Easter Greetings!

At the INFOdesk@baylife.org this week:

• Easter Services - Saturday, April 23 @ 6 pm & Sunday April 24 @ 8:30, 10, & 11:30 am
• National Day of Prayer – May 5 | meet at the Pole Barn in Brandon @ 6:30 pm
• Parent/Child Dedication – May 7 & 8 | Applications available at INFOdesk or in Children/Student Building lobby
• Scrapbook & Crop Day – May 7 | a fun day out supporting Bay Life missions
• Parent's Night Out – May 13 | 6 – 9:30 pm in the Children/Student Building

Easter Greetings Lifers,

(Coming to you in written word amidst the extreme clutter of a pastor’s desk around Easter...)

Pray this finds you well – I find I am doing quite well myself. Fact: God is always good, even when things around us aren’t (or, better said, especially when they aren’t). But, as mentioned, things with me are particularly good - I am stoked about the next 4 days of remembering Good Friday and Easter with you all. You hear me preach it all the time that without the cross we have no cause for gathering, that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection form for us the foundation for and focus of our faith. But still, there’s just something special about the actual day on our calendars that we set aside to commemorate His grace – if you haven’t offered a prayer of thanks yet this week (or even if you have) for His saving work on your behalf, now’s as good a time as any. I’ll wait.

MID-EMAIL PRAYER PAUSE

Hey, as long as you’re in prayer mode, let me throw this in your mix. If you are reading this at work, take a look outside your office/cubicle/closet at the others who work with you. Anyone there need Jesus? More than at any other time of the year, people are open to going to church on this weekend. They just need someone to ask them. How about those of you reading this in your house – can you see out a window to the homes of your neighbors? Who among them needs a Savior? Listen, I know that we may not feel like we know our co-workers/neighbors well enough to ask. Or maybe we just assume that they already have a place picked out for Easter services. But maybe you do know them well enough – maybe they haven’t decided if they’re going to church on Easter, let alone where. Maybe they’re just waiting for someone to ask so they don’t have to go alone. I am amazed at how often God is preparing someone for Himself and all that He is looking for is someone like you or me to be the linchpin in His process.

I saw this with me own eyes (random pirate talk there) just a couple of hours ago. I have a standing Life Group on Thursday mornings at Cracker Barrel. The guys and I usually commandeer the first big circular table as you walk in, but recently we have been adding more men so we have taken to sitting in the back room area to accommodate.

This morning, as we greeted each other and prepared for our study, I noticed a young man sitting by himself in our otherwise deserted section. He seemed to be waiting for someone to join him, so I thought little of his being there. A few minutes passed by as more of the fellas trickled in. I was just about to commence with the festivities when this guy approached us and asked if he could “sit in for the morning”. He had his bible with him (he was waiting for a mentor who was unable to meet him), so he just pulled his chair over and joined our group. He’s planning on joining us at church this Sunday.

Anyway, my point is this – we had no previous relationship, but we shared a proximity. I believe fully that God is always at work around us and that He is ever inviting us to be a part of His plan in another’s life. Perhaps He is doing that kind of thing with you this weekend. Paul wondered the same thing when he wrote to his friends in Rome -

11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Let’s all pray together for people to see Jesus, to “call on the name of the Lord” at our church and at other area churches like we haven’t seen in years around here. Let’s be willing to go across the office, the classroom, the street, the gym (you get the point) to extend an invitation to those around us to join us at one of our services this weekend. I expect that God will pleasantly surprise us with people that He has been preparing for just such a conversation.

Saw a compelling video on the subject this past week – paste the web address below in your web browser and watch the video there entitled “Invite Me In”...

http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/23433/Invite-Me-In


Loving you all and excited for Easter – He is RISEN!

Mark

The Red Sox and Easter

This week at the Bay Life INFOdesk:

·         Night of Prayer - Tuesday, April 19 | join us to pray for our church and community

·         Good Friday Service - April 22 - 7pm | bring your family for this reflective communion service

·         Easter Services | Saturday, April 23 at 6pm, Sunday April 24 at 8:30, 10 & 11:30 am

·         National Day of Prayer - May 5 | Pole Barn in Brandon at 6:30pm

·         Parent/Child Dedication - May 7 & 8 | Applications available at INFOdesk

·         Mission Fundraiser - Crop Day May 7 | Applications available at INFOdesk

Greetings Lifers,

So how’s your week going? Aside from recent major league baseball scores, I am doing great (for those not in the know, I root for the team out of Boston – alas). I am constantly amazed at how in some weeks it feels like time is moving at an accelerated pace (usually on weeks (like this past one) where there is more than can possibly be contained in the hours allotted) and then in other weeks it crawls along at a near standstill (as in the week before you go on vacation). I know we all have the same amount of time in each day, but the context we find ourselves in changes how it feels as it passes, no? I digress...

