T'was the Weekend Before Christmas….(Yes…this it it!)

So it's almost here.  And we are SO EXCITED!
This Sunday we are wrapping up Hotseat in Orillia and lauching our mini-Christmas series in Barrie called Christmas in Reverse.
Plus at both campuses we're receiving the Thrive Christmas Offering at the end of the service, our over-and-above regular giving offering to benefit others.  Can't wait for all of us to put our hearts and resources together to help others Thrive this Christmas.
Our goal is $80,000 to help plant other churches that unchurched people will love to attend, to care for the homeless and to feed the hungry.
For more details on Thrive Christmas or to give right now, click here! In the meantime, here's what's on deck at our campuses this weekend:
Orillia:: Hotseat Part Five | Why Is the Old Testament God So Mad? :: Carey Nieuwhof
Wars. Famine. Earth quakes that swallowed people alive. The Old Testament is filled with examples of a God that seems, well, mad. How can this be the same God who says he loved the world enough to save it? It’s a great question.
Service times 8.30 & 10.00 AM | Orillia Galaxy Cinema’s | 865 West Ridge Blvd, Orillia (Children’s Programs @ 10 AM)
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Here's what's coming down the pipe in Barrie ::
Barrie :: Christmas in Reverse | The Great Silence
Ever have a time when God felt silent to you?  You're not alone.  You would think that the two halves of the Bible – the Old Testament and the New Testament – would stitch together seamlessly.  But between them is a gap – a centuries long silence.  We can learn about the silence in our lives by studying the silence in scripture.
Service times 8.30 & 10 AM | Barrie Galaxy Cinema’s | 72 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie
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Who are you inviting to one of our services this Christmas Eve?  Here are the details you can share with them ::
Christmas in Reverse | The Remedy
What if the things we most love about Christmas never happened?  Sometimes the best way to appreciate love, joy, peace and hope is to imagine a world without them.  That's what we'll do this Christmas as we look at what the world – and your life – would be like had Christmas never happened.

So…it's almost Christmas 2011.  You ready?  We are.  Can't wait to see what God does this year.
– Carey