We had a good day at Church yesterday!
Four people were baptized in the morning service after making professions of faith in the last couple of weeks. We have ended every morning service with baptisms for at least two months now. That is a reason to celebrate!
Two teen girls made professions of faith in their CONNECT GROUP yesterday. They made their decisions public in the morning worship service. That is a reason to celebrate!
We voted to approve our new Worship Pastor at the end of the morning service. He has accepted our call and will begin serving on the field on June 19. That is a reason to celebrate!
Our Global Focus missions emphasis begins this Wednesday. I was just in the worship center and saw the hundred or more flags they are setting up in preparation for the first service. Things are coming together. I believe we will see people's lives change in the next seven days. That is a reason to celebrate!
I won my fantasy baseball game last night. I am second in the league, but more importantly, I'm ahead of Pastor Wally. That might not be a reason to celebrate, but it is at least a reason to smile really big.
Pastor Noel Dear
Monday, April 23, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Ohio Weather
I guess when you live in the south all your life, you get used to how weather is 'supposed' to work. The things you 'Ohioans' take for granted are really odd to us southerners...
Last night we had a thunderstorm with hail. Big hail. In the south hail is something they talk about on the news and issue warnings for, but I had probably only seen it a half dozen times in my life before I moved here (unless you count tiny, tiny hail). Because of the the upcoming move, my garage is filled with boxes so my cars were in the driveway. I'm scared to go look at them. Last week we had one or two days that got into the 80's and three days of SNOW! That is just cruel.
Other news...
I am looking forward to this weekend with our new music minister candidate being on the field. I expect Sunday to be a great day.
My uncle in Dallas passed away a couple days ago. I will be doing the funeral there tomorrow. I will actually be flying out of the Columbus airport at the same time Shawn, our music minister candidate, will be flying in. I hope to be able to speak with him in the terminal prior to departing, but I'm thinking the Southwest terminal (his airline) and the American Airlines terminal (my airline) are not connected in Columbus.
Can I share some humor with you even if it is a little PG 13? (I don't suppose kids read this blog.) Donna was gone somewhere a few days ago and I was watching one of my favorite television shows, Modern Marvels, on the History Channel. The girls had sat down to have a snack and were watching it with me. As you probably know, television commercials have really changed in the last few years and while you can be very careful about the programming your kids see on TV it is more difficult to control the commercials they see. Well the first commercial was for medicine for genital herpes which led to a difficult question from Hannah, my eight year old. As I was talking to Hannah trying to half answer the question and half change the subject, another commercial came on. Emily, my five year old, was watching the second commercial while I was trying to explain the first. When my explanation to Hannah was over, Emily referring to the second commercial asked, "Daddy, what is REPTILE DISFUNCTION?"
What do you say?
I told her it was when a lizard or a snake had emotional problems and didn't fit in with society.
Noel Dear
Last night we had a thunderstorm with hail. Big hail. In the south hail is something they talk about on the news and issue warnings for, but I had probably only seen it a half dozen times in my life before I moved here (unless you count tiny, tiny hail). Because of the the upcoming move, my garage is filled with boxes so my cars were in the driveway. I'm scared to go look at them. Last week we had one or two days that got into the 80's and three days of SNOW! That is just cruel.
Other news...
I am looking forward to this weekend with our new music minister candidate being on the field. I expect Sunday to be a great day.
My uncle in Dallas passed away a couple days ago. I will be doing the funeral there tomorrow. I will actually be flying out of the Columbus airport at the same time Shawn, our music minister candidate, will be flying in. I hope to be able to speak with him in the terminal prior to departing, but I'm thinking the Southwest terminal (his airline) and the American Airlines terminal (my airline) are not connected in Columbus.
Can I share some humor with you even if it is a little PG 13? (I don't suppose kids read this blog.) Donna was gone somewhere a few days ago and I was watching one of my favorite television shows, Modern Marvels, on the History Channel. The girls had sat down to have a snack and were watching it with me. As you probably know, television commercials have really changed in the last few years and while you can be very careful about the programming your kids see on TV it is more difficult to control the commercials they see. Well the first commercial was for medicine for genital herpes which led to a difficult question from Hannah, my eight year old. As I was talking to Hannah trying to half answer the question and half change the subject, another commercial came on. Emily, my five year old, was watching the second commercial while I was trying to explain the first. When my explanation to Hannah was over, Emily referring to the second commercial asked, "Daddy, what is REPTILE DISFUNCTION?"
What do you say?
I told her it was when a lizard or a snake had emotional problems and didn't fit in with society.
Noel Dear
Sunday, April 8, 2007
A Great Easter
What a great Resurrection Day! Well over 800 people joined us for worship this morning; the choir and praise team did a good job; several people baptized; two people made professions of faith...
