Pastor's Corner
1 Corinthians 10:13
13” No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
As I write this I have just left the emergency room with my wife in a leg brace and on crutches after she fell and badly hurt her knee. We will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon today to see if surgery is needed. This event comes at the most inopportune time. You see I’m still recovering from back surgery with one more on the way in a few days; I’m also trying to overcome a cough that won’t go away. Harmony is scheduled for a procedure to help with some preexisting issues the day after my second back surgery. Aubrie has a stomach virus that keeps coming and going, and she just started a new gym class. My mother is scheduled for knee replacement surgery. Just to add one more issue to this already chaotic situation, my jeep developed some issues while trying to get Harmony to the emergency room after her fall. Sounds like a bad joke doesn’t it? However I’m still waiting for the punch line!
1 Corinthians 10:13 can be translated in a couple of different ways. The one that is most common talks of temptation; however, the word “tempted” in Greek can also mean “tested”. This is the scripture where we get the all-familiar saying, “God will not put more on you than you can handle.” You can see where I’m going with this I’m sure. As a pastor, I encounter folks everyday who have been dumped on such as we have in the last few weeks, some even more so. Maybe you’re one of those people who read my story and say “that isn’t anything let me tell you about my life.” We all have these stories; we have all lived or are living through these trials. When these things over take us, we find ourselves thinking, “Lord how much more do You think I can take?” My favorite has always been, “Lord I wish You didn’t have so much faith in what I can handle” or I think “You may have misjudged my testing threshold.” It is overwhelming what we find ourselves in all of a sudden, and we just don’t see how we are going to get out of it. I caution on asking God what next, for when I do so there always seems to be an answer that I don’t like.
So how do we survive? How will my family and I ever get through this? I mean not just the problem of trying to be ten places at once, but what if Harmony has to miss a lot of work; what then? And if I dare say it what if something else happens?
Have you ever felt this way? I know you have, we all have. It is crazy, it is overwhelming, and it is so out of control. I believe that is the issue most at hand; it is out of control! Whose control? My control! Now we see the issue don’t we?
In Matthew 4:35-41 the disciples find themselves in an out of control situation. Jesus had asked them to set sail on the sea, and He decided to take a nap. The problem is that while He was sleeping, a terrific storm kicked up and the disciples thought they were going to drown. Sound familiar? I can relate. I feel like I’m going to drown in all this stuff I’m in right now. The funny thing is Jesus is still sleeping like a baby. Now let me paint a picture for you if I can. This wasn’t a luxury cruise liner of a boat; this was a raft with open sides and a shallow hull. It was the kind of boat that you would see two lovers taking across a calm pond to watch the stars. However this was a storm in the middle of the sea with no land in sight with waves bigger than the boat and lots and lots of water. Did I mention that Jesus was asleep? The disciples woke Jesus in panic and asked what to do. I can imagine Jesus slowly stretching and rubbing his eyes, kind of like Aubrie when I have to wake her in the middle of the night, awake but not quite with not a care in the world. Jesus looked around, saw the storm and asked why they were frightened. You have to be kidding me, right! Jesus looks at my situation and asks me why I’m stressed. Is He that disconnected with my life? He doesn’t have a clue! But just as the disciples had to have been asking the same questions, Jesus raised His hand and the storm vanished. He then asked the disciples why they were so afraid and did they still lack faith.
I have to be honest; my faith is wavering at this moment. I know it could be a lot worse, but you have to admit this is pretty bad. Harmony and I had to discuss scheduling of surgeries and possible reschedule, and we sounded like old people in the emergency room. However, I know just like in the past when life has overtaken us, God will see us through. We will look back at this and laugh and wonder what we were ever stressed about. Psalm 30 says, “…although pain may come by the night, joy comes in the morning”. The morning can’t come fast enough.
Until Sunday, Pastor Dan
Stewards
*We have many projects in the works right now. To begin, at the end of this month, on Jan 28-29, we are planning on scrubbing and waxing the fellowship hall floor. We can use any help offered, especially to move the items out of the hall.
*We will also be removing and cutting up the old and broken pews that are in the hall.
*In the ladies bathroom the floor tiles need to be replaced and we are also looking to replace the toilets as they are old and use a lot of water. New efficient toilets will reduce the water consumption and lower our water bills a bit.
*Next on the list to be replaced are the tables in the Sunday School rooms. They are very old and sagging.
