March Youth Update

In like a Lion or will we experience the Lamb? Last week’s GRAD lesson was “The Lion and the Lamb” from Revelation so I have been weighing this in my mind for the last several days. February has been brutal with the low temperatures and the calling off of school for so many days. The brisk winter not only effects the schools but takes its toll on church participation as people don’t want to get out, we debate whether it’s safe for us to have youth or is it just too cold. Attendance in February has been down and we know one of the variables is the cold weather, but… I worry when Youth don’t attend two, three weeks and possibly even four weeks and don’t even see their families in church. And I know, once you get out of the habit of participating in church, it’s harder to come back. God’s word is still roaring like a lion and as gentle as a lamb – spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to one and everyone. Hopefully, our hard winter is gradually declining and we can come into March like a lamb and renew our commitment to God and His Kingdom.

And speaking of church, our Sunday nights are jumping into the topic “What Is The Church.” After many weeks of exploring who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were in our lives, we are now looking how Jesus ordained the church as a way to worship him. Luke 4:18 says: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me (Christ) to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This was the fulfilling of prophesy and the preparation for the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit paying an extraordinary visit to a small group of Christians, empowering and galvanizing them into a dynamic, world-changing force. Acts very clearly paints a picture of the church as God ordained it. So, with using the scripture in Acts 2:42-47 He created a fellowship of believers which we now call the church:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)

With our study of the church, we celebrate the birthday of the church, we learn how to “Stand Strong,” we take the “Church On The Road” and we understand “The Mission” of our lives and the church. Bible Study on Sunday mornings continues to look at “Purpose, Purity, Power and People” and will throughout the year. The GRADS @ Graham group on Sunday nights is studying “Why Revelation” and will be through March. We are half way through our study and our remaining lessons are: “By the Blood of the Lamb,” “Alas, Babylon,” “The Millennium,” and “We Shall See His Face.” Again, I would emphasize that Youth begins at 6:00 PM SHARP on Sunday nights, not at 6:15, 6:25, 6:40 or whenever and GRADS start at 8:15 PM. Your help in starting on time is appreciated!

Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons the Lock-IN was postponed. People were out of town, had conflicts and we called it off when we only had 6 people coming on Wednesday before the Friday. The Lock-IN is a huge activity, needs extra adult supervision and has a higher cost than most local activities. Signing up for events is important to us in planning – so help us out! We are hoping to reschedule in April.

The time is coming for registration for the annual Michigan Church of God State Youth Convention held in Kalamazoo on the weekend of May 15-17, 2015. This year’s speaker is Reverend Doctor Todd Faulkner, campus minister of Anderson University, and the worship leaders are Alanna Story, a new and upcoming Christian band. If you register by March 29th, it’s $120 with a $40 deposit. After that, the costs go to $130 in April & $155 in May. We have a special deal for you this year. If you pay the $40 registration in March, the Mt. Haley Youth Ministry will match your $40 for a total of $80. THEN we will provide fundraisers to work on in April & May to complete the $40 balance. To have the match, you must register in March. Our fundraisers work best in April & May because the weather breaks and we can rake, collect pop cans, sell hanging baskets, our annual garage sale, gift cards etc. SO, plan ahead, save yourself $40 with the match and then earn the rest of the way to a great SYC!

On March 7, if you are a regularly attending High School student, we invite you to our annual MSLI (Michigan Servant Leadership Institute) Tune-UP. This is a one-day event in Battle Creek to challenge you in your walk with God. This year’s theme is “A Reason for God.” We will depart from the church around 8:00 AM to travel to Battle Creek, then the day begins at 11:00 AM with Worship, then a session called “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” After a pizza lunch and some recreation, we go into the second session “The Bible is Not a Myth” followed by a snack, then the session “Why Do I Have to Follow the Rules.” It costs $5 (which Mt. Haley will pay) and wraps up around 4:00 PM. The only money you would need would be for dinner on the way home. It’s a great day, plus lots of fun.

