The Thanksgiving Defender Part 4 (finale)

The holiday commemorating Christian Pilgrims surviving a harsh winter and sharing the bounty of a bumper harvest with their Native neighbors has been hijacked by commercialism along with Christmas and Easter.

I have always been thankful that most retailers have respected at least for one day the sanctity of the last Thursday in November as a day away from commercialism and a day off for their employees to enjoy the day of Thanksgiving with their families.

Prior to this year only AFTER Thanksgiving Day, came BLACK FRIDAY, the drug of choice for the shopping addicted consumer. But as of this year major retailers are not waiting until Friday to launch their door busting sales, they are starting them on Wednesday and even Thursday.

As the self proclaimed Defender of Thanksgiving I officially lodge my protest (not that I believe it will make any difference.)

The only difference that can be made is if when we gather with our friends and family, recall the story of the first Thanksgiving and remember to WHOM we are to be thankful for all of the blessings we receive.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Debbie and I surrounded by over 500 sacks of groceries collected last Saturday by C3 folks.

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday. Bring a non perishable food item for C3’s food pantry.  If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

Come help decorate the church building for Christmas after the 10am service THIS SUNDAY.

C3LA, Celebration's Leadership Academy will hold their graduation celebration This Sunday at 2:00 pm in the Pond. All are invited to come out and celebrate this special event with us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With today being Thanksgiving I got to thinking about the people who I know that are truly grateful; people who live every day of their lives as a way to show their gratitude to God. They remind me of a group of Christians who lived almost 400 years ago who survived the harsh environment in the New World, and decided to set aside a day in the fall at which they would express thanksgiving to God. They brought an offering to God, experienced a banquet and shared in fellowship together.  Today we know this as Thanksgiving and we will celebrate it as a national Holiday.  

But about 3000 years before the Pilgrims, God told His people, the children of Israel, the people who were true believers, I want you to set aside a day in the fall. It was called the Feast of Weeks or the Harvest Festival, at which they would bring an offering to God, express their thanks to God, share a joyful meal together. They did that 3000 years before the Pilgrims did it and inspired God’s New World Christians to do likewise. Another name for that feast is Pentecost, the day we recognize as the birthday of Christ's church.

Today we are to do the same. As you gather with your family and friends do more than eat turkey and watch football. With joy, give your heartfelt thanks to God with song, an offering of praise and acts of service. Be sure to tell your children the real meaning behind this holiday.     

Celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the Lord your God by bringing Him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing He has given you.  Be joyful in the Lord's presence, together with your children..."  Deuteronomy 16:10-11  

Your grateful pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

If you don’t have a place to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal please come join Debbie and me at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall at noon.

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday. Bring a non perishable food item for C3’s food pantry.  If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

Come help decorate the church building for Christmas after the 10am service THIS SUNDAY. C3LA, Celebration's Leadership Academy will hold their graduation celebration This Sunday at 2:00 pm in the Pond. All are invited to come out and celebrate this special event with us.

The Thanksgiving Defender Part 3

As the self appointed Thanksgiving Defender I am committed to keeping the faith filled history of Thanksgiving at the forefront of our minds during this Christian holiday.  During their first winter in the New World, the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly from diseases like scurvy, and lack of food and shelter.  Forty-five of the one hundred and two immigrants died the first winter. The Native people in the area had been very hostile, yet as the late Dr. D. James Kennedy pointed out, most of them off the coast of Cape Cod had died off in a plague that swept through there some years before the Pilgrims came.

The Pilgrims were peaceful people and were able to make friends with the remaining Natives.  One of them they described as “a special instrument sent of God.” His name was Squanto who providentially spoke English. He truly was a God-send. He taught the Pilgrims how to track eels in the wet flats when the tide went out, what berries were edible and most importantly, he taught them how to plant the Natives’ winter staple, corn, which Europeans had known nothing about.” After the harvest came in they celebrated with a feast and gave thanks to God for their bounty.

As you gather tomorrow with your family, be sure to share the story of how God following people in a new world invited their Native neighbors to share in feast in which they gave thanks to God.  

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

If you would like to help bag all of those groceries come to the Rose Garden Banquet Hall TONIGHT at 5:30pm.

If you know of anyone who does not have a place to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal, invite them to the Rose Garden Banquet Hall on Thursday. Doors open at 11:30 with a meal served at 12noon. If you would like to volunteer for that day contact First Call For Help at 623-2800.

