Good morning everyone!

We're happy to welcome back Robbie Lewis this Sunday to our main meeting hour to be a part of our music team and guiding our hearts and minds toward the joy we have in Christ and in each other. Robbie is immensely talented with a heart to share his gifts with others in service. We're honored to have him step in and "learn our jam" a little bit, so please make plans now to attend and lend your support!

This week we will continue looking at Peter's life and transformation in a message I am calling "Becoming Faithfully Faithful." It's part one in a three part series on getting FAT -- Faithful, Availalbe, and Teachable in our service to God and His Kingdom. Peter demonstrated time and time again that he was a faithful person -- you could count on him most of the time be where he said he would be, do what he said he would do, and to follow Jesus. His major failure at the crucifixion when he denied Jesus was part of bringing Peter into a "teachable moment" that was necessary to free him up to rely fully on God.

One lesson along the way was the story of Jesus walking on water, and here we will see that Jesus (again) takes Peter to the place where he feels most comfortable and in control in order to work in humility and reliance on God. These are themes that repeat often in the Gospels, and we have them passed on to us so that we too can learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in the Creator who knows us and loves us more than we can ever imagine.

We sure hope to see you this week! Our large auditorium seats a great many, so there is plenty of room to space out and remain socially distanced. The more voices we put in the room the better the singing gets (the livestream doesn't always capture the fullness of the music), so bring your hearts on down to the Grove as we slowly round out the month with a new message series.

On Saturday morning, April 24, Peyton Jolly and I will be gleaning from our local farmer's market through a food program run by the Society of St. Andrews, which takes leftover produce to needy communities. There's room for one or two more volunteers, so if you would like to be a part of this ministry, or learn how we do it, then please send me an email. And by all means, start growing something in your own yard if you are able. There are few joys that can match handing someone you love a delicious fresh vegetable that you grew in your own backyard! As the decade unfolds at High Places, I hope we see more and more of us applying our hands to labor and our hearts to love as we address food scaricity issues in Oak Ridge.

On Monday, May the 3rd we will be hosting a livestream "Q&A" session in the lobby of the Grove. Participants as well as those tuning in virtually will be given opportunities to present questions about God and the Bible for one hour, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. This idea comes from Micheal Lyons who stopped me on Easter and suggested we do a question / answer time for folks wanting to learn more and apply it in their spiritual lives. If you cannot come in person, be sure to tune in! And be thinking of a question that you've always wanted to ask a pastor, but haven't. I won't promise to know the answer, but I can promise to give you my very best thoughts about it as someone who has spent a lifetime reading and studying about God.

On a personal note, I am reading "The Word Made Plain" by James H. Harris, which traces the history and the power of Black preaching in America. It's been very inspiring to me and opening me up to unique avenues of the Holy Spirit's work in the American Church. Pray that my time spent produces fruit, and the God continues to mold and shape me into the servant He desires.

We send love to all you, miss many of terribly, and stay in steadfast hope that the pandemic's shadow fades soon and the light of all our combined faces once again fills the bricks and mortar of the Grove Theater in joyful fellowship. God has called our church to serve, which means He has called us to be servants. We pray that His work, His timing, and His power continue to deepen us, stretch us, and lead us to the purposes He has for our community.

All the best,

David