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Hillcrest Church Office
May 19, 2004
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Here is this week's WINNING
“Year Two”
by Tom Goodman
The timing was perfect. On Vision Sunday this past weekend, Bob Smith gave me a sandwich bag of small rocks.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I just got back from Israel,” he said, “and I got you five smooth stones from a stream in the valley of Elah.”
It was a perfect first-anniversary gift. You see, it was from the stream running through the valley of Elah that a little shepherd boy named David picked up five smooth stones as his weapons against the Philistine giant Goliath
(1 Samuel 17:40). One of those stones made its way from David’s slingshot to Goliath’s forehead, and the giant tumbled down.
We won’t be able to move forward without killing a few giants—the largest are named Fear and Apathy. You can bet that my gift of “five smooth stones” will be prominently displayed in my office as a reminder that in God we have everything we
need to face our giants. Thanks for the gift, Bob and Sherry, and thanks to all of you who made our Vision Sunday and my first anniversary a great day!
In addition to what God did with us in the morning this past Sunday morning, the Hillcrest Family experienced a wonderful time of sharing Sunday night. It was our staff’s first time to officially present the Fall Schedule Proposal to the
church, and then we broke up into small groups to share comments and prayer requests. At typical “town hall” meetings, we only have time for about two dozen people at microphones. Because of the small-group format, instead of two dozen
speaking, two hundred people got a chance to share their thoughts with other members of the Body and have prayer together.
I asked the Hillcrest Family to turn in cards with questions and comments, and I’ve prepared a FAQ Sheet (Frequently Asked Questions). You can pick it up the next time you’re at church, or go online at: