Lent means spring, from an old English form of lengthen; spring is when the days lengthen. Mardi gras means fat Tuesday—because the last grease, stored up through winter, gets used up in an orgy of pancakes and pastries to celebrate the onset of spring. Spring is God’s signal through nature that new life is coming.

And that’s what I sense the Holy Spirit saying to my spirit—”Get ready! I’m about to do something new. Look around at all the signs ofnew life and vitality at our church!” The presence of families, the vibrancy of our music and worship, the multi-generational community we enjoy every week, the whole church reading the Bible together, the excitement of an approaching revival. We just read in Exodus about Aaron’s budding rod: a dead stick brought miraculously to life. The tabernacle menorah, shaped like a budding almond tree—again, the sign of spring, hope, bud becoming flower, flower becoming fruit. Church, I believe God is bringing a springtime to Fair Oaks Pres—life resurging. Let’s pray for it!

For centuries Christians have welcomed Lent as an opportunity for spiritual renewal. During these 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, we remember how Jesus submitted himselfcompletely to the Father’s will and made the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation. What can we do to mirror that submission and sacrifice? How can we spend this season disentangling ourselves from the sins and snares of this corrupt world and grapple our hearts to God’s heart? This Sunday we’ll be inviting everyone to join together in a 40-day season of prayer—which includes daily prayers, praying together, fasting to sharpen our spiritual appetites, setting aside certain habits, taking on certain projects and virtues. God has designed the year with these wonderful rhythms—seasons of renewal and rededication. Let’s take advantage of them! (Come to our Ash Wednesday service as a way of signing your soul up and saying to God, “I’m in!”)

Pastor Glen Cole dies. Sacramento lost its senior pastor last week with the passing of Glen Cole. Glen was not just the pastor of Trinity Life Center and the former pastor of Capital Christian Center, he was the “pastor statesman” of Sacramento. A gracious shepherd, superb preacher, visionary leader, a man of tremendous integrity and influence, Glen pastored the city’s pastors. If he supported a project—he was part of the Luis Palau leadership team in our city—you sensed it had God’s favor and blessing. Glen died Tuesday morning; he was 78. Still going strong in ministry, Glen was preaching on Abraham last Sunday. His opening sentence: “Well, this is a wonderful day to be alive.” That sentence captured his generous and optimistic Christian spirit. Every day you are alive is an opportunity to offer the Lord Jesus our joyful service, as Glen did. Monday he played golf. Tuesday he drove to work to start another ministry week and as he unbuckled his seatbelt in the church parking lot, the Lord called him home. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” I want to go like that, don’t you—maybe 20 years later—but still going full-on for God. Glen’s three sons are all in full-time ministry; son Rick pastors Capital Christian, where Glen’s memorial service will be held this Monday at 3pm. We’ll have a card this Sunday expressing our sympathy and support to Glen’s family and congregations in the narthex and the Caffé. Please stop by and sign it.

Church finances. Last Sunday I made a special financial appeal to the congregation. Monthly offerings are running 6% behind expenses, and giving is down compared to this same time last year. At this rate, we would finish our fiscal year (at the end of June) with a $135,000 deficit. That’s no good; we won’t do that. This is not a crisis; a shortfall this time of year is not unusual—but we do need to do something. We have nearly 2000 people in our church family. If 1000 people give $135 above their present giving between now and June—problem solved! This is very manageable. Our session has endorsed a four-point strategy: (1) pray—so please pray weekly for giving to increase; (2) communicate—when the church family knows, they respond generously and faithfully; (3) preach—the biblical norm for giving is the tithe; the idolatry of money in our culture infects even Christians; let’s repent of this idolatry and break its yoke; and (4) a stewardship campaign in April/May to close the gap. But hey, let’s skip the campaign and close the gap now, OK? OK. Glad that’s taken care of.

Presbytery of the Pacific. We belong to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and last week three of us (two elders and I) attended a presbytery meeting in Seattle. That’s what we call a gathering of 30 or so EPC churches, all located “nearby”—in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho. Does it sound incredibly boring? It wasn’t! It was terrific to be part of such a Christ-centered, prayerful, excited gathering of likeminded church leaders. Nearly 70 “observers” attended from current PCUSA churches contemplating “making the switch.” We interviewed three incoming pastors—experienced, wise, quality leaders, every one of them (including the new pastor of Sierra Pres in Nevada City). We talked about church planting. We had awesome worship. And it seemed like every few minutes we were praying for something. It was a great opportunity to forge stronger bonds of friendship and partnership with our sister churches. You would have been deeply impressed with the spiritual maturity and dedication of this gathering of Presbyterian leaders. [Here's a link to a report of the meeting.]

