Pastor’s Page
Volume 11 Week 40
Keep Your Eyes Open For
God's Handiwork!
There's Nothing Ordinary
About The Little Things God Does Every Day!
Things
aren’t always as they appear. You can’t
tell a book by its cover. A little child
playing in the mud turns out to be the future king of
Week
by week, as I watch closely the workings of the
Water!
I’m writing as a cold front passes through drenching us again. Nothing is as common as water, which covers most of the earth.
But nothing is as profound and wonderful as the splash of the water and the simple word of promise, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” I’ve scheduled a couple of baptisms for upcoming weeks. Pay attention. God is at work, washing, blessing, healing, calling, filling as the water and the Holy Spirit is poured out upon a little child. Ordinary? Extraordinary! God has made another little baby his own child by grace.
Ministry Fair!
It wasn't
exactly the
Far
from it. Those tables and displays and
your fellow members gathered around talking excitedly, joyfully about the
ministries they are so passionate about was a living display of the
Sunday School!
There’s nothing more ordinary than a few people sitting around with a cup of coffee or a group of children gathered together in a circle. It doesn’t appear like much.
Until, that is, we recognize the power of God’s word. When we open the word together, children or adults, God shows up. He teaches, instructs, corrects, guides, enlightens, blesses, and even cleanses us from our sins! Never discount the extraordinary power of what happens when we gather in his name with the word of God in the midst of us. If you haven’t been in a while, join us Sunday. It’s really extraordinary!
Faith Intention Cards!
A stack of simple cards in envelopes was left at the altar last week. Some more are coming in this week. It takes only a moment to fill it out, pledging offerings and gifts for the Lord’s work in the coming year. It sounds pretty simple.
But those cards represent a lifetime of spiritual growth and the transforming work of God the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing ordinary about a person like one of us, with our natural inclination toward possessions, making great sacrifices so that the Lord’s work would continue strong.
Those cards are a living testimony of the love of Christ that changes us. We know now that all belongs to God. We understand our role as stewards, managers of God’s treasure. We’ve grown over the years, step by step to a point where we give as generously as we can. And we’re still on that faith journey. The year ahead and the offerings we bring will be part of our witness to the world that we believe. That’s far from ordinary. That’s God at work in us and through us!
ChristCare Groups!
People get together all the time to have conversation, some snacks, share their stories about how the week has gone.
But a ChristCare Group is a gathering of people committed to helping one another through the challenges of life. They don’t just talk (although they talk a lot!). They also pray. And they study. And they learn and grow. And the serve side by side, making a difference that none of them could make alone. It’s a small representation of the body of Christ at work in a significant way, and there’s nothing ordinary about that!
Phone Calls!
Many of you have gotten a phone call from a fellow church member lately. Millions of calls are placed in our area code every day. What makes these calls so special, so extraordinary?
It’s almost like a phone call from Jesus. His love motivated the call. His Spirit gathered us into a family that watches out for each other and cares for each other. The call often concludes with a word of prayer so that our Lord is included in the conversation. It’s a conference call of heavenly proportions and it is not ordinary at all!
Simple Tasks!
You can’t go through a day without saying hello to someone, picking up someone else’s litter, setting the table, balancing the checkbook or mowing the lawn. All of these are very ordinary things.
They’re the kinds of things you would hardly even notice. Unless, of course, they went undone. Some very important things happen in our congregational family that go unnoticed each week, but they make a big difference for us all. Tables are set out, shelves are dusted, and envelopes are stuffed, all in the name of Jesus and for the work of his kingdom. We may never know until we get to heaven the difference one little thing made in someone’s life, like a warm greeting on a Sunday morning or a meal taken to a family in need. But one day we’ll see how extraordinary the most ordinary tasks are.
Bread and Wine!
Simple food items, but when blessed by our Lord by his presence, a miracle of love and healing through the forgiveness of sins. Never take this blessed gift for granted. Sing thanks to God for his goodness. Join us at the table every time you can. Jesus comes and meets us. That’s extraordinary.
God is always at work taking the simplest, smallest things, like a little mustard seed, and working his wonders, doing far more than we can see. I thank God for all the little things every week, because when we walk together in love and service and witness in these seemingly insignificant, ordinary ways, God does extraordinary things.
May the Lord of power and might bless your ordinary looking, but truly extraordinary life and service in this day he has made to be his own, a truly extraordinary day!