My trip to Tampa was good

It's around 5:45 AM Sunday morning and I should really be asleep. I woke up and so the Lord and I have talked. I did some evaluating of our service last night and made some adjustments to the set list. I guess you call that a "course adjustment." Rick did an awesome job, and Cheryl's spoken word was really good.

I may go out and run before I start getting ready for the services. It sure is windy this morning.

My trip to Tampa was good. I led worship for my brother's student worship service. I was glad to see him, encourage him and just hang out. Even if it was just for a few hours. Continue to pray for the Bell Shoals church. I had this picture that I grabbed off of FACEBOOK. It's Forrest and Simeon together in a recent photo. When I first saw it I thought, "Wow, they are both no longer with us." Then the Lord reminded me that they are both around the throne in worship. What an awesome worship that must be.

Revelation 5:8-13...check it out.

Be in prayer the rest of our series. We have the best news ever. Let's share it with as many people as possible. We know the end of the story.

God bless you all
Until He Comes...

Hey guys,

I've left to Tampa today to lead worship for my brother's student worship service at his church. I'll be back on Thursday. Stacey and Jackson will lead choir rehearsal tonight. Small Group will follow and Donna will be leading that. The band will rehearse on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Be in prayer for me. I appreciate you all.

Sammy

The Revelation Begins

Well The Revelation has begun. That's right! And what an amazing weekend it was. Over 2100 adults at the Palmetto Bay Campus alone. Yea, and there were decisions at every service. It was beautiful.

Saturday evening was an incredible service. The Lord moved in an awesome and fresh way. Incredible. Here are some pics that Jeff took during our service. It was great having the orchestra and the worship choir on Saturday night. You guys are great and I appreciate your passion for worship and love for God.

Continue to pray for us as we move through this series. Bring your friends.

I would like to thank Hector Huyo and Jeff Reed for the work they did to be ready for the series launch. I would also like to thank all our media volunteers. You guys carry a huge load and I want you to know that I appreciate you and your work does not go unnoticed. And to those of you who did the staging....it is amazing.

Never cease to praise Him,
Sammy

Running with Fay

Well, thank God, we did not have to deal with a bunch of clean up and the sounds of generators running during the night. So the inconvenience of a bit of rain and wind was nothing.

I went running with Fay on Tuesday. It was nice. A bit of rain and the wind was a blessing. Later in the evening I went swimming...now that was a trip. The current and the waves made the swim harder than usual.

Please continue to pray for the Simeon Nix family, my brother and the entire Bell Shoals Baptist Church family. The funeral is tonight. This will be a celebration of a wonderful man, but I am sure there will be much pain for the tragic loss. You can see a picture of Simeon on my past posting.

I look forward to seeing you all tonight. I have missed you. The cool thing to is that Andrew said to me this weekend, "I miss the choir." The Revelation is going to be a really strong series. The stage is nearly set, so we are almost ready.

See you all tonight.
Never Cease to Worship Him
Sammy

P.S. We will begin our Wednesday Small Group (Uncovering Revelation study) next Wednesday, August 27th.

Please Pray

If you were not in the services this Sunday, you may not have heard what happened at my brother's church. As you may recall, my brother's pastor and son were tragically killed in a plane crash in May of this year. The church is still in the process of healing.

On Tuesday this week, my brother sent me a text stating that their Worship Pastor, Simeon Nix, a friend of mine, had a mild heart attack. He was recovering and then released from the hospital on Friday.

It is with deep regret to tell you that on Saturday evening Simeon had a massive heart attack and passed away early this Sunday morning.

I spoke with my brother this morning and he asked that our church pray for them. The amount of pain that Simeon's wife and kids are feeling must be unbearable. The family and church need our prayers.

Thank you so much. Our God is with us.

All Because of Grace
Sammy

This Week

Hey all,

Check this out, we have an exciting week. Starting with Wednesday evening. That's right! It's a feast at the Flores'...I can't wait. The line-up of food looks amazing. Choir will be off this weekend. The band will rehearse at 3pm on Saturday (a meal will be provided).

Then we have our Ministry Rally on Friday, August 15. This one will be different than others. There will be much more training. Our break out will be led by all of our worship leaders. There is still time for you to sign up if you have forgotten to. Call 305.238.1818 or register on-line at www.cffamily.org

I am excited about our reach beyond at Perrine Elementary. It will be on Saturday, August 16TH. 9:00 AM. This will be a great way to show our community that we really care about them.

