12/24/09

Merry Christmas!

The following songs are subject to change...I have to run this by Russ, and we need to practice them to be sure they will work.

O Come All Ye Faithful
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Angels We Have Heard On High
Away in a Manger
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Breathe of Heaven (Heather)
O Holy Night
One Small Child
Silent Night
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Jazz version)
Joy to the World

I know this is a couple more songs than usual, but we are only doing 2 verses of most of them, and this service is usually pretty short anyway.
I love the Christmas Eve service! The church is packed, everyone is dressed up in their Christmas best, there is tons of excitement in the air, and the Holy Spirit always blesses our time.

Be there, and be blessed!
Matt

12/20/09

Hey Team ~

I know this is very late this week, but there's been a lot going on in my life. Thanks for all your prayers about my health issues... I'm happy to report that the spot on my liver is a benign cyst!
Don't forget we have our Christmas get-together on Sunday at 5:30 at the church.

Please pray over these songs and the services this week:

Sing, Sing, Sing
Did You Feel the Mts?
Lord, Reign in Me
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Majesty / O Come Let Us Adore Him
Adoration
The First Noel

Hope you had a great week!
Matt

Hope

Hi Gang ~

I have high hopes that Night in Bethlehem will be a great success. Many of you have worked so hard on this...I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Be Blessed!

12/13/09

Greetings Team ~

Due to Night in Bethlehem, worship practice will be on Wednesday night at 6pm.


Songs for this week:

Sing, Sing, Sing
All Because of Jesus
My Savior Lives
Silent Night
Made Me Glad
Rescue
Joy to the World

Scripture - Psalm 63:1-5

Have a blessed week!
Matt

12/6/09

Greetings ~

I trust everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was very nice. My whole family (minus one) were together for the first time in many years.
One of the many things I am thankful for is you. Our team is such a blessing to so many people... what an encouragement!

Please pray over the following songs:

Everlasting God
My Savior, My God
More Than Worthy
Sing, Sing, Sing (New Song)
Here
What Child is This? (Communion)
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

These are all great songs, so I'm excited to see what God is going to do.
Have a great week while looking up!
Be Blessed,
Matt

11/29/09

Greetings Team ~

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving banquet last night! Thanks to Vicki for all her hard work on that. Speaking of food... I'd like to have a Christmas potluck for the team in December. My month is already full, but I do have Sunday evening the 20th free. I think we will just have it in the Wherehouse at church. That building will be all decked-out, so it will have a Christmas feel.

Please remember that we will be having practice on Wed. 12/9 at 6pm due to N.I.B.

Please continue to pray for our church leadership as they deal with difficult issues. Pray that they will be filled with God's grace, mercy, patience, and love. Also, that they will strive for unity of purpose.
Pray also over these songs:

Love the Lord
Forever
You Are Holy
One Small Child
It is You
O, My King
More Precious Than Silver

Scripture - Col 1:15-20

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving, however you choose to celebrate it! Remember to thank God for his many blessings.

Be Thankful,
Matt

11/22/09

Well Hello There ~

Stormy with high winds tonight, so I'm going to keep this short. That way, I'll be finished before the power goes out.

Prayer:

N.I.B.
Church Leadership
Songs:

Majestic
We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise
He Has Made Me Glad
Give Thanks
Rescue
Worthy is the Lamb
There is a Redeemer

Hope to see you all at the Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.
Be Blessed!
Matt

11/15/09

Early this week to make up for last week!

Meet With Me
Blessed Be Your Name
I Am Free
Rescue (New song)
Something Heavenly
Healing Grace
The Old Rugged Cross

Scripture - James 1:12-18

This is the last week of Life's Healing Choices, so I thought these songs were appropriate. Man this series went by quick! I hope you all have gotten as much out of it as I have.

Have you signed up for the Thanksgiving dinner yet? I hope to see you all there!
If you have Wednesday off, enjoy & have a great week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

P.S. Happy birthday mom!

Found Songs

Guess what?
I grabbed a list of this weeks songs from the church, so I'll go ahead and post them even though I doubt anyone will check this late in the week.

