FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FEBRAURY 2012
Article by Pastor John
There are various legends about St. Valentine and there are several historical characters to whom this designation is given. One was known for his famous feasts that were held every February 14. One was about a martyr who refused to bow before the emperor Claudius in 280 A.D., who before he was killed, healed the daughter of his jailer. Whatever the origin, this holiday has become a time when expressing love to those close to us has become the norm.
As we enter into this month, I see the need for us to emphasize love. As we complete our study through Romans 12 and define what it means to be a disciple, we must remember the words of Jesus that summed up all of the law in words of love. The greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind. The second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. All the law is summed up in these two commands. It is all about love. It is so easy for us to let what we do regularly in worship, in personal spiritual discipline and in our daily walk with God become routine. We need to be drawn back to the purpose of why we do all of this. It is so that we might love God more and love others more effectively.
After Peter had denied Jesus and felt like a failure, Jesus came to him to restore him. He simply asked him, "Peter, do you love me more than these?" He is asking each one of us the same question. Maybe we have failed miserably like Peter. Maybe we have gotten caught up and just being religious and doing things to look like a Christian. Maybe we have just been living our own lives with no thought of our creator, God. Jesus asks us, "do you love me more than these?" This is the core of our faith. This is the purpose of our existence. And then the follow-up question might be, "do you really love people?" In this month when we talk a lot about love, may we be challenged to live a life of love in all that we do. Love God, love others. It is really that simple.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JANUARY 2012
Article by Pastor John
When I was younger, I would listen to the radio all the time that I was in my car. Although I had an 8-track player and then later a cassette player, I still would listen to the radio. From the radio, I would learn the songs, or at least what I thought the songs were saying.
I chuckle now when I think of some of the lyrics that I used to think were the lyrics of the various songs that I learned. Things like the "Piano Man" and the words I sang were, "sing us a song, yellow piano man." (the real words being "you're the piano man"). I can even remember doing that with some of our hymns: "He Keeps Me Singing" last verse – "Suzie's coming back to welcome me, far beyond the starry sky…" or the songs about "paradise" that I used to think were saying, "a pair of dice." We can hear something over and over and think that we know what is being said and yet, miss the boat completely.
That is what can happen when we talk about discipleship. We are called to go to all the world and make disciples. But what does that word "disciple" mean? This month, we will begin to study, as a whole church, the 12th chapter of Romans. This will be a study in what it means to be a disciple. For six weeks, in our Second level classes and groups, we will be studying this chapter. The children and youth will also be studying this.
There are two reasons for this study. One is to make sure that we all understand what a disciple is and that we are being the disciple of Jesus that we were called to be. The second reason we need to understand this word "disciple" is so that when God sends us the harvest of new people coming to know God, that we are praying for this year, we will be ready to help them become a disciple.
My hope is that all of us can become a "R12" Christian, a "Romans 12 disciple." We will have books that we can read through this study. We will have resources for each Second Level class. We will be preaching from this chapter for those six weeks. There will be verses to memorize and scripture to study. My prayer is that this will unify us in our desire to make disciples.
Please be praying about this study and make sure you get your book and start reading. We don't want to just assume we know what being a disciple means. Let's learn the real lyrics!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DECEMBER 2011
Article by Pastor John
Back during World War II, a little boy and his daddy were driving home on Christmas Eve. They drove past rows of houses with Christmas trees and decorations in the windows. In many of the windows, the little boy noticed a star.
He asked his father, "Daddy, why do some people have a star in the window?"
His daddy said that the star meant that the family had a son in the war. As they passed
the last house, suddenly the little boy caught sight of the evening star in the sky. "Look, Daddy, God must have a son in the war, too! He's got a star in His window."
The star has long been a sign of the Christmas message. We put them on the top of our Christmas trees, on the sides of our houses and out in our yards during the Christmas season. It was a star that lead the Magi to the place where Jesus was. God's coming to earth in the form of a baby was such a monumental event that all of creation was affected. In 12 B.C., Haley's comet came through the sky and, in 7 B.C., Saturn and Jupiter were aligned in such a way that they would have created a very bright star in the night. Then, there was a special Christmas star that led the Magi to Jesus. The events leading up to this star and the prophesies that had been made concerning God's coming to earth as the Messiah, led the Magi to give significance to this special star. So, they came, "from the east." That could meant that they came from China, India or other places in the orient. They traveled very far, apparently, and the star led them.
The star led them to Judea and then they couldn't see it any more. Being learned men, possibly even royalty, they went to the King for some answers about this new king that was born, whose star they had been following. Herod was the wrong person to tell about this, since he was a jealous king and would try to kill this new baby king. But, when they left Herod, the star again appeared to them. Matthew 2:10 says that, "when they saw the star, they were overjoyed." These words mean that they "rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." They were so glad to be led again by the star. It was God's way of showing them something special in this life, of leading them along the journey. One of the interesting things about this star is that it was in the sky for anyone to see. But, besides these Magi, we don't know of any others who followed that star. God proclaimed this great event with a star, but only a few followed.
Here are lessons for us. You see, God still has a star for each of us. It is not just a sign that He has a son in the war. It is a star that is in our lives to guide us. God wants to lead us to life. But, like so many back in the time of Jesus, we are too busy with "stuff" to take time to even notice the star. We might see the star, see God's leading us, but we are too busy to follow. We might see the star, but don't understand the significance of the star and choose to follow other lesser lights in our lives. Even in the Christmas season it is so easy for us to get caught up in the busyness, and in the celebration of Christmas, that we miss the star that God has sent to lead us to new life. I believe that each of us needs a star; we need to see where God is leading us. A young boy was lost in the woods. He had wandered around for hours and could not find any reference point to get his bearings. Finally the sun went down and as the sky turned dark, in the east there was a glow on the horizon. The boy walked toward that glow and found his way out of the woods and back to town. Some of us might find ourselves in some kind of woods this year. Maybe our marriage is not what it should be. Maybe there are financial pressures or other family issues. Maybe our health or the health of someone close to us is not doing that well. Maybe our job situation is very uncertain or stressful. There are many possible "woods" that we might find ourselves in, and it is difficult to find any bearing to find our way out. What we need is the star that God has for us. He desires to show us the way to the best life possible. He desires to help us find our way out of these woods and has promised to always have a way out. May we, this Christmas, come to the glow of that star. May we make this Christmas a time when we really see God's light like never before. Because if we do, we, like the Magi, will rejoice with exceedingly great joy! Then, we will truly understand the joy of this season!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOVEMBER 2011
Article by Pastor John
In Vermont, a farmer was sitting on the porch with his wife. He was beginning to realize how much she meant to him. It was about time—for they had been married forty-two years, and she had been such a help, a very willing worker. As they sat together, he said, "Wife, you've been such a wonderful woman that there are times I can hardly keep from telling you." "Thanks" is something that we feel at times and yet fail to express. Because of that, we, and the people for whom we are thankful, miss out on a great blessing. As we move into this month of Thanksgiving, may we learn lessons of expressing our thanks that will become a part of our daily routine for the entire year and not just this month. Take a moment right now and think through all for which you can be thankful. From the simplest thing of waking up alive to the great things that God and others have done for you, take time to list. Now, take time to express that thanks to God and to the people who are responsible for your blessings. You might need to call them, or write to them, or go by and visit them, but do it. They really do need to hear it. Being thankful creates a whole new outlook on the day. To help you practice this for more than just one day, begin the habit of listing each day at least ten things for which you are thankful. Find ways to express that directly to God and to people. Then each day your attitude will be more like Christ.
