Honoring Fathers · June 21, 2026
The Quiet Power of Showing Up
This Father’s Day, Foundations honors the men who quietly hold their families steady. Scripture never asks for the perfect father — it celebrates the present one. The one who shows up, stays, and points his household toward the Lord.
That presence takes shape in three ways: the Secure Base, who gives children a place to launch from and return to; the Legacy Maker, who bridges God’s promises to his family’s future; and the Garden Keeper, who joins firm boundaries to unconditional love — a living picture of our Heavenly Father’s care.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
★★★
Two Messages for the Men of Foundations
Listen for your own encouragement — then pass it along to a man who needs to hear it today.
Bold Steps with Dr. Mark Jobe
President, Moody Bible Institute — a gospel-centered word to encourage you and the men around you.
Listen & Share →BreakPoint with John Stonestreet
President, the Colson Center — a reflection on fathers and faith worth sending to someone who needs it.
Listen & Share →★★★
Sunday Message · June 14, 2026
What God Grows in the Dark
Challenges & Joys · Guest Pastor John Wethington, New Day Church
Guest pastor John Wethington of New Day Church brought a message forged in fire and rooted in Genesis 50. Drawing on Joseph — betrayed by his brothers, yet able to say, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” — Pastor Wethington showed how suffering, surrendered to God, becomes a seed. It produces sanctification, as God shapes us; providence, as He works all things toward good; and purpose, as our deepest pain becomes our greatest ministry.
He preached not from theory but from loss, walking the congregation through his late wife’s three-year battle with brain cancer and her faithfulness to the very end. The invitation he left us with: bring your questions and your wrestling to the Lord.
“Your questions are not the end of your faith — they are its future.”
Pastor John Wethington
★★★
From the Field · Ukraine
“What Is It Like to Live in a Country at War?”
Lindsay Blessing came to the Foundations class this week to answer that question on behalf of her parents, Mark and Rhonda Blessing, who serve as missionaries in Lviv, in far western Ukraine — a country, she reminded us, almost the exact size of Texas. The war has not slowed. This past May brought the highest civilian casualties since the conflict began in 2022.
“We were burdened beyond our strength… so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” — 2 Corinthians 1:8–9
That burden, Lindsay said, is carried one day at a time on the prayers of God’s people — and those prayers are working. She pointed to Adam, a father battling chronic illness who came to faith and was baptized a year and a half ago. When a cramped apartment stood between him and custody of his younger son, Mark and Rhonda’s ministry helped him find a home with room for both boys. Just weeks ago, the court granted custody.
Stories like Adam’s — and the hundreds of refugees once sheltered at Bethel House — are why your prayers matter. Cards for prayer and financial partnership with the Blessings are on the table; take as many as you’d like.
★★★
Set Free · Galatians, Lesson 1
Could You Spot a Counterfeit From Your Seat?
That was the question that opened our summer series — and it was exactly Paul’s fear. Not fake currency, but a counterfeit gospel slipping in among brand-new believers.
We set the scene first: Galatia, a region in modern-day Turkey settled centuries earlier by Celtic warriors, where Paul planted four churches — Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe — on his first missionary journey. Into those churches came teachers insisting that faith in Christ wasn’t enough; you also had to keep the Jewish law. Paul’s answer is the heart of the gospel: we are justified by faith, through Christ alone.
You can hear the urgency in his greeting (Galatians 1:1–5). Where Paul usually opens with warmth and praise, here he skips the pleasantries and goes straight to the concern. A word study tells the same story — law appears more than any other term — yet the letter drives relentlessly toward one destination: freedom.
Summer Teaching Rotation
Want to study ahead? Our series follows Mike Mazzalongo’s Galatians for Beginners on BibleTalk.tv — free video, audio, and downloadable student and teacher guides for every lesson. Explore the resources here.
Series Booklet · Read or Print
The Galatians “Set Free” Study Booklet
Can’t see it? Open or print the booklet here.
★★★
Your Turn · Share the Good News
Do You Have a Testimony? (You Do.)
Before we closed, the class was handed a simple challenge: be ready to tell your story. Every believer has one, and telling it clearly may be the most important tool we carry. As the best coaches do, we went back to basics — “Gentlemen, this is a basketball.” For us, the basics are the gospel itself: we’ve all sinned, Christ died for us, and salvation comes by trusting Him alone.
Suzanne Messersmith shared how it looks lived out. Pat, a friend of more than forty years, had lived a full and lovely life but had never met Christ — she didn’t even own a Bible. Through patient friendship, honest conversation, and one long lunch spent “marrying the need to the provision,” she came to faith. She was baptized last Sunday. As longtime soul-winner Ken Lowrimore — Lindsay Blessing’s grandfather — likes to ask: “If you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity?”
That’s our assignment this summer. New care groups of four to six are forming — not for dinners and obligations, but for simple connection: a call, a text, a word of encouragement, a prayer. Know the gospel. Know your story. And be ready to share it.
★★★
Strikes, burgers, and fellowship — roll into an evening of connection with the Encore community. Whether you bowl a perfect game or gutter every frame, the real win is the time spent together. Your ticket covers lane time and a premium Red Robin Burger Box, so come hungry and ready to laugh.
WHERE FRC Bowling Alley (Loop Campus)
TICKETS $15 per person — includes lane time + Red Robin Burger Box
Spots fill up — grab your lane before they're gone.
★★★
The Midweek Refreshment of Shared Prayer
Join our community as we pause together for the Sweet Hour of Prayer every Wednesday at noon. Please send your prayer requests to Karen at 713-204-8384 by Tuesday so they may be included.
Connecting Through Encore Activities
★★★
You're in Control — Join or Step Back Anytime
We've created a Foundations Class GroupMe message center as a convenient, real-time way to share prayer requests, announcements, and encouraging messages. Join or leave anytime — no pressure. Mute notifications if you prefer silence, or jump into the conversation when something grabs your heart.
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