Waiting isn't easy, is it? As many of you know, Julie and I are playing the waiting game right now. Julie's due date was yesterday and today we are still waiting for the arrival of this little one. This is our fourth child and yet things are going so differently than with the other three. Jacob was a few days late, Ansley and Kalyn were both early, but with all three when the contractions started, soon thereafter we had a new baby in our arms.
But this child is different. Julie had false labor on Saturday and Sunday night as well as Wednesday morning this past week, but none of that was anything in comparison to yesterday. Julie started having contractions about 4 a.m. and kept it up all day long. We went to the doctor in the morning and the doctor told us that we should be ready for the baby to come that day. Things continued to progress, then slow down, then progress again and we finally went to the hospital at about 7:30 last night. Of course after we got there, things not only slowed down again, but almost came to a stop and so we went back home to wait things out. And here we are today, continuing to play the waiting game.
It isn't easy to wait. We are, by nature, an impatient people. In this age of microwave popcorn, high-speed internet, and instant messaging, we want everything right now. So waiting is not something that we naturally do very well.
But while I was considering all this, I remembered some verses that I had read this past week. Let me share those with you. They are from Lamentations 3:22-24. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
I am actually going to be preaching on these verses in a few weeks, as we continue our series on hiding God's Word in our hearts, so I won't go into the passage in depth right now. But I just wanted to share this powerful reminder that we are to wait on the Lord. We are so impatient, but we KNOW that His timing is best. I know it is not easy to wait. Believe me, I know! But the Lord is our portion. His timing is right and perfect. Let's wait on Him.
Please continue to pray for Julie and I as we continue to wait on the Lord during this time. And may the Lord also grant you the patience and trust and everything else you need to help you wait on Him in your own lives. Thanks and God bless!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
National Day of Prayer
National Day of Prayer
Thursday, May 1
This is an important day and I want to take a moment and blog about what this day and the events surrounding it are all about. The National Day of Prayer was first instituted in 1952 during the term of Harry Truman. Millions of people are expected to be gathered together in over 35,000 different prayer gatherings across the country. Dr. Ravi Zacharias is this year's Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. The National Day of Prayer is an attempt to unite the church in this country together in prayer. On this day, we recall that our nation was founded with a dependence upon God and we want to call this country together to pray. You can find out more about the Nationald Day of Prayer at their website: http://www.ndptf.org/home/index.cfm
It is a day that invites the notion that we are One Church in this community and in this country, as Jesus prayed for us in John 17: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21)
It is a day that draws the collective eyes of this country toward Heaven in repentance, humility, dependence, dedication, and petition like we see called for in 2 Chronicles, chapter 7: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
It is a day that allows us to exercise our freedom to gather together and seek the Lord. I look at it as first and foremost a day of prayer, with the focus being prayer for our country and for our community. And calling the country and the Church together for prayer is a big deal. This is a big day and I would encourage everyone to be involved. Here in this community we observe the National Day of Prayer in a variety of ways. Check out the information below, and consider how you might like to be involved.
Bible Reading:
Monday noon through Thursday noon
The National Day of Prayer festivities actually begin on Monday, April 28 at noon with the start of the Bible Reading from the steps of City Hall. This is a community wide effort with different churches signing up to take time slots, round the clock, as the Bible is read from cover to cover, from Monday through Thursday. We, as a church, have a slot from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30. It is a great slot and each year I hear testimonies of how much people enjoyed being able to be part of that Bible Reading. If you have never done this, then I would strongly encourage you to try it. There are still a couple of slots open and you can sign up if you call the church office.
Noon Time Prayer:
Thursday, May 1 at noon
The Bible Reading culminates with the book of Revelation being read leading up to noon on the National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 1. At noon, as the last words are read, we transition into a prayer service on those same steps. We will have a time of worship and prayer as a community.
Concert of Prayer:
Thursday, May 1 at 700p.m.
