This Week @ Twin Cities Church!

Hey everybody, I am so thrilled to tell you that God created you just like you are, and He loves you! What a great promise we looked at last weekend. If you were not here, please go online and watch the service; you’ll be glad you did. Our drama and music teams were exceptional as they opened our hearts up to receive a very affirming and positive message about each person’s uniqueness.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving, I wanted to help give some ideas that might inspire gratitude for God’s wonderful work in our lives. First, life is hard, but God is good. It’s just a reality that life can be full of difficulty and can sometimes be overwhelming. For example, in the middle of our family’s health issues, we had to put our dog, Hunter, down last week. Hunter had been in our family 13 years, and so it was a difficult week. But through our compassionate veterinarian and his staff, we saw God’s goodness even in that tough situation.

I don’t know for sure what you’re facing this Thanksgiving, but I do know God KNOWS, SEES, and CARES. I know He is there for you, whether you’re in the clouds or in the depths. It might be helpful for you to begin a gratitude list. Just start writing a list of everything you’re grateful for. Let it be an ongoing list and keep adding. I believe that list will encourage you and help you see just how God is at work in your life. It’s been proven that gratitude is the healthiest of emotions.

This Sunday is the beginning of our Year-End Giving emphasis. Make sure to spend time asking God to show you what He would have you give as a way of expressing your gratitude to Him and your church. Our focus on Sunday will be on the fact that you are always on God’s mind. There is tremendous security in knowing that reality.

Pastor Ron

This Week @ Twin Cities Church - Monthly Food Drive!

Hey everybody. As I look back at last Sunday, I wanted you to know how proud I am of your love for God and people. The level of giving to Operation Christmas Child in a tough and tight economic reality was amazing. We gave over 1100 boxes filled with goodies and love that will go to little kids who may have never received a Christmas gift. The cool thing is that someone verbally tells them that this tangible gift really comes from Jesus Christ. Thank you!

You received our 2011 Year-End Giving envelopes in the mail this week. I hope you will begin the process of asking God what He would have you give. Remember, it’s about listening to Him and then giving as He guides. We will begin our Year-End Gift emphasis on Thanksgiving weekend. What a great day to give as we stop to give thanks for all God has done and watch as several people “go public for Jesus” as they are baptized.

If you’ve never been baptized after you made your own decision to follow Jesus, Thanksgiving would be a great and memorable option. You can go to the baptism class on November 20 at 9:30. Just come to the Coffee Bar and you’ll find a host who will guide you to the class site. I’m praying you will say, “YES!”

This Sunday we get to a section of Psalm 139 that gives us a great picture of how our Creator forms and shapes every human being uniquely and for a specific purpose. I hope you’ll be there to learn how God celebrates the real you. We’ll also be receiving our quarterly Benevolence offerings and monthly non-perishable food drive items.

I want to invite you to join me at Journey 101 this Sunday at 3:00. Take this first step in really connecting to our church.

Pastor Ron

This Week @ Twin Cities Church!

Hey everybody, “The Real You” series has been such a blessing to so many people. In fact, I can sense that it’s been encouraging, healing, and inspirational as we’ve looked these first two weeks at two of God’s most prominent attributes – He knows everything perfectly, and He is fully present everywhere. I hope you’ve been practicing the spiritual exercise we ended with on Sunday to repeat the phrase “the Lord is in this place” many times during your day. This has been such a boost to me this week.

You will receive our 2011 Year-End Giving envelopes in the mail next week. I hope you will begin the process of asking God what He would have you give. Remember, it’s about listening to Him and then giving as He guides. We will begin our Year-End Gift emphasis on Thanksgiving weekend. What a great day to give as we stop to give thanks for all God has done and watch as several people “go public for Jesus” as they are baptized.

If you’ve never been baptized after you made your own decision to follow Jesus, Thanksgiving would be a great and memorable option. I hope you will take this meaningful and transforming step in your walk with Jesus. You can go to either of the baptism classes on November 13 or 20 at 9:30. Just come to the coffee bar and you’ll find a host who will guide you to the class site. I’m praying you will say, “YES!”

This Sunday we will take the confidence we’ve received over the past two weeks and take it a step further. We’re going to talk about one of the most difficult concepts for people to grasp – how to know God’s will. I am eager to work on this again because making decisions is often times very difficult and confusing in light of all the options we have in our world today.

I am so grateful to belong to such a loving and faith-filled church. Remember to bring your shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child to church this Sunday!

Pastor Ron

This Week @ Twin Cities Church - Daylight Savings Ends! Fall Back!

Hey everybody, Friend Day was just awesome. I loved going out on Facebook later in the day and seeing all the positive comments people were making about the entire day, but the highlight was the surprise Flash Mob Dance. I love our church. We showed once again that God really meant it when He said that Joy should be one of our primary identifiers as people who are being transformed by His love. Thank you to everyone who went way over the top in brainstorming, rehearsing and being available to be used by God.

As fun as that was, the most exciting thing for me was how many of you strategically used this day as an opportunity to invite your friends, family and co-workers to come. I really loved how juiced you were as you watched this service through the eyes of those friends. It’s pretty amazing how that different view helps you appreciate so much more how hard our church works to present God in relevant, creative and surprising ways. Keep those friends and family members in your prayers because you never know how God is going to work.

Thank you to everyone who made Fall Family Festival a smashing pumpkin success. I love your hearts to serve and give our community this wonderful gift! Wasn’t the hot air balloon just an awesome visual attraction? Wow!

Last Sunday’s message on being known was moving to me. I love how personal our God is and that as my family is entering into a very difficult season with both Kimberly and me receiving treatment for our physical problems that God chose this series just to inspire and encourage us. I know that’s what I felt after Sunday. This Sunday has the potential to be just as inspiring as we talk about the truth that God is always there – no matter what we’re going through. What a great confidence booster.

I am so grateful to belong to such a loving and faith-filled church. Remember to be praying now about your 2011 Year-End gifts.

Pastor Ron