This Sunday...

So we are reading this book together. We are meeting in groups together. We are setting alarms in our lives to go off every 60 minutes. It reminds us to stay focused on God. It reminds us that God is near and that He is interested. It reminds us of God’s presence. We want to hear from God in those moments and see the world through God’s eyes in those moments.

Here is what is wonderful and worrisome about this exercise. The more that I do this and the more I interact with people the more I realize God’s passion for people. The more I open my eyes and ears to see and hear what God sees and hears the more I see people around me. I see people that take time. I see people that require energy. I see people that take resources.

What I am hearing from others is that they are setting their ears and eyes to hear and see what God hears and sees and the difficult person at the office keeps showing up in their life. We get in tune with God and we see our impatience with our spouse or with our kids. We hear and see what God does and we notice more and more that needy person. This should not be a surprise because God loves people. When we look in the Scripture and we see the essence of God we see again and again that God loves people. You cannot love God without loving people.


And…don’t forget…
Trunk or Treat is this Sunday, Halloween Night, from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Postcard invitations are still available in the postcard rack in the information area. Take as many as you need to invite friends and family to this safe trick or treat alternative.

If you receive this email, but are not a member but are interested in becoming a member of Venice Church then CLASS 101:Discovering Membership is for you. The class is being offered on Thursday November 4th @ 7:00 PM. I would love to see you there. If you have any questions about the class just respond to this email.

Men’s Ministry will meet on Sunday November 7th following the morning service. We will have Tito’s Tacos for lunch. For more information, search Venice Church Men’s Ministry on Facebook.

Upcoming Events:
October 31st – Trunk or Treat
November 4th – CLASS 101: Discovering Membership
November 7th – Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 7th – Men’s Ministry
November 11th – EPIC Winter Camp
November 14th – Baptism
December 4th – Women’s Ministry Christmas Party
January 28th – Women’s Ministry Retreat

Set Your Alarm

We are walking together through Soul Revolution and we are participating in the 60/60 Experiment. We are reading the book and setting alarms. What this does is interrupt our natural habit of going through the day ignoring God. We are using this to train us to realize that God is always with us and that He wants to be a part of our life, our day, and each moment. God wants to do life with us. God wants to be hour helper, guide, counselor and friend. He will be all of that if we will seek to stay connected to Him.

It is not too late to join us. Get a book in the coffee bar. If you want to walk through this with a group, respond to this email and I can recommend a good group to you. It is never too late to begin experiencing a relationship with God that is moment-by-moment and day-by-day where we actually hear from God.

And that may be the real question. Does God speak? If I get in this relationship with God, if I get connected to God, how do I know that what I am hearing is from God? How do I know that it is God? Well, it may be difficult to know when it is God. Maybe the way God speaks, in this broken world, is a different kind of way and if we keep ourselves distracted and noisy and busy maybe we never learn to hear. That is why we see this phrase throughout the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation we see the phrase, “any one with ears to hear should listen and understand.” What it means is that there is a spiritual kind of hearing and understanding that we must tune our spiritual ears to. Learning how to hear from God is what we hope to discover this Sunday as we continue with Soul Revolution. I look forward to seeing you then.

And…don’t forget…

Trunk or Treat is Halloween night from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Postcard invitations are now available in the postcard rack in the information area. Take as many as you need to invite friends and family to this safe trick or treat alternative.

If you receive this email, but are not a member but are interested in becoming a member of Venice Church then CLASS 101:Discovering Membership is for you. The class is being offered on Thursday November 4th @ 7:00 PM. I would love to see you there. If you have any questions about the class just respond to this email.

Men’s Ministry will meet on Sunday November 7th following the morning service. We will have Tito’s Tacos for lunch. For more information, search Venice Church Men’s Ministry on Facebook.



Upcoming Events:

October 31st – Trunk or Treat

November 4th – CLASS 101: Discovering Membership

November 7th – Men’s Ministry

November 14th – Baptism

December 4th – Women’s Christmas Party

Soul Revolution

If you read the Scriptures, if you read the Bible from the beginning to the end, you see that we were created to be in an intimate and loving relationship with God. You will see that we were meant to do life with God at the center of our life. From Abraham to Moses to David and through all of the prophets in the Old Testament you see God call people into a love relationship with Him and you see them respond with love in return.

If we jump ahead into the New Testament we see that Jesus reiterates the words that Moses wrote when He says the two greatest commandments are to love God with all that you have and love your neighbor as yourself. The Scripture goes on to tell us that Jesus came to demonstrate God’s love for us. Jesus lived and served and loved so that God’s character would be revealed to us. Ultimately He demonstrated God’s love for us by dying on the cross for us to pay the penalty for our sin so that we might be restored to this love relationship with God that we were created for.

When we arrive at the last chapter of the last book of the Bible we see this picture of eternity and what we see there is what God calls His wedding day when all those that are pledged to Him are united with Him in love.

We were created to live life and to do life in a love relationship with God. We were created for intimacy with God. We are designed to live in God’s love, with God’s love and returning love to God. The real question is, the tough question is how do you do that?

That is what we hope to discover as we begin Soul Revolution this Sunday. The heart and soul of this emphasis is the 60/60 Experiment. So, get your alarm device ready to go and pick up your book at the Sunday Blend Coffee Shop or in your adult small group. The books are only $7.00. I know that this will be an exciting time in our spiritual development as individuals and as a church.

Just a couple of quick reminders….

Disco Night is Saturday night at 6:00 PM. It is a 70’s themed party so dress the part and come and hang out, have some dessert, and maybe dance a little. And…it is not about dancing. It is about hanging out with your church family and having a good time!! If you forgot to buy a ticket there is still room for you. Just let Amy (amersh55@yahoo.com) know by Thursday at 4:00 PM.

Trunk or Treat is Halloween night from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Postcard invitations are now available in the postcard rack in the information area. Take as many as you need to invite friends and family to this safe trick or treat alternative.

Upcoming Events:

October 16th – Disco Night

October 17th – New Series: Soul Revolution – The 60/60 Experiment

October 31st – Trunk or Treat

November 4th – CLASS 101: Discovering Membership

November 7th – Men’s Ministry

November 14th – Baptism

December 4th – Women’s Christmas Party

Get Your Tickets to Disco Night

Disco Night on Saturday October 16th is a 70’s themed party so dress the part and come and hang out, have some dessert, and maybe dance a little. And…it is not about dancing. It is about hanging out with your church family and having a good time!! We need you to buy a ticket so that we know how many to prepare for. Tickets are $5.00 and are on sale in the Sunday Blend.

On Sunday October 17th we begin our walk through Soul Revolution. The heart and soul of this emphasis is the 60/60 Experiment. So, get your alarm device ready to go and pick up your book at the Sunday Blend Coffee Shop or in your adult small group. The books are only $7.00. I know that this will be an exciting time in our spiritual development as individuals and as a church.

Trunk or Treat is Halloween night from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Postcard invitations are now available. You will get one in your handout on Sunday and they will be available in the postcard rack in the information area. Take as many as you need to invite friends and family to this safe trick or treat alternative.


Upcoming Events:
October 16th – Disco Night
October 17th – New Series: Soul Revolution – The 60/60 Experiment
October 31st – Trunk or Treat
November 4th – CLASS 101: Discovering Membership
November 7th – Men’s Ministry
November 14th – Baptism
December 4th – Women’s Christmas Party