Then we finish up the National Day of Prayer with a community-wide concert of prayer. This is a powerful opportunity for the Church in Columbus to come together in unity and focus on praying for God's work in our country and in our community. We will be focusing in on five areas: government, schools, media, families, and churches. The concert of prayer this year will be held at our church at 7:00 p.m on Thursday, May 1. I want to strongly encourage everyone to come out for this prayer time. Obviously it is important because it is a time for us to gather together in prayer. But it also has the extra emphasis of being a time when we gather together with other believers as One Church to pray to our Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus.
The National Day of Prayer only comes around once every year. Don't miss this opportunity to be involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 379-9190.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Easter is just around the corner!
It is hard to believe that Easter is almost here. As we talked about this past Sunday, Easter is very early this year and of course that means that we have to get ready extra early. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which means that Good Friday and Easter Sunday are just about a week away (depending upon when you are reading this blog). I wanted to take a moment and give a few words of exhortation coming in to Easter.
First, I want to encourage everyone to take some time over the next couple of weeks to really focus in on what Easter is all about. This time of year provides many distractions that can keep us from focusing in on Easter. For instance, Spring Break starts this weekend and I know that many of you have plans for this week. Another distraction is the NCAA Tournament that has its opening round the same weekend as Easter. I am not saying that we can't enjoy Spring Break or the NCAA Tournament (I plan to fill out my bracket like normal). But Easter is a very important event each year in our lives and it is good for us to take some time to focus on the cross and remember Christ's sacrifice for us. I want to encourage all of us to not let the other things that are happening around Easter, keep us from experiencing God during that time.
For those of you who are parents, I also want to encourage you to make sure that you are helping your family focus in on what Easter is all about. As a family, we like to do devotions each evening (for the days or weeks leading in to Easter) that are based on Christ's sacrifice. We started two nights ago with a book called "Benjamin's Box." This book (along with others like it) use the "Resurrection Eggs" which are eggs that help you focus in on the Easter message with your children. If you don't want to do a book or use the eggs, you can always just spend time reading about the events in Jesus' life leading in to Easter. If you want other suggestions, please feel free to give me a call.
The last thing that I want to encourage us all about is the community-wide Good Friday Tenebrae service that we are going to have at Community Church of Columbus on Friday, March 21. The Tenebrae Service is a wonderful way to focus in on Christ's sacrifice for us and this year we also have the opportunity to do that along with other believers from the Church as a whole in Columbus. This is a great time to come together as "one Church" in our community and focus in on Christ's sacrifice. This is not a CCC event that we are planning to attend, it is a combined effort with 5 churches in our community and we had a major role in pulling this all together. We will have several people from our church involved in this service and I am hoping that we will also have several more in the congregation. The service is at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 21, at Community Church of Columbus. I hope that you can be there.
First, I want to encourage everyone to take some time over the next couple of weeks to really focus in on what Easter is all about. This time of year provides many distractions that can keep us from focusing in on Easter. For instance, Spring Break starts this weekend and I know that many of you have plans for this week. Another distraction is the NCAA Tournament that has its opening round the same weekend as Easter. I am not saying that we can't enjoy Spring Break or the NCAA Tournament (I plan to fill out my bracket like normal). But Easter is a very important event each year in our lives and it is good for us to take some time to focus on the cross and remember Christ's sacrifice for us. I want to encourage all of us to not let the other things that are happening around Easter, keep us from experiencing God during that time.
For those of you who are parents, I also want to encourage you to make sure that you are helping your family focus in on what Easter is all about. As a family, we like to do devotions each evening (for the days or weeks leading in to Easter) that are based on Christ's sacrifice. We started two nights ago with a book called "Benjamin's Box." This book (along with others like it) use the "Resurrection Eggs" which are eggs that help you focus in on the Easter message with your children. If you don't want to do a book or use the eggs, you can always just spend time reading about the events in Jesus' life leading in to Easter. If you want other suggestions, please feel free to give me a call.
