No "Big Care Group" Meeting in November

We will not be having a "big care group" this month. This Friday we will be in our separate care groups.

Embassy Suites

Sovereign Grace Church will be at the Embassy Suites THIS Sunday. The Embassy Suites is located off of Verdae Dr. Directions can be found on our website.

Big Group This Friday

We are looking forward to seeing you all this coming Friday night, October 1 at 6:30pm at our Singles Big-Group meeting!

Instead of meeting in the now regular Singles Caregroups, we will be meeting at the Bent Creek Clubhouse, on Marcie Rush Lane (picture of the facility and directions are below).

This is the location for all of our Singles Big-Group meetings, which will occur on the first Friday of each month.

We will be having a Potluck Dinner before we watch the first video in the Proclaim series. Please bring a main dish and a dessert. Dinner will begin at 6:30pm.

You can view directions to the club house HERE.

Movers Needed

Looking for something to do next Thursday and Saturday? Two couples in our church are moving and need some help. See below for more information…

Hey, guys,
We have two families--the McKelveys and the Sandifers--moving next weekend. The McKelveys are heading to Florida, the Sandifers to Virginia. It's a big job, and I'd love to get all the help we can in order to send them off smoothly.

The McKelveys will be progressively loading their truck next Thursday and Friday night (16-17 Sep), with the goal of heading out early Saturday morning. We'll probably get started around 6:30pm or so each night, but of course come when you can and leave when you need to.

The Sandifers will be loading on Saturday morning (18 Sep). We'll be starting around 9am, and they'd like to be on the road by early afternoon.

Obviously, the more help, the better. It would be great to let me (and the McKelveys/Sandifers) know if/when you're planning to help, but also feel free to spread the word and do some recruiting of your own. We have about a week!

All of grace,
Matt McCarnan

Notes from “Big” Meeting

Prov.3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

“Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.” - Jerry Bridges

1. Who we Trust – “Trust in the Lord”

a. Trust in God who is all-powerful

Dan. 4:35 – all the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing (they are not meaningless) it means that all of the inhabitants of the earth cannot diminish or thwart what God can do and wants to do… for He does according to His will…and no on can keep His hand from doing what He wills or charge God for what He has done.

Jer. 32:17; 26-27 'Ah, Lord God! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you…. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Isa. 26:4 "Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, {we have} an everlasting Rock.

b. Trust in God who is all-wise

Job 11:7-9 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea”

“To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God never learned and cannot learn.” - A. W. Tozer

c. Trust in God who is all-loving

2 Chron. 6:14 "…O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,

God even loves those who disobey Him:

Neh. 9:17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

His love never ends:

Psalm 136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

His love is not like ours:

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Nothing can separate us from Him love:

Romans 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eph. 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

Not only is God able to do what is best for you, He actually knows what is best for you and He loves you and wants what is best for you.

When the climb is easy – we can tend to forget Him

When the climb is hard, we may doubt Him

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

2. How we Trust - “with all your heart”

a. Your thoughts

b. Your emotions

c. Your desires & ambitions

3. How we Trust - Not in yourself – “do not lean on your own understanding”

a. Your wisdom

b. Your strength or abilities

c. Your family or friends

4. What Trust looks like –“in all your ways acknowledge Him”

a. In thought

b. In word

c. In deed

We are not saved by works – we are not saved by keeping the law – we are saved by faith

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. “

5. Trust and He will reward – “and He will make your paths straight”

Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Heart-felt prayer indicates a dependence on God to do what only God can do. A heart that doesn’t pray is a heart that says I can do this myself…

Do you believe that God’s love is such that you will not be kept from any, every good thing that God can rightly give you, that will be for your building up and growth?

The Big Group

We are looking forward to seeing you all this coming Friday night, September 04^th at 7:00pm at our Singles Big-Group meeting!

Instead of meeting in the now regular Singles Caregroups, we will be meeting at the Bent Creek Clubhouse, on Marcie Rush Lane (picture of the facility and directions are below).

This will be the meeting location for all of our Singles Big-Group meetings, which will occur on the first Friday of each month.

If everyone could bring a snack and a drink to the meeting it would be much appreciated. (You could even save money by bringing a snack and hanging out at the clubhouse instead of going out to a restaurant). If you are on the schedule to bring snacks (1 salty, 1 sweet, 1 drink) at your regular care group, please bring those snacks to the Big Group meeting.

If you have a folding chair, please bring that too, we need some extra seats for Friday night.

