Blessings To and Through!

PASS THOSE BLESSINGS ON! 

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 CORINTHIANS 9: 11

We live in a land of abundance!  Even in this time of economic downturn, we have more material goods than our grandparents ever dreamed of!  And we live a life of leisure compared to how hard everything was a century ago.

Do you ever wonder why God has blessed us so?  Why God has blessed YOU so?  It is so you can pass it on!  These blessings given to us are not for ourselves to keep!  If we do, they will be like manna that will rot and lose their value. 

 The true blessings come not from acquiring things, but from giving them away.  And it is not just material things that we need to share.  The blessings overflow when we live life with open hands and open hearts, eager to both give and receive and be blessed again!

And all of this is a witness of God’s power and love. For through you, the world can see how God blesses those who bless others.  Pass it on!

PASTOR SUSAN VERGERONT

There Ought to Be a Law!

There Ought to Be a Law! 

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes  The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous…. they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19: 8-11

 As children, we often looked at rules and laws as impediments to having fun.  You can’t play near the lake alone, you can’t play baseball in the road.  You can’t ride your bike at night until you are older!  RATS

But as adults we come to see the need for laws, to protect ourselves and others.  And as we grow in our faith, we can understand God’s laws come from his deep love for each of us.  The laws don’t inhibit us, but free us.  They draw boundaries around where we are safe and secure!

So Gods laws are better than good; they are sweeter than honey, come from love and bring great reward!  Think about this, how God's laws guide and protect us, and then give Him thanks!

Pastor Susan Vergeront

Peace... Mission Impossible?

PEACE… MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12.18

….Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14.19

….Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. Romans 13.1

Peace in the world – That  seems impossible for one person to achieve or have an effect.  But I think there are many things we do and say within our families, work places and communities, with out giving a thought of the ripples of negativism and even hate that it produces.  Putting down other faiths, painting all of one particular faith with one brush, even childish criticism about one particular political party over another certainly does not lead to peace, or even to a hope for peace. 

 Living our Christian beliefs we must see that no matter whom someone is or what they believe, they are known and loved by God. They carry the image of God with in them, and that alone makes them worthy of respect.  Respect DOES NOT MEAN that you agree with them. But it does mean that you do not denigrate them, belittle them, discount them because of what they believe.

As Christians, we are charged to share Christ with them by what we do and what we say.  If you want to have people see things your way, you need to give them the dignity of hearing them out and seeing the world from their viewpoint. That is what Jesus would did, and would have us do!  Peace in the world will begin with each one of us.

Pastor Susan Vergeront

Whine and Cheese

Whine and Cheese

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly.  Exodus 16:2-3

The Israelites, after a miraculous escape from the Egyptians, started worrying again.  What can we eat?  We used to have all the food we wanted.  Never mind it was a part of the bargain of slavery.. at least we weren’t bored.  Now we will starve!  You might ask, "would you like a little cheese with that whine?"

Aren’t we like that at times?  Our prayers are answered, and we rejoice and give thanks and praise.  But it doesn’t happen as fast as we thought it should.  Or maybe our prayers seemed to be only partly answered, and we complain. 

When God brings you to a new place, you can trust him to follow through, and give you all you need to be successful (on God’s terms) and whole.  That is good news worth sharing!

Pastor Susan Vergeront

Hope Calling to You

Guest Devotion by Heather Halweg

Heather shared this meditation on hope with the Congregation on Sunday. It was her personal reflections about her time in Guatemala. She read a number of Bible Verses, ending with the following:

"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope."

Matthew 12: 18-21

Hope.

The quintessential human emotion

Bound to faith.

Bound to life

Bound to love.

For an idea, it can change a nation.

For the human condition, it can save the soul.

Hope can be the frailest flicker of light in the darkness and yet so hard to extinguish.

Hope can withstand flood, famine, disease and war.

God has given us the defenses against the suffering and hardships the world throws at us. The greatest of them: Hope and love.