​First of all, I want to thank all of you for your prayers, phone calls, text messages and cards over the last 10 days, as I recovered from hip replacement surgery.  I would say that I am now entering the rehab phase and would ask for your continued prayers.  Please pray for me, that I would listen and follow the prescribed rehab plan, and patience for Rose as she protects me from myself.  Believe it or not, but I can be an ornery patient sometimes! :)

Did you know that the God who created us and saved us by his grace knows us better than we know ourselves and desires for us what is much, much better than anything we would have desired for ourselves.  The kind of life God calls us to is a beautiful expression of everything humanity was intended to be.  God's desire for our lives is that they be an outward expression of our inward commitment to God and bring glory to his name.

This Sunday, at 9:30am, we will look at the doctrine of sanctification, which is the process God uses to make us what he has declared us to be...righteous.  Join us on Sunday at 9:30am as we look at life as God intended and to be reminded that sanctification is not meant to be a joy-killing burden to bear, but a welcome to a life where we surrender to the plan, purposes and call of God on our lives.  Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to the early believers in Philippi:

"And I am certain that God, who began the good word within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."  Philippians 1:6

Join us this Sunday at 9:30am for the good news of the gospel story.

As we gather for our in-person service, Parkside church staff and leadership will be wearing masks and we are asking everyone to do the same. 

I want to invite you to stick around after our service, as we offer two opportunities for you to connect in community:

• Study of the Gospel of Luke
• Study in Wisdom

Parkside Fellowship Annual Meeting
Our annual church meeting will take place on Saturday, February 26th at 2:00pm in the Fireside room.  At this meeting, our church council will share ministry highlights from last year, along with some goals for this year.  We will also be voting on our 2022 budget and the nominees for church council.  This year's Parkside Church Council Nominees are Mark Hester and Shirley Anderson.  Please circle Saturday, February 26th on your calendars and plan to attend.

Finally, attached is this week's prayer list.  Thanks for being a church committed to praying for one another.

See you Sunday.

Doug

Great encouragement is found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Every resource of God who raised Jesus from the dead is available to any Christ follower who will believe and trust Him.  What a blessing when we see God's promises and God's fulfillment laid out in the Scriptures.  It's a reminder of Hebrews 10:23, where the author wrote:

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise."

Whatever we face today, we can face it knowing that our God is faithful!  So, as you go through today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, ask yourself this question:  "Does my life give evidence of an unwavering belief that God has the power to do what He says?".
 
As we prepare to gather together this Sunday, November 14th, I want to remind you of a couple important things.

This Sunday at 9:30am, we will gather in the Fireside Room for a time of singing, hearing from God's Word, communion and prayer.  After a short break, we will regather at around 10:30am in the Fireside Room, where myself, along with the church council, will share the results of the church health assessment that was completed by a team from the NWBC.

During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts or concerns and to ask any questions you have regarding the assessment.

For those who are unable to attend in-person, both the worship service at 9:30am and the meeting at 10:30am will be available online through our church website.  Also, if you are not able to attend in-person, but would like to share thoughts or ask questions during the meeting, you can do so by texting your question, concern or comment to (503) 803-6181.  We will do our very best to answer all the questions that are submitted by text message.

As you prepare your hearts for Sunday, pray this song found in Revelation 7:12...

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever!  Amen."

For God's Glory.

Pastor Doug

On the despairing shores of the Red Sea and at the base of Mt. Sinai, the Israelites couldn't see what was in the distance.  They had no way of knowing where Canaan was or how far they still had to travel.  But the Lord gave them a simple plan: "tell the children of Israel to go forward".  The nineteenth century expositor C.H. Mackintosh believed the Red Sea did not divide all at once, but opened progressively as Israel moved forward, so that they needed to trust God for each step along the way.  Mackintosh wrote:  "God never gives us guidance for two steps at a time.  I must take one step, and then I get light for the next.  This keeps the heart in abiding dependence upon God."

As you prepare your heart to gather together and worship God, be encouraged by the words of the hymn, Day by Day:

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.

This Sunday at 9:30am, we will continue our series called, EXODUS: Seeing God in the Journey.  Larry Annes will be looking at the portion of Exodus where we see God giving instructions to the Israelites for the construction of a tabernacle.  I love the beauty of Exodus 25:8, "Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them."  For me, the building of the tabernacle serves as a foreshadowing of the presence of God in Christ with His church.

As we gather for our in-person service, Parkside church staff and leadership will be wearing masks and we are asking everyone to do the same.  Please consider joining us this weekend.  We were created by God to worship and praise Him together, in community, so plan on being at Parkside this Sunday at 9:30am and don't forget your mask!

Also, for those that are not able to join us in-person, you can still join us online.

It's not too late to join one of our Sunday discipleship classes.  We have two studies currently meeting each Sunday morning at 10:45am.  See Class details below:

Topic:  A Study in the book of James
Facilitator:  Mark Hester and Jonella Malinowski
10:45am to 11:45am
In-person ONLY

Senior Adult Discipleship Class
Topic:  A Study in the book of Mark
Facilitator:  Martha Bailey
10:45am to 11:45am
In-person ONLY

Please reserve Sunday, November 14th, for a Parkside Fellowship All-Church Meeting.  I, along with our church council, will be sharing with you the report that we received from the NWBC Church Health Assessment Team.  The meeting will take place in the Fireside Room, immediately following our Sunday morning worship service. 

See you Sunday.

Pastor Doug