There are more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees in other nations, more than 7 million displaced within Syria and more than 3 million internally displaced Iraqis. As a church, we are called to respond as we always do through partnerships and collaborative efforts. Find out more. Visit Disaster Response on our website and learn how Mariners Church is responding and how you can help.
Help us shape the future of our Mexico Outreach Ministry! We’re building our team of leaders, planners, coordinators and more. If you’re interested, please join us.
MEXICO NEXT STEPS INTEREST MEETING
Sun, Oct 11, 12:45-1:30p, 2nd Grade Classroom
Leave your to-do list at home and surround yourself in God’s creation with a community of women pursuing Christ. Speaker, Sheri Rose Shepherd, has a refreshing way of bringing the Word to life and renewing the eternal hope in our hearts. For more info and to register, click here.
Fri-Sun, Oct 16-18, Forest Home
Come ready for a fun night connecting with other families from Mariners, costume contests and bowling. Costume contest categories include: Best Theme, Funniest, and Most Creative. Get details and register online.
Saturday, October 10, 6-8p, $10/bowler
Saddleback Lanes 25402 Marguerite Parkway Mission Viejo, CA 92692
TEACHING STUDENTS TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE AND OBEY
We do Life Groups because we believe it’s the best way for students to begin their discipleship journey. Life Groups provide a safe place for students to share, question and discuss without fear of judgment or rejection, resulting in a deeper relationship with Jesus and each other. Groups are grade and gender specific, taking place in host homes all over Orange County. Ratios are kept at or below 8 students to every 1 leader. For more info and to sign up, click here.
JHM Life Groups
Wednesday nights starting Oct 7, 7-8:30p, $20, in homes
So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. GALATIANS 4:8
I confessed this week to a buddy: “My patience has no off-ramp.” There’s no gradual erosion of my patience. My patience just ends, like Thelma and Louise in a car over a cliff. I struggle to find a reason why this is so. Maybe, it stems from some kind of deeply embedded psychological wound. Maybe, it’s my diet. Maybe, it’s the weather (I’m certain there’s some correlation. I’m still waiting for MIT to release a study on the effects of humidity on patience). But, when my patience runs out, the proverbial “switch” is flipped. I’m done. I have nothing left. Not surprisingly, I don’t
typically do well in these circumstances. I say things I regret. I do things I wish I could undo.
I start to believe, at times, an unnerving truth — that this wild, untameable, impatient one is who I am. Impatient outbursts are the outcomes of my truest self. It is as if the most central part of my identity is my own lack of restraint. I live out of that seemingly intractable reality. I’m the one who punts the soccer balls of unruly first graders for not listening while I’m giving instructions to the eternally significant pee-wee soccer drill, “Sharks-and-Minnows” (I actually did this. It was awful. I mentioned it in last week’s message). That truth begins to take over everything else. It becomes who I am.
Yet, the Bible doesn’t seem to echo that particular belief about myself. It says something different. It says to me that I am not the sum total of my errors or my impulses. I am not just a collection of electrical and chemical signals. I am no accident. I am not the unwanted tag-along to a distant and swiftly moving morally upright gathering of Sunday people.
Instead, the apostle Paul writes: you (me, anyone who belongs to Jesus) are his child. No longer am I a ward of the state. No longer known am I known as the unflattering convergence of all things undesirable, I’m someone’s kid.
Years ago, a friend of mine, Roy Schenkenberger wrote a song about this very thing. You can listen to it here. In it, he sings:
“Invited home for dinner: every saint and every sinner:
WE ARE NOT ORPHANS ANYMORE
Sought after and pursued, we are made clean we are made new.
WE ARE NOT ORPHANS ANYMORE.
Forgotten and alone, the one who’s wandered far from home
WE ARE NOT ORPHANS ANYMORE
To the tired and confused, the ones with nothing left to lose
WE ARE NOT ORPHANS ANYMORE”
Children are not guests in their own home. Kids can take freely from the refrigerator (provided it’s not immediately before dinner). Children invite their friends over. They eat Otter pops. They make messes. They have responsibilities. But, they’re always family. This Sunday, we’ll talk about this piece of our identity that we often neglect. It will be a great opportunity to bring the “forgotten and alone” or the “tired and confused” — anyone needing to hear that God desires them to be a part of his family that, in Jesus, “we are not orphans anymore.” We’ll celebrate communion together — affirming that Jesus has prepared a seat at the table for us.
See you Sunday,
Jeff
Fall is a time for connection and creating new rhythms in everyday life. It’s an opportunity to reconnect, cultivate new relationships and find community. Wherever you are in your journey, we encourage you to take your next step and write your name at Mariners Church.
Join us for Fall Kick Off at Mariners Church this weekend!
Connect with women of all ages and stages who are feeling alone, discouraged, weary and distant from God as a result of life’s trials. We all share one common question: “Where is He?” You are not alone! Join us as we find community, connection, encouragement and ultimately strength and faith in God once again. Questions? More info and register here or contact Catherine, bairfamily@cox.net
Mondays, Sep 28-Nov 30, 6:30-8:30p, $15pp, Upper Room
Women’s Fall Bible Studies
We’re excited to offer two studies, the Sermon on the Mount (morning study) and The Beatitudes (evening study), as we discover what it was like to learn at the feet of Jesus. More info here or contact Wendi, wkato@marinerschurch.org
Thursdays, Sep 24-Nov 19, 9:30-11:30a, Lobby $35
Thursdays, Sep 24-Nov 19, 7-8:30p, Upper Room, free
Childcare available: $45/1 child, $25/each additional child
