Febo25

Chase

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Agape Newsletter: Special Radikal to the Maxx edition!

Hello everybody, and welcome in to another Agape newsletter. Did you miss us last week? We had a broken rod in the printing press, and weren’t able to send this newsletter out to you in time. Those responsible have been sacked.

This Sunday, we have a fun filled, action packed, God-centered day, and I hope you can take part! We lead off with small groups on Sunday morning, beginning at 9:45 AM. The small group that I am part of has begun a fantastic new video series on marriage that is led by Les and Leslie Parrot. We watched the intro video last week, and it was very good. I anticipate another good video this week, and a great discussion to follow. We have many other Sunday morning small groups as well, come early and check them out!

For the message this Sunday, we are going to take a one week break from our series looking at the purposes of Agape. Instead, we are going to hear a message about the radical person of Jesus, His radical demands on our life, and the radical gospel preached by Him and His disciples. In a day and age where people are angered and turned off by any who claim to have absolute truth, how should the church communicate the message of Jesus?

Sunday night, we will actually be having two events, one at 5:00pm and one at 6:00pm. Beginning at 5:00, our teenagers are hosting a worship time called “Come Together” which will feature the worship team and teenagers from Living Word Church, as well as the drama team from Solid Rock Church, and a message from our own David McConnell. Shortly after that, at 6:00pm, all are invited to the beginning of Genesis, a new small group that will be meeting at the parsonage. Genesis is a group for anybody who would like to be more involved in evangelism and discipleship at Agape, or who is a current small group leader, or wants to be a small group leader.

Finally, please continue to pray for Leeroy Turner. I visited with Leeroy today, and he is still in a lot of pain from surgery on both knees. Also pray for John McNamee, father of Lori and husband of Ginger, who is in the ICU at UAB hospital with serious issues affecting his blood.

That’s all for now - See you Sunday!

Chase

Febo02

Chase

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Some Wednesday night notes + This Sunday’s Super Duper Bowl gathering

Hello all,

I hope you are having a good week so far! I need to let you know about two things regarding this Wednesday:

  1. This month we are down one or two trucks from our normal group which goes downtown to pick up food for our food pantry every month. This food run is tomorrow (Wednesday), and we usually pick up food around 9:30am or 10:00am, and then bring it back to Agape to unload. Does anybody have a pick up truck or a trailer, who could be free for a couple of hours tomorrow morning to help with food pick up? If so, could you let me know ASAP, and I will contact you with directions and more details. Thanks!
  2. Also - Wednesday night, the adults will continue our series on the End Times, finishing up our study of the most evil and powerful human who will ever live - the Antichrist. Who will he be? Where will he come from? Who will ultimately defeat him? Why do Christians need to know? In addition, EPIC youth will kick off at 6:15 with a time of fellowship, followed by powerful worship and word. Also, if you have kids aged up to 6th grade, don’t forget about Kids Revive, our children’s discipleship time, which begins at 6:30pm!

One more quick note, which I will send out again on Friday: For our Super duper Bowl party which begins shortly after 5pm this Sunday with hot dogs, baked beans, and much more! The game itself kicks off around 5:30pm, and we will be displaying it on our big screen in the sanctuary. Our own evangelist, John Talley, will be sharing a brief message at half time as well. What do you need to do? I’m glad you asked! We need you to bring desserts, chips, and drinks. We’ll be inviting some folks from the community to come and watch the game with us, so be sure and bring a bit extra, ok?

See you Wednesday!
Chase

Jano29

Chase

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Agape mini…mini…mini newsletter Special Suuper Duuper Bowl edition. (we can’t use the name “Super Bowl”)…..oops!

Hello all,

Not much time to write, and I do want to get this out before all of you go home from work, so this will be quite short. I’m a little later than normal today, because my family and I went to the Circus this morning, and we have just now arrived home. It was fantastic, first time I had been to the Circus in over 20 years, and I was blown away.

