Announcements Mark Your Calendars-- On Wednesday, April 2 @ 6:45 we will have a representative from Jews for Jesus to explain how the traditional Passover meal foreshadowed Jesus' death & resurrection. If you're interested in helping prepare for this event, please send me an email. We need someone willing to host the representative on the night of April 2 and some help preparing for the event. Youth Committee-- Meeting on March 18 @ 6:30 Devotionals-- If you're interested in having all of the New Testament daily devotionals on your e-reader, they can be purchased on Amazon. Just click here for 6 years worth of devotionals that cover the entire New Testament. Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Sunday School--Don Kaller is going to be teaching the adult Sunday School class in March & April. Fruit of the Spirit-- Sunday evenings @ 6:15 Pray For: Norma Capone, Christine Dyer Peggy & John L. We need to continue to pray for a cure to cancer, a beast that continue to tear our families and society apart. For the kids in confirmation class: Ashley, R.J., Chase, Jade & Jackson Links Keith's Random Thoughts Purim begins this Saturday evening. It's the Jewish festival that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from wicked Haman. This deliverance is made possible through the courage of Esther and the cunning of her cousin Mordecai. What is so appealing about this little-read story (it's the only book in the Bible that doesn't mention God) is that everything works out in the end. The Jews, who had done nothing wrong, are saved. The heroes are rewarded. Haman and his wicked friends are killed. It sets the scene as a just world. Many of today's movies and books are like this. By the end, everything is set right. The culprits are caught and punished, the heroes rewarded and lauded for their efforts, and the victims are often compensated for their loss, even if its nothing but a sense of satisfaction that justice has been done. We love these stories because something within us is drawn to the neatness with which they are concluded. The real world rarely resembles these fictional tales. In the real world, the bad guys are sometimes caught, sometimes punished, unless they have enough wealth and/or privilege to get around the system. Justice is sometimes accomplished, except for when it is delayed or wrongly delivered. Often, things go unsolved or unsettled. Heroes are sometimes rewarded, unless they are pilloried. Situations get complicated and messy and often stay that way for years and decades. So it's nice to 'escape' to fiction and enjoy a tale when things are set right. It's even better to take confidence in God and trust that all things will eventually end up that way. God promises that, in the end, justice will be done. The martyrs who are crying out for justice in the book of Revelation eventually see their murders avenged. The poor will no longer be trampled upon. The hungry will eat their fill. Evil will be destroyed. In the end, all will be set right. Let us trust in God, and in the meantime, may we work for a more just world, joining with God's ongoing Kingdom work. Text for this Sunday Acts10(Common English Bible) New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle
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It's been an interesting winter for weather. There's been a lot to talk about when it comes to the weather, particularly if you live in the north, where it has snowed a lot. If you donated money to charity every time it snowed, you'd have been a very generous person this winter. (And what's with naming winter storms? I'd like the record to show that I strongly oppose this movement. Hurricanes are one thing. But are we going to be naming every weather pattern that crosses the country soon? Will I soon be enjoying 'Sunny Day Violet'? Will the weather channel tell me that Tuesday might be 'Overcast & Grey Greg'? Does July hold 'Heat Wave Hamlet'? How come no one ever consults me on these decisions? [editor's note: the reason no one consults Keith is because of paragraphs like this one.])
Where were we? Right—weather. If you're like me, you hope the weather will be nice this weekend. But what is that hope rooted in? Basically, you hope that atmospheric conditions work themselves out in such a way that nice weather happens to coincide with the days we're off work, rather than, say, on Monday, when we're stuck inside staring out the window. The atmospheric conditions, as far as I know, don't care one bit about our weekend. Come to think of it, I doubt they even know what a weekend is. I don't see many desk calendars littering the skies whenever I'm on an airplane. We hope for a lot of things that don't have much grounding. Have you ever hoped a car wouldn't break down, despite the horrible sound emanating from under the hood? Hopes don't do much good then. Have you ever hoped a person would changed, despite the fact that every piece of evidence suggests that the person has no interest in changing? What is that hope rooted in, other than your own desire? But when we talk about the Christian hope of life beyond death, we're talking about a hope that is rooted in something real—the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We don't idly hope for resurrection because it's some bright idea we came up with. We hope with confidence in resurrection because Jesus himself was raised from the dead, and he promised that we would have a resurrection like his. Our hope is rooted in history, in the idea that what has happened will happen again. Jesus' resurrection is the assurance that what he said is true, and so when we wonder how we can have such bold a hope, we look to Christ and remember that he has been raised, and so we, too, shall be raised. This is why Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, takes such pains to list the number of folks to whom the resurrected Christ appeared. They were proof of the boldness of our hope. They had witnessed Christ, raised from the dead. Because he lives, we, too, shall live. What great hope we have! Announcements Mark Your Calendars-- On Wednesday, April 2 @ 6:45 we will have a representative from Jews for Jesus to explain how the traditional Passover meal foreshadowed Jesus' death & resurrection. If you're interested in helping prepare for this event, please send me an email. We need someone willing to host the representative on the night of April 2 and some help preparing for the event. Youth Committee-- Meeting on March 18 @ 6:30 Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Sunday School--Don Kaller is going to be teaching the adult Sunday School class in March & April. Fruit of the Spirit-- Sunday evenings @ 6:15 Pray For: Norma Capone, Christine Dyer Peggy & John L. This whole situation in Crimea. I think we especially need to pray for the individual people. It's easy to focus so much on the global implications and the bigger situation that we forget about people like you and I who are just struggling to live their daily lives in the midst of this chaos. For the kids in confirmation class: Ashley, R.J., Chase, Jade & Jackson Links Keith's Random Thoughts I get pretty excited about baseball season. To me, there is something grand about stretched out in the sun with a baseball game on the radio... it just feels right. The long months between the end of the Reds' season and the beginning of Spring Training games can be pretty bleak for this baseball fan. The rhythm of pitching and hitting brings an added joy to my life. It's pretty easy for me to get caught up in baseball. I can spend a day thinking about it, wondering how the Reds will do this year, examining their flaws and rejoicing in their strengths. I can wonder about the other teams in their division and how other moves might affect the team. I can think about the matchup tonight and wonder why player X is struggling so badly. In short, it can occupy my mind. Baseball is one of many things that can do so. We all invest a lot of time thinking about things, about people and situations. Most of our thoughts don't lead us toward resolution or progress, they just turn the wheels of our minds. We think about our jobs and our health and our families and our friends and the future and the world news and the weather and we often speculate about the many possible ways life can go wrong. We think a lot. What happens, at least with me, is that I think about all these things so often that I forget to think about God. I don't mean to, I just get so caught up thinking about everything else that I don't have any leftover time to give to God, and while I promise to do better tomorrow, there is often a new batch of thoughts (or the old ones) then. It's not that these things are bad. It's just that God doesn't want to be resigned to the leftovers. God wants to be first in our minds, and he wants the awareness of his presence and love to permeate our family, friends, jobs, etc. We can enjoy these things as faithful disciples. It's a tough balance. It requires intense re-training of our hearts and minds, and it requires hard work that is easily avoided. I think it's worth it, though. I think that investing our time and energy in such training will yield peace in our hearts and minds down the road. A confidence and awareness in God's presence is worth working toward, isn't it? Maybe I'll think on that during the next ballgame... Text for this Sunday, March 9 Acts9:1-22(Common English Bible) Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest, 2 seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 During the journey, as he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me?” 5 Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are harassing,” came the reply. 6 “Now get up and enter the city. You will be told what you must do.” 7 Those traveling with him stood there speechless; they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 After they picked Saul up from the ground, he opened his eyes but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank anything. 10 In Damascus there was a certain disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He answered, “Yes, Lord.” 11 The Lord instructed him, “Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias enter and put his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 Ananias countered, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man. People say he has done horrible things to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 He’s here with authority from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls on your name.” 15 The Lord replied, “Go! This man is the agent I have chosen to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 Ananias went to the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—Jesus, who appeared to you on the way as you were coming here. He sent me so that you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly, flakes fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19 After eating, he regained his strength. He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. 20 Right away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. “He is God’s Son,” he declared. 21 Everyone who heard him was baffled. They questioned each other, “Isn’t he the one who was wreaking havoc among those in Jerusalem who called on this name? Hadn’t he come here to take those same people as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul grew stronger and stronger. He confused the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle Jonah 3 Common English Bible (CEB) Nineveh hears God’s word 3 The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” 3 And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.) 