Allow me to take this opportunity to remind you of our Easter season schedule – this weekend we are digging into the familiar but fascinating account in scripture (John 13) of the washing of the disciples' feet. The God (Jesus) who made their feet bends down before dinner and gives them a good scrubbing. He does it for all of them, even the guy (Judas) who in a few hours will sell him out to the men who will eventually murder him. This sermon kicked me around all week as I was studying for it – there is much here for us to learn about our Savior and the life He has called us to lead. Obviously I think that you need to be in church every week, but this week is extra-packed with practicality. Be there, bring your friends, and let’s learn together what life with Christ is meant to look like.

Beyond Sunday, we have the privilege of meeting together to pray on Tuesday night – we’ll be focusing our prayers around all that God has done and continues to do at Easter. Then on Friday we gather for our Good Friday family service – I’m looking forward to sharing from God’s word with you there – and then Saturday and Sunday we rollout our Easter services. Be praying over who you might be inviting to one of our 4 services that weekend (Saturday 6:00 p.m., Sunday 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 a.m.). Be bold – folks are probably thinking about going somewhere, and would be happy to go with someone they know. I am praying that God would this next week be in our church to sow, cultivate, and reap a spiritual harvest for His name sake – join me in praying, and then go and farm.

Okay – here’s the rest of what’s going on here – see you this weekend. May God bless and keep you, and may you bless Him back.

Peace,

Mark Saunders

Pastor

Beware of Distractions / Feed the Bay - This Weekend

• Feed the Bay - March 26 & 27 | Saturday and Sunday - go to feedthebay.org to volunteer
• Prayer Night - March 29 | a time of prayer for our church and community
• Meet the Need Workday - April 9 | helping Bay Lifers and other
• Spring Musical - April 10 | a musical celebration during weekend services
• Baptism - April 16 & 17 | pre baptism meeting after each service at the fountain April 2 & 3

Greetings Lifers,

The count down is on – T minus 53 hours (give or take) before we send out our first wave (Saturday night service-goers) to FEED THE BAY! Hope you’ve secured your T-shirts (we sold out of our initial 500 after our first service Sunday – more are on the way...) and clipped some coupons (they really add up!) for our foray into the grocery aisles. As we have over the past couple of years, we are still planning to gather for a regular Sunday service (albeit a slightly shorter one) at all three of our services this weekend, so be sure to join us there before you head for the store (if your serving on Sunday and can’t make those services, this might be a great week to check out our Saturday service - just saying). I am pumped about what God taught me this week as I prepared for our time together – come ready to hear from Him through His word as we open it together this weekend. It’s going to be a great day for our church and the others joining us! Together we truly can do more!

I’m letting you know now – April 3rd weekend is going to be an important one in our history – I am looking forward to explaining where God is leading us as a church in the coming years as I preach that Saturday/Sunday. I’d love to have you all there to hear what’s going on from this horse’s mouth. I refer to myself as a horse in only flattering ways (see: stallion). But anyway, do plan to be here. Thanks.

I have a little time left – care to indulge in my latest family story as we close this out? I need to preface this story with an honest disclaimer – I LOVE my kids, they are each individually awesome, and Eleanor and I are so blessed to be trusted by God in raising them. They, like all kids, make some often comical choices that lend themselves to email fodder, but they are only doing things that their mother and I did at their age. We may have been worse, actually. Check that – I know we were worse at their age. So when I relate a story about them, know that I love them and that they are super-sharp kids who on occasion make mistakes that allow us to teach them important life lessons (and have stories to tell at their weddings – or in an email/blog). Disclaimer over.

So Sunday I’m arriving home after another great welcome lunch with some future Lifers. I pull into my driveway to find that the ‘99 Expedition we recently came into (Eleanor’s parents old car, now our kids ride for the foreseeable future) was parked outside our garage, blocking the left side stall. Eleanor likes to leave the car out of the garage because it’s easier to get out of it if it’s not in the garage. I always point out that we built the garage for the specific purpose of parking cars in there, but hey, I love her, so she can put the car wherever she wants.