Two important things:
    This Sunday, we are continuing to look at the four major purposes of the congregation of Agape - We are looking at Reach, which is essentially evangelism. The question we will be exploring tomorrow, is, “how can we as a group at Agape better fulfill the Great Commission this year?” Come join us as we explore the call to evangelize in a creative and scriptural way.

    Next Sunday night, February 7, we will be having a Suuper Duuper Bowll gathering. We’ll be feasting on hot dogs and baked beans, homemade deserts and more. Your job? Bring homemade deserts and yourself. We’re inviting the community to come join us, so this will be a great time to put into practice some of the things we’ll learn about evangelism this Sunday. We will have a brief men’s planning meeting this Sunday right after worship, in order to divvy up a few responsibilities for our Super bowl party. For the party itself, men, women and children are welcome to come!

That’s all for now….see you Sunday!
Chase

Jano22

Chase

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Agape Newsletter: This Sunday’s message and our efforts to help in Haiti! (BAKE SALE NEXT WEDNESDAY)

Hello everybody, and welcome to a most significant Agape newsletter! This upcoming week @ Agape we will have several opportunities to give of our time, our resources, and even ourselves to help people who are in desperate need! I want to exhort you to take advantage of the opportunities listed below.

Before I get to some important announcements, let me ask you a question. Does God hate Haiti? That is the word on the street currently in Haiti. Pam McCormick, a missionary in Haiti right now, writes this about the earthquakes, ““Bondye pa renmen Ayiti” (God doesn’t like Haiti) is the word on the street. And though I know it is the furthest from the truth, I can’t blame them for feeling like that. From its beginnings as a slave colony, the people of Haiti have suffered and endured unimaginable tragedy, abuse and injustice. When you think things just couldn’t possibly get any worse in Haiti, they do.” Read on for how we can help the people of Haiti, and Glorify God in the process!

  • First up, let me tell you what’s on tap for Sunday morning corporate worship. This Sunday morning we continue our series on the four major purposes of Agape (GRIP or Glorify, Reach, Impact, Propel) we are focusing on the second purpose this week - Reach - reaching people with the Gospel as Jesus told us to in His Great Commission. The title of the message is “No Parking on the Dance Floor“, which might mean something to those of you born in the sixties or seventies. We’ll try to answer the question of how the Great Commission informs our lives individually and as a group, and how practically we can reach people with the good news of Jesus.
  • Next up is the Nest on Tuesday night, January 26. This is where we at Agape feed the homeless of Birmingham, pray for them, provide medical help for them, and point them to the love of Jesus. If you can help, please come to the Agape building at 6:00pm Tuesday
  • Finally, we have a big Wednesday night scheduled for January 27th. We will be doing our normal food pantry outreach that night, feeding many in our area. In addition, we are hosting a bake sale with a silent auction with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to on the ground relief work in Haiti. We are asking our Agape family to do two things:   1. To bake cakes, pies, turnovers, brownies, cookies, etc. for sale that night. The more food you make and the yummier the food, the better! Enlist the help of your friends and neighbors….Draw up a mouth watering description of your baked goods. Whatever it takes!  2. We are asking you to help get the word out about the bake sale. Tell your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Call the local radio stations. Invite your family, and anybody who might come! Put flyers up at grocery stores, and other places. SPREAD THE WORD. Next Wednesday night at 6:30 - Haiti Bake Sale and Silent Auction!  Let people know about this via email, via your Facebook or Myspace page, and however you can think of.

This fund raiser is part 1 of our mission to help Haiti. Part 2 involves us participating in a relief trip with the Alabama or Florida Baptist Association when the doors open to us. If you are curious as to where the money we raise is going to be donated, it will be going to the Haiti Relief Fund of Fellowship International Mission. I found out about this mission via Paula Fargarson, who found it on a post on Beth Moore’s website. If you are looking for more details, I have included the links below:

1. Beth Moore’s daughter talks about Matt and Pam McCormick, missionary friends in Haiti. This link includes Pam’s account of the earthquake in Haiti (Matt and Pam, Pam being 36 weeks pregnant, are on the ground as missionaries in Haiti, along with their 2 under 5 boys.) CLICK HERE

2. Here’s Matt’s post of a few days ago, on how we can help in Haiti. CLICK HERE We will be participating in their efforts to get food from the Dominican Republic directly into Haiti. The current situation in Port Au Prince is that much international relief has poured in, but a great quantity of it is sitting on the tarmac at the Port Au Prince airport. Haiti’s infrastructure and government are not now adequate to distribute it all. Matt is leading a grass roots effort (using small groups and pick up trucks) to distribute aid in a more efficient manner. READ ABOUT IT HERE.