4 Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant. 6 When word of it reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, stripped himself of his robe, covered himself with mourning clothes, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he announced, “In Nineveh, by decree of the king and his officials: Neither human nor animal, cattle nor flock, will taste anything! No grazing and no drinking water! 8 Let humans and animals alike put on mourning clothes, and let them call upon God forcefully! And let all persons stop their evil behavior and the violence that’s under their control!” 9 He thought, Who knows? God may see this and turn from his wrath, so that we might not perish. 10 God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it. ********************* Ephesians 3:14-21 Common English Bible (CEB) Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians 14 This is why I kneel before the Father. 15 Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. 16 I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. 17 I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, 18 I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. 19 I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. 20 Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; 21 glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. ********************* *************************** Imagine with me for a moment that for the last twenty years, you've wanted to visit a particular beach. Let's say that there are palm trees, white sand, and little huts on the secluded beach where you imagine yourself. To you, it's paradise, and nothing could possibly be better. Then, let's say that you win a trip there, and you discover that it is for real. You have received a free trip to spend February in this divine paradise, and you cannot wait. The only problem is, let's say you hate flying. Let's imagine that you actively despise being in a hollow metal tube with wings flying at 30,000 feet under the command of someone you have never met. You break out in anxious sweat at the very thought of flying. You do not believe you can do it, but there is no other way to your beach. What do you do? Is it worth the sacrifice? Or do you give up the dream? Do you go sit at the edge of the lake at Harrison Bay and accept it as a worthy substitute? It's a fine place, but it's no beach paradise in February. Do you accept this because you don't want the unpleasantness of the flight? Friends, the abundant life God tells us about is available to each and every one of us. It is available as a gift from above, yours for the asking. All you have to do is accept it. But to get there, we have to wander through repentance. And no one likes repentance. It's unpleasant. It's no fun. It's work. Repentance is the hard work of asking God to forgive us for our wrongdoings. It's humbling, because we have to admit that we're imperfect. We have to admit that we mess up, and that we have done it frequently. You cannot be proud, because the only way to seek repentance is to to to God and ask him to forgive you. You can't do repentance alone. God is required. So what the Devil does is convinces us that repentance is too hard, too embarrassing, and that we don't need it. We take the cheap way out, and in exchange for the abundant life God gives us, we accept a poor substitute. The Devil is in the business of selling lies, and business is good. We believe that the imitation is just as good, and we convince ourselves that the life we can have without bothering to repent is fine. This way we don't have to spend all that time in the unpleasantness of asking God to forgive us. This way, we don't have to acknowledge how broken we are. See, we've believed the lie that God wants to take all these things from us. We believe that God wants to take the pleasantries out of life. We've accepted a picture of God that the Puritans gave us, who were once famously described as a people who were desperately afraid that 'someone, somewhere was having fun'. We get the idea that God is a divine taker, and that the joy will be sucked out of life if we hand everything over to his control. Nothing could be farther than the truth. God wants to bless us, to open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us. God wants our lives to be rich toward God, to be filled with divine love and grace and deep relationships. God wants to dwell in our hearts and give us confidence that nothing in this world can separate us from him. God wants all these things for us, not from us. Repentance is the path toward the abundant life. But it's a hard path, one that requires humility and demands that we examine our lives and submit them to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To practice repentance on a daily basis certainly isn't going to be fun and exciting, and it might even cause some anxiety if you have to admit that you aren't perfect regularly. The Devil will try to tell you that there is a shortcut. There isn't. The Devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, trying to convince him that all the glory and honor could be his, only without the sacrifice. Jesus saw through the lie. The Devil will try and convince you, too, that you can achieve your own security. He'll try and sell you a cheap substitute, convincing you that the real thing isn't that great and that it probably isn't achievable anyway. Don't fall for it. This Lent, I invite you into the discipline of daily repentance. Set some time aside at the end of your day, just before bed, to examine yourself. Look back over your day. Repent of the things you did that were not good. Repent of the times you failed to act when you should have. Hand it all over to God. In doing so, we step into the light of love and grace. In doing the hard work of repentance, the often unpleasant work of repentance, we journey deeper into the faithful life, and we discover that the love of God indeed surpasses knowledge. As Paul says, God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. Does that sound like a God who is trying to take things from you? Or a God who wants to bless, but just needs you to work to remove the obstacles in your life that are preventing you from living in the fullness of his love? Let us pray Announcements Read Across America-- Monday, March 3 is Read Across America Day. East Brainerd Elementary is looking for people who will come to the school for ~30 minutes and read to the kids. If you are able, please call Janet Cox (855-6161). Thanks! Ash Wednesday-- Our Ash Wednesday service will be next Wednesday @ 6:30 in the sanctuary. Job Opening-- If you're interested in being a breakfast host at Homewood Suites, they're hiring for a few positions. Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Sunday School--Don Kaller is going to be teaching the adult Sunday School class in March & April. Fruit of the Spirit-- Sunday evenings @ 6:15 Pray For: Norma Capone, Christine Dyer For the kids in confirmation class: Ashley, R.J., Chase, Jade & Jackson Links Keith's Random Thoughts It takes a looooong time to get out the door at our house. Caleb loves to walk down the stairs by himself. It's one of my favorite parts of my day, but you can't be in a hurry. He takes his time. Then he wants to get into the carseat by himself. This, too, takes time. I want to encourage him to do things on his own, but I also like to get places on time. These two factors seldom can both be true, and so I try and rush him. I cringe when I hear myself saying these things. I don't want him to feel constantly rushed. I love when he slows down and checks out everything. (This kid not only stops to smell the roses—he waits for them to grow.) The world is a beautiful place, and I want to encourage him to revel in its beauty. It's me that needs to slow down. I'm the one that needs to move at his pace, rather than rushing by to hurry the world along, hoping to arrive on time. God made a wondrous world around us. It's my hope that we'll all slow down enough to appreciate it, to wonder in it, to recapture the spirit of a child and give thanks for the glory that surrounds us. Text for this Sunday, March 2 Acts8:26-40(ESV) English Standard Version (ESV) 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle Announcements Job Opening-- If you're interested in being a breakfast host at Homewood Suites, they're hiring for a few positions. Potluck!-- This Sunday Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Sunday School--We start Matthew 12 this coming Sunday. Fruit of the Spirit-- Sunday evenings @ 6:15 Wednesday Suppers--Bring your supper and join us at 6, or come to study 1 Samuel (we'll be in chapter 25 next week) at 6:30. Pray For: Norma Capone, Christine Dyer Our Presbytery meeting on Saturday For all those in the path of the storms tonight. Pray for safety, and in the midst of frightened chaos, may we reach for the hand of God only to recognize that we are already there. Links Keith's Random Thoughts I've been watching the Olympics lately, and there are so many moments when I stop and think, “I could never do that and walk away.” Women's figure skating was on last night, and I'm watching a woman jump around on a blade 1/8” thick, and then when she's done doing that, she reaches up behind her, where her leg is, and grabs the skate's blade while spinning in circles. If I tried to do that, I'd fall flat on my face, tear every muscle in my groin and slice my hand open on the skate. The Russian judge would not score that well. Giant Slalom? I'd make the first two gates, hit the third one with my face, then tumble forward down the rest of the hill, forcing spectators to flee for their lives while a giant snowball with skis sticking out destroyed everything in its path. Luge? Ha! I could go on. Curling is about the only sport I could do well in. Bobsled brakeman is probably within my reach. Rachel and I were joking about what we might look like doing pairs figure skating... Sure, I'll just throw you six feet in the air while you're spinning in circles, catch you gracefully and set you on your feet, all the while gliding around on ice. The problem is that it's all too easy to do this with my spiritual life as well. I look at others who have it all sorted together and see their dedication and discipline to the devotional life and I am alternatively jealous and harsh toward myself. I think it comes to easily to them, and I don't believe that I could ever achieve such a disciplined life. Of course, I skip the part where they have spent years crafting their lives, and it wasn't easy for them. They had to fight against resistance at every turn, constantly refocusing their efforts, until eventually their work paid off. Not that they can just relax now, but their work has turned devotions into a life-giving thing, and they return to it time and time again because it is such a foundational part of their life now. The Olympic athletes have done the same. Luge doesn't come naturally the first time. No one did a triple axle (I have NO idea what the difference is between the different figure skating jumps. They all look similarly hard to my untrained eye) the first time they put on skates. No one skies the