We are preparing for many new and exciting changes in our congregation. In July, we will having our first vacation Bible school in many years. We will be starting an evening children’s ministry this fall. Changes are being made physically in our church as well as we begin our kitchen remodel. In keeping with the changes which are happening in our church, we are beginning a series of sermons from the book of Nehemiah which I am calling “Rebuilding.” We will look at four stages which Nehemiah went through in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem following the exile in Babylon. And we will consider what those stages look like as we seek to rebuild our church and be a greater instrument for God in our community. Join us this Sunday as we begin the important work of rebuilding.
Category: Minister’s Blog
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The Road to Emmaus – 4/24/17
Last Sunday we entered the Easter season by discussing new life for our congregation through being strong and courageous. We announced that we will be hosting a vacation Bible school for our community this summer and will be beginning a Wednesday evening children’s ministry this fall. In June we also will be making some changes to our worship service to create an environment which is welcoming to all. But new life as a faith community does not just come through changes like these. It comes through recognizing as individuals our need to deepen our own spirituality. New life comes through doing the work to experience the power of resurrection in our own lives. This Sunday we will look at the account of the two disciples walking to Emmaus after Jesus’ tomb is found empty. And we consider the steps we need to take to witness, like those disciples, the power of resurrection.
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New Life – 4/17/17
At our Easter Sunday service, we were reminded that in Christ we have new life; new life in which we are awakened to the abiding presence of Christ guiding our lives. This Sunday, we will be talking about concrete ways in which our church community can experience this new life and be witnesses of the resurrection to our community. We will also be having a baptismal service for one of our newest members. I hope you will join us this week for a special Fourth Sunday service!
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Easter Events – 4/10/17
This Sunday as we celebrate Easter we will be looking at some interesting words spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection. When Mary recognizes Jesus, he says to her “Do not hold on to me.” Join us this Sunday as we examine the assurance and the challenge that is contained within this phrase. I hope you will also join us for our Maundy Thursday service this Thursday at 6 p.m. This service in which we remember the final events prior to the crucifixion dates back to the fourth century and is one of the most meaningful of the Christian year. Our Easter Vigil begins at 6 p.m. this Saturday. If you have never participated in an Easter Vigil service, I encourage you to join us as we commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ by remembering pivotal events from the history of Israel and connecting them to the life and work of Christ. After this service, we will have our first annual glow-in-the-dark Easter egg hunt in the Carlock park. This is a free event for children grades K-5 and a reminder that Christ is the light in our darkness. -
Anticipating Holy Week – 4/3/17
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I hope you will join us as we conclude our Lenten series, “Sensing the Gospel,” and put a spiritual twist on the concept of having a sixth sense. There are many exciting events coming up next week as well. On Thursday, April 13 at 6 p.m. is our Maundy Thursday service. For those of you who have never attended this service, I encourage you to experience what I find to be perhaps the most meaningful service we have thr…oughout the year, a service in which we remember the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion. On Saturday, April 15 at 6 p.m. is our Easter vigil, a service which dates back to the first century. In this service, we remember the story of God from creation to the resurrection of Christ. After the Easter Vigil, we will have our first annual glow-in-the-dark Easter egg hunt at the Carlock park for children in grades K-5. Our Holy Week services will culminate in our Easter Sunday worship service at 10 a.m. It is the perfect time to join us if you have never experienced our church before!
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A Lasting Scent – 3/27/17
This Sunday we examine the last of our senses in our series “Sensing the Gospel.” We conclude with the powerful sense of smell. Some smells permeate everything. Our clothes, the interiors of our cars, the furniture in our home can retain the smell of the familiar perfumes of friends and family. Smells lure us into restaurants we hadn’t noticed before. Smells warn us of danger from fire. This Sunday we will look at an experience in the life of Jesus in which a scent permeated the entire house in which Jesus was dining. That scent had meaning not only to those present but lingered long after the meal had ended. We will see that just as a scent can remain for a long time and cause a response from us, so too can our lives have a lasting impact on others and cause a response for the kingdom of God.I hope you will join us this Sunday at 10 a.m. for our worship service and for the brunch which will follow the service. -
A Taste For More – 3/20/17
As we continue our Lenten series this Sunday, “Sensing the Gospel,” we will examine our sense of taste. In the book of John, we read of Jesus’ first miracle – that of turning water into wine at a wedding. And the wine that Jesus creates is not just any wine. It tastes better than any wine that had been served to that point in the banquet. It is so good, the chief steward chastises the bridegroom for not serving this good wine first. The chief steward had tasted of the abundance Jesus provided, and that taste was not enough. The same should be true of our life in Christ. Once we have tasted of God’s goodness, we should continue to strive for a deeper relationship. Our union with God is not something that waits until our death. It is a journey that begins now. I hope you will join us this Sunday for our Fourth Sunday worship service as we are challenged not to be satisfied with just a taste of God.
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Recognizing his voice – 3/13/17
This Sunday we continue our Lenten series, “Sensing the Gospel,” with our sense of hearing. Every day we are surrounded by noise. When we get home from work, we turn on the television and leave it on until we go to bed. When we are in the car, we turn the radio on immediately. Our phone is never turned off and we receive constant alerts of text messages or news events. But in being surrounded by all this noise, what are we failing to hear? Join us this Sunday we look at Jesus’ teaching of the good shepherd. Sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice. Join us as we are challenged to be more attentive to the voice of our shepherd over the din of all that distracts us.
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The Sense of Touch – 3/6/17
This Sunday we continue our Lenten series, “Sensing the Gospel,” with the sense of touch. We will examine the sense of touch in light of Jesus’ healing of a leper in the book of Mark. Strong social norms would normally prevent a leper from approaching Jesus. Those same norms would also would prevent Jesus from touching the leper. But despite these cultural expectations, the leper boldly approaches Jesus. And Jesus does not turn away from him. While the isolation of lepers is no longer a social norm we experience on a daily basis, we still tend to isolate rather than reaching out to those in need of healing. We also tend to isolate ourselves when we are in need of help rather than reaching out for the healing available in Christ and his church. But as with the leper, Christ remains ready to receive us and restore us. -
Sensing the Gospel – 2/27/16
The season of Lent begins this Wednesday. Our theme for Lent this year is Sensing the Gospel. Each week we will examine one of our senses in light of the gospel message. It is easy to get caught up in doctrines and in theology. But what we often forget is that in Jesus Christ, the salvation God provided was not just an idea or a set of doctrine. Salvation happened in human flesh. People like us encountered Jesus in their own bodies. There were real people in real contact with a real man. And what we also often forget is that this encounter with Christ was not limited to those people we read of in the Bible. We continue to encounter him in our bodies’ ability to perceive our relationships, our experiences, our circumstances, and our goals in light of Christ. This Sunday we begin with our sense of sight. And we will see from an unusual story of Jesus healing a blind man the importance of recognizing the limitations of our sight.
I hope to see you at our Ash Wednesday service this Wednesday at 6 p.m. and for our first Sunday of Lent followed by brunch this weekend.