Unable to park the vehicle I was driving on that side, I angle for the other stall next to it. Foiled! Hidden from view by the big truck is our 2002 minivan, which has somehow made it into our garage opposite the truck. Stymied, I swerve the car I am driving to the other side of our driveway at the last second, parking at an angle that would make it near impossible for the van to be backed out without hitting one or both of the vehicles outside the garage.

Admittedly miffed by the current car constellation, I shut my door and headed inside. #1 son opened the door into our house as I was reaching for the knob.

“Oh, hey dad. Is it still okay if I vacuum out the cars for some cash?”

We had agreed earlier that he could do the very same as a means of securing funds necessary for a clothing purchase.

“Sure bro.” I was happy to know that if my cars were out of order, they’d at least have clean carpets.

“Okay, I just need to back the van out so I can get the other cars done.” He had finished vacuuming the van prior to my arrival.

“Whoa there, buddy – let me set my things down and I’ll be right out to help you with that.” I knew that the car I had just parked was too close, so I planned to move it so that he could back the van out and pull the truck in. After setting my computer backpack down and issuing a brief greeting to Eleanor, I headed back to the garage.

Glancing at my cell phone, I noticed that Tom (our executive pastor – the guy who beat me at the 5K) had called me, so I mashed the redial button as I headed for the door. Opening it, I looked up from my phone screen to see #1 Son slowing backing the van out of our garage. He was doing a fabulous job – looking over his right shoulder, scrutinizing the space he had from the car on his right.

Problem was that he forgot that there was another vehicle on his other side.

Forgetting for the moment that I was on the phone, I just started yelling. “AAAAAAHHHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!!” what he was doing was taking the left side of our van down the right side of our truck. From my perch, it appeared that the cars were already exchanging paint. I waved both hands frantically (live phone call still happening in the one paw) to get his attention. Instinctively, at the sound of my elevated voice, the boy hit the brakes, but his reaction didn’t fit the situation. Scowling, he looked my way and responded with a “What?”, the kind you give when you’re unaware that something is happening around you. I pointed to his left, and he turned that way to see where his meticulous backing out skills had landed him.

When he turned back, his face looked different.

Time doesn’t permit more elaboration, but suffice to say that we had some very clear communication about looking both ways before we back a car up. If you're wondering the cars are fine – he somehow managed to keep the two from touching – they couldn’t have been a paper’s-width apart. Point? A brief one – sometimes we can be so intent on one thing being right that we forget that there are other things that need our attention. Spending enough time with your spouse? Your kids? Most importantly, your God? Or are the distractions of life keeping your focus from one or all of them? Let this email serve as me standing in the garage of your life, waving my hands and yelling. Look both ways (at all of the important stuff in your life) or you’re bound to do some damage. See you at FEED THE BAY!

Free,

Mark Saunders

Mark Saunders

Pastor

Bay Life Church

Saint Patty's Day Greetings

INFOdesk@baylife.org

• FEED THE BAY – March 27 | join us as we shop with 20,000 other Christians to fill the food banks of our local agencies

• Prayer Night – March 29 | a time of prayer for our church and community

• Men's Canoe Retreat – April 4 | a canoe trip and overnight men's retreat

• Parent's Night Out – April 8 | date night childcare to support missions

• Meet the Need Workday – April 9 | helping Bay Lifers and others

• Missions Garage Sale – April16 | here on campus to support missions

Saint Patty's Day Greetings,

Wearing something green? Ah, the Irish holiday. I did 4th through 7th grades in Boston, Massachusetts, home of the Celtics and many an Irish American, so I can tell many stories of being pinched on St. Patrick’s Day for going green-less. Apparently I failed to learn my lesson from those days since I sit here typing you with nary a green thread on my carcass. Oh well – next year.

I pray it’s been a good week for all of you out there in the blogosphere/Email-land. Allow me a special shout-out (are we still doing shout-outs, or did I age past yet another current slang?) to all with the foresight last week to set clocks forward and actually make it to our first service last Sunday. I think I counted seven of you :). Okay, there were more than seven (only slightly), but suffice it to say that I’m hoping to see more of you this coming week. In fact, I’ll go a step further - I understand that I currently send this email to 1871 email addresses each week, so I think it’d be great to have “all y’all” (Texan-talk for “everybody”) worshipping our God with us here at Bay Life this weekend. Has it been a long time since your last trek to church? Maybe too long? C’mon then – let’s end that streak. Putting off church is like holding out on a much needed doctor’s appointment – things aren’t going to get any better by staying away. If it’s been a while, you may want to try out our Saturday night service again for the first time. We recently moved over to building “A” from our children’s building and this past week we welcomed more people to a Saturday night service than we had on any Saturday in recent years (except an Easter or two). Regardless of the service, if you're in town, do plan to join us this weekend. I believe that you’ll be glad you did.

You’ll all be relieved to know that my half-shaved goatee is now growing back evenly and quite nicely (see unfortunate bet made over our recent 5K fun run here at the church some 2 months ago). I have vowed to avenge my recent loss to my slightly faster opponent (Tom Eichem) in next year’s contest, but am disappointed by rumors that Tom is hanging up his racing shoes (going out on top, I guess). That aside, this year’s race was our most successful to date – take a look.

Total amount raised -  $21,215.34
Total number of runners/walkers in 5K - 237 (208 last year)
Total number of runners/walkers in Kids 1K - 32 (26 last year)

Not bad, I’d say – God is so good. Thanks to everyone who participated and/or served at the race. It was a great day together as a church.

Well, that’s all for now. Be praying for each other, for our services this weekend, and for God to bring His best to His world through us. I thank God for you all in my prayers – press on towards the goal, run so as to win the prize, and live to bring God the glory.  Check out the remainder of “what’s up” at Bay Life...

Mark Saunders

Senior Pastor

Bay Life Church

Check this out:

Impact – Friday, March 18 – a special invite to all Bay Lifers:

We have a very special guest at Impact on Friday evening for the "Secret Church" series. His name is Sergei, he is the pastor of a Russian underground church and is in the states for a short time. Our contact with Voice of the Martyrs was able to get him in to speak to us on Friday night. We'd love for anyone who is interested in hearing him to come on Friday evening at 8.
Sorry for the short notice but it just happened that he was flying in this week and that we are doing the persecuted church series. Interesting coincidence, isn't it?

Paul Humphreys

Impact Coordinator

The Best Route Home

INFOdesk @ baylife.org

• Daylight Savings Time – Mar 13 | turn your clocks forward an hour before going to bed on Saturday night
• Blood Pressure Screening – Mar 13 | free screening in the Cry Room
• All – Campus Worship – Mar 16 | enjoy a great time praising God
• Welcome Lunch – Mar 20 | meet our pastors, staff, elders and learn about membership
• Prayer Night – Mar 29 | a time of prayer for our church and community

Greetings Lifers,

So I’m driving to my parents this past weekend (from Chicago to Peoria), talking to my beautiful wife, when out of the corner of my eye I see the sign for our next exit. Having driven this route dozens of times before, I barely looked up when merging onto the ramp that would take me south towards home.

Only it doesn’t take me thataway. Apparently Illinois recently got around to adding another exit to this highway, so what used to head south now dumps onto the ribbon of highway headed north. Guess I should be driving instead of talking.

So now I’m heading away from my final destination – not good. I determine the best route for a turnaround – only it isn’t. Now I am heading west to Indiana (Mom and dad do not live there). I search for a suitable exit, one that has both on and off ramps - nary a one. I recalculate and start heading south on a road I’ve never traveled, assuming it has to hit civilization at some point. We all know what assuming does. 45 minutes later, after several loud (mostly joking) exchanges with my bride, we reconnect with the interstate that takes us home.

And that’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back. But hey, the back roads around Joliet are nice this time of year…

 We’ve all been there – lost, I mean. Ever notice how the original state of “lostness” just seems to get “lost-er” the harder you try to find a way out? So it is with ways of our old life – one detour creates a dozen others, each one promising to head in a better direction, but each one failing to deliver. The best course of action in these situations is to keep your head up for the correct exit in the first place. The best way to avoid the many wrong turns is to avoid the first one. May God enable us all.

Spoiler Alert:   Word is that Tom Eichem will be arriving at our 5k showdown with half of his goatee already shaved off. I say good for him for saving time.

Spoiler Alert II:   We lose an hour of sleep on Saturday – some of you will either be early for the 10:45 or pretty early for lunch. Be apprised.

We start a new series this weekend on the Passion Week of Christ – great stuff to learn/relearn. Remember that we are committed this year to gather/grow/give/and go. look forward to seeing you this weekend!

LOVE being your pastor – thanks for being part of God’s vision through Bay Life Church!

