We are right, and they are wrong. Love the sinner, hate the sin. You love your brother, but what about the speck of sawdust in his eye? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 7:1-6.
Let’s Go to Guatemala!
Guatemala! —A mission, a week with God’s people, lives being changed, a community far away but yet very close, friends, homes, God’s love, a calling!
God’s servants are being called to Guatemala for our annual mission to worship with the people, help meet their needs with items for daily living, help in providing a home for a family, to encourage and bless them, to reach out to our community of believers and to honor God and give Him glory. Every year we spend approximately a week in Guatemala at the “Tracks” in Guatemala City. Registration for the Mt. Haley Guatemala Mission trip to Guatemala will be due by Sunday, September 27th, 2015. The registration is $100 with a $250 balance + (plane fare, passport & insurance) due by February 1, 2016. The trip is tentatively scheduled for approximately March 5-12, 2016.
The $350 for the mission covers the cost of our food, lodging, transportation, gas and other miscellaneous needs the trip may entail. Every person must have a U.S. passport (you would need to apply for it SOON); we have a small fee for insurance (unknown presently) and money to cover airfare to Guatemala & back. Airfare has been somewhere between $350 and $750 per person as we strive to obtain the best possible rates to meet our needs. (Flight, luggage, carry-ons, times, etc). A safe estimate would be to plan for a thousand dollars for the mission. People from other churches are welcomed and encouraged to participate. The group needs to raise $5000 to cover the costs of helping a family build a home at the Tracks and is helped by the churches involved with the project.
After registration, each participant is asked to attend and participate in four monthly meetings prior to the trip to help the group grow in unity, purpose, spiritually and be prepared for their experience. Attendance is expected.
Guatemala is an incredible life-changing experience, blessing David Beam, the community and friends we work and visit, the family we help with having a house, plus blessings we receive, that probably outweigh the blessings we hope to give. It’s a chance to live out our Christian walk and strengthen our walk with Christ as we serve in our own community and church. Guatemala – a calling in life to serve Christ and others!
Feel free to contact Pastor Jerry Graham with any questions, concerns or thoughts as we begin to plan for this year’s mission.
It Matters How You Read the Bible
A couple of Sundays ago, we watched the movie “Left Behind” (starring Kirk Cameron, from 2000) as part of our “Faith and Film” series. Our lively and interesting discussion after the film left me thinking about an important issue:
How do you go about reading the Bible? That is, what do you expect to find when you open the Bible’s pages?
Our expectations of scripture have a tremendous influence on our discoveries in it. Continue reading
Trusting God With the Little Things
Why do we worry so much? If we trust God with things like food and drink, he will prove himself to be faithful with bigger things like meaning and purpose and direction. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 6:25-34.
Our Mt. Haley Youth Ministry
Welcome to a new school year and the beginning of a new year in the Youth Ministry at Mt. Haley. There’s always excitement and anticipation with the arrival of a new grade level for our students, whether they’re making the transition from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, becoming a “Senior,” or just moving up one more grade. The Mt. Haley Youth Ministry is for students in 6th grade through one year out of high school. It’s always a fresh start with new resolutions, goals and dreams. There’s always an expectation of doing better, making a team, or becoming involved with a new interest. With this same new determination in your student’s educational growth we all share as parents, we encourage you to have this same excitement in their spiritual & church life. Continue reading
Saving for the Kingdom
Three short teachings, arranged together on purpose: you cannot serve both God and money. How then shall we live? Listen in to Pastor David’s message on Matthew 6:19-24.
Why We Watched Harry Potter at Church Last Night
Harry Potter, the fictional hero of the seven books and eight movies bearing his name, has been extremely popular among children and adults alike for the past decade or so.
Yet many Christians, churches, and pastors refuse to have anything to do with him.
This should not be. Continue reading
Eating What Needs to be Eaten
Why do you do the things you do? What is your motivation? And how does God enter into this discussion? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 6:16-18, a reflection on two spiritual yet physical practices: fasting and baptism.
Bible, Blessings, and Brews: Pub Ministry
What if people who wouldn’t attend church would come to a Bible study, if it were at a different kind of location?
That’s the question that prompted a local Christian leader, Kurt Faust, to host the “Bible, Blessings, and Brews” pub ministry at the Midland Brewing Company on N. Saginaw Road this summer.
Last month, I was invited by Kurt to come and lead the pub ministry’s Wednesday evening discussion on the topic of forgiveness. Now, you might expect the pastor of a conservative-ish holiness congregation like ours to say “no” to the invitation. But truthfully, I only hesitated a moment before saying “yes.” Continue reading
Praying What Needs to be Prayed
How should we pray? What is prayer, anyway? How do we misuse prayer? To answer these questions, Jesus gives us a model prayer to follow in Matthew 6:5-15. Listen to Pastor David’s – and the congregation’s – reflections on prayer: