Worship News 6/19

From Jay

A Culture of Confession
My favorite moment in church ministry was April 5th of this year. During a few silent moments at the opening of Sunset's service, we had people anonymously write their personal confessions on a piece of paper. You might even remember what you wrote. We collected all these writings and selected a good amount of them to be read aloud during Communion.

It was a powerful moment to say the least.

I was one of the readers.

I remember reading confessions of ignoring God, marital unfaithfulness, lack of a desire to be at church, drug abuse, and many other confessions that were hard to read and even harder to say out loud.
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Too often we allow church to be a place for people who have it all together. We put on nice clothes, and fake faces. When asked how we're doing we almost always say, "Doing pretty good." If church can't be a place for us to be real as a confessing community of sinners in need of grace, then I think we've missed the point. As this comes to mind, our mantra of "we choose to be real" also comes to my thoughts. What could that possibly mean?

In 1st Corinthians 2:2 Paul says, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

Now obviously Paul teaches more than the cross (all you have to do is read some of 1&2 Thessalonians or 1&2 Timothy to see that), but he can't talk about all the other things without tying it back to the cross.

Paul's ultimate confession was always that he was the chief of all sinners: a man unworthy of God's grace, yet he was given it still. Nothing in Paul's ministry was done without a focus on the cross and its redemption for even those who are unworthy to touch it.

If a church can truly create a culture of confession it not only allows for grace to be poured out, but it also allows for the cross to take center stage. It is through confession that we experience the power of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Let's resolve to know nothing else.

An excerpt from News & Views by Pastor Ron

I will be giving my second message on prayer and will talk about the importance of praising God in prayer. I will dedicate this message to the men. I hope I’ll see you there. If you missed it, get the cd at the book & tape counter in the lobby.

Sunday Evening Service Time Change
Beginning this Sunday and continuing through September the Sunday evening service will be at 6:00 pm. This is your reminder that during the busy summer months when you may have activities or be out of town on Sunday morning, you can still attend our Sunday evening service at 6:00 pm in the gym. This service is more intimate, and we take time for questions about the sermon. It is a great opportunity for families to worship together. Check it out.

Bike Fair Success!!!
The Bike Fair on Saturday the 13th was a great success--660 guests including 360 children, 300 helmets given away, 90 bikes repaired and 78 bikes donated. Wow! These children were taught bicycle safety and had fun riding through the obstacle course. This was a great beginning to our Seasons of Service activities and provided a great opportunity to connect with our community. Thanks to all who volunteered their time and skills and to all those who donated bikes; many children were made very happy.

Opportunities To Serve

Worship Choir
We are looking for people who enjoy expressing their love for God through singing. Worship choir will sing June 28th, July 26th, and August 23rd. If you plan to sing on those dates, please attend rehearsal at 8pm in the Sanctuary the Thursday before the Sunday’s listed. Interested but aren’t sure yet? Then contact Jill at jillhofer@sunsetpres.org for more information. All ages welcome.

SEASONS OF SERVICE
At Sunset we meet in a building on Cornell Road. But perhaps the truest expression of the church is when it goes outside the walls and becomes knee deep in community involvement. Seasons of Service is a cohesive strategy of community outreach that allows individuals, care groups, small groups, ministry teams and families to serve.
Sunset’s strategy of outreach focus’s our efforts in three areas:
· Serving our schools
· Serving the hungry and poor
· Ministering to the multi-ethnicSeasons of Service is divided into spring, summer, and Fall/Winter serving opportunities. We are kicking off our Summer Season of Service. Click here for more information about opportunities to serve. Click here to volunteer for a Seasons of Service event.

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 Carrie at 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 List
July 12-16 – Middle School Camp, click here for more info
August 3-8 – High School Camp, click here for more info
August 18-23 – Kids Camp, click here for more info