On this day in 1915, Pancho Villa signed a treaty with the United States that halted border conflicts between the two countries. In return, the U.S. agreed to give him the Texas Panhandle rights to a fast food franchise – Taco Villa.

Okay, maybe it didn’t happen exactly that way.

After taking some time off for the holidays, our Wednesday services resume this week. From 6:30-8:00 p.m. each Wednesday, we will have healing and prophetic rooms, worship and prayer as well as nursery, children and youth groups.

An old/new group will begin meeting 8:45-9:45 a.m. each Sunday beginning this week. Jennifer Martin and Debi Jeter will lead what formerly was intercessory prayer. Now, they will lead praise, prayer and reflection. This is a time, open to all, who want to spend some intimate time with the Lord before the Sunday service. Childcare will be available.

Beginning Jan. 28, Pastors Becky and Wendy will be moderating Alpha, a 15-week video series. This class is a basic Christianity class with a video and discussion. It begins with questions about God being real and goes all the way into baptism of the Holy spirit. It is a wonderful study for those who want to know more about Christ. The class will run 8:45-9:45 a.m. each Sunday. A sign-up sheet is in the foyer. Check with Pastor Becky if you want a study guide. Childcare is available.

Thanks to each of you who support the church financially every month. We could not operate without you. For those who would like to give, there are several ways. In addition to checks, cash and money order, you can give by text (84321), use your credit card at the church or by going online to our website, www.ilovemore.org. The most efficient way for the church is for people to give by bank draft. If that interests you, please contact Pastor Wendy.

Community Groups:

• Going Up, a community group for people who have attained age 50 and above, meets once a month. The next fellowship will be 5-7 p.m., Jan. 20, at the home of Jonathan/Maria Lair. Contact Keith and Sherry Moore for more information. Keith can be reached at 382-3780 and Sherry at 382-6654.
• James and Paula Butler lead a service every Sunday afternoon at Acts Community Resource Center on 2^nd and Louisiana for the people in San Jacinto. Contact the Butlers if you would like to be a part of this.
• Mark Wolfe leads a men’s group that has changed its meeting time. The new time will be 6:30-8:00 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The new meeting place will be Acts downtown, 816 S. Van Buren. There will be some social time then Bible talk. For more information, contact Mark at 806-674-1050.
• Ben and Caitlin Standish lead “Sabre in the Spirit,” a prayer meeting with live music and rooted in the Bible. They meet at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Saturday of every month at the Standish home, 5721 Andover Dr. For more information, contact Ben at 418-0692 or Caitlin at 670-5344.
• The MORE Recovery group meets at 5:30-6:30 p.m. each Monday at the church. This meeting is open to the public. Childcare is available for birth-3^rd grade if we know a day in advance.
• Pastor Lyndal leads the Crump Church service at 6:45-8:00 p.m. each Monday at the church. This is a smaller, more intimate gathering of worship and ministry for those who may not feel comfortable in a regular church setting. This is open to the public. Childcare is available for birth-3^rd grade if we know a day in advance.
• Pastor Kathryn Roach leads a young women’s group called Grow Together! The group will meet 7-9 p.m., Jan. 20 and Feb. 17 at MORE before Kathryn takes off a few months for the birth of her new child. The group is open to women 18-35 and focuses on growth in relationship with the Lord and others. In a chill atmosphere, there is a short worship time, small devotional and discussion. For more information, contact Pastor Kathryn at 690-5144.
• Creator’s Space, hosted by Joy Conner at Acts Community-Downtown, 816 S. Van Buren, 3 p.m., the first Saturday of each month.  This group is for adults only. Bring projects, ideas and artistic/creative friends to make things you love. This is a place for you to make things and for creators to create. For more information, contact Joy Conner at joy.conner@yahoo.com or 806-683-5054.
• Women’s prayer and worship, led by Jennifer Martin, 9 a.m. each Tuesday at MORE. No childcare.

Our Sunday morning sermon is available live each Sunday around 10:45-10:50 a.m. on our Facebook page or later it will be posted to our website and YouTube. For additional information on MORE, please check the calendar below or look us up at our website, www.ilovemore.org, our Facebook page or YouTube (MORE Church Amarillo).

