Whatever Takes Us Away

Several weeks ago I found out that Project 86 was to be playing in the Cincinnati area (the Underground). I had planned on making the 45 minute drive to the location with at least one from the Youth Group. Sadly, tonight was the night of the concert, I wasn't able to go. There will be another chance, I don't know when, but I know there will be other opportunities to see this great band.

Good luck on the tour guys, God be with you!

What the future holds? Well, there is still debate as to whether or not I'll be attending the P86 concert this Saturday as part of my own "Happy Father's Day to Me" or not. DRA, sorry I've missed a few of your calls, but with the way things are at work right now it's usually pretty hard for me to take calls - I'm sure you've been wondering about the concert, right? I'll know more by Friday, I'll try to call then.

Other happenings, not much. Going to start preparing for VBS, looking at the music part, mentally preparing myself for acting a fool for the sake of children's enjoyment. God calls us to do strange things at times. Also, preparing for Spirit Song. Reminder to all who are attending: Tent camp out at Pastor's house after we are done at King's Island - get your tents to me at least one week in advance, I doubt you'd want to set up a tent at midnight.

Youth Group Meetings. Summer is busy for everyone, I'll be talking to many of you as I can to determine what kind of schedule works best for the majority. Father's Day is this weekend, we may not get together as a result of that, we'll discuss Sunday morning. Sunday school will continue each week at 9:15 in the Youth Room, bring Bibles and a friend!

Lastly, we have a pool. After VBS is done we will more than likely have one day a week where we invite all Youth to come swim for a couple hours. We will discuss that more as July approaches.

See you Sunday!

It's been a while since my last post, I will attempt to update.

Been busy. Been sick. Been working. With the kids ending their school year Tina and I have been running around here and there, getting things done with the kids (four of them we have) in preparation for the next school year. Everyone got passing grades and will move forward in their schooling. First, Second & Third grades will be attended by the oldest three next school year. Moving right along.

We traveled back to Chicago over this past weekend for some much needed time with friends we hadn't seen in nearly 3.5 years. It was a wonderful trip (despite traffic) and we plan on doing it again sooner rather than later next time. We spent quality time with several friends, Friday evening with our favorite Polish family in our old neighborhood, great to see everyone! Saturday was Jen & Keith's wedding, beautiful wedding. That's how a wedding should be, everyone said and did what needed to be said and it didn't take three hours! I talked to Keith shortly after it was over and he said it felt like ten seconds. It wasn't that short, but it went by quickly. I know they will do well with each other for years. Saturday evening was a bit of a disappointment and a pleasant surprise. We had planned on visiting some other friends, expecting to see plenty of other faces at their house only to find they no longer lived at the house (sadly we drove away). So we kept driving.

Tina called some other friends, got an address and rough directions and away we went! We had no idea they had already had their third child (born this past week as a matter of fact, welcome Abigail)! We talked, remembered old times, shared stories, plans for the future, etc. Before we knew it we had to get going, it was getting pretty late, we'd see them at church in the morning. We didn't know what to expect upon arrive at our old church, who would be there, who may have left, but we went with an open mind. Many of the familiar faces we had left behind three years ago were still there, but there were some that no longer called Cornerstone their home. Some greeted us with shouts, some pushed people out of the way, some greeted us with a great smile and a warm hug or handshake, all were greeted with love!

We left church refreshed by Pastor Calvin's words of encouragement and headed towards a newly planned lunch arrangement with the Hutchcrofts. The kids played intently as our good friends showed us around the house, pointing out what had been changed, updated, added on to. It was good to hang out with them for a couple hours, relax a bit and enjoy the time. Dinner with the Markwicks!

Our gracious hosts for the weekend were Jack & Janet. They nearly insisted that we stay with them, we took them up on the offer. We had a wonderful dinner with them, sat around the back deck and talked for a while before our next visit.

Movie night for the kids? Yep, backyard movies on a big screen. Projector, sound system, movie, what more do you need to entertain children under 10? While the kids were enthralled with movies, the adults could do some more catching up, sharing and story telling. Time well spent with good friends, times we'll remember, times we'll probably share again in the future.