As an example, here are some things for which I am thankful that I need to express to you. Thanks for the 3 ½ years of being your pastor and being part of this church family. Thanks for the many gifts and cards that I have received this past month for pastor's appreciation. I do feel loved. Thanks for those of you who are faithful to the ministry that God has called you to and for your continued work to make that ministry effective. Thanks to Pastor Bill, Pastor Doug, Pastor James and Pastor Becky who make the ministry here more and more effective each month. I could never do this without them. Thanks to Bev, CJ, Karen, Kathy Baker and Kathy Hull for helping in their various ways to make this ministry work each week. Each of you is needed and is greatly appreciated. Thanks to each of you who are faithful to Sunday worship services and who seem to be growing as God speaks to us all each week. Thanks to those who teach, organize, help, plan, clean up and use their gifts in various ways each week that no one ever notices, but we would notice if they did not do what they do. But most of all, thanks to God for salvation, calling, patience, amazing love and daily guidance. I know that I can do nothing without You, Lord. May the spirit and practice of thanksgiving be a part of all that we do each day this month, and for the rest of our lives.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OCTOBER 2011
Article by Pastor John
During this last week I was privileged to be a part of the Strategic Planning Conference that is held every 5 years to help discover God's direction for the Church of God nationally. I was there with 140 of the top leaders in our movement as we sought God's plans for this church. It was obvious that we were being led by the Spirit. Several of the study groups came back with a common focus. That focus was on the need to make disciples, as we are instructed to do by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). The DNA of the Church of God has been focused on unity, healing, holiness and coming out of the world that is corrupt. We see the need to make sure that our main focus is on helping others find God and grow up in Him. It is exciting to see God calling us back to this focus. This is our focus here at Pennway. We need to be praying, making relationships, focusing ministries, and doing all that we can to help people find God and grow up in Him. The national group has set the goal of 25,000 new believers this next year. I believe our part of that is 100 new believers by the end of 2012. I believe that God wants to do that here. To that end, we will be starting a new worship service on Saturday nights that will be focused on reaching younger adults in a hope to help them find God and grow up in Him. We will be launching this new service on October 22. Please be praying for this as we work out all the details of this service. We have seen God at work so far in the planning of this service and we believe that God will bless this effort with much fruit. To the goal of 100 new believers we are still wanting everyone in the church to look for one person that they can love into the faith. God will lead us to someone whom we see regularly—show them love, looking for ways to start spiritual conversations. If you need some help with this the Church of Greater Lansing is offering some excellent conferences that you can attend right here in Lansing. On October 1 the authors of "Externally Focus Church" will be leading a conference from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Great Lakes Christian College. The cost for this day is $50. There will be two free conferences as well. On October 16, at 6:00 PM, Doug Pollock will lead a conference on How to Start Spiritual Conversations at the Northpointe Community Church, in Dewitt. Then, on November 13 Frank Turek will lead a conference on How to Defend Your Faith at Union Missionary Baptist Church at 6:00 PM. There is a poster in the Narthex with more information. You can also check out the website—churchofgreaterlansing.com. Also, to reach this goal of 100 new believers we encourage all of our ministry groups to find more and more ways to touch the lives of people around us with God's love. We can see 100 people come to faith this year—I really believe that. Pray about this. When my neighbor's house was on fire, if the children had been in the house, I believe that I would have done anything to get them out. The people around us are in a worse situation than a house fire and we need to do all that we can to help them find God. Let's get going toward this goal!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SEPTEMBER 2011
Article by Pastor John
When Jesus gave us the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), the challenge was to go into the world, not just sit back and expect people to come. God is reminding us of this anew in this country as we have become a post-Christian culture. People who do not know God will not just choose to come to church. We have to find ways to go to them. That is why we have decided that God is calling us away from an attraction model for how to do church (where we work to get more people to come here) toward a missional model where we create ministries that will go to the people around us. Being missional means that we must become a church that is "shaped by participating in God's mission, which is to set things right in a broken, sinful world, to redeem it, and to restore it to what God has always intended for the world."(Barrett, Guder, and Hobbs, Treasures in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness).
God can use us here at Pennway to change our world. Beyond missions trips, ministries in the community and an increased awareness that we are on mission every day of every week, we need to address the real problems in the world. The church should be a part of the solution. This fall, starting on Labor Day Sunday, we will be addressing the top problems in the world and looking at what the Bible has to say about them.
Looking at several news reports, the top problems in the world are: poverty, war and terrorism, health and social issues (drugs, abortion, population, euthanasia, obesity, addictions, exercise, etc), environmental issues (nuclear power, natural disasters, energy, pollution, global warming, pure water, recycling, etc.), education and morality issues, economic issues, sex/tolerance/racism/religion issues, justice and human rights issues, and death/pain/suffering/hell. I hope that you will make sure to be a part of each service as we address these issues. I hope, also, that you will invite people you know to come and enter into this discussion. Let them know what we are addressing and let this be an opportunity to carry on more conversations with them that might help them see that God is relevant to today's issues. I know that God has something to say about each of these issues.
We need to become more like Jesus in our love for others so that love will move us to find ways to care for others. May we all find ways to grow more and more like Jesus and love like He did through one of our smaller groups that we refer to as the "2nd Level." We will start new classes for "2nd Level" in September. This includes our Sunday education time at 9:00 am for all ages and this includes other smaller groups that meet at other times during the week. We will be looking to start some area small groups that might some day grow into house churches. Part of becoming a missional church has been the formation of many different ministry teams to help us carry on the ministries of the church. This is referred to as "3rd Level" ministries. If you are not a part of one, you can still join one. There are brochures in the Information Rack. God can change our world. He has chosen to do that through us. Let's get on board with what God is doing. I want to be a part of that divine work. Jesus said:
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!"
(John 16:33b).
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AUGUST 2011
Article by Pastor John
Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled on an old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away—an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out. Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed, off to the side, an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, "You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S. Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave."
He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, there was water. It was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water into the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted. He studied his options. Should he take a chance on the old pump? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written no telling how long ago? Reluctantly, he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump… squeak, squeak, squeak. Still, nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief, fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents. Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note: "Believe me, it really works! You have to give it all away before you can get anything back."
Jesus tells us, "anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life," Matthew 19:29.
God tells us to test Him by bringing into the storehouse the whole 10% of what we make and see if He "will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it," Malachi 3:10. Jesus said, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap," Luke 6:38. God has given us time, resources, talents, spiritual gifts, a body, etc. What are we doing with them? He promises us, like the note on the old jug, if we will invest it in His work, pour it all out, He will bless us with more water than what we need. Do we really believe it? As we take time this month to look at the stewardship of our time, resources, talents, spiritual gifts, bodies, etc., I hope that we will believe the note on the jug. We could use some fresh, cool water from God!
Pastor John
P.S. I know that it works! It has worked for me!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JULY 2011
Article by Pastor John
As the people of God we constantly desire to see God come among us in mighty ways. We want to see His blessing, His fruit, His power working in and through us. Here at Pennway we are seeing God at work in various ways. But even here we desire to really see God come in power, to see a real revival. When we look to scripture we find times when the children of Israel wandered away from God and did not see His power with them to win battles, or to know health and success. They had turned to other gods and had forgotten the law that God had given to them. The prophets came to call the people back to God so that God would bless them again. One such prophet was Malachi. He came calling the people to repent and return to God. They had been unfaithful to God. When they were asked to return to God, they responded by asking, "how are we to return?" God responded to them, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me—in tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (Malachi 3:7b-10). This tithe means the 10% of our income that is to be brought into God's storehouse = our home church. Why does God care about that? Does He need the money? No way! But he does need us to trust in Him and to obey Him. To give 10% of our income to the church is very difficult for us and when things get tough financially, that is even harder for us to do. The whole point is to trust what God says here. Even when I can't afford it, to give 10% is to trust that God will give me back all that I need. Is our trust in our bank account? In our jobs? In our retirement account? In our government? God wants us to trust Him with the stuff that can be most important to us—our hard-earned cash. This is a way that we can show God our real heart. Whatever we do with this is showing our heart to God whether we like it or not. If I feel like I have to wait until I get my finances together or until I get my savings built up, or until I buy my house or whatever it might be, then we are telling God we don't really trust Him as our provider. He is just an add-on expense. I know that when the pastor talks about money people get offended because it really hits home! Money can become so important to us. God knows that and desires us to be faithful toward him in this way. I know that we have people in our church that are not giving their 10%. I don't check the books to see who that might be, but I know because we are below budget in our giving for this year. I really believe that God has led us to the budget that we have and the staff that we have. Because of that I know that God has given the people of this church enough money to fund this budget. Since we are short then there must be some who are robbing God. This hurts our ministry here as a church. We are working hard to keep our expenses under our income and we have done that so far. The sad thing is that when people don't give their tithe they are not just hurting God's ministry here, but they are hurting their own lives. They are keeping the blessing that God desires to give them from coming their way. I know that in our logic this does not make sense, but that is because it means putting our trust in God's promises rather than this world's principles. As summer comes our way, many of you will be traveling. If this is your home church, then I believe that God desires you to mail in your tithe to this church = storehouse. There is no reason that giving should go down in the summer, but we can see that most years it does. Let's turn this around this year. Let's return to God with our tithes and offerings. Let's take God at His word and let those blessings flow to His people here that we cannot contain. I really want to see God's blessings on this church and on each one that comes here. I believe Malachi has some insights into how to help that happen. Do you really believe God's word in this? Then let it be seen in how we give.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUNE 2011
Article by Pastor John
We have just completed our National Day of prayer. Chuck Colson described a national prayer breakfast he attended a number of years ago. The room was full of powerful people – the president, congressmen, senators, leaders of industry and heads of state. However, the most powerful person in the room had no title, was small in stature, and had few financial resources. But when she spoke, even presidents listened. Mother Teresa's power stemmed not from position, title or wealth, but from her role as servant. She had earned the right to be heard through a lifetime of service. We live in a time when most people have given up on the truth because they can't trust anyone. In the church, we have the greatest truth in the world, a saving truth. But, people will not listen nor believe it to be truth unless we can find ways to regain their trust. Like Mother Teresa, we must find ways to be involved in real and relevant acts of service.
Honest and compassionate service can restore credibility and trust. We have realized that we must leave the attraction model for doing church (expecting people to come here to hear the gospel—building all our programs on getting people to come here) and move on toward the more externally focused, or missional model church. In the book, The Externally Focused Church (by Rich Rusaw and Eric Swanson), they state that the externally focused church must have these things define them:
1) They are inwardly strong but outwardly focused;
2) They integrate good deeds and good news into the life of the church;
3) They value impact and influence in the community more than attendance;
4) They seek to be salt, light, and leaven in the community;
5) They see themselves as the "soul" of the community;
6) They would be greatly missed by the community if they left.
I think we can agree that we are not there yet. We must begin even this summer to make some steps in that direction. My hope is that we can find and participate in several community service projects. If you find any needs that we can address, please let us know. A group of people working together can do great things in the community, so no task is too big. For example, our city schools are really struggling. We can make a difference. We can offer volunteer labor to take care of upkeep, tutoring, working with the grounds, etc. Maybe there are things they normally hire out that we can do for them and save them some money. I know the need is there and I know that we are gifted and creative enough so we can offer something that can help. This needs to become a regular part of who we are as a church. If we can be known as the church that serves, then the community will want to hear our message. This excites me! How about you?
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MAY 2011
Article by Pastor John
We are entering a season when we take time to honor people. This month, we will celebrate Mother's Day, Memorial Day and graduations. Next month, we will celebrate Children's Day and Father's Day. It is good for us to take time to honor these people because they deserve it. Some have worked hard to get to the point of graduation. Some have been faithful for years without much recognition for their faithfulness. It is good for us take a special day and time to honor these people. The question for us is this, "How do we honor them in a manner that is worthy of all they have done?"
One of the ways is to make sure that these designated days are special and that we make these days all about the person we are honoring. Take your mom or graduate to church with you and then out to dinner. Fix breakfast for them or find some fresh flowers to honor them. Make this their day.
Another way is to speak words of appreciation; be that in a card or by the words that we speak. We cannot say, "Oh, they know how I feel." We need to tell them. Express it. Make the effort.
Also, we express honor to these special people by the gifts that we give to them. To give a gift that cost me some effort, time and money, expresses to this person that they are important to me.
But, one of the most important things to remember in all of these expressions is to make sure that they come from the heart. It is not very honoring to just do these things because we have always done them. To really honor the people, we need to take time to think about how special these people are, how much they have done through the years, how much we love them, and then express that in these various ways. When we have people really express these things from their hearts to us, they make us feel so valuable and honored. May we make the effort to truly honor these special people on these special days and have it come from our hearts.
Now, let me use that as an example of how we need to enter into worship. You see, our worship is our way to honor God for all that He has done in our lives. One of the ways we do this is to set aside special days. Each Sunday is a special day, set aside to honor God. Like with these other special days, we need to make the effort to make these days special to the person (God) whom we are honoring. May we not do worship just because we always have done this. Also, we need to make sure that we make the effort to speak the words of appreciation each week we gather. That might be through the songs that we sing, words of testimony that we give or prayers that we pray. But, we need to speak the words to God. Even though He already knows how we really feel, He likes it when we express that to Him. In fact, He lives in our praises.
