Hello Church! The week is upon us for an exciting meeting where we will layout what it means to officially call Parkland Foursquare your church home. The meeting will be this Saturday before church starting at 4:00PM. A meal will be served and we will have wonderful fellowship with one another. I hope to see you there. (If you are not able to make the Saturday Meeting and you haven't told anyone in leadership and would like to attend please let us know by email as we are looking to have a Wednesday meeting for those who cannot make the Saturday meeting. Thank you!)

As I have been thinking about this meeting I have began to think of where my true home is and what it means to have a home. Christ told us that where are riches are there are hearts will be. I have begun to see where I have been depositing all of my time, finances, and cares. Some of these are put into the bank of heaven and I long for that home to come but I see my longing to hold on to a temporary home, that will fade away, strong in my heart. When we call somewhere home we long for that place to be realized soon. We want to go to it after a long day. We want to spend our time living in it and building it up. Home is just a refuge from the hazards of this life. Where is home for you? Aside from our exciting meeting this Saturday, what do/will you call home? Is it here on earth? Is it in God's kingdom not yet fully realized? Is it a relationship with friends, family, or coworkers? We all have a home in our hearts. I believe God is calling us to a forever home... His heavenly dwelling place where we will dwell ever at His side in absolute satisfaction. May the Lord give you a longing for an eternal Home that will soon descend to this earth. May He give you a longing for His kingdom come and His will be done. Bless you all!

• Carl and Laurie Bruun are celebrating 36 years of marriage this week and we thank God for their heart of devotion to the Lord. If you see them, please congratulate them on this wonderful Milestone.
• We will of course have our Calling Parkland Foursquare Church Home meeting this Saturday. If you would like to help with set up for our meal and discussion please email Rachel Cardoza at shoutskyhigh@gmail.com or call at 253-363-2842. She would love your help!

Guest: Pastor Kaj Martin's Sermon

Pastor Kaj Martin has been a friend and mentor to Pastor Dan and many in our congregation for many years now and has a heart to see our church grow and succeed in it's mission to the Parkland Community. Pastor Kaj joined us for service this past Saturday and shared a message of Godly sorrow and response to a seemingly indefinite parting of fellow believers. His notes are as follows. (If you have anything else from His message you would like to share or anything that particularly stood out to you, please comment below!)

"I was struck by the concluding scene in Acts 20 where the Ephesian elders send off the Apostle Paul. What would you say if a father (or mother) in the faith told you, “This is the last time you will see my face on this earth.” (vs. 38)? Jesus prepared his Church to expect trials and tribulations. He prepared them to look past the grave and stand confidently in the promise of eternal life. So, when the authorities executed their friends, they wept and “made great lamentation” but also mixed their mourning with confidence that this was not the final end or farewell (Acts 8:2). Now, in Acts 20, the disciples in Ephesus heard their spiritual father say his last goodbye to them. He told them explicitly they would see him in the flesh no more. Now imagine this as a conversation you were having with a person you considered a treasured papa or mama in the faith. How would you respond? Like the Church of old, would you be confident that you would surely meet them again, even while recognizing you would miss them terribly as you walk the narrow path after they have inherited eternal life?

Let’s notice the three major things the Ephesian leaders did on hearing Paul’s farewell: They knelt down, prayed and wept aloud; they embraced Paul and repeatedly kissed him, and finally they accompanied him to the ship on which he would depart from them for the final time. If you have the opportunity to say goodbye to fellow Christians, I would encourage you to follow their pattern.

First, kneel and pray. Take on the posture of a servant and humble yourself and talk to the Father of your soul. Express your gratitude for their friendship and their investment in your life. Talk with God in their presence. Don’t be ashamed if you shed tears and show the strong emotion you are feeling.

Secondly, show affection. These saints embraced and kissed Paul repeatedly. When I shared this nugget with my kids in a morning devotion this week, the image of kissing repelled them. I reminded them that when I tuck them in at night, I always kiss them and affirm my gratitude for their being my kids. I asked them, “How much more do you think that affection will be when I know it will be the last time I get to kiss you on this earth?” Although they were not convinced, the fact is in many cultures around the globe kissing on the cheek, hand or forehead is an act of honor and respect. In India, a portion of the services I participated in at the Indian Pentecostal Church of God had time set aside for, “greeting one another with a brotherly kiss.” You just needed to remember if you were to first kiss the left or right cheek. If you aimed for the wrong cheek, you got a very awkward look in response. hey saw the biblical admonition to “greet each other with a kiss” (Romans 16:16) and therefore did it. These disciples in Ephesus had met Christ through Paul’s ministry. They considered him their spiritual father and grieved his loss with deep sorrow and emotion like any healthy human woul. A kiss on the cheek or some genuine expression of love and affection was totally fitting for them. So, when that time comes to say goodbye to those whose hope is in Christ, et’s follow their example and show affection.

Thirdly, they accompanied Paul to the boat. Another way to say this is they “said their proper goodbyes.” For us, who are 21st century saints, we ought not to pull away. Rather, let’s stay connected. Many Christians don’t know how to entrust their brother (or sister) to the Lord and say goodbye in a God-honoring way and then release them. The reality for Christians is that it will only be a matter of years, ones that will pass very quickly, until we are reunited again with them to reign with Christ for eternity. There is a tendency in all of us to try to cling onto earthly relationships and possessions, instead of viewing them through an eternal lens.

Let us be like these Ephesian leaders: Let’s view departures from an eternal perspective so that, while we grieve the loss of relationships in a healthy way, we still remain confident that it will be only a short time until we are together again."

• Please keep the Gesslers in your prayers as they are about to welcome a baby girl into the world in the coming weeks.
• Please pray for the Donohoues as they lead our congregation. That God would bless them and keep them and would encourage them to continue to hear from Him and lead as they follow Christ.
• Please pray for the Hemmings as they are soon going to begin reaching out to the adult neighbors around them with a bible study geared toward evangelism of those who do know the gospel.
• Please pray for those in the Parkland area who do not know Jesus to encounter Him in power and that their lives would be radically changed.

Prayer is so integral to the overall health of our church. If you have any requests or any answers to your prayers that you would like to share please comment below or send an email to info@parklandfoursquare.com. We want to lift you up in prayer.

Also if you have a need for help cutting your grass or cleaning up around the home or a need for help moving or anything at all please comment below and we can see if some from the church would be available to help.

Thank you all once again for taking the time to check on what is going on with our church. I know it is a blessing to me to reflect on what God has done and what He is doing through our church. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or prayer requests by emailing info@parklandfoursquare.com or commenting below.