The last thing that I want to encourage us all about is the community-wide Good Friday Tenebrae service that we are going to have at Community Church of Columbus on Friday, March 21. The Tenebrae Service is a wonderful way to focus in on Christ's sacrifice for us and this year we also have the opportunity to do that along with other believers from the Church as a whole in Columbus. This is a great time to come together as "one Church" in our community and focus in on Christ's sacrifice. This is not a CCC event that we are planning to attend, it is a combined effort with 5 churches in our community and we had a major role in pulling this all together. We will have several people from our church involved in this service and I am hoping that we will also have several more in the congregation. The service is at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 21, at Community Church of Columbus. I hope that you can be there.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The times they are a-changing
That's right, it is time to change our clocks. This weekend we "Spring Ahead" to Daylight Savings Time. I know that many of you who have lived in Indiana for your whole life are still getting adjusted to this new idea of changing clocks instead of time zones, and I know some of you don't really like it, but regardless of whether we like it or not, it is still "time to change."
So since we are springing ahead one hour, that means that we will have an extra hour of daylight in the evenings. Hence the name, "Daylight Savings Time." I know that it means that it will be a little bit darker when we get up in the morning, but think of all the wonderful daylight that will be available to us in the evening. And with that in mind, that brings me to my second reason for writing this blog. I have a great suggestion for us to make use of that extra hour of daylight in the evenings. Let's make it a point to get outside and connect with our neighbors. That extra hour of daylight in the evening means that when we get home from work there is still time to take a walk, or play with the kids in the front yard, or do some yardwork, or even just sit outside and read a book. And one of the things that I have found is that if we spend that time outside, many times we will find some of our neighbors doing the same thing. And it is a wonderful opportunity to connect with them.
As we talked about last week, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And in order to love them like that, we first need to have a relationship with them. So let's make it a point to use that extra hour of daylight to put ourselves in position to connect with our neighbors so that God can use us to love them.
My only question is, why does the time change happen at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday night? Why Saturday? Why not Friday or Monday? And what is special about 2? Why not Midnight or 1? I think most of us probably change our clocks before we go to bed anyway. At least I hope we do, or else we might find ourselves being late for church on Sunday morning. And that gets us to one of the reasons for writing this blog. I wanted to remind us all that this is happening, so that we don't forget and find ourselves showing up for church an hour late. So please remember, before you go to bed on Saturday night, that it is "time to change."
As we talked about last week, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And in order to love them like that, we first need to have a relationship with them. So let's make it a point to use that extra hour of daylight to put ourselves in position to connect with our neighbors so that God can use us to love them.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Loving One Another
Sorry that I have not blogged for a month. I am still getting a handle on this thing and I hope to get better at it moving forward. So this past Sunday, I spoke on loving one another and someone had sent me an article that had a great quote in it that did not make it into the sermon, so I thought I would post it here instead. I know it is difficult for us to truly love one another. I know that I need to do better and I suspect that you do as well. Loving one another is hard. We are busy, we have our own needs, we feel incapable of really being who God has called us to be in relationship with one another. But we also need to realize that our love for one another displays God to this world.
L.T. Jeyachandran, the executive director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Singapore, wrote this, "So when we consider who we are as Christians we must first consider who God is. Thus, we must begin to think about relationality, which is at the heart of reality: three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God. Here in John and Luke Jesus tells us that the relationship with the Godhead will be the standard by which our love for one another would be measured. Not at the mega level, but at the micro level. Not when ten thousand people come and worship together, but when five people meet in our home for a Bible study--a neighborhood Bible study--and our neighbors begin to see that we truly love one another. Because when I wash your feet and you wash my feet, the watching world sees two imperfect people, yes, but who belong to Jesus Christ and reflect his love in relationship. By this all will know that we are his disciples." http://www.rzim.org/slice/slicetran.php?sliceid=1615
We have just started a new thing at Columbus Alliance Church. That new thing is called ConneXions. It is a time for us to meet together in biblical community as part of our Sunday morning worship service. It is in those ConneXions that we can really form some significant relationships with one another. It is in those ConneXions that we can allow our lives to intertwine. It is in those ConneXions that we find ourselves in position to really love one another. I want to encourage all of us to make those times of ConneXions a priority. Let's invest in that time together.
