Upcoming Sunday Lesson - A Sneak Peak

Gang - hope everyone is having a great week! As we continue our Transformation study I just wanted to post a quick sneak peak in anticipation of this Sundays lesson. This Sundays lesson is titled Transformation: A New Voice and we will learn the importance of letting the Holy Spirit transform our tongues, voices, and mouths.

- Words have the power to devastate and destroy.
- God's desire is for us to use our voices to worship Him and build each other up.
- God wants us to learn how to identify hurtful patterns of speech so we can get them out of our mouths.
- God wants us to use the awesome power of our voices for good.


Here are some discussion questions we will dive into this Sunday:

- Share a time someone spoke words that had a positive or negative impact on you.

- Share about a time you spoke words that had a powerfully positive or negative impact on someone else.


Bible reading - James 3:3-12

- In the above passage, what are the images that James portrays as the human tongue? What is James trying to communicate through these images?

- In verse 6-8 James has some tough things to say about our words and their impact. If you agree with his harsh assessment, explain why. Or if you think James is overstating his case, explain why.


Sharpening the Focus:

- If you have a person in your life who you have hurt with your words, what do you need to do to make things right with this person?

- Share about a person in your life who has consistently used their words to encourage and build you up. How has this person impacted your life?

- Who is one person you need to encourage and build up with your words?


Additional bible readings - Proverbs 10:19, 17:28, and 15:1.


Have a great remainder of the week and see you Sunday!

--Dan

Missions Update

1) Souper Bowl drive ends this Sunday.

2) Blood Drive is this Sunday.

3) Cell phone drive is the entire month of Feb. Donate any old phones to be refurbished.

4) Thanks to all who help contribute to the Mexico Mission Fundraiser. Still waiting to get a final total but thanks to everyone.

Wayne

Reminder

For some reason, the post about the super bowl party didn't get e-mailed out. Please see the post below and sign up to bring an item of your choice. Thanks everyone! :)

Joys and Concerns

Here are the joys and concerns from this Sunday's class, 1/25.

Joys
-Keenan has an interview this week and 3 meetings with recruiters.
-Sam slept through the night!

Concerns
-One of Michelle's students, Robert, that has muscular dystrophy fell out his chair lift on his back. Although he is in very good spirits he did suffer some injuries. Please pray that he recovers quickly and will be alright.

-Micheal Taylor's grandmother is back in the hospital after fainting and breaking her tail bone. Please pray for a speedy recovery and for her husband's spirits as well.

-Chris's aunt has been diagnosed with uterine cancer. Please pray that the cancer is not advanced and that minimal surgeries/treatments need to take place.

- Eileen's friend Lisa was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Please pray that they are able to contain the cancer from spreading further.

-Phil is going to A&M for a recruiting trip. Please pray for the guidance of the students so that the right decisions are made.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Super Bowl Party!

Hey everyone,

Wayne & Julie have graciously opened up their house to the class for our upcoming super bowl party! Their address is 101 San Mateo Ct, Allen 75013. We'll start the party at 5:00 on February 1st (kickoff is at 5:30). Chad and I will provide sandwiches for the party. Please sign up under comments for a side, dessert, drink, etc. that you would like to bring. Thanks, and hope to see y'all there! :)

Weekly Missions Update

Hi everybody. A quick note from the Mission's front.

1) This Sunday is the last week of "special collections" for the Mexico Mission Fund. Thanks so much for the participation so far.

2) Souper Bowl starts this week in the Fellowship Hall. Place can goods in the bins for who you think will win. I hear this "scientific poll" has sucessfully predicted the winner in 4 out of 5 years.

3) White linens drive continues in FH for Samaratin Inn this week.

4) Mission Open house continues this week if you are looking for an opps outside of what the class is doing.

5) Blood Drive is on Feb 1. Sign ups are in the FH.

Thanks for the time. See you Sunday.

Wayne

Joys and Concerns 1/18/09



Today Brett led the lesson on a New Mind.



Here are the joys for the week:



-Karla's dad's surgery went went. Both her parents are doing great.

-Karla finally got moved from Baylor downtown back to Baylor Plano.



-The Oldam's girls are doing well. They continue to get stronger!



Here are the concerns for the week:



-Jason Lax's mom has a friend from high school whose husband has liver cancer. He is not doing well. Please keep them in your prayers.



Have a wonderful week everyone.

Super Bowl party

Our annual super bowl party is coming up in 2 weeks on February 1st. We wanted to get an idea of how many people are planning to come before we decide on having it at 1 house or splitting our group in half for 2 couples to host. Please RSVP in the comments section on whether you plan to come or not. Thanks everyone, and have a great week! :)

Weekly Missions Update

Hi Everyone,

I will be out of town this weekend so wanted to post a few reminders on the Missions front.

