Good morning and happy Friday!
Throughout scripture the continual presence and nearness of God is eluded to, and evident in various ways. For example, in the book of Exodus, specifically, the presence of God is plainly visible as a pillar of smoke and fire with the following promise: my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (Ex. 33:14). This past Sunday we sang a song with the line, “In your presence God, I am completely satisfied,” and it got me wondering, do we really find complete satisfaction in the presence of God alone? And it so, what does it look like?
In the early 1600’s a man who went by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection spent his day-to-day life serving in the kitchen of a monastery in France, and wrote about finding complete satisfaction in even the smallest of tasks by being constantly aware of the presence of God in his life. He wrote, “I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world…the time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees before the Blessed Sacrament.”
Can we, like Brother Lawrence, find joy and satisfaction in all that we do- even the smallest and most menial of tasks- as we do them with the constant awareness of the presence of God?
~Contributed by Charlie Hughes
There is a lot going on around the Park these days and we want to make sure you don’t miss a beat. Check out the following events and opportunities to serve:
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Job Opportunity in Family Ministries @ The Park:
Park Family Ministries is hiring! We are looking for someone who has a passion for families and kids to lead our Sunday morning classes. It’s part time and a link to the job description and application is below. Check it out if you are interested in applying or pass it along!
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Service Project THIS Sunday with SERVING THE SERVANTS:
Brandon Griffin has a great heart for serving our city and world and has a new opportunity for you to be a part of. This Sunday at the Park you will hear from him directly on how to serve a group of soldiers serving in the Middle East. The idea is a care package and it’s pretty simple: this Sunday take a box (there are only 50), fill it with the items listed, shipping label provided, pay the $15 to ship it, and bless a soldier who is overseas serving our nation. We hope you will grab a box this Sunday!
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Missional Partner Spotlight:
At the Park we partner with individuals and organizations around our city and the world to extend the great message of the gospel through words and actions. We pray for these partners as well as help fund many of their projects, initiatives, and personal needs. For a complete list of our current partners click
HERE.
Kari Kurz is the local area director (Northwest) for
YoungLife. Here is a little bit about the organization:
Young Life doesn’t start with a program. It starts with adults who are concerned enough about kids to go to them, on their turf and in their culture, building bridges of authentic friendship. These relationships don’t happen overnight — they take time, patience, trust and consistency.So Young Life leaders log many hours with kids — where they are, as they are. We listen to their stories and learn what’s important to them because we genuinely care about their joys, triumphs, heartaches and setbacks.We believe in the power of presence. Kids’ lives are dramatically impacted when caring adults come alongside them, sharing God’s love with them. Because their Young Life leader believes in them, they begin to see that their lives have great worth, meaning and purpose.
Kari would love to talk with you more about how to support the work she does here in San Antonio. Click
here to contact her.
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Join or Start a Community Group: Community Groups at the Park track with the Sunday sermons. We are wrapping up our study of Exodus over the next 2 weeks and then will be launching into a new study in mid-August. Since
community is a core value of the Park, we encourage everyone to get into a Community Group. Also, we are always praying for new groups to start. If you are looking for community, sometimes the best avenue to take is to be the one who initiates it by opening up your home and seeing what God will do. If you are interested in starting a new group for the next sermon series, please email Chris at the link below. You can find a current list of groups
HERE.
If you have questions, contact
Chris.
Starting Point on 8.25.13: What is Starting Point? We do this meeting once a month and it is designed to be a time where you get to find out more about the Park; it’s history, vision, values, etc. It is also a time where you can come with questions and we hope to provide clarity. Most questions get answered through the material that we cover, but not always. So, whether you are new or have been coming for a while, Starting Point is your next step in getting connected and I want to encourage you to join us right after service on Sunday, August 25th. Questions?
Email Chris
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Have a great weekend, read Exodus 34-35, and we look forward to seeing you Sunday at Huebner Elementary!
Chris
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