My Savior Lives
All Because of Jesus
It is Well With My Soul
Your Name
Surrender
Shout to the Lord

Scripture - Ex 3:13-15

Thanks for your patience!

11/8/09

Greetings!

Oops, apparently I gave my original copy of this weeks songs to Jan, so I have no idea what we are doing. So, please pray over whatever they might be and the following:

Church leadership / direction
Night in Bethlehem
Matthew - 30th birthday
Jan & Steve - travel
A little 10 year old girl named Rebecca - cancer

Have a great week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

Thanks for Giving

Hey Team ~

Thank you so much for the gift you gave me for Pastor's Appreciation! I got to stay in a super sweet suite in Medford, and the Music Man was fantastic!
I am truly humbled by your generosity to me. I pray for each of you, and am thankful for what all of you bring to the team.
We have had a couple of awesome weeks where the Spirit is moving, but I want to make sure that we don't get too comfortable and lose our focus (our goal). I believe our goal is to lead people into a supernatural encounter with God. An encounter that will stretch them, grow them, encourage them, and bless them. Our goal is to achieve this EVERY week. It's a huge task, but God is faithful, and so very good to us!
Thanks again for all you do... you bless me more than you'll ever know!

~Matt

10/25/09

Greetings Team ~

The word that best sums up yesterday's services is...WOW!! What a blessing. The Spirit was moving, the people were singing and praising, and the message was great!

I received an extra blessing... a wonderful gift for Pastor's Appreciation Month! I've been at the church for almost 9 years and have never been recognized before, so it came as a complete surprise! I was given a stay at a very nice Inn in Medford Or, and a ticket to a play at the Theatre in Ashland. It's going to be a great trip!

A third blessing...it was really nice to have Travis (& Eva Lynn) and Kelly Lund in church. They were such a huge part of our team for so long, it felt right having them there when I received that recognition. It was too bad that Matthew wasn't there.

Let's keep praying so we have more weeks like this one!
Please pray over the following songs:

Meet With Me
Hear Our Praises
God is Good
I Will Rise
Healing Grace
How Great is Our God / How Great Thou Art
Day By Day

Scripture - Psalm 119: 169-175

I'm really looking forward to the services this week...going to be good!
Have a great week, staying focused on God and handing all the "junk" over to him.

Be Blessed!
Matt

10/18/09

Belated Greetings ~

Better late than never...right?
I went to the Canadian Tenors concert on Tuesday night (which was absolutely fantastic), so I couldn't post that night.

Also, things were a bit up in the air earlier this week. First, we had a guitar player so I picked songs, then we didn't have a guitar player, so I picked different songs, then we didn't have one again, so I changed the songs back, now we have one again, so we are back to the other songs.
Speaking of those songs...let's pray over them and the services this week:

My Savior Lives
Your Grace is Enough
You Are Holy
Meet With Me (New song)
Hungry
Here I Am To Worship
Something Heavenly

Scripture - 2 Cor 1:3-5

Also pray for the following:

Kevin ~ Health concerns
Matthew ~ Health concerns
Dawn ~ Health concerns
Bradley
Night in Bethlehem
Church Leadership / Finances

Have a great week everyone!
Be Blessed,
Matt

10/11/09 Update

Hey gang ~

I'm going to have to make some changes to the services this week. Matthew was diagnosed with swine flu today, so he won't be with us this weekend. The first set was really guitar driven, so I'm dropping all those and doing Ah, Lord God and He Has Made Me Glad instead.
I tried to get Bradley and Ross to play, but neither of them is available.
God is good, and it will all go well. Please pray for a quick recovery for Matthew, and that the rest of his family won't get it too.
Please pray for my mom too, she fell yesterday and is in a lot of pain...lots of cuts and bruises, but no broken bones, praise God!

Be Blessed!
Matt

10/11/09

Well hello there ~

I'm still discouraged about losing last week's blog, so I'm going to keep this one short too.
The PCC banquet went really well on Friday. The whole program was really cool, and I hope the Center raised a lot of money.
Please pray over songs and services this week:

My Savior Lives
My Redeemer Lives
It is You
My Chains Are Gone
Amazed
Healing Grace
Draw Me Close

Remember we are meeting at 5:00 pm the next 2 weeks.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Matt

10/4/09

OK, I give up!!!

