Valuing the Most Valuable

Chuck Vanderscheuren welcomed us this morning and encouraged us to note the announcements. There is a lot happening here.

Announcements

The Worship Committee is seeking people to help usher, greet and help in other ways during the service.
We are also looking for people to help in small skits and readings during the service. Volunteers should contact Cheryl Borndal.
This Friday is a game night here at the church. Bring a friend. Bring a snack to share. Bring a fave game or puzzle. And most of all, bring yourself! Hope to see you here, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Ladies Bible Study, Tuesday from 10 a.m. till Noon here at the church.
Faith In Fabrics this Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.. They will be busy making potholders, aprons and other necessities for camp this Saturday. Bring a sack lunch and something to share. Contact Darlene.
Camp brochures are printed and available. The rates have changed so note that. The church does have a camp scholarship fund to assist.

Chuck read to us from Psalm 42 before we entered into worship. We then sang a trio of songs and hymns from the blue hymnal. During the offering that followed a young violinist serenaded us with a rendition of I'll Fly Away.

Cheryl invited us to share our prayers requests and praises as we entered into a time of prayer.

Valuing the Most Valuable

Pastor Terry White began with a greeting and then made a additional few remarks about camp.

He told an interesting learning experience he had on Ash Wednesday. When you mix ashes and water and let it sit it makes lye, which will burn you. Experienced pastors know that you have to add oil to the mixture in order to restrain this chemical reaction.

The message today is from II Timothy 2:14-19. Before reading the passage Terry began by affirming that when all is said and done, God loves you very much.

The passage today has a matter of importance related to sorting. Many of us are good at sorting and enjoyed sorting baseball cards in various ways when we were young. In this passage Paul talks about sorting what is important from what is irrelevant, sorting truth from that which is incorrect.

He read from a book by Rich Mullins. The passage outlined a variety of ways we handle the Word. It begins, "The Bible is a very great book, the written witness of God and His Word... " You can read the whole of it here.

What are the things that really matter? What are the things that are most important?

A lot of times we quarrel about some things that are seemingly so important to us but to people outside the church seem really insignificant. In countries where there is persecution taking place people are not too concerned about whether the earth is old or young.

Paul encourages Timothy to handle the Word like proven workmen who do things right. Have you ever seen work that was done by contractors or carpenters who do work that they ought to be ashamed of? What often happens is more than mere incompetence. People are in a hurry, or maybe just don't care.

What's important is not your titles and degrees but the way you live your life.

Paul then points out that bad teaching will spread like gangrene. How we handle the Word is important. When all is said and done, these two things are important. (1) The Lord knows who are His, and (2) the invitation is for us to walk uprightly, to do what God asks of us.

The Bible is important and what is essential is that we boil things down to what really matter.

Terry pointed out that what's important is not what we think we know about the Bible, but what we are as people, and who we are becoming under its influence.

After the message we recited the Apostles' Creed and shared Communion.

Pain: Weakness Leaving the Body

Pastor Terry White welcomed us warmly and began with announcements that included a reminder that Ash Wednesday is this week. There will be a soup and bread supper at 6:00 and special service at 6:30 p.m. here in the sanctuary.

After reading from Psalm 57 we entered into a time of worship that ended with "My Jesus I Love Thee." Darlene then invited the ushers forward to take the offering and introduced her granddaughter who played a beautiful tune on the clarinet. We shared a time of prayer before Terry White preached the message.

Pain: Weakness Leaving the Body

Today's sermon was a continuation of our study of II Timothy. Today's passage was II Timothy 2:3-13. Pastor White began by showing us a photo of a breakwall that the Army Corps of Engineers built at Canal Park to help keep erosion from occurring.

The breakwall image was then contrasted with a photo of the abandoned building that sits askew in the water 100 yards from the beach, destroyed because its arrogant builders didn't think they needed the breakwall.

There's a sense in which God is our breakwall, helping shield us from the damage the storms of life can bring.

Today's passage begins, "Join with me in suffering." Not usually selected as a life verse. Here's the passage in its entirety.

"Join with me in suffering." This is an aspect of leadership. Then Paul uses three word pictures to illustrate some ideas for Timothy.

