Heart to heart …
Dear Unified … ohana,
Kerry and I hope you had a wonderful time yesterday celebrating Thanksgiving Day with the Lord, family, and friends. Today, Pastor Rodney and I will be leaving on a ministry trip to Singapore and Hong Kong. Please keep us in prayer. We will be ministering at YWAM with Peter and Donna Jordan from November 28-December 2, then ministering at Incubator Ministries in Hong Kong with Pastors Eddie and Louisa Ma from December 5-9. I am schedule to speak on the Holy Spirit and the Apostolic/Prophetic in the marketplace.
This weekend will be our Youth Recyclable Can Drive on Saturday from 8:30 am – 11:30 am. Drop off your recyclables at the church. After our Celebration Sunday our youth will be selling plate lunches as their fundraiser. There will be extra plates available for sale for those who may want to buy one on Sunday.
Recently, we have been receiving complaints from the neighbors about the loud noises. On several occasions the police came by to warn us of our excessive noise. Please be mindful of our neighbors and monitor yourselves even during our worship services. Avoid excessive yelling, laughter, and shouting, and remember we need to reach our community and not alienate ourselves by build walls of offense.
Prov. 18.19
A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
Please do not let your freedom be a stumbling block to others. We need to apply the law of love.
Despite what people think, their is no 10 pm noise curfew. This is a myth! The law applies to the noise level at the property line, which is around normal conversation volume. 10 pm is an arbitrary time which most enforcement use but it is not a right granted in the law. Also churches are not exempt to the noise law. Let’s aim for ending by 8:30 pm on weekdays and be off property by 9 pm. For weekends, ending by 9 am and off property by 10 pm. If we don’t monitor ourselves the city will be forced to monitor us.
Remember, Romans 13;1-5.
Rom. 13.1
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
Like Kevin Dedmon taught us, we are called to worship the Lord 24/7, but that does not mean just singing. The Holy Spirit can even move in silence! Please avoid yelling into the mics especially during the evenings! We need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
Finally, I apologize for the delay in the parking lot project. If the weather cooperates we should have it done soon! If you are the last to leave the premises, please be sure to lock up the facility and close the gates to the church when you leave.
Thank you for your cooperation!
From my heart to yours,
Pastor Dean