January Schedule:

• January 10 – Resume Wednesday services, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• January 27 – Unleashing Possibilities women’s conference, 9-4 (Christy Hilbert)
• January 28 – Baby dedication

February Schedule:                                        

• February 18 – Water baptism (Pastor Lyndal)

Weekly Schedule:

• Sunday: 8:45-9:45 a.m., Alpha Class (begins Jan. 28)
• Sunday: 8:45-9:45 a.m., Prayer/Praise/Reflection (begins Jan. 14)
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m., Sunday service
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m., Children’s church
• Sunday: After worship, service for 6^th-12th graders
• Monday: 5:30-6:30 p.m. – MORE Recovery group
• Monday: 6:45-8:00 p.m., Crump Church at MORE
• Tuesday: 9:00-10:30 a.m., women’s prayer and worship
• Wednesday: 6:30-8:00 p.m. – Wednesday services (returns Jan. 10)

Praises and testimonies:

• James Butler went home from the hospital on Sunday and is feeling much better.
• Gary Jones is making a miraculous comeback. Doctors have removed his vent tube. He also is awake and talking. Continue to pray because he’s still sick.
• Doctors were able to remove one kidney stone from Courtneigh Stump on Sunday. She will have another one removed next week and another stent put in. Continue to pray for her.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for the family of Oscar and Sophia Ramirez. Her mother, Sylvia Gonzales, passed away Tuesday morning after a long illness. Services are still to be determined.
• Pray for Veronica Gervasi, husband of Jared/daughter of Patricia Garcia/sister to Leticia Trowbridge, who is almost 20 weeks pregnant. Doctors could not find a heartbeat during her last appointment. She is supposed to have another appointment yesterday or today to try again.
• Pray for Elaine Standish who fell the other day and was taken to the ER to get checked out. She is in BSA Room 537.
• Pray for the father of one of our members. He has a mass in his back next to his spine. No word yet on if it’s dangerous or not.
• Please pray for Wesson who has RSV and is in the hospital in Plainview. Wesson is the nephew of Daysha Davis, who is in PREP, and grandson of her mom.
• Pray for Misty Wilson, daughter/stepdaughter of David and Sheila Wilson. Misty is in serious condition and was flown to a hospital in Kansas City with three cancerous masses, one of which was bleeding in her rectum.
• Pray for Wendy Roach’s mother, Barbara, who is recovering at Wendy’s home following lung surgery and will soon begin some chemo treatments.
• Pray for Jane Barnes who is recovering from knee surgery on Monday. They did not do a total replacement. She will move to a rehab facility today (Tuesday).
• Pray for Carol, the mother-in-law of Crystal Chambers’ brother, who is in hospice.
• Pray for Johnny Saunders who is recovering from quadruple heart bypass surgery.
• Pray for those with long-term health ailments: Shelly Wood (bowel surgery now chemotherapy); Phillip, son of Chris Czosnek (chemotherapy); Eddie Gonzalez (internal issues); Mike Miller (kidney dialysis, cancerous cyst in his mouth); Nick Woodard’s father (liver cancer); and Johnnie Daniels, PREP board member/volunteer (rectal cancer).
• Pray for family and friends in our congregation who are struggling with meth, alcohol and other addictions.
• In addition, please pray for all of our military personnel, leaders, president and cabinet members.

MORE Money:

The Sunday offering for 01/07/24 was $9,517.43. Giving year-to-date is the same. Weekly budget is $13,000. Budget year-to-date is the same. Attendance was 248.

Thoughts for the week:

• “If we really want to love, we must learn to forgive.” (Mother Teresa)

• “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive. Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat. All I want from you is to trust me with what little you can and grow in loving people around you with the same love I share with you.” (Quote from The Shack)

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Things to do on an elevator:

• Say “ding” on each floor.
• Say, “I wonder what all these do?” and push all the red buttons.
• Stare, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce, “I have new socks on.”
• When there’s only one other person on the elevator, tap them on the shoulder then pretend it wasn’t you.
• Hold the door open and say you’re waiting on a friend. After a while, let the doors close and say, “Hi, Greg. How’s your day been?”
• Lay down a Twister mat and ask people if they’d like to play.
• Ask, “Did you feel that?”
• Tell people that you can see their aura.
• Frown and mutter, “Gotta go, gotta go,” then sigh and say, “Oops.”

I owe my mother:

• My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done. “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.
• Religion. “You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
• Time Travel. “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
• Logic. “Because I said so, that’s why.”
• More logic. “If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
• Foresight. “Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.
• Irony. “Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
• Osmosis. “Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
• Stamina. “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
• Hypocrisy. “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate.”

“Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom to understand my man, love to forgive him and patience for his moods. Because, Lord, if I pray for strength, I’ll beat him to death. Amen.”

That’s all, folks. Enjoy the rest of your week.

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