Church Blog

August 21 2009 at 11:23 am

Loving Your Neighbor

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I received the following letter from Carol Nelson in response to the Love Your Neighbor series. Let’s all be encouraged by her example!

Dear Josh,

Thank you for the series that you led our church through on “loving your neighbor.” These messages really inspired our family, and gave us courage to take additional steps to get to know and love our neighbors.

After your messages, my husband and I talked and prayed. To some degree, we are limited as a family. My husband works long hours, I homeschool, we have a child with special needs, and we try to be involved in care group and church events. So it’s easy to be “practical,” stick with the routine, and shuttle into our homes with our to-do lists in mind and hand. 

However, we are grateful for constant reminders to love and consider those around us … and especially those who do not know the Lord. For us, any food event that we attend or host has special challenges because we have to consider not only food, but also food surfaces (since we have had 911 visits when our daughter has touched or been touched by the wrong foods). 

So, my husband and I agreed to a ladies tea. Limited food (we provided it) and a group of folks who would be able to understand limitations are a good fit for us. I hand wrote invitations and went door-to-door to invite neighbors … to my surprise, I found that most of the neighbors were touched. Some immediately told me about their schedules (vacations, limitations, or that they hoped to come). 

When I had the tea, it was small. Two ladies from Covenant Life came, one of whom I had not met previously. Three other neighbors came … I listened carefully, and I got to know these neighbors better. I hope that I loved them a little better by giving them homemade banana bread and fresh fruit, and of course, tea … It’s a start, and I am praying I will love my neighbors better and better, and that the Lord will help our family work out all the details.

By God’s grace we may have another ladies tea or other event that we can manage. But, it’s not lost on me that this isn’t something I would have done without the gospel. I would have been happy (or at least preoccupied) with my own friends and my own life, and I wouldn’t have been thinking about loving neighbors I don’t know.
Thanks for the messages, and thanks for inspiring us to take action.

With sincere appreciation,

Carol Nelson

P.S. Since the tea, two other neighbors have written to thank me for the invitation and say to keep them on the list for the next one!



July 29 2009 at 12:45 pm

Gecko Voice: Brit or Aussie?

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Got the e-mail below from Matt Halsey on Sunday night. He references the GEICO Gecko, one of several characters I mentioned on Sunday in the course of explaining the way the book of Proverbs personifies wisdom and folly. I said I wasn’t sure if the gecko’s accent was British or Australian. Now I know! I won’t mention that a certain member named Theresa (last name withheld for her privacy) was the person who was so adamant that the Gecko was Australian. It’s okay, Miss Wheeler (first name withheld). I forgive you.

Josh,
 
I’m sure you’ve had several e-mails already, but GEICO’s Gecko is spoken by Jake Wood, an English actor who stars in the British soap opera, “Eastenders.”  As Brits ourselves we can tell a Cockney accent when we hear one, guv’nor.  :-)
 
Regards,

Matt and Amanda Halsey



July 24 2009 at 6:24 pm

The Case of the Gray Face

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Craig Sterling sent me this note after church last Sunday:

Josh,

Good afternoon! This morning you mentioned having a pet peeve (my words) with gray faces in the church directory. A few weeks ago, we received a letter from Erik Sheffer announcing that we are now under the care of Ben Wikner. So, like you, I wanted to put a face with the name of our new pastor. (If he was introduced to the congregation, I must have missed that particular meeting.)

In short, he’s not pictured in the Member Photo Directory. This morning I wondered who the person was asking us to pray for Russia. One of our row mates told us that person was Pastor Wikner. It was good to put the face with the name!

Grace and peace,

Craig and Mary Ann Sterling

Yes, we’re in the directory!  :-)

Thanks for your note, Craig. This is funny because Ben and his family all lined up and got their photos taken at church this Sunday. So, you can find the Wikners in the directory now. Your note is a great reminder (to pastors, too!) of how helpful it is to be able to put faces with names! Here’s the Wikner clan: First row: Ben and Erin, Ellie, Abigail, Lilly. Second row: William, Gracie, Hope.


Church members, here are a couple of helpful links related to the directory:

• Forgot your password?
• Member Photo Directory homepage (access your profile, settings, frequently asked questions, upload your own photos, etc.)



July 2 2009 at 11:24 am

Why God Made Bookends

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Dawn Lockwood just sent me this encouraging note I wanted to pass on. She’s been reading a great book co-authored by Jerry Bridges that I highly recommend:

Dear Josh,

I really appreciated your message last Sunday on Naaman ... It directly corresponds with the recommended book for last month, The Bookends of the Christian Life, by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington. According to the book, every activity in our Christian life must be informed and directed by a spiritual dimension.  The book’s authors call these “bookends.” The first is the righteousness of Christ, and the second is the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The first time I read Bookends I was struck with the realization that most of my areas of sin and struggle with temptation were because I did not understand how to apply grace to my life.  [The book] was helpful and eye opening.  As I did the study questions I saw where the breakdown of lies I believed began, how it started in my heart, mostly due to pride, and God is enabling me to experience much more freedom from sin’s power … I find myself less anxious and trusting God more in everyday issues …

As I am reading and re-reading this book, I can see God forming new habits in my life to depend on His grace and to rest in the finished work of the cross.  Since we are all prone to drifting into self-righteousness and striving in our own strength, I venture to say that this book will be at my bedside for a LONG time.  I am becoming a “bookend” junky!
My family is also doing the study separately. We follow up with our kids and review their answers to the study questions to help them in their understanding and application of grace.  I do not want my kids to believe the lie that Christianity is just following a bunch of rules and to run away from the great news of the gospel. I think many people are like me in the sense that they struggle with remembering the unchanging standing we have in Christ’s righteousness and feel left to themselves to work it out on their own …

It is my hope that others will take time to read this book …We all need to encounter God’s grace more deeply, and this study is transforming! 


