November 4, 2023
Happy Saturday to all my Grace Vineyard Family and Friends of Grace Vineyard!
And, I’ll be quick to note – Happy November. I like the sound of that. Do you immediately think of Thanksgiving when I say “November”? I do. We are quickly nearing that season we call “The Holidays”, and that puts a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my chest. We’ve got a lot of life to live in the coming days, and much of it is life together with our Grace Vineyard family, so let me jump into giving you some reminders and updates about coming attractions.
Baptism and Picnic This Sunday
Right after church this Sunday we are heading over to the beach for a baptism. Let’s shoot for noon. We’re gonna meet at the beach by the Picnic area just north of the Pier. After the baptism we’ll be grilling burgers. We’ll have burgers ready to grill, but we need the rest of you to bring picnic food to share — you know, chips, salads, fruit, drinks…that sort of thing. PLEASE make it a priority to fit this into your busy schedules! Last I heard we had about 9 folks wanting to get baptized and we want to be there to welcome them into the family of God with all the love we’ve got to give. If you have any questions or want to see how you can help, please contact Steve Rogers at 760-500-4324.
New After Church Prayer Gathering – 2nd Sundays
Prayer is the foundation and driving force under girding pretty much everything good that happens in the Kingdom of God. One of our people who loves and knows first hand the power of prayer is Sharon Evans, and she has offered to lead us in a monthly prayer gathering right after church on the 2nd Sunday of the month, beginning Sunday, November 12th. Everyone is encouraged to come join us. We expect to see an increase in every area that we take to the Lord in prayer!
Community Meal Friday after Thanksgiving
You’ve heard me talk on Sundays about the ministry Michael Aplikowsky leads every Monday night in Fireside Park. We simply share a meal, fellowship, love, and prayer with our unsheltered neighbors. The day after Thanksgiving – Friday, November 24th – we’re going to do the same thing only on a larger scale. We’ll have a full Thanksgiving Meal to share with our neighbors starting at 2pm. It all takes place at Fireside Park in Oceanside — 401 Parkside Drive. This is a great opportunity to put into practice “The Wisdom of Compassion” that we talked about last Sunday in church. If you have questions, or want to ask how you can contribute, please call Michael at 760-473-9177.
Women’s Walk Next Saturday
Next Saturday, November 11th, is our next Ladies hike/walk. This is a great time of fellowship outside in the beauty of God’s great creation. Next week the women of Grace will meet at Batiquitos Lagoon Nature Center, 7380 Gabbiano Lane, Carlsbad at 9am. If you’ll be coming, please call or Text Kathy Green at 760-583-1779.
Men’s Breakfast Next Saturday
Next Saturday, November 11, it will be time for our next Men’s Breakast. We meet at Ty’s Burgerhouse, 515 Mission Ave, just around the corner from the church at 8am on the 2nd Saturday of every month. We share great conversation over a delicious breakfast, spend time worshiping, and hear an inspiring message from one of the men. This month we’ll be hearing from Kent Franke. Hope to see you there.
The Glorious Duty of Delighting in Treasure
I just love the look on the boy’s face in this photo. I was looking for a photo to capture the idea behind the title I have or tomorrow’s talk – “The Glorious Duty of Delighting in Treasure” – and I think this photo does the trick. We’re going to open up the Word to look at the theme of “Delight”. We are commanded to delight ourselves in the Lord, and we discover that God delights in His people. We also know that we humans can’t help but delight in that which we treasure – that’s what Jesus was saying when He said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We have been given the glorious duty of delighting in treasure, but that “duty” is really about taking care that we don’t treasure things that are false treasures while failing to fix our hearts on the true treasure of God Himself. I think we’ll be encouraged as we explore these truths together. I hope to see you at 9:30 as we lift our voices in songs of adoration to our great King Jesus. If for some reason you can’t join us in person, you can join us online via zoom with this info: Zoom Meeting ID 153 112 432, Passcode 684814. You may also join us on Facebook Live at facebook.com/gracevcf. See you in the morning!
with love and blessings to each of you,
Ron Ohst
Tithes and Offerings Online
THANKS for taking ownership in the life and ministry of Grace Vineyard! And thanks to all of you who are stepping into a lifestyle of generosity with your tithes and offerings. It really does take all of us doing our part with the income God has entrusted to us for His church. If you’d like to give your tithe or offering online, click the donate button below.