It’s that time of year again, and a new year means another new resolution and the hope that 2010 will be better than 2009. But whether this year is better or not doesn’t change the fact that life will happen. Join us as we spend the next couple of weeks learning how to live life as it happens.

From wrapping gifts and sipping hot chocolate to hanging mistletoe and singing Christmas carols, "'Tis The Season" for just about everything. Around this time of year families will gather and share a meal together, which will leave some feeling heavy and uneasy. This discomfort comes not just from that extra helping of pumpkin pie, but also from having to confront family dynamics, history and baggage. Yet, even in the midst of the holiday season, God gives us no wiggle room in the command to honor our father and mother. Join us in our series "'Tis The Season," as we unwrap how relating to your parents as God intends provides stability in your life.

Have you ever felt a sneeze coming on and asked someone for a “Kleenex”? You didn’t care if it was Puffs, Scott or Kleenex brand. All you needed was a facial tissue to blow your nose. Or what about those times growing up when you got a cut or scrape? What did you ask your parents for? You requested a Band-Aid, not an adhesive bandage. Just think of the brand names that have become generic: Tylenol, Coke and Ziploc. Generic brands simply serve to meet your needs, which means any “product” will do. Unfortunately, this is how our culture tends to view God. When we need a good blessing we seek out God and think any old brand will do. We invite you to join us for a series called “Generic Jesus” where we will examine how God sent his only Son into the world to accomplish something very specific—something far from generic, something only He could do...

A LETTER FROM MIKE

On October 25th, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of PC3--it was a very special time. What began with just a few people has grown into a powerful movement of our God. I can hardly believe what has happened over the past 10 years. The one thing that humbles me the most is how much each individual life adds to the story of PC3- and impacts our community.

In the past ten years, I have had the privilege of walking with people through moments of incredible joy and seasons of deep sorrow— moments when I couldn’t believe how good God is and moments when I could only cling to the hope of His goodness. Life is like that sometimes. The past ten years have cut a swatch through time which allows me to see how the Life that Jesus came to bring is the only hope we have in this world. I count it a great honor to share in both the joy and pain found in these stories. The grace of our God and the response of His people are an inspiration!

In the past ten years, I have seen God change people. I have seen marriages healed, faith restored, destructive patterns reversed, and lives redeemed. I have seen God’s hand of mercy sustain and bring victory from defeat and joy from pain, consistently demonstrating His promise to work everything for His good.

It has been a privilege to serve this body for the past ten years. People have been very gracious to me and we’ve have walked together with unity and experienced tremendous favor. But I am most grateful for what God has done in me. My life has changed. My marriage is richer and my family is stronger. My faith is renewed continually. These are not due to the fact that I am a pastor, but because I am a part of this body. And words cannot express my gratitude for this privilege I’ve had for the past ten years.

As I reflect on the past, I cannot help but to think of the future. And as fast as the past ten years have been, the next ten will be equally so. Many things will change in the next ten years. But my hope rests in the fact that God is faithful and He is good. And in His mercy He has trusted us to impact this region with His presence. We will continue to extend ourselves to reach our friends and family in order to help them pursue Christ and the life He has for them.

Thank you for being a part of God’s work here in this church. As we reflect on God’s faithfulness in the past, let’s use it as fuel for our faith for the future.

Deeply grateful,

- Mike Ashcraft

In this message, Brian Few, our Director of Overflow, speaks about why it is essential to stay connected to God as we walk with Him. This may seem like an obvious or basic aspect of having a relationship with God, but it is very challenging to actually live out in the everyday, ordinary moments of life. So we invite you to join us as we discuss why “Staying Connected” is essential, and how we learn to live this way.

Although the “Meek Squad” may employ the latest in “behavior modification technology,” the solution to pride can’t be provided by a for-hire service. For many the sin of pride may seem insignificant, or it may even go unnoticed. Yet at its core, pride creates a distorted view of our world. It can put us above others, and even above God. Although it can be difficult to see in our own lives, its devastating effects are hard to ignore. So the question becomes, “how do we root out the pride in our lives?” We are excited that you have joined us this week as we examine how pride prevents us from living the life we are meant for and why true humility can’t come from within.

To find out more about the Meek Squad, visit www.themeeksquad.com

Whether it’s time commitment, fear of vulnerability or not knowing what to expect, we all have reasons we either disengage from community or never consider being in a small group in the first place. We invite you to join us as we take a look past the excuses we use to check out of community in a two-week series called “100 Reasons NOT to Be in a Small Group.” During our time together, we will examine the bigger purpose community plays in our lives and why it is such an integral part of our walk with God.

Throughout the Old Testament, we catch glimpses of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. The life of Ruth, found in the book that bears her name, is one such tale. Loyalty, commitment, perseverance and ultimately redemption define her story. These four short chapters lay the groundwork for a redemptive plan that reaches far beyond the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz and embraces us with the love and faithfulness of God. We invite you to join us during this four-week series as we explore what God is revealing about His heart and character in the Book of Ruth.

Our mission is to reach people and help them walk with God--all people, from our community to the ends of the earth. Missions is not a separate ministry or program at PC3; it’s the essence of who we are as believers in Jesus Christ. As our relationship with God grows, we develop His love for people. A natural expression of that love is the desire to serve others and an excitement about sharing the joy and hope we have in Jesus Christ to those who haven’t heard or don’t understand. To read more about how we serve in various parts of the world and how you can get involved, visit missions.portcitychurch.org.

