What the Hell?

This Sunday I am going to enter some "thick soup!"  I'm talking about the bible and what we believe and why we believe what we believe on such things as Hell.  Why do we call it good news if there is this looming possibility of Hell for all of us?

I hope you will come with an open mind and an open spirit as we continue on our journey this year themed , Discovering the Reality of God in Your Life.

Then, next Sunday we will gather for our monthly family fellowship dinner presented by Brad Joiner and Gary Daniel.  I hope you will bring your family and friends and make Praise Community Fellowship one of your weekly priorities.


See you tomorrow. Love, Pastor Kent

Family Fellowship Meal Jan. 26th

Our next Family gathering will be January 26th at 5:00 pm. Brad is fixin some down home chili that will warm you up own a winters night.

A big thank you to the new folks that came out to help with the set up and kitchen chores last month. If you can do it again please be at the church at 4:15.

Come and enjoy a great meal and wonderful fellowship and extend the invitation to someone new. If you have any questions please call or email me at gary.daniel@sbcglobal.net   My phone is : 978-6247

See you there!  

Tonight!

If you’re feeling like either one of the plants in these pictures, join us tonight at Garden Club, where we can share our joys, concerns, praises, questions, examples of how God is working in your life, etc., etc., etc!   6:30 PM at Esic Baptist. Feel free to bring a friend! 

See you tonight!  Jen

Note from Jennifer Kaburick

I don’t know about all of you, but 2013 just flew by for me and my family! In looking back, though, it was a very big year for me, in terms of my faith development and trust in God. I started reading the Bible faithfully again (hadn’t done that since my freshman year in college!!), praying a LOT more, and reading more faith-based books. As a result, I really want to continue growing in my faith during 2014 – specifically learning about Jesus more. Loving him and others more deeply. How to witness to others, etc.

Kent did a sermon a few months back where he talked about how, often times, people expect Christians to be perfect. Or they hesitate to go “all in” b/c they think they’ll have to be perfect. But we are far from it! He likened Christians to a Garden Club, where we all want really nice gardens and flower beds (aka, lives), but sometimes things outside of our control make it hard to have pretty/well-manicured ones. However, we can look to other gardeners (ie, fellow Christians) for support, and so we can come together to talk to other gardeners about struggles we’re having with keeping the weeds out or the moles away. We don’t judge one another when someone’s flowers look pitiful (thank goodness!)  – but we look for suggestions, guidance, and support from others.  (Note: I’m actually laughing as I use “we” b/c I am far from a gardener! But I DO want to learn from others with my walk with Christ!)

This idea of a Garden Club got me thinking about a group of us who started meeting this summer on Wednesdays to discuss an amazing book, Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby. These “meetings” led to some great discussions (and in turn, new friendships!). But, sometimes I think it may be hard to have a group that’s based on having to read something. We are all busy and sometimes just don’t get the reading done – it can almost feel like homework, and just adds more stress to our lives. So, what if we remove that added pressure, and just come together as a “Garden Club” of sorts? To share what’s going on with each of us, or just listen to others; offer support, suggestions, or just share how God’s been working in our lives. If you’re reading a book that is impacting you, share it, or if it’s Scripture that’s really touched you, tell us about it. How does that sound? I’d love to see more people get involved (regardless of membership at PCF)! To have this be a night of the week that we really look forward to and want to bring friends, family, neighbors, etc to.  Are you in?

Let’s meet this Wednesday night at 6:30 PM at Esic Baptist.

Hope to see you there!  

Wanna Fly?

I said it in yesterdays blog and I  think it is so important I'm going to say it again today.

"When God becomes real to you, you are going to be set free from so many anchors and chains you will think you can fly!"

Oh I hope you can be with us this Sunday because it is going to be a very important Sunday. It is the first time we will have gathered since last year and the message is going to set the tone for everything we are going to be moving toward from here on. 

The overall theme for this year is going to be "Discovering the Reality of God in Your Life"  and this Sunday we will kick off the new year with some challenges and some stories to get you pumped up for an amazing year.

If you find yourself, Stuck, Frustrated, Bored, Worn out, Burned out, Let down, Unsure, Afraid, Confused…has God got a plan for you!

Hope to see you this Sunday at 6:30.

In the News: Brad Joiner has now become a member of our Church Board. We welcome you and look forward to a very exciting and productive year. Below is a list of our current board members. If you have comments, suggestions, ideas, any of these people would be happy to hear from you.

Rusty Burian          President
Jennifer Kaburick   Secretary
Gary Watson
Amber Boyles Pellock
Kory Kuba
Butch Peterson
Elle Ahrens
Darlene Hanks
Brad Joiner

See you soon. Love, Pastor Kent

This Year, 2014

I hope you will consider joining me on a journey this year. The journey I am talking about is what I call  "Discovering the Reality of God in Your life!"

Christianity, as I have discovered, is only as good to the degree that you believe God is real AND that He is actively working in your life.  Both these things are vitally important.  You can believe in God and still be completely impotent when it comes to experiencing Him. I know because as long as I can remember I "believed" in God but I certainly couldn't say I was experiencing Him. And let me add, there are times when I still have to refocus and tune in or I will find myself feeling like "He is not that real."

Have you been there?  This Sunday I will start this journey. Here is what I know. When God becomes real to you, you are going to be set free from so many anchors and chains you will think you can fly.

Come join us this Sunday. Bring a friend. There is a real reason why the Gospel is called, "The Good News!"

See you Sunday. Love, Pastor Kent

Informational Mission Trip Meeting

What?   Informational meeting about taking a mission trip to Zambia with African Vision of Hope.

When?   Tomorrow evening at 6:30

Where?  #8 Professional Park, Maryville Il. 62026

As Judi Bertels says: "This trip will change your life!