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday. Bring a non perishable food item for C3’s food pantry.  If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

Come help decorate the church building for Christmas after the 10am service THIS SUNDAY. C3LA, Celebration's Leadership Academy will hold their graduation celebration This Sunday at 2:00 pm in the Pond. All are invited to come out and celebrate this special event with us.

The Thanksgiving Defender Part 2

This week I have appointed myself to the position of “The Thanksgiving Defender” with the expressed purpose of reclaiming the HOLY in this National HOLI-day. Every Thanksgiving is an annual reminder of our nation’s Christian roots. The Pilgrims began the tradition, and Presidents Washington and Lincoln made it an official holiday.

The Pilgrims were a small congregation who because of persecution for those who would not conform with the Church of England, emigrated to Holland before deciding  to come to British North America, the Jamestown settlement, so that they could worship Jesus Christ in total freedom.

The Mayflower, the ship they sailed on had to contend with some severe storms, yet they made it across the Atlantic without a causality.The Pilgrims were blown off course, and while  preparing to enter into this new promised land, they penned  the Mayflower Compact, which they wrote in the cabin of the ship. The Mayflower Compact says, “In the name of God. Amen. We whose names are underwritten…having undertaken a voyage for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith…do covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politic…”The Mayflower Compact, based on the Biblical concept of covenant, eventually morphs into our Constitution’s  “We the people…” Don’t ever let anyone tell you that our founding fathers and mothers were not faithful Christians.

This Thanksgiving in the midst of the food and family and football remember to tell the story of this holiday’s Godly heritage.

Tomorrow the Thanksgiving Defender will remind you of the reason we celebrate this holiday with an abundance of food.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

If you would like to help bag all of those groceries come to the Rose Garden Banquet Hall at 5:30pm on Wednesday evening.

If you know of anyone who does not have a place to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal, invite them to the Rose garden Banquet Hall on Thursday. Doors open at 11:30 with a meal served at 12noon. If you would like to volunteer for that day contact First Call For Help at 623-2800.

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

Come  help decorate the church building for Christmas after the 10am service THIS SUNDAY.

Thanksgiving Defender

As a Christian there are a few holidays that should be observed faithfully and treated with the utmost respect they deserve. There is Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then there is Easter, the day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection three days after being crucified. These are momentous Christian HOLYdays that our commercial culture has tried to defile and repurpose with new icons like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. A third Christian holiday that has been hijacked by high finance is Thanksgiving; the holiday commemorating Christian Pilgrims surviving a harsh winter and sharing the bounty of a bumper harvest with their Native neighbors.

Thanksgiving has always been a second tier holiday in  a for profit marketplace with very little commercial appeal other than being a boon to the turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie market. One meal isn’t enough to make a holiday a commercial success so retailers usually skip over Thanksgiving  going from shelves filled  with Halloween candy and costumes one day and playing Christmas music the next.   

I have appointed myself to the position of  “The Thanksgiving Defender” and in this blog throughout this week I will make a case for the real reason we GIVETHANKS.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Deadline for your Operation Christmas Child is Monday at noon.

Thank you to the 75+ C3 folks who in one hour shifts from 9am-5pm, collected over two vans FULL of groceries to be given away to needy families after Thursday’s ECMA Thanksgiving Day Feast.

If you would like to help bag all of those groceries come to the Rose Garden Banquet Hall at 5:30pm on Wednesday evening.

If you know of anyone who does not have a place to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal, invite them to the Rose garden Banquet Hall on Thursday. Doors open at 11:30 with a meal served at 12noon. If you would like to volunteer for that day contact First Call For Help at 623-2800.

It’s Shoebox Time

Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love packed inside. Since 1993, more than 70 million shoe boxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe. The people of Celebration Community Church have been involved in this simple, hands-on mission project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus Christ since 1998. This year we passed out 500 shoeboxes for our people to fill. That’s not counting the shoeboxes in your closets.  Won’t you please help? Go shopping this weekend and fill a shoebox or two or ten and bring it with you to church with you. Please add $7.00 per box for shipping.

THIS SUNDAY IS OUR DEADLINE for collecting shoeboxes that will ship out of Hays on Monday.
Thank you for your generosity at this time when we focusing on GIVING Thanks.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

P.S.

When you go grocery shopping on Saturday in Hays look for one of the 44 families who have volunteered to collect groceries to give a way to needy families on Thanksgiving. (if you can serve for 1 hour we still have 4 time slots left to fill. email me at kyle@celebratejesus.org.)

