Worship Update 5/15

From Jay

Don’t Lose Heart
I’m on a couch in Starbucks, beginning to buzz from my mocha frapp (with added caramel) as I write this. My fingers are starting to get hyper and it allows me to type at superhuman speed. The downside is I misspell every other word and have to hit backspace, thus going slower than if I had no sugar or caffeine in my system in the first place.

I knew this guy named Tad in high school. He was older than me by a few years, I knew him through my older sister. He was popular, and definitely one of the “cool” guys at school. My sister was one of the many girls who had a crush on him.

After high school Tad made a lot of money in various entrepreneurial endeavors. You probably know someone like him, always working the next deal, the next project, and always thinking bigger and better. Those who knew Tad, liked him, but described him as overly confident and arrogant. When you were around him, you were consumed with his energy and it was always about him, and you knew it. He was like this for decades.

Then, Tad’s world fell apart. His financial deals crashed. His marriage hit rock bottom and was nearly destroyed. He went through a miniature “Job experience” and everything that he really valued left him in a very short period of time.

Today, if you were to be around Tad, you would describe him as humble. He is a completely different guy, he is life giving and he makes your time with him about you. He is sold out for Jesus. His energy and time are put into his family and into ministering to men with broken families. He readily talks about how Jesus has broken him and changed his perspective. And he wouldn’t go back to all the money and success he had for anything.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what leads to positive change. I think about Saul, before and after his conversion to Paul. I think about guys like Tad. It seems like so often change has little to do with our personal effort and work to achieve change. Positive change seems to be something God just “does” in people’s life, and it is so often surrounded by heartache and hardship.

I write all this to say, that the situation you are going through right now… that situation you are tired of and wish would end… that very situation that’s zapping the life out of you and you wonder why in the world God is allowing it, He can use to refine you and to shape your character. He can use it far more than all the things that are rosy and going great.

2 Corinthians 4 (selected verses)
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Opportunities to Serve

Safety at Sunset
One of the “holes” left after our recent layoffs is the need for a representative from W&CA on the Safety Team. We’d like to fill that hole with a volunteer. Safety on our campus is a responsibility of the Operations team, but they need input and support from all the other teams to handle the variety of needs at Sunset. Those needs range from maintaining a safe work environment for our staff to handling an emergency that might occur on our campus.

If you’re interested in representing W&CA and being a part of Sunset’s Safety Team, please contact carriepeeples@sunsetpres.org. The Safety Team meets once a month on the fourth Thursday from 10 to 11am; however, they may be open to changing the time.

Production/Tech Team Volunteers Needed!
We are looking for people to fill the following roles:
Service Director
Lighting
Graphics
FOH Camera Op Week
Message Slide Designer

In addition we have a new volunteer role: Video production. We'd like to find some video editors in our midst. Are you or do you know someone who could do simple projects for us? (i.e. this week, we have white text (provided) on black screen and need someone to edit.) The level of the projects will depend on who we discover. The content is generally available a couple weeks in advance of the deadline. If you have this skill or know someone at Sunset who does, please email me janetfraser@sunsetpres.org.

Upcoming Events

Adult Ministries Evening of Support
If you are unemployed or under-employed or walking with someone who is, join us
Tuesday, May 26th at 7:00p. Our focus will be on financial strategies for periods of
unemployment.

May 25 – Memorial Day
May 26 – Evening of Support (see above)
May 31 – (Sunday) Infant baptism/dedication and Choir & Orchestra
June 7 – (Sunday) Communion