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Bulletin Deadline for Sunday
September 7, 2010 (4:00 pm - 5:00 pm)
Please send in submissions for print in Sunday'...

High School Bible Study
September 8, 2010 (6:30 pm - 8:00 pm)
Gathering every Wednesday in June at 6:30-8pm

Women's Study
September 9, 2010 (9:30 am - 10:30 am)
meeting at 9:30 am, room 234C

11:00AM Worship Team
September 9, 2010 (6:30 pm - 7:30 pm)
Every Thursday at 6:30pm in Sanctuary

Building Christ's Kingdom

You Can't Build Christ's Kingdom Sitting on the Couch, Sermon Series fall 2009

On Sunday, Nov. 1, after each sermon, envelopes with money were distributed to each family. Pastor Eric and Jen Laverentz donated the money and challenged each family to use it to grow God's Kingdom. There were three conditions:
1. It can not be given back to PCOS;
2. It should be used to take us out of our comfort zone to help another; and
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in how it is used.

Listed below, are the testimonies that people have sent to be shared. If you have a story to share, email Stephanie.      

I wanted to find a special person to receive the five dollar gift envelope from The Presbyterian Church of Stanley.  Did you ever try to give money to someone you felt was a person of need?  I had the five dollar bill envelope with the Bible verse written on the front in my purse for weeks.  One day last fall I was putting my grocery list and grocery money in my purse and the five dollar bill envelope was in the way so I placed it on my counter top as I thought to myself "remember to return this to the church on Sunday.  Perhaps someone else will have more luck giving it away".  Then my husband and I headed for the grocery store.  As we exited our subdivision I looked to the left and there was a man pushing a bicycle up the incline along the main thoroughfare.  I whispered to my husband, "a homeless person".  We could see a bed roll on the back fender guard and on each side of the handlebar we could see a white plastic grocery bag that was bulging with items.  My husband wanted to turn the car around and go home to get the five dollar bill envelope, but I was afraid we would lose the man once he got to the crossroad just ahead.  I whipped a five dollar bill out of the grocery money in my purse and told him to stop the car and give it to the man.  You've got to know my husband to appreciate this giving.  He stopped the car, calmly walked to the man who by this time was at the street interesection, shook hands and talked to him.  After a bit he casually handed the man the money and they conversed a bit longer.  The man was neat looking and had shaved.  His clothes were clean and not ragged or torn.  He said he had his problem with alcohol under control and was following the main highways hoping to get to Florida before the cold winter weather came.  They shook hands again and each went on his way.  That should be the end of the story, but not really.  I have thought of the incident often.  Our home is several miles from the main highways.  Why was the man on this side street?  The chance encounter was mid-morning, a rather unusual time for us to be out and about.  And why, after carrying the money in the envelope with the Bible verse written on it for so long a time had I removed it from my purse that particular day.  Then it struck me, five dollars would buy enough cheap liquor to set him off again.  But then I thought, maybe with this simple act of kindness he would overcome the demon drink.  I pray for him often.  I'm sure we will never know how this story ended.  I'll just keep thinking it has a good ending.  My only regret is that I didn't have the envelope with the Bible verse to give to him.  But maybe God has a plan for that too.  I still have that Bible verse.
It started with a catalog arriving in the mail.  It was unlike any catalog we'd ever seen and in the holiday deluge of the dozens of catalogs we'd received, it didn't inspire wishes of the frivolous gifts the others were trying to sell. It was the Samaritan's Purse catalog.  Because we'd written checks to the Operation Christmas Child, they now had our mailing address.
 When I looked through its pages and realized that just $5 or $10 could save or drastically improve a life, I knew how we'd spend our $5.  We decided as a family on mosquito netting, in part because our sons had been to Canada this past summer and in the evenings the mosquitoes made them somewhat miserable.  They didn't realize that mosquitoes could spread deadly diseases in other parts of the world.  I didn't really feel like calling on the phone and spending $5 or $10, which is what Pastor Eric had in mind when he instructed us to step outside our comfort zone.  This part had me thinking we weren't doing what we should.
As Christmas drew near, I finally realized how I would step outside of my comfort zone and make more of a difference.  I scoured the catalog looking for items that made me think of each of the members of our extended family.  I could help stock a fish pond in honor of Grandpa, the fisherman in the family.  I could buy a dozen baby chicks in honor of my niece who once raised chicks for a high school science project.  I could help provide a wheel chair for a disabled child in supply materials to build a school.  In honor of my mother-in-law, who was raised on a farm, I could supply a work animal to a family far away.  And so on.....
I hope that the envelopes I give out on Christmas Eve are well received.  I'm a little nervous that they'd prefer beautifully wrapped boxes, but in my heart, I know these gifts will make more of a difference than another sweater or knick knack ever could.  I'll say a prayer that my family continues this chain of giving for future holidays.
I added to my husband's "treasure" gift of $5.00 to give $50.00 to Camp Wood YMCA, the only residence YMCA camp in Kansas.  The camp is dedicated to bringing kids to the flint hills regardless of ability to pay.
