Grateful

2009 is almost over and what a year it has been. We have seen God's grace made manifest in the numerous lives transformed and now serving Him inside the local church. As I look out each Sunday morning, I have been blessed by not only seeing new faces, but also seeing many more becoming regular attendees and participants in the ministry. What a team God has blessed us with as a church!

I am so excited for 2010. Not only are we heading into the year ahead of budget (THANK YOU!), but also with a host of new members and volunteers. We are eager to see the number of families and children continue to increase as Natalie and Co. do a fantastic job teaching and caring for the Lil' Lights. The women's class is scheduled to launch again on Thursday nights beginning January 21st, and our UNashamed: Doctrine's class is offering three different courses in the first quarter alone. There is much to be excited about!

Please join with us in prayers of Thanksgiving as we look back on 2009, and forward to 2010. May we see more people saved, water baptized, and functioning in ministry than ever before. Let's JOYfully look ahead to the power of the Resurrected Messiah!

*Look for more stats and #s in our upcoming Year End Report.

Joy: Giving for the Sake of Others
A Generous Giving Campaign of FHCC
Give: In Person, Online, or via Mail
www.fhcchurch.com

Get to Know FHCC Missions

Brother Josh - Israel

This past Sunday we featured songs from my buddy Josh's debut album, "Bo Yeshua." Josh is a friend of mine from PA, who comes from a Jewish background and has received Jesus as his Lord and Messiah. Josh and I had lost contact over the years, however, during the the process of support raising to move my family to NYC, our paths crossed while he was youth pastor at a church in central Pennsylvania. It was great to not only remember times growing up, and to see exciting to see God using Josh to reach youth, but even more encouraging was to learn of Josh's burden to reach his fellow Jewish people with the Gospel.

Since that reunion almost 5-years ago, Josh and his amazing family have remained faithful to the Lord, and humbly looked forward for the next step of ministry in their life. It's been great for my family and I to see the hand of the Lord guide them, unite them, and ultimately bring clarity as to HOW they were going to be used in reaching the Jewish community for Messiah. Turns out, that God's calling was not going to simply require a move to a different church and people group, but to an entirely different country!

This past summer, Josh and his beautiful family moved to Israel and became official citizens of the country. Their desire is not to simply minister for a season, but rather to commit their lives to serving God in their new country! They have a tremendous amount of skills and abilities, and it is my honor to not only be their friend, but also the pastor of a local church that supports their call to ministry.

Josh and his family need our help. Moving locally is expensive; moving internationally is VERY expensive. It will take Josh and his family a significant amount of time to adjust to their new country and culture and to find employment that will make full-time ministry possible. They need financial help to see them through this phase in their life. (In fact, Josh's incredible worship album was recorded live as a means to honor the Lord and raise funds for his new life of ministry.)

As a church, we would like to commit to financially supporting Josh and his family through our "Missions" account. Every month, 5% of FHCC's income is set aside to further the ministry of Jesus beyond the capacity of our local church. Yet, some of you have gone beyond this generic level of support, and have made personal commitments to give a set amount each month above and beyond your weekly tithes (a.k.a. Missions Faith Promise). These commitments have made it possible to take on the ministries of eight different missionary families! But, we want to do more...

Will you please consider making a Faith Promise (forms available by request or talking with Cathi) and enabling us to support Josh and his family through this exciting ministry to the Jewish people of Israel? Will you commit to pray for this family, for their struggles in a new land and culture, and for many people to come to know Jesus as Messiah? Will allow God to use you globally? I pray you say "yes," because if it were not for others supporting my family and I in prayer and finances, Forest Hills Community Church would not exist, and many in our church would still not know Jesus. We are all blessed when we give to Jesus!

UNplugged Tonight

Once again we are hit with the hard truths of life inside the Abraham narrative. This week, Abraham deals with the death of his wife in unusual fashion. (In fact, it is so unusual that few people even recognize it.) After spending one verse weeping at the side of his dead wife, he rises up and spends 18 verses buying property. Is this the mark of a loving husband, or a guy who just inherited a life insurance policy?

The reality is that Abraham's actions following the death of his wife should serve as very encouraging signs to all of us who love Jesus. The man runs to the side of wife and weeps. His best-friend for the past 75 years is gone, and he misses her. But, he does not die at her side or wait for his own death. Rather, the man rises up and keeps serving Jesus while honoring his wife. Abraham goes off and buys a field not only for a resting place for his wife's body, but as an inheritance for all of his descendants as they wait for the full inheritance of the land. Sarah is honored and God's will is fulfilled, all because Abraham loves his wife and his God.

This week, we look at what it means to mourn as Christians. For Christians, death is not the final stop in life, but rather an entryway into eternal life. We are not to mourn as those without hope (I Thess. 4;13), but rather rejoice that we are finally standing in the presence of our Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). The world around us knows nothing of death, and we all have been deceived by its lies. Join us tonight as we celebrate life inside the covenant of God!

UNplugged: Bible Study
Monday Nights @8pm
INSIDE FHCC Storefront
(6708 Ingram St, FHills)
www.fhcchurch.com

Sunday Preview

This Sunday we jump into a new chapter in the book of Genesis. Moving on from the emotional roller-coaster ride in chapter 22, this week we will study and complete chapter 23 which deals once again with the issue of death. Yes, while Issac's life was on the line in chapter 22, this time, Abraham's wife of many years, Sarah, will pass away at the ripe old age of 127. And for the first time in the book of Genesis, we will read how the living deal with the loss of their loved ones.

In the loss of Abel, it was God dealing with a very unrepentant Cain. In the case of the flood, we never see Noah or any of his family members dealing with the massive loss of life. When Sodom and Gemorrah were destroyed, we saw a glimpse of emotion in the lives of Lot and his wife, but again, these were not righteous people and our text was vague to say the least. In chapter 23, however, Sarah, who is a member of God's covenant community, will die of natural causes and will be mourned by her loving husband, Abraham. For the first time in our Genesis study, we learn how the Godly mourn and deal with the loss of their beloved. And in so doing, we too learn how we can honor God in times of great grief.

Genesis: Book of Beginnings
Sundays @ 10am (please arrive early)
INSIDE the Midway Movie Theater
www.fhcchurch.com

Snow Miracle

This weekend, NYC (and the entire Northeast) got pummeled with multiple inches of snow. Here in Queens, we racked up between 10-12 inches and it literally brought the city to a halt. However, we had to have church this Sunday despite the weather for a number of reasons.

#1 - since we use a movie theater for our church services, if they are "open," then we are required to pay the weekly rental fee no matter our attendance or even the ability of the church staff's (including the pastor's) ability to attend. Our theater is one of the top theaters in Queens, and they NEVER close! For us to bail would be an incredible waste of God's money.

#2 - it's the last Sunday before Christmas! Many people who never attend church throughout the year, make it a point to at least attend this specific Sunday and Easter Sunday. With such an opportunity to reach unsaved people, how could we NOT have church?

#3 - we're in the middle of an intense passage in our current sermon series! Since January 4, 2009, we have been preaching our way through the book of Genesis. We have read and preached every single word in the book, and we have now come to the place in the Abraham narrative where God asks him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. How could we not preach this salvific and magnificent passage on the Sunday before Christmas?

#4 - it's about the word, not attendance. (This point goes hand-in-hand with the previous point, but in a slightest different direction.) Even if it was just myself in church today, it would be worth it because my being there and preaching would enable us to record and Podcast our message. Hundreds, if not thousands, who may be trapped at home, stuck on a train, or whatever will still be able to learn about God's salvation so long as the church would conduct a service.

#5 - church is all about Jesus! I love going to church, hanging with my fellow believers, meeting new people, worshipping Jesus in music and the word, and praying for people to begin a relationship with Jesus, or strengthen an already established relationship. I love being in the midst of God's presence and seeing Him work. And, YES, He is alive and active outside of Sunday mornings, but you cannot argue the uniqueness of a Sunday morning worship environment. We had to have church this Sunday!

Despite an incredibly difficult journey to get to the theater in the snow (I had to shovel several members out and take advantage of 4-wheel drive), we had a fantastic turnout this Sunday! People came ready to worship, ready to hear from Jesus, ready to get serious about living in obedience, and ready to lay it all down for Him. People were saved today and all were blessed. I am so glad we didn't cancel, and I am so glad for technology that makes it possible for all to hear about Jesus, even when they are trapped indoors because of snow. Thank God, it's all about Jesus!

Christmas Eve Service

For the first time, Forest Hills Community Church is finally able to hold its very own Christmas Eve service. The campus will be lit by candlelight, wonderful live Christmas music will be performed, and we'll give an opportunity to reflect on the wonder of Jesus' birth. It is going to be an awesome experience, and we pray that you and your family will be able to join us for this special 1-hour event at the FHCC Campus location.

Let's face it: no one's life is perfect, and no one's life could possibly live up to the hype that commercialism places on the Christmas experience. We all buy crappy gifts, the gifts we get never last as long as we would like, we always feel sick and fat after dinner, and the day is never long enough, snowy enough, cold enough, "Hallmarky" enough, etc. Thus, it is easy to go into Christmas depressed and/or delusional with unrealistic expectations. For so many, Christmas is just a prozac moment waiting to happen. But, it doesn't have to be!

The biblical story of Christmas is all about simplicity and humility. The God of heaven and all eternity enters into time, arriving in a city of no more than a hundred or so people in a desert wasteland. He comes not as a regal and triumphant being, but rather as a helpless baby. His parents are not kings or leading citizens, but rather poor nobodies who come from a region in their country where a huge social stigma exists. Despite historical revisionism, there is no pageantry at His birth, but only a couple of livestock and some hillbilly shepherds. These are the facts surrounding the first Christmas, and this is exactly how God planned it to be: simply family and simply God.

Please consider joining us this Thursday night for a time of simply family and simply Jesus. Allow God the opportunity to put not just the holiday, but your life, back in perspective. Allow Him the joy of reminding you that it is all about His love for you. Allow us, His church and family, the opportunity to love on you. Let's celebrate the holiday with historical integrity; let's be all about Jesus and family.

FHCC Christmas Eve Service
Thursday, Dec. 24 @ 6:30pm
INSIDE the FHCC Campus (6708 Ingram St)
1-hour "kid friendly" service with refreshments following
www.fhcchurch.com

UNplugged Preview

Big night tonight, my hermeneutic peeps! Tonight we tackle the riveting story of Abraham's sacrifice of his only son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). There is simply so much packed into this 19 verse story, that we would spends weeks on the topic and it's many twists, turns, and implications. However, we must limit this talk to one night only; tonight!

Come out and learn the story the way it was meant to be told and understood. Join us as we break down some of the key words in the original language, wrestle with the secular and wrong interpretations of the text, and ultimately, proclaim how loving and good our God is and why he would ask such a daunting and riveting task from his man, Abraham.

Tonight, God is going to rock our world's, and I don't want you to miss it!

UNplugged: Interactive Bible Study
Monday Nights @ 8pm
Inside the FHCC Campus (6708 Ingram St, FHills)
www.fhcchurch.com

Listen to the Sermon. Download the Study Guide.