1) The next 2 week's classroom collections will be going to the Mexico Mission Trip fund to help build and supply a Health care Clinic in Matamoros in conjunction with the Hart Memorial. With the 2 other entities matching what we collect, I am excited at the difference we can make.

2) White drive ongoing in the church for towels and linens to support local homeless shelters and safe houses.

3) Souper Bowl can food drive will start Sunday evening. Drop your can food off in the marked bins in the Fellowship Hall. Donations go to Plano Food Pantry I believe.

4) Blood Drive will be on Super Bowl Sunday. Sign ups or walk ups are welcome. Sign ups will be in the Fellowship Hall Mission Open House over the next 2 Sundays.

Thanks in advance for every one's help,

Wayne

Teaching Schedule on Blog

Hi all:

Wayne created a database on our old Yahoo groups page. I added a link 'Teaching Schedule' on the Blog which will take you to this database. You must have a Yahoo account and access to the group to view the database. If you don't have access to the group, I think you can request it thru Yahoo and I can approve it.

The link is located on the main page, middle section where the other links exist. The list shows dates and who is scheduled to teach both in class and in Journey.

Hope this helps! Thanks, Janessa

Joys and Concerns for Sunday 1/11/09

Today we began a new study on Transformation and Karla led a wonderful lesson on a “New Heart”.

Please keep the following concerns in your thoughts and prayers this week:

-Keenan was laid off last Wednesday. Please pray for him and Karla during this difficult and stressful time.

-Karla’s father is having surgery on his broken arm this week. Please pray that he has a speedy recovery and for her mom during this challenging time.

-Paul’s boss resigned involuntarily.

-Michael Taylor’s dad is selling his house and his grandmother was ill and in the hospital.
She is back at home now; please pray that she continues to get better.

-Lesley’s grandmother has moved to a home for Alzheimer’s patients. Please pray for Lesley and her family during this transition.

-Continued prayers for the Oldham family.

Here are the joys for the week:

-Paul has the opportunity to assume additional responsibilities at work, including re-staffing.

-Paul and Martha’s daughter, Rachel turns 1!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

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hi. we are testing this out fromSarah's shower!

2nd Sunday Lunch

Just a reminder that this Sunday we'll be going out to lunch after class, so be thinking about a good restaurant we can all go to! See everyone on Sunday.

Joys/Concerns 1/4

Good morning all! Last Sunday there was only one joy/concern mentioned. Please continue to pray that the precious Oldham twins continue to get stronger and healthier so they can go home. Have a great week!

Officer Meeting 1/10

Just passing along the information for Saturday for 2B1 officers. Hope to see you there!

Greetings to you All!THIS SATURDAY at 8:30 in the Upper Room we will have our one and only leadership training. We will met together then break out into seperate groups. Please note that several officers will met together if you need to assign persons to fill in for those officers who can not attend.Presidents/Vice Presidents/Curriculum,Treasurer/Social,Mission,MembershipIF YOU NEED CHILDCARE, please make a reservation by tomorrow Tuesday Jan.6 with Lori Dusek at ldusek@crumc.org.We should be through sometime between 10:30 and 11 depending on your group.

Volunteers for Meals & shower update - Oldham Family (edited)

Ashlea talked with Sarah this afternoon and she was getting ready to go home. They asked if we could go ahead and start up helping with meals as they will be spending most of their free time going back and forth between the hospital.

We will take care of tomorrow night but if you would like to help please sign up for a day below and give Sarah or Jarod a call at 972.801.5942 and they can give you the best idea of times.

Also, several people asked about the shower for Sarah. It is still on for Saturday at 2. The time may vary slightly due to the schedule at the hospital but Sarah will let us know if that's needed early this week.

Monday 1/5 - Lincoln's
Wednesday 1/7 - Kuykendall's
Friday 1/9 - Wilkin's
Monday 1/12 - Wood's
Wednesday 1/14 -
Friday 1/16 - Johnson's

Anyone after this willing to help, the Oldham's would love some extra help in early March when the girls come home. Thanks to everyone.

Thanks. Sorry for the edit.

Pics

Pics of the Oldham babies.

Emily Jane (1 lbs. 15 oz.)

Ann Elizabeth (3 lb.s, 4 oz.)

Dad & Emily

Here's a couple pics of the girls for everyone interested. They are both doing amazing. Ann is getting supplemented a little bit of oxygen but is breathing mostly on her own and Emily despite her little size is going completely on her own with just an IV and feeding tube. They seem to be doing great and the parents and grandparents are all very proud, if not a little tired.

They asked for a little time today to catch up on rest and enjoy the time with their family before they leave in the next two days. Sarah will be going home on Sunday and the twins are expected to stay until close to their original due date in March.

They send their thanks and look forward to showing everyone the kiddos very soon!