We were ill the day Pastor Eric passed out the money, but then we read about it.  I have talked to Pastor Eric about some of my family members who do not believe in God.  I have invited them to Christmas Eve services and dinner (they turned me down).  I am meeting with them in December and will give them Little Visits from Jesus  that my dad used to read to them, so that they can read it to their children.  In addition, I have purchased  a children's bible.  I thought they could begin with these things and see what happens.  I will continue to invite them to church throughout the year.  This is way out of my comfort zone.
We added to the money received from Pastor Eric and Jen and made a donation to Heart to Heart International after praying for God's guidance.  Heart to Heart delivers humanitarian aid to people in crises around the world.  It is a blessing to us to know during this Christmas season we have in some small way touched a life somewhere. 
I bought five Thanksgiving cards and inserted money in them. One went to a person who lives in Lincolnwood, IL. I delivered one to a neighbor whose husband is unemployed. Then I passed one to a friend to share with a woman having financial concerns. I also sent a card to my brother and sister-in-law, whose birthdays are in November, to show my appreciation for him serving in the Army for the last 31 years. Lastly, I shared a card with a neighbor who moved to Atlanta and lost her father last Thanksgiving.
We added to the money received from Eric and Jen and made a donation to Heart to Heart International after praying for God's guidance. Heart to Heart delivers humanitarian aid to people in crisis around the world. It is a blessing to us to know during this Christmas season we have in some small way touched a life somewhere.
After prayerful consideration for a few days, we decided to send our envelope to Greensburg, KS to an individual we had met there while working on reconstruction. This person, homeless, is struggling to earn money and find an affordable place to live. We send the envelope and added another material gift, which I hope will be useful and will provide spiritual "food for thought."
I work across from Washington Park and often, it is visited by the homeless. Today, I tripled the contents of the envelope and planned to give the envelope to someone who seemed homeless. From my office window, I noticed a man sleeping on a bench. I grabbed the PCOS envelope and set out. I was nervous and "out of my comfort zone." Although I startled him when I woke him, I gave him the envelope and said, "Have a much better day." He looked inside and asked, "Is it Thanksgiving?" I replied, "Enjoy today and God's gifts." I then returned to work, my nervousness subsiding. I hope this provided some help for the gentleman. It was indeed a pleasure, thanks be to God.
The Holy Spirit has been leading me in this $5 Pass-It-On Challenge! I was difficult to decide who to give God's money to; there are many in need. I asked Him what to do and he placed an answer on my heart. Since November is a month for Thanks-Giving and I am so thankful, I decided to share $5 a day for the month. Every morning when I pray, I ask that He "show me the money" recipient. So far I have I have been lead to help City Union Mission, Grace United Community Ministries, a friend, Goodwill, left it for someone to have a free smoothie, Hope House, Wayside Waifs and the Salvation Army.
In this age of technology with automatic deposits and withdrawals, debit cards and credit cards, e-mails and cell phones; our society has become detached and impersonal.  My donations have allowed me to have many wonderful people interactions; a conversation with the bank teller that handled the withdrawal of $150, a hug from a friend who needed help, the smoothie store owner who said he would give a smoothie to someone that was having a bad day and the bell ringer who gave me a big smile!
I added to the envelope and gave it to Center of Grace in Olathe. This ministry assists many local immigrants. They began by providing a dinner once a week to 70 people and are now feeding over 150 people two nights a week.
I gave it to a lady who sews for a group at the Prairie Village Presbyterian Church. They sew for many needy people but this week they are making nightshirts for the men who reside at the City Union Mission. She is in charge of buying supplies.
I "listened" all week for the right opportunity to speak to me. I knew our company participated in the Back Snack program, backpack are filled with nutritious food to send home each weekend with underprivileged children. We got an email that demand is so great that they need people to purchase more backpacks at a cost of $5 each. This one just felt right. I signed up to donate a total of three backpacks. I had never participated in the program and this was a new experience for me.
We asked our children how we should use the money and both remembered that one of our neighbors was injured in a car accident. I wasn't sure how to use the $5 to help her since her family was receiving meals from the neighborhood. However, I called her on my day off this past week and asked if there was anything I could do for her that day. She said she was glad I called and she needed groceries for her kid's lunch boxes and wasn't able to drive yet. I was provided and opportunity to do a good deed for someone in need and spread the love of Christ.
I gave my envelope to a man who was drying cars at a car wash. He said, "I would like to come to this kind of church."
I decided to combine the $5 with some of our own to assemble "snack bags" to take to the homeless. The bags contan a bottle of water, crackers, homemade cookies and candy. I have also included a card with Philippians 4:13 on it. I will deliver the bags with the youth on Sunday, Nov. 8, when we go to downtown Kansas City and reach out to the homeless. This is definitely out of my comfort zone but I have felt so good about assembling the bags and pray that they will bring a smile to the men and women who receive one.
We will be converting our $5 to Rupees for our mission trip to India. We are praying that the Holy Spirit will guide us to a person or family in India, we are confident that he will. How exciting! Your investment in God's Kingdom will bless someone across the globe. We are thankful for the opportunity to be a blessing and be blessed.