I think things went well this past Sunday. The Youth Group did a great job leading the congregation in song, reading scripture and short stories, and I did what I could for a sermon (see post below for the message). However, things didn't exactly go as I had planned . . .

You see, I had planned on a praise & worship service, with a little bit of devotional reading about worship, but as last week rolled on MY plans were changed. I've been listening to sermons by several preachers on my iPod while at work, as well as good music and parts of the Bible. While listening to a sermon last week (Thursday to be exact) I was confronted by God on giving a sermon. I wanted to make it quick, easy, painless, easy, simple, and really easy. God however, wanted me to do more than the easy. He gave me a message and I was His mouthpiece on Sunday morning. I had expected to get comments afterwards, and I did.

To my surprise many said they really enjoyed the message (and apparently some told the pastor I had a future behind the pulpit). A few parts of the service went a little long, but I can't control, nor do I want to control, everything. I managed to squeeze eight songs out of everyone, stretching their vocal chords (and mine as well), and introduced some songs new to them. I don't see myself doing this every Sunday any time soon (famous last words?!?).

At any rate, the service went well and the youth group did a great job.

As the apostle Paul neared the end of his life on earth he writes to Timothy, still urging him on to continue his task. 2 Timothy 4:1-8 says, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day – and not only me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

I think we all long for that time when will be taken by the Lord; not that we look forward to our earthly passing, but to our eternal birthing. And, as Paul instructs young Timothy, so must we; you and I, instruct these younger ones in our church.

Proverbs 4, verses 1 & 2 say, “Listen my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.” And again in verses 20 through 23, “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.” Wisdom like that, from the Bible, and from the elders in our churches can make a world of difference.

Many of you reading this have been in the faith longer than I have been alive! God bless you for that; and I can only hope and pray that God may strengthen and sustain me as my years grow on! But, just because we’ve been in this a while, and yes, this is the next generation to take over the church, it doesn’t give us a pass to retire from our own Christian action. We can’t just hand over the reigns. On the contrary, these young people and the younger ones still, will and SHOULD lean on us when the time comes for them to be our leaders. They need good examples of what it is and what it means to be a good Christian man or woman. They need to learn about humble leadership. Jesus gave us all the perfect example of this by the washing of His disciples’ feet. These young people need direction and training, they need encouragement, correction and rebuke when needed. And I think, most of all, they need to know love.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul writes about love. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

We, as the adults and elders in the body of Christ, need to raise our children, all of the children from the youngest to the oldest, in a way that would allow them to grow and become what God intended them to be, and do it in and with much love.

That said, you and I are not finished. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my own so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Just because we have the future of the church knocking doesn’t give us the right to roll over and sleep! Retirement? I think there is no such thing for us. If we sit back and relax who will give the instruction? Who will raise them?

Now, to those of you here helping with the service, and to those of you near the same age: listen to these who are mature in their faith, heed their instructions. The race isn’t always easy and you WILL endure hardships along the way. Trials will come, but they come and help us to grow in maturity, in knowledge and in understanding. Going back to the first passage of scripture, 2 Timothy 4:5 "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." Paul tells Timothy here there will be struggles, trials, hardships – but it is no reason to roll over. Ask any of the elders here this morning if trials and temptations have helped in their faith maturity. I think most, if not all, might say that the things they’ve endured in life have helped.

We need to instruct in righteousness, and to the best of your ability, listen, hear and put into practice what is said and taught. We aren’t here to tell you how to live, but only to share our own experiences (whether good or bad) – and the outcomes of the decisions we’ve made so that you can learn from and become better equipped in your life’s race.

We all run the race the apostle Paul wrote about. Some choose different approaches to the race, give up and quit is one approach. Run at a moderate pace, choose mediocrity is another, but Paul tells the church in Corinth, and by us reading his letter to them, he tells us to run differently; run as for the prize! Train and prepare! He also goes on to tell his fellow worker and his son in Christ, Timothy, to stand in those times of trials “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;” And towards the end of his own race the mentor tells young Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Let us do likewise, finishing that race by the power of the Holy Spirit, discharging all the duties of our own ministries, and always striving for that crown that will last forever, keeping to our faith to the very end.