Everyone loves a good story. Stories have the ability to draw us in, capture our attention and enable us to see something bigger than ourselves. No one understood the power of the narrative better than Jesus. He told stories not to illustrate a point, but to awaken our senses to the realities of the Kingdom of God. We invite you to join us as we explore the truths found within these “parables” and allow them to push us in the direction of understanding God’s heart in a series we’ve called “Nudge.”

Everyone thinks of God in one way or another. Then there’s Jesus, who most people know something about as well. But how much do we actually know about the Holy Spirit? In this series we will take a look at who the Holy Spirit is and what He does—and equally importantly, what He does not do.  We all have ideas and misconceptions about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In fact, He is one person of God who is commonly referred to as “It” instead of “He.” So we are going to allow “Him” to introduce Himself in a series called, “Not It.”

If you’ve ever rushed through an airport terminal with two heavy suitcases and a carry-on, you realize the importance of packing light for a trip. Those bags have a way of weighing you down, tiring you out and causing you to stumble. Our emotional baggage has the same effect. Clinging on to those past hurts, failures and regrets hinders walking freely with Christ. We invite you to join us for the Baggage series where we will learn how our past determines how we move into the future.

Port City Community Church is home to some amazing ministries that contribute to our mission of reaching people and helping them walk with God, but these ministries wouldn’t exist without the dedication of our incredible volunteers. Week after week, lights are programmed, toys are cleaned, bulletins are assembled and coffee is made by different teams representing hundreds of volunteers—normal people, just like you, who want to honor God with their time and talents. Whether it’s during the week or on Sunday morning, there are many opportunities to volunteer at PC3, and a place for everyone.

Many refer to what we do on Sunday morning as a "worship service." That is an interesting term. Worship is a response. It is our response to what we see and is proportional to our perception of value. The Scriptures demonstrate the various human responses to God, and much of that response comes in the form of song. It is an interesting connection, and in this series we want to explore that as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus. We want to experience this connection and learn to worship with our lives and our voices in response to God's great worth in this series, called "I Stand Amazed."

We’ve all heard the expression that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." But have we ever considered what causes us to look over into the other yard in the first place? Fueled by a sense of entitlement and tainted desires, lust leads to discontentment, a distorted hope and unrealistic expectations. What we have to understand is that the grass was never meant to satisfy us in the first place. We invite you to join us as we explore how the end of lust is not the end of desire, but rather the beginning of pure desire and the leaving of a legacy.

When you walk into Port City Community Church on a Sunday morning--every environment you enter, every action that is taken and every word that is said has at its core the mission of our church--"to reach people and help them walk with God." This mission is essential to everything that we do as a church and every decision that we make is purposed toward this goal. But is it vital to the way that you live your life? What would it look like in our homes, in our city and in our lives if we made this mission more than a statement--but a personal declaration? With this series we invite you to join us as we examine what it means to be a part of the church and how "reaching people and helping them walk with God" can be what each one of us does with our very lives.

Even in the midst of this financial crisis, our culture continues to cry out for MORE. But instead of getting more of what we want--we have more stress, more chaos and more dissatisfaction. Our response is to tighten up, cling to our 'stuff' and let our circumstances dictate our generosity. What if there was another way to respond to these uncertain times? With this series we invite you to join us as we examine where generosity flows from and how it ultimately serves as an expression of our heart.

Welcome to the New Year, which brings with it brand new potential. All the problems of the past belong in the previous year. We get a chance to start over again with a clean slate. My One Word is a simple exercise to help you start your year with vision. Instead of resolving not to do all the bad things you did last year, we want to see what we hope God will do in us, then sum it up with a single word. We are excited you are starting your year with us and are honored to help you pick a word—and to help you in your walk with God.

It's that time of year again, and many of us have been counting the days until the arrival of Christmas! This season is one in which we take time to remember the extraordinary entry of Christ into our world and to reflect on His arrival into our hearts. We are grateful you have chosen to be with us today, and we invite you to join with us as we count down the days until "The Arrival."

We hope that you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday, one that was not only filled with food & football, but also a chance to say thanks to those that mean a lot to you. Today, we hope you take the opportunity to say thanks to your Creator for all the incredible blessings He has brought your way. Our goal is that today’s service helps create an opportunity for you to express your heart of gratitude and worship to Christ—for all He is and all He’s done.

In this message, we are going to share with you some of what is happening here at PC3, both in us as a body and through us corporately. God has trusted us with a precious movement, and we want to position ourselves to be great stewards of His work. We are excited that you are reading this today as we are about to give you some inside information on "Our Perspective & His Vision."

It’s unavoidable--every one of us goes through things that we don’t ask for and we certainly don’t want. Sometimes it’s something small--like burnt toast, but other times it’s huge and potentially life-shattering. In this message, Brett Eddy speaks as we take a look at what you can do when life throws you a curveball.

This new series is called, "You are Here!" This is a matter of fact. We are hearing words like "panic", “crisis", and "fear". The world is happening all around us, and this is where we must live; we must learn to trust our God and fulfill his purposes right where we are. In this series we will take a look at how we can get this perspective and do what we can—because, after all, "You are Here!"

A wife, a car, a job, a couple of kids, a fence and a mortgage... This is the resumé of the American dream. Each day we are pushed hard to get this. We learn to put together a great resumé, hoping that as we explain our experience and tout our education, we will land the job that will ensure that we get what we want. We learn that we must be able to sell ourselves, so we make sure we are perfect... on paper. However, at this pace, it is hard to stop and see if what we’re told we need is what we really want. We invite you to explore the uniqueness of your life and family in this new series, "Perfect on Paper."