I have heard some wonderful reports about how the groups are going and I want to encourage you to let me know your thoughts. And this is only the beginning. How can ConneXions grow? Where do we go from here? My group is already talking about getting together outside of Sunday mornings so that we can connect more. There is also a couple of people who are talking about bringing their lunch on Sunday mornings so that they can eat together with whoever would like to stick around after the service and have that extended time to connect with one another. I will give you more information about that in the days ahead. New things are happening and it is exciting. Let's commit ourselves to connecting with one another and let's continue to trust God to help us reflect Him to this world in which we live!
L.T. Jeyachandran, the executive director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Singapore, wrote this, "So when we consider who we are as Christians we must first consider who God is. Thus, we must begin to think about relationality, which is at the heart of reality: three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God. Here in John and Luke Jesus tells us that the relationship with the Godhead will be the standard by which our love for one another would be measured. Not at the mega level, but at the micro level. Not when ten thousand people come and worship together, but when five people meet in our home for a Bible study--a neighborhood Bible study--and our neighbors begin to see that we truly love one another. Because when I wash your feet and you wash my feet, the watching world sees two imperfect people, yes, but who belong to Jesus Christ and reflect his love in relationship. By this all will know that we are his disciples." http://www.rzim.org/slice/slicetran.php?sliceid=1615
We have just started a new thing at Columbus Alliance Church. That new thing is called ConneXions. It is a time for us to meet together in biblical community as part of our Sunday morning worship service. It is in those ConneXions that we can really form some significant relationships with one another. It is in those ConneXions that we can allow our lives to intertwine. It is in those ConneXions that we find ourselves in position to really love one another. I want to encourage all of us to make those times of ConneXions a priority. Let's invest in that time together.
I have heard some wonderful reports about how the groups are going and I want to encourage you to let me know your thoughts. And this is only the beginning. How can ConneXions grow? Where do we go from here? My group is already talking about getting together outside of Sunday mornings so that we can connect more. There is also a couple of people who are talking about bringing their lunch on Sunday mornings so that they can eat together with whoever would like to stick around after the service and have that extended time to connect with one another. I will give you more information about that in the days ahead. New things are happening and it is exciting. Let's commit ourselves to connecting with one another and let's continue to trust God to help us reflect Him to this world in which we live!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday Morning Changes
So we are making some changes to our Sunday morning format. I have spent some time from the pulpit and in a recent congregational letter explaining those changes, but I also wanted to take a moment and put the information on the blog as well. So here is a copy of what was included in a recent letter to the congregation...
Many of you may recall that this past spring the elders decided to spend some time doing an assessment of where we are as a church. We spent time praying and talking about the church, and then we also spent a substantial amount of time talking with the congregation, to get your feedback. We then pulled that information together and spent some more time praying and looking at where we are as a church and who God is calling us to be.
Through that process we heard you say that you want a solid, creative worship experience; that you want strong Bible teaching; that you want to be connected in significant relationships; and that you want the church to support families.
At the end of the summer we formed the Ministry Leadership Team (MLT) to address that feedback and take a look at the ministry of Columbus Alliance Church. The MLT has spent the last 5 moths praying, discussing, and researching and we have developed a plan, together with the Elders, that we believe is God directed.
I am currently just finishing up a series on the vision of Columbus Alliance Church and the importance of us connecting with Christ both individually and corporately as well as connecting with one another and with others outside this church. The leaders of the church continue to affirm that vision and the mission that we have to make disciples.
In response, we are changing the structure of our Sunday morning time together to better facilitate those connections – to God, to one another, and to others. So let me describe to you how our Sunday morning time is going to be in the days ahead.
In recognition that God is the Head of our church and we want to move with Him, there will be a prayer time from 9:30 – 10:00. The entire church is invited to be with us for that prayer time.
We will gather at 10:00 a.m. (at 9:45 if you want coffee!) to worship and hear God’s word preached. From there we will move into groups that we are calling ConneXions. (Adult ConneXions, Youth ConneXions, Kid ConneXions, Family ConneXions). The purpose of these ConneXions is for us to have a time and a place to connect to God and to others in biblical community.
We will continue our worship theme into our ConneXions as we learn and grow in response to God’s Word. We will care for one another in our ConneXions. And we will seek opportunity to serve others outside our ConneXions.
