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

How many times have you and I asked the question or been asked the question “how was church today”? How was the music? How was the sermon? Good crowd? How was the special? Any decisions? We have all done that including myself.

I remember something my papaw use to do when i was growing up.  Every Sunday morning before we would head to church I would find him in the living room of our house, praying and reading the bible.  I mean I thought that was really neat and all, not really understanding why he was doing it. I just knew it was an every week thing.

When we got in our car after church our conversations were not about how was the music, if we liked it or not. It wasn’t about the sermon if we got anything out of it.  It wasn’t about the number of people or the special music or even sunday school. He always talked about how wonderful it was to worship the Lord. He would ask each of us what did the Lord teach us today through the sermon or the music or whatever for that day.  If someone joined the church or even better was baptized- watch out it was party time.  I realized the other day that I never heard my grandfather say anything negative about Sunday worship.  I mean how could that be? I   know the music wasn’t his thing and sometimes the sermon didn’t hit him like it hit the younger generation. He just saw the big picture.  

I want to be just like that. I want to step back and see the big picture like he did. He always seemed to get so much out of each Sunday and that is what I want. He had an urgency about him to invite people to church and to share the gospel even until he died when he was 82.  I wish I had half of that passion.

It is a good reminder to me. How am I preparing my heart for worship? Am I ready to enter the throne room  of God.  Am I ready for God to teach me through the spoken word? Am I  ready and willing to remember through communion.

One of the coolest things I remember him saying was this- you should never leave a worship service the same as you went in. What a great thought to live by.

I love our church and I am thankful beyond words to worship at such a place.

Vicki- Thanks papaw

Well, we’re just two weeks out from the CD release for “The New You”. Last week Authentic U performed at FireFest in Waverly, OH. Man it was awesome! The crowd was really into it and we were able to sell a lot of cds, which helps to not only get the word out about us but also get the message about Jesus out there! We were very blessed and thankful for the turnout and support.

Next up on Friday, August 14th is our CD release show. The show starts at 8pm and is FREE. It takes place at Eastside Christian Church. Hope to see everyone there! It will be a blast! Come ready to clap, sing and sweat! Peace!

Ken

A mission trip are a very eye opening experience. The one our student ministry took last week was no different. Our students did several different services this past week like VBS, yard work, house work, cleaned a warehouse and cleaned a camp. Our students had lots of memories that they brought home with them and they will have for the rest of their lives. My highlight of the week was talking with a gentleman maned Mr. Cain. I had the privilege of talking with him for a couple of hours while I was doing some electrical work inside his house. He was a man full of life experience and a man that had just recently came to be fully in love with God. His excitement about Christ was inspiring and the time I spent with him is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Mission trips to places also bring to light the fact that we need to be active in our own communities. The needs that we met in West Virginia this past week are need that can be met everyday here in Jeffersonville. Our community needs us as much as St. Albans needed us. Compassion should cause us to move and if it doesn’t then it isn’t compassion.

This trip was truly a blessing and the lessons learned will go a long way to help Eastside become a light that shines in the darkness arounf us. Thanks to everyone who donated time, money and prayer to make this trip successful.

David Parkerson

Yesterday I was pretty stressed and worried heading into service. It was a day where we were trying something new and experimenting. That always leaves an unsettling feeling before services. What we wanted to do was have everyone receive a small piece of paper in their programs. And at any time during the service, (worship, sermon, communion, invitation, etc…) you could write out a specific prayer request, bring it forward and tack it to a giant board on the front of the stage. We encouraged people to write down things they are thankful for, things they struggle with, people they are trying to witness to, people who are having marriage problems. An assortment of prayers were posted on the boards. Of course I was worried,”Will people bring them forward, will they understand what we are trying to do?” For some reason I always seem to have doubts and yet, God always delivers! By the end of second service, the two black boards were completely covered with an assortment of colored papers!

Here is the humbling part…I sat in the auditorium today for a while in silence. As I read through some of the prayers, it became overwhelming. It’s funny how we always seem to think the drama in our life is the worst. I know without a doubt after today….mine isn’t. There are people out there in the world… They are alone. They are hurting. They are struggling. They may be on the verge of giving up. So what are we going to do about it? I for one, am going to pray for more courage and guidance. We, as the church, need to be passionate and involved in the lives of those around us. Share Grace and love whenever we can, just as Christ did for us.

You just never know…………

Peace!

Ken

Well, I am assuming most of you have seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by now. I actually got to see it before it was released in the U.S. I was vacationing in Mexico and caught it down there. Yes, it was in English! I don’t care what any of the critics thought, it was a blast! who wouldn’t enjoy 2 and half hours of giant robot aliens fighting each other?

The building is flying right along. They have poured all of the foundations and you can start to see the floor plan taking shape now. I can’t wait until the end of the month when they start putting the steel shell up. It has been an exciting and stressful journey. I am sure it will be worth the wait in the end.

I have been trying to stay focused as the we cruise into the middle of summer. Is anyone else easily distracted when it is 85 and sunny til 9pm? Yeah, that’s what I figured. We are going to be trying something different in service this Sunday, so I am excited about the potential impact on peeps.

I also just released the second CD by my original band, Authentic U. This is a ministry that God was really growing just prior to me coming aboard at Eastside. It has been difficult to write and be creative as far as songwriting goes. So I was pleased to finish,” The New You” and share it with everyone. Hope you guys enjoy it as well. AU will be doing some shows this summer, hope to see you! Peace!

-Ken