I just spent 45 minutes writing a lengthy post, which somehow got deleted. Grrrr

Songs:

O, Worship the King
All Because of Jesus
My Savior Lives
Healing Grace
Made Me Glad
I Simply Live
Agnus Dei
You Rescued Me

Scripture ~ psalm 16:5-11

Have a blessed week!

Matt

9/27/09

Hello All ~
I had a great weekend in Bend! If you ever go to Bend, stay at the Shilo Inn. It is right on the river, the rooms are really nice, and the food at the restaurant is great. They also serve Otis Spunkmeyer cookies (yes, I cheated and had one).
I went to Westside Church yesterday, which turned out to be a Foursquare church. It was a really big church. It was okay, but I have to say, worship at our small church is more inspiring, focused, and fun. True, I didn't know any of the songs they did, but the energy just wasn't there. I say it again, we are so very blessed to have the team we do.
I trust the outdoor service here went well... I prayed for Matthew & Russ. I trust you've all enjoyed these weeks off you've had recently (2 in August, and 1 this month), but it's back to work now. We are introducing a new song this week, so I'll try to post a link for it here on the blog.

Please pray for Kevin (he celebrated a milestone birthday today)
The PCC fundraiser on Oct. 2nd
The congregational meeting on Sunday
Night in Bethlehem (thanks so much to those of you who attended the meeting tonight)
Wisdom & unity for our church
The songs & services this week:

Hosanna
Your Grace in Enough
I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous, How Wonderful)
My Savior Lives (new song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZWQBdcQSQ8
My Savior, My God
More Than Worthy
He Knows My Name

Scripture ~ Eph 2:4-9

Have an awesome week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

9/13/09

Greetings Team ~

Well, this week I need you all to pray. Seriously, we need to pray!
We've seen this theme of LOVE for the past few months. People have been trying to live that theme more fully, so naturally, Satan is pissed! He is going to be working overtime to cause trouble. We have a lot of new people attending the church, which is great! They bring with them their own issues and expectations, which when added to what is already there, has the potential for strife. We have an open staff position in the very important Children's Ministry, and 2 positions on the Ministry Team. Areas that the now defunct Pastoral Team used to deal with, and our ongoing money issues. As you can see, there is lots of potential for problems. I do hope that I'm way off base and being a worry-wort. If we faithfully seek God and his will, and continue to love, most problems will be avoided.
Please pray for the Nominating Committee as they bring candidates to the Ministry Team to fill all the open positions. Also, pray for the By-Laws Committee as they make changes to the By-laws that will have an effect on all the members of the church. Pray for Russ and all the leadership of the church, including staff.
Pray too for Night in Bethlehem, the outreach possibilities, and what your involvement will be in the event.

Other things to pray about:
The PCC fundraising event that our team will be providing the music for (please excuse the poor sentence structure...lol)
The 20th anniversary celebration for our church
Dawn's health, and ministry opportunities
Julie's continued recovery
Heather's neck issues and headaches
Songs & Services this week:

All Because of Jesus
I Am Free
Blessed Be Your Name
Better is One Day
To You
Worthy is the Lamb
Mighty To Save

Scripture ~ 2 John: 1-6

Thanks for your continued service and support of the Worship Ministry of PBEFC. I pray for you all often, and trust that God will greatly bless you (even more than He already has).
Have a great week!

Matt

9/6/09

Greetings All (actually, I guess it's just Heather, Jim & Vicki) ~

The music portion of our worship on Sunday was amazing! God continues to bless our efforts in a huge way. Thanks again for your dedicated service!

Please pray over this weeks songs:

Made Me Glad
Today is the Day
Everyday
God of Wonders
Fall On Me
Amazed
You Are the One
God of This City

Scripture - Psalm 104:29-34

Matthew is now teaching Sunday School first service. He will be there for all the songs before the message, but not for the ones after the message.

Have a blessed week!

Matt

8/30/09

Hey Gang ~

Can it really be the end of August? The fast flight of time is causing me to have a mid-life crisis. I guess my next vehicle will be a little red sports car. Maybe I'll just dye my hair. Any other M.L. crisis suggestions?

