WCG Celebration: Serving the Least

Today, we honor and celebrate the ladies of our WCG group, the “Merlene Circle,” and its 64 year history of serving missionaries and missions work around the world. Listen in to Pastor David’s summary of the history of the national WCG organization and the various ministries in which we have been involved. Then continue to listen as he shares a few comments on Matthew 25:31-46, a passage in which Jesus urges us to serve the “least of these” among us.

Listen now!

Getting Down to God

This season, Tara and I are preparing to sing several musical selections with the Midland Chorale at our annual “Holiday Extravaganza” at the Center for the Arts. One of the songs we are practicing is called “Christmas on Broadway.” This is a medley of holiday tunes from different Broadway shows through the years: “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas,” “My Favorite Things,” that kind of music.

The final tune in this medley is called “God Bless Us Everyone,” from the musical version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.”  The lyrics, written by Lynn Ahrens, are simple yet meaningful:

In your heart there’s a light as bright as a star in heaven.
Let it shine through the night, and God bless us, everyone.
‘Til each child is fed, ’til all men are free, ’til the world becomes a family…
Star by star up above, and kindness by human kindness,
Light this world with your love, and God bless us, everyone.

These words alone are worth pondering: the tasks of feeding each child, freeing each person, and counting stars are seemingly endless tasks. But global problems must be approached one person at a time, because each life that is changed is worth the investment.

Last Monday, we ran into an interesting musical problem while rehearsing this tune.  When we sing the line “and God bless us, everyone,” there is a big leap downward from “and” to “God.” Some of the singers in our choir were struggling with this jump downward, so our director paused and said, “it sounds like some of you are having trouble getting down to ‘God.'” Then he looked at me and said, “Getting Down to God would make a good sermon title!”

A lot could be said about “getting down to God.” Is God somehow lower than us? Do we try to make God too complicated, when really God should be simpler than we make him? Are we guilty of thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought?

But think about this: “getting down” to a lower note, vocally speaking, means reducing the frequency of the pitch being produced by your voice. In terms of sound waves, lower frequency means the waves somehow slow down (technically, the speed of sound doesn’t change; the period of a sound wave gets longer as the frequency drops). “Getting down” to a lower note means slowing down, taking more time, as if the sound waves are paying more attention to the world around them.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?”Jesus asked. (Luke 8:42b-45a NIV)

Jesus slowed down and paid attention to those around him, even though he was being crushed by the crowds. While on his way to another (life and death!) ministry situation, Jesus paused to have a conversation with a woman who trusted him for her healing. (Read the whole story in Luke 8:40-56.)

What if “Getting Down to God” means moving slowly through our world, like Jesus did?  What if it means paying attention to those in need around us and doing what we can to alleviate suffering, to raise quality of life, to bring redemption and healing in the name of Christ?

‘Til each child is fed, ’til all men are free, ’til the world becomes a family…

On Veterans, Armistice, and Peace

Three years ago, I wrote an article entitled “Thoughts on Veterans Day.” In it, I encouraged us to seek a “peaceful way of life” and to “pray for peace around the world.” But what a difference three years makes! When I wrote those words, the ongoing civil war in Syria was just beginning; the “Arab Spring” was less than a year old; ISIS did not exist; and Sandy Hook and Benghazi were just locations, not tragedies of violence. Osama bin Laden had been killed six months earlier, and American troops were still heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. in our own nation, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin were still alive.

God, grant us peace in our time, so that three years from now we will have fewer reasons to be surprised at the human capacity to wage war and to act violently.

Today, Veterans Day, is a day when our cultural sensitivity is at its highest: the nation pauses at 11am, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in honor and remembrance of all those men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States. This is an expansion of the original Armistice Day, a celebration of the end of World War I – the “war to end all wars” – which ended at 11am on November 11, 1918. In the intervening ninety-six years since that date, we have seen many more wars, many more acts of violence, many more veterans being carried home in caskets or carrying PTSD home with themselves, many more pursuits of arms rather than pursuits of armistice.

God, grant us peace in our time, so that four years from now we can celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I with thankfulness that peace is defeating violence both at home and abroad.

Today, in my daily Bible reading, I read the four gospel accounts of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. For Christians, this event is the climax of human history. Everything changes because Jesus lived, taught, ministered, died, and rose again. We interpret our lives and world events through the lens of Christian faith. Our allegiance is first and foremost to the kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaimed throughout his ministry. Our hope is in the salvation of God, which Jesus brought about through his death and resurrection. Our peace is found in reconciliation with God, which Jesus graciously provided through no help of our own. Jesus is the True Veteran, the one who waged war against sin itself and was victorious, the one who achieved this victory not through aggression and violence and bombs and guns and survival tactics but through laying down his life of his own volition, the one who served not a nation or state but a kingdom, his kingdom, an unending kingdom, a kingdom of peace.

God, grant us peace in our time, so that ten, twenty, fifty years from now we will see that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15 NIV).

Yes, Lord, bring your peace into this world, and bring it quickly.

In the final words of the Bible (Revelation 22:20-21 NIV),

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Tips for Holiday Giving

‘Tis the season to be generous! Of course, as Christians and as Americans, we should always be generous.  For some reason, though, the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas (and the onset of cold weather) make us especially thankful for what we have – and concerned for those who are struggling.

In this month’s Reader’s Digest, I ran across an article that gives some great ideas about how and what to give this season.  The following twelve tips are summarized from this article, originally written by Deb Martinson on xojane.com:

1. Do not give anything you would not want to eat. Odds are that no one else wants to eat it, either.

2. Don’t give stupid things. Some food is just too horrible to wish on anyone else; throw it out instead.

3. Consider giving food that can be eaten without cooking. Even living indoors, people have a hard time cooking if their landlord won’t fix the broken stove or the power company just shut off the electricity again. Think granola bars, cheese and cracker packages, spam, tuna, peanut butter, dry milk — anything you’d take on a long hike.

4. Don’t give perishable items. Also, leave food in the original packaging. If it needs to be portioned out, volunteers at the food bank will take care of it.

5. Think about people with special dietary needs. Clear labeling will help food bank workers get the right food to the right clients.

6. Make it easy to get at. Aseptic packaging and pouches are better than pull-top cans are better than traditional cans. Avoid glass jars, as they may break during processing.

7. Choose things that don’t require elaborate preparation. A boxed cake that says “just add water” is much better than one that wants milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and whatever else it can think of.

8. Keep it simple. Exotic foods are likely to be tossed and they take up space that could go to things people will actually eat.

9. Ask what’s needed. The volunteers at the food bank know what’s on the shelves and how far it will go. Your local food bank probably needs things you’d never think to give them. Ask.

10. Check your grocery store. Many work with local food pantries to assemble bags of food you can buy and donate for 5 or 10 bucks. It’s a really easy way to give.

11. Be nice. Try to include at least one item you’d choose as a treat for your kids. Someone else’s kids will love you.

12. Consider donating cash. Large organizations can get way better deals on food than you can; with ten dollars, Feeding America can provide 90 meals to hungry people. You can give them money here.

November Youth Update

Our Youth Meetings have been going well and participation has been good on Sunday nights. GRADS @ Grahams has also been doing well so ministry on Sundays is happening. The Sunday morning class is chugging along with “InTune with God Through Purpose, Purity, Power & People,” and we have enjoyed better attendance than last year. On Sunday nights in Youth we have just finished “Who is God?”: our CREATOR, our FATHER, our God of MERCY & JUSTICE, our LOVE, that’s what we have learned who GOD is! We have begun a new series, “Who is Jesus?” This Sunday we finish up “Extreme Love” with the GRADS @ Grahams then we will move in our Bible Study with the topic yet to be determined.

WE MADE A DIFFERENCE! On October 25th we packed hundreds of diapers for the “Diaper Alliance” and had a good time at Grandma’s Pumpkin Patch! Thank you Pastor David for stepping up and helping us out! Diaper Alliance is an organization in the Tri-City area that supplies diapers to various agencies that distribute them to families in need of diapers. Basically, we sorted them into groups of 20 (each worth $6) in particular sizes and prepared them for delivery. It was amazing because we packaged hundreds of diapers for people in need across our area in just 2 hours of work. This is a great activity for any group who would like to participate in a service project.

There will be NO YOUTH on the evening of November 23 due to the area Thanksgiving Service in Oil City at the Assembly of God. We will be doing a service project, Sunday, Nov. 23rd with the Midland Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive from 1:00 -3:00 PM. The Midland County Department of Human Services, Aldersgate United Methodist Church and the Midland County Food Pantry Network will be coordinating this afternoon of service. This important program provides Thanksgiving dinners for some of Midland County’s families in need. We will be having sandwiches, chips, & dessert between 12:00 PM & 12:40 PM, then travel to Aldersgate Methodist Church in town. After our service project we will travel to Northern Lanes to go bowling, then we will return to the church afterwards.

