Worship

Seems like there are a lot of definitions of hope floating around out there in a sea of turmoil. If you are sinking, which one do you grab hold of?

Unfortunately, many of those definitions of hope are tied to the success or failure of government programs, bank accounts, the stock market, and the health care system.

Christians are certainly not imune from any of the financial and health related issues that affect everyone else. What we do have, however, is a reason for hope that is not tied to any of them.

Paul reminds us, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)

I hope you will join us for worship, during March, as we explore our true reason to hope.

10 Reasons Your Business Doesn't Really Exist

I found this at www.hellomynameisscott.com Although the website is designed for businesses, it has some great insights for the church. You can visit the site for more articles.

If you can’t define your product … it doesn’t exist. Because a confused mind never buys.

If you don’t have a unique product … it doesn’t exist. Because a choice-saturated mind never buys.

If it doesn’t exist on the Internet … it doesn’t exist. Not just a web-SITE; a web-PRESENCE. Octopus, not earthworm.

If you can’t Google it … it doesn’t exist. What happens when someone googles your name?

If people aren’t talking about your product … it doesn’t exist. It’s simple: get noticed = get remembered = get business. Who’s blogging about you?

If you’re not marketing your company DAILY … it doesn’t exist. People who “do a little marketing here and there” will “get new customers … here and there.”

If you can’t describe your product eight words or less … it doesn’t exist. Customers crave simplicity. Could you explain your idea to a kindergartner?

If you don’t write it down … it doesn’t exist. And if you don’t write it down, it never happened. That’s why writing is the basis of all wealth.

If people aren’t retelling your story … it doesn’t exist. The only true reason your business will grow is if your existing customers are telling your potential customers about you. Word of mouth is the most honest, most sincere and most authentic form of marketing.

If it can’t be found … it doesn’t exist. Even without Google, people still need to be able to contact you. So, if your phone numbers, addresses and emails are out of date, disconnected or no longer in service, you’ve got a problem. Because if they can’t get you, they’ll just pick the next guy on the list.

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Know Your Spiritual Gifts

Sense of Humor a Spiritual Gift? Many Think So, Survey Finds

www.crosswalk.com

A third of Americans who identify themselves as Christians have never heard of spiritual gifts, a new Barna Group survey finds.

Perhaps even more startling, 21 percent of those who say they understand spiritual gifts claim to have gifts that the Bible never mentions -- such as a sense of humor, singing, health, life, happiness, patience, a job, a house, compromise, premonition and creativity.

The survey concluded, "Between those who do not know their gift (15%), those who say they don't have one (28%) and those who claimed gifts that are not biblical (20%), nearly two-thirds of the self-identified Christian population who claim to have heard about spiritual gifts have not been able to accurately apply whatever they have heard or what the Bible teaches on the subject to their lives."

Worship

In every dictionary I could find, the first definition of neighbor is..."One who lives near or next to another." In other words, our primary understanding of "neighbor" relates to geography.

It is not until the third or fourth definition of the word "neighbor" that you get close to Jesus' definition of the word.

Maybe it is because Jesus' definition has nothing to do with geography.

Worship with us, Sunday, as our RESPECT series continues with, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"