Tory Farina

High Point Kids is all New...

High Point Kids has been having record attendance. I remember when 0 or 1 kid would show up and it was such a bummer but we prayed and worked hard at making the program the best we could make it at the time. Terry Peterson our original Kids volunteer has worked selflessly over the last 3 and a half years to make it a worthwhile service for kids. He originally said he would be with the church to help us out for about 3 years. (I'll blog more about Terry, his heart and mission in another post.) Terry has worked really hard and created something that is now ready to hand off to the next generation of Kids leaders.

New and Improved is the best way I can describe what is happening. We are changing a lot while still keeping the core of what Terry Built in tact.

This Sunday High Point Kids begins a new Kids program. We have done our research, explored our options and interviewed the needs and wants of parents of that age children. I am pleased with what we have chosen for our volunteers to work with. It pairs the best of Video, live interaction and small group time making it a great tool for us as parents to utilize every week. 252 Basic is material birthed out of the local church. It is age appropriate in nature and teaches our children 3 basic truths. it is a simple and effective approach to helping our kids grow up and Live Their Potential!

• 1) I need to make the wise choice
• 2) I can trust God
• 3)I should treat others the way I want to be treated

We are moving to a Team approach. No longer will one person carry the weight of this program. They will work together in making each week the best that we can make it. I am so Excited for Jordan and Aimee Robertson, John and Jodi Johnson and Adam and Melissa Delveaux as they take the reigns of our new and improved Kids area ages 6-11. (we could still use 1 or more for this area and another couple people in the other Kids  areas to volunteer as well.)

This is going to be a great shift for our Kids. Every week will be better than the last as we get more comfortable with the curriculum and the team gets more time under their belts. Everyone of the couples involved in this initial team has some background in education and will approach the bible in a way that makes sense for your child.

If you have kids stop down by our Kids area and meet our new team. Also Give Terry Peterson a huge hug on Sunday and let him know how vital he has been to High Point these past few years. He built something we can now stand on and take to the next level. That is an awesome thing to be credited with.

Let someone you know hear about the exciting things we are up to. We want to see the kids of this city Find Their Place- Develop their Faith and Live Their Potential!- Imagine a generation understanding why they exist at a young age! WOW! That is the role of the church.

On my mind today...

• Packers

• Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. I cant get the image of two ballroom dancers out of my head when I read this... (teaser for Sunday)

• Mute Math tickets

• Christmas Tickets for seeing Mom and Dad aka- Mimi and Papa

• thegatewaychurch.com They launch in a few months and I am praying for them.
  

• High Point Kids needs-

• • laptop to run presentations (We need to power point and dvd's)
  • another couple or team member to join the team
  • Terry Peterson Stepping down and the new team rising up (Thanks Terry!!! Ill give you a post later!)
• Meeting with one of my financial advisers today... I wonder if anything is left?
• these songs by MJ and Stevie

Man In The Mirror - Michael Ja...
Never Dreamed You'd Leave In S...
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough...
Smile - Michael Jackson

Whats on your mind today?

Welcome Baby Lauren...

Congratulations Pastor Mike and Amy Cross on the new addition to their family!

Lauren Bradley Cross was born Monday weighing in at 9lbs 9.6 oz 21 inches long and Healthy!

James...

Our upcoming series is going to be a lot of good content... We are doing a series on the writings of James the brother of Jesus. You are not going to want to miss this series. Starting in 1 week.

Welcome Black Sheep Coffee...

This Sunday you will see a change in the lobby of High Point. Starbucks who for the past 3 and a half years will no longer be providing your caffeinated needs. Due to the economic times we are living in Starbucks did not renew our contract at the same price so I went shopping. I wanted to find as good if not better coffee for at or below the price I was paying. (It is a core value of mine that we will not have the usually BAD church coffee!) I found the "The Black Sheep". (Sorry, Starbucks You were great but I am confident you will understand.)

Peter Middlecamp the Owner of "The Black Sheep" and I have grown to be friends over the last few years. I have taken a keen eye to his coffee shop because he started it the same time that High Point was started. I am a huge fan of start ups, small companies and visionaries. Pete does a great job at making a warm and inviting place to have a cup of Clover made coffee and some of the best Cinnamon or Carmel rolls this side of the Mississippi. Pete roasts all his coffee their and is working on a blend that will be known as "The High Point Church Blend" so you will be able to purchase what we drink on Sundays. (What church has their own coffee blend? I have never heard of one)

Let me know what you think tomorrow and when you stop by "The Black Sheep" let the workers know you are from High Point as you drop some dough in the tip jar.

705 Southview Boulevard
South Saint Paul, MN 55075
651 554 0155

M-TH 6:00 - 7:00
FRI 6:00 - 9:00
SAT 7:00 - 9:00
SUN 7:00 - 5:00

Real Food. Simply Delicious...

I saw that Starbucks is starting a new add campaign. They are now making food without a lot of extra artificial ingredients and with simple recipes. In other words they are making it more like you and i would make it at home. I am so glade they are making the switch! Their food had lost its luster! Made for shelf life rather than taste and nutrition.

In the church world We are called to take the simple and real message of Christ and prepare it in a way that it looks and tastes and satisfies the way Jesus intended it to! I think that means staying away from things that were never in the recipe of Christ... We do not get involved in politics at High Point. I want you to vote, I want you to be involved and to be active but we are not in the business of making politicians we are in the business of making disciples. We are not caught up in music style, buildings, carpet colors, or popularity votes. We are about the simple and effective mission of Jesus. All that we do, use, and work towards is about the simple and real delicious message that Jesus came to bring.

Jesus said, I am the bread of Life!!! Come and eat! It is Real food. Simply Delicious!

Tastes Fruity...

Galatians 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

This last Sunday I made a smoothie with the nine fruits of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in your life.

When people taste your life what flavor is most apparent?  These, along with the gifts which ill talk about next week, show what we are designed to do with our life. If you are in a place that does not use the fruit in your life then you are in the wrong place.

Which flavors are you deficient in? We can try to manufacture these Fruits. That is called "Legalism, Religion, Works". You may be able to try really hard for a while but it is inevitable you will not see long term improvement. These things have to come out of the depth of who God has shaped you... The Holy Spirit needs t come into the Garden of your Soul and do a work.

Ask the Holy Spirit to Fill you up and watch as he makes a lasting change in your life. It is like he rewrites the default code in our lives. We lose our angry edge, we grow in our ability to have self control, we find the sadness goes away. Seek the Lord and he will meet you!

Take it off...

"Why is it so hard to cut weight? We know how much we're supposed to eat each day, but we just don't do it (or just overdo it). American men consume 113 percent of their daily recommended calories; American women consume 102 percent." -Wired 17.07

I have lost 46lbs over the past six months using Weight Watchers. The latest issue of WIred Magazine talks about how effective it can be and gives a raving revue of the on-line site that was so effective for me. If you have a few extra pounds on you or more than a few. Give it a whirl. Be serious about it.

The most important part of this process is to ask the Lord to make a change in you. To help you to see food as a way to accomplish His work not as a way to Satisfy your insecurity. Pray he fills you with Self control and that He helps you to see yourself through His eyes.

Set a goal... work hard... and Have a friend do it with you! You will see the weight fall off! If you make a life style change you will even see the weight stay off!

Sing with me...

I love music! I listen to it whenever I can. Sometimes even when I can't (but thats another post). Here are a couple songs I have been really enjoying! This guy can write some seriously deep lyrics!
John Mark McMillan- play David crowders version of HOW HE LOVES... WOW! Then play it again!

Skelliton Bones-

Peel back our ribs again
and stand inside of our chest.
We just wanna' love you
We just wanna' love you

Peel back the veil of time
And let us see You with our naked eyes
We just wanna' love you
We just wanna' love you

We want your blood to flow inside our body
We want your wind inside our lungs
We just wanna' love you
We just wanna' love you

Skeleton bones stand at the sound of eternity
On the lips of the found
And gravestones roll
To the rhythm of the sound of you
Skeleton bones stand at the sound of eternity
On the lips of the found
So separate those doors
And let the son of resurrection in.

Oh let us adore the
Son of Glory drenched in love
Open up your gates before him
Crown Him, stand Him up

Carbon Ribs-

A Thousand pairs of firey eyes
Burn like a serpent down the hwy 5
As the Long amber tail to Los Angeles unwinds
I've got resurrection down in side my skin
But for all my revealating
I just cant make sense
Of this gravity we're in

Cause I'm a dead man now
With a ghost who lives
Within the confines of
These carbon ribs
And one day when I'm free
I will sit
The cripple at your table
The cripple by your side

A thousand miles of pain I'm sure
Led you to the threshold
Of my hearts screen door
To tell me what it is I'm dying for
Gravity comes
Like a cold cold Rain
To lead me to the rope again
But someone is standing in my place

Cause I'm a dead man now
With a ghost who lives
Within the confines of
These carbon ribs
And one day when I'm free
I will sit
The cripple at your table
The cripple by your side
The cripple at your table
The cripple by your side

And I sit beside you
And I sit beside you
And I sit beside you
And I sit beside you

How HE Loves-

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath
The weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these
Afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize how beautiful you are
And how great your afflictions for me

Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so

Yea He loves us
Oh how

We are his portion
And he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meats earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart burns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
He loves us

Oh how he loves us so
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so

Yea He loves us
Oh how

I thought about you
The day Stephen died
And you met me between my breaking
I know that I still love you God
Despite the agony
See people they want to tell me your cruel
But if Stephen could sing
He'd say its not true
Cause your good

Who touched me?...

Luke 8 tells the story of  woman touching Jesus in a crowed. I just had an experience that made me think of that moment.

I was at Starbucks paying for our last month of Coffee and buying some sweet on sale mugs when a woman came in and started talking to me. She was DRUNK or in her words "Tipsy". As I was buying my cups and chatting with the Management the woman placed her hand on my shoulder and just stared at me. I continued my sale and then talked to her a bit. I was praying in the spirit for her inside my head as she and I were talking. She was drawn to me and I told her it was because I was a pastor and she asked where and asked me to bless her. It was a strange experience.

Imagine that happening all the time. People touching you because of the Power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived having that happen everywhere he went. EVERYWHERE... even buying coffee and mugs. (she offered to buy my mugs but I declined.)

I am no one special but the Holy Spirit in me is great and attractive. I am praying for that woman and as I write this am challenged to be much more aware of the people around me. If I am filled with the same Spirit that Jesus was filled with (which I am) then I wonder how many other people on a regular basis are touching me that I am not even aware of? How many others need my prayers and need me to invite them to meet Jesus? How many others are "Tipsy" with their problems and need Jesus to take their burdens?

I want to be a person who lives being touched by people needing a healing. If I live that way expecting it... People will be healed and touched the way they were in Jesus day. I need to be more aware.

Who is touching you? Who touched you today? Are you aware?