This Wednesday night Church of the Messiah continues our Mid-Week service with the second week of Fr. Looker’s teaching series “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land.”  The service begins at 7pm and includes praise & worship, Bible study, and intercessory prayer and we have everyone out by 8:30 for work and school the next day.  Our Youth Group meets during the same time and childcare is provided for our little ones as well.  For anyone who is interested, we have created a new page on our web-site under the Sermon Library called Wednesday Night Bible Studies.  You can either click on “Sermon Library” in the upper left and then click on “Wednesday Night Bible Studies” or you can simply click HERE.  Once you are there you can listen to the teaching from each night as well as download the PowerPoint slideshow that was on the screens during the teachings.  Admit it!  There is nothing really good on Wednesday night TV you can’t DVR anyway.  We will see you Wednesday night at 7pm because Wednesday night is Church Night at Church of the Messiah!

Church of the Messiah’s Rector’s Council meets tonight, November 14, starting at 7 o’clock.  Fr. David Paysinger, as the Rector of the parish, serves as the chair of the council, which includes all of the priests in the parish as well as Earl Shimp and Craig Stafford.  The Rector’s Council currently meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month to pray over key issues in the governance and future of Church of the Messiah.  Operating via the rules of Government by Consensus, issues are not dealt with by majority rules but rather by asking each member “What do you believe The Lord is saying?” When the group comes to consensus as to what The Lord is saying, the we have our decision.  Each and every member covets your prayers during these meetings.  Pray for your leadership and for the Church of the Messiah.

This Wednesday Night begins a new work for Church of the Messiah!  We have not had a church-wide Mid-Week Service in several years and starting this Wednesday night at seven o’clock that all changes!  We will open up with praise and worship, thanking God for, first and foremost, who He is and all that He has done in our lives, and then we will go in to a time of Bible study.  The first topic of the Bible study will be “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land” and will focus on the period of time after the Jews were released from their seventy years of exile in Babylon but before they were able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.  As Church of the Messiah sets out from Jacksonville University and begins planning to build on our property on St. Johns’ Bluff, this time in the life of the Children of Israel is especially relevant to where we are as a Church community.  Look for Biblical history and well as pertinent life application.  We will conclude with a time of intercessory prayer and dismiss by 8:30 so that everyone can be home in time for work and school the next morning!

So set your DVR’s to record your favorite shows from now on because Wednesday nights are Church Nights at Church of the Messiah!  We’ll see you starting November 13th at 7 o’clock!

Up until midnight tonight, November 8, anyone can go onto Amazon.com and download for F a copy of Non Nobis, Domine! a brief history of the early days of the Charismatic Episcopal Church written by retired Bishop Phillip Weeks and Mr. Hugh Kaiser.  The free version is for the Kindle only but you can either download a Kindle reading app for a tablet, smart phone, or PC, or for your Kindle device.  To download your FREE copy of Non Nobis, Domine! simply click HERE before midnight tonight.  Don’t wait to get this free resource!REE

As we leave behind Jacksonville University and take possession of our new home, one of the benefits is that we are able to hold mid-week services.  With that blessing in mind, we will return to holding services on Wednesday nights starting on next Wednesday, November 13th.  The service will begin at 7 o’clock and will include a time of praise and worship, a time of Bible-based teaching, and a time of intercessory prayer.  The service will include child-care and our regular Wednesday night Youth Group meetings will be moving into the Church at the same time and meeting in the Youth Room.  We will dismiss by 8:30 so that everyone can be home in time for bed-time and school the next day.

Beginning on Wednesday, November 13th, Fr. Scott Looker will lead a series titled “Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land.”  The study will focus on the period of time after the Jews were released from their seventy years of exile in Babylon but before they were able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.  As Church of the Messiah sets out from Jacksonville University and begins planning to build on our property on St. Johns’ Bluff, this time in the life of the Children of Israel is especially relevant to where we are as a Church community.  Look for Biblical history and well as pertinent life application.

Be sure to set your DVR’s because, after a long hiatus, Wednesday nights are Church Nights once again at Church of the Messiah!  We’ll see you starting November 13th at 7 o’clock!

This Tuesday Night, November 5th, beginning at 7 o’clock, Church of the Messiah’s Parish Council will assemble.  The Parish Council is the gathering of ministry leaders in the parish who meet usually every two to three months to co-ordinate the ministries and activities of Church of the Messiah.  The Parish Council will be meeting to discuss the events for the rest of the year, including Saturday’s work day, the Grand Opening on November 10, the start of our Mid-Week Services on November 13, the Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist on November 27, the beginning of Advent and all of our Christmas services and festivities!  The Parish Council consists of: Janice Paysinger, representing Women’s Ministry; Darla Shiell, representing Kids’ Church ministries; Lizz Looker, representing Nursery ministries; Fr. Scott Looker, representing the Youth Group; Fr. Scott Melanson, representing Worship Ministries; Amanda Paysinger, representing the Praise Dancers, Fr. Lon Pardee, representing the Acolytes and Lay-readers; Lisa Christopherson, representing the Altar Guild; Cathie Shimp, representing the Intercessors and prayer teams; James Luck, representing the Ushers; Fr. David Paysinger chairs the meeting as the Rector of Church of the Messiah and Carla Bitancor attends as Parish Secretary.  If you have a question or concern about any of the upcoming events at Church of the Messiah, please contact the relevant ministry head and ask, if they cannot answer the question on their own, to raise the issue at the next Parish Council Meeting.

Saturday night is the end of Daylight Savings Time, so before you go to bed on Saturday night, be sure to set your clocks back one hour.  Rejoice! This is the weekend where you get an extra hour of sleep!  You can show up at our 10 o’clock service and still feel like you have slept in.  If you forget to change your clocks, you can always join the Rector’s Council in prayer an hour before the service!  Either way, we will see you Sunday morning as we celebrate All Saints’ Day!

This weekend was one of the best weekends at Church of the Messiah in long time. Saturday morning we began with a huge turn out at our Fall Work Day.  Many hands truly did make light work and we made light work of the many projects that we had all around.  By the time we left, many having put in six to seven hours of work, the church looked beautiful, inside and out!  Everyone would testify that it was time well spent when we opened the doors on Sunday morning for the first time!  One person said it was “Such a beautiful service from beginning to end!” and that they “loved the space for the children!”  Now there are nine new photos from this weekend in our Photo Gallery and Fr. David’s powerful sermon is also on-line and available in our Sermon Library.

Don’t get too comfortable!  This Thursday night, from 6:30 to 8:30 is our All Saints’ Festival!  On November 10th, we have our Grand Opening service and covered dish reception!  On Wednesday Night, November 13th we start our Mid-Week Services!  Then on November 27th we have our Thanksgiving Eve Service!  It will be a busy, busy time at Church of the Messiah!

We just received praise-worthy news.  We have just passed our LAST inspections with the Fire Marshall and City Inspector!  Thanks be to God! We are done with inspections!

With that fantastic news behind us, don’t forget that this Saturday is Fall Work Day.  We will start at nine o’clock and work until we’re done!  There is plenty to do inside and out.  The Nursery and Kids’ Church Classrooms are being painted today and tomorrow so that they will be ready to have everything put in place and set up on Saturday mornings.  There are about 100 chairs that need to be put in their proper places and a lots of little chores that need to be done to get the place completely spic and span.  We will also be working on trimming trees and other grounds-keeping outside as well.  If you will be attending, please click HERE and RSVP so we can better plan.  Lunch will be provided and we are excited about seeing you there.

Starting this Sunday, October 27th, we will begin our services at our new time.  Sunday Morning Services will begin promptly at 10 o’clock.  This also means that Rector’s Council Prayer will begin one hour prior to the start of our services at 9 o’clock.  While this is a time for the Rector’s Council to gather in prayer for the service and the congregation, the entire congregation is invited to join in this time of prayer.