We express our honor to Him by the gifts that we give. When we give our tithes and offerings to the church, we are honoring God and helping His work to go forward. When we give our time, effort and ability to serve God, we are honoring Him as well. But, as we stated earlier, these need to come from our hearts. These must not be just things that we do because we have always done them. That means when we come to worship, we come prepared. We have our gifts, we know what we want to say to God and we do all we can to make each Sunday special. But this also means that we get in tune with God's Spirit and truth during the week so we can see all God is doing and has done. When we enter worship, we need to take time to talk to God and focus on whom we are honoring. When we worship, we must make sure it is coming from our hearts.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------APRIL 2011
Article by Pastor John
As I move into this month of Easter, I am more aware of the suffering that Jesus endured than ever before. Mel Gibson has given me a clear picture of all that Jesus suffered in those final hours of His life in his movie, "The Passion of the Christ." I hope to watch it every Lenten season. I need that picture in my head of all that Jesus suffered. That should have been me. He took on my sins and died in my place. May I never forget, may I never forget!
But, what really is the passion of Christ? What was it that moved His heart? Although He came to earth to show us the Father, to teach us the way to live, to face all that we face and to die in our place, these were not His passion. His passion was love. Jesus had an intense love for the Father that made Him willing to do anything that the Father asked Him to do. This love was seen even as a boy in how He had to be in the temple reading the scriptures. It was the passion of His life to be with His Father. All through scriptures, we see Jesus taking time to push away from the crowds to spend time alone with His Father. When He came to His greatest trial (the night that He would be betrayed, accused, beaten, sentenced and killed), He turned to some special time with the Father. He agonized with the Father over what was ahead for Him, but through it all, we see His love for the Father in how He desired His Father's will more than His own.
Jesus also had an intense love for the people around Him. No matter where Jesus went, when He found people in need or hurting, He would be moved with compassion for them. It was this love that brought Him down from the comforts of heaven in the first place. As He came into Jerusalem, this love moved Him to tears as His heart broke for those that would not listen to the message. This love for people is seen in His intense desire for all to know God personally. He would not let the religious games that people played nor the ongoing sin that people would hold on to let Him stop trying with all His efforts to help them see the way. This passion was a compassion that would not let Him stop short of giving His whole life for those who might receive Him.
Let me ask you a question: What is your passion? If they were to make a movie about the passion of your life, what would it be? Would it be your family? Would it be your job that takes most of your "awake" time? Would it be to be liked by people around you? As Christians, meaning to be "Christ-like", our passion should be the very same passion that Jesus had.
That means we have an intense love for God, our Father. That should translate into passion to know God more and a willingness to do anything that God asks us to do. That starts by receiving what Jesus did for us and beginning our personal relationship with Him. If we love God like Jesus did, that should make us desire to be close to Him every day of our lives. Taking time for prayer and for reading His word should come easy for us because this is the time we can be with God. I know that when I fell in love with my wife, Patty, I would take every opportunity I could to just to spend some time with her. With a love for God like this, we should push away from the crowds to make this time just for Him. As we continue our Focus 40 – 40 days of fasting and prayer – may we seek God more than ever. And like Jesus, when we face our toughest times, we should run to God, not demanding our way, but willing to do whatever our Father desires of us.
To have the passion of Christ means to have a passion for people as well. Every time we see hurting or lonely people, we should be moved with compassion to do something for them just as Jesus was. No matter what religious games they may be playing or what sin they may be carrying with them, we should love them. Jesus died for them. Let this love motivate us to do all we can to help others discover God's love. Invite people to our services during this Easter season. They, too,can have a personal relationship with God, but how can they know that unless someone tells them? Our love for people must motivate us to move out of our comfortable pews and find ways to get involved with people. We must find ways to help others hear about what God has done for us and how that applies to them.
What is your passion? What is your motivation for life? May we all find a new love for God and for people that gives our life new meaning. May it be our passion!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------MARCH 2011
Article by Pastor John
Moses spent 40 days on the mountain to get the commandments from God so he would be able to lead the Children of Israel. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before He started His ministry. Now, the Church of God in the USA is calling for the church to take a 40 day fast so that we can become the church that God wants us to become. When we all come together during this time leading up to Easter, God will be freed to do amazing things in our churches. We at Pennway Church are joining with the other churches in our movement to call our church to this extended time of prayer. Of course, when we talk about a 40 day fast, there are all kinds of questions that come up.
The first question has to be “are we expected to not eat for 40 days?” What we do with the fast is between the individual and God and only those that have checked with their physician should try that kind of fast. But, there are many other kinds of fasts, besides just giving up food for 40 days.
1. The Disciple’s Fast
PURPOSE: To free others and ourselves from addictions to sin. This fast could be giving up anything that might be an addiction (smoking, alcohol, TV, soft drinks, chocolate, etc.) and every time the urge comes, spend that time in prayer.
2. The Samuel Fast
PURPOSE: To pray for revival and soul winning, to identify with people everywhere enslaved literally or by sin and to pray to bring people out of their bondage to darkness and into the light of God. This fast could be giving up a meal a day or fast a day or two a week to identify with those who need God and to specifically pray for revival and for those who don’t know God to come to know Him.
3. The Elijah Fast
PURPOSE: To conquer the mental and emotional problems that control our lives, returning the control to our Lord. This could be fasting from things that lead our minds away from the things of God (things that occupy our time— TV, internet, cell phones/phones, etc.) and spend that time in prayer.
4. The Widow’s Fast
PURPOSE: To share our bread with the hungry and to care for the poor, to meet the needs of others. This fast might be giving up going out to eat for 40 days and praying with our meals at home for those that are hungry and hurting, saving the money to give to help the hungry.
5. The Daniel Fast
PURPOSE: To gain health and healing. This fast would be to give up junk food, meat, and other specific food for the time to increase the awareness of the need to pray.
Pray about this and decide how God desires you to participate in this Focus Forty, our 40 days of fasting—see inside. This can be a real revival for our church and for the Church of God in the USA. I am excited about what God will do through this. If you have any other questions, please give me a call or send me an email. (989-763-0399 or pastorjohn@pennway.org)
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------FEBRUARY 2011
Article by Pastor John
During one of our many wars, there was a young man who was caught and tried for desertion. He had left his ranks to go home and visit his dying father and his fiancée. His fiancée traveled to be there for the trial and to see her love for at least one more time. The decision was made by the court that this young man would be hung on the next day when the bell in the church tower struck noon. The fiancée was distraught and pleaded with the judge for a stay of execution, but to no avail. All the preparations were made and the young man was put on the stand with the noose around his neck. They waited for the bell to chime and nothing happened.
They put the young man back in prison and went to investigate. When they got to the bell tower they found the young woman beaten and battered. She had wrapped herself around the clapper of the bell so that when the bell rope was pulled, her body kept the clapper from hitting the bell so that the bell remained silent. What love!
We can see the love of this woman in the sacrifice that she was willing to make. True love is shown in sacrifice. As we enter into this month when we celebrate love, especially romantic love, it is important that we remember this principle. Men need to look for ways to serve their wives and to make sacrifices for them. Yes, our wives need the flowers and the dinner dates, but they need us to go beyond that to show them real sacrifice. Do a job around the house that she normally does, without her asking. Give up a sporting event to watch something that she wants to watch. Look for ways to sacrifice for her. Women need to look for ways to serve their husbands. They, too, need the special gifts and such, but they need you to do some special things just for him. What can you sacrifice for him to show him your love? Real love is more than just being romantic. It is being sacrificial.
