Eat Together

Chuck Vanderscheuren welcomed us and then invited announcements before we began a time of worship.

Announcements
~Thursday June 29 there will be a baby shower for Alicia Benson and Jacoby, 10:00 a.m.
~New Dimensions W.L Group, Wednesday 6:30
~Faith in Fabrics Kickoff, Friday and Saturday September 9 & 10
~VBS was awesome this year with over fifty kids every day and ample numbers of volunteers.

Chuck read a passage from Jeremiah about the prophet's visit to the potter's house, in which God showed Jeremiah this truth:: "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand."

After a time of singing from the blue hymnal an offering was taken with the VBS young people singing a song they learned this week. "I was made for this, built  for a purpose," a truly important message in our post-modern age with its cynical messages that say life has no real meaning or purpose.

Darlene led us in prayer this morning, beginning by reminding us that God is always there for us, even when we don't feel it.

Eat Together

Terry began by sharing the uplift he received from watching everyone serving during VBS this week, the ways they shared and showed their gifts and abilities. It was another way of getting to know our church family better, seeing more than just our faces on Sunday mornings.

The current sermon series is called BLESS, an international evangelism initiative. The Acronym goes like this:

BEGIN with prayer
LISTEN with care
EAT together
SERVE with love
SHARE your story

Eating together is one of the special times in our holidays, a time in which we connect, tell stories, listen to stories. It's a time we share with our families. It's a moment of intimacy and of hospitality.

Pastor Terry turned to Luke 19:5-10 and the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, one of the most hated people in the community. Yet Jesus, who saw him, said he would welcome the opportunity to go to his house and dine with him.

We then turned to Acts 2:42-47. Notice how the common things of eating together is listed in the midst of these other "spiritual" activities they share, prayer and teaching.

Eating together is a way we connect.

He then asked us what Hospitality was. Words like caring, friends, welcoming, inviting and sharing were shared.

"One of my favorite authors is Henri Nouwen who said hospitality is the ability to invite people into your home and life without making them keep all their stuff outside." Being able to have them in your home as they are, including the baggage they bring. We need to let them bring who they are into our presence, not make them drop that at the door.

Intimacy is the ability to be close with someone else. We've sexualized it so much that we can hardly talk about it anymore.

Fear is the great enemy of intimacy. The aim of intimacy is freedom so that we're able to have interactions in which we can be ourselves.

* * * *

We love God because He loved us first. That love teaches us that we're accepted as we are. And we're invited to extend that same kind of "as you are" love toward others.

Uncommon Friends

Chuck Vanderscheuren welcomed us on this beautiful autumn morning which is also Rally Sunday. After welcoming us he reminded us to the Fish Fry next Saturday. We quickly went into a time of worship with some classics, led by the quintet that now includes Pastor White on drums.

Susan Jessico was invited forward to share a Children's Message related to this time of year as we transition into fall. Susan brought a variety of branches to show and then asked if any of them would grow if they were stuck into the ground and watered. The answer, obvious to many of us, was that no, they would not. The branch will thrive when connected to the tree, and apart from this connection would die. As Jesus declared in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

The ushers came froward to receive the offering as the kids returned to their seats. The quartet sang Worthy of Worship in accompaniment. Chuck then led us as we took a little time for prayer.

Uncommon Friends

Terry White welcomed us with a potent "Good Morning" and re-introduced himself and his wife Leah for those who were not here the first weeks he preached.

Connect, Grow and Become is the mission of this church, so for the next few weeks his themese will connect to ours.

Today's message is about Accepting Acceptance. When we truly realize that God has accepted us, it makes a difference.

The Bonsai trees that have been showing up in the front are object lessons Terry has brought to share. Today's tree is a set of trees, a forest setting. When it started out, the five little trees did not appear to go together. And so it is with ourselves...

Relationships aren't easy. Selfishness, anger and other things become barriers to our becoming one with others.

Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. Unfortunately we live in a world of broken relationships. Often, the relationships we want most are the ones most broken.

At this point Terry introduced the text for this message, Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus was a rich tax collector, not respected by the Romans and hated by his fellow Jews. When Jesus came through his town there was a mob scene. Because Zacchaeus was short he climbed a tree to try to see Jesus. While Zacchaeus was in the tree Jesus came over to him and said, "Zacchaeus, come down here, I'm staying at your house today."

The people grumbled, "Look, he's gone to be the guest of a sinner."

But in response to Jesus' acceptance, Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Learning to respond to the love of God, rather than the fear of hell, is the true way to repent. In a world motivated by fear, we need to present the Gospel as something beautiful to embrace.

Terry concluded by sharing a song called Good Good Father. "I'm a big fan of the simple truths that God has embedded in my heart," he said in closing.