November 18, 2023
Happy Rainy Saturday to my Grace Vineyard family and friends.
I’m not sure about your experience, but living in a city that sees an average of 266 sunny days per year, the occasional drizzly day feels very refreshing to me. That is to say, I’m enjoying this rainy morning. In fact, after I typed that last sentence I checked the forecast, and it appears whatever rain we just had is the end of it and the sun is already starting to shine again. (It’s nice living in the best climate on the planet!) Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your day; I know I am. Charissa is home from Azusa Pacific University for the Thanksgiving holiday, and she’s doing some baking, and our family is all together again, and it’s just a nice vibe.
So, let’s get into our weekly Grace Vineyard Update email. Keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving and holiday and family time, the first thing to remind you of is you is our community Thanksgiving meal in the park next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
Community Meal Friday After Thanksgiving
On Friday, November 24, the day after Thanksgiving, we have a “Love your neighbor” opportunity. We recently recently read Luke 14:12-13 in church together:
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Friday is an opportunity to put these words into practice. We’re going to be putting on a banquet, complete with all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, at Fireside Park, 401 Parkside Dr., Oceanside. This is where we currently have a Monday night meal for our unsheltered friends. This will be a shared community meal where we all sit and eat together and get know each other, listening to each other’s stories, and just enjoy a delicious meal with neighbors that most of us haven’t gotten to know yet.
Brandi Mitchell will be in the lobby on Sunday with a clipboard to sign you up to provide side dishes for the event (even if you cannot come, you can still provide a dish). You will be able to either drop something off at the church on that Friday morning, or bring it directly to the park (which would be much more convenient!) We need Thanksgiving side dishes – not bread, chips, beverages, or turkeys as they will already be provided for.
Christmas Eve Singers and Players needed!
Grace, it’s that time of year again, Christmas is quickly approaching and once again Grace will be doing something a little special for Christmas Eve. As part of our Christmas Eve service we’ll be performing an “original song” titled “The 12 Days of Christmas: A not-so-common telling of the Christmas Story”. Auditions and a first read-through of this short musical number will be this coming Monday, Nov. 20th at 6PM in the church lobby. There are 14 parts to fill, singing and reading the 12 Days of Christmas, so you should be comfortable enough to sing/speak lyrically in front of an audience. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Amy Huzil at 858-254-8008 or email ammeepearl@gmail.com. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Generation Grace Is Now on Tuesday @6:30PM
Did you know we have an awesome Jr Hi and High School student ministry led by our amazing Youth Pastor Lisa Rogers?! They have recently moved their midweek meeting from Wednesdays to Tuesdays. They meet in the Upper Room at 6:30-8:30 PM every Tuesday. Please let all your Jr Hi and High School friends and family know about our youth group and send them on over!
Grace Talks On Demand
I often include a link in these weekly emails to a recent Sunday sermon. This week, I thought I’d just direct you to the podcast site itself. Ever hear a Sunday message that you want to share with a friend, or maybe you just want to hear it again? We’ve got ya covered. Just click here on gracetalks.org and you’ll find recordings of all our Sunday morning messages. Sometimes there’s even a notes file available with the podcast. Enjoy!
Turkey Soup Lunch Next Sunday
I love Thanksgiving Dinner. But I also love it when you take those left over turkey bones and meat, throw them in a Soup Pot, and make a delicious Turkey Soup for later. Next Sunday, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we’re planning on sharing that delicious Turkey soup idea together with all of you. It’ll be like our Sunday potlucks, only our meal will be a simple meal of Turkey Soup, bread, and pies for dessert. Jeannie Isbell is organizing the food for this event, so please call her at 760-419-1887 to let her know how you plan to participate. Thanks!
Ladies Christmas Luncheon, December 9
All the ladies are invited to join us for our annual Christmas Luncheon. We’ll have a speaker, sing Christmas worship and eat delicious soups, salad and desserts. Cost is $15. Sign up to bring a soup or dessert or set and host a table. Bring a $10 (or less) wrapped gift for the gift exchange. We’ll also be collecting money donations to bless our missionaries Eddie and Bethany and their kids for Christmas. Call Kim Ohst for more information 760.519.4558
This Sunday: “Truth is a Person”
As I was praying about what I should study in the Word with you next, I got a very clear impression from the Lord that I was to speak on “Truth”. Now that’s a huge topic, but as I pressed into prayer and study in the Bible on the topic, I was led to a particular focus. In our culture if we think of the word “true” or the word “truth” we often think in terms of information that can be verified as either false or true. Or we might think of the importance of being a person of integrity who tells the truth. These are important topics for sure, but in the Bible, God is generally less concerned about information and more concerned about transformation through a relational experience with God Himself. In the Revelation we read of Jesus returning at the end of the age as a warrior king riding on a white horse and He is called “Faithful and True”. In John’s Gospel we hear Jesus saying, “I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life.” I think we’ll find that much more than information that we can verify as true or false (which, by the way, puts us in control), TRUTH is something substantially larger that we encounter when we experience relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Truth is a Person. I think the implications of this idea that we encounter TRUTH when we are in relationship with Jesus can be very profound, and I look forward to exploring this topic with you on Sunday morning.
As always, we’ll be meeting at Grace Vineyard at 9:30 AM for worship and the ministry of the Word on Sunday and I hope you’ll be there with us. If you have to be away 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 tomorrow!
With love and blessings,
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.