(Did you know the reason we worship on Sunday is that Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. So, in some sense, every Sunday is Resurrection Day. Why can't we have a day like today every Sunday?)
There is a great deal coming up the next few weeks. Here are the biggest two...
(Did you know the reason we worship on Sunday is that Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. So, in some sense, every Sunday is Resurrection Day. Why can't we have a day like today every Sunday?)
There is a great deal coming up the next few weeks. Here are the biggest two...
- This coming weekend, we have a worship minister candidate coming in view of a call. I believe Sunday will be a great day. I am looking forward to where God is leading us as a church!
- The Global Focus missions conference is just around to corner. This will be a pivotal event for our church.
Be in prayer for these events...
Noel
Monday, April 2, 2007
Five Baptisms
We had a great day at church yesterday. Good crowd, good spirit, good response at the invitation and FIVE people baptized. What a great way to kick off Easter week.
Our deacons did a great job with the crucifixion drama and Lord's Supper last night. I've had calls, emails, and visits throughout the day with people talking about how much it impacted their lives (and then there was Lindy :)).
For the first time ever, I'm playing in a fantasy baseball league. I don't know anything about baseball. Two weeks ago, I couldn't even name a baseball player. But I survived the draft and today the season began. I'm not even sure whether or not I have a good team, but as of 8:52 p.m. I am beating Lowell Jump's team 11-10. This is probably the only time this season I will have any kind of lead so I thought I would write about it. If I don't mention it on my blog again, you will know I'm losing pretty badly. The neat thing is that one of the guys in the church who is playing in the league (Jimmy McCrillis) is playing from the battle field in Afghanistan. He was even able to participate in the live draft although I think it was something like 4:00 in the morning when he did.
I'm looking forward to Easter Sunday. We've got two worship services in the morning. We're hoping for a big crowd. Pray for those who might come to church this week who would not ordinarily attend.
I'm blogging because 'Dancing with the Stars' is on, but the OSU - Florida B'ball game will be on shortly.
I'm trying to get Donna to make strawberry cobbler, but I'm not having much luck. Maybe she'll read this in a minute and make one. Maybe.
Time for the game...
Noel
Our deacons did a great job with the crucifixion drama and Lord's Supper last night. I've had calls, emails, and visits throughout the day with people talking about how much it impacted their lives (and then there was Lindy :)).
For the first time ever, I'm playing in a fantasy baseball league. I don't know anything about baseball. Two weeks ago, I couldn't even name a baseball player. But I survived the draft and today the season began. I'm not even sure whether or not I have a good team, but as of 8:52 p.m. I am beating Lowell Jump's team 11-10. This is probably the only time this season I will have any kind of lead so I thought I would write about it. If I don't mention it on my blog again, you will know I'm losing pretty badly. The neat thing is that one of the guys in the church who is playing in the league (Jimmy McCrillis) is playing from the battle field in Afghanistan. He was even able to participate in the live draft although I think it was something like 4:00 in the morning when he did.
I'm looking forward to Easter Sunday. We've got two worship services in the morning. We're hoping for a big crowd. Pray for those who might come to church this week who would not ordinarily attend.
I'm blogging because 'Dancing with the Stars' is on, but the OSU - Florida B'ball game will be on shortly.
I'm trying to get Donna to make strawberry cobbler, but I'm not having much luck. Maybe she'll read this in a minute and make one. Maybe.
Time for the game...
Noel
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Some Things I'm Thankful For
- The bank finally accepted our offer to buy the house we had been wanting. We didn't have to go way up on our offer, we just had to jump through all of their hoops.
- We have a worship pastor candidate coming in view of a call on April 15!
- I beat Pastor Wally in golf this week.
- My wife has agreed to have a yard sale this weekend, and she is in the 'let's get rid of everything we don't need' mood. Finally.
- The Global Focus Missions conference is almost here!
- Easter is almost here!
Noel
Monday, March 26, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Wildlife Supper
Our men did a very good job on tonight's Wildlife Supper. Good food. Good crowd. Good program.
Buddy Davis from Answers In Genesis shared about his recent trip to Alaska in search of unfossilized dinosaur bones. It was very interesting and informative.
I'm looking forward to worship tomorrow. I'll be beginning a new morning worship series. For the next three weeks, we will take a look at Easter through the eyes of Peter. Peter had three key encounters with Jesus during the time leading up to the crucifixion and immediately following the resurrection. We will look at one of these each week. Tomorrow we will be in John 13. We are going to look at the time when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, but we're not going to look at it in the way you would expect. I hope we will learn something new tomorrow that will have an impact on people's lives.
Pastor Noel
Buddy Davis from Answers In Genesis shared about his recent trip to Alaska in search of unfossilized dinosaur bones. It was very interesting and informative.