In Christ,

Dawn

The Bookends of the Christian Life is available in the church bookstore.



June 25 2009 at 6:11 am

When God Interrupts Your Plans

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Here’s an encouraging letter that Carolyn McCulley sent in a couple weeks ago in response to my message, Who Is My Neighbor? Let’s all be spurred on by her example of responding when God provides an opportunity to care for someone in need:

Josh,

It’s not every week that I have a direct opportunity to apply the Sunday sermon, but I clearly had one today.

As I recall, you wrapped up your sermon about the Good Samaritan by saying we don’t usually find people lying on the street but we should be willing to respond when we do. Or something similar—it was definitely a challenge about loving people even when we are inconvenienced.

So today I was in hyper-speed, running around the metro area preparing for the Sovereign Grace Ministries Mission Presentation shoot. We’re leaving in a few hours for the Bahamas and there is much left to do. But as I left downtown Silver Spring this afternoon with film gear in tow, I saw a girl lying on the sidewalk, crying. I had precious few hours to get about two days’ worth of work done, but I had no question that I was to be interrupted. I knew this was a divine appointment from my Father in heaven. So I pulled over and Drew (the cameraman) and I jumped out to see what was wrong with her. She was an 18-year-old girl with multiple face piercings and some kind of bloody, devilish shirt on (I never did get to read what that was about). She was lying on the sidewalk in a rundown section of town, crying, seemingly unaware of the filth she was lying in.

So I got out and sat down with her and started talking to her. She was very upset, but assured us she was not hurt. She had gotten into a conflict with a friend . . . and was considering killing herself. I immediately told her that this thought was a lie from the pit of hell and that God had created her and given her life because He loved her. And He obviously wanted her to know that because He had drawn my attention to her. I then offered to pray for her and told her to breathe deeply as I did, so as to calm herself down. We talked to her a bit more and then as she calmed down, we offered to give her a ride home. I’m always amazed when people willingly get into my car when I’m a total stranger, but 90 percent do.

She said she had a 4 p.m. meeting with her therapist, so we drove her to that place and continued to reach out to her in the car. I gave her an invitation card to Covenant Life, wrote my name and number on it, and told her I wanted to hear from her because I was concerned for her. Then I asked if she had a Bible and if she wanted mine. She seemed hesitant at first, but I told her there was no expectation. Then she took mine and I put the bookmark in the gospel of John and told her it was a series of intimate portraits of Jesus ministering to people, and that she needed to read this when she felt oppressed or tempted to suicide—at the very least—because Jesus came to redeem all that is wrong with the world. Then I told her about the Sunday message and how this was all no coincidence. She was much more cheerful when we dropped her off, and I’m very glad for it.

I will be short on sleep tonight, but it was exceedingly worth it to have this small Jericho road experience.

Blessings,

Carolyn



June 18 2009 at 4:44 pm

Extreme Room Makeover (Plus)

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John and Kathy Spiro sent in this testimony about the way some friends in the church blessed their family recently:

When Liana Glass, a good friend of our daughter, Amanda, found out that Amanda would be in Wisconsin on her birthday attending the funeral of her beloved grandpa, she came up with a plan to surprise and bless her. She contacted many of their friends about the idea of spending a day painting and decorating her room. They pooled their money together to buy a new bedspread and other items for an “extreme makeover” for her.

What began as a one room project soon turned into so much more. With many of the moms and a dad also involved, they decided to organize and clean out the garage and laundry room, as well as buy and plant flowers for our deck. Moms prepared meals for our return, did laundry, cleaned the carpets, and even bought new dishes for our kitchen. The joy they experienced as they served us so well was nothing compared to our surprise and joy as we returned from a difficult week to find our burden lifted and Amanda’s beautiful new room waiting.

We would like to thank everyone who gave of their time and money to bless us!

Pictured above (Top Row): Joey Switzer, Caleb Hill, Zack Newquist, Josh Hill, Jared Ray, Brandon Quinones
(Second row): Catherine Hoover, Lizzie Poelma, Brielle Layman, Ben Keeler, Liana Glass
(Third row): Alicia Nelson, Christene Hoffman, Janelle Mays
(Bottom Row): Hannah Nelson, Katie Ambrose, Alexis Ambrose, Kelsey Fortier
(Far Left): Eric Hoover
Not pictured: Emily Patton, Rachel Keeler, Marc Fortier, Dawn Newquist, Linda Glass, Karin Layman, Susan Nelson, Terri Fortier, Michele Scanlon, Rita Hoover

 



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