Will I recognize Him when I see Him?

Sometimes I run into someone that I think I know from somewhere. I may stare at them for awhile trying to figure out where I know them from. I might even get up the gumption to actually ask them if we know each other. Sometimes it turns out that they work at a store I go to and realize that we really have nothing in common and have never really talked.

Every once in a while I see a woman around town. I've seen her pushing a child in a stroller or shopping somewhere. I know her name and immediately recognize her. But I don't talk to her when I see her. Why? The last time we talked was probably on a playground in 5th grade. Actually, I don't remember if we have ever talked. We were in the same grade, but I think she was in a different classroom.

I wonder sometimes if I will recognize Jesus when I meet Him face to face. Will I recognize the voice of the Shepherd? Or will I feel awkward and wonder what I'm going to say because I've spent too little time getting to know Him?

I never worry about having something to say to my wife, Renae, because we know each other and never run out of things to talk about.

A few years ago, a former pastor pondered in a sermon whether he knew what the voice of God sounded like. In the voices we hear, how do we recognize when God is speaking and when we are just hearing that voice we want to hear – our own?

How do we recognize a person, a face, a voice?

We do that by getting to know them. By spending time with them. By not doing all the talking, but listening to them.

I want to know Jesus. I want to recognize His voice. I want to hear Him and speak to Him and spend time with Him. I don't want to get to heaven and see Him and think "Do I know you?" because I've spent too little time with Him.

We can get so busy with things we consider so important each day, but frankly, what on earth could possibly be more important than knowing the creator of the universe who wants us to know Him?

What could be greater than that?!?!

Scotte Meredith

Lead pastor results

Shiloh Hills Family,

Several of our fellowship are feeling alone and anxious for the future because the vote did not bring in Richard as the lead pastor.

We empathize with you. Please be encouraged that God is still in control. Richard s message to us on Sunday challenged us from Haggai 2:4,5:

"Be strong for I am with you, declares the LORD Almighty. My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear."

Circumstances sometimes blur our perspective, but God is much greater than our circumstances. The elders have already made some contacts for a lead pastor, and we are looking toward a positive future. We care about you!

Pastor Earl Appleby will be speaking the next few Sundays and has agreed to help us temporarily.

Pray with us as we ask God s grace, guidance and peace for our flock.

Thank you for voting.

The Shiloh Hills elders

Don Clouse

Scotte Meredith

Dave Olson

Bill Siewert

Gene Thomas

Brian Town

Doug Weatherly

The Bride of Christ

My wife has recently started working in bridal again. She works in the alterations department at a bridal and prom store. She has always liked working with brides because this is one of the happiest times of their lives and she gets to be part of it.

She also loves watching "Say Yes to the Dress", a TV program about life in a very high end bridal store in New York. So, of course, I see it as well.

It got me thinking about Ephesians 5, where the church is called the Bride of Christ.

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior... Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word... For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body... This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church."

On "Say Yes to the Dress", it often concludes with showing the bride walking down the aisle, beaming from ear to ear as she sees her husband-to-be waiting for her with a huge smile on his face as well. She can't wait to be with him, and he can't wait to be with her.

What will it be like at the marriage supper of the lamb, when Christ receives his Bride, the church, in Revelation 19?

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult, and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure."

You are His church. You are His bride. What will that day be like when we see Him face to face? Will our face be able to contain the smile?

Like the bride, do you look forward to that day when you will be with Him?

Scotte Meredith

Why are we here?

Why are we here?

I'm not asking why we are here on earth, although that's important. I'm not asking why we showed up here today.

I'm asking why you are here at Shiloh.

Why are you here?

Are you here because you like the youth program? You like the worship time? You like the preaching? Maybe it's the church you grew up in. Maybe you are just comfortable here.

Why are you here?

Does it make any difference where you go? It depends... What has God called you to do? For whatever reason, God put you here. You may not even know why, but He does. if God has put you here, then why are you here? It is no accident you are here, so what is the reason?

Romans 12: 4-6: "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..."

What do the parts of the body do? In I Corinthians 12, we are told they work together. Notice both parts... they "work," they contribute to each other and the rest of the body... and "together," they do it in community.

So what is your purpose here? Every cell in the body contributes to the whole in their own way. Every little finger, big toe, spleen, skin and elbow has their own reason for being part of the body, and they are coordinated with others in the body.

So why are you here?

Among other things, to minister. To paraphrase a former president, "Ask not what your church can do for you, ask rather what you can do for your church."

Does that mean you will not be ministered to? Absolutely not. In fact, you will find that when you minister to others, you are ministered to yourself, and God will bless you as well.

So practically, what do you do about it? Many of you are already deeply involved in ministry at Shiloh and we appreciate that so much. Many people in the body would not be ministered to the body today if not for your gift of serving.

Shawn Smith is going to help coordinate volunteers and ministries. Just after Easter, on April 19 & 26, we will be putting out cards for you to indicate your interests and talents and areas where you believe God is calling you to serve and minister. And ministry leaders will be determining areas where service is needed. He'll put the two lists together and someone will get in touch with you. Or go to a ministry leader of an area you want to be involved and ask how you can help.

Our church direction is: Worship, Belong, Serve

How are you going to Serve?

There are people here to whom God is calling you to minister at this point in time, and He has uniquely suited you to do this in your own way as a part of the body.

So we'll ask the question one last time:

Why are you here?

Encouraging you to serve the Lord,

Your Shiloh Hills Fellowship Elders

Out of Town

I've been out of town for 2 weeks, so nothing has been posted. Starting up again this week.

Scotte

Thanks to the youth group

On Wednesday night, the elders were invited to meet with the junior and senior high youth group. We were given no indication why they wanted to meet with us. We were in for a very pleasant surprise.

We went into the library and it was filled with 70 or so junior and senior highers and leaders, sitting on the floor from wall to wall. Also a line of chairs for each of the elders. After introducing us to the youth and asking if we were good sports, JJ had someone behind each elder dangle a donut from a string and we had to see who could get hold of and eat the donut first.

After that, the youth expressed their appreciation to the elders for what they do. Some of the youth leaders washed the feet of each elder and prayed for us. Then the elders were asked to stand in the middle of the room while the youth laid hands on us and prayed for us.

The youth have led the congregation in prayer by starting the prayer room and are continuing to provide leadership to the congregation.

Way to go, youth.

24/7 Prayer update

I spent an hour in the prayer room Monday night as part of our 24/7 prayer period.

What a wonderful time! The youth have done a great job leading us in this time.

It was a time to contemplate God. To talk to him and open my heart before him. To pray for others who are hurting who poured out their prayers to God on the wall of the prayer room. To pray for other churches in Spokane that they would be shining lights to show Jesus to our city. To forgive those who have wronged me. To pray for hurting marriages and broken relationships and deep wounds and baggage and misunderstandings in the congregation. To pray against wolves in the fold.

If you haven't already been to the prayer room, but have signed up: look forward to a great time alone with God.

If you are not signed up, call the office to see which slots may still be available.

Scotte

24/7 Prayer

"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth." (Isaiah 62:6-7)

Spurred on by the passion of the youth, Shiloh is starting a week of unending prayer. This means that we will be praying 24-7, crying out to God and interceding on behalf of this church, it's people, the city of Spokane, and the world. We are starting this Sunday, February 22nd @ Noon and continuing from there. We will be setting up a prayer room in the latter half of the youth room, and this will be no ordinary prayer room. This room will engage your senses and create the space for you to worship and pray with creativity and uniqueness. You will leave this room energized and refreshed!

So how does this work? People sign up for an hour slot and are committing to praying in the prayer room during that hour. The building will be safe and secure for the nighttime hours. We will have people in the building at all times.

"Whenever God sets out to do something great, He always calls His people to pray". God is calling us to pray! Will you join in with us in seeking the Lord and asking great things of Him. God is on the move.