Guatemala was AWESOME! Ask anyone on the mission and they will smile & give you lots of details. Although I spent most of the week sick, God was ever present in our adventures. Everyone had a blessed experience and we were able to truly feel community with the people of the TRACKS. A wall has now been completed preparing for the building of a house, art classes taught, hair cut, lots of clothes, etc. given away and the list goes on with the experiences we had. We were able to visit with my Mom & brother and they are doing well in Guatemala. Exciting experience in worship as several people accepted Christ as their personal Savior. PRAISE GOD! We are already beginning plans for next year which will probably be the first week in February and many other churches and people are interested in being involved. Registration will be in September and the fundraising for next year’s projects begins NOW. Awesome experience for all involved and a wonderful outreach for the church.

As soon as we returned from Guatemala, we immediately went into volunteering with the Housing for the Homeless Coalition up at the Community of Christ Camp in Sanford. What an easy way to spread God’s Kingdom by helping families in need – especially in the cold weather we have had – just by simply helping meet the needs of families who are down on their luck. We encourage others to join us next year in helping out. Also, on Thursday, March 5, from 5:30 -7:30 PM we will be helping to pack diapers for distribution at the Midland County Diaper Alliance. Come join in the fun and make a difference in our community.

The 360 Conference is in April and we hope to have people in attendance. Pastor Jerry will be speaking on “Becoming a Leader” at one of the sessions.

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

Cinderella and Worshiping God

You know the story of Cinderella, right? A beautiful daughter is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, who force her to do all the dirty work of the house. When the Prince announces a ball so that he can choose a wife, Cinderella is not allowed to attend – that is, not until her fairy godmother appears. The rest, as you know, is history: the dress, the pumpkin carriage, the dancing, the stroke of midnight, the glass slipper, the happily ever after.

It’s a classic story, but really the only thing most of us share with Cinderella is the menial housework which we all must do. Most of us don’t marry royalty or attend fancy events. Designer shoes and limousines are rare luxuries. And “happily ever after”? Well, for many of us, that remains to be seen.

In the meantime, all we have time for is mean, ordinary work. Sometimes the “daily grind” can feel as meaningless as picking lentils out of a pile of ashes.

Do you ever feel like church is that way, too? Do worship services feel repetitive, mundane, and even boring to you? Do you feel obligated or required to come to church? It’s all right if you say “yes” – I won’t tell anyone.

Take a look at Leviticus 6:8-13, a passage we came across last week in the course of our “Chronological Bible” reading. Leviticus is full of regulations, procedures, and rules about how the ancient Israelites were supposed to worship God while wandering in the wilderness. And let’s be honest: some of the chapters in Leviticus are downright boring for us to read. (Just think how the Israelites must have felt as they wandered aimlessly for forty years!)

In this passage, God gives the priests instructions about how to care for the burnt offering that was to be presented continuously before God. Each morning, the priest on duty was to wake up, put on his special priestly clothes, get ready to go to work, and then…

…collect the ashes from last night’s sacrifice.

And then he had to put on his regular clothes. He was then allowed to take the ashes outside the camp to the dump site. The priestly linen clothing was only worn for the menial morning task: Cinderella’s housekeeping work.

What was so special about those ashes? Why was the priest required to wear fine linen clothes for a job that would more than likely get them dirty? And why did the cleaning job require special clothes, but taking out the trash called for a different costume?

I don’t have good answers to these questions. But what I do know is this: these few verses point out the importance of treating God with great respect. The very mundane act of sweeping up yesterday’s sacrificial ashes was worthy of special attire. Being in God’s presence, even for that short amount of time, required priestly clothes – a symbol for the priest’s attitude of humility and holiness.

Every Christian is a priest, in the biblical sense: each of us can offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5 NIV). As we do the work of worship, let us pursue humility and holiness before the Lord. Every encounter with God is a unique and meaningful experience, no matter how mundane the activity may seem to us. There is great value in worship, because it is a service that we give to God.

After all, someday the Prince of Peace will come again, and, yes, there will be a “happily ever after” for his Bride. In the meantime, let us express our love for God by worshiping him regularly, joyfully, and intentionally – even in the ordinariness of our worship, and even in the ordinariness of our lives.

Thoughts on the National Prayer Breakfast

Every year since Eisenhower, the President gives a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, held on the first Thursday in February. This year’s speech has gotten a lot of press on account of one sentence, in which President Obama mentioned the Crusades in connection with a discussion of religiously motivated violence throughout the world’s history.

I won’t be commenting on that sentence. There is already enough commentary on the comparisons between Islamic extremists and Christian extremists. Your opinion on that subject is probably already made up, and I would just be wasting your time by writing more about it.

