SunHills November Update

  • Nov 4, 2011
MISSIONS HIGHLIGHT

Larry and Dana Stucky have been supported by SunHills as World Venture missionaries to Albania for many years.  They are now back in California working on a new job assignment called, Team Albania.  This project involves training and support of new missionaries to Albania, including their daughter and her family.  Another exciting aspect of their ministry is support of Albanian Christians now serving as missionaries in Turkey.  The Stuckys are thankful for our support and have asked for our prayers as they continue to design and implement this new venture.

MEANT FOR GOOD

We have two weeks more in our series “Meant for Good” from the life of Joseph.  On Nov 6 we’ll hear from Don Rogers – a missionary in Africa that our teams have partnered with – and Don will share a powerful message that relates to Joseph as well.  In addition, we will introduce some compassion projects  – so don’t miss it!

On Nov 13 we’ll conclude this series with the pivotal words from Joseph in Genesis 50:20: “… you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good …” We’ll draw some vitally important – and very practical – lessons on forgiveness.

COMPASSION PROJECTS

SunHills will have several opportunities for you to serve our community through the holidays. Two opportunities that will be available on Nov 6 are the Gifts of Mercy and Hosamane Kids.

Gifts of Mercy is a Christmas outreach to the children of White Rock Village.  Gift tags with the children’s Christmas wishes will be available in the lobby on Sunday.  To participate, take a tag and bring back a wrapped gift by Nov 27.

Hosamane Kids – We will also have tags for our outreach to Hosamane.  The suggested donation is $15 per tag and the funds collected will be used to purchase a set of clothing and bedding for each of the children in the village as well as a holiday outreach to their families.

FINANCE

Reflection on our giving and finances is about more than the budget. Here’s what I mean. First, Jesus talks about money as it connects to our hearts and giving is a reflection of what is in our heart. Yes, giving is an act of obedience, but giving is also a joyful privilege when our hearts have been touched by what God has so freely given to us. Second, our giving is crucial to support of the on-going ministry of the church (not just what happens on Sunday but in people’s lives, during the week, outreach into our community and the world, etc.). So, thank you for being prayerful and faithful and intentional in your giving.  Would you pray about your part in helping us finish the year strong? Thank you.

THANKSGIVING

As we move closer to Thanksgiving, we’re often reminded to be thankful for those things and people that surround us. It’s important that we’re thankful for these things, but sometimes we forget to acknowledge our thankfulness and gratitude towards God – the giver of all good things.

During our regular Sunday services on Nov 20, we’ll spend the morning connecting with God through a special time of worship – and a little creativity. It’s because of Christ that we’re welcomed into God’s favor and that we can experience the abundance of God’s love. We’ll explore this important area of thanksgiving through some various forms of worship.

This will be an exciting and engaging time for us to gather together as the family of God to express our heart for Him – and to thank Him for what He has done for us and through us in Christ.

RENOVATION COMPLETION

With the new paint in the auditorium, the Renovation Project is finished!  There will, of course, be on-going up-keep and care for our facility but we’ve completed all of the projects we set out to accomplish. 

Our campus is not the most important part of who we are or what we do but it is a significant factor which does influence our ability to reach people.  We are grateful for the blessings of these renovations – an important updating of our campus to maximize our ministry here and reach more people.  We give thanks to God and to you for your giving and serving in these projects!

Also, as we have been blessed, we are grateful for the opportunity to help others. As we communicated at the beginning of this project we are donating 10% of what we spent on our campus to worldwide missions and local ministry outreach.  We have given these donations during the month of October – a joyful privilege!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

I’m excited about our celebration of the birth of Jesus!  We’ve got some good things planned – both for our Sundays together (beginning Nov 27 with a new series, “The Spirit of Christmas”) and also for you to engage with on your own or with your family.  We’ll be doing an Advent reading Tabitha’s Travels (similar to the Jotham story we did last year).  We will have a more detailed introduction – and Tabitha books available – on Sunday, Nov 13.

Also, the Christmas season is a great time to invite friends and family. Be thinking and praying about whom you can invite for one of our Christmas Sundays (regular service times on Nov 27, Dec 4, 11 and 18) and also our special Christmas Eve services (4:00 and 5:30pm).   There will be no Sunday services on Christmas Day – we hope you will take that day to celebrate with family and friends.  Our Christmas services will be held on Saturday night, Christmas Eve.

Grace - dan