I'm looking forward to worship tomorrow. I'll be beginning a new morning worship series. For the next three weeks, we will take a look at Easter through the eyes of Peter. Peter had three key encounters with Jesus during the time leading up to the crucifixion and immediately following the resurrection. We will look at one of these each week. Tomorrow we will be in John 13. We are going to look at the time when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, but we're not going to look at it in the way you would expect. I hope we will learn something new tomorrow that will have an impact on people's lives.
Pastor Noel
Friday, March 23, 2007
Still Learning
My quiet time Scripture reading this morning was 2 Corinthians 10-13. In the first ten verses of 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about how he learned the lesson of the suffiency of grace. Paul learned that all he really needed in life was the grace of God.
That made me think of a couple verses I will be preaching on this coming Sunday evening:
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Then I thought of my blog laments about how frustrating this house process has become and how anxious I am to have some resolution. (It's pretty embarrassing when we sin so publically.)
I confessed. I followed the instructions in Philippians 4:6. God fulfilled his promise given in Philippians 4:7. I'm through with my anxious complaining. There will be no 'House Saga IV' blog post.
Lesson learned... for now.
Pastor Noel
That made me think of a couple verses I will be preaching on this coming Sunday evening:
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Then I thought of my blog laments about how frustrating this house process has become and how anxious I am to have some resolution. (It's pretty embarrassing when we sin so publically.)
I confessed. I followed the instructions in Philippians 4:6. God fulfilled his promise given in Philippians 4:7. I'm through with my anxious complaining. There will be no 'House Saga IV' blog post.
Lesson learned... for now.
Pastor Noel
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The House Saga
So we made an offer on the house with a pre-approval letter as per the bank's instructions. The bank (a bank owns the house) turned it down because the pre-approval letter was not from their own bank. Then we went through the process again and submitted an offer with their letter. They turned it down. Then we submitted a higher offer. They turned it down. Then we submitted a new higher offer. They turned it down and commented... "We haven't really had an issue with the money you have been offering, we just can't consider your offers in the form they are presented."
Yea. Thanks for the heads up on that.
So I guess we are back to square one.
We presented a new offer, with the correct pre-approval letter, in the correct form. What will go wrong tomorrow?
The saga continues.
Actually we aren't that frustrated. I have a peace about the whole thing. If this isn't the house for us, then we'll just look for another. We probably won't submit another offer after this one unless it is just to come up a little and see if the bank will come down to our number.
We couldn't move until after our Global Focus conference is over anyway. If we bought the house now I would have to make payments on two places for a month. So there is no real hurry.
If you think about it, pray for us.
Noel
Yea. Thanks for the heads up on that.
So I guess we are back to square one.
We presented a new offer, with the correct pre-approval letter, in the correct form. What will go wrong tomorrow?
The saga continues.
Actually we aren't that frustrated. I have a peace about the whole thing. If this isn't the house for us, then we'll just look for another. We probably won't submit another offer after this one unless it is just to come up a little and see if the bank will come down to our number.
We couldn't move until after our Global Focus conference is over anyway. If we bought the house now I would have to make payments on two places for a month. So there is no real hurry.
If you think about it, pray for us.
Noel
Monday, March 19, 2007
March Madness
March Madness has begun. No not the NCAA Basketball Tourney... I'm talking about 'Dancing with the Stars.'
This is the girls' favorite show so we all watch it as a family, or I should say, the three of them watch it and I work on the computer. (Thank God for laptops!)
Today was a pretty good day. Troy came by the church today to tell me about another teen who made a profession of faith last night after church. I won't steal her thunder by telling you who it is now, but I think she will make it public this Sunday. A few weeks ago, we spent a Sunday morning going over the theology of baptism. Since then, many peole have been taking a close look at whether their baptism was 'in order.' Pastor Wally shared with me today that he had someone else speak with him about wanting to be baptized last night. It has been an encouraging day.
During the last commercial break in 'Dancing with the used-to-be Stars,' they said that Coke has changed its formula for religious reasons. I'm not sure what they've done or why, but I think there is a sermon in that.
I may have some very good news to share with the church Sunday...
By the way, no word on the house. We thought we would hear today if they accepted our offer but we didn't. Maybe tomorrow.
Later...
Pastor Noel
This is the girls' favorite show so we all watch it as a family, or I should say, the three of them watch it and I work on the computer. (Thank God for laptops!)
Today was a pretty good day. Troy came by the church today to tell me about another teen who made a profession of faith last night after church. I won't steal her thunder by telling you who it is now, but I think she will make it public this Sunday. A few weeks ago, we spent a Sunday morning going over the theology of baptism. Since then, many peole have been taking a close look at whether their baptism was 'in order.' Pastor Wally shared with me today that he had someone else speak with him about wanting to be baptized last night. It has been an encouraging day.