giant slalom after graduating from the bunny hill. It takes hard work and countless hours. They make it look effortless by all the effort they have invested. So may we be patient with ourselves, and may we take the long-term view with our feeble beginner efforts, trusting in the Holy Spirit to lead us deeper. Text for this Tuesday, December 24 Acts6:8-7:60(ESV) New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle Announcements Lynn Meyer Memorial Service-- Will be Sunday, February 16 @ 2pm at Ridgedale Baptist Church on Hickory Valley Road. Fruit of the Spirit-- Sunday evenings @ 6:15 Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Sunday School--We start Matthew 11 this coming Sunday. Wednesday Suppers--Have begun! Bring your supper and join us at 6, or come to study 1 Samuel (we'll be in chapter 25 next week) at 6:30. Pray For: Norma Capone Christine Dyer The folks at Trinity Presbyterian Church Give thanks! For today. For life. For a community. For food to eat and water to drink. For hope. For Jesus Christ, our Savior. Links Keith's Random Thoughts Have you ever watched a two year old brush his teeth? It's awkward. I've seen more grace (but less enthusiasm) at the zoo watching a hippopotamus lumber out of a pond. I find myself saying things like, “Don't bite the brush,” all the while laughing as my son wildly pushes a tiny brush around his entire face. I love it, but I am also very aware that the plaque does not tremble in fear at the sound of the toothbrush, because I'm not sure the brush ever comes into contact with his teeth. The doctor, however, told us that it doesn't matter too much. His baby teeth only have to make it a few years. What is important is setting habits and routines so that Caleb will brush his adult teeth, the ones he has to keep for many decades. Brushing his teeth now sets a pattern that will keep him healthy later on. So as ungraceful as his brushing may be, it's important. Our early spiritual growth attempts fits into the same pattern. Often, we struggle to do it well. We stumble at our attempts to pray. We read the Bible and our attention drifts, or we can't make sense of it. We try, but we don't feel like we're doing much good. The important thing, though, is that we're setting a pattern in place. We're putting habits in place that will bear fruit later. At first, we may not see the fruit, but over weeks, months, years and decades, our practices will build up, cumulatively, and make a huge difference in our overall quality of discipleship. Text for this Tuesday, December 24 Acts4:32-5:11(ESV) 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Ananias and Sapphira 5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle Imagine, for a moment, that you're with Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. (Acts 14) One moment, you're letting the power of God course through you and healing the feet of a man who has never walked. The crowd is so amazed that they think you're a god, and pretty soon the head priest of Zeus is ready to slaughter a bull as worship to you. There has been a pretty big misunderstanding, but either way, the city is amazed at you.
Then, just a few moments later, the Jews show up and somehow convince the people that you're not good, but evil, and the same people who were ready to bow down and worship you are now throwing stones at you, and then, once they think you're dead, they drag you out of the city. They don't even want your dead corpse to stay within the city. That's a bit of a rocky transition, right? There's a lesson in here--the world is a fickle place. People can change in a moment. Don't base your sense of self-worth on the feedback the world is giving you. Don't depend solely on others for affirmation. Don't believe, for a moment, that the reaction of others toward you is indicative of how God feels about you. If you base your identity in the adoration of others, there will be a rough patch. I promise. Instead, root yourself in the eternal and gracious love of God. He loves you and will always love you. His grace is sufficient, and he is ready to forgive. The Bible is littered with stories of people who turned from God and yet were welcomed back when they repented. God loves you, and that will never change. Let that reality shape you, today and always. Announcements Kids' Musical-- This Sunday! Service of Healing & Wholeness-- For all who struggle with any and all of Christmas, we hold this service yearly as a place to come and let the hope of Christ and the love of the community surround us. December 22 @ 6pm. Candlelight Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols-- December 24, 7 pm. Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates New Hope News Sunday School--We push forward through Matthew 8 this coming Sunday. Sam's Card--Please check and see if you have the church Sam's Card. We are not sure who borrowed it last, but it has not been returned. Pray For: Lynn Meyer—please pray for Roger and Lynn as the eternal life into which she was baptized draws near. While death has been defeated and the veil separating us from God has been torn in two, there is still much pain and many tears as we grieve the wounds that death punches into our hearts and minds. Norma Capone--she will be in surgery throughout today, so please be in constant prayer for her The O'Rear Family Christine Dyer For Jessica and so many others wrestling with cancer For Christmas joy and hope and peace and wonder to wash over all of us in such powerful ways that we never forget what Christ our King has done for us Links Keith's Random Thoughts Apparently, Christmas is next Wednesday. My tree still isn't up... People ask if we're ready for Christmas. Well, I suppose that depends on what