Dear Mosaic Family,

Praise God for another beautiful week here in the Inland Northwest.  I trust you are enjoying the beauty of the Lord just as much as the beauty of summer. 

Speaking of beauty, as our family drove through some of the most stunningly beautiful scenery in the world in the Swiss Alps just a couple of weeks ago, all the while listening to some very majestic music, I found myself speechless and even tearful at the grandeur of God and the reflective beauty of his creation.  If this is how beautiful his sin-marred creation is like today, how beyond-belief beautiful must be the Lord himself and the place he has been preparing for us to inhabit in the Father’s house! 

When you see, hear or experience beauty, no one has to tell you, “Heads up!  That’s beautiful.”  You just know it intuitively.  So, too, with God.  When we gather as his Body and worship Him as Lord of all, something in us resonates and says, “This is right.  He is worthy.  Being in God’s presence is what we were made for and what satisfies that spiritual ‘beauty-longing’ of our souls.”    

King David wrote in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

Every weekend that we gather together as the “temple of God,” we choose to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”  It is right and good to put priority on gathering with the people of God.  For in our worship, in our listening to God’s voice in His word, in our prayers and fellowship, it all resonates with our soul-longing for God’s beauty.  All of it says, “WOW!  God is beautiful, great, glorious and wonderful.” 

So…in faith that God will once again reveal himself to us this weekend, her are a few things to put on your calendar as we look to the future with God.

WEEKEND WORSHIP

At 2^nd Space Gallery at 9 and 11 a.m. this Sunday, we’ll be looking at “Fear Factors in Faith Pursuits.”  In Deuteronomy 34 & Joshua 1, God closes off the ministry of Moses and opens up a new chapter for His people with Joshua.  We’ll be seeing how God has put before all of us some new territory to conquer.  With that come both fears and faith.  Don’t miss the presence of God with His people this weekend. 

PICNIC IN THE PARK, THIS SUNDAY, JULY 25, 4:00 PM

This weekend is our monthly fellowship meal together.  Only this time we’re taking to the park.  It’s a great opportunity to enjoy Christ in each other as well as share that life with others who may just be watching around us.  So bring enough food for yourself/your family AND one other person/family.  Also, bring a BLANKET to sit on.  We’ll be doing some creative meal-sharing together and with anyone God brings along whose hungry.  You never know what God might use to draw others too himself.  It wouldn’t be the first time food was the tool!

            We’ll provide water, plates, cups and plastic wear. You bring the food and fellowship.  And if you can stick around a bit, this Sunday night is Music & Fireworks in the park.  We’ll meet in the music bowl grass area just east of Washington and the Clock Tower.  See you there.

SILVERWOOD—AUGUST 11

The youth of Mosaic are going to Silverwood Theme Park Wednesday, August 11^th and have invited anyone interested in joining them in purchasing tickets at a group rate to come along.  Please contact Charlie or Lisa Greer at 953-3581 or to let them know of your ticket need. 

MOSAIC SUMMER CAMP-OUT—AUGUST 27-29

The weekend of August 27-29 we’ll be having a Mosaic Fellowship Summer Camp-out at Sun Lake Resort near Coolie City.  If you enjoy the outdoors and love having fun with people, this one’s for you.  Please make your reservation with Stephanie Orr at by Sunday, August 15, to have a spot with our group.  Cost is $25/night per campsite (fits 2 families) without electricity, or $35/night per campsite with electricity.  We’ll also be having just one Sunday morning service (at 11:00am) that morning at 2^nd Space. 

ALPHA

You’ve been hearing a little about Alpha over the past few weeks.  We’ll be telling you lots more in the next 7 weeks before its launch.  For now, let me encourage you to set aside the 11 SUNDAY EVENINGS from Sept. 12 to Nov. 21 for what promises to be a truly life-changing experience for us as a church and people we know who are still “on the way” to Jesus.  Our time will include great food (dinner every evening), great teaching, great interaction, fun, laughter and eternity-changing connection with other people on the journey of encountering Jesus.  Save your Sunday evenings from September through November.  This 11-week session will be limited to the first 50 participants. 

God richly bless you… and astound… you with His beauty.

Pastor John