So I’ll write about something else: what President Obama actually said. His 20-minute speech was about much more than the Crusades. (In fact, he only mentioned them once, and here I’ve mentioned them twice already!) You can read the transcript of his speech online. Just go to this site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/remarks-president-national-prayer-breakfast

(As you read, remember that every U.S. President presides over a nation made up of many different religions.)

President Obama highlights three principles “that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe”:

  1. Humility. I believe the President is right on the mark when he says that “the starting point of faith is some doubt.” Faith is not something that can be proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Instead, faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV). We are not the owners of truth; we are not the determiners of truth. As the President says, “our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth – our job is to be true to him, his word, and his commandments.”
  2. The distinction between faith and government. Our nation does not sponsor a religion; we are not forced to be of one faith or another. A very real strength of this approach is that those who believe can express their beliefs “from the heart.” President Obama doesn’t use the language of the “experience of salvation” (a Wesleyan phrase), but he could. The separation of church and state gives us room to experience the grace of God freely in our lives, which leads, I believe, to more authentic practices of faith. (Yes, I do realize that Wesley was British and did not have separation of church and state. But that didn’t stop him from experiencing his faith!)
  3. The Golden Rule. Nearly all religions contain a command that we should treat other people the way we want to be treated. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” And President Obama hits the nail on the head when he says that this love must be expressed in “not just words, but deeds.” This also is a Wesleyan concept: that true faith and belief must be expressed, tangibly, experientially, sacrificially, in service toward those in need. People of faith should indeed be involved in efforts to end injustice, poverty, hunger, homelessness, and “the sin of modern-day slavery and human trafficking.”

You know, this really is a pretty good three-point sermon by the President. These are strong thoughts, worthy of reflection and meditation – and action. I believe he does well to put humility at the top of the list. We all need so much more of that attitude. And he does very well to give such practical applications as a response: if, indeed, #JesusIsTheSubject, then perhaps the #CHOGTraffickLight initiative is an appropriate step of faith. (See www.chogtrafficklight.org for more information.)

All politics aside, I am very impressed by this speech at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Now, what was that about the Crusades?

The End of Job

Everyone loves a storybook ending, right? The good guy is celebrated, the bad guys get what’s coming to them, and everything is right in the world. We leave the novel, the television, or the movie theater with a sense of contentment: things are just how they are supposed to be.

“The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first… he had seven sons and three daughters… After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.” (Job 42:12,13,16 NIV)

Check it out: Job received twice as many sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys as he had lost at the beginning of the story. He was given exactly as many sons and daughters as were lost in the tragedy of chapter 1 (although surely these new children could not replace his first children). Job comes out of his tremendous loss on top of the world once again!

But something isn’t quite right here. Usually in a storybook ending we can identify why the hero is victorious in the end: perhaps he beat the enemy, or he remained true to his principles, or he survived the conflict, or he learned an important lesson. In the case of Job, all four of these things are somewhat true, but they are not the climax of Job’s activity, growth, or development as a character.

Throughout the book, Job has been complaining against God and arguing for his innocence. The pervasive question throughout the book is “Why?” – why have these terrible things happened to an otherwise nice, successful, upright guy?

Finally, of course, God enters the scene and speaks to Job and his friends (chapters 38-41). God is shown to be righteous and all-powerful. And what is Job’s response to God? How does Job change? What does he do to “deserve” the blessings God was about to give him?

Two things: he repented before God, and he prayed for his friends.

In just a few words, Job expresses his newfound humility before God: God is God, and Job is not. And then, silently, without fanfare, Job prays for his friends – the three with whom God was angry for speaking falsely, the three who had tried (unsuccessfully) to convince Job he had sinned and thus had deserved his tragic state.

Job repented before God and prayed for those who had wronged him. And then God blessed him tremendously.

Now, I do not believe Job “forced God’s hand” or somehow manipulated God into blessing him. Job did not earn God’s blessings. But he put himself in a spiritual position to be able to receive what God had in store for him.

Repentance and praying for friends (even enemies). Seeking humility before God and seeking the welfare of others.

What if our lives were marked by such developments in our character? What if we actually have very little to do with bringing about storybook endings to situations in our lives? What if we humbly pursue relationship with God and peace with others? What might our world look like?

Isn’t that just how things are supposed to be?