Have you signed up to pray for an hour in the prayer room yet? Here are a few quotes from students to encourage you to take this step:

"God's whisper is so much louder in here" - anonymous pray-er referring to the prayer room

"Life's burdens are so much easier to deal with after spending an hour with God" - student from Elevation

"I was able to be myself before God" - student from Elevation

"I have never experienced such a peaceful place" - student from Elevation

"WOW! This prayer thing actually WORKS!" - shocked student

The truth is that when people come to pray, God moves and moves in power! God is on the move and wants to connect with this church in a new and fresh way! As Shiloh starts 40 days of prayer on March 1st, we are establishing a prayer room to season the 40 days OF prayer WITH prayer.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul encourages us to "pray without ceasing" and we are going to take this seriously! We are going to fill an entire week with prayer -- every minute will be filled! While the youth are setting this prayer room up, this is really a church-wide event! We do not know the results of what will happen, but we do know that God is calling us to pray like never before.

There are sign-ups at Shiloh now but they are filling up fast. Please come to Shiloh or call 509-252-0806 (JJ) to reserve a spot of prayer. What an incredible opportunity this is for the body here at Shiloh.

Will you please consider signing up for an hour of prayer? We can make fill every minute!

Grace & Peace in Jesus Christ,
JJ Vancil

A Call to Prayer

The elders and pastors of Shiloh Hills Fellowship are calling the congregation to a 40 day period of prayer.

We are at such a critical time in the life of our congregation. We urge each one of you to be a part of this period of prayer.

We will begin March 1 as Richard Gobble will be starting a series of messages in concert with this theme. This will continue in different venues over the subsequent 40 days and end on April 9, just before Good Friday.

On February 22, we will be calling you to a commitment to pray along with us. There will be a prayer commitment card in the bulletin on February 22 and March 1 that we are asking you to fill out as a sign of your commitment. One half will be to drop in the offering plate and the other half will be for you to keep as a reminder.

Over this period, Richard and JJ will be preaching and there will be emphases on prayer, the videos on Wednesday night will be about prayer, and for a period of time a 24-hour prayer room at the church will be open. The Wednesday night prayer meeting is on-going and will merge with the video class when the prayer video series starts on March 4 for 5 weeks. Here is a preview of the class:



In preparation for this time, the youth have been praying at winter camp with a 24-hour prayer room set up.

Beginning March 1 you will receive a prayer guide that will help to guide our time of prayer with areas to pray for each week and a place to write down what you learn about prayer and answers you have seen. These will be available from the ushers and the information booth on March 1.

We urge everyone who considers Shiloh to be their church home to be a part of this important time.

2009 Officers

Some folks have asked who the new officers are for the elders for 2009.

Here is a list of the elders, what areas they are responsible for and their positions:

Scotte Meredith (Chairman) - Adult Education, Small Groups, Elders
Don Clouse (Vice Chairman) - Deacons, Finances
Doug Weatherly (Secretary) - Men's Ministry, College Ministry
Dave Olson - Mission, Children's Ministry
Gene Thomas - Seniors, Membership
Brian Town - Women's Ministry, Youth, Young Marrieds

Shiloh Elders blog

We want to use this space to keep the congregation up to date on what is going on at Shiloh. We will also put some of this in regular elder newsletters to better communicate with you.

There are a lot of exciting things going on at Shiloh right now and often people don’t know about them. We want to change that.

The search committee has been working hard to find a lead pastor for us. The task is frankly overwhelming. They have looked at over 100 candidates and listened to multiple sermons for over 25 of them. They have read over 1000 pages of resumes, philosophies of ministry and doctrinal statements. They’ve met weekly for over a year and sought the Lord in finding the man God has selected for us.

They have narrowed the list down to about half a dozen and this week are conducting initial interviews. Please be in daily prayer for the search committee and for our future pastor. If you have not been on a search committee before, you really don’t know the burden on each committee member as they seek God’s will.

At each step over the last two years, God has brought us just what we needed in his perfect timing. Early on, we had a series of men preaching, each of whom brought what we needed for that week. Many people came to us and told us how much they enjoyed a different kind of good sermon weekly. We heard from each of the pastors and a couple elders and heard their hearts. Then God brought us Pastor Earl Appleby. He provided continuity and solid teaching when we needed it. Now He has brought us Richard for a time to give us just the word He wants. When it is His timing, He will bring us a lead pastor. Pray for that time and that He will prepare us to be ready for the next gift He has for us.