3. Finally, you can read about Fellowship International Mission’s Haiti Relief Fund here: CLICK HERE

Remember to tell your friends and neighbors, and to do everything in your power to spread the word about next Wednesday. While you’re at it - why not invite them to come worship with you this Sunday?!

See you then,

Chase

Jano20

Chase

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Agape Wednesday nights: Kid’s Revive, EPIC youth group, and Bible Study focused on the Last Days (Antichrist this week) (next week: Bake sale for Haiti!)

Hello everybody,

In case you haven’t noticed lately, I am excited about what Agape is doing with discipleship on Wednesday nights! Last week, almost 70 men, women, youth and children came out to go deeper in God’s word, and to get encouraged, equipped, and ready to make an impact in the world!
Here’s what’s on tap for this Wednesday night:
    Agape EPIC youth, led by David McConnell (with worship led by John Talley) begins at 6:15 with a time of fellowship, followed by worship and Bible Study. This group is open to all youth in junior high and high school. David is leading the youth through the book of James, and is taking them much deeper than the typical youth Bible study groups these days. John is also leading the group in Godward worship with a creative flair. Come at 6:15, and invite your friends and neighbors!

  • Kids Revive, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sam Knowles and his team lead this group that focuses on teaching kids the basics of the faith, with an emphasis on worship and scripture memory. During a typical Kids Revive night, the children will have snacks and games, but the focus isn’t on that - the focus is on the worship of God, and teaching the youngsters to hide the word of God in their hearts. Come along, and bring your kids - bring your neighbor kids….bring kids you see walking down the road! (I had to remove that last sentence on the advice of our attorneys, a.k.a. “Team Spoilsport”.)

  • Finally, the main Bible study in the sanctuary will continue our focus on the Last Days. This Wednesday night, we begin to take a look at what the Bible says about the Antichrist - who he will be, what his role is, what his power is, and why it is important for Christians to know these things. Come join us for coffee and hot cocoa at 6:45, with Bible study beginning at 7!
Also, to let you know, next Wednesday night (January 27) will be quite different. As announced this Sunday morning, we are going to have a bake sale to benefit the good people of Haiti. 100 hundred percent of the money raised will go towards earthquake relief in Haiti. This is part one of our response to the worst natural disaster ever in the Western hemisphere of the world. We are asking all of you bakers out there to begin planning now to put together some of your best baked goods. It would be great if you could make several homemade cakes, pies, etc. If you aren’t a baker, you can be a promoter. You can call radio stations, and let them know about this. You can tell and invite your friends and relatives…help spread the word! The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Part 2 of our response involves putting together a team of first responders to actually go down to Haiti to help with counseling, construction and medical needs. We are putting together a coalition of willing people with passports right now. We will be going with the Alabama Baptists, and they are asking us to recruit volunteers for the trip. Please let me or Cindy Underwood know if you are able to go. More details coming soon!

See you Wednesday,

Chase

p.s. Pray for each other, and pray for the Spirit of God to blow on us and lead us in His way!

Jano15

Chase

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Agape Newsletter, January 15, 2010 edition.