I went to Beauty Brands after church to buy hairspray.  As I was checking out the cashier mentioned that the month of November they are collecting for a local women's shelter and would I like to donate.  I said YES, I just happened to have $5 for you.  When I pulled out the envelope she saw the scripture and asked me about where I got "that."  I explained, and she asked "what church do you go to?"  I told her and she said she thought that it was so neat that we were doing this  I invited her to visit us here at PCOS...
I used my $5 with an investment of my own to help a family that has had a baby born with many physical problems and have huge medical bills.  I thought you might like to know how your investment helped build the kingdom.  To God be the glory!
Multiplied the amount in the envelope by ten and sent to City Union Mission Celebrate Hope campaign.  They were struggling to provide shelter, meals, and Transitional Living Program to more and more poor and homeless while seeing their support (contribution) dropping each month.  Since I no longer have an employer to match my gifts, Eric and Jen have become my matcher and challenger.  What an awesome thing to do!!!
We are giving the money to Toys for Tots.  The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
I carefully considered who to give the $5 to.  It was very important to me that the person realized that this was a gift that my church wanted me to give to someone.  I thought several times of giving it to the following:  LightHouse where I stuffed and labeled envelopes, a person waiting behind me at a drive through, and a person at the gas station waiting to pay.  I decided that each of these did not offer me the opportunity to say the origin of the $5.00.  I also did not feel that the Holy Spirit was involved in those choices.  It just seemed that the above possibilities were too impersonal.  Then I got my opportunity.  I felt that the choice was right.  The Holy Spirit was saying, "Yes, this is the person who needs the $5."  For some reason besides the fact that I did need to use the bathroom, I went inside the Winstead's on Roe where I usually use the drive through.  By the time I returned to pick up my order, I had a very good feeling that the waitress at the take-out counter should receive the $5.  I told her that it may seem odd that I was giving this $5 to her, but that my church had given the $5 to me to give away, and I had decided to give it to her.  She responded, "My goodness, I can use this.  You and your church are so kind."  She hugged me with great sincerity and happiness.  I thought, "I did make the right choice!".  I felt very good with my decision.
We doubled it and donated to Harvesters when we checked out at Price Chopper.
I used the money to contribute to co-workers family's needs while she is in the hospital.  The money collected will help provide food for the four children while their mother is recovering in the hospital.  The staff member and her husband are separated, and this staff member has been functioning as a single parent for several months.  They are in my thoughts and prayers, and I just heard that she came through her surgery well.  I know this is a tangible way for our church to reach out of their "comfort zones" to build God's kingdom.
For starters, I did not know there was money in the envelope.  I stopped by Wal-Mart on my way home and the Boy Scouts were collecting for one of their many projects.  I did my shopping and on my way out decided, now here is a place to raise some new strong leaders in this country.  So I handed one of the young fellows $5 and told him to use it wisely.  I was a bit put out at myself that I did not go first to my car to get the envelope with the scripture written on it.  I got home and told my husband about our new project.  I was unloading the many things out of my purse and was going to throw the envelope in the trash with the feeling that I had accomplished my mission.  I really did not think I had put much effort in to this and should have probably given myself more time to come up with a much needier cause.  Well, as luck would have it, I looked in the envelope - 100% return on my project.  Okay, now I'm challenged to use another $5 and I'm going to give this some serious thought.  I'm planning to step out of my box!
I purchased granola bars and bottled water to keep in my car. Now I am prepared to provide something to eat and drink the to homeless I see along the road.
I used my own money and donated to the Olathe Food Pantry at the First Presbyterian Church in Olathe.  Then I sent the $5 to a friend explaining what our church had done and what I had done as an example and asked her to pass it forward hoping it would continue.
I didn't use the actual money that Pastor Eric and Jen gave as because we are making a plan to include the kids in what we do with it and use it as a family but Pastor Eric's willingness to step out of his comfort zone made me FINALLY step out of mine.  There is a group of homeless men who take turns standing at an intersection near my work and I usually hope the light won't turn while I'm right by them because it makes me uncomfortable to be sitting in my car, drinking my coffee and wondering whether they are really homeless or are some of them scam artists that we hear about on the news who aren't homeless at all.  But on this day, I wrapped money around the banana that I was planning to eat with my lunch and gave it to the man on the corner (the cars were moving so the banana acted as a vehicle for the money not to blow as I tried to hand it to him from the moving car).  I realized that it was between him and God; whether he needed it or was working a scam. It seems pretty small and shouldn't have taken me so long to get to but I feel SO much better having FINALLY done something (however small) to help.

Miss a Sunday? Visit our sermon page to catch up on VIDEO, AUDIO and SERMON NOTES. You can send your questions to Pastor Eric at  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .