H. Henry Williams

Thursday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

The weekend’s coming and there are a few things I don’t want you to miss:

The Weekend

We recently saw the movie Captain Phillips. It’s based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of a U.S. cargo ship. There are several scenes featuring Navy SEAL’s. Everything about them screams “elite”—elite force, elite team, elite soldiers.

Most of us don’t feel like “elite” anything. We’ll never be a part of anything like a SEAL team. Yet God has chosen us to be part of his team. Look at the disciples or the early church and “ragtag” comes more to mind than “elite.” Jesus said “whoever believes” and the whoevers who believed were anything but elite.

If you feel more “ragtag” than “elite,” my sermon this weekend will show you, from Scripture, that God uses ragtag communities of people and individuals to change the world. And you can change the world. You probably already are making an impact, in often imperceptible ways, if you’re simply seeking Christ daily. Come this weekend for week six of the our FOR [  ] series—“FOR [ Whoever ].”

If you want to really show up ready, then go to Show up Ready.

Helpful Links

It’s Halloween and I love to scare people and I have this strange theory that God loves to scare people. So I found this article very interesting: Ghost Stories for the Christian Soul.

One More Thing

This week was Kings and Prophets in our Story of God study. We had some interesting discussion in my small group around the depth of David’s sins of adultery and then murder. David paid a great personal price for his sins even though he was forgiven, but God didn’t reject him as he did Saul. Why?

You may not only feel more ragtag than elite, you may also feel useless or discarded because of sin. If you are God's child by faith, you need to know God will never reject you. There is no condemnation for you and nothing can separate you from God’s love. Reread Romans 8 if you need to be reminded.

But becoming useful again does require repentance. That was one of the differences between Saul and David. Saul spiraled into despair because of unresolved sin and David repented. Repentance isn’t just a thing we do once when we come to Christ. Repentance is a change of mind and sorrow of heart that leads to fruitfulness for God.

You may not be elite, but you are never discarded or useless in Christ. Be encouraged by that. Let that lead you to repentance and usefulness in God's kingdom.

Blessings to you all, Pastor Henry

Wednesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

Here's the sermon from last weekend in 10 tweets: "FOR [ His Only ] – God’s Commitment, Our Commitment (John 3:16; 6:34-44):

1. “God gave his only Son”…THAT’S commitment.
2. Most of what God wants to do in you and through you for his kingdom requires you to make a commitment & then show up.
3. The first time, it was a decision born in ignorance. The second time, I made a commitment when I got on the chairlift.
4. Most people do little for God because they miss the secret of making a commitment & then showing up.
5. There are no accidental disciples.
6. Want God to multiply your resources & efforts? He will. But first you need to commit your loaves and fish.
7. Your commitment to God will never match his commitment to you. But his commitment to your makes your commitment to him possible.
8. It’s less about setting out and more about giving over.
9. Give over your dreams, hopes and plans for his.
10. I’m glad that when God asked Abraham to leave his father and homeland, no one he respected was saying, “Noooooooooo!”

Blessings, Pastor Henry

Tuesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I’ve got a few of things I want to share with you today.

#1- Saturday morning 20 of the Journeymen stayed after their morning Bible study and were joined by several other Five Oakers, including some of their wives and children. They brought wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, and other assorted tools.  Together they spread 20 yards of wood chips on the playground (and that's a BIG pile of wood chips), three yards of mulch on landscape beds, a yard of black dirt on low areas, reshaped the rock landscaping next to the south door where it had settled and placed two 4' concrete splash blocks there to improve drainage, and trimmed all the shrubs around the church and in the parking lot islands.  In THREE HOURS everything was done, cleaned up, and the trimmings disposed of. Thank you all who helped and a special thanks goes out to Adam Igl and Scott Halverson who organized the effort with our Facility Manager Dave Casmer, and to Matt Pap for the shrub trimming work.

#2- Did you notice the new carpet this weekend?  

#3- Over a dozen folks came to the Haiti mission team information meeting over the weekend. There's still room for more on the team!

#3- Tim Bubar is part of the planning team for this summer’s Challenge conference where over a hundred of our students will join thousands from all over the country.

#4- I met with the Group Life writers on Sunday. Big plans ahead. They are already starting work on the series we will do on Galatians starting some time in February. We’re going to publish the 13-week Group Life study for daily and small group study!  

#5- Eric Frasier is on a missionto help as many people as possible learn how to share their faith story. Last weekend he taught the 5^th-6^th graders. He’s also leading a workshop for adults on Nov 17 at 9:15 and again at 11am. You will go through a step-by-step method of telling your story. It will also equip you with a few simple tools to illustrate how to start a relationship with God. Email me or the [email protected] for more information.