In verse four, Paul uses the illustration of a soldier to make a point: that soldiers must keep focused on their objectives, and we need to live the same way, undistracted. Keep your focus on what matters.

In verse five Paul uses the image of an athlete who can only receive a victor's crown by competing by the rules. Terry asked us what the rules of volley ball are and cited a number of them. Rules are part of basketball, tennis, baseball and all other sports. The focus of the game is on competing, not complaining about the rules. Rules are something everyone must abide by.

The rules are part of what make the game. Eliminate the rules and what do you have? Chaos.

Then Paul notes the farmer as a metaphor. The hardworking farmer is entitled to get the first of the crops. Paul encourages Timothy to reflect on these things.

Leadership is not always fair. All leaders are subject to criticism. Paul was in chains because of the Gospel. Sometimes we pay a price to do what is right.

Life isn't always easy. For each of us there are moments of crisis, moments when we need someone else to be the breakwall. Being part of the body of Christ gives opportunity to step back into the safe places where we're receiving the necessary nurturing, shelter from the storms.

The goal is for us to grow up and become that shield for others.

Everything involved balance, however. There are times when becoming a shield goes too far and we become enablers who keep others from being able to mature into fullness. This is where we need to exercise discernment.

Pastor White closed by reading once again from Psalm 57.

Anchored

On a sunny Sunday morning Pastor Terry White welcomed us. After sharing announcements he told us a story and then read from Lamentations 3... "The Lord is good toward the one whose hope is in Him."

Announcements
Membership classes are taking place on Wednesday evenings
Small groups will be happening from March to May, every other Sunday evening. Contact Terry or Walt and Gwen Cresman for details regarding small groups.

After a time of worship the children came forward for a children's talk using Valentine's Day as a springboard into a message based on Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden Your word in my heart." First she asked the children about how one would hide their physical bibles. Then she asked how to hide God's word in out hearts.

An offering was taken while Pastor Terry and Haden sang "Mighty To Save." A time of prayer for the various needs in our church family followed.

Anchored

We began a deep dive into II Timothy this week. Today's message would be on II Timothy 1:1-14.

Pastor Terry's opening thought was that even passages that are overly familiar to us can sometime spark a fresh insight because we ourselves are in a different place the next time we read it. This is why the Bible never gets old. Paul's letter to Timothy here is about leadership.

Leadership isn't just for people who have it all together. Just as becoming a parent is a challenge that arrives whether we think we are ready or not, leadership is something we grow into.

Leadership is something all Christians are called to. Jesus stated that we are to enter by the narrow gate. The invitation has always been to not be like the masses. Leadership is all about walking down the path that few choose.

Leadership is not about our competence. Moses didn't lead a million people into the desert because he was trained in solving the feeding and fluids issue. We are thrust into situations that seem overwhelming, but this is normal.

Whether in the home, our workplace, our experiences coaching or teaching, we are leaders. People watch us and we influence them.

The letters to Timothy were written for a purpose. Timothy was a leader in Ephesus. Paul wrote him to address some issues that were taking place in the church there.

Timothy and Paul had a significant long-term relationship. They travelled and did ministry together. Paul also knew Timothy's roots. Timothy's mother was Jewish and his father Greek. He was recognized as someone worth listening to.

* * * *
Paul wrote this letter while he was on death row. in Rome His death was imminent. The letter opens by noting that he is in his position by the will of God.

In verse two he affirms that Timothy is like a son to him.

"I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers." ~verse 3

Our conscience pains us when we sin because one task of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin. Paul affirms that God has cleansed him and that his heart is in alignment with God's will.

This should be our prayer: "I want to live my life with a clear conscience." Listen to the voice of God and do what God asks.The more we listen to God and do what He asks, the stronger we become. The closer our hearts are to God's voice, the harder it becomes to hear Him. He speaks but it just gets lost in the noise of our lives.'

In verse 5 Paul recognizes Timothy's mother's and grandmother's faith which now resides in Timothy. This is followed by a reminder to keep the embers of faith stirred. God does His part, but you have a responsibility, too.

Skipping ahead to verse 13 & 14:
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The key thought today is to figure out what it means to have a clear conscience before God, and to listen to the voice of God. Ask God to help you become what God wants you to become. Pray it. Believe it. Affirm it in the way you live this week.