Jim Brown
Genesis 18-19

“Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men”  (click to view trailer)

Join us – all are welcome!

Time:     6:30 – 8:00 pm  (Doors open at 6:30, movie begins at 6:45)

Where:  2658 Ospika Blvd

Cost:       Admission by donation of non-perishable food items

Popcorn, juice boxes and candy  bags $0.50 each

Parents, please stay with your children

See you there!

Countless people — young and old, male and female, inside and outside the church — are being spiritually crippled by questions they don’t know how to answer, and Westwood is no exception.  So, on Saturday morning, March 10, from 8:00-11:30am we will be hosting a free city-wide webcast hosted by Lee Strobel to present responses to some of the top questions that many Christians are wrestling with today, such as:

• What makes you so sure that God exists at all? 
• Why trust the Bible – isn’t it full of myths and mistakes?  
• What makes you think that Jesus was more than just a good teacher? 
• Why choose Christianity over all other religions? 
• Why does God allow so much pain and suffering – or doesn’t He care? 
• And, do you really believe in Hell – and that God sends people there?  

So mark the date on your calendar and spread the word, particularly to those who you know are wrestling with these questions.  It’s going to be an awesome opportunity for us as a church to grapple with the truth and to be equipped to present it to our community and our world.

For more details you can visit the webpage at http://incastevents.com/questions/

Craig Reimer
Genesis 14

“Disciple-Sending” – You may have noticed that the term “disciple-sending” has crept into a number of contexts at Westwood lately. That is not by accident. Last fall, the board commissioned the pastoral staff to come up with a model of ministry that would move us into a disciple-sending approach to ministry. In other words, how can we invest in, equip, mentor, train, etc, the people of Westwood so that we become a launching pad for serving God throughout the world? As one of many local churches in Prince George, we are called to actively pursue God’s mission in both our local community and across the globe. But how do we do it? How do we develop people who have a heart for God and for others? Well, stay tuned! Our goal is to have a basic method figured out within a month or two, to get the whole church involved in the conversation, and then to implement it this fall. We’re exited about the future!

“Singles Ministry” – It is rare for a church to effectively embrace every life space that people are in, and for some reason, singles often get the short end of the “ministry stick”. We’re going to change that. Right now, there are a handful of people who are dreaming, talking, and praying about what a healthy singles ministry would look like at Westwood. Why don’t you join us in prayer?

“Congregational Care” – If you have been a part of the last two congregational meetings (everyone is invited!), you would have heard me talk about a new model of congregational care that is being built. We should be “rolling it out” any day now! Dave and Bev Shauer, with Del and Syvia Reinheimer, are giving leadership to a new ministry of care that will not only meet urgent needs (hospital, etc), but will also provide for strategic and proactive care for Westwood’ers who “opt in”. This is another great development that has been driven by ordinary Westwooder’s who have a heart for serving others.

“Baptism and Membership” – As you have heard both at the last congregational meeting (are you getting the hint?) and then later on Sunday morning, we are trying a crazy new idea next month and are going to have the whole church work through the Discover Westwood course together during the Sunday morning teaching times. I am looking forward to this – what a great way to explore the church, salvation, baptism, communion, and church membership! For those of you who want to become members and/or be baptized, all you have to do is attend all four Sunday services (Mar 4/11/18/25), indicate that you want membership/baptism (we’ll put something in the bulletin to fill out), and then meet with a pastor so that we get to know your story, etc. The baptism/membership service will be April 8. We are looking forward to this!

“Serve Sunday” – If you were at the last congregational meeting (seriously, are you getting the hint?), you would have heard me talk about our need (our mission, actually) to serve the community around us. Ideally, we’d like to come up with a way that involves all the church going into all the local community and serving them. Why? Because God loves our community and we care for our community. Talk about “Bringing Jesus into Life”! Anyway, we’re still praying and dreaming at this point, but expect to hear more soon. And join us in prayer in the meantime.

“Outdoor Service” – Yep, come the end of June, we’ll do our annual outdoor service again! If you have been a part of any of them in the past, you know how awesome that day is, so I don’t need to sell it. However, if you haven’t been a part of one yet, just know that last time I spoke with a large sword in my hand. And we talked about murder and mayhem. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

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Well, there you go. We covered a lot of information, and hopefully that gave you a bit of an idea about what is happening in Westwood, and what might happen in the future. And of course, we need you! God uses all of us for his work, not just a few people who speak into microphones. Let’s Bring Jesus into Life in Prince George together!

Mark Wessner
Genesis 12

• Giant Faith: Rescue (Genesis 14:1-24)
• Giant Faith: Justice (Genesis 18:1-19:29)
• Giant Faith: Trust (Genesis 22:1-19)

I spent two days afterwards figuring out ways not to run a new wire, even calculating out the power draw for everything on that breaker.  This morning, I finally gave in, and at lunch time went home and ran a new wire.  I know that I will be grateful in the long run, but boy did I have a few days of irritation.  Thanks Don…no really…thanks.

As I was working through the birth of Jesus in my personal study I was struck by what a huge inconvenience it must have been for him to be born as a human.  It was huge sacrifice on God’s part to become one of us, having to learn, having to eat, having to breathe, and having to grow up.  In Hebrews 2:17 it says that He was made like us in every way so that he could be a faithful high priest and pay for the sins of humanity.”  WOW.  He was totally inconvienced to do all of that.  He was inconvienced to do what was best.

Are you willing to be inconvenienced for something better?  How do you like being inconvenienced?  How does what Jesus accomplished reveal about your own life?

January 29, 2012
Mark Wessner
Genesis 3

January 22, 2012
Mark Wessner
Genesis 2