Thank You for VBS 2011 from Echo Lake Baptist Church on Vimeo.

What a great day we had here at Echo Lake on Easter- thank you to the Duurloo family for a wonderful breakfast, thank you to the Worship Team for leading us in inspiring worship, thanks to the teachers and leaders for guiding our children, thanks to Mark Lynch for setting up the Egg Hunt, and thank you to everyone else who used their gifts- and  a big thank you to all of you who came to make the day very special!

As we say every week- “God is good- all the time. All the time- God is good!” and we sure found that to be true again this week.

We hope to see you again this Sunday as we continue our study of the letter to the Philippians.

Women will be gathering at Star Lake Conference Center this weekend!

Let’s all pray for their safety, unity and openness to what God wants to teach them.

Ladies, if you are attending, please arrive for registration at 6:30, the program will start at 7:00.

Every so often something happens to make me aware of how blessed I am and how blessed we are as a church, and this week the tragedy in Japan has made me aware of this in a big way. Any troubles I might have absolutely disappear when I look at photos of the loss and devastation over there.

We have just been talking about how we have the opportunity to be a part of God’s mission on earth, and we are certainly going to be looking for ways that we can help.

The deacons will be meeting this Saturday morning and will be discussing different options for us to follow. Please pray for wisdom as we seek God’s plan in all this.

I also encourage you to join me in prayer for all those who have suffered loss of everything- please pray without ceasing! (remember- that’s a primary way we can be a part of God’s mission!)

I am so thankful for you, I love you and I love being with you!

We apologize for any inconvenience, but since there weren’t enough sign ups, the Tea for this Saturday has been cancelled.

There is still time to sign up for the Retreat, April 8-9!

This Sunday at 9:00 before our worship service, we will begin a 4 week study based on a book and video series by Bill Hybels:

The Power of a Whisper

In this four week DVD teaching session Pastor and Author Bill Hybels teaches that if you turn your ear heavenward you can truly hear from God. Learn how to discern nudges, promptings and whispers and hear from God.

Check out the promo video- if you have any questions give us a call at the church office!

Happy New Year to all!

What a great time we had this past Sunday at ELBC- I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful group of people! Thanks to all who helped set up, cook, serve, teach, play and share in our New Year Breakfast. It really was a great way to start 2011.

We are going to continue talking about our Hope for a New Year this Sunday (sorry, no breakfast this week…) during our worship service at 10:30- the topic? The Joy of Believing in Christ. I hope you can join us.

Know that I am praying for you, that God would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you can know HIM better this year! God bless you in 2011.

I love you and I love being with you,
Brian

Christmas Invitation from Echo Lake Baptist Church on Vimeo.

It’s funny. When I was taping this clip, the traffic was buzzing on Macopin Road. When I started to edit it, the noise of the cars and trucks really bothered me, until I realized how symbolic that is also. In addition to the cold, the hurry and noise all around us can distract us from the true message of Christmas.

I do hope that you will be able to join us to enjoy some peace and quiet- God bless you this Christmas!

With great sadness, but also with the hope of eternal life, comes the news of the passing of Pastor Lewis Terry from this life into Glory. Pastor Terry and his wife, Mary, served Echo Lake with compassion and wisdom during an interim period and had a profound impact on many in our church family.

Please pray for Mary and her family, for God’s grace and peace to be evident to all.

Take Time To Say Thank You!

Thanksgiving should be more than cooking a turkey and eating as much as we possibly can in 30 minutes.

One opportunity you have to say thank you is during our

Thanksgiving Eve service- 7:00 pm next Wednesday, November 24.

This is a very informal gathering where we have opportunity to say thank you to God for all we have.

I hope you can join us!