This week should be interesting. We are going to "flashback" to the late 70's and do a medley of songs that were popular back then. The theme is about being like Jesus, being a servant. I'm going to talk about serving, so we'll see how it goes...

Please pray for the services, and that God will use these songs:

I Will Call Upon the Lord
Did You Feel the Mts?
Our God Saves
(Medley)
Make Me a Servant
Lord, Make Me Like You
Beautiful
Scripture ~ Mark 10:43b - 45
Lord, Make Me LIke You
Make Me a Servant
Majesty
Adoration
Made Me Glad

Scripture ~ 2Tim 2:22 - 26

This week we will all be back together again, which will be nice. It's been about 6 weeks since the whole team has been there. Trust me, if any one of you is gone, we miss you VERY much! Have a great week!

Be Blessed,
Matt

Wednesday Worshipers

Wow, another great mid-week service! The music and the message were both so inspiring! I really can't understand why more people don't come out for this. It's such an encouragement, and shouldn't we desire to learn more and grow in our faith? I feel like, if we call ourselves Christians, we should striving to be more like Him. I'm not trying to be judgmental here, just trying to figure out what people are thinking. I know I need all the help I can get in trying to be Christ-like!
Anyway, all that to ask that as you pray over all things worship this week, that you include the Wednesday night service. We've started a great study that has the potential to change our whole church. Pray, pray, pray!!!

Blessings,
Matt

8/23/09

Greetings Team ~

Was Sunday a perfect day, or what? Beautiful, sunny day...no wind. The outdoor service was great, and the baptism at the river was awesome! Let's remember to pray for Steve and Dave & Pam. It was an honor to be present at their baptisms.
I hope everyone enjoyed another week off, but "vacation" is over. It's time to get down to business again. Actually, Russ just told me that someone is doing a presentation on Sunday, so we'll probably have to cut a couple of songs. Well, not another vacation, but an easy week. Although, we are introducing a new song this week. It is called "Made Me Glad" by Hillsong. You can listen to it on Youtube to get an idea of how it goes, if you don't already know it.

Let's remember to continue to pray for Dawn during her final days in Canada, and pray for continued healing for Julie. And if you don't mind, pray for me too. We are having another "mass exodus" of employees from the pool which means we are short-handed, which means my stress level goes through the roof...
Also, let's start praying over Night in Bethlehem. This can be a great outreach event, and I'm going to need everyone's help pulling it off (especially with the situation at the pool).
Ok, please also pray over this week's services and these songs:

Light the Fire Again
Forever
Jesus, Messiah (possibly cut)
Made Me Glad (new song)
He Knows My Name (possibly cut)
Oh, My King
God With Us

Scripture ~ Prov 3:21-26

Looking forward to having the whole team back together again.
Have a great week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

It's All About Love

It's all about love! I've been reminded about that over and over again. That's brings to mind an old chorus we used to sing in church...I keep falling in love with Him, over and over and over and over again. I keep falling in love with Him over and over and over and over again. He gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by, oh what a love between my Lord and I, I keep falling in love with Him over and over and over and over again.
Matthew, 22:37-40 ~ Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Hmmm... all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. Do we really love God like that?
The second one is even harder in my opinion...love your neighbor as yourself. Ouch!

Now for even more of a challenge... read 1 John verses 7-21. Wow! I share verses 7 & 8 here to get you started... Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Finally, here's a little reminder of what love is: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I'm really working on loving people and all these verses help. Hopefully, they will help you too. I think there are very few people who really love like this.

Having no worship practice tonight was a little weird. It did give me chance to spend some time here which is good. This is really what I wanted the blog to be, I just never have the time to do this.
Looking forward to the outdoor service tomorrow. Enjoy the day, and being in the congregation instead of up front.

Be Blessed,
Matt

8/16/09

Greetings Team ~

Another great week! Gil did an awesome job, as always. His messages are always good, and everyone can apply them to their lives. Bradley did a great job filling in for Matthew again. The new song went well, and I heard several positive comments.
Everyone (except Matthew) gets another week off this week. You guys are getting really spoiled. We are having one service at 10:30, outside in the yard. Then, there is a baptism service at Jed Smith in the afternoon.

