

This Wednesday is 1st Wednesday!!! We have 108 pre-registered for the Spaghetti supper! It's going to be an awesome night. Dinner for the whole family @ 5:30, worship @ 7:00. The theme is "Nailing it Down". We have a few surprises up our sleeves for worship, and Pastor Amy and her team have some really neat stuff planned for the kids!

This coming Sunday is Thanksgiving! Who are you bringing to church? Thanksgiving is a natural day for folks to at least visit a church. It'll be the last Sunday of our LOST series. The theme on Sunday is Grace. Amazing.

For all the keeners who love to read ahead...here is the text for Wednesday night: Colossians 2:6-23 Read it slow and start to soak it in. It is loaded.

See you Wednesday!!
PT