February Youth Update

It’s February already! We are well into 2015 and time just seems to fly. Our Winter Retreat was awesome this year. We had snowy great weather for traveling to and from it, plus the weekend went just as planned. “Collision with God” was our theme for weekend as Brett Talley from Church at the Crossing in Indianapolis delivered several great messages that challenged our thinking and brought us closer to God. Josh Lavender proved to be a great Worship leader, as he and his band brought us closer to the throne of Grace. Again, through the victorious effort of our Mt. Haley girls, in ga-ga ball, we brought home the Winter Retreat Traveling trophy to reside at Mt. Haley until next year. Lots of tubing, skiing, ice-skating, indoor games, broomball and other activities provided fun for everyone. Special thanks to Chase Brenske and Paul Hassen for serving as temporary counselors for the weekend. Thank You! Special recognition goes to our table cup masters as they entertained the meal crowds with their display of timing, rhythm, and manipulation of their cups. (You would have to be there to understand!) Great Retreat! Well done, Connie!

Who is the Holy Spirit! We are almost done with our series of “Who are God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?” We will be wandering into a discussion on “church” and living in the Kingdom of God this spring. There will be NO YOUTH on Sunday, February 1 (Super Bowl Sunday) and February 8 (leaders in Guatemala). Bible Study on Sunday mornings continues to look at “Purpose, Purity, Power and People” and will throughout the year. The GRADS @ Graham group on Sunday nights is studying “Why Revelation” and will be through March. Again, I would emphasize that Youth begins at 6:00 PM on Sunday nights, not at 6:15, 6:25, 6:40 or whenever. Your help in starting on time is appreciated!

There is a special Concert and Super Bowl Party at the Community Nazarene Church in Midland on February 1st for High School and College-aged kids. PW Gopal will be in concert at 5:00 PM followed by a big-screened viewing of the Super Bowl with pizza and snacks provided.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons the Lock-In was postponed. People were out of town and had conflicts, and we called it off when we only had 6 people coming on Wednesday before the Friday. The Lock-In is a huge activity, needs extra adult supervision, and has a higher cost than most local activities. Signing up for events is important to us in planning – so help us out! The GOOD news is we did have the swimming party which was very well attended (15 kids) and we enjoyed the pool, each other and Pizza Sam’s. We will let you know when we find a new weekend for the Lock-In.

Guatemala is NEXT WEEK! 15 servants from 5 different churches (8 from Mt. Haley) will be departing for Guatemala City on Thursday, February 5 and returning to Midland Thursday, February 12. We have been spiritually prepared and challenged, we have insurance, we have bonded together, and our plane tickets are purchased. We will be weighing our luggage on Tuesday this week and flying on Thursday. Your prayers are wanted, needed and appreciated as we minister in Guatemala! We will have many blessings, stories and God-sightings to share with you when we return.

Can’t believe it! The time is coming for registration for the annual Michigan Church of God State Youth Convention held in Kalamazoo on the weekend of May 15-17, 2015. This year’s speaker is Reverend Doctor Todd Faulkner, campus minister of Anderson University. The worship leaders are Alanna Story, a new and upcoming Christian band. If you register in March, it’s $120 with a $40 deposit. After that, the costs go to $130 in April & $155 in May. We have a special deal for you this year. If you pay the $40 registration in March, the Mt. Haley Youth Ministry will match your $40 and provide fundraisers to work on in April & May to complete the $80 balance. To have the match, you must register in March. Our fundraisers work best in April & May because the weather breaks and we can rake, collect pop cans, sell hanging baskets, etc. SO, plan ahead, save yourself $40 with the match and then earn the rest of the way to a great SYC!

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

Arguing with God

The ancient story of Job is an incredible drama – that is, if you like long, extended, repetitive speeches. The “frame” of the story is easy to remember: a wealthy man loses all his possessions, children, and most of his health, apparently just as a test from the Tempter (in Hebrew, “the Satan”) to see if Job will be faithful to God.

Continue reading →

One Down, Sixty-Five To Go

If you are participating in our “Daily Bread” (Chronological Bible) group, then hopefully you are off to a good reading start this year! We are now finished reading Genesis, the first of the 66 books of the Bible, which contains some of the oldest stories in the scriptures. Next up is another very ancient story, the story of Job.

