Well, last Sunday was awesome! We are right in the middle of our “Repeat” series. Each week we are taking a look at iconic movie characters such as; Batman, Rocky Balboa and Indiana Jones. Because we growing so much we moved our service times back half an hour in hopes some people would shift to the 9:30 service. Well, it couldn’t have worked out any better! We practically had the same number of people in each service which made for awesome energy during worship. This series has been a blast and has got me anticipating “God in Your Ipod” which is coming up this November! Hope to see you this Sunday, either 9:30 or 11:00! Peace!

-ken

I was watching MNF last night, which in and of itself was spectacular. Except I can’t really stand the Patriots. Many of the commercial breaks featured the new Pearl Jam single, which I am really digging. There is just something awesome about this time of year. We start Sunday off with church and fellowship. Then roll back to the homestead for all the NFL games. Eat a nice big meal and settle into the couch. This Sunday should be really cool because at Eastside we are in the middle of our “Repeat” series. We are highlighting movie heroes and this week it’s….BATMAN! I am excited because one of the best movies I have seen in years was last year’s hit, “The Dark Knight”. So, if you dig on fun and upbeat music, good friends, Batman, NFL football, eating food and good times….I’ll see you Sunday! Peace!

-Ken

I sat in worship over the past couple weeks and my eyes have been drawn to a very special lady that I will call Mary. She is probably one of the oldest members at our church. She comes to church alone because her sweet husband is not able to attend any longer because of his health.

It is hard for me to take my eyes off of her.  She is a sweetheart. There she stands as Kenny begins to lead us with one of the new praise choruses we have been learning. With her sweet hands she begins to clap and to sing along with Kenny and continues to participate with everything she can throughout the whole service. Her smile and attitude just tell you she is so glad to be there.

I began to think to myself,  what did it take for her to get to church today? She is fragile herself and still makes the attempt to come as much as she can.

How much I take for granted. Just the fact that coming to church each Sunday is just a matter of getting up and making that choice to be there. Something Mary does each week,  but I am sure it is not as easy.

Thank you Mary for being that reminder to us of what a true worshipper looks like.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship The Father In Spirit and In Truth: for The Father seeketh such to worship Him. Jhn.4:23~~~

One of the really cool things now that Rowan is getting older is he knows when I am leaving and knows when I get home. There are times when I start putting on my shoes to go to work or go do something and he grabs his shoes and says “Rowan go with daddy.” Now if you have any feelings at all you know that your child saying something like that rips your heart out every time he says that. It is even worse when I have to say you can’t go with daddy and he starts crying. It is terrible!! Over the past couple of months I have realized that this is a passing phase that will end sooner rather than later. I wish now that I could take him everywhere with me because he wants to go. My son is so fun and cool that I really want to take every opportunity to teach and give him experiences that I got growing up because of my father. I really believe that God gives us children to teach us spiritual lessons on a daily basis.

Here’s the deal we should be like that with Jesus. We should want to be with him all the time. We should want him to be with us everywhere we go. That feeling is with us as young Christians but as time goes on we lose that want and desire to be with Him at all times. In John 15 Jesus talks about being the vine and us being the branches. Together we produce fruit but apart we wither and are cut away. It is a daily challenge to keep our desire for Jesus as the most important thing in our lives. Challenge yourself everyday when you wake up to run Jesus with your shoes in hand and say I go with you today!

David Parkerson