We are going to have a great night of worship, fellowship and fun – We can’t wait to see you all there.

You can view directions to the club house HERE.

Thanks!

A big THANK YOU to everyone that came out for our first Car Wash!

FREE Car Wash Info

As you know, tomorrow is our combined, Parent/Youth & Singles, Free Car Wash Outreach event.  We are looking forward to the event tomorrow and are anticipating that the Lord will bless our time together.

I believe that this will be a good chance to deepen relationships within the church and just serve people practically with God’s love.  Our prayer is that this practical expression of kindness will be a blessing to people and that we will have a chance to plant seeds of the gospel in people’s lives through our example and conversation.

In order to serve the community well, I’ve included a few important details for you below. Please be sure to read these before tomorrow, so that we can serve together more effectively.

• Arrival time: Please arrive at 8:30am, so that we can give you your assignment and be ready to wash by 9:00am. If you have signed up, we are counting on you to be there on time (unless you let us know of a different arrival time in advance).
• Location: Precision Detailing & Auto Shine. 1877 S Highway 14, Greer, SC 29650.  For directions via Google Maps, click HERE.
• Parking: we will need to park out back behind the location – please look for people with yellow parking vests on to direct you
• Assignments: We will need a lot of different people doing various jobs. We will do our best to put you in an assignment that is well-suited to you, however, we will rotate through different assignments to give people a break. We will have one of the following roles ready for you to serve in:
  • Washer
  • Dryer
  • Rinser
  • Greeter
  • Drink/Snack Server
  • Sign-holder
  • Traffic help
  • Floater (to engage in conversation with guests)
    
• Food: Please make sure you pack your own snacks and lunch - you will need the energy to stand out in the hot sun all morning and work!  We will supply water and soft-drinks.
  
• Finish Time: we are planning to be done by 1:00pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event tomorrow. I know it will be a fun and memorable time!

Your bro,
-Matt

Thank You! (Car Wash Info)

Thank you to everyone who contributed to snacks for our Car Wash this Saturday. Please pray for good weather and many opportunities to share the gospel!

Car Wash Info:

Saturday, August 28th

9am – 1pm

Precision Detailing & Auto Shine (Click HERE for map & directions)

Car Wash!!!

Saturday, August 28th

9am – 1pm

Please RSVP (yes/no) to Jessica. We look forward to seeing you there!!!

New Care Groups

We’re very excited about our new singles care groups. Need more info? Need contact info? You can find it HERE.

We are excited to see all that God will do through this multiplication, Enjoy your new care groups!

Yes, snack schedules will still be posted on the sidebar! New schedules are coming soon…

Desserts Galore

This Friday night will be our final time together in our current care group configuration meeting at our house.

For our time together, we will be having a time of worship together like we normally do but we will follow with a time for everyone to meet the Childs and the Barnetts and hear their testimonies, ask them questions and generally get to know them a little better.

After that, we will be having a dessert reception together to welcome them to the group and allow more time to speak with them individually on Friday night.  At the same time, we will use the time to celebrate what God has done in the Singles group over the past while as we look forward to multiplying the groups very soon.

So, in addition to bringing yourself, we are asking that everyone please bring their favorite dessert and a drink to share this Friday night, (instead of the typical snacks).

I’m looking forward to our time and we can’t wait to see you on Friday.

Your bro,

-Matt

Church-Wide Picnic

Join us for another church-wide picnic!

The Picnic will be a pot-luck style, laid back affair where we will have an opportunity to just gather together, play games, share in fellowship.

Click HERE for more information (and what to bring).

Want to volunteer? We need your help! Please contact Scott Triolo or Glendaliz Garcia. They will be happy to assign you to a team!

Extended Worship & Bonfire

We are meeting in an alternate location this Friday night for some extended worship, lots of snacks, fire and fun!

This Friday night, we will be meeting at the Barnett’s house at 7:00pm.

We will be having a time of extended worship outside and enjoy a bonfire and snacks at some point too – it should be great!

To make things more enjoyable, we’d like everyone who comes to bring a snack and a drink to contribute to the festivities.

Also, please bring a camp-style chair or outdoor folding chair. We wouldn’t want you to have to end up sitting on the ground.

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Your bro,

-Matt

Contact Jessica for directions, 864.346.2361 or jessica[at]sgcsc[dot]org.

Additional Hiking Info

• Meeting place: Wal Mart parking lot on Woodruff Rd.
• Meeting time: 8:00am
• Return time: no later than 6:00pm
• Destination: Sam’s Knob/Black Balsam, in the Pisgah National Forest (and possibly some smaller trails for folks who are up to it)

Details:

• The drive is almost 2 hours to the hike. The hike from the parking lot to the field where we will eat lunch is about a 20 minute hike max. (easy)
• (There will be restrooms about a 10 minute walk/hike from where we will be eating lunch)
• The hike from the field to the top of Sam's Knob is about 45 minutes at a walking pace. (moderate)
• Once we reach the top of the mountain there is plenty of room for people to have fun, enjoy the view and explore.
• If there are some individuals that are unable to hike Sam's knob we may be able to split the group and have one group stay in the field or head to the creek.
• From there, we will be hiking from the field down to a creek (about 20 minutes) to play around and cool off. This is of course after we come back down the mountain as there is only one trail up the mountain. (easy)
• We should have no problem getting back at 1800.

Items needed for each individual:

Items indicated by an * are optional but we should have at least 1 for every 5 people

• Hiking boots or shoes with strong ankle support (no crocs or open-toe shoes)
• Day pack (school backpack is fine)
• First-aid kit (can be in a ziploc bag: band-aids, antiseptic wipes or bottled) *
• 32 oz water bottle (can be 2 16 oz bottles if they want)
• rain jacket (can just be a large black trash bag if you don't have one)
• Matches *
• Packed Lunch
• Snacks (optional) such as granola bars, raisins & peanuts, apple, etc.
• Camera (optional)
• Pocket knife (optional)

 

If you have not RSVP to Jessica, please do so ASAP.

Snack Schedule

Snack schedule has been posted. See sidebar ----->

Hiking Trip!

The Parent/Youth group of our church will be taking a hiking trip on Saturday, July 17^th and I’d like it if all of the Singles can come along – to make it a Parent/Youth & Singles hike.

This will be a good chance not only to serve the Parents and Youth of our church, it will also provide you with a chance to build relationships with families in the church. In addition, your presence and example of godliness will be a good role model for the youth of our church, who could benefit greatly from having older brothers and sisters in Christ to look up to and follow.

We will be leaving at 8:00am on Saturday, July 17^th and heading up to the Brevard, North Carolina area for a day full of hiking, lunch together and fun.  We’d really love to have you there with us. 

Please e-mail Jessica[at]sgcsc[dot]org if you can make it and also let us know if you’d be interested in helping with coordinating the hike itself too (our very own Eagle Scout, Josh Pratt will be helping lead the effort).

It will be lots of fun!

Your bro,
-Matt

Care Group @ Childs

Care Group will be held at the Child’s home this Friday (July 10th). Please contact the church office if you need directions, 864.346.2361.

Baptism Video

Sovereign Grace SC Baptism from James Naisang on Vimeo.

Care Group Location Change & Picnic Help

Care group will be at Child’s home this Friday. Please contact the church office for directions, 864.364.2361.

Calling all Singles! We are still in need of volunteers for the Father's Day Picnic. Want to help? Contact Scott T., Glendaliz G., or Josh P. Thank you!!!

Don’t forget that we are all invited to the Crawford/Frank wedding THIS Saturday! Have a great week!!!

New City…New Focus

Start saving your pennies!!!

I Thank My God For You

Are you attending Next 2010? If so, we encourage you to pray for yourself and your friends!

While you are praying, don’t forget to pray for the countless volunteers that are serving you, so you can encounter God. To help fuel your prayers, check out this blog post…

I Thank My God For You (Praying For/Thanking the NEXT Team)

Care Group @ Child’s Home

Good morning! Matt asked me to let you know that care group will be meeting at Matt & Stacie Childs home, this week. Check your inbox, we have sent you their address and phone number. Didn’t receive it? Call the church office at, 864.346.2361.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Friday @ 7pm!!!

Yes, we will be back at the Rawlings on the following week!

No Care Group This Week

In light of the Family Meeting on Wednesday, there will be no care group tomorrow night (Friday).

Why Spend The Time & Money?