As always, I ask that you lift this weeks service in prayer, and these songs:

What a Privilege
Shine Upon Us
Love the Lord
You're Worthy of My Praise
The Only One
Your Love is Extravagant
Here I Am To Worship
There Must Be More

Scripture - Psalm 40:1-10

Hey, you all have a great week, and I'll see you all at church, outside on Sunday!
Be Blessed,
Matt

8/9/09

Greetings,

Wow! That group from Cal Baptist was really awesome. They are so talented. God really used them to uplift and encourage. I'm so glad we were able to host them again this year. What did you think of that song, "Child of God"? Pretty cool.
Anyway, I want to thank all the team members who provided food on Sat. and/or Sunday. It was really good, and the group was very thankful.
How about that Nooma video? It was really good too. I got lots of positive comments about it. I hope it will encourage all of us to be more generous.

So, this week we will have Gil speaking. It's always interesting to see what he shares. He often has a unique perspective. We will also have a guest guitar player. Matthew is going camping this weekend, so Bradley Peterson has agreed to step in again. Last time he played it was a great experience, so I'm certain it will be again. He is also going to help us introduce a new song called "Your Love is Extravagant". Casting Crowns did it on their first CD. Bradley played it last Wednesday night (you guys are really missing out on those Wed. night meetings)and it was great.
Please pray over the these songs & the serevices this week:

All Who Are Thirsty
You Are Holy
Your Grace is Enough
Your Love is Extravagant
Amazed
This is My Desire
Something Heavenly

Scripture ~ Psalm 36:5-10

Please, also continue to pray for Julie's recovery (thanks also to those of you who have provided meals for them).
For Dawn's upcoming trip to Canada (and health issues)
Lora & Lexie
Jim's mom & Vicki's niece
Heather's mom
Russ & Liz and the church leadership

If I've forgotten anyone please forgive me, and let me know.
Have an awesome week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

8/2/09

Greetings Team ~

Thanks for coming to the meeting. It was nice to have everyone willing to go along with the things I want to try. I was very pleased with the greeting time on Sunday. I think it's going to work really well.
Wow, were they singing on Sunday, or what? I really like the new configuration of the chairs. I felt more connected, the room seemed bigger, and the more full. I was just super blessed by everything on Sunday!

Next week we have the group Hope from Cal Baptist Riverside. These guys are always really good, so I'm looking forward to it. Remember, I need you to bring food to the church at 7pm on Saturday, so we can feed them. We are also having a pot-luck after church on Sunday. I know this is a lot of cooking, and I appreciate your help.

You all have this Sunday off. Just sit back and enjoy the service, and be fed by the music instead of doing the feeding. It's hard to take a week off because things have been going so well, but I trust God to continue the blessing.

Prayer Requests:

Julie ~ a speedy recovery from her surgery
Matthew ~ His ministry opportunity at the paintball thing
Dawn ~ Upcoming missions trip to Canada
Heather ~ Mom's health
The Cal Baptist group and this week's services

Have a fantastic week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

7/19/09

Well Hello There ~

Another great time of worship, prayer, and message at church tonight!
Worship on Sunday was short, but sweet. Looking forward to another great Sunday!
Don't forget we are having a potluck / meeting on Sat. the 25th @ 4:30. Bring one of your favorite dishes to share.
Also, anyone interested in housing 3 young men with the Cal. Baptist group? They will arrive Sat. evening, August 1st, and will leave Sunday afternoon following church.

Please pray over the services this week, and over these songs:

Holy is the Lord
Love the Lord (No, Matthew didn't know what songs I had picked)
Forever
Amazed (New Song)
It is You
Hungry
There is Power in the Blood

Scripture ~ Mat. 6:9-15

Thank you all for your continued commitment and hard work! You guys bless me more than you'll ever know.

Be Blessed!
Matt

7/12/09

Greetings ~

What an awesome time we had in the Park last week! Everything about it was good. The music went well, and the Spirit was moving. Russ' invitation at the end was amazing! It was totally Spirit led. The only thing that could have made it better, would have been if someone responded. Also, the BBQ afterward was great. Almost everyone stayed, and JB did a great job at the grill. That's 2 years in a row that we have had a successful event at Beachfront Park... I look forward to a third next year.