Hello all,

Since I’m a little late with this newsletter, I better go ahead and get to the important stuff!
  • This Sunday, we will be looking at the four major purposes of Agape Baptist church, with part 1 being that we exist primarily to bring glory to God. How do we most glorify God as a church? We will explore that question Sunday!
  • Also this Sunday, we will be addressing our response as a congregation to the unfolding crisis in Haiti, which may well be the worst natural disaster of our lifetime. What can we, a medium sized church in Pinson, Alabama do for the country of Haiti that could possibly make a difference? Come and join the discussion!
  • Finally - we had over sixty men, women, youth and children join us this Wednesday night for discipleship and Bible study, and it all seemed to go very well. If you haven’t been to Wednesday nights @ Agape in a while, why not? Try it - I think you will like it!
One big prayer request to put before you: I visited Ron Franks this week, and he has received a diagnosis of cancer. They are not sure exactly what kind of cancer yet, but the cancer has spread from its original location to some of the lymph nodes in his neck. Please lift him and Sherry up - pray for healing and encouragement!
Please also remember Paul Marshall. I visited with Paul and Ruth this Wednesday, and Paul has a touch of Pneumonia, and has been coughing an awful lot. A visit or phone call to them would probably be very encouraging, as would your prayers!
I look forward to seeing you all Sunday
Chase

Deco04

Chase

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Agape newsletter, December 4, 2009. Special “Let it Snow” edition!

Hello everybody and welcome in to a very cold Agape newsletter. Well, it’s cold outside, but hopefully it’s warm in here for all of you. I doubt we’ll see much snow tonight (maybe?) but I believe we will see three major (for us) snow events this Winter. Of course, I also thought Alabama would beat Auburn pretty badly last week, so I am not the greatest prognosticator that has ever lived.

So - what’s going on at Agape this week, I hear you asking. I’m glad you asked, because this is an exciting month for us! Here’s what’s happening:

This Sunday, December 6: We will have a great time in worship, hear a detailed update and a call to arms on the Live Nativity, and also hear about how we are going to be helping send gifts and love to our soldiers in Iraq for this Christmas. In addition, we will begin to look at what led to the coming of Jesus into the world. Why did He come?

Next Saturday, December 12, we will be reaching out to our community with our Food pantry ministry. This will be a very important food pantry, as this will be our greatest chance to invite many people in the community to our Christmas Feast and celebration on December 20th. Be sure and come help, if possible, and help us get the word out into the community about the Christmas Feast and celebration of the birth of Jesus!

Speaking of the Live Nativity - let me fill you in a little about our plans. The live Nativity will take place two nights in December - Thursday, December 17 and Friday December 18 (with a practice and set up on Wednesday December 16). Each night, we will be presenting the good news of the coming of Jesus to many who turn in to see the Nativity up close, as well as the thousands who are likely to drive by and catch a glimpse of what we are doing. Our focus is to proclaim the coming of Jesus, and to invite people to come celebrate with us on Sunday, December 20th.  We  have some needs that many of you can help with. First and foremost, we need people. We estimate that slightly over thirty people will be needed each night, and fifty or more would be ideal. Everybody will have a part to play, from singing in the choir, to serving hot cocoa and cider, to helping with greeting and parking, and even driving for our planned hayride. We also need some materials - can you help us with any of these things:

1. Live Animals - we don’t want to spend a whole lot of money, but if somebody out there in Agape land has access to some farm animals (even a few) that would be FANTASTIC - and a terrific “draw”.

2. Trailers - our plan at the moment is to use trailers, and have our live nativity function as a hayride (more on this Sunday), but in order to do this, we will need at least two, and preferably three largish trailers. Can anybody help us with this!?

3. We need some bails of hay (or pine straw, even) who can help with this?

4. Plywood - we need some plywood to build the stage - do you have any that you could let us use?

5. We will need some hot cocoa and apple cider. Do you have a great recipe for hot cocoa? Several gallons of apple cider lying around? We will put them all to good use!

More details will be coming this Sunday, as well as an exciting explanation of our complete vision for the live nativity. We have the potential to reach hundreds, maybe thousands with the message of the coming of Jesus. To do this, WE WILL NEED ALL OF US TO PITCH IN AND HELP!!!! This will be the ultimate group effort by Agape - so be sure and let us know if you will help. especially if you haven’t signed up yet!!!

Finally, Brian Perkins sent this heartwarming story to me earlier, and I now share it with you:


” A very old man lay dying in his bed. In death’s doorway, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookie wafting up the stairs.

He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed.  Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands.

With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen.  Were it not for death’s agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven.

There, spread out on newspapers on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.

Was it heaven?  Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table.  The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.

“Stay out of those,” she said. “They’re for the funeral.”


I love you all, and look forward to seeing you Sunday!


Chase

Novo06

Chase

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Agape Newsletter - November 6, 2009 - Packed to the Gills.

Hello everybody and welcome to another Agape newsletter. I hope everybody is enjoying a rare week without rain so far. There is a lot going on at Agape this week, prayer wise, and this month, event wise, so I will launch right in.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Tim and Jennifer (one of our new families), and their newborn, Phoebe, who was born this week. Phoebe was admitted to the NICU with a low blood platelet level. Please pray for Phoebe’s complete healing, as well as for the peace of God to cover Tim and Jennifer!

Please pray for Laurie Knowles’ dad Tom. He was found to have thyroid cancer a few weeks ago, and his thyroid was removed. Cancerous cells have been found in some of the lymph nodes that were removed along with his thyroid. Please pray that ALL of the cancer was removed, and that God would completely heal and restore Tom, while calling him into a deeper relationship with Himself.

Please also pray for our friends, Mike and Nikki Symasek. They are in the process of adopting from China, and are having a difficult time getting the necessary travel arrangements approved in a way that would work for Mike’s job and his time off. Pray that something would break through for them, please!

Please also continue to remember and pray for Paul and Ruth Marshall.

Upcoming events: November and December

Saturday, November 7: John Mark McMillan (He Loves Us)  free concert this Saturday!  Several years ago, Sam Knowles (on our worship team) began a monthly extended worship time at our old church called Fire in the Night. This Saturday, beginning at 7pm, John Mark McMillan will be leading worship for Fire in the Night from 7-10pm. This church is located in Irondale, and several of us from Agape will be going to this concert Saturday. Would you like to come? Click here for the Google Maps directions from Pinson to The Bridge church in Irondale. Email me if you need further directions. If you aren’t sure who John Mark McMillan is, here is a video of his song, How He Loves (AKA He Loves Us). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08

Wednesday, November 11, Wednesday Night Bible Study, Focus: Matthew 23 - Jesus Contra the Pharisees.

Saturday, November 14: Food Pantry Sunday. Please come join us as we help distribute food to our community during this critical economic time! (from 8:30am-11:00am)

Saturday November 21: Thanksgiving Feast!! We will be feasting on Turkey and Stuffing and some great side dishes as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our Agape family, and with the community of Pinson. More details will be forthcoming, but I can tell you now that our feast begins at 11:00am, and we will be bringing desserts, just like our Wednesday night feast in October.

Wednesday, November 25 - No Agape services, due to Thanksgiving.

Coming in December: Live Nativity - reach the thousands of people who drive by Agape every day with the good news of Jesus, and His love! More details to come this Sunday, but we need help from everybody - from set builders to greeters!
Well that’s all for now! Wait, you say - you haven’t mentioned the Sunday message yet. Well, I haven’t yet been up to the mountain this week to seek the Lord. I will say this, however. The Saints Are Coming!
See you Sunday,
Chase

Novo06

Chase

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Agape Newsletter - 10-30, 2009 - Special The State of Agape Edition

Welcome into another Agape newsletter! I have just returned home from a very fruitful night camping out on Oak Mountain. I am not yet ready to share about it (via email), but am looking forward to bringing a new message to you this Sunday.

Speaking of this Sunday’s message, it will be called: The State of Agape. The gist of the message will focus on looking back to where Agape came from, where we are now, and where God seems to be aiming us. We’ll also look at a picture of the New Testament church - what made them so vibrant? What did they do with their time and money? How did they impact their cities so much more than today’s church does? This will be the second in a series of mountain top messages, as we seek God on what His specific vision and purpose for Agape is.

