Church in the Wildwood

Mary P

On Sunday, May 11, we said goodbye to Mary Pangilinan, who entered into the presence of Jesus Christ early that morning.  Mary has been battling an aggressive form of cancer for several months.  Mary and her husband Bob, have been a crucial part of Wildwood Christian Church for years. 

On Thursday, May 15, 2008, at 11:00 am, funeral services will be held for Mary at the church building.  Visitation will be from 4-8pm on Wednesday, May 14, at Schrader Funeral Home.  A brief visitation is also available from 10:00 - 11:00 am prior to the funeral.

I am so thankful to have gotten to know Mary since we have moved to Wildwood.  Even in the midst of battling cancer, she has been a real encouragement to Patti and myself.  What a blessing to have known Mary and to see the faith in Jesus Christ that she had.

I love the words from Revelation 14:13, which apply to Mary.

Revelation 14:13, Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Please keep Bob, Cindy, Kevin, Tina, Theo, and Cathy in your prayers.

Mother’s Day was a special day here at Wildwood, and I am thankful for so many who were able to share in a time of worship.  It was also fun to honor moms and to encourage them with gifts. 

Evan had a special banquet to honor some of our graduating seniors on Saturday evening.  We have several seniors, but here are the names of the ones who were able to attend the banquet with their family on Saturday.  Matt McClellan, Sarah Wiesehan, Kelly Watts, Lucy Mosier, Sarah Engle, Doug Dunn, and Jordan Gonzalez.  We will show a video on Sunday so that you can see their faces!

In my reading this morning I meditated upon the following verses.  May they encourage your day!

Psalm 119:129-133, 129Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. 130The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 131I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. 132Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. 133Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

Because of Jesus,

Doug

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a great day to honor mom’s, I know I am so thankful for my mother!  She has provided a loving presence that has pointed the way to Jesus.  Here is a picture of my mother, Carol Vernon.  I love you mom!

We will be honoring our Mother’s this Sunday as we worship our Lord Jesus Christ.  We have a special gift for all of the ladies present, and a special time of celebration together.

Saturday is a special day that brings two key events here at Wildwood:

The first is a ladies luncheon held here at the church building.  Our ladies are working to make this a special time for the ladies.  This will be from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm and the cost is just $5.  Call Jan at the church office if you haven’t yet registered.

The second event is to honor our High School Seniors as they graduate.  This is a dinner which begins at 6:00pm and is also held here at the building.  Evan has been working hard to make this a special evening.

Sunday morning Jason will have more information about Vacation Bible School, so be ready to volunteer!

You can read 1 Samuel 1-3 in preparation for the message on Sunday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Emotions

We are registering for Vacation Bible School!  The dates for VBS are June 16-20, so don't miss out!  Click here to go to the registration information!  Jason and his crew has a great week planned!  VBS is each morning from 9:00am - noon.  This is a great event to invite your neighbors to as well!

Kevin and Erin Vernon are now husband and wife, and I couldn’t be happier!  Saturday, May 3, Patti and I were in St. Joseph, MO for the wedding of our son Kevin and his lovely bride, Erin.  It was a wonderful weekend to enjoy with family and friends, but most importantly to celebrate with Kevin and Erin.  I was honored to perform the ceremony, and made it through most of it without breaking up.  Of course when it is your son and he is marrying such a wonderful young woman, you can’t help but show your emotions.  Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement!  Check out some of the pictures in the photo album.

Thanks to Jason for preaching on Sunday!  It is great to have a staff like we have here at Wildwood, one that loves the Lord and works hard to make this a great church. Please take the time to express your appreciation to Jason for his message and the work that he does here with our children!

The next couple of weeks are big ones for so many of our families.  Graduation is a big event and a significant milestone.  I pray that our seniors and those graduating from college will follow the path that God has for them.  Evan has a special evening planned for our graduating High School seniors on Saturday.  Click here for more information.

Sunday is Mother’s Day and we will take time during our worship to honor moms!  I am so thankful for my mother and her love for the Lord!  Don’t forget to thank your mother and let her know that you love her!

See you Sunday!

The Church Family

How great was it to have Mary and Bob, along with their family on Sunday.  Bob and Mary have been such a significant part of Wildwood Christian Church over the years.  It is hard to see the toll that cancer has taken on her body, but her spirit and faith are amazing.  Keep Bob, Mary, and their whole family in your prayers.  Mary’s prayer is that God would deliver her from pain and would bring her home to heaven soon.  Give her a call this week at home and just encourage her.

What investment in your marriage are you making this week?  The challenge was to make a list of how you would treat your mate if you truly loved them.  Then for the next seven days, follow the list and see how it impacts your heart.  If you want to hear the message it is available for download on the church website.  Or, you can subscribe to automatically receive the messages each week through ITunes. 

Thursday, May 1, is the National Day of Prayer.  Our prayer ministry has made available a guide to assist you in your prayer.  You can follow this link to download that guide if you didn’t pick one up on Sunday.  You can also go to the National Day of Prayer Website to gain more help and information. 