I am so proud of C3.-PK

  

Remember It’s Thanks-GIVING!

  
Back in 2007 when I was the president of The Ellis County Ministerial Alliance I heard that the long standing tradition of a Thanksgiving Day meal at the National Guard Armory was in jeopardy of ending. Prior to that Gayleen Benedict and her mother Florence Wear of The Corner Garden Restaurant had hosted a meal at the Armory on Thanksgiving Day for ten years.  

It was then that I sought out Pam Burgardt, of Pam’s Bakery Shop in The Hadley Center and she made a commitment to along with ECMA to keep the festivities alive.

Ever since then my wife Debbie and I have hosted this event. Last year over 500 people who did not have a place to enjoy Thanksgiving are served a hearty traditional meal by nearly 100 volunteers at Pam Burgardt’s new location ,The Rose Garden Banquet Hall. 367 bags of groceries were also taken home by needy families thanks to the C3 folks who collected and bagged the groceries in advance. (See below to fill the remaining slots)

It takes a village to make this event happen. Here is a list of the volunteer opportunities that are still needed to be filled:

* This Saturday November 22nd, 48 volunteers are needed to collect food items in front of Wal-Mart and the two Dillon’s locations between 9am and 5pm. We still have 14 time slots open that need to be filled. Please e-mail me at kyle@celebratejesus.org or call 625-5483 if you can help for an hour this Saturday.   
* Wednesday November 26th  at 5:30pm at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall 50 volunteers are needed to bag the groceries collected on Saturday.  

* Thanksgiving Day Thursday November 27th  from 11:30am -1:30pm 75 volunteers are needed to greet, serve, deliver meals and clean up afterward  at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. All in all over 150 plus volunteers are needed to make ECMA’s Thanksgiving Day Feast the success that it is.

If you can help on Wednesday and Thursday please call First Call For Help at 623-2800 and sign up for an assignment to serve. FCFH is organizing the volunteers so please call them!

I know that we are asking a lot of our congregation this holiday season by filling Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes (we have passed out over 500 boxes and the deadline is Sunday). We have raised close to $40,000 at the Community Mission Auction last Saturday night. Now I am asking you to help collect food and serve at the Thanksgiving meal. 

But there is something else I know; God has blessed this community of faith with so many gifts, none greater than the good news of Jesus Christ that God has entrusted to us to share in Hays, Colby and to the ends of the earth.  

Thank you in advance C3 for your faithful participation in these mission opportunities.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Thank You Note to God Part 2

If I were to write some thank you notes to God what would it say?

Thank You God for saving me from a life that was spiraling out of control. You’ve showed me that I need a Savior.
“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”– Isaiah 45:22

Thank You God forgiving  Your life for me so that I might have life and that more eternally. You showed me how much You truly love me.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16

Thank You God for giving me the Comforter, Your Holy Spirit to lead and guide me, to bring all things to memory that You have spoken through Your Word.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” - John 14:26

Thank You God for your faithfulness.. You say what You mean and mean what You say. You give me strength to follow Your Word daily.
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” - Deuteronomy 7:9

What would your thank you notes to God look like?

Be sure to come to C3 this Sunday as we will be speaking on giving (Thanks)365  

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

This Saturday:

We will be collecting groceries to give away at Thanksgiving this Saturday between 9am & 5pm. We still have a few times left that need to be filled.  If you have not yet signed up for an hour contact kyle@celebratejesus.org  

This Sunday:

This is the deadline for bringing your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to church.

Thank you notes to God Part 1

Are you familiar with the Friday night segment of The Tonight Show when Jimmy Fallon writes out his weekly thank you notes? They are pretty funny click the link here for an example) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmm19Ecnve0

I don’t know about you but I could do better sending thank you notes to the people who have done something nice for me.

I got to thinking If I  were to write a thank you note to God what would it say?

Thank you God for the life you have given me and for each day which is your gift to me.   

Thank you God for being love. I now realize that when I am loving, I am the most like you I can be. When I am full of fear, hatred, or anger, then I am pushing you away with both arms. If I open my arms and expose my heart, then You are always there to give me the love I need.

Thank you God for being the best teacher I have ever had. The lessons written in your book  are custom made to help me work on what I need to learn today and for a lifetime.  

Thank you God for showing me that life is like a jigsaw puzzle: The individual pieces may seem incoherent, chaotic, and sometimes confusing but when I  look at the bigger picture I can see your hand working everything out for the good.

What would your thank you notes to God look like?

Be sure to come to C3 this Sunday as we will be speaking on giving (Thanks)365  

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

TONIGHT:

Celebrate Heath Presents: “Ask a Pediatrician” 6:30pm Celebration Café’  If you have little ones you are going to want to come to this. Child care is available. If you have any questions contact Amanda at health@celebratejesus.org

This Saturday:

We will be collecting groceries this Saturday between 9am & 5pm If you have not yet signed up for an hour, contact kyle@celebratejesus.org  

Mission Auction Thanks

It’s been sixteen years since we began to auction off products and services after our Thanksgiving Sunday meal to help fund the churches missionary activities. Eleven years ago the event got too large to have after church so we made it a stand alone Saturday night event. Last Saturday night at our Community Mission Auction we raised over $36,000.

With those generous contributions we will have the privilege of giving all away to need meeting ministries and missions here in Hays, throughout our nation and to the ends of the earth all in the name of Jesus! All I can say is PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

Today we give thanks first to God for being SO generous with us and then to the generosity of countless retailers who donated products and to the  dozens of church members who handmade presents, purchased gift cards, put together specialty baskets and offered up their services.

Thank you again to the Anderson, Campbell, Cunningham, Gerstner, Haines, Markley, Melvin, & Lane Connection Group who provided and prepared all of the delicious food we ate.

We thank our platform team of emcees Eagle Radio’s Scott Boomer, Mike Holiday  and auctioneer Ty Gillum.

Thanks go out to musicians Cameron Shoemaker, Derek Mayfield, Nathan Perdue and Dave Funk for entertaining us throughout the night.

Thanks to our tech team Nathan Unruh, Mike Nease, Cody Baker and Mathias Carter.

Big Thanks to C3’s Encounter College & Career and Celebrate Recovery groups for your selfless service setting up before and cleaning up afterward.

BIG THANK YOU’S to our Mission Auction Team Tammie Anderson,  Pam Brown ,Mike Crain,  Paula Haley, Mike & Cheryl Kruetzer, Roger & Traci Mettlen,  Julie Rider, Greg Schmidt, and Mission Auction Team administrator Ericka Pfeifer who have all been meeting, planning, contacting retailers and working on this Mission Auction since August. (If you want to be a part of this AWESOME team next year, let me know).

Thanks also the C3 Staff members who as always helped wherever it was needed on Auction night.

THE BIGGEST THANK YOU goes out to the all of the Celebration family who donated items, bought tickets, bid on and obtained products, purchased raffle tickets and participated in our Big Money Games all contributing to this abundantly blessed night. We raised over $1800 just on our SHAVE IT or SHAVE IT promotion. Derek Mayfield is the only one who shaved it.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to ALL who joined in to help fulfill Christ’s Great Commandment and Great Commission.

Your humbled pastor and partner in ministry and mission,

Kyle

P.S. If for whatever reason you could not be at the auction and would like to contribute, you can send your donation to C3  5790 230th Ave Hays KS 67601 and memo it “Mission Auction”.

This Tuesday:

Celebrate Heath Presents: “Ask the Pediatrician” 6:30pm Celebration Café’  If you have little ones you are going to want to come to this. Child care is available. If you have any questions contact Amanda at health@celebratejesus.org

This Saturday:

WE will be collecting groceries this Saturday between 9am & 5pm If you have not yet signed up for an hour, contact kyle@celebratejesus.org

Get Your Tickets Today!

This Saturday Night’s Community Mission Auction is going to be GREAT!

Fantastic food, awesome entertainment featuring Roger Cooper and C3’s own Pendleton Plaid “Old Timey” group. We have 4 outstanding raffle items, a 48” Sony LED –HD T.V., An Apple I-Pad Air, a $500 gift card and a chance to win a premium parking place.  You will also have a chance to win $100, $250 and $500 in our BIG MONEY Game.  We have close to 200 auction items at all price ranges as well as 25 Live Auction items. Emcees Scott Boomer and Mike Holiday will keep things hoppin’ with Ty Gillum as our auctioneer.

Don’t miss out on this all-church night of fun as well as our opportunity to raise thousands of dollars to be given away to missions.

Get your tickets today for $15  or at the door tomorrow for $20.

Silent Auction & food service 5-6:30pm

Live Auction and desserts 6:30-8:30pm

Come support C3 and our commitment to Christ’s Great Commission

Debbie and I are looking forward to seeing you there.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

Recently Donated Item:

5 pairs of Vera Bradley sunglasses by Debbie Ermoian