#6- Love is in the air. Our seventh couple of year has been matched with one our pre-marriage mentor couples for their mentoring.

#7- Jersey day was a lot of fun (the “big” game was not). It was an especially fun weekend for me because my best friend from K – 2^nd grade, Bobby Conway, was in the Twin Cities with his wife, his daughter and their foreign exchange student. We had supper on Friday and they attended worship here on Sunday. We hadn’t seen each other for 47 years, since I moved from Milwaukee back to Miami after second grade! He and I are the two outside kids in the picture of three below. I can't tell you how special that was for me.

Blessings, Pastor Henry

Monday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I have a few things I want share with you today:

Here’s the video from the weekend. Thanks, Melissa, for sharing your story. Ken, maybe your story will need to be next. All I know it’s great seeing you guys and those you’ve invited taking up entire row so often!  

[FOR] - Melissa Gangi from Five Oaks on Vimeo.

Here are most of your comments, observations and questions from the weekend Communication Cards.

• Awesome worship. Great music. Thank you for the wonderful heart preparation. [Amen! Very worshipful. Great job team.]

• Dan, I really liked the “pre-opening” song! It really grounded me in worship for the evening.

• Thank you, Lord, for the sweet blessing of Libby’s voice. Voice of an angel. 

• Amazing Grace and Chris Tomlin’s version of it always brings tears to my eyes because the words say it all so well, so poignantly, so true. Thanks! Loved the opening song too. Moving message and closing set. 

• Great Amazing Grace.

• Thank you Jonathan!  Melissa Gang

• Thank you for your example Henry. Powerful message on the gift we have to be able to participate in God’s plans! 

• I like Amazing Grace song. God, thank you for Five Oaks Church and how it has touched me. Bless Five Oaks Church. Amen. 

Thanks for all your comments.

Blessings, Pastor Henry

Camp Getaway

Here's a fun video shot at Camp Getaway. I love seeing all these students having a great time, learning about Jesus and deepening their friendships. If you're reading this in an email, you'll need to go the blog site to watch. Simply click on the title.

Friday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

The weekends coming and there are a few things I don’t want you to miss:

The Weekend

I learned a really important lesson about making a commitment while on the ski slopes my freshman year of college.

It’s a fun story about a Cuban kid from Miami wearing leather driving gloves while taking on a black diamond run. You don’t want to miss it.

You also don’t want to miss it because this weekend’s sermon is a very personal sermon for me. I completely rewrote the sermon after getting an email from one of our members. Their story of wanting to follow God’s leading brought up so many emotions and then led to a crisis of leadership for about 24 hours. Then came insight. I’ll tell you why. I simply can’t wait to share this sermon with you.

And who wants to miss Jersey day? Wear your kid’s jersey or your favorite team’s. It’s going to be fun.

If you want to really show up ready, then go to Show up Ready. 

Helpful Links

I think you’ll pick up on the theme of these links:

• Regular Bedtimes Helps Kids’ Behavior

• It’s not just for kids: Sleep and Your Productivity

• And it’s not just about sleep: 7 Sabbath Killers 

One More Thing

I love using The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions in my daily quiet time. Each prayer is profound enough to plant myself in one for the entire week and sometimes two weeks. Here’s the one I’m in now. It reminds me of Tim’s sermon from last weekend.

Blessings to you all, Pastor Henry

Tuesday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I’ve got a couple of things I want to share with you today.

#1- If you saw the video of Sarah talking about Kids Hope USA and our partnership with Woodbury Elementary and it inspired you, you might be interested to know that she is looking to expand her team. She would like to find a Prayer Coordinator, an Event Coordinator and a Communications Coordinator come alongside her. Let me know if you’re interested in getting some more information (see the “Email Me” link on the blog site). She has position descriptions for each role.

#2- This weekend is Jersey Day at Five Oaks services. Come wearing your favorite team jersey. I wish I still had my oldest son’s football jersey. Snacks and lots of fun for the whole family.

Blessings, Pastor Henry

Monday Memo

Hi Five Oakers,

I have a few things I want share with you today:

Here’s the video from the weekend. The last kid pictured, stacking the plastic eggs, is my mentee! We’re in our third school year together.

[FOR] - KidsHope USA from Five Oaks on Vimeo.

Here are most of your comments, observations and questions from the weekend Communication Cards.

• Great worship set.  The harmony was incredible. [I said the same thing this weekend.]

• Love your metaphor Tim.

• Very impactful Tim! I never thought about forever in that way before. Thank you!  [Yes, very powerful sermon!]

• Thank you Tim for the very powerful message you brought today. My prayer is that many people will give this message some real and careful thought. 

• The whole service from opening set, to Dan, to Tim so well done and comfortable and understandable. Loved the music, as usual, thanks. Worship team, excellent job. Great closing set! [I loved hearing Tim’s explanation of the stations. Fresh.]

• Awesome, awesome worship praise time. [Great job, Jeremy and team.]

• That was really good Tim. 

• Great opening set with readings. Music – wonderful preparation Tim. We always appreciate your practical illustrations. I was really moved by your prayer, and music came in on cue. Wow!

• The flashlight stops touching the wall when the batteries die. 

• Shout out to Pastor Henry and Pastor Tim for Pastor Appreciation month. Thanks for all you do!  [Thank you!]

• Before faith, death and forever were scary. After faith, my body still fears death, but I rejoice in forever. [Well said. Thank you.]

Thanks for all your comments and questions.

Blessings,

Pastor Henry

Thursday Memo

Hi Five Oakers, 

The weekend's coming and there are a few things I don’t want you to miss:

#1- This weekend you will learn how to add infinite meaning to your everyday actions. Nothing you do is mundane. Simple routine things can be done in such a way that God notices and blesses. Sacrificial action and suffering can bring deep joy to your life. That’s what we’re talking about as we continue our FOR [   ] series.

#2- Here are some links you might find helpful:

• Breakpoint had a couple of great commentaries this week. Eric Metaxas addresses how much religious freedom students have in the public school classroom and how to educate educators about it: “Faith-Friendly Public Schools: We Can Make a Difference.” The other commentary is about how so many young pop stars who once professed faith have abandoned their convictions on the road to stardom: “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Pop Stars: The Celebrity Trap.” In his commentary, John Stonestreet affirms what I believe and was driven into my psyche by the late Chuck Colson—that we need to encourage more Christians to pursue the arts. But he also makes a huge distinction between artists and celebrities.

… we need more Christians in all these fields, pointing people to Truth and beauty through their work. But there’s a world of difference between being a celebrity and being an artist. The celebrity draws attention to himself, the artist to his work. The celebrity thinks success is being famous. The artist knows success is being faithful. The celebrity chooses style over substance. The artist knows looking good is never as important as being good.

• Right along those same lines you might want to check out a post summarizing a talk by Andy Stanley called “Surviving Your Appetite for Being Known.”

#3- One year ago yesterday Justin Schaap and I went out to lunch and he told me of his plans to seek a new position in another church. He loved us and we loved him, but God was leading them on an adventure. I was sad that he was leaving and very anxious for our church. So the next morning Lois read the day's reading to me from Jesus Calling. It was so perceptive and powerful that I started using it in my devotional times. I read that reading again today, one year later. Let me share a portion of it with you. It calmed my heart that day, and it’s been amazing how God has worked things out for Justin in his ministry pursuits and for Five Oaks. So I leave you today with this:

“Anxiety is a result of envisioning the future without Me. …If you must consider upcoming events, follow these rules: 1) Do not linger in the future, because anxieties sprout up like mushrooms when you wander there. 2) Remember the promise of My continual Presence; include Me in any imagery that comes to mind. This mental discipline does not come easily, because you are accustomed to being god of your fantasies."

See you on the weekend and blessings to you, Pastor Henry

10 Tweets

Here's the sermon from last weekend in 10 tweets: "FOR [Whoever Believes] – God’s Faithfulness, Our Faith (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8,11:

#1- God’s faithfulness fortifies your faith.

#2- If I gave my kids my word, they knew I wasn’t pulling their leg. Because I never went back on my word, my faithfulnes fortified their faith in me.

#3- God’s faithfulness is written all over John 3:16 when you understand why God gave his Son.

#4- God gave his Son to fulfill his promise to die for our failure to keep the covenant.

#5- Have you ever made a promise you never thought you’d have to keep? God promised knowing he would have to keep it.

 

#6- I’m not comparing God to a Chevy but we’re a lot like Tommy.

 

#7- The primary way churches reach people isn’t advertising or events but the people investing in and inviting others who are far from God.

#8- It takes faith. You can focus on your fear and faithlessness or on God’s faithfulness.

#9- God is not a vending machine but he promises to bless those who give. When he blesses us with stuff, it’s so we can be generous (2 Co 9:11).

#10- “Be brave. Be brave. Be brave…” God is faithful.