I can say one thing about my mountaintop trip - God gave me some exciting revelation into an area that I have never been able to teach about, because I never felt like I had God’s heart on this particular issue. Many have asked me why I have never taught on this subject before, and urged me to do so, but I honestly couldn’t until the very end of this trip, when God blew my mind on several things. I am very excited, and can’t wait to share parts of it with you Sunday!

One other thing: I want to say THANK YOU for those who helped this Wednesday night. We served almost 150 people dinner at Agape Wednesday night, the bulk of whom were not native Agapeans. I was so encouraged and elated to see all of you interact with the people that came to us for food. I saw laughter, tears, fellowship, love and conversation. It was beautiful!!!   I felt like God was saying “Home Run” to me all night about how things went. I can’t express to you how good this past Wednesday night was. For those that missed it, don’t despair. We’re going for it again in November, this time on a Saturday afternoon, so that many of our senior citizens might be able to join us.

This is from Greg, about our upcoming Live Nativity:

We are going to reach out into the community this Christmas and one way we are going to do this is by having a Live nativity.

We need volunteers for:

Choir – all ages welcome

Nativity – Youth thru adults

Construction- nativity

Greeters – All ages (Hot Chocolate will be involved)

Proposed dates and times December 16th Wednesday – December 19th Saturday 6-8pm.

We will have a Christmas celebration on Sunday December 20th with a Christmas meal open to all who attended Live nativity.

Also: Praise God for Laurie’s Dad: (here’s her update): Thank you so much for praying for my Dad.  He had an appointment this morning and got some GREAT news!  The tests show that there is NO cancer in any place other than his thyroid.  This is a HUGE praise!!!The Lord graciously allowed this tumor to be found in a routine check-up.  Praise the Lord for the nurse that felt the tumor.  The doctor was amazed that she detected it.  We are sending her a big thank you!Please continue to pray for him on Monday, November 2nd as he has his thyroid removed.  Blessings,  Laurie

That’s all for now,

See you Sunday!

Chase

Do Justice….Love Mercy.

Novo06

Chase

0

Agape Newsletter - 10-23-2009. Special Message From the Mountain Edition.

Brothers and Sisters of Agape,

I greet you from my tent high atop mount Cheaha in eastern Alabama. As I mentioned Sunday, I believe God has been calling me to go to the mountaintop to meet with Him, and here I am. He has been calling me here for a long time, and this obedience should have been done long ago.

As I write this message, it is 4:18am. I actually went to sleep around 11, but was awakened around 2 by the cold and gale force winds outside the tent. Or perhaps it was by the snow, polar bears and Arctic wolves? Ok, that is an exageration, but it is quite cold up here and extremely windy!

The good news about being awakened at 2, is that the Father led me into a good time of prayer, and maybe the most fruitful time in His Word that I have had in years. I wanted to write you now, while it was fresh on my heart and mind, though you won’t  read it until later today, because Janet will have to send it from my computer.

The fruitful time in God’s word this morning centered on His heart for justice. I am literally blown away, almost anyway, by a new and deeper understanding of God’s fiery love and passion for the poor, widows and orphans, and what He would have us do about that. This Sunday’s message will focus on this, with Micah 6:6-8 being foundational. What does it mean to “do justice and love mercy?” What does it mean for you and I and Agape? I believe that, as we approach the time when we grasp God’s specific vision for Agape, this message will be foundational and critical. Please, please make plans to join us this Sunday, as we hear, what I believe to be God’s word for us in this current hour!!!

In other very important news, this next Wednesday, we will be expanding our food pantry ministry to include a meal, both for those who come for food, and for our church body. It is time we go beyond feeding the hungry, into the realm of loving them, inviting them in and introducing them to Jesus. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! We need all of you to come and eat with us, so the people of Pinson will feel welcomed and loved. We need some of you to come and help cook and set up, starting as early as five. If, for some reason, you can’t make it wednesday, one other way to help is to cook or buy a dessert, and bring it this Sunday to be used.

Well, my iPhone battery is running a bit low, so I should sign off for now. Grace and Peace to you, and I look forward to seeing you this
Sunday.

Chase

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