Sometimes life presents us with undeniable opportunities...
This has recently been my experience. I am a strong advocate of higher education and believe that everyone should have the chance to better themselves through academics. For this reason I am returning to OCU to finish my master's degree. Already 1/2 way in and finding it harder and harder to manage full-time work and full-time school, I've made the difficult decision to leave St. Luke's.
My time at St. Luke's as Director of Welcoming Ministries, connection coordinator, marketing guru, and all of my other unofficial capacities has truly been a wonderful experience. I will still be worshipping in LifeLight each and every Sunday morning. I will still be attending Wednesday Night Alive book series, as I feel that these are the "stuff" that life is made of. My friends, my coworkers and truly my family of faith are such an important part of my life, I would still like to invite you to "come and see." Come and see what God is doing in the life of St. Luke's.
When the weight of the world is falling down on us through, rising gas prices, rising food prices and political turmoil, what a great time to claim a church home.
If you are interested in joining the family of faith through membership, please contact Lindsey Coombes - 232-1371 or LCoombes@StLukesOKC.org
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
a path of life
"You show me the path of life.
in Your presence there is fullness of joy
in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16:11
Pathways, highways and byways. This month we're exploring a new path of life. It's based on the book, "3 Simple Rules, A Wesleyan Way of Living," by Bishop Reuben Job. The August sermon series at St. Luke's kinda hits you right between the eyes. The rules are as follows:
1. Do no harm
2. Do good
3. Stay in love with God
Easy enough...or is it? After the introduction of the sermon series yesterday, Afterglow, my small group was discussing this question. This seems like it should be a no-brainer, but why is it so hard to live out? The first two seem almost overlapping or intertwining. Isn't not harming another, doing good? And by doing good, aren't we choosing to not harm another?
And what we decided is that if we can stay IN LOVE with God the other two will come naturally. "In love" with God is not merely loving God. "In love" is more intimate, more personal...
The world is bigger than we are, but if we can handle all of the situations we encounter with unending love what a different place this world would be.
in Your presence there is fullness of joy
in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16:11
Pathways, highways and byways. This month we're exploring a new path of life. It's based on the book, "3 Simple Rules, A Wesleyan Way of Living," by Bishop Reuben Job. The August sermon series at St. Luke's kinda hits you right between the eyes. The rules are as follows:
1. Do no harm
2. Do good
3. Stay in love with God
Easy enough...or is it? After the introduction of the sermon series yesterday, Afterglow, my small group was discussing this question. This seems like it should be a no-brainer, but why is it so hard to live out? The first two seem almost overlapping or intertwining. Isn't not harming another, doing good? And by doing good, aren't we choosing to not harm another?
And what we decided is that if we can stay IN LOVE with God the other two will come naturally. "In love" with God is not merely loving God. "In love" is more intimate, more personal...
The world is bigger than we are, but if we can handle all of the situations we encounter with unending love what a different place this world would be.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Change
I'm sure we've all heard the saying, "The only constant thing in life is change." The first time I heard this phrase I was a little confused. "Really? The only thing we can count on is that once we think we have it figured out, it'll change," I thought. And so far, that's been about the best advice I've ever received.
Fall Kickoff 2006, St. Luke's brought in a special speaker that gave a talk on the Blueprints of Life. His advice was simple. If you've drawn the blueprints for your life...tear them up. God has something bigger and better for your life than you can even imagine. How many times do we try and put our plans in cement and the eathquake comes along and shakes things up? I know these are the times I become disappointed, and possibly frustrated that things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. The good news is, the big guy's in our corner and he knows what we need in life. This seems so simple when put in writing, the hardest thing is, there's alot of meat here. If this was easy in application then I wouldn't be writing about it right now. Faith, trust, understanding, patience are all abstract concepts. I can't objectify faith. I can't objectify trust or understanding. And I definitely can't objectify patience. This is why it's so hard. We all have to practice patience, understanding, trust and have faith in the things we cannot see, in order for this to work. WOW! That's alot! Right? But it's not impossible.
Take a leap of faith this week, and see what's in store for you.
Fall Kickoff 2006, St. Luke's brought in a special speaker that gave a talk on the Blueprints of Life. His advice was simple. If you've drawn the blueprints for your life...tear them up. God has something bigger and better for your life than you can even imagine. How many times do we try and put our plans in cement and the eathquake comes along and shakes things up? I know these are the times I become disappointed, and possibly frustrated that things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. The good news is, the big guy's in our corner and he knows what we need in life. This seems so simple when put in writing, the hardest thing is, there's alot of meat here. If this was easy in application then I wouldn't be writing about it right now. Faith, trust, understanding, patience are all abstract concepts. I can't objectify faith. I can't objectify trust or understanding. And I definitely can't objectify patience. This is why it's so hard. We all have to practice patience, understanding, trust and have faith in the things we cannot see, in order for this to work. WOW! That's alot! Right? But it's not impossible.
Take a leap of faith this week, and see what's in store for you.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Commitment
What does it mean to be committed? I have plenty of friends that are dealing with this issue as they look at the relationships in their lives. From friendships, to dating relationships, to marriage...what does it mean to be committed? CP's philosophy on commitment is simple, maybe over-simplified, but pretty black and white (with shades of grey).
The commitments in our lives should be ones that bring out the best in us. A commitment to your family is one of pride, of lineage, of support and unfailing love. A commitment in a relationship should be one that continually lifts you up and moves you forward in your life's journey. And that's how I view a commitment to your family of faith. Unfailing love, support in good times and the bad and growing ever closer to God by being surrounded by His followers, these are only a few of the privileges offered by being committed to your house of worship.
This Sunday is membership Sunday. It's the culmination of our Summer Sermon Series on "The Tie that Binds." We've looked at what it means to be a part of the Methodist church through prayers, presence, gifts, service and this week we'll talk about witness. I would encourage you to prayerfully consider coming forward this week and joining St. Luke's in it's mission to Share God's love, Grow in our faith and Serve the community.
Email me with questions or comments! CPerrier@StLukesOKC.org
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Welcome Tour
Interested in visiting St. Luke's for the first time? Or maybe you just haven't had the opportunity to venture around the space...watch our quick video to get an idea of the St. Luke's campus.
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