| Winning Ways - from Hillcrest Baptist Church, Austin, Texas | Contact Tom Goodman, Pastor |
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"Spiritually Homeless" The “good way” is the unchanging path of faith in God and faithfulness to him. It’s the path up the H.I.L.L. of Christian discipleship. A church is a place where we learn how to walk this ancient path. A church is essential to our spiritual growth. That’s why men and women who aren’t involved in a church are spiritually homeless. I don’t take that phrase lightly: We drive by physically homeless people in our city all the time. We take pity on people who are rootless, aimless, with no thought for the future or how they can contribute to society. In the spiritual realm, people are spiritually homeless until they get involved in a specific church. So, let’s pray for your homeless loved ones. God is convicting me that Hillcrest needs to figure out a way to reach out to your homeless sons and daughters who live in Austin, but for now I just want to be a prayer partner with you. Write me and let’s get to praying about the matter. Oh, and maybe you’re spiritually homeless yourself. If God is leading you to connect with Hillcrest, join me for my next “Discover Hillcrest” class. It’s Tuesday night, August 8, Blessings and Encouragement, —Tom Important Notes: Get Advertised! A little boy had just made his commitment to Christ, and he asked the pastor, "When can I get advertised?" The boy used the wrong word—but he had the right concept. When we become believers, we need to ask, "When can I get advertised? When can I publicly proclaim that I'm a believer in Jesus Christ?" You can get "advertised" at an outdoor baptism, Sunday, August 13. We're holding a Summer Fair at the Quarries that day. At the Fair, you can walk through our "Ministry Expo" in the air-conditioned recreation center and find out about the ministries and missions of our church. Then, after a free BBQ dinner, our praise band will lead us in worship by the lake. We'll celebrate the Lord's Supper and then baptize new believers in the lake. If you'd like to follow Jesus in the water immersion that the Bible calls baptism, contact me! Meet Your Deacon Candidates. Sunday evening, August 6, at 5:30 p.m. Our deacon candidates will share their testimonies with the congregation. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about these men! “Discover Hillcrest” and Supper. Spread the word about our next Discover Hillcrest class. It will be held TUESDAY EVENING, August 8, Summer Fair. Mark your calendars for Sunday evening, August 13. We’ve rented the Quarries for a Summer Fair! Get ready for an indoor Ministry Fair and BBQ, and an outdoor worship service that includes communion and lakeside baptisms! We need to know you’re comings, so write Jami, at jami@hbcaustin.org and tell us how many of your family we’ll need to prepare for! Hillcrest Institute of Lifelong Learning. The Fall semester of the Hillcrest Institute begins in just a few weeks. Review the courses and Links to Your World You probably heard about the Christian film that the MPAA rated “PG” because one of the main characters encouraged another character to “look to Jesus.” I got a kick out of “Rated "R" for Religion?” which is a tongue-in-cheek look at how the MPAA might view overly-religious classics. In “From Christ's Church to iChurch,” find out how consumerism undermines our faith and community. Read “Christians live in fear,” and pray for this Christian community of perhaps 100 people who lives in terror, especially after this spring, when another of its members, named Abdurrahman, was threatened with trial and execution for religious treason. You’ll find more articles and commentary at my blog, “Get Anchored,” including God’s opinion of terrorism and my opinion of TLC’s new show, “The Messengers.” Get Anchored is a new location for my blog. I’ve moved my comments off Myspace and on to Blogspot. Check it out, and assign the site to your feedreader today! Do you know friends who would appreciate Winning Ways? Just forward this Have you subscribed to Winning Ways? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your FRESH NEWS AT HILLCREST UPDATED WEEKLY: www.HillcrestAustin.org LISTEN TO RECENT SERMONS: Click here MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Click here. If you do not have access to the web, please send a note to newsmaster@hbcaustin.org to tell us of any changes you would like to make. |
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