We have another great week to look forward to. Please pray over these songs and the services:

Your Name
Hosanna
How Can I Keep From Singing?
All I Can Do is Surrender
There is a Redeemer
Heart of Worship
Lord, I Seek You
All Because of Jesus

Scripture - 2Pet. 1:5-11

I would like to have a gathering to discuss what God spoke to me at the Conference. I really don't prefer to have them on Saturday's, but I think that's the best choice to get the most people there. Let's have a pot-luck at the church on Saturday, July 25th @ 4:30. Please let me know if you can't make it.

Also, looking ahead, the Cal Baptist group will be here on August 2nd, so everyone will have that week off.

Have a great week, and be blessed,
Matt

A Few More Pics

More Conference Pics

7/5/09

Well hello again,

I missed you the past couple of weeks! We had a great time at the Conference. We learned so much, it was nearly overwhelming. We were challenged much more at a heart level, rather than a technical one. In many ways, this was the best Conference I've been to yet.
I'll be sharing what God did in me during this trip, but I really want to do that in person. I'll figure out a time that I think will work for most of us, and we'll get together for some food, and I'll share me heart with you at that time. I do need to warn you, I'm going to be expecting more from the entire team. We need to make a commitment, and I'm not talking about singing or playing an instrument. I hope you are up for a challenge.

I'm really looking forward to church in the park this week. Please be in prayer over this event. What an outreach possiblity!
Here's the songs for this week:

God of This City
Today is the Day
Everlasting God
More Than Worthy
My Chains Are Gone
You Are Holy
Mighty To Save
Exalted
God of This City

Scripture ~ John 8:28-36

See you all at the Beachfront!
Be Blessed,
Matt

6/21/09

Hey Team ~

Matthew is choosing the songs for Wednesday night and next Sunday. He said he would send them to me this afternoon, so I could pass them along to you. It's 11:15 pm
and I haven't received them yet, but I wanted you all to know that I didn't forget you. We'll all be surprised together on Wednesday.
Please pray for those of us going to the Conference. We are leaving on Sat. morning at 6am. We will be praying for all of you the next 2 weeks, and we will miss being here with you.
Be Blessed!
Matt

6/7/09

Greetings Friends ~

The message's the past 3 weeks have been so good! The Holy Spirit is really moving in our midst. It's exciting to see what's next. It's also exciting to think that some of us are leaving in 2 1/2 weeks for the Conference. It comes around more quickly each year! I'm getting old...

Please pray over the services this week, pray for Russ, pray for the Praise Team, pray for the leadership, and pray over these songs:

Light the Fire Again (again)
Today is the Day
Everlasting God
God of This City
Surrender
Exalted
Remember Me
Something Heavenly

I forgot to introduce God of this City on Sat. so please listen to it as much as you can this week. I can't post the link from You Tube because I'm unable to use it anymore. Computers... gotta love 'em!

Also, keep praying over the 4th of July weekend, and VBS. Those 6 days are going to provide a huge outreach opportunity! We need to be "on our knees" for this.
I hope y'all have an awesome week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

5/31/09

Greetings Team ~

Well, things were a little disjointed last week as far as worship goes. There were so many distractions on Sat. and Sun. that it made things difficult. The message was great which kind of made up for what we lacked. What a great reminder though that God works in spite of us... 3 people accepted Christ at our church last weekend! This is so exciting, and I pray we see many more in the weeks to come!

Another great Wed. night service tonight. If you aren't attending, you should give it a try. If you are attending, invite someone else to come too.

Please pray about the wonderful things happening in our midst, our pastor, our leadership, next week's services and these songs:

In the Secret
Thinking About You
It is You
Famous One
You Are My World
To You
You Save

Have a great week!
Blessings,
Matt

5/24/09

Howdy All ~

So we played the Walk For Life on Saturday... what a great day! It was a lot of fun, a total blessing, and they raised a bunch of money. Did I mention the incredible weather?
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy doing the offsite gigs.

Wednesday nights have been going great. If you haven't checked it out yet, join us this week at 6 p.m. We are doing the video series The Way of a Worshiper with Buddy Owens.