you mean. By 'ready', do you mean that presents are bought and the house decorated? The answer would be no. We don't do many presents at Christmas, and decorations are still in their boxes in the basement. Who knew a second kid could make things that much more chaotic? By 'ready', do you mean ready to receive a Savior into my life, a light for my darkness, hope for my despair? I am ready in the sense that I need a Savior. I am a mess, and only my Lord and God can save me. I cannot save myself. The way that I act, the way that I think, the way that I live—it is all in need of redemption. In that sense, I am ready. But if you were to ask whether or not I am ready to hand everything over to my Savior, the honest answer is no. I hold back from letting Christ be Lord of all of life. I stubbornly refuse to cede complete control to him, and I suffer as a result of that choice. The burdens that I choose to carry weigh me down, body and soul, and I am struggling forward, waiting for Christ to relieve me of these burdens, ignoring the fact that he has already made the offer and that I am carrying them of my own volition. I need to let him be Lord, but I am afraid of the unknown quality of my life if I were to let him reign supreme in my heart, mind, body & soul. So if I'm honest, I'm not ready. My soul and heart are yearning to be set free from the prison of despair and sin, and Christ has unlocked the door and beckoned me out into the light. He has come into my cell and sat with me, and he has shown me the way to abundant life. Yet, here I sit, in the darkness, stubbornly resisting, holding onto sin, trying to tunnel my own way out of my cell with my gnarled and bleeding hands. It's foolish. But it's what sin does to us—leaves us as fools wishing for meager gifts when Christ the Lord has set all of heaven before us as a gift, yet we somehow believe the lie that we are better off playing in the shadows. “Behold, the light has come!” Text for this Tuesday, December 24 Luke 2:1-7(ESV) In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle Announcements Cantata-- This Sunday! Service of Healing & Wholeness-- For all who struggle with any and all of Christmas, we hold this service yearly as a place to come and let the hope of Christ and the love of the community surround us. December 22 @ 6pm. Candlelight Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols-- December 24, 7 pm. Community Kitchen Spot There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them on the bookshelf. Plastic Forks, Knives, Spoons Dinner Napkins Heavy Duty Sectional Dinner Plates Dessert Plates New Hope News Toy Drop Thank You-- Thank you for all your generosity for the toy drop! (The guy from the Forgotten Child Fund came and picked up the toys today, and he said we had way more toys than any other place he had visited. Hope you are proud of the congregation's giving!) Sunday School--We push forward into Matthew 8 this coming Sunday. Pray For: Lynn Meyer--please pray for Roger and Lynn as the eternal life into which she was baptized draws near. While death has been defeated and the veil separating us from God has been torn in two, there is still much pain and many tears as we grieve the wounds that death punches into our hearts and minds. Norma Capone—please pray for her this Friday as she undergoes treatment. Christine Dyer For Jessica and so many others wrestling with cancer For each and every individual who waits in a hospital bed. Some wait anxiously for doctors to bring back reports. Some wait longingly for visitors. Some wait to leave, bored and confused as the days run together. Some wait for death. In each and every room, there is a child made in the image of God, born of two parents, filled with hopes and dreams and joys and fears. Each and every one of them matters to God. Links Keith's Random Thoughts Cancer sucks. Death sucks. Frankly, we have too much of both. Sickness & death tear at the fabric of our lives, tearing us in pieces and ripping us apart, bringing chaos to the creation that God created, ordered and called 'Good'. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We introduced this sin to the world. God called us to live a certain way, and we selfishly chose disobedience, and the consequences of that choice brought sickness, death and all sorts of brokenness into the world. All of our sin has brought death to all of us. Humanity, all of us, are broken. What we need, even more than physical healing, is a Savior. I always pray for physical healing, for myself and for others. I pray that the Great Physician would do a miracle in the body of the one that is suffering, that disease and sickness might be conquered & health might be restored. But even if we are physically healed, it only delays the inevitable. We will get sick again. We all die. What we truly need is someone to deliver us from the bondage of sin and death. What we need is someone who will break the shackles of death, so that we will be restored to life, so that we will be in a state where death and disease and chaos cannot touch us. This is exactly what Christ has done. Christ doesn't physically heal all of us, just as he didn't heal everyone in the Gospels, but he offers us something greater, something deeper—liberation, and the hope that, one day, we will be free from death. One day, we will live in a place where there is no thought of disease. Our resurrection bodies will be good, and they will stay that way. Forever. So death still sucks. But fortunately, we can place our trust in One who delivers us through death into life. Text for this Sunday, December 15 Luke 1:26-38(ESV) 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. New Hope on iTunes Keith's Blog & Devotionals for your Kindle |