Free,

Mark Saunders

Senior Pastor

Bay Life Church

5K Face-Off - Saturday Service Announcement

INFOdesk@baylife.org

• Artist Circle – Mar 8 | artists sharing and collaborating
• 5K Cross Country Race – Mar 12 | register at INFOdesk – walkers welcome
• Daylight Savings Time – Mar 13 | turn your clocks forward an hour before going to bed on Saturday night
• Blood Pressure Screening – Mar 13 | free screening in the Cry Room
• All-Campus Worship – Mar 16 | enjoy a great time praising God
• Welcome Luncheon – Mar 20 | meet our pastors, staff, elders and learn about membership
• Prayer Night  - Mar 29 | a time of prayer for our church and community

Greetings Lifers,

So – how’s the day going? I hope it’s been a good one. We can’t be too down – have you looked outside lately? Gotta love living in the F-L-A at this time of year, that’s for sure. I almost enjoyed working in my yard this weekend, it was so nice. Hope ypu had some additional time to talk to God this week – I have found myself having some pretty awesome conversations with Him myself as I’ve been upping the mileage in my near-daily runs around my ‘hood (I will win my 5k faceoff with my buddy Tom – that’s my story and I am sticking to it J).

As you pray, remember to be asking for God to move in the hearts of those around us who remain outside His grace. I had the joy of hearing just this morning of a young man who gave himself to Christ at Breakthrough (our ministry to special needs in our church – addictions, divorce recovery, anger management, etc. – phenomenal group) this past week. Can I get a “Yay God” out there? If you know of others who have discovered faith in Christ this week, please let me know. I’d love to celebrate with you.

As you know, God is always at work around us, and I have always prayed for Him to stand at the helm of our church as we head into our future serving Him - I am excited for what He has in store for us there, but I am equally stoked by what He’s doing in our church even now. In recent weeks we’ve experienced a 40% increase in our Saturday night crowd over the month or two before and have been adding chairs to our building “B” sanctuary to accommodate. Our team came to the conclusion this week that it will be a smoother transition for all involved on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings (since we have to reset the room for the kid’s ministry on Sunday morning)  to move our Saturday service into our main sanctuary as soon as possible (so we can outgrow that room too, I say). This shift will take effect this Saturday night – our children will still be in our children’s facility, but our service will be in building “A” - same time, but slightly different place.

Well, that’s it for this week – if you’ve been gone for a while, hope to see you back with us real soon. If you haven’t been gone, thanks for seeking and serving your Savior with us – it’s just good to be a part of His family here, isn’t it? Praying for you all. Peace.

Free,

Mark Saunders

Senior Pastor

Bay Life Church
1017 Kingsway Road

Brandon, FL, 33510

February's Gone... On to March!

INFOdesk@baylife.org

• Adult Mission Trips | applications due this Sunday, Feb 27
• Artist Circle - Mar 8 | artists sharing and collaborating 
• 5K Cross Country Race - Mar 12 | register at INFOdesk - walkers welcome
• Blood Pressure Screening - Mar 13 | free screening in the Cry Room
• All-Campus Worship - Mar 16 | enjoy a great time praising God
• Welcome Lunch - Mar 20 | meet our pastors, staff, elders and learn about membership

Greetings Lifers,

February is almost gone. I am literally losing months now – I remember them starting, but then I look up and they’re over and I can’t remember what transpired as they expired. So on to March, I guess. Hope this finds you well. I write without anecdote today, as nothing in my past week seems particularly email/blog worthy. It’s not that things haven’t been happening; it’s just that these things aren’t activating the left side of my brain (that’s the creative side, right?) like they usually do. So permit me just a few lines of reminder and I’ll sign off.

Reminder 1:  If you have put your faith in Jesus, He’s got you, and no matter what’s going on right now, it’ll eventually be okay.

Reminder 2:  Church is everywhere. Wherever you are reading this, God is there, you are there, so church is there. Live accordingly.

Reminder 3:  The Global 5K is only 3 weekends away (March 12) – if you haven’t signed up already, remember to this weekend at Bay Life or on our website (http://www.baylife.org/). Got kids? They can do the 1K walk while you're running/walking the 5K. It’s a great way for us as a church to enjoy a morning together and help our students get to their missions trips this summer.

Reminder 4:  You have friends – do they have Jesus? Ask them to join you this weekend at one of our services.

Reminder 5:  Our Saturday night service is growing! We’ve added seats to this service, so if you haven’t been in a while, come spend the evening with us this Saturday!

Alrighty then – need to go speak at our Lambkins preschool chapel, so I’m off like a dirty shirt. See you this weekend – praying for you all!

Free,

Mark Saunders

Senior Pastor

Bay Life Church