Well, as you can see we have a lot of great stuff coming up. Let's do this thing.

sammy

21" Hog Snapper

You know when I was out the other day spearfishing? Well here is one of the results of our hard work. The largest hog I have ever taken. It was a cool day. Thanks to John who was driving while I was in the water.

Jenny Fojo led worship this weekend at Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay campus. I was teaching our 101 Connection Class so I turned the music portion of our service to Jenny and she did a great job. I also want to thank Vanessa and Priscilla, who did some rearranging so that Priscilla could play at Palmetto Bay and Vanessa led the students at our Downtown campus.

We had a lady who stood up during our 12:30 service and began speaking to Eric as he began to speak. It was very distracting to the service to say the least. Our security team went into action and responded as they were suppose to and escorted the lady out while Eric led the church in prayer; praying for the service and for the lady.

Eric and our security team responded as they should have. It is important that we are always prepared and it was good to see our team respond as they did.

The Lord is at work and because He is at work we should be ready to respond as He calls us to a deeper level in our relationship to Him.

Never Cease To Worship Him
s

REACH BEYOND postponed!

Our Reach Beyond on Saturday, August 9Th for Perrine Elementary has been postponed and moved to next Saturday at the same time. Perrine Elementary is having a power outage at the school, so we are not allowed on the campus. Save the time for next Saturday, August 16Th.

So, the other day I am out spearfishing with John and see the biggest eel ever in the water. Then I see this 3 to 4 foot barracuda stalking me for around 10 minutes and I'm thinking..."The canal is looking a lot safer."

See you soon.

The worship choir does not sing this weekend. I am teaching 101.

Are your tummies ready?

Please don't forget to sign up for the ministry rally; August 15TH. This rally will be like no other. Call the church office or go to www.cffamily.org and register. You may also sign up this weekend in the breezeway. Also invite a friend.

s

Shark week has been really good

If you are a fan of shark week, then you are a happy person. It has been really good. Those dudes are amazing...I mean the sharks. Which brings me to another point: would it be safer to swim in a canal in South Florida where there are alligator attacks or to swim in the ocean where there are shark attacks? Let me know what you think. I'll tell you why later.

Last night I had a very rare experience. My parents who have a beautiful backyard full of flowers, plants and tress, gave me a cactus, [Night Blooming Cereus] and last night it put on quite a show. What is unique about this cactus is that it blooms only one time a year and will not bloom again until next year. This flower is beautiful. It has a sweet fragrance as well as a complex makeup and design.

I began to think, if I had not gone outside at 11:00 PM, I would have missed this event.

I pray that we don't become undercover in our reaching out to the community, or sharing our faith. Let's be bold so the whole world will know that we are His disciples. "Come glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together."

Hey, don't forget, our Reach Beyond, Saturday at 9:00 AM, our dinner feast at my place on August 13th and the Ministry Rally Friday, August 15th. Many of you, as of yet, have not signed up. Please do so asap. We will need to order meals for you. It's gonna be great.

The worship choir will not be singing this weekend. I will be teaching 101 at Perrine Elementary. Jenny will be leading the worship. Please pray for her.

Seek His Face
sammy

Two weeks out from Uncovering Revelation

We are now in the middle of Lose Your Religion, which has been great. The messages have been right on the mark. But just around the corner is our new series, The Revelation. Here is a series that always sparks interest in many people, which then gives us a great opportunity to invite folks to church as well as to invite them to a small group.

I am doing one on Wednesday after our worship rehearsal and then I am also leading one at my home on Friday evenings. If you are not plugged in, there are many opportunities for you to be in a small group. Stop by the small groups table on the weekends or go to cffamily.org. You may also call the church office for more information.

Don't forget our Reach Beyond that we are doing on August 9, at 9:00 AM. We will meet at Perrine Elementary (right across the street from the church.) What a great opportunity for our worship and media team to serve our community.

Also register ASAP for our Ministry Rally, Friday August 15th. There will some great training, and vision casting as well as great food. Call the church or sign up online at cffamily.org by August 10th.

It's gonna be another great weekend.

sammy