Special Christmas Weekend - WRC Gift Opportunity

Greetings Lifers, 
As Christmas approaches, more families in our community are looking for help to feed their children this season. Many of them are coming to the Women's Resource Center and their shelves are beginning to look bare. The Publix on Kingsway, just across from Bay Life, has stepped forward to help re-stock the shelves - if you're able to help, the WRC would greatly appreciate it. This weekend, Sunday, Dec 18 and Monday, Dec 19, Publix has put together special food and hygiene bags for purchase to be delivered to the Women's Resource Center on Wednesday, Dec 21. 

Share the gift of food with a neighbor in need - Publix at 1220 Kingsway Road, in Brandon is offering options to help the Women’s Resource Center re-stock their empty shelves. 

To help, tell the cashier you want to purchase a food or hygiene bag for the Women’s Resource Center

Purchase: $10 food bags; $20 food bags; $10 hygiene bags

When: Sunday Dec 18 and Monday Dec 19 

Where: Publix at 1220 Kingsway Road in Brandon

Your donations are tax deductible with your Publix receipt

All food and hygiene bags will be delivered to Women's Resource Center on Dec 21

The Women’s Resource Center is a faith based not for profit organization supporting families in our community. Learn more about our services at wrctampa.org

This is the weekend to bring your neighbors, friends and names in wall to one of our services. We have a special Christmas weekend planned that you don't want to miss. 


Peace,
Mark 


 At the INFOdesk@baylife.org:

• Christmas Eve Services 4 pm, 5:30 pm and 7 pm - Childcare available through 5th grade during the 4 and 5:30 pm services. Deaf and Spanish interpretation available during those services also. 
• Additional ushers are needed for Christmas Eve, please email cperkins@baylife.org if you can help.
• Breast Cancer Support Group Dec 19 | 7 pm in Room 604
• Annual Business Meeting Jan 8  | during all services. This brief meeting is to affirm the Elders & Trustees for another year.
• Welcome Lunch Jan 15 | meet in the lobby at 1 pm

Bogus Car Wash

Greetings Lifers,


Only 17 days left before we celebrate the first coming of our Savior Jesus Christ – are you psyched or what? (Note here that I didn’t inquire as to your preparations for gifts and family and whatnot, which are nice appendages to the season we find ourselves in (like extras in a movie) but certainly not the overall point – not even close really. May Jesus be on the billboard of our hearts, our leading (God) man, now and always). I am finishing up another work week here (mine starts on Saturday and runs through Thursday after lunch, FYI) with this here missive. So, since I usually draw from my life experience to point out some minute but important theological idea, I thought I’d go ahead and do it again here. But before I do, a quick prayer request – Bay Life Academy has some unique opportunities to expand their ministry that hinge on the decisions made this Monday night at a county meeting. Would pray that God would work through the regulators present to provide His plan for the Academy? Thanks for praying – now prepare for a car wash anecdote – here we go.


So I’m filling my tank at a local gas station after enjoying lunch with three of our other pastors here. After keying in my zip code (hope I never lose my credit card in my zip code area – I think that’ll greatly diminish my chances of not being ripped off), the pump asks me if I want a carwash with my purchase. I look at a smear that has been on my rear van window since July and push the “yes” button. Tank full, I announce our adventure to my co-passengers and steer my dirty van into the automated car wash, being careful to drive all the way up to the flashing green light before coming to a stop in that one spot that makes one of those things work. 


This particular car wash has a stack of signs beneath the flashing green light that indicate which phase of the wash cycle is coming up next. The first sign blinks to life - apparently the “Pre-Soak” is about to commence. The sprayers on the wash arm spurt and sputter in an effort to soak something but only manage a few pathetic bubbles that trickle down the casing holding them. The arm passes back and forth over my van without anything get remotely wet.


The same thing occurs in the next cycle, entitled “Pre–Wash”. Lots of noise, a passing arm, but no liquid to speak of. Finally the “Wash” cycle begins, but apparently this car wash hasn’t been used since the Carter Administration, so the water that spews from the nozzles is toxic and instantly smells like the refuse of three aging herds of diseased elephants. That sweet aroma envelopes all in attendance – to this point in life, I have never had to cover my nose with my shirt while getting my car washed, but hey, it’s a day of firsts. If there is any actual soap agents involved with this cycle, I can only assume that whatever is making the water smell like it does has long since killed them.


Now here’s the capper. A white van is parked just outside the carwash, its nose pointed in the direction of the exit I am all too eager to use. The arm passes once more, this time to dry the filth the sprayers have deposited on top of the filth I’d paid to have the carwash to remove. The green light sign flashes again, cuing my departure, and as I head out, the gentlemen in the van emerges and heads toward the stink wash. I roll down my window to speak to him, and he informs me that the car wash has needed repair for some time and wonders aloud as to why the gas station would sell an unsuspecting customer a bogus wash (see: me). I wonder the same thing as I head back to work in a slightly less grimy but significantly stinkier van.


My point? Some things leave us thinking that they can cleanse when they can’t. Entire religions are built around the premise – if I do this, don’t do that, eat here, stop eating there for this amount of time, and never mess up, I become worthy of God. Only no one has ever kept their self-imposed rules perfectly. Works were never designed to make us clean. In fact, they aren’t that clean at all compared to the Holy God they are meant to appease. Check this verse out from Isaiah 64:6 -
        6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
It’s tricky though – our works can look good, and we can begin to think that we really are clean because of what we do. But may God constantly remind us that He is our righteousness, that Jesus alone saves and cleanses us from sin. Sure we need to obey, to honor, to glorify God in what we do. But spiritually speaking, if we are clean, it’s by the grace of God in Christ.


And now for what is going on at Bay Life – see you this weekend.
Mark Saunders
Pastor
Bay Life Church
1017 Kingsway Rd
Brandon FL 33510
813-661-3696


Christmas Eve Services 4, 5:30 and 7 pm - Childcare available through 5th grade during the 4 and 5:30 pm services


At the INFOdesk@baylife.org
·         Blood Pressure Screening Dec 11 | between services in the Cry Room
·         Breast Cancer Support Group Dec 19 | 7 pm in Room 604
·         Annual Business Meeting Jan 8  | during all services. This brief meeting is to affirm the Elders & Trustees for another year.
·         Welcome Lunch Jan 15 | meet in the lobby at 1 pm

Mark's Email - Tuesday Edition

Greetings Lifers!

Hope this is hitting your email box at a time where you’re aware of God’s bountiful blessings in life. I had the joy yesterday of sharing the gospel with a guy who’s been coming to church for a couple months and seeing him pray to receive Christ, so I am feeling pretty in awe of our God and the way He transforms a person through His grace. Be praying for our new brother in Christ that he might be rooted firmly in his new found faith and transition quickly to a life of serving His Savior.

And speaking of prayer, I mentioned this past Sunday that we are gathering as a church to pray tonight at 7:00 in the Student Worship Center. I know it’s a busy season, but with all that’s going on, aren’t we too busy NOT to pray? If you’ve never been to a prayer gathering, let me de-weird this one – we sing some songs (just like Sundays), I talk a little bit (not near as long as on Sundays :)) and then we gather in groups to pray through the areas we designate as needing prayer. You need not be seasoned in public prayer ministry – just come willing to talk to God (and hear from Him) on behalf of our church family and the work of the gospel here and around the world. In fact, if you are still trying to figure the whole prayer thing out, think of tonight as a training session as well – you can pray and hear the prayers of others.

So come on and pray with us, as just you or as a couple or as a life group (2 or 3 groups make this another gathering place for them) or however – let’s just take a night to lift our praise and thanks, our needs and our dreams to our Father in heaven.
--

Free,

Mark Saunders

Lead Pastor
Bay Life Church
1017 Kingsway Road
Brandon, Florida, 33510
813-661-3696 (w)

Veteran's Day 2011

Greeting Lifers!

I was driving back to the office today after a great lunch with a good friend when it occurred to me just how much God has blessed our country (epiphanies hit me often while I am driving). I know you know this, but ponder it anyway with me - you and I are free to live and work where we want, raise our families how we want, eat what we want where and when we want – what an incredible gift our liberty is.

Just then a commercial came on over the radio that mentioned Veterans Day, which made me think about the men and women of our armed forces who gave their lives to provide for and protect our freedom. Many of them live on to tell the story of the high price paid for our way of life – too many gave their all while defending it. That’s why I am using this week’s email to say thank you to all who have faithfully served our country in our armed forces and to the families they come from – this citizen appreciates your sacrifice. God has blessed our country through each of you - may He richly bless you and yours.

I rarely do what I am about to do, but I thought it appropriate for this email. Today I received a message from the mom/wife of a young family that just recently started attending Bay Life. I will let you read her note in a second, but you’ll note that she is here raising her baby boy while her husband is away serving as a military contractor in Afghanistan. I include her request so that we can be praying for their specific needs with their son Benjamin, but in addition I am calling us as a church to  remember in prayer all of the families in similar situations in our midst and around our community. She mentions an opportunity to support an organization - be a part of the fund raising initiative if you feel led, but know that my main concern is that families like this one get the prayer and nurture they need from God’s family (and that’s us). Thanks in advance for lifting them up – see you this weekend.

Peace,

Mark


Hey, Mark.
I've gone back and forth about emailing you. I've never been one to step out and ask for money on behalf of anything. But a lot has changed in our family the last year or so and I couldn't let this go without seeing if there was a way you and Bay Life could help.

Let me explain...
About a year and a half ago, my husband got a job as a military contractor. While we knew it was an exciting opportunity, we also knew it would be he would have to be gone most of the year. At the time, it was just Micah and I so the decision seemed easier.
Fast forward a few months. Right before he was set to deploy, we found out we were pregnant. Even though it made the deployment a little more on the sour side, we decided to continue with the original plan.
8 months later, Micah came home on a month long leave and we welcomed Mr. Benjamin on March 29th, 2011. 5 pounds, 11 ounces of perfection.
The day after he was born, we found out Ben had a secret. A nurse practitioner handed me pamphlets about Down Syndrome and my heart sunk. It's been a long road of grief and research since then. His diagnosis didn't change the way we loved our son, but we couldn't deny the fact that things were going to be different.
Our little dude is amazing. We really couldn't imagine life without him and we're so excited about seeing what God does in and through him as he grows and matures. He already charms the hearts of people everywhere we go!
Ben's first birthday is in a few months and we've decided to open a donation page in his name. All proceeds will go to the National Down Syndrome Society in support of those, like Ben, with Designer Genes. We'll keep it open until March 29th, 2012 and our goal is to see how much we can raise between now and then. Last month was theoretically Down Syndrome Awareness Month, but why not be aware all the time. :)

Here's the link - - http://ndss.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=470145&supid=344294949
Micah is back in Afghanistan now and will be home for Christmas this year. Ben and I have been in this area for a couple months and we're really enjoying Bay Life! So, thank you for what you're doing around here.

There's a lot more to our story if you're interested in reading it on my blog. amber-webb.blogspot.com

Thanks! Looking forward to Sunday!
-Amber Webb

Are we doing this?

Greetings Lifers,

Those were the words I used to close our services last week as we confirmed together from God’s word what we stand for as a church. If you weren’t with us, I reintroduced our church’s mission, which is as follows:
Our mission is to surrender to God as He makes disciples through us, here and around the world.

We talked some about what surrender looks like and how part of our surrender lies in us making ourselves not just available to God, but intentional with God in seeing others start/grow up in their faith. I was so pleased to hear reports from our Front Yard Fall Festivals that took place at various Lifer homes on Monday night. Hundreds of families got to hear about our church from those participating, and I am praying that all who who now carry the little flashlights we handed out will find themselves in our midst this weekend. A simple thing, handing out flashlights and letting people know about Bay Life. But it all goes into us accomplishing our mission of making disciples here in our community.

I heard a story recently from our 5th grade Sunday class, a huge “Yay God” as we see Him work through our faithful service to Him. Read and see what Miss Vicki and her team got to see God do in their midst... 

October 16, 2011 was a great day. Our 5th grade class has been studying the Old Testament peoples and events to answer the question “Why did Jesus have to come”? They saw the fall of man through Adam, the calling forth of a people and race through Abraham, Joseph saving them from famine and Moses rescuing them from Egypt. We went through the 40 yrs. in the wilderness, the Ten Commandments, Elijah, and then 800 yrs. later Jesus comes. We worked on building up to the big day that salvation would come to mankind. The penalty of our sins would be dealt with by the Son of God. Sunday was the BIG DAY. Finally, He came, chose His disciples, taught them, and established the new covenant by going to the cross. 

We talked about His sacrifice, his agony, and the extraordinary events that happened that wonderful day. He rose from the dead and salvation was complete with his resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit

I grabbed a dollar bill, held it up high and said “Whoever comes up here and takes this dollar can have it. They all just looked at me. I repeated the phrase. After a bit, two boys came at me and jumped and one of them took the dollar. I looked at him and said, “put it in your pocket and make it yours.’ I said to the class, it was mine to give to whoever wanted it, but this boy reached out and took it. Now it’s his. The rest of you just looked at me. They said, “but it was too easy, we thought you would call us greedy or something.”

I said “a lot of people say that faith alone is too easy when accepting what Jesus did.”

“You have to take His payment as your own. Make it yours, make him your Lord. YOU have to take it. No one else can take salvation for you, it’s your choice.”

One of the boys in the front row looked at me and said, “Can we do it now?”

Now this is the part that I love. My mind raced, I glanced around the room. Every eye was looking at me. Should I leave this to small group time or just go with it? In about a nanosecond I said “Sure, lets all bow are heads. If this is the first time you REALLY understood about what Jesus did for you on the cross that day, and if you want to take His offer of salvation and make it yours, then you need to grab it. If you want Him as YOUR savior and you receive what He did for you, in your place, then raise your hand.”

The room was so thick with the presence of God. Hands, arms raised as high as they could go and it took our breath away. My mouth fell open, I looked at Ken, he was frozen, I glanced at Susan her mouth was open. I could barely breathe. 17 hands had lifted. 17. All I could do was whisper “thank you Jesus.”

Stories like these happen because faithful people like you make yourselves available to be used of God. May God keep us mindful of and applied to our mission as we serve Him as a church. See you Sunday – bring a friend.

Peace,

Mark

Mark's Blog

Greetings Lifers,Missed you guys! I was in Texas last weekend enjoying some time with old life group mates from a previous church family. In my absence I was praying for you all as you assembled last Saturday and Sunday? It’s nice to go away, but it’s great to come home - I am amped to be talking to you again at our upcoming services and look forward to seeing you at one of them. The Bible is clear on our mandate as a body of believers – it's for our best that we gather together each week:

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.       Hebrews 10:24-25
Looking forward to being gathered, spurred, and encouraged! As for what I am talking about this weekend – I know I’m not alone in being the guy who walks into a room, pauses, and then walks back out because he can’t remember why he went in there. I stand for prolonged periods over open drawers in my kitchen trying to recall which utensil is best for eating soup. I sit down to my computer screen and notice an email I started to write to my church 2 hours before but failed to complete (this may or may not have occurred with this particular offering). I am over-prone to forgetting my point.

So it is with church. We can show up week after week, serve faithfully, give generously, and have little to no clue as to why we are doing these things or to what we are giving ourselves. This week, we will be reminded of why we are in our room and of what God is wanting to use us for as we walk this part of life’s journey with Him. Come ready to listen and be changed by God’s mission for us. See you soon.
Peace,
Mark

At the INFOdesk@baylife.org
Life Group Leaders Bonus Training – Oct 30 | 6:30 pm in the loft
Men's Retreat – Nov 4 & 5 | Register at the INFOdesk - $50
Holidays of Hope Food Collection begins on Nov 5 | in the lobby
Scrapbook & Crop for Missions | $25 – fliers at the INFOdesk
Revolve Student Retreat – Nov 11-13 | $65- visit the Family Ministry Center
Sewing Team Meeting – Nov 13 | 1 pm in the Conference Room
Life Group Leaders Training – Nov 13 | 6:30 pm in the loft
Ladies Missions Bazaar – Nov 16 & 17 | 7 pm & 9 am in the lobby
Thanksgiving Dinner – Nov 24 servers needed | register to serve at baylife.org

Lifers, Start Your Engines!

Greetings Lifers,

I have never been mistaken for a gear-head, one of those guys who can tell what’s wrong with your vehicle by listening to it idle and then fix it with a crescent wrench and a stick of Doublemint. On top of that, I have yet to take in a car race of any kind; open wheel, closed wheel, professional or amateur, street or track (although I may be guilty of trying to beat another car to a drive-thru lane at a fast-food joint a time or two – I don’t think that counts as a full on race though). But here’s the deal - even I know that race cars won’t race until the drivers crank the motor. Hence the pre-race request for the starting of engines. Spoiler alert – you’ll never win a race in a parked car.

This car talk comes to you courtesy of this weekend’s service subject – on Sunday I will be preaching through the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2, where the Apostle Paul explains, as clearly as anywhere in Scripture, what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. He points to what we’ve been saved from, what we are saved to, how we are saved, and then what happens after that. So here’s where the car stuff comes in – I know many of you have taken advantage of our worship stations during our services, and whether it’s been in a prayer request pinned to one of the crosses or in a name placed inside our walls, you’ve asked God to lead one of your not-yet-saved friends/family members to repentance and regeneration. I love that about our church – we know that people need a Savior and we are committed together to seeing the gospel spread in our world.

This weekend is a chance for you to shift out of neutral with some of your friends who need Jesus. You have between now and Sunday morning to pray for them and ask them to join you at church. If we’re going to have a car in this race with Jesus (and we all do if we have found faith in Him), then we’re going to need to steer it into traffic at times like these. I’d love to be a part of God’s plan in reaching your friend – let’s double-team ‘em on Sunday. You get them here, and together we’ll point them to Jesus! Lifers, start your engines!

Peace,

Mark

At the INFOdesk@baylife.org

Blood Pressure - Oct 9 | after services in the Cry Room

Bay Life Kids Drama Clinic – Oct 9 | 1:30 pm in the Student Center

Kids First Step Class – Oct 16 | 10 am in Rm 606, register at the INFOdesk

Welcome Lunch – Oct 16 | 1 pm Register by Oct 9 at the INFOdesk

Life Group Basic Training – Oct 23 | 6 pm in the loft

Prayer Night – Oct. 25 | 7 pm in the Student Center

Men's Steak-n-Games – Nov 4 & 5 | $50 register at the INFOdesk

Scrapbook & Crop for Missions Nov 5 | 9 am $25 register at the INFOdesk