HARVEST DAY NOVEMBER 14, 2021

Each year, during our Harvest Banquet,  we take up a special offering as an expression of thanks for God’s boundless goodness throughout the year. Unfortunately, we will not have a banquet due to sanctuary remodeling, but we are setting aside November 14 for a special harvest offering. This offering is a special gift above and beyond our regular giving and an excellent opportunity to see God work through the generosity of His people.

HOurs for OCC RELAY CENTER

Monday, November 15, 2021	5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, November 16, 2021	11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Wednesday, November 17, 2021	5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Thursday, November 18, 2021	11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Friday, November 19, 2021	4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, November 20, 2021	11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Sunday, November 21, 2021	3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Monday, November 22, 2021	10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

MID-WEEK DEVOTION

Don’t forget to check out Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotion on the book of Psalms. They are uploaded each Wednesday on the sermon page.

Giving as of November 10, 2021

Budget for 2021 . . . . . . . .  $320,880.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $277,680.58
Received to Date . . . . . . . . $219,015.43
Needed for weekly budget . . . $6,170.77
Tithes Received this week . . . $7,016.34

From our Family and Music Minister

My Dad always enjoyed making us laugh or playing a little joke on his family. One of his jokes that I vividly remember unexpectedly backfired on him; however, it was in a good way.

I don’t know if it was because I had to help move them, but it seemed that more flowers were sent to funerals back in the early nineties. As a result of this, the flower van usually had a nice assortment of flowers that had fallen off the arrangements.  These were usually swept up and tossed in the trash can.

For some reason, on a particular day, my Dad decided to gather the flowers and put them in a bouquet to give my Mom. Of course, my Dad thought it was hilarious when he told her where the flowers came from; but instead of her tossing them in the trash can, she got out a vase,  put water in it, and put them on the kitchen table. She loved the gesture and the flowers. It didn’t matter to her where they came from. My Mom took something that was bound for the trash and made it into a beautiful arrangement.

When we think about it, isn’t that precisely what Christ does for you and me?  From birth, we are lost in sin. Isiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Therefore, we are unable to approach God on our own due to our sin. No matter how hard we try, without Jesus, we can never be cleansed of our sin.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:23-24

However, as Psalms 46 states, “He picked me up from the pit of destruction.” Through our belief in Jesus, we are taken from trash on the ground and made into a beautiful arrangement pleasing to God. The wonderful gift of grace makes us new creations on the inside and out. Scripture is full of people whose lives were forever changed by their encounter with Christ.

As we read this, we can thank Jesus for His saving power; we can say a prayer of thanksgiving and admit to ourselves that we are only saved through His mercy. But how often are we caught not being imitators of Christ and showing that same mercy for others? How many times have you seen someone down on his luck, caught up in sin, even thrown away by society? Yet, just as useless flowers bound for the trash can be made into a beautiful arrangement, any one of God’s creations can be made new again.

In Scripture, we see the grace and love of Christ restore the hated and shunned of society. If He was willing to love all of those, shouldn’t we love those same people in our world today? We should jump at the chance to share the hope that we have with others. As believers, we are blessed to know His saving power. Strive to find the beauty in the people that our culture may write off; the love of Christ can make anyone new again.