Join us for a Christmas service, Scripture and Song, The Messiah has Come, Sunday, December 10, at 4:30 p.m. Through a lessons and carols format of music and Scripture readings, we will celebrate the story of God’s redemptive plan for mankind through the coming of our Savior. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to invite friends, family, and neighbors to hear the story of the incarnation of Jesus.
Following the service, we will have a churchwide supper in the Fellowship Hall. This is a catered meal, so we must have an accurate count of those planning to attend no later than Wednesday, December 6, so please sign up below and make your plans to join us!
Ladies, please make your plans to join us for our annual Women’s Christmas Brunch, Oh, Holy Night, on Saturday, December 2, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We will enjoy a delicious brunch prepared by Peter Selby, followed by a talk from our dear sister, Liz Stratton. Liz served as our Director of Women’s Ministries for many years prior to God leading her family to a new ministry in Brevard, North Carolina. We are so excited to have her return and share how the Lord has been working in her life.
The brunch is a wonderful opportunity to invite friends, neighbors, and co-workers as your guests. Tickets are $10 per person and will be available for purchase in the South Lobby and online beginning Sunday, November 12. Seating is limited, so get your tickets right away.
We hope that you, your daughters, and your guests will join us for a beautiful morning filled with wonderful food, fellowship, and encouragement as we head into the Christmas season!
All Heritage men are invited to our annual Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, November 4, at 7:30 a.m. in The Cave. We’re excited to welcome Jimmy MacPhee as our speaker. Jimmy has a testimony of God’s grace to him through terrible choices in his life resulting in over 40 years in prison. Come hear this story of grace and learn about Jimmy’s current ministry. One of our goals for this breakfast is to invite friends and contacts from our community who don’t know Christ, so think about who you will bring with you that morning.
Here’s how to prepare:
Pray. Ask God to use His Word to point men to Himself.
Sign up. We need to know that you’re coming so that we can prepare adequate food. Please sign up no later than noon on Wednesday, November 1.
You are welcome to share this email as you invite your friends. We are looking forward to a great time together on Saturday, November 4.
We are excited to be able to host Trunk or Treat again this year on Friday, October 27. If you live in our community, we invite you to join us! In addition to lots of trunks with free candy, there will be free hot dogs and magic shows at 6:30, 7:00, and 7:30 p.m.
Heritage family, in the past, we have had big crowds, so let’s be eager in opening our hearts and arms to people from all over our community. Every member of is encouraged to participate in several ways.
Pray. Ask our Father and God to open doors for the Gospel. Ask Him to give us eternally significant conversations with people who are searching for joy and purpose and meaning—people who need a Savior.
Plan a “Trunk.” Start thinking about some creative design ideas, and sign up online or in the North Lobby beginning on Sunday, October 8. Our goal is to have 50 decorated trunks in our parking lot this year.
Donate candy. Whether or not you are able to participate in Trunk or Treat on October 27, you can contribute to our church’s community outreach by donating candy. Buy wrapped fall candy and bring it to church; we need lots and lots! Drop it off at the display in the North Lobby.
In past years we’ve seen more people come onto our property and interact with us through Trunk or Treat than through any other event. This is a creative way that we can reach out into our community and communicate our love and care for people. We don’t know how our God may work, but may Christ use our efforts to bring us into contact with seekers who need the Savior!
Men, our fall Bible study begins soon, and we’ll be looking into the book of I Samuel together on Thursdays at 6:15 a.m. or 7:00 p.m. We all serve someone or something. That someone or something will have our ultimate allegiance. After the period of the Judges, Israel wanted a king. They chose a king like the other nations, which led to disaster. Then God chose a king they needed. In our study of 1 Samuel we’ll see the reign of David and hints of a future king that we all need. The study begins on Thursday, September 28. Sign up and get your book ($5) this Sunday or next in the South Lobby or sign up online. If you sign up online, be sure to stop by the table to get your book. Join your brothers for encouraging times in the Word and in prayer. The study continues through Thursday, November 2, and will meet in The Cave.
Questions are good and normal and needed. In any meaningful relationship, we ask questions to get clarity for any number of reasons: so that we don’t make assumptions, so that we can be helpful in our life and work together, and so that we may reason together when that’s needed.
Our relationship—elders and congregation—is not so different in that respect. We love one another and mean to work well together for our shared mission. So, let’s engage in a little Q&A, hosted this year on Sunday, November 12, at 4:30 p.m.
What’s the Purpose of This Q&A?
Here’s an important clarification we make each year: this event is not in response to a crisis. This event is not for the airing of opinions. Don’t worry if you’re new around here and scared of an event like this. This is not one of our more embarrassing evenings in a year, but one of our most encouraging evenings.
God’s charge to elders is to be prepared to apply and proclaim the Holy Word in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). It reminds them of their charge to cherish Christ so much that they can answer with Christ at any time (1 Pet. 3:15). It also gives individual elders an opportunity to minister to everyone all at once (1 Pet. 5:2).
In bullet points here is why we host this evening each year:
To promote a culture of openness and vulnerability.
To model healthy question asking and answering.
To enhance our elders’ unity and insight into the ministry.
To clarify any ambiguities or gaps in our leadership for our members.
To instruct in biblical eldership and increase the visibility for our team.
To update the congregation on any timely projects or studies we’ve been working on.
We’ll plan for an hour and fifteen minutes.
Get Us Your Questions by September 30
If you have a question—think doctrine, church life, plans for our shared mission, etc.—you can get it to us in a variety of ways. Include your name with your questions so we can follow up if that’s needed.
Tell. Communicate your question for the Q&A to an elder in person or through email. They’ll ask you to write it down so that we don’t lose your intent in translation, but you’re welcome to start with a conversation.
We’ll also have some time available in the evening to answer questions from you in a more impromptu.
As a help in this process, aim to submit your questions by the close of September, September 30. This lead time helps us notice recurring themes, know how to devote time to particular questions, discuss any topics as a team if needed, and order our time in a way that best serves the congregation. We’ll certainly consider any questions that come in after that date.
As a reminder, we won’t be able to answer every question that gets asked. However, if you put your name on a question and we did not answer it at the Q&A, we will reach out to answer that question for you in person or by email. In some cases, we may devote a blog-post to the topic.
Before the Q&A, get acquainted with Heritage’s elders at the About Page. Also, here’s the recap from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 for those that couldn’t join us in previous years.
