Grace (more then a meal blessing)

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Do you think it is easier for God to love you when you’re good? Do you secretly suspect that God chose you because you deserved it? Do you think some people’s behavior is so bad that God couldn’t possibly save them? If you ever think this way, you don’t entirely understand that salvation is by grace, a free gift. It cannot be earned, in whole or in part; it can only be accepted with thankfulness and praise (Romans 11:6)

Salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart. People think it must be a complicated process, but it is not. If we believe in our hearts and say with our mouths that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved (Romans 10:8-12).

Halloweenie Roast and Trunk-O-Treat

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Halloweenie Roast and Trunk-O-Treat information.

I am very excited about this year’s Halloweenie Roast and Trunk-O-Treat. We are praying for 1,000 people so we can invite them to our Sunday Services. Here is some information about the event.

The event is this Sunday, October 28^th starting at 5:00pm until 8:00pm.

The Parking Team needs to be at the church at 4:00pm and park in the designated area.

If you are Volunteering we need you at the church at 4:00pm and park in the designated area.

If you are decorating a Trunk you need to be at the church at 4:30pm to get set up. The Parking Team will direct you where to go. You will need to bring your own candy to pass out and please DO NOT begin to give out candy until instructed.

Everyone is encouraged to dress up and have fun!

If you have any questions you can email Donnie at Donnie@RockyRiverChurch.com.

Am I really a Christian?

Have you ever worried about whether or not you are really a Christian? A Christian is anyone who has the spirit of God living in him or her. If you sincerely trusted Christ in your salvation and acknowledge Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit has come into your life, and you are a Christian. You won’t know the Holy Spirit has come if you are waiting for a certain feeling: you will know he has come because Jesus has promised he would come. 

When the Holy Spirit is working within you, you will believe that Jesus Christ is God’s son and that eternal life comes through him (1 John  5:5) ; you will begin to act as Christ directs (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:22,23); you will find help in your daily problems and in your praying (Romans 8:26,27); you will be empowered to serve God and do his will (Acts 1:8; Romans 12:6); and you will become part of God’s plan to build up his church (Ephesians 4:12,13).

Servant vs. Volunteer

I have been going through this thought for a while now about the difference between being a "Servant" and being a "Volunteer." There is a difference and below are a summary that does a great job of explaining my thoughts.  

 Rory Noland in his book, Heart of the Artist, (Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22471-3) discusses the difference between those who volunteer out of obligation to serve in the church and those who feel called by God to serve.  Noland says “that there is a deeper level of commitment, joy, and reward with those who know their calling is from God.”  He then lists differences between volunteers and those called of God:

1.  Volunteers see their involvement at church as community service, but people called of God see it as ministry.

2.  Volunteers whine about what it’s going to cost to serve, but people called are committed to serving.

3.  Volunteers shrink back from resolving relational conflict, but people called of God seek to resolve relational conflict for the sake of unity in the church.

4.  Volunteers look upon rehearsal/practice/meetings as another commitment they’re obligated to fulfill, but people called of God look forward to rehearsal/practice/meetings as another opportunity to be used by God.

5.  Volunteers do no outside practicing or preparation, but people who are called of God come ready to serve and a performance as prepared as possible.

6.  Volunteers are not open to constructive criticism; they get defensive about it.  But people called of God are grateful for feedback because they want to be the best they can be.

7.  Volunteers feel threatened by the talent of others, but people called of God praise Him for distributing gifts and talents as He chooses.

8.  Volunteers want to quit at the first sign of adversity or discouragement, but people called of God dig in and persevere.

9.  Volunteers find their main source of fulfillment in their talents and abilities, but people called of God know that being used of God is the most fulfilling thing you can do with your life.

10.  Volunteers can’t handle being put in situations in which they’re going to be stretched, but people called of God respond to God’s call with humble dependence on Him.

Noland summarizes by saying that the difference between volunteering and being called of God is that “someone who has that sense of calling from God is more ministry minded. God never intended ministry to be the responsibility of the chosen few who do ‘full-time Christian work.’  God has equipped all believers to do the work of ministry.”  (Ephesians 4:11-12)  (taken from The Heart of the Artist, 70-74)

Open Letter from Pastor Jimmy

Hey Rocky River Church - do you know why we exist? Rocky River Church exists to give people the best opportunity possible to become fully committed, growing followers of Christ. This is why we started Rocky River Church 13 years ago. It is our hope that through our events people will come on Sundays to learn about Jesus and use their abilities to serve Him.

We have been doing the Halloweenie Roast and Trunk-o-Treat for many years now, and it is one of our largest outreaches. This event is about more than just candy, costumes and hotdogs. We want to reach as many people as we can to expose families to our church and then invite them to a Sunday morning service. In fact, we have a BIG Sunday planned for November 11, 2012. Everyone who comes to the Halloweenie Roast will receive an invitation to join us on the Big Day where they will hear one of our members share his story on how God saved him from a near death experience.

Your involvement is key to making the Halloweenie Roast a big success! We are praying for 1,000 people during this event on Sunday, Oct. 28th. We your need help in several areas: volunteers, event food (hotdogs, ketchup, mustard, buns), tons and tons of pre-wrapped candy and lots of decorated car trunks. If you can help in any way, email Donnie at Donnie@RockyRiverChurch.com.

Here is what you can pray about for the event: 1,000 people, full funding for the event and great weather the day of the event and several days before the event.

Thanks so much! THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AWESOME TIME!
Jimmy

Almost a Year

I can’t believe it has been almost a year since I have last had a blog post. So many things have changed and I feel as though I am always to busy to blog or I feel guilty to blog because I have so many things to do. I do however Twitter and I really enjoy that but there are time I wish I could express more then in 180 characters.

Over the next several weeks I am going to make more of an effort to post my thoughts, leadership stuff and other things in this blog.