During the last commercial break in 'Dancing with the used-to-be Stars,' they said that Coke has changed its formula for religious reasons. I'm not sure what they've done or why, but I think there is a sermon in that.
I may have some very good news to share with the church Sunday...
By the way, no word on the house. We thought we would hear today if they accepted our offer but we didn't. Maybe tomorrow.
Later...
Pastor Noel
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Time to Blog
I took a prospect family out to dinner tonight and even they poked fun at me for having a blog I never update... So I'll try to do better :)
Pastor Wally preached for me tonight. He preached the best message I've heard him preach. It was timely and convicting!
Tomorrow we find out if the second offer we've made on a house we want to buy will be accepted. I fear it will not. We are praying that everything will fall into place if this is God's plan.
This week is Global Focus week around the office. I hope to get all of the Global Focus stuff settled and decided. I could really use some prayers as we try to wrap up these preparations.
I went over to listen to the youth praise band do a song tonight. They did a very good job. I've asked Troy to preach one Sunday night in the next few weeks. When he does, we'll have the youth praise band play. Everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
This morning in worship service I interviewed one of the young men in the church (Jason Roundtree). Jason did a great job and had a big impact in several people's lives. If I wouldn't have called him by his wife's name (Jami) at the beginning of the interview, it would have been perfect :)
I've had way too many nights away from home. Tomorrow night, NOTHING IS GOING ON! I'm very excited. If the weather is good, I may grill some steaks. Y'all come!
This morning one of the projectors kept blinking once a second while we showed a DVD background to a praise and worship song. I had it working early this morning. This is the second or third time this has happened. There is a $50 reward for anyone who can fix it.
Enough randomness for one blog entry...
Pastor Noel
Pastor Wally preached for me tonight. He preached the best message I've heard him preach. It was timely and convicting!
Tomorrow we find out if the second offer we've made on a house we want to buy will be accepted. I fear it will not. We are praying that everything will fall into place if this is God's plan.
This week is Global Focus week around the office. I hope to get all of the Global Focus stuff settled and decided. I could really use some prayers as we try to wrap up these preparations.
I went over to listen to the youth praise band do a song tonight. They did a very good job. I've asked Troy to preach one Sunday night in the next few weeks. When he does, we'll have the youth praise band play. Everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
This morning in worship service I interviewed one of the young men in the church (Jason Roundtree). Jason did a great job and had a big impact in several people's lives. If I wouldn't have called him by his wife's name (Jami) at the beginning of the interview, it would have been perfect :)
I've had way too many nights away from home. Tomorrow night, NOTHING IS GOING ON! I'm very excited. If the weather is good, I may grill some steaks. Y'all come!
This morning one of the projectors kept blinking once a second while we showed a DVD background to a praise and worship song. I had it working early this morning. This is the second or third time this has happened. There is a $50 reward for anyone who can fix it.
Enough randomness for one blog entry...
Pastor Noel
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Attitude
Several people asked this morning for a copy of the Swindoll quote on ATTITUDE that I shared in my a.m. message, and also people asked for the 'fragrance' verses that I used but that didn't make it into the outline hand-out. (Carla writes the outlines for the bulletin inserts on Wednesday from whatever draft of the message I have done by then. Sometimes the message changes a little between Wednesday and Sunday. Usually the outline doesn't change, but the supporting verses sometimes do.)
As you requested...
Charles Swindoll: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, or a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace. We cannot change our past. Nor can we change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you—we are in charge of our attitudes."
Fragrance Verses: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
Pastor Noel Dear
As you requested...
Charles Swindoll: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, or a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace. We cannot change our past. Nor can we change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you—we are in charge of our attitudes."
Fragrance Verses: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
Pastor Noel Dear
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Things To Pray For...
Here are some things you can put on your prayer list...
- Global Focus... Things are coming together for our big missions conference in April. I spent some time today talking to some people in Baltimore about how our church can be involved in church planting there. They are excited... I am excited...
- Music Pastor Search... I was at the nursing home today visiting Jean Rine. As I was leaving, sweet little Miss Jean said, "Pastor sit down, I need to talk to you about something!" It startled me. I sat down as I was told. She said, "Pastor, we've gone long enough without a music pastor. I want to know when we will have one!" I said, "Yes Mam, I get the message."
- We are working on arrangements (and finances) to bring Pastor Fredrick, the pastor of the church in Kenya that we work with, to spend a few weeks with us. We need several things to fall into place (and several dollars).
- Donna George is starting a new Connect Group for ladies...
- Beth Moore Simulcast...
- Upward Basketball...
- AWANA...
- ...
Noel
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