Our Elders will lead these groups and be talking with each one of you about our plan. Everyone: adults, youth, and kids will each have a place of ConneXions.
You may be wondering about the time frame as to when all of this is happening. That is a good question. This past Sunday we had Missions Conference and so we had a Missions Rally at 10:00 a.m. This coming Sunday we are going to have our worship time at 10:00 a.m. again, followed by a fellowship meal. We are asking everyone to bring an entrée and side dish or dessert to share, and we will all eat together after the service. Then on the following Sunday, February 10 (the day after the Annual Meeting) we will gather together in our new format at 10:00 a.m. with ConneXions as part of that time together.
We are excited about how God is moving! If you have any questions about this change, then please feel free to talk with me, one of the elders, or one of the ministry leadership team. I serve on the MLT along with Bob Tickel, Ted Schorn, Jean Prebeck, Dianna Wardlow, Sharon Pease, and Teri Iler. We also will talk more about this during the lunch after the service on February 3 and at the Annual Meeting on February 9.
Thank you so much for your support and please continue to pray for the leadership of Columbus Alliance Church and that God would continue to build His Church.
Pastor Rob
Many of you may recall that this past spring the elders decided to spend some time doing an assessment of where we are as a church. We spent time praying and talking about the church, and then we also spent a substantial amount of time talking with the congregation, to get your feedback. We then pulled that information together and spent some more time praying and looking at where we are as a church and who God is calling us to be.
Through that process we heard you say that you want a solid, creative worship experience; that you want strong Bible teaching; that you want to be connected in significant relationships; and that you want the church to support families.
At the end of the summer we formed the Ministry Leadership Team (MLT) to address that feedback and take a look at the ministry of Columbus Alliance Church. The MLT has spent the last 5 moths praying, discussing, and researching and we have developed a plan, together with the Elders, that we believe is God directed.
I am currently just finishing up a series on the vision of Columbus Alliance Church and the importance of us connecting with Christ both individually and corporately as well as connecting with one another and with others outside this church. The leaders of the church continue to affirm that vision and the mission that we have to make disciples.
In response, we are changing the structure of our Sunday morning time together to better facilitate those connections – to God, to one another, and to others. So let me describe to you how our Sunday morning time is going to be in the days ahead.
In recognition that God is the Head of our church and we want to move with Him, there will be a prayer time from 9:30 – 10:00. The entire church is invited to be with us for that prayer time.
We will gather at 10:00 a.m. (at 9:45 if you want coffee!) to worship and hear God’s word preached. From there we will move into groups that we are calling ConneXions. (Adult ConneXions, Youth ConneXions, Kid ConneXions, Family ConneXions). The purpose of these ConneXions is for us to have a time and a place to connect to God and to others in biblical community.
We will continue our worship theme into our ConneXions as we learn and grow in response to God’s Word. We will care for one another in our ConneXions. And we will seek opportunity to serve others outside our ConneXions.
Our Elders will lead these groups and be talking with each one of you about our plan. Everyone: adults, youth, and kids will each have a place of ConneXions.
You may be wondering about the time frame as to when all of this is happening. That is a good question. This past Sunday we had Missions Conference and so we had a Missions Rally at 10:00 a.m. This coming Sunday we are going to have our worship time at 10:00 a.m. again, followed by a fellowship meal. We are asking everyone to bring an entrée and side dish or dessert to share, and we will all eat together after the service. Then on the following Sunday, February 10 (the day after the Annual Meeting) we will gather together in our new format at 10:00 a.m. with ConneXions as part of that time together.
We are excited about how God is moving! If you have any questions about this change, then please feel free to talk with me, one of the elders, or one of the ministry leadership team. I serve on the MLT along with Bob Tickel, Ted Schorn, Jean Prebeck, Dianna Wardlow, Sharon Pease, and Teri Iler. We also will talk more about this during the lunch after the service on February 3 and at the Annual Meeting on February 9.
Thank you so much for your support and please continue to pray for the leadership of Columbus Alliance Church and that God would continue to build His Church.
Pastor Rob
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