Keep Evan in your prayers this week as he attends the Orange conference in Atlanta.  This is a great opportunity for Evan to be challenged, encouraged, and grow in his leadership at Wildwood.  I can’t express enough how important events like this are to Evan, Jason, and myself.  Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be encouraged and refreshed by attending great events! 

Jason preaches this Sunday as we are in Kansas City for the wedding of our son Kevin.  Pray for Jason as he takes on this extra responsibility along with his other duties.  I know that Jason will bless your walk with the Lord, so don’t miss it!  Thanks for your prayers as we celebrate with Kevin and Erin in their marriage!

We will see you on Mother’s Day!

Serving Wholeheartedly??

In my reading this morning one of the verses that hit home was David’s charge to his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9,

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you. (NIV)

The question came to my mind, am I acknowledging God in my life by serving him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind?  I know there are times when I fall short in my service to God, when the words “wholehearted” and “willing” just don’t describe my service.  Yet, God’s love pulls me closer to where He wants me to be.  His love for me is such a great motivation to honor Him.  So today, I commit to serving God with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind ... what about you?

The time together yesterday was a real encouragement to the marriages of Wildwood.  The passage from Ephesians 4 provided great insight to “fighting the good fight.”  If you missed out Sunday, you can download the message from the church website.  Here are a couple of the resources that I mentioned yesterday:

Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts, Les and Leslie Parrot

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, by John M. Gottman

The Parrots website is www.realrelationships.com

Don't forget to discuss the 2 questions:

What are words and phrases that tear down your mate?

What are words and phrases that build up your mate?

It was great to have Doug and Tammy Lay with us.  For those who don’t know, Doug was the interim preacher for several months in 2007.  He provided real encouragement and help through his preaching.  Doug is a professor at St. Louis Christian College. 

On a personal note, on Saturday we had a wedding shower for our son Kevin and his fiancée Erin.  Kevin and Erin get married on May 3, 2008, in St. Joseph, MO. Erin is a very special young lady who loves the Lord and loves Kevin. We are so excited to have a new daughter!!  They have asked me to perform the ceremony, so pray that I don’t cry through the whole message. 

Sunday I finish up the series We-Harmony.com with the message, “You Picked A Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille.”  Don’t miss it!!

Doug

Priorities Revealed

Another great day yesterday at Wildwood Christian Church.  I want to especially say welcome to Brian and Denae Larson along with their sons, Nate and Blake, as they placed their membership.  We also enjoyed a great dinner that was planned by Sheri Slattery and her crew.  Thanks to all who worked so hard to make that a great time of fellowship.

I was especially excited to announce the priorities the Elders and Staff have placed before us.  The priority of prayer, ministry, community, and outreach are vital to Wildwood being a God-honoring church.  As we look to the future we also realize the need of more space to minister to this community, so our Family Life Center is an important priority as well.

The question is this: which of the priorities is God leading you to help make a reality?  Here are the names of our Elders who are supporting each of the priorities; you can get in contact with the one that leads the area you want to be a part of.  Prayer – Jerry Martin, Ministry organization – Marv Raymond, Building Community – Harry Dillon, Outreach – Jake Molinet, Family Life Center – Ed McClellan.  You can find their contact information by following this link.

As we continue the series on marriage, We-Harmony.com, God continues to challenge us in becoming the husbands and wives he desires.  Husbands, what are you doing this week to demonstrate love to your wife?  Wives, what are you doing this week to demonstrate respect to your husband?  If you need practical suggestions then you can go to the sermon page to download the handouts from Sunday.  You can also download the sermon onto your ipod each week, or just in mp3 format.  Just click on the sermon graphic.

Who are you inviting to church this Sunday?

Doug

Great Weekend

Well it is Monday morning and I am exhausted today ... but it is a good tired because of Sunday.  Last night I taught the first “Discover Wildwood” class here at the building.  We had 17 newcomers to Wildwood in the room to learn about what we believe here at Wildwood.  To be honest, I love to teach this class because I love new people.  Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys who have been around for years and years, but new people add a real freshness that interrupts the norm. 

I got to answer questions like, who do we get people all wet ... can’t I take the bread and juice at communion on my own ... why don’t we have women who serve as elders ... how on earth did they pick you Doug?  See, great questions that cause me to rethink who we are and what we believe.

Thanks to you guys who gave up your Sunday evening and I am praying for you every day this week. If you missed the class, I will be repeating it every six weeks.  Next Discover Wildwood class will be on May 18!

We-Harmony.com got off to a fun start as we looked at the unusual love story of Isaac and Rebekah.  You can download the sermon on the website.  Next week ... a little RESPECT!!  You had better be there!!

One last item: the elders have been working on our vision for the next several months and I am excited!  In a couple of weeks we will be sharing our priorities for the 2008-2009.  Be ready!

I love you and am so thankful to be your pastor.

Doug