Now, this applies beyond our relationships with the opposite sex. We need to show this sacrificial love to our neighbors, to those we work with, to those in our church family and to all who cross our paths. How can we sacrifice for them to show them real love? That is the kind of love God has shown to us as He laid down His life so that we could be forgiven. What love!
“My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13
Love is sacrifice. May we remember
this in this month of love.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------JANUARY 2011
Article by Pastor John
A new year is here!
As the year begins, we need to take time to evaluate the last year and make plans for the new year. What does God want to do in and through each of us this year? In the 13th chapter of Luke, Jesus tells us a few parables that have some great lessons for us as we look to 2011.
JESUS begins with a parable about a fig tree planted in the vineyard. “So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘for three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” (Luke 13:7-9) In April I will have been here for three years. We have produced some fruit, but not very much. I feel like this might be the year that we see a great harvest. It will mean that each of you take this parable to heart and make this a year when you will work at helping people understand about God’s love. Dig around people with your love and fertilize them by inviting them to be involved in ministries of the church that can help them hear the good news. May we bear fruit this year!
JESUS also told a parable about the mustard seed and how it grows into a great tree and birds came and perched in the branches (Luke 13:19). I believe that God desires us to keep growing in our various ministries so that many can be touched by the ministry of this church. This is the year when each of us needs to discover our ministry. No one is a part of this church to just observe. Each is gifted in some way to touch other people. Find your ministry!
JESUS went right into another parable, the parable of the yeast (Luke 13:21). The yeast spreads out through the whole dough and makes it all rise. We need to keep finding ways to spread out into the community. Now our community includes the neighborhood where we live, where we work, the area around our church building and the whole area of Lansing. We need to keep finding ways to be the yeast in this new year so that the whole community can rise to God’s presence.
As Luke 13 closes, we see the very heart of God is for people. It could read,
“O Lansing, Lansing, you who attack the things of God and work against God’s church at times, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34 – paraphrased). God desires to make a difference in this city and He has chosen us to be a part of that. Make this a year when we work to make that happen like never before. God has a great year planned for us. Will you be a part of this or will this just be another year to mark off in your life? “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:15)
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------DECEMBER 2010
Article by Pastor John
My uncle has a cabin in the UP on Lake Manistique. What do I need to do to find my way to this place? Well, I need to find out where I am on the map, where I am going, and the best route to get there. As a church, we need the same thing.
WHERE ARE WE? We are finishing up our 100-year anniversary—thanks, Paul, and the rest who have helped with this. We’ve made some changes to our structure to help us to be ready to grow and we’ve put together a great staff to help us get there. Many ministries have started.
WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO? We’ve determined that the purpose of God’s church in this world is to help people KNOW AND GROW CLOSER TO JESUS. My desire is for us to be a church like the church in Acts where people are being saved daily, where people are healed and God’s power is seen in a mighty way. We must agree as an entire church that this is our main purpose. It is all about Jesus—not good services, good programs, a nice building to make you feel comfortable. If our building, our programs, our services, etc., help us know and grow closer to Jesus, then great. We will never get off square one if we can’t agree on where we are going.
WHAT IS THE BEST ROUTE TO GET THERE? There are five important points as we begin to lay out this vision.
1. A NEW COMMITMENT TO CONNECTIVITY
In our listening time, I heard concerns about our connectivity. People new to the church and people who have been part of the church for a while feel lonely and not connected. People have missed church and no one other than the pastors contact them. We need to correct this. One way is for us to go to ONE SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE at 10:30 AM with Sunday School at 9:00 AM. This gives us an hour for Sunday School and 30 minutes before service for fellowship and connecting with people. This will be temporary because as we grow and need parking and other space, we will have to go back to two services. I suggest that we begin HOSPITALITY MINISTRIES beyond what we have. We have greeters and ushers, but we need pew sitters, card mailers, phone callers, etc. If you have any interest in this ministry, please mark the Worship Folder tear-off. We need to reform SMALL GROUPS. I need about 8-10 people interested in leading a small group. All of us need to commit to connecting with others—both new people and people who have been here a long time.
2. A VARIETY OF COMMITTED MINISTRIES
We need a variety rather than a few because there are so many diverse people in our church and community. We don’t expect anyone to be involved in every ministry. And, each ministry needs to realize they have two audiences: Those that are in the family of God and those that are in the community. Every ministry needs to evaluate how they are doing with both. How is our choir helping those in the community? What can our men’s group or ladies group do to help the community? Etc.
3. MAKE DISCIPLESHIP A PART OF ALL WE DO
Each one, reach one is God’s method for evangelism today. If you need help with that, please talk to me. But, we also need each one to teach one. Every teacher should have someone they are training. Every ministry should have some way they are helping people grow in their personal spiritual disciplines. We are called to be disciples, not just Christians.
4. A NEW COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN AND YOUTH
What are the feeble arms and weak knees of this body? It is in these two areas. Most people come to know Jesus before they turn 20. We have hired Becky to develop our children’s ministries. We have great leaders working with our youth program. But, all of us need to see these two areas as priorities. We are developing our play area. Some have said that these funds should be used for the kitchen. Our kitchen is functioning, but our children’s ministry needs all the help we can give it. All our ministries are important, but these are our feeble arms and weak knees right now.
5. A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN ALL WE DO
IN OUR BUILDINGS... Next year we will encourage you to support our building fund. This building is a great tool that we can use to help people know and grow closer to Jesus and we want it to be the best it can be. We have to address the kitchen, the boiler, the basement at the parsonage and some other upkeep issues this coming year.
IN COMMUNICATION... We are going to do our announcements in a new and exciting way. We will change our bulletins, web site and Facebook® page. We want to make sure you know all that you need to know.
IN PROGRAMMING... Doug is committed to make worship the best it can be, along with all of the music ministry. We want our ministries, our classes, groups and all programming to be the best it can be.
IN FINANCES... We believe that Financial Peace University is the best tool to help all people get a grip on their money. It is our capital fund campaign. We want everyone to take this class, to tithe and be able to give above that to other ministries.
IN STAFFING... We have a great staff and we want to show that to them by giving them a 3% raise this year. They need to be encouraged. We want them to be the best they can be. And we are committed to excellence.
IN PRAYER... Prayer is what is going to release God’s power to do great and amazing things here. We want all of you to be prayer warriors for this church. When the Christians in Acts 2 came together to pray, power was released. May that happen here!
I hope that this beginning of a new vision can become the catalyst for a new growth cycle for this church. Will you get on board with this? This is where we are going and how we are going to get there. But, if people never get onboard, we will never leave the station.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------NOVEMBER 2010
Article by Pastor John
In Vermont a farmer was sitting on the porch with his wife. He was beginning to realize how much she meant to him. It was about time – for they had lived together forty-two years, and she had been such a help, a very willing worker. One day as they sat together, he said,
“Wife, you’ve been such a wonderful woman that there are times I can hardly keep from telling you.”
Far too many of us are just as reluctant at expressing thanks, even though our God has blessed us with so much. November is the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving. This whole month should be a time of thanksgiving for us. To help with this process, let me give a few helpful suggestions for this month of Thanksgiving.