Preaching. Our run@life series runs halfway through Lent. It is intended to address biblically those very practical areas of our life that often need to be adjusted and reprioritized as we start each year. Aligning our time, our work, our relationships; dealing with our past; stewarding our money and resources, our health, the earth; investing in a legacy—these are the topics we’re tackling with this series. We believe they are important to God and important to you. We trust you find them both practical and biblical. Then we’ll have a three-week series that focuses on The Cross, culminating in Holy Week. This year our Maundy Thursday service should be especially meaningful and moving; one of the founders of Jews for Jesus will be speaking on Jesus in the Passover. And then, after Easter we’ll recommence our series on The Life of Jesus, picking up where we left off, right after the Sermon on the Mount. Some people in our congregation like practical topical sermons, others like verse-by-verse expository sermons. As pastor, I think it’s good to balance both throughout the year.

15 Minutes with God. Are you keeping up? Stay with it, church. This week we finished Exodus and began Leviticus, finished Matthew and began Mark. (If you’ve fallen behind, jump back in today! If you haven’t begun yet, start!) We also read Psalm 34. When I was 17, my girlfriend gave me a bracelet—it looked like one of those medic-alert things you wear on your wrist and it went clunk every time I rested my hand on the table—and Ps 34:3 was inscribed on it: “Magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” Laila—How could I not marry a girl like that? Reading Psalm 34 this week brought back that sweet memory.

That’s all for now. Love you, church! See you on Sunday.

—Pastor Kirk

Application: Trip Application

Trips to the following locations are in the planning stages and monthly meetings have begun:
International – Romania, Romania/Spain, Brazil, Malawi summer, Malawi fall 
Mexico – Rancho Santa Marta, La Esperanza
Domestic – Missouri or other disaster area, San Francisco (YWAM Jr Hi trip)

• 2012 Brazil Mission Trip - Have you ever considered being part of a church-sponsored mission outreach to the largest country in South America?
The opportunity is coming up next Fall to experience first-hand what God is doing to rescue and rehabilitate lost children in Brazil and to help the mission organization that is making it happen. 
In the Fall of 2012 a group from FOPC will visit Hope Unlimited, a christian ministry that has had great success rehabilitating lost children who are either homeless or from a family that is so disfunctional due to drugs or physical abuse that the government has removed the children from the home.  Hope Unlimited provides a nurturing christian environment for these children at their residential campuses in Campinas and Vitoria.  Hope Unlimited accepts children aged 10-12, and raises them to age 18, providing food, shelter, clothing, regular church worship, bible training, and vocational training.  At 18 the youths are transferred to a halfway house to get re-integrated into normal society and the work world, but Hope Unlimited continues to provide an ongoing church environment and monitors their progress.  The program has a very high success rate at rescuing these lost children, and enabling them to mature and live a normal productive life.  Without this help, the average life expectancy of Brazilian kids living on the street is two years.
FOPC volunteers will travel to Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil to assist with light construction and maintenance at the Hope Unlimited facility there.  If you can swing a hammer, or patch walls, or clean and paint, your services are needed to help maintain and refurbish the facilities that experience the normal wear and tear that kids cause over time.  To see firsthand what God is doing through this organization is a life-changing inspirational experience.  And there will be opportunity to do limited sightseeing and to visit other ministries in the area.  There is a planned side trip to Rio de Janeiro to visit the Bible Cultural Center established by the Brazilian Bible Society, part of the International Bible Societies.  The Center has an exhibit that tracks the history of the Bible in Brazil, and examples of biblical fragrances such as frankincense, myhrr, and spikenard, which was the fragrance put on Jesus feet to annoint his body for burial before he was crucified.
If you want to find out more about this upcoming mission trip, call Earl or Donna Nelson at 916-989-1005 or 916-212-3947 (cell).

Military Prayer Bookmark – Click here to see the list of Military men & women actively serving our country.

Please pray for the Military personnel listed above and displayed on the scrolling screens on Sundays. 

From time to time we send letters and packages for encouragement and support so it is imperative that we have correct information.  To add a person, update an address, or aide with the ministry, please contact Pat Underwood at 967-7998 or the Missions Office at 967-4784, ext. 836.

In January, we sent care packages to our Military personnel listed on the Prayer Bookmark from above.  Following is a heartfelt reply from an overseas Chaplain who serves:
“WOW, WOW, and more WOW.
Thank you for the care packages.
Everything you sent will be given
out to whoever may need some-
thing…We see soldiers who often
don’t have anything or just waiting
for their package to come in.
We’re delighted to give them what
they may need in the field to get
by. It’s citizens…like you, along
with our family that keeps the mo-
rale and welfare up and going. 
We thank you for the support. 
Please keep us in your thoughts
and prayers.”  CH MO

Bowling
Saturday, February 18
7pm at Mardi Gras Lanes

*Childcare available at Noon service.

Wednesdays, February 8-29
7 PM in the FLC

Dinner 6 PM ($6 for adults / $2 children age 2-12)

Doors Open & Silent Auction begins 4 PM
Dinner 6:30 PM | Live Auction begins following dinner

*****Scroll down to see an updated list of Auction Items*****

Menu:

• Tortilla Chips and Salsa Quemada
• Classic Caesar with a Baja Twist
• Yucatan Roast Pork with Mango Salsa
• Spanish Rice
• Frijoles Rancheros
• Mixed Grilled Vegetables
• Dulce de Leche Cheese Cake with Fresh Strawberries

Tickets: $15 per person
Ticket sales begin February 26. On sale M-F in the church office or Sundays in the Caffé. Last day to purchase tickets is Sunday, March 18.

Auction Items:  Check back often for new updates!!

Big Ticket - Must Have
Lake Tahoe Cabin Weekend
Engagement Photo Shoot
Singer Tradition 2250 Sewing Machine

Vintage Finds
Round Ship Wheel Barometer
Pencil Sharpener
Pacific Stoneware Serving Dish w/ lid
Bird Cage
Linen Queen Size Duvet Cover
3 Gold rimmed Collector Plates

Sports
Stainless Steel sports bottle set
Wooden Golf Putter

Outdoor
2 in 1 BBQ grill & Cooler bag
Solar Light thermometer
Ceramic Hummingbird feeder

Treasures from Abroad
Beaded Zebra from Malawi
Tote Bag from Malawi
Set of 10 animals (handmade in Mexico)
2 Ink drawings from Istanbul, Turkey

Art, Pictures, Prints
Douglas Head watercolor print, signed
Inspirational plaque
Butterfly picture
2 Carr picture frames
Graper Canvas print
Set of 3 Gold picture frames
Readers Digest “The Complete Watercolor Set”

Books & Music
Family Journal
“Then Singls My Soul” Keepsake Edition
15 disc Compact Disc case
Digital MP3 Player
Bose acoustic ware music system power case

Games
Bible Trivia game
Caribbean Cruise Domino game
“The Office” DVD board game

Office Supplies
Desk top organizer
Caron Photo printer
Eton metal trays
Embark 21″ Pilot upright bag & tote

Holiday Themed
Carved Wooden Ornaments
Christmas Cookie Jar
Wood Angel

Household Goodies
Hanging Charging Memo Board
PartyLite Infinity Sconce
Round table & chair set cover
Ceramic 4 piece decorative coasters
Wood box with birds
Glass Hurricane candle holder

Kitchen
2 sets of Elephant Placemats & Napkins
Marquis “Celebration Flute” glasses (pair)
Sandwich Maker
Electric 8″ Quesadilla Maker
Stainless Steel flatware – service for 4
Oster Food Steamer
24 piece Blue glass & Bubble glass plates
Monkey Pod wood salad bowl set (7 piece)
Set of 3 white oval LeCrueset bowls
2 metal serving stands (9×13)
Sheridan Silverplate tray
State coach Cookie Jar
Inscribed Lazy Susan
George Foreman “G-Broil” grill
Apple Mate parer, corer & slicer
Condiment/Garnish Bin Kit
Premium Bake set
Sunbeam 13 piece Cutlery block set
Pampered Chef Jar Opener
Mikasa Zinnia Bowl
Soup Tureen w/ sculptured sunflower
Cousances covered casserole
2 glass bowls
Apilco Souffle dishes, set of 3 (made in France)
Home theater edition Popcorn Popper
Assortment plug in Mug set

Clothing
XL Men’s sweater
Women’s spa-doo wetsuit (size 11/12)

Accessories
Chaps purse – red
His/Her Watch set (leather bands)
Nine West purse – blue
Mark Naimer His/Her silver watches
Vera Bradley purse
Wool tote
Many necklaces, bracelets, earrings in gold, silver, beads, pearls

NEXT POTLUCK – Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Our featured speakers for the month of March will be:

Joy Candee – Joy has just returned to the United States after three and a half years ministering in Papua New Guinea.  Come hear how God used her talents there and where he is leading her life now.

Joy grew up in Sacramento, California, and received degrees from the University of California Santa Barbara in Linguistics and German. Through a partnership between Wycliffe Bible Translators and Mission to the World, Joy has been assisting with literacy efforts in Papua New Guinea as she served the un-reached people groups.

Joy worked with the STEP course but was then given additional teaching responsibilities, as well as working on various scripture use and literacy work for the Onobasulu language.  She helped develop materials in Ukarumpa including a picture dictionary, hands-on games and VBS type activities for children and adults in the village.  Her ministry was a great combination of large scale training with the STEP course and practical experience in the village setting.

Dave Hackett – Reverand Dave Hackett is an ordained Presbyterian Pastor, living in Bothell, Washington, working with visionSynergy.  Dave’s wife is Sandra and they have 3 children – Katelyn (26), Anna (23) and Mairin (16).

visionSynergy is a global leader in helping churches, agencies and networks learn how to collaborate successfully, gaining the skills needed to build vital, enduring networks, particularly those to increase world evangelization.  Dave is a key leader helping technology-related ministry networks move forward, including the Internet Evangelism Coalition, the Muslim Internet Evangelism Network, the GUIDE Network, the Global Christian Internet Alliance, and more.

Dave works with many of these networks, teaching, traning and coaching them in effective partnership methods to fulfill Christ’s mission.  He’s also helping to launch new internet evalngelism networks in Africa and Asia.

Upward Sports Families – FOPC has been the  home for Upward Basketball Youth sports program for the last four years. This year, we added cheerleading for those young girls interested in learning to cheer for their friends.  At our March potluck, we have invited a few of the families and youth that have been able to participate in this Christian related Sports Program, to feature their stories about how Upward has changed their lives.  Upward Sports ^TM is a positive sports experience that offers both parents and kids exactly what they want in a sports league. Parents love the family-friendly schedule, welcoming environment and coaches who teach the sport without yelling. Kids love the fact that they get to play or cheer every game, make new friends and have fun learning new skills.

While the rest of the world’s population is slowing down, Africa’s is accelerating and most of those who are dying are Christians. In the meantime other religious Countries are taking an interest in Africa, building mosques, establishing schools and setting up an infra-structure for connecting the entire continent to other religions. The nation of Rwanda which saw 800,000 Christians persecuted in 1994 now has over half-a million Muslim converts from a Christian background. In South Africa black South African converts to Islam are estimated to have grown six times since the 1990′s. In the Ivory Coast Muslims now have the numbers to elect a Muslim president, a first in the history of the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s greatest depositories of Colton, an essential mineral used in making cell phones. Western interests often stand to profit when rebels take over a mining region. The rebels are free to use slave labor to increase their profits to buy more weapons.

The continent continues to struggle with civil wars, famine, and AIDS. It’s greatest long-term need, according to an article by David Taylor in Mission Frontiers, is for development in its agricultural sector. If emergency aid is mishandled it can put local farmers out of business for good, resulting in a mass exodus to the cities. Today there are over 165 million urban slum dwellers in Africa, almost all of whom were once farmers.

Still, God is alive and well in Africa.  African church leaders are beginning to come together in a spirit of unity. One significant program is Movement for African National Initiatives. Their goal is to mobilize and equip the African church for completing the Great Commission in this generation. They are not just thinking of Africa, but how to bring the gospel back to Europe. The largest Pentecostal church in Europe is led by a Nigerian. The congregants are not African but Ukrainian, many of whom were former drug addicts.

• Pray for the safety of African church leaders. When you pray for your family, think of them. They are part of our family.
• Pray for the farmers of Africa, that they will prosper and remain on their land.
• Pray for African efforts to tell their countrymen and the world about Christ.

The full text of “Africa In Crisis”, by David Taylor, can be found under Featured Articles in Mission Frontiers at www.missionfrontiers.org.

It is home to 150 million people and is a land of extremes: it is the world’s seventh largest exporter of oil, yet the oil wealth has not filtered down to the vast majority of the population, with 70 percent living below the poverty line.

The CIA World Factbook estimates that 170,000 Nigerians a year die from HIV/AIDS, the world’s third highest number behind India and South Africa; infant mortality is 11th highest in the world.

Overall statistics indicate that about 50% of the population are Muslim, about 40% are Christian and about 10% practice traditional African religions or no religion at all. Many people include elements of traditional beliefs in their own practice of Christianity or Islam. The Christian community is composed of Roman Catholics (the largest denomination), Methodists, Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, and members of Evangelical and Pentecostal groups.

Last month’s article on the continent of Africa referred to Movement for African National Initiatives. The goal of this group is to mobilize and equip Christian leaders by inspiring them with the vision of reaching the unreached and least evangelized in Africa, as well as the wider world.

Pray for national pastors, for their safety and encouragement. Pray for the country of Nigeria that its leaders would find ways to use it resources to raise the standard of living. Pray that the influence of Nigeria would be a force for good on the continent.