Church of the Savior

Advent Sermon Series

Mark — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 04:55:52 +0000

If you would like to share the Advent Sermon Series with a friend, you can download them all from here. We hope you have a safe and blessed holiday season!

Week 1 – Hoping in Jesus

Week 2 – Preparing the Way With Our Hearts

Week 3 – Joy… and Despair

Week 4 – Mary’s Faith

Sermon Series Bundle: Walking in the Light

Mark — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:08:44 +0000

We hope you have enjoyed the sermon series on 1 John – “Walking in the Light”. We have received a lot of positive feedback about this series so we want to present the audio of the entire series here for you to download. Just right-click on the file you want to download, and save it to your system.

Week 1 – Obedient Living and Loving Others

Week 2 – Children Of The Light

Week 3 – Walking in the Light Means Loving One Another

Week 4 – Love is the Evidence We’re in the Light

Week 5 – Believing Rightly Who Jesus Is

Week 6 – A Promise of Life

We Have So Much To Celebrate!

Mark — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 02:33:14 +0000

We’ve primed the pump this Lenten season and God has done so much to ready us for our first public service!

We go public next week!

There’s so much to celebrate! Our Church has accomplished great things these past few weeks with God’s help. He’s opened doors for us and granted us His favor. Here’s a few of the exciting highlights…

* We’ve Grown!…and now have ninety new chairs!
* Our great new facility…freshly painted just last week!
* Our storage shed is up and onsite…no more lugging!
* We have a beautiful mobile Altar and liturgical furnishings!
* Launched our online: the Daily Office Express!
* Preached the Gospel publicly in Allen…on NBC News!
* Launched our first Financial Peace University!
* Hired a Director of Community & Family Ministries!
* Launched a fantastic new Youth Ministry!
* Got the word out to 60,000 households in the Allen Image!
* Featured on the #1 Christian Radio station in America!
* Offered Hope by filling the Share and Care Closet at ACO!
* Mardi Gras Celebration…90 guests half were1st time visitors!
* Our 1st Members Class…nearly all our adults are attending!
* And we’re just getting started!

Now that is worth celebrating! May God be glorified and receive honor through the work of His Church!

Taking the Word Into Public

Mark — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:16:32 +0000

And then Jesus told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”
~ Mark 16:15

Thoughts from our member Mark Lewis (pictured with his family) about Ash Wednesday:

I thoroughly enjoyed our Ash Wednesday service being held at the Londoner. Seeing Father Joel preach to the entire restaurant with the COTS congregation behind him for support was very spiritually inspiring to me. Taking the Word of Jesus from the walls of our church and into the public makes me think of when Jesus would go to towns and preach with his disciples standing by.

Due to the dynamic of any public setting, there is always a chance you may encounter nonbelievers. However, the entire restaurant was quiet as though it was silenced by the Holy Spirit! I was also moved by the fact that people who were not members of COTS approached Fr. Joel for a blessing. It was no accident. Obviously the Holy Spirit led those individuals to the Londoner that night.

I definitely support any future public preaching!

Mature. Minister. Grow.

Mark — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:53:56 +0000

This year will be an exciting year for Church of the Savior. We have already experienced a great initial year of defining our values of Loving Jesus, Sharing Life and Offering Hope. In 2012, we will be live into these values even more. Our plan is to Mature, to Minister and to Grow.

Mature
Every Christian is called to grow stronger in their faith, both individually and as a group. Individually, we are encouraging everyone to do daily one-on-one prayer with God. Not sure where to start? Try this new web site developed by our own James Severence: Daily Office Express.

We are also encouraging every to sign up for one of our Bible Study programs to learn God’s Word, and for one of our Life Groups.

Minister
God has gifted you with many talents and passions so that you can share them with everyone around you. We want everyone to find a place in our church where those talents can be put to good use and to meet (y)our mission. This can be as simple as being a greeter on Sunday morning, doing visitations to the sick, or hosting a small group at your home. No gift is too small to make an impact in our community!

Grow
By grow, we don’t mean just filling seats. We want to offer hope! Hope to people who don’t have a church home, or to those who want to be part of a community of hope. The best way to do this is simply to invite! Over 75% of people began their faith journey through contact with a friend or family member.

We are going to host several events in the coming weeks so people can come to our community: Mardi Gras at the Magic Time Machine! Ash Wednesday at The Londoner! Palm Sunday and Holy Week! It will be an exciting time for us. We look forward to seeing everyone be a part of this exciting time in our life!

2011 Highlights

Mark — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:36:59 +0000

LOVING JESUS
Our Mission of Loving Jesus is expressed by COTS’s Values of Worship and Discipleship. Our first worship service was held on Ash Wednesday, followed by weekly Lenten worship that lead up to an incredible Holy Week. On Good Friday we knelt, touched and prayed at the Cross of Jesus and then journeyed from the darkness & sorrow of Good Friday to the light and joy of the Resurrection with the Great Vigil of Easter. We began Sunday Eucharists in August in the Strain family’s home and then on October 16th moved into our new home at Kids R Kids where we’ve had wonderful musical guests leading us in worship and celebrated the great feasts of All Saints Day and our beautiful, candlelit Christmas Eve service. Discipleship means dedicating our whole life to Jesus and one of the ways we do this is through the Sacraments and this year we celebrated our first Baptism and two Weddings. And we’re just getting started!