First of all, may we begin a personal inventory of all that we have. We focus on what we don’t have and work to try to obtain those things most of the time. We fail to see what we already have. Although we have many material blessings that would take up much of this inventory, we must save room on our sheets for blessings that are not material. Our families, our church, our jobs, our nation, our freedoms, our abilities, our talents, our hopes, our dreams, our bodies, the air we have to breathe and the world in which we live, are only the beginning of things that we should put on this inventory. Even though it might take some time to type these up or write these down, it will be time well spent. If we can only understand all the blessings we have, then we will naturally become more thankful people. Set aside some time this month to take this blessing inventory.
On my list would be all the people who volunteer their time in ministry here at Pennway. We have those in the office that answer the phones and do odd jobs, repair computers, help get the Proclaimer mailed, take care of the buildings, and on and on. Then there are the many who help with all of our ministries. My list is getting very long, but all of them are important.
Secondly, we need to take time to express that thanks.
Thanks is to be given, not just felt. We need to feel it first, but then we need to express it. We need to express it to God. All we have comes to us through His hands. He has blessed us by not giving us what we really deserve. His love for us can be seen all around us. We need to express our thanks to Him. We can do that in our private times of prayer. We can do that as we gather for worship. We can do that anywhere we find ourselves. God loves the praises of His people.
But, we also need to express it to other people.
This last month, you in the church, have been so wonderful to express your thanks to the pastors of the church. My prayer is that you have begun a habit that will continue into this month for all the people of our church that serve in so many different ways. We should write notes, give cards, do nice things, and speak the words of thanks to all those we see working for God and His church. But, also, every day we need to learn to express thanks to those we meet. It might be that waitress or teller at the bank. It might be a governmental official or some other leader in the community. We need to go out of our way to express thanks to all we can. Those in our families and those closest to us, sometimes are the hardest people for us to thank, yet they do so much for us. May we make special effort to express that thanks to them. In this process, let me put some names to the people in the office that I mentioned earlier and express my thanks to them specifically:
Let’s make this month a month of thanksgiving. If we do, we will change our attitudes and our world.
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------OCTOBER 2010
Article by Pastor John
Pastor Jerry Cook writes,
“A pastor in our town whom I knew only slightly became involved in adultery. As a result, his marriage went on the rocks and his ministry was destroyed. Since he was a strong Christian leader in our area, this brother’s fall came with a resounding crash. His church splintered into a dozen fragments and hurting, confused people were scattered all over the city.
A year and a half after all that happened, I received a phone call at 7:30 am one Sunday. It was this former pastor. He said, “Would you mind if my wife and I came to church this morning?” I said, “Why would you even call and ask that question? Of course we wouldn’t mind.” “Well,” he said, “I’ll tell you, Jerry, we’ve been trying for eight months now to find a place to worship. The last time we tried was a month ago. That morning we were asked from the pulpit to leave. We’ve been met at the door of other churches by pastors who heard we were coming. They asked us not to come in, said we would cause too much trouble. Still others have heard that we might show up and called in advance to ask us please not to come.” He said, “Frankly, I don’t think we could handle it again if we were to come and be an embarrassment to you and be asked to leave. I just don’t know what would happen; my wife is close to a nervous breakdown.” By now he was weeping. “I know that you have video for overflow crowds,” he said. “If you want, you can put us in a room where no one else will see us and let us watch the service.” I said, “Listen, you be there and I’ll meet you at the door.” He came with his wife and their little baby. They came late and sat in the back.
The compounding thing was that many of the people who had been hurt through his fall were now a part of our congregation. Nevertheless, we extended fellowship to that man and the Lord did a cleansing and a healing. We shed many tears together. I never will forget how he grabbed me and buried his head on my shoulder, a man 15-20 years my senior. He wept like a baby and held to me like a drowning man. He said, “Jerry, can you love me? I’ve spent my life loving people, but I need someone to love me now.” In the weeks and months that followed, he met with our elders regularly and wept his way back to God through a most intense, sometimes teary, repentance. He literally fell on the floor before our elders, grabbed their feet and implored them, “Brothers, can you ever forgive me?” God healed that man and restored him to wholeness. (Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness – Jerry Cook, Regal Books, 1979, pp. 9-10)
Is this the way that our church would respond?
Is this the way that you would respond?
At times, it is so easy for us to forget that we are a hospital and we are full of sick people who are on the journey to wholeness. We have not arrived and now are able to judge others. No matter what someone else has done, we must be a place where they will find forgiveness. Our whole life style should tell people,
“If you come around here, we’re going to love you. No matter who you are or what you have done or how you look, smell, or behave, we’re going to love you.”
That is part of our fabric as God’s church. May we live that out in all that we do. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
That needs to be how we go to the world and how we respond when the world comes to us.
Pastor John
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------SEPTEMBER 2010
Article by Pastor John
It is so hard to believe that summer is gone. We are entering one of my favorite times of the year – football season. As I write this, the teams are still in their camps - having preseason games in the pros and gearing up for that first game in high school and college. Summer is over for them as well and it means that they have to get in shape and get back into the routine of practice and games. That is somewhat wHere we are as a church.
Now is the time when we need to get back into shape, encourage people to get involved with ministry, get small groups going again and gather everyone back for our services so that we can play the game we need to this fall. We will celebrate this new beginning with our Service in the Park on September 5. New Sunday School classes will begin September 12. New small groups are forming. Ministries are gearing up and making plans (so they need your help). Choir is back. Children’s and youth ministries are starting anew. And all other programs are starting back. God is doing some amazing things in people’s lives and I believe this fall could be the time when we see God work like never before. It is God who is leading the team here and it is He who needs to be involved in all we do.
So, prayer is a key. I need some of you to fast and pray for our church. I need all of you to take some special time of prayer just for the church, that we might be effective this year. We need to pray like Paul asked the churches to pray for him; that doors will be opened for the gospel to impact many people. It is as we have the faith to ask and believe that God will be free to work among us. God is calling us to be fruitful soil where many, even hundreds, can come to know Jesus and grow up in Him.
We have just celebrated all the great things that God has done over these last 100 years. Thanks to Paul Hein and Kathy Baker and the rest of the Centennial Committee for all their hard work. It was a wonderful weekend. But as we look back on all that God has done, please know that there are some great things God still has for us to do. Our vision is each one reach one. Our plan includes everyone involved in discipleship, ministry, worship, giving and growing closer to God. What a mighty army we can be for God in this community as we all join together for this task. We are looking at some building changes, some program changes and especially some life changes. Well, preseason is just about over. The season is here. Let’s get in the game!
Your Coach,
Pastor John
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUGUST 2010
Article by Pastor John
After marching around the city of Jericho for 6 days, the children of Israel went out one more day. This day they marched around the city 7 times and on that 7th time, Joshua sounded the trumpet and commanded, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord.” (Joshua 6:16-17a)
As we enter the month of August I feel like Joshua. We will march around the city this month in many ways. On August 15 we have the BLOCK PARTY where we will invite our community to come to a day of fun and food at no charge to them. We will follow that up with VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL where the children of the community will be invited to learn more about a God that loves them and a Savior that died for them. That following weekend will be our CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION where people from all over will be invited to celebrate our 100 years of existence. The best invitation is a personal one, so please give the enclosed invitations to friends and family. More invitations are available at the Welcome Desk.
Then, as we go into the month of September, on Labor Day weekend, we will have our PICNIC IN THE PARK service and meal. All of these are opportunities to march around the city. In this month, I would also encourage various ministries and groups to find ways to put their faith into action, much like we did last year on our Faith in Action Sunday. I believe that God has a great harvest for us as His church. I believe that if we will be faithful to be involved in these and other opportunities to march around the city for God, He will bring in a great harvest for His kingdom. It is time for us to “Shout! For the Lord has given us the city!”
Just like Joshua, we might be hesitant in some of these areas. So, let me share with you God’s words to Joshua from that first chapter: (God speaking) “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous… Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” God is at work and this month will be a great beginning of the new harvest God has for us!
In His Service,
Pastor John
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------JULY 2010
Article by Pastor John
Well, as I sit here to write my article for the upcoming month, I realize that today is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year. It is the day when we will have more daylight than any other day of the year. From this day on, until mid-winter, the days will be getting shorter and shorter.
This causes me to pause and think about what God desires to do through our church. In many ways, we are in the spring as a church and coming into summer. Our days of shining God’s light are getting longer in that we are getting more and more opportunities to share that light with the people of the community. Even this past Sunday, when we had the Men’s day here at the church with the car show and cook-out, we had several from our community stop by. Some brought cars to show. Others were just driving or walking by and stopped to see the cars. They also ate with us and many made good contact with them. God is giving us more and more opportunities to touch our community.
As we move toward our Block Party on August 15, we will be gathering supplies to do the back-pack project again. This will be followed up with Bible School for which Becky (our new interim Children’s Pastor) and her husband, Dante, have written the music and the curriculum. Bible School will be followed by our Homecoming Celebration which will again draw more people into our church. July provides us the opportunity to get ready for these great events that are coming through prayer and planning. If you wish to help serve on the block party team, please come to a meeting, July 8th at 7:00 p.m. If you wish to work with Bible School, please let Becky know as soon as possible. And if you are able to help with the supplies for the back-packs, please use the list of items needed (see below) and plan to purchase them as soon as they go on sale for the school year. But, all of us can pray that God will open many doors for us to touch lives and build His kingdom.
July can also be a time when the light of God can shine through each of us individually. God’s light is in each of His children, and as we show people God’s love, He shines through us. July is a great time to get to know your neighbors. Be outside when they are outside and begin conversations with them. Learn the art of asking questions. Invite them over for a cook-out or even have your own “block party”. With the people at work, the schedule many times is more laid back in the summer with more opportunity to talk with people over a break or lunch. Take advantage of the longer days that are coming where God’s light can shine through each of us to touch lives. Remember that God’s vision for us is to become the good soil and be fruitful by obeying the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), living out the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:37-40) and working with Acts 1:8 power. We can do this as we let God’s light shine out through us. Even as we take our summer vacations or trips to camp out or to a cabin, these are opportunities to invite others to go along with the family. In these settings, the light of God can shine out through our families as well.
The longest day is yet before us when we will be able to be most effective in helping others see God’s light. Our days are getting longer with more and more opportunities. But, our time of influence is short. Just as the days begin now to get shorter, so our time to reach others around us will one day also become less and less. We never know how long any of us has on this earth, so let us use our time wisely. Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work”. In these days, may we shine out God’s love!
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR BACKPACKS: Crayons, markers, colored pencils, pencils, pencil box/pouch, pencil sharpener, pencil erasers, pens, highlighters, rulers, glue sticks, Elmer’s glue, blunt-tip scissors, spiral notebooks, folders, Kleenex, hand sanitizer
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUNE 2010
Article by Pastor John
A man who had not been a Christian very long came to his pastor asking him to pray for him to find a different job. “The place I work is so rotten you wouldn’t believe it,” he said. “I hear nothing but foul language and dirty stories and there’s not one other Christian there, as far as I can tell.” The pastor replied, “I can’t pray for you to get a different job. Why would I pray for God to take the only source of light out of a dark place? That’s crazy. Why do you think that God leaves us here on the earth after we’re saved anyhow?” The man thought and then said, “I never thought of it that way,” he said. “Do you really think…?” The pastor replied, “Here is what I will do. I’ll join in prayer with you. I want you to call me every morning before you go to work and we’ll pray together that God will keep your light shining down there.” For two weeks the man called the pastor and they prayed together each morning. Then he stopped calling. A week later the pastor saw him and said, “Hey, I’m missing my wake-up call.” The man replied, “Listen, since we started praying, three of the guys at work have come to know Christ and I go down early each morning so we can have a Bible study together before work. I don’t need to call you, but keep praying.” The pastor replied, “OK, now you’ll probably get your new job. God has a core of light there now and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you got transferred to another place that’s just as rotten as this one was when you started.” (Jerry Cook, Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness, page 73)
That is different than Christians tend to think these days, isn’t it? Many times we are only concerned with our comfort and feel that is what God should be most concerned with. Instead, God is more concerned about building His kingdom than He is about our comfort. Don’t get me wrong, God loves us and wants to help us have the best life possible. But, that might include being somewhere uncomfortable so we can develop relationships with pre-Christians whom we might lead to a loving Christ. God has placed us in our neighborhoods, in our places of work, in the various school groups, etc. so that we can be His light to those who don’t see. There are people with whom we can develop relationships and show God’s love. There are people in those places with whom we can pray as they face problems and when they are sick, pray for their healing. If everyone where you live and where you work are Christians, then maybe you need to pray for other opportunities to develop relationships with pre-Christians. Maybe it means that God desires you to change jobs, or neighborhoods, or join a new organization or group, or go to a new health club or whatever. It is so very clear to me that God’s vision for our church at this time, in this place, is that each one in our church look for ways to lead people to Christ. That means that each of us needs to develop relationships and grow in those relationships to the place where we can invite them to church or to a Bible study or a service project. Maybe we need to share our faith with them and help them know God loves them. This is not about getting more people to join our church but about helping more people come into a personal relationship with God. We can change our world as we see these opportunities and make the most of them. Love people enough to desire them to know God.
Pray about your situation. Pray for the people who cross your path. Pray that God will help you to love these people with an extraordinary love. Pray that God will help you to show others God’s love. If you need someone to pray with you each morning for a while, let me know. God is ready to do some great things through each of you. Listen closely to His leading. You are God’s light in this dark world. We can shine out God’s love and change our world! Isn’t that exciting!
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------MAY 2010
Article by Pastor John
A number of years ago, a man picked up the morning
paper and, to his horror, read his own obituary. The newspaper
had reported the death of the wrong man. The caption read, “Dynamite king
dies.” The story identified him as a “merchant of death.” He was the manufacturer
of weapons of destruction. Moved by this disturbing experience, he radically
changed his commitment to life. A healing power greater than the destructive force
of dynamite came over him. It was his hour of Pentecost. Thereafter, he devoted
his full energy and money to works of peace and human betterment. Today he is
best remembered as the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize – Alfred Nobel.
