The Origin of Thanksgiving

As everyone knows, the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621, when the Pilgrim settlers and the local Native Anerican tribes gathered to eat. Or did it?

In fact, the Pilgrims were simply acting out an idea originated by God. In the Old Testament, God lays out several yearly feasts that He wanted His people to celebrate.

God knew then that without continual reminders of His faithfulness, they would forget Him, and easily lose hope. The same is true for us. Let's take advantage of this holiday to reflect on the ways God has faithfully provided for us in the past, and use those reflections as a way to spur our hope for the way He'll provide for us in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving. Now you have something to think about during the commercial breaks of the Cowboys game...

Baptisms and Plenty of 'em

This past weekend, our pastor presented a message all about baptism. it was a good, straightforward message answering all the common questions:
What does baptism really mean? Dunking or sprinking? Do I have to be baptized to go to heaven? If you are curious, I'd encourage you to watch the sermon online here:
http://www.chaseoaks.org/whats-happening/sermon-series/
At the end of the message, the pastor put out an open call for anyone who wanted to be baptized to come to the front and do it. So, we ended up baptizing about 170 people this weekend. I got to do about a third of those people, and there were some amazing stories. Young people and adults of all ages made a huge step of obedience. It was very humbling experience that God allowed me to be a part of these people's spiritual journey. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the future of our church.