I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I realize that money just doesn’t grow on trees. And we all know that time is money. Taking time off for a conference can be a huge step of faith. Spending a couple hundred dollars can seem like millions. Why go? Especially when you can just download the messages from the comfort of your home. I recently came across this blog post and thought it may encourage you, get you excited about the conference, and answer some of those “Why” questions…

If you are like me, each year as you get ready to type your credit card code to sign up for NEXT; try to walk through the months of the year to figure out what month “9” is so you don’t mess up the expiration date; you eventually ask yourself this question “Why am I going to NEXT? Why spend the time? Why spend the money?”
For me it isn’t the thrill of packing in a hotel room with three other guys. It isn’t the rush of joy that I get seeing a Ninja in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee or the head ache I acquire from staying up until all hours of the night. Or the joys of trying to find your way to your Family Group in the morning. All those things are great don’t get me wrong…. They make awesome memories and God uses memories to build friendships so lets keep doing it!
But I keep coming back to NEXT year after year because I encounter the living God. I encounter God through the messages that cut through my sinful soul and strengthen me with truth; I encounter God in those sweet conversations late at night with a brother or sister in Christ; I encounter God through genuine worship to God through both singing and applying God’s word to my life. I walk away each year reminded, my God is real, he sent his son to redeem me and he is worthy of all praise I can give him.
I don’t know where you are at… maybe you punching in that credit card number just because you have done it year after year. Or maybe you have never been to NEXT, you don’t know anyone and it seems like a huge jump into the unknown. Or maybe you are college student and you have discovered money doesn’t grow on trees. If I could just urge you do what you can to make it to NEXT ’10….
I don’t know what God has in store for you, but I know this…. God will be there and you will encounter him…. And when Christians encounter God, wow big things happen! So sign up and maybe we will run into each other getting coffee from a Ninja.
Oh and by the way, September is the 9th month in the year….

Post taken from Next Blog: Why Spend The Time? Why Spend The Money?

I’m Too Poor To Attend

I want to go to Next ‘10, but I don’t have the finances. Times are tight and you can only budget so much. The Staff at Next know that it can be hard to find the dough to attend Next. So, they have come up with a couple of posts on the Next blog. Hopefully, it will give you some ideas and make finding cash a little easier.

You can find the link to their first post below. Check their blog later this week for more posts on practical fundraising.

I’m Too Poor To Attend (Fundraising Ideas) by Christopher Cooke

Next Deadline

Are you planning on traveling to Baltimore and rooming with us? If so, we need to know soon...very soon. Many details need to be finalized. These details cannot move forward until we hear from you. Please let us know by March 30th (yes or no).

Please contact Jessica at, 864.346.2361 or jessica[at]sgcsc.org.

Costs:
Registration - $150 - www.thisisnext.org
Hotel - $110 (Four people to a room).
Bus - $125

Please note: Registration increases on April 1st.

Next Promo Video

Next 2010 Promotional Video from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Go to www.thisisnext.org to find out more about Next 2010!

Care Group @ Payne's Home

Care Group will be held at Dan & Kimberly Payne's home, this Friday night (February 5th). We will be begin at 7pm.

You should have received an e-mail with their address and phone number. Didn't receive the e-mail? Contact Jessica at jessica[at]sgcsc.org or 864.346.2361.

We look forward to seeing you there!!!

Care Group Location CHANGE

This Friday (January, 29th) the Singles Care Group will be meeting at Wendy C’s house. Please check your e-mail for directions and parking instructions.

Didn’t get the e-mail? Please e-mail Jessica at, jessica[at]sgcsc.org.

Parenting Seminar

What!?! Why is there information about the Parenting Seminar on the singles blog? As Matt mentioned in care group, we would like your help. We are looking for babysitters!
Many families in the church will not be able to find childcare for this event. Would you consider volunteering to watch someone’s kids? This will enable both parents to attend. The classes are on Sundays from 3 – 5pm.
Class Dates:
February 28
March 14
April 11
April 25
May 23
June 13
June 27

Want to help, but don’t know who to ask? Click HERE to e-mail the church. We will gladly find a family for you.

Update on Haiti Relief Efforts

Below are some quick bullet points on developments in Haiti
1. Relief has begun getting into Haiti via the Dominican Republic (DR) 
What a unique, but powerful example of what it means to be a part of a ‘family of churches’. Al Pino (pastor in our Miami church) has been working with our contacts in the Dominican Republic (DR,) who we found out already had medical clinics in Port-Au-Price (PAP), to get additional resources to them to fund their work there. Thanks to the SGM Disaster Relief Fund we have already been able to get over $25,000 to them to continue their work in that area.  We are now looking over strategies to utilize these routes to get additional aid into the country, as well as specific help, for the churches/orphanages that we relate with in Haiti.