The question for us is what will we be known for when we leave this world? Will our life make any difference in this world or in the lives of others? As Christians, we are even more concerned about how we have lived our lives because we will stand before our heavenly Father and report to Him what we have done with all that He has given to us. He has given us this great love that we need to show to others. As a church, our God-given purpose is to help people know and grow closer to God. God’s vision for us here at Pennway, at this time, is to become the good soil and be fruitful, making disciples, with love as our sole motivation and with the power of God’s Holy Spirit giving us the power to love. It is time for us to produce fruit. It can’t be just “church as usual.” We have to each find ways to develop relationships with people and then love them enough to help them find God’s love. It is time for us to be a lighthouse.
One day an efficiency expert came to a shoe factory. Their goal was to produce shoes. He went to the foreman and asked him how many shoes they produced each week. The foreman responded by talking about their new building and how beautiful it was. He then went into how much people enjoyed working here and that they have become a family. The expert asked again about how many shoes were being produced, to which the foreman began to talk about the music that they play and how beautiful it is. He also mentioned the pot-luck dinner they had last week and how great the food was. The expert, even more frustrated, grabbed the foreman and looked him in the eye and firmly said, “How many shoes do you produce each week?” The foreman stuttered and stammered and then said, “Well, really, I guess we haven’t produced any recently, but we really enjoy coming together here each day.” The efficiency expert started writing on his clipboard and then said, “Well, I guess this is one factory that we can shut down.” Jesus said, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Then later in his ministry, Jesus told the parable about a man who had a fig tree in his vineyard, but it had no fruit on it. He told the man in charge, “for three years I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!” The man replied, “Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down.” I believe that this is our year and we need to produce fruit, as each one reaches one. The great news is that God will go with us and make us fruitful as we walk with Him. Then we will hear at the end of our days, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------APRIL 2010
Article by Pastor John
Chuck Swindoll writes, “The greatest waste of our natural resources is the number of people who never achieve their potential.
Get out of that slow lane. Shift into the fast lane.
If you think you can’t, you won’t. If you think you can, there’s a good chance you will. Even making the effort will make you feel like a new person. Reputations are made
by searching for things that can’t be done and doing them.
Aim low = boring; aim high= soaring!”
(Living Above the Level of Mediocrity).
As a church, it is time to shift into the fast lane, to set a new vision
before us of what God can do in and through us. In our new bylaws, we have stated our purpose: “As we are called to be a light unto the world, the purpose of the Pennway Church of God is to help people know and grow closer to God by proclaiming, in the spirit of unity and love, God’s plan of salvation through
prayer, worship, discipleship and fellowship.” The motto that we
get from that is: “To help people know and grow closer to God.” This is non-negotiable for our church. This is why we exist. But, what does God want to do this year to help us reach that mission? The answer to that question is what we call our vision
for this year. God is beginning to help me see that vision for us at Pennway for this time in our history. To state that vision simply,
“It is time for us to become the good soil and be fruitful by obeying the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), living out the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:37-40) and working with Acts 1:8 power.”
+ This means that we need to make disciples in every way possible, wherever we go, teaching them God’s ways and baptizing them into the church. All our ministries must be about making disciples.
+ This means that we need to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength through our commitment to growing closer to God in all that we do, worshiping Him with the excellence that He deserves and being completely sold out to God. We are calling for total commitment of our lives.
+ This means that we need to love others in all that we
do. It is not an option for us. We must find ways to show that love
to each other here in the church and to the community around us. That love must be the sole motivation for our entire ministry.
+ This means that we need to move in the power of the Holy Spirit allowing Him to make us His witnesses wherever we go.
+ This means that we need to start in our Jerusalem (the people who are a part of this church family), then our Judea (those that live within 15 minutes of the church), to our Samaria (those that live in the Lansing area), and to the uttermost parts of the world.
+ This means that all members are expected to have a growing, personal relationship with God that begins with salvation and includes certain disciplines to help them grow and minister. These include:
+ Baptism – for all believers
+ Discipleship – one-on-one or in a group
+ Small group Bible study – during week or in Sunday School
+ Weekly worship – our gift to God
+ Tithing – giving the 10% that is God’s to the church
+ Ministry – using spiritual gifts to help others along the journey, both in and outside the church
+ Fellowship – part of a group of other believers that gathers regularly and cares for each other (could be a Sunday School class, Bible Study, or fellowship group – ie. Prime, youth, etc.)
+ Fruit – helping others along the journey
My hope is that you will begin to see that vision as well and find out what part you play in the fulfillment of that vision. As I meet with each of you in a “spiritual check-up appointment”, my goal is to help everyone have each of these disciplines as part of their spiritual lives. Then, we will become the good soil and see fruit a hundred times what is sown! It is time to aim high! It is time for us to soar!
In His service,
Pastor John
FROM THE PROCLAIMER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------MARCH 2010
Article by Pastor John
After God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and provided for them the new law and daily food across the wilderness, they came to the Promised Land. God told them that the land was theirs. They decided to send in spies to check out the land to make sure that God was giving them something good and they came back with a great report about what was there, a land flowing with milk and honey. But, they also saw the obstacles, felt like grasshoppers and asked for a leader to take them back to slavery. God had given them victories over all kinds of enemies and yet they were afraid to go into this new land because of the enemies that were there. So, for 40 years they just wandered around in the wilderness until they all died and their kids then went in where they would not.
God has led us across the wilderness of a pastoral search, of changing our leadership structure and bylaws, of hiring a new associate with emphasis in worship and a part-time youth pastor and visitation pastor and has provided for us all that we have needed across this wilderness. With our new Leadership Board in place to help free up ministry, it is now time for ministry to happen. As we move toward Easter, let me encourage you to take on the new role of “inviter”. I hope that you will look for opportunities to invite people to services, to fellowship groups (men, ladies, youth, Prime, etc.), to ministry opportunities and to small groups. We are at the Promised Land and it is time to move into all that God has for us.
We also need you to evaluate your support of the ministry here. I know that God has provided all that we need to accomplish what He desires, but I also know that we have a choice as to what we give to the ministry, be that in prayer, in money or in our involvement. We have some ministries that need people to step up and help them accomplish their goals (children’s church, lay pastors, choir, etc.). Our prayer ministry can always use more people participating in the various prayer times. And our finances could use some help. We ended 2009 about $40,000 under budget. We had surplus to help us but we did use some of that to purchase our new floors. As we start this year, we need to get off on the right path. It is time to consider the challenge of tithing and giving. All of us need to consider if we are doing what God desires us to do with our giving. To help us kick-start our budget for this year, we are purposing a special offering to be received on Sunday, April 18. Some people might want to use that day to catch up on their tithe. Some might have received some extra money either from a tax return or other source. Some might just want to stretch themselves and give double tithe that day. Pray about what God would have you to do that day. We are at the Promised Land and it is time to move into all that God has for us.
We begin this month with our Holiness Crusade and our Mission’s Sunday. God’s Spirit is moving in our church and we will cross into that Promised Land! How great it will be to see fruitful ministry abounding. We are not grasshoppers! God is with us!
In His service,
Pastor John