*The big job/improvement we hope will be replacing the projector screen in the sanctuary and mounting the new one permanently to the front wall which will eliminate the cluttered look in the front by the altar.
Witness
*On February 12th we will be offering the first of many free community dinners. This first dinner will be Italian fare and will be served from 3:30-6:30pm. We are asking for reservations so we have a head count. There will be cap of 150 people to be served, so a phone call and reservations are necessary. Please spread the word to any you feel would benefit from this dinner. The next dinner will be on April 16th. The information so far has been put out to the families in the Berea School System. If you can help with set up, serving, clean up or donation for these meals see Jan Skinner and Alice Ramser who are in charge of the kitchen.
*We are collecting clothes still for the next clothing giveaway, set for March 19th from 9-2pm. The set up will be Friday, March 18th from 5-7pm. A new side on the clothing giveaways-if anyone does a lot of traveling and would like to, we would like to offer the hotel hygiene products at the giveaways. If you don’t use these products but can take them anyway we can put them out as well to help. These can also go into the community cupboard.
Nurture
*We’d like to start by thanking everyone who stayed and helped undecorated the church after the Christmas season ended. Many hands make light work.
*Cookie hours continue the first Sunday of each month. If you would like to help and bake cookies/bakery, please see anyone on Nurture.
*This is a slow month for us, but things will be changing soon as Lent begins in just a month.
We will be hosting The Ecumenical Ash Wednesday service this year on March 9th. Then the Easter season begins a few short weeks later.
*The new sound system is in place and there are still a few kinks to work out, but we can hear everything now. We are looking to also purchase four wireless portable speakers to mount in the fellowship hall and the nursery room since the new system does not work with those old speakers. The system itself is paid for, 80% coming from grant monies and the remaining from our Memorial Funds. We thank everyone who helps with the working of this each Sunday.
Christian Education
Membership Classes –
*We have decided to separate membership and baptism classes. The membership classes will focus mostly on the denomination’s history and beliefs, while the baptism classes will also include a large focus on personal faith.
*We would like to get a class going in the next month or two. Please contact Pastor Dan if you would like to become a member or be baptized.
Vacation Bible School –
*We are beginning the process of selecting VBS curriculum.
*VBS will be held August 7-11, 2011.
*Please check your calendar, as we will start looking for volunteers soon! We will have 3-4 planning meetings for the volunteers, starting in late spring.
Youth Minister –
*The Christian Education commission is working with Pastor Dan to put together a detailed job description for a new youth minister position, focusing on the Junior and Senior High youth. We feel that engaging the youth is crucial, so we are open to filling this position from inside or outside our Church body. In any case, the youth minister would need to be vetted and approved by Pastor Dan, the executive board, and any other church leadership required by our bylaws.
Sunday School –
*In early spring, youth and children’s Sunday School will undergo some exciting changes! Pre-worship Sunday School attendance is variable and low, which makes it difficult for teachers to plan lessons. Also, we have many more children attending Children’s Church than Sunday School. Therefore, we will eventually be moving children’s Sunday School to take the place of Children’s Church (during worship).
*Pre-K through 2nd grade will be in one class, and 3rd through 5th grade will be in another. We are currently looking at using the Brethren Press’ “Gather Round” age-specific curriculum for these classes. We will be working with the teachers to navigate these changes.
*The Junior and Senior High youth will each be combining their Sunday School with Youth Group meetings. This is still in the planning stages, but one idea is to have Junior High (6th-8th grade) youth meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month from 4:15-6:15pm, and the Senior High (9th-12th grade) youth meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, also from 4:15-6:15pm. Meetings, led by the youth minister, would include bible study, a focus on personal faith, team-building, service, and of course fun! The youth would then have the option of staying for the potluck meal (6-7pm) and Soteria service (7-8pm). The evening service would be an awesome place for our youth to get plugged in!
*Please note that these plans have not yet been implemented, and the current Sunday School/Youth Group schedules are still in effect. We will update you when the switch is made.
Deacons
*We are excited to see new families attending church with us. Please join us in welcoming them into our church family.
*We also have seen steady use of the community cupboard this winter. Please continue to bring in donations. Always needed are cans of heat and eat soups and stews, rice and noodle packets, peanut butter, etc. Particularly needed are cereals, boxed or instant foods, baby foods, feminine products, personal hygiene products, and of course money.
On behalf of the deacon body, thanks and God Bless.