But let’s pause for a moment to consider what we’ve seen so far.

Continue reading →

The Women of Genesis

In our “Chronological Bible” reading this week, we came across a few more well-known stories in the first half of Genesis. Tara and I found ourselves discussing several of these stories from time to time, especially those stories that were surprising or troublesome in some way or another. Let’s take stock of what we have seen so far:

  • Abraham passes off his wife Sarah as his sister in Egypt.
  • Sarah gives her servant girl Hagar to Abraham as a wife. After Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, Sarah has her (and the child) kicked out of the household.
  • Lot very nearly sends his own two daughters outside to be raped by the men of Sodom.
  • Lot’s wife is suddenly and inexplicably (other than the “look back” to Sodom) turned into a pillar of salt.
  • Lot’s two daughters choose to sleep with their father and have (grand)children by him.
  • Abraham passes off his wife Sarah as his sister again, this time because of King Abimelech. Meanwhile, the women of Abimelech’s household are afflicted with infertility because of this situation.
  • Isaac passes off his wife Rebekah as his sister, again because of King Abimelech.
  • Esau learns that his parents don’t like him marrying foreign women, so he marries another one.
  • Jacob marries Leah, even though he wanted to marry (and thought he was marrying) her sister Rachel.
  • Leah and Rachel are portrayed as petty competitors for the most children with their husband Jacob. To this end, two other women (slave girls) are given to Jacob as his wives.

…and that’s just from twenty chapters of Genesis! Do you notice a pattern here? How is it that so many stories in the first book of the Bible have such a negative slant against the women in the stories? Sure, ancient Middle Eastern culture tended to be rather patriarchal in nature – and many cultures around the world today, including our own, still tend to favor men to varying degrees.

Having a patriarchal culture is one thing, but telling so many stories that portray women in such a negative light is another thing. What is going on here?

I can’t really make sense of this. The women of Genesis get a pretty bad rap, and I don’t have a good explanation. They are mistreated, abused, neglected, and disrespected on multiple occasions. The important overarching story of Genesis is God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons (all men). The sign of the covenant is circumcision (only for men). In many cases, the women seem expendable.

Maybe the best conclusion to draw is simply to make sure that the same thing does not happen in our world today. Maybe the experience of reading these stories in Genesis should compel us all – men and women alike – to treat women with utmost respect in our everyday experiences, our churches, our schools, our workplaces, our government, and our homes.

I encourage you to read about a present-day movement emphasizing gender equality (#HeForShe) at this website: www.heforshe.org

Pastor David

January Youth Update

Happy New Year! I was happy to see 2014 come to a close and have great expectations for 2015. Knowing that God is always good all the time helps to shape my reactions to life with the knowledge that He is always in control and that my purpose in life is to be like Jesus and to bring God glory in all things.

With that said, we had have great moments in our Youth Ministry this year and we have also struggled. Our conventions and retreats, the new retreat location at Cran-Hill, the SYC and especially the IYC were filled with the Holy Spirit and many students advanced on their decisions to serve the Lord. The fundraisers were especially important as they bonded us together, weekly meetings went well and most of our activities were well participated. The Detroit weekend and Guatemala were fantastic mission opportunities and God was glorified! Students were baptized and many are much more open to walking in faith. GRADS @ Grahams has been a ministry for those people who need a place in the church.

We celebrate our success, but we also recognize the struggles that every ministry endures. Thanks for the prayers for me as I lost my dad this year but rejoiced because I know he has been healed of that terrible cancer & pain, and is now dwelling in the house of the Lord. I have also struggled with my eyesight, dealing with several surgeries but knowing that soon God will restore my sight.

We are a ministry in transition. We have lost several key players due to the natural process of graduation and the group has become younger. Through God’s grace, patience and love, my role now is to weave the students into a ministry where they accept each other, appreciate each other, care for each other, work with each other, not judge each other and most of all, love each other through God’s grace as we grow in Christ. We live in a culture where the easy thing to do, if we don’t like something or someone, is to walk away from it and not even try anymore. My prayer is that God reclaims the group, brings everyone back into the fold, resurrects leaders and creates a comfortable, loving, accepting atmosphere that glorifies God. We welcome your prayers!

