Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

Ordinary You
by Tom Goodman
October 10, 2007

This Sunday I begin a new series in our study of the Gospel of Matthew. It's called "What God Can Do with Ordinary You." Across the next 6 weeks we'll look at the 12 Apostles, and we'll discover that they're not very different than you or me. The study series will encourage you to yield to God's molding of your life.

This Sunday is also the big day we've been planning and praying for: Connection Sunday! We expect to see around 200-250 new friends this Sunday.

Here's what you need to do to get ready for Connection Sunday:

Pray. Ask God to do his marvelous work in our midst!

Take the shuttle. Expect our parking lot to be crowded. Let our families with small children and our older adults have the church parking lot. Drop your family off at the front door of the church, and park at Anderson High School. We'll be running two buses.

Meet your Sunday School class or Common Ground group at 9:30am. You will be released by 10:15am to make your way to the Worship Center.

Let your kids follow their Sunday normal routine. Our Children's Ministry leadership will operate their normal Sunday morning schedule.

Worship in one combined service at 10:30am. Our praise band from the first service and our choir and orchestra from the second service are combining for a great worship experience. Remember: the service begins at 10:30 this Sunday, not 10:45!

Sit near the front. Save the back seats for late arrivals.

Attend the lunch only if you're connecting people to our church. The lunch we're serving after the worship service is an outreach event, not a fellowship event. That means it's only for: (1) our guests, (2) members who have signed up to be hosts, and (3) members who have let us know they are bringing guests. If you're planning to bring a guest, call the church office at 345-3771 so we can plan the lunch count.

Ask your Sunday School teacher or Common Ground host what your Bible study group will do to reach our guests. Our Connection Campaign doesn't end this Sunday: it begins! After October 14, be ready to do your part in reaching the 400 households who've expressed interest in Hillcrest.

Work Day Before Connection Sunday. Join us for a day of "sprucing up" the facility: Saturday, October 13, 8:30 to noon. A list of our projects can be found here.

Shuttle Parking! We need 30 cars to park at Anderson High School and take our shuttle on Sunday, October 14. This will free up space for our guests as well as for our members who are older or who have small children.

A Sample of "Links to Your World" -- from my weblog, "Get Anchored"

"Munch a Moth" -- one man's answer to the downunder bug infestation.

Appalling: A crowd steals groceries from a dying elderly man who was hit by a truck. Tell me again about the "innate goodness" of human beings....

How the first day of the week went from the Lord's Day to Christian Sunday.

A slideshow of the Parable of the Prodigal Son in art.

25 Skills Every Man Should Know: Which one(s) do you need to learn?

See more links at my weblog, "Get Anchored" (click here).

Do you know friends who would appreciate Winning Ways? Just forward this e-mail to them!

Have you subscribed to Winning Ways? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given away to anyone, and you can automatically change your subscription or drop it by following the easy steps provided with each e-mail.

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.