The next get-together is going to be on Monday, May 25th at 5 p.m. at the Goodman's. We are doing a BBQ theme. We will have hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans, apple pie, and soda. We still need fruit salad, macaroni salad, lettuce, tomato, onion, relish, and condiments, and more dessert. Please let me know what you can bring.

Please pray over the services this week, pray for Russ & Liz as they are at the conference at Saddleback, and pray over these songs:

Psalm 117
All Because of Jesus
God With Us
Light the Fire Again
Something Heavenly
Search Me
Lord, How Good You Are

Scripture - Rom 5:1-5

Have a great week. Be Blessed!
Matt

5/17/09

Greeting All ~

Okay, so I finally got an early enough start to spend some time here. There is something that has been weighing really heavy on my heart, so I'm going to share it here. Let me know if you think I'm way off base.
I don't want to be judgemental, and I really try to focus on my life and pleasing God myself. But, I'm really getting discouraged by the behavior of some of my brothers & sisters is Christ.
So many of them talk about drinking, having "a few too many", and flat out getting drunk. I'm not talking a couple of friends, I'm talking dozens. I'm also amazed at how often I catch Christians in blatent lies. What happened to be truthful? The third concern I have is the foul, nasty language I hear. The inappropriate topics, and course joking. Everyone I challenge on these issues has excuses and justifications for their behavior.
I found Romans chapter 12 that says, "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will".
Then, that took me to Colossians 3 which says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator".

So, am I way off base? Am I not underestanding what the Word is saying here? I've always been told that we, Christians, are supposed to be different than those in the world. We're supposed to be a "light".
Let me know what you think. I know none of us is perfect, and we all have areas that we struggle with, but I just see a huge increase in these behaviors with no remorse. The attitude I get is that we are covered by grace, so it doesn't really matter what we do...

Okay, please pray over the services this week, and the following songs:

The Name of the Lord
Awesome in this Place
He Reigns
Great is Thy Faithfulness
All Who Are Thirsty
Adoration
Our God Saves

Scripture - Psalm 42:1-5

Have a great week, and be blessed!
Matt

P.S. See you Wednesday night?

5/10/09

Greetings ~

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!
Only 2 days back from my vacation and I'm already exhausted, so this will be very short again.
Let's remember to lift one another in prayer, and the songs for this week:

All Because of Jesus
You Are Holy
Your Grace is Enough
In the Garden
Here
Exalted
My Chains Are Gone

Scripture - Psalm 84:1-4

Big thanks to Jim& Vicki(Tri Tip, Green Beans, Desserts, Clean Up), Kevin & Julie(Potatoes, Dessert, Conference Presentation, Set Up, Clean Up), Heather(Pasta Salad, Desserts, Serving, Set Up, Clean Up), Lora(Desserts, Serving), Jolene(Garlic Bread, Dessert),Tony(Desserts, Clean Up), and Bradley(Set up) for all their hard work at the fundraiser( If I missed anyone, or anything you did, please forgive me). Everything was fantastic! Also, thanks to Debbie and Judy for great desserts. The event was a great success...we raised over $1,300.00! With the $700 we already had, that gives us $2,000.00 which is the amount budgeted, but couldn't have because of finances. God always provides what we need plus a little more (the actual amount we have is about $2,060.00). Praise Him!!
Have a great week!
Matt

5/3/09

Greetings again ~

I missed y'all last week. I had a great weekend, and I trust you did too.
The church I attended in Redding is very similar to ours, just bigger.
I heard the new song went well, but unfortunately, Matthew is gone this week, so we won't be able to do it again. We are going to have a guest guitar player this week, Bradley Petersen, so that will be fun.
Please pray for Matthew as he is gone, pray for Bradley as he joins us, and pray over these songs:

Everyday
My Life is in You
Love the Lord
Mighty To Save
Eagle's Wings
I Will Rise
Agnus Dei
Shout To the Lord

Scripture - Psalm 108:1-6

Our fundraiser is this Sunday, May 3rd. Please bring desserts that we can sell at the auction after dinner. Please invite people to attend.

Be Blessed!
Matt

4/26/09

Hey Gang ~

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am taking a week off (26th). Matthew will lead, and I know you will have a great week. I'm going to visit a friend in Redding, and see how they do things at his church.
The Conference fundraiser is on Sunday, May 3rd. We are doing a tri tip dinner with potatoes, vegetable, bread, and beverage. We are also having a dessert auction after dinner. If everyone could donate a dessert to the cause, it would be much appreciated.
I'm going to ask Heather, Jim & Vicki, and Kevin & Julie to sell tickets in my absence.

It would be great if some of you could post a comment sometimes, so that I know people are reading this thing. Thanks.

Be Blessed,
Matt

4/19/09

Greetings Team ~

The services on Easter were such a blessing! Thanks to everyone who participated.
The next get-together is at my house on Sunday at 6 p.m. We are doing an Italian theme, and I know as always, we will have a feast to remember.

Great news! The Ugandan Orphans Choir is coming July 7th - 9th. This will be the finale to a triple-header community outreach. Booth and services in the Park on July 4th & 5th. VBS July 6th - 9th, and then, the Ugandan Choir. Please bathe these events in prayer. God is going to do great things. Also, the organizers of the choir asked for prayer because the Ugandan government is being difficult this year. They have had to cancel all performances to date, but said that they are making progress, and should be able to be with us.

Please pray over this weeks songs:

Majestic
Beautiful One
Get Down
Exalted
I Will Rise
It is You

Scripture Psalm 145:1-5

Have a great week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

Ugandan Children's Choir

Hey Folks ~

We have an opportunity to have the Ugandan Children's Choir come to our church in July. I am in contact with them now, trying to work out the details. We are hoping to have them here on July 9th which is the last day of VBS. We thought this would be a great way to end that event. Another plus, is that we can really promote them at the 4th of July booth, and at the July 5th Church in the Park event.
I am really excited about this group coming here. Please pray along with me that if it is God's will, all the details will work out.
If they come, there are 14 people that will need housing. Please pray about housing a couple of kids, or chaperones.
I will share more details as they become available. Let me know what you think...
Blessings,
Matt

4/12/09

Greetings Team ~

Again, it's late at night, so I need to make this quick and get some sleep.
Please pray this week as we prepare for Easter services. We always have visitors, and we want them to encounter Jesus Christ in a way they never have before.
Let's lift one another and these songs up in prayer this week:

My Redeemer Lives
You Are Holy
Jesus Messiah
I Will Rise
The Wonderful Cross
Worthy is the Lamb
God With Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvfso4Q8xg

Our next get-together will be at my house on Sunday, April 19th @ 6 p.m. The theme is Italian.
Our Conference fundraiser will be on Sunday, May 3rd.

Have a wonderful week!
Be Blessed,
Matt

4/5/09

Greetings Team ~

I've decided to communicate through this Blog now, rather than the e-mails. We'll see how it goes. Second service on Sunday was another "wow" time, and I look forward to more this Sunday. It's Palm Sunday, so you can expect lots of Hosanna's.

Please pray over these songs and the services:

Hosanna (old)
Hosanna (new)
You Save
Something Heavenly
What the Lord Has Done
Exalted (Yahweh)
Nothing But the Blood

Luke 19:28-40

My Spring burn-out was starting to kick in, so I prayed for encouragement, and God, as always, delivered big time. I have been so blessed to lead this team (with it's various members) for the past 8 years. Thanks to our past members... Travis, Kelly, Roger & Darlene, Luke, Liz, Marilyn, Steve & Jan (Jan is with us again in a different capacity), JB & Vickie, Adrienne, Denise, Jolene, Janelle, Ross, Dan, Suzanne, Aile, Jeanne Joe, Kirsten, Jason, Ronnie, Mariah, Robert, Shari, and all the others I' ve forgotten in this moment.
Thanks to the current team also... Matthew, Dawn, Tony, Jim & Vicki, Kevin & Julie, Heather, Lora, Tom & Sandy, Glen & Judy, Bill, Jan, Dave, Andrew,and Danny.
You all have played an important role in the ministry of PBEFC, and I pray God's blessing on all of you. Thank you!
Have a blessed week!
Matt