At the time of your reading, we are either preparing to depart for Winter Retreat, experiencing Cran-Hill Ranch or celebrating the things that God did over the weekend! We are taking 9 students and I know the weekend is FULL with students and counselors from all across the Church of God congregations in Michigan. We’ve had a great speaker in Brett Talley from Indianapolis Church of the Crossing and are probably enjoying the worship of Josh Lavender & his band out of Florida! Winter Retreat is always a weekend of the Holy Spirit with students drawing closer to Jesus and His love. A shout-out goes to my wife, Connie, the CHOG Director of Youth Ministries in Michigan. Hundreds of people have been blessed with her leadership and the success of state activities and I know she humbly serves to bring glory to God.

The NEXT Big event is the annual YOUTH LOCK-IN on Friday night, January 23rd where we insanely lock ourselves in the church to eat, play wild and crazy games, watch movies, pray and devote, (maybe sleep?) and generally stay up all night. This is, hands down, the most asked for and biggest highlight of the year for many of our students. Details will be coming SOON after the retreat is finished, so watch for them. HOWEVER, WE NEED parents, helpers, volunteers, bodies, to experience the night with us. We are asking for people to help us in 2-3 hour shifts throughout the night to guarantee a success. Connie and I could handle this, but it’s more fun and easier with help. Thanks! Call us!

Guatemala is becoming more and more official each day! 15 servants from 5 different churches (8 from Mt. Haley) will be departing for Guatemala City on Thursday, February 5th and returning to Midland Thursday, February 12th. We have been spiritually prepared and challenged, we have insurance, we have bonded together, our plane tickets are purchased, and we are ready except for the packing. We still need your prayers, money for the house and other expenses and your encouragement. God has BIG plans for Mt. Haley and the Guatemalan community.

This month we will still pursue the study of “Who is the Holy Spirit” and in Sunday School we are still looking at “InTune with Purpose, Purity, Power and People.” GRADS @ Grahams are starting an 8–week study on Revelations which should provide some great discussions.

We NEED your help! I am just going to be blunt. Let’s make a New Year’s resolution. The Youth Ministry has 3 events every week – Sunday School @ 10:00 AM, Mt. Haley Youth @ 6:00 PM and GRADS @ Grahams at 8:15 PM. We are beginning to be a very “tardy” youth ministry. On a typical youth meeting night, we usually begin with 2-3 students at 6 and it may take up to 45 minutes after the start time to have everyone there. The same issue effects the other two meetings also. All the meetings have been well planned to fill up the opportunity to share God’s Word. We ask your help in keeping our meetings start times (and dismissals) punctual. We almost always are open 15 minutes prior to the meeting and want to begin on time. Thanks for the help!

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

Not a January 3 Christian

I don’t want to be a “January 3 Christian.”

Many of us at Mt. Haley are reading the Bible all the way through during this new year. We are using the so-called “Chronological Bible,” which rearranges the biblical text into the order, more or less, in which the events in the Bible occurred. This will help us draw connections among the stories of the various books of the Bible, and by the end of 2015, we will have read all 66 books in their entirety.

I intend to write a post each week to share some of my reflections as I read the scriptures with you this year. And as we get started, my first thought is simply this:

I don’t want to be a “January 3 Christian.”

The first readings of the Chronological Bible are similar to many Bible-in-a-year reading plans: we covered the first several chapters of Genesis. In the first three days of the year, we have read Genesis 1-9, which contain many well-known stories:

Creation. Adam and Eve. The fall. Cain and Abel. Noah and the flood.

And we still have 362 days to go. It’s only January 3! There is so much more to the Bible than just these first few stories.

I have heard Christians argue that we have to defend a literal six-day creation in order to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus. I have heard Christians say that without a literal apple(?) in a literal garden, everything else in scripture becomes meaningless. I have heard Christians say that modern-day weather events might be a sign of the end times, because God promised (remember) that he wouldn’t destroy the earth by a flood again – but earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis and the like are apparently fair game for divine wrath.

Why do we emphasize these stories from early Genesis so much? Why do we make them the litmus test for true Christian faith? Why do we urge ourselves to be “January 3 Christians”?

If you love these early stories, keep on loving them. But please keep in mind that we have yet to read over 99% of the Bible.  What if the best is yet to come?

What if Genesis 1-9 just gets the ball rolling so we can find out what God is really up to in his relationship with humanity?

Keep reading, friends, and let’s keep up the conversation.

Pastor David