SHARING LIFE
Our Mission of Sharing Life is expressed by our Values of Celebration and Life Together. “Of all the people of the earth, God’s people have the most reason to party.” And we’ve done just that with our Mardi Gras Celebration at the Magic Time Machine (anyone remember Leo Jay?) and Resurrection Feast after the Great Vigil of Easter. We also had a blast at our First Annual BBQ as the kids, and adults, zoomed down our water slide to cool off during our hot summer. And we’ve got more celebrations to come in 2012! We share Life Together in our Life Groups, a place where we “cheer one another on to live for Jesus.” In 2011 we had six sermon-based Life Groups and eleven different Men’s and Women’s Life Groups where we prayed together, studied the Bible and enjoyed fellowship with one another. And we’re just getting started!

OFFERING HOPE
Our Mision of Offering Hope is expressed in our Values of Healing and Mission. During this past year we’ve had incredible testimonies of men, women & children finding the Healing of Jesus in their lives from struggles with their present circumstances, freedom from life-long struggles and healing of past hurts.

We also offered that hope through Mission: reaching out to dark situations that need the Light of Jesus. On Good Friday we responded to the Hendrick’s family’s loss of their husband and father Rusty by praying for them and by collecting an offering of $3,516.97, $38 of which was raised by the Kids of the Savior, to help meet their immediate financial needs. In September we responded to our Tanzanian brother’s and sister’s (pictured) urgent need for food and finances by raising $3,082 for the Kasulu Bible College and being told by their Dean, Fr. Daudi Ndhana “In simple language, you have redeemed us.” In November we went into Dawson State Jail to share the hope of Jesus where “death shall not alter this directive” and during Advent we partnered with Allen Community Outreach to offer hope by providing Christmas gifts for Allen’s teens & seniors and serving for three days at ACO’s Holiday Adoption program. And as I mentioned earlier, the Kids of Savior personally raised $211.54 to offer hope to families in the developing world through Heifer International. And we’re just getting started!

These are just some of the highlights. Pray that we do these kinds of things a hundred-fold in 2012, for the sake of Allen, the world and the the glory of Jesus.

Death Shall Not Alter This Directive

Mark — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:02:15 +0000

Last weekend the four of us entered Dawson State Prison to share the hope of Jesus inmates. The huge steel door rang shut behind as we walked under a sign which read:

Offenders holding hostages will not
be allowed exit through this gate.
Threats, physical harm or death
shall not alter this directive.

This sign wasn’t meant for the inmates…it was for us. May we always be able to say that “even death not shall alter the directive” of following Our Lord Jesus!

Scott On Going Into Prison
I would love to go back!…I had a bit of a break down yesterday and I started crying thinking to myself, who’s going to disciple these wonderful men? I feel like this is our purpose. This is what we’re created for to share the hope, peace, and love Jesus has for each and everyone of us.

Don On Going Into Prison
Man oh man, was I wrong. I had been asked several times to join a prison ministry but had always said, “No”. Mostly because I didn’t feel like I was “qualified” to talk to others about God. And I have to admit that I was pretty apprehensive about trying to approach “big, mean looking bad guys” and engaging them in conversation.

One inmate I spoke with named Paul (I know, right?) was pretty torn up that his 16 year old son suddenly stopped writing to him. We spoke for quite a while about what he, with Chris, can to to mend that relationship. Then I asked him if I could pray for him. I did and the words really flowed. As I finished I saw that he was crying. Through his tears he gave the most heartfelt “Thank You” I’ve ever received. He said, “I’ve needed to cry since I’ve been in here (two years) but haven’t been able to. I really need this.” I was truly in a daze. It wasn’t me speaking. Jesus was just using my mouth for his words, I really believe that.

What I found is that when we’re doing God’s work He is in control. These guys needed me, us, and were more timid to approach us than we were them. But as much hope as we may have brought them they gave me even more. I grew so much in those two days. I know that I can do whatever it is He wants me to do and that He will always be there with me. As for the guys, I’ll pray for them always. And we’re already talking about going back for regular visits. I truly love those guys!

Our First Sunday Worship

Mark — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:27:41 +0000

Here’s some photos from our first Sunday worship service (August 21, 2011):

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.272330489459844.87463.173038776055683&type=1

Stepping Out of the Boat

Mark — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:15:29 +0000

This summer I was so excited to get a letter from one of our church children telling me that she’d be going on her first solo Mission Trip. She is a student at Coram Deo Academy and an incredibly gifted artist and this summer she and 42 others spent a week ministering in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She and members of her group were chosen by casting lots (see Acts 1:21-26) for their special assignment to minister to children with autism. Here’s some highlights of her Mission in her own words:

In chapel the first night, one of the counselors said, “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.”…

One of the things we learned from the director about children with autism, is they seldom say Hi or interact with people. They also have difficulty building relationships with others. By the end of the week, the children were giving us all hugs and saying they were going to miss us. It was wonderful! Also at the end of the camp they had a talent show. Just the look on the parents’ faces when their child was performing touched my heart. They told us that their children had talked non-stop about us…I know that it made us all feel good knowing that we were able to help make a difference in their lives.

This trip has allowed me to become closer to God while serving other people. It has also helped me step out of my boat (comfort zone).

Thank you for your bold step of faith and your wonderful example to us at Church of the Savior as we prepare to “step out of our boat”. Thanks for reminding us that God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. Serving Him helps us step out of our boat. How is God calling you to step out of the boat and serve this week?