We have planned some of our events for the year with the details still needing to be worked out. They are as follows:

  • November 23: Service project – Thanksgiving Baskets @ Aldersgate followed by Bowling @ Northern Lanes
  • December 21: Christmas Party @ Mt. Haley
  • January 9-11: Winter Retreat @ Cran-Hill
  • January 23: Mt. Haley Lock-In
  • February 22: Swimming Party @ Four Seasons
  • May 15-17: State Youth Convention
  • There will be events in March & April yet to be determined and there probably will be other events mixed into the schedule.

Our Church of God WINTER RETREAT at Cran-Hill Ranch is coming up on January 9-11, 2015 and registration has begun. A $50 registration deposit is DUE by November 30, 2015, with the remaining $49 due by January 4, 2015 (total cost $99). It’s a great deal for two night’s lodging, five meals, snacks, all programming and much of the recreation. This year’s speaker is Brett Talley from the Church of the Crossing in Indianapolis. Josh Lavender (recommended by Tommee Profitt) will be our worship leader. By December, Connie will be praying for snow and making some of the final preparations! Think ahead, earn your money needed and mark it on your calendars.

Hopefully, by the time of this reading, Olive’s (our church centenarian’s) yard will have been raked and Olive will have blessed the participants with several hundred dollars. Our Poinsettia and Wreath sale begins this month and orders are due by Sunday, November 30th with delivery on Saturday, December 6. There will be another Scripts Gift Card sale also before the registration date, which Youth can take orders for and claim the profits. Hopefully, Youth have participated in the fundraisers (Mums, Gift Cards, Raking) this Fall which will help you in costs of the retreat.

Great news, most of this year’s permission slips have been collected and will cover us for the year. Also, our “Prayer Warrior” ministry has begun for the year with prayers being offered up daily for all of our youth (6-12) plus our grads! We consider this ministry one of our MOST important aspects of the church and we THANK everyone who has volunteered to participate.

Missions – YES, we NOW have 14 people signed up for our Guatemala Mission on the dates of February 5-12, 2015. We have had our first Guatemalan Spiritual Growth meeting and are anticipating our November meeting. We have 8 people from Mt. Haley, 1 from the Meridian Church of God, 3 from the Community Nazarene Church and 2 from the First Church of God in Saginaw. These churches will be helping in the fundraising, however, our goal of $5000 to help with the cost of a Guatemalan Home is set and we are praying for God’s blessings in helping out another family. Please consider how you can BLESS this church ministry and help our team. Each year it is exciting to anticipate the blessings of Guatemala.

Parents and church, your prayers, support and encouragement are greatly appreciated and we look forward every week to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our students through interaction, study, fellowship, and relationship. Thank you for sharing your son or daughter and our congregation for holding the youth up in PRAYER.

Love God, Love People, Live It!

Blessings,
Pastor Jerry

A Risky First Move

Today I hope you’ll allow me to be a little bit nerdy.  One of my favorite hobbies is the game of chess.  I don’t write about chess often (in fact, only once before, and that was three years ago).  But a thought struck me today about the game that I’d like to share with you.

Chess is a strategy game between two players who alternate turns moving their pieces on an 8×8 playing board.  The object of the game is to force the capture of the opponent’s king.  Checkmate your opponent’s king and you win.

At the beginning of the game, all the chess pieces are set up in a standard position, with each player’s pieces on that player’s side of the board.  The king is located right in the middle of the board, next to his queen, behind a row of pawns.

The game’s first move sets the tone for the whole game.  There are only twenty options for this very first move:  any of the first player’s eight pawns can move either one or two squares forward (sixteen options), and either of the two knights can move to one of two squares (four options).

Do you know what moves are most commonly played first?  I checked an online database of chess games played by grandmasters and amateurs alike, both recently and in the past.  (I know, but I asked for permission be a little nerdy.)  This database contains nearly 7 million chess games.  Of those millions of games, the vast majority (over 83% of them) start with one of these moves:

Advance the pawn in front of the king, or the one in front of the queen, two squares.

Even if you don’t know anything else about the game of chess, think about the consequences of these two most frequently played opening moves.  The object of the game is to capture the other player’s king; as a corollary, you want to protect your king at all costs.  And yet the most common opening moves of the game push one of the king’s closest defenders away from him, exposing him to potential attack.

It is a risky first move.

So it is to be in the game of Christian life.  We can play defensively, keeping all our pawns close to home.  But the greatest success in following Jesus comes from taking the risks of stepping forward in faith, opening ourselves up to potential harm in relationships with others, trusting that the true Grand Master, the King of Kings, knows what he is doing with the pieces he has called to serve him.

Are you willing to push that pawn two squares forward?  Are you willing to step deeper into faith with Jesus Christ?  What will that require of you?