2. Doors continue to open each day.  Marlaine Alix was able to leave earlier this week to travel into Jacmel, Haiti via the DR to start an initial assessment of the needs there and to determine what we can do to further help them. She will be working her way back to Florida so we can continue to assess what the best next steps are soon. Both Daniel and Marlaine hope to travel there the first part of next week to begin evaluating local resources in the areas around the churches/orphanages that were hit. The churches in the DR have graciously offered to assist in whatever ways that they can in the initial response in Haiti. So, we are currently working to get those two groups in contact with one-another to coordinate their work. While Daniel and Marlaine are in Haiti, we are shifting our primary contact with them to their daughter Vanessa who will help us coordinate any efforts stateside as well as assist us in gaining a better idea of what is going on.
We have learned that most of the churches there, that did have buildings, were hit pretty hard during the earthquakes. At this time, it is difficult to get a clear picture of what exactly this looks like but it is not hard at all to quickly pray for those whose lives were completely changed in such a short time. In addition to the destruction of the church buildings and the loss of some church-members lives, many of the church members have lost their homes, loved ones and their livelihood.

3. What’s next?  This is a common question and one that we hope to be able to answer more clearly as we gather information on what is actually happening on the ground from our contacts. We are trying to sift through a myriad of information as it comes in rapid-fire succession from Haiti, the DR and other sources.
Please pray for wisdom to be able to sort through everything and determine the right course of action to pursue.

Right now we are mainly focused on directing our attention on the following

a. Offering what care we can to the leaders we have been working with in Haiti
b. Getting resources to the DR for their work in PAP
c. Pursuing opportunities to get additional relief into Haiti (targeting areas with churches/orphanages)
d. Assessing what the condition of the churches/orphanages is currently
e. Support for those who are there
f. Considering what long term impact we can have that would best serve the churches

4. What can our church do? – The fact that so many of you think and respond this way make it such a joy to serve these hurting people. Please focus people’s attention on two things right now: Pray, Give to SGM Relief Fund.

a. Prayer. Pray for all of those whose lives have been affected by this. Pray for protection from disease as well as protection from the violence that has resulted from the food, water, clothing and housing shortages. Pray for on-going funding and wisdom in the decisions that lie ahead. And lastly, pray for strength for those serving in that region.

b. Giving to the SGM Relief Fund. This allows us to quickly get needed resources into affected areas via the most direct means possible. It also offers us flexibility in getting resources into the country when there really are no other direct routes for now. Many larger and more experienced relief organizations are struggling to get resources in there right now, so we are being mindful of our role in the long term rebuilding efforts in that nation as well as in serving the churches in that region.  Although many would like to donate food or other good directly, it is difficult for us to manage the logistics of this and it is more expedient to work through funding local contacts to distribute relief and care.

5. Are we planning to send teams into Haiti? – This is a great question that helps confirm that our folks are really seeking to care for one-another in deed as well as in prayer and giving. Right now, this is not the most strategic way that we can support them at this time and right now, we are not able to send teams into Haiti. There are a number of factors being considered in this regard as we continue to monitor the situation on the ground and look at what we can do to best serve the people of Haiti.  In the days ahead, we will be trying to determine how we can best set our churches up for success in that nation. Pray along with us that God’s kingdom would come in the hearts and lives of the Haitian people. Since this is a part of an ongoing work in that nation, we will continue to re-evaluate the situation to see if we can be of help by sending service teams.

e-News

We’re trying out a new form of communication this week. Instead of sending you multiple e-mails, filling your inbox, and generally confusing you with data; we’ve decided to try out an e-Newsletter. Check your inbox! You should have the first ever SGC Singles e-News waiting for you. Please let us know if it serves you and what you think! We’re always open to ideas and suggestions.

Don’t have it yet? You can also view it online: http://mim.io/12f12

Haiti Disaster Relief

In response to the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti on Tuesday, Sovereign Grace Ministries has opened a Disaster Relief fund to help deliver food, medicine, and other needed aid there. We will distribute the funds we raise primarily through existing ministry contacts we have on the island—both in Haiti and the Dominican Republic—who are already involved in relief efforts.

If you want to join us in our support of these efforts, you can donate to the Disaster Relief fund on our website or by calling 800.736.2202. On behalf of our friends in Haiti, thank you for considering this opportunity to give.

Regardless of your ability to make a donation, please join us in praying that those affected by the earthquake would receive aid quickly, and that despite these hardships the gospel would continue to go forward in that nation.

Gift Wrap Pics

Here are some pictures from our Singles Gift Wrap Outreach and our Singles Christmas Party.



Thank you again for all your help. Both events were a huge success!