Gather with other men of Mariners for some great food and an encouraging message from God’s Word through guest speaker, Marc Mero, former WCW and WWE wrestling champion. More information and register or search “breakfast” on our website.
Men’s Breakfast with Guest Speaker Marc Mero
Sat, Mar 5, 8-10a, Community Center
Former LA Rams Quarterback Jeff Kemp joins OCCO as the keynote speaker for this year’s Prayer Breakfast. To purchase tickets or for more info about Orange Coast Christian Outreach Week, visit their website or contact Pamela Curry, pamelacurry@cox.net
52nd ORANGE COAST MAYORS’ PRAYER BREAKFAST
Fri, Mar 4, 7-9a, Hotel Irvine
Raising your children in a God-honoring way is the beginning of their journey toward the life God intends for them. We want to encourage you in this important commitment. For more info search “Dedication” or contact Cole, cbeshore@marinerschurch.org
Sun, Mar 6, during services
This is a 4th and 5th grade only event! Enjoy a night of fun, food, and bouncing with friends and leaders! Search “Sky High” on our website or click here for registration.
SKY HIGH
Fri, Mar 11, 5-7:30p
Drop off and pick up is at Sky High
2970 Airway Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
What a great time we had last Sunday! I loved the energy and excitement we experienced by all being together. A couple little fun facts… we gave away just over 1,000 hamburgers and handed out over 400 root beer floats. Now that’s a good day at church! As a reminder, this Sunday we are back to our regular service times, 9&11a.
We have a saying here at Mariners Ocean Hills, “we are in community, for the community.” Well, this Saturday we are going outside our community and heading to Mexico. Please be praying for us as more than 50 from our church are heading down to build, not just one, but two houses. Join us this Sunday – we’ll be sharing some amazing stories of all that God did within our group and in Mexico. And the great part about the trip is we are able to build those houses because of your generosity. You are making a difference in the lives of the poorest of the poor. Way to go! Thank you for your heart for those in need.
I’ll see you Sunday. We’ll be continuing our series Art of Relationships.
Blessings,
Jeff
I’m so encouraged at the stories I’ve been hearing about how the Art of Relationships series is impacting your lives and relationships. Every week you have been telling me on the patio, emailing me, or stopping me at the coffee shop to let me know how God has been restoring hope through forgiveness, healing and restoration. It gives me great joy to know you’ve been inviting your friends and neighbors to join you in this adventure and that their lives are being changed as they discover truth that transforms lives in community with us here at Mariners.
Last weekend was amazing as Doug Fields invited and challenged us to be the church that reaches the next generation. Many of you reached out this week and asked how you can be a part of the story we are writing as the church that changes culture through the next generation. If you want to jump into this adventure with Doug and me, you can simply email nextgen@marinerschurch.org and we’ll get you connected for your next step.
This weekend is the finale to our series and it promises to be amazing! When we were creating this series, one of the issues that consistently rose to the top of the “must discuss” list was sexuality. The world sells us such an incomplete and inconsistent view of sex, so we are going to look at what God says about our design as well as remember the meaning and purpose of sex. (This will also be a VERY PG-13 conversation, so you’re going to want to make sure to drop your kids off at Port Mariners before you come to church.)
We’re also setting aside time for a “Healing Service.” At the end of our services each week we mention that prayer for healing is available with our elders and leaders. With this in mind, we are inviting the elders and leaders to come down front at the end of the service to pray in the room as part of our experience together. This is a time to allow the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, through the context of our prayers for one another, to bring freedom, healing and hope, while restoring our identities as we pray through James 5 together.
I want to invite you to prepare your heart for what God wants to do and invite your friends and family to join as this promises to be a beautiful weekend! We will see and experience the power of the Gospel to transform lives on display as we walk into healing together.
Peace,
Kyle
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household.”
DEUTERONOMY 6:20-22
I, like so many of us, overuse my phone. I don’t need it to do everything it can do. Nevertheless, I choose to use it too much. I use the navigation feature to get me to places I’m already familiar with in hopes of shaving precious seconds from the trip, discovering an unknown route that circumnavigates all the riffraff stuck in traffic. I recently downloaded a new navigation app that enables me to change the voice of the trip narrator. Granted, nearly all navigation apps do this, but this one is a bit more unique. Yesterday, I drove from our house in Mission Viejo to an appointment in Irvine while the voice of Morgan Freeman told me where to go. Because his voice was released as part of an upcoming action movie promotional campaign, the navigation felt like it had the seriousness of international espionage.
The journey from my house started with this call to action: “There are those who would like to see you fail on your journey. That’s not going to happen on my watch.” When I had to go through a roundabout, Mr. Freeman’s regal and important voice led me onward with: “At the roundabout, take the second exit… for freedom.”
“Yes,” I thought to myself, “this drive through suburbia and my upcoming meeting — they were about freedom.” Suddenly, I felt like the whole balance of global security rested on my ability to get to Irvine (It is worth noting that one of the other voices available for download is Colonel Sanders. His voice didn’t have the same kind of gravitas as Morgan Freeman, though it did make me briefly consider all eleven of the herbs and spices in his original recipe.). The intent of something like Morgan Freeman helping me on my journey through all the pitfalls of my perilous commute was to give my drive an ironic sensation that I was living in the midst of story that was bigger than myself — that I was part of a something with implications I could not possibly fathom. It worked. It’s pretty fun. It is, however, hard to explain to the police that I was violating the basic speed laws… for freedom.
As we’ve been reading in the Daily Walk Bible, the Israelites are making their long journey out of Egypt… for freedom. Moses instructs his people to tell the story to future generations who have not known the captivity of the past personally. The story of freedom is reason behind the necessity of obedience: “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt…” In other words, when it feels like a boring commute, rather than a journey of staggering importance, remember that this is part of a bigger story in which God orchestrated a path to freedom from captivity at his expense. Obedience, then is merely the way in which we live as God’s newly freed people.
Today, the context of the story has changed, but the message hasn’t. We’re a community of people WHO HAVE BEEN moved from captivity, into freedom. And, we’re also a community of people WHO ARE BEING moved from captivity, into freedom. The Bible tells us that the journey behind us and the journey ahead are as perilous as they are glorious. So, we tell the story of freedom. We live the story of freedom. We invite people longing for freedom to join us.
This Sunday night at Vision Night, we’ll get a primer on what God, the bringer of freedom, intends to do with our church in the next year of ministry. We’ll eat together. We’ll celebrate what God has done. We’ll eagerly anticipate what he’ll do in the future. Let us know you’re coming by clicking here so we can make sure we have enough food, childcare, etc. If Mariners is the place you serve and lead, or if you’re curious and passionate about our church, join us. For those of you who might miss your version of the Super Bowl, set your DVR to record the chunk of the Oscars you’ll miss. Catch up during the commercials and feel free to judge everyone’s poor fashion sense without missing anything… for freedom.
See you soon,
Jeff
![HBMessageFrom-Banner-Jairus2[2]](http://marinersmedia.org/compass/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/HBMessageFrom-Banner-Jairus22.jpg)
Hello Mariners HB!
I’m really happy to be upright and outside as I write this note after battling the flu. It not only took me out last weekend, but Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday as well. Nothing reminds me more of the blessings we share than being cooped up inside and not able to do the normal things of life.
I am ready to worship God with a newfound excitement. I hope you are too. This weekend we will be introducing a new song. We are committed to continuing to bring new music that focuses our hearts and minds toward Christ and reminds us of who we are. If you want a head start on learning the song, click here and come ready to sing it loudly on Sunday.
Can’t wait to worship with you!!
Jairus
P.S.: We’re continuing in our Art of Relationships series. Last week’s message was one of hope that you will want to hear…if you missed it, click here.
Relationships can often feel more like the art of war rather than the art of love. Join us as we learn what God’s Word says about navigating this important topic in our series, Art of Relationships.
Sundays: 9 & 11a
Thursdays: 7p (college/young adult)
Relationships can often feel more like the art of war rather than the art of love. Join us as we learn what God’s Word says about navigating this important topic in our series, The Art of Relationships.
Sundays: 9 & 11a
