Living In God For the World

Pastor Brad began the service by bringing up a fragment from a discussion that occurred in one of our adult Sunday school classes that convenes in the hour before church. They had touched upon the manner in which sometimes wrestle with doubts about many things. Brad used this notion to make the strongest affirmation he could possibly make that he has no doubts whatsoever about this: "I am delighted to be here with you. I am so grateful to be with this community of faith."

Many announcements followed this pronouncement.
1. Keep praying for our building committee as the work hard on the plans that have been moving forward.
2. Brad will be at the annual Pastor's Conference this week. Despite his absence Wednesday evening the midweek small group should continue to meet.
3. Cheryl Borndal shared that it is not too early to begin thinking of summer camp plans. Early registration (which means savings) ends March 1.
4. Elsa shared that there will be a Super Bowl party for the youth next Sunday here at the church. Even if you're not into football there will be other activities. Join us.
5. Elsa also mentioned that we will be fund raising to send four youth to the Nation CHIC gathering this year.
6.Paula Saxin noted that there will be a women's event in March called Uniquely You. Mark the 23rd and 24th on your calendars. More information to come.

The quartet led us into worship with two songs this morning, "Somebody Touched Me" and "Just a Little Talk With Jesus." This was followed by several songs with the congregation and a little time of greeting our neighbors before getting seated again. The taking of tithes and offerings and the reading of Mark 1:21-28 preceded our time of prayer for the needs of the church family.

Living In God For the World

The first portion of the message was a summary of the past several messages about the Lord's encounter with the woman at the well and the events surrounding that fateful meeting as recorded in John 4. Jesus was in the habit of breaking social rules as he reached out across the barriers that divide.

When Jesus said He could give her water so she'd never thirst again, she understood that this was no ordinary man. As she ran into town telling others about Him, she repeated, "Could this be the Messiah?"

Brad paused and pointed out that our relationship with God can begin with just a simple earnest question like that... "Could this be...?" Could this be God speaking to me? Could this be a turning point in my life?

He then shared a letter from a prison inmate. The painfulness and hardship saturated the letter, but the man summed up, "I can see light at the end of the tunnel because of my faith."

When your truth gets hooked up with God's truth, this is the formula for freedom.

Brad highlighted other points in this story. Jesus ended up alone with this woman in a public place because the disciples had gone into town to get food. When they got back they urged Him to eat, but he said, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." This only made them confused so he added, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and finish His work."

Jesus was nourished from within.

Pastor Brad talked about this inner life a bit. "Is living water flowing out of you? Is joy flowing out of you? Hope? Peace? Kindness?" He compared our hearts to a tube of toothpaste. When you're squeezed, what on the inside is what will come out. As Jesus explained in Matthew 12:34-35, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him."

The opening lines of Psalm 42 reveal what was in David's heart.

1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

When our souls pant for God, He fills us up.

All too often as Christians we try to live for God in the world, but the equation should be written differently. We should be living in God for the world.

Jesus says in John 15, "I am the vine and you are the branches..." Our responsibility is to stay connected to the vine, stay thirsty for God. He will fill you up and keep you going. Let your roots go deep in Him.

Brad closed the sermon by stating, "My prayer is that your buckets will be full."

After a closing hymn we proceeded to share the breaking of bread in a communion service using the intinction method. (Intinction is the Eucharistic practice of partly dipping the consecrated bread into the consecrated wine before consumption by the communicant.)

Reflecting On Your Biblical Story

After a hearty "Good morning" Brad thanked all the people who helped make the Harvest Fest such a successful event again two weeks ago. Announcements included mention that Family Nights will begin in October. Meals together and groups for all ages will help build and strengthen our church family. Volunteers are still needed for certain tasks.

Brad also expressed gratitude for our community of faith as everyone has been so generous in the aftermath of the Shannon's loss of their home. Needless to say they have no intention of spending all their money and time in a hotel and hope to find a mobile home they can move to their property before winter.

The worship began with our quartet singing "Somebody Touched Me." After another song and a time of corporate worship the offering was taken. Leonard read Daniel 1 to set up today's message.

Reflecting On Your Biblical Story

Each of us has a story. The book of Daniel is about Daniel's resiliency in difficult times. The first chapter is the focus of today's message and Brad aimed to bring home three main points.

1) Daniel did not expect to be in Babylon.
In many respects Daniel growing up was a golden boy with a future in leadership. He came from a family with high social status, was strikingly handsome, intelligent and had great prospects.

Unfortunately, after years of decline, Israel was not a nation with great prospects. While Daniel was still a young man the Babylonian armies ransacked Jerusalem, destroyed God's temple and made captives of its people. This was a painful experience as Daniel lost his culture, lost his relationship and even lost his name. Life did not turn out the way he had planned.

There's a world of heartbreak in the first two sentences of this chapter. What do you do when you find yourself in Babylon. How do you respond when life goes different than you had planned? What do you do? How did God let this happen?

2) Resolve and resiliency.
There was a study of people who experience great suffering to determine why some are defeated by it and others seems to thrive and grow through the experience. The key ingredient in the latter group is their resiliency.

In the study there were three characteristics common to those who were resilient. The first we see here exhibited by Daniel. Inside there is a deep resolve to honor their deepest values. We see this in verse 8... which leads to taking intiative, not resignation. Daniel determined his path, to honor God. This gave him courage to take a stand and not be just a helpless pawn in his life circumstances.

"What resolve do you need to make?" Brad asked. "What got you into your Babylon?" God is calling you to be like Daniel. Too many people spend their time making excuses. "If only I had more time." Or, "If only I had a better church."

Brad then stated emphatically, "This is your one and only life and it is short."

A second characteristic of resiliency in hardship is their commitment to community. Spiritually resilient people are committed to living in community. They don't go it alone. Connectedness is not only important, it is vital.

Daniel had three friends, Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, who went through this experience with him.

Dr. Julius Segal, in his book Winning Life's Toughest Battles, details some of the ways in which James Stockdale's fellow POWs communicated to him and one another in an effort to keep his spirits alive. In the midst of horrorific torments, the men encouraged him with the snapping of towels, and an assortment of sounds to communicate to him in code. Men risked their lives to keep community alive, and here where relationships are easy to come by we fail to value them.

Do you have a community? If not, make it a priority. What a difference it has made for Brooke and I. People need to hear the code that they matter.

3) Suffering and meaning.
For spiritually resilient people, their suffering gives them meaning. It's not the intensity of the suffering but the meaningless of it that causes people to give up.

Daniel discovered God's hand was at work in his circumstances. God was not sleeping. And so with us, God is present and at work.

Resolve to be faithful. Trust God that He is at work in your situation.

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Brad will be back Tuesday evening, so Chuck greeted us and led the service today. Our guest speaker was Pastor David Eaton, a chaplain and Covenant pastor who has been with us before and becoming a friend of the New Life Covenant family.

Announcements
1) Gwen shared II Peter 3:18 with us as an intro to her theme about Sunday School. We're called to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." GROW as an acronym means
God's Word
Relationships
Obedience
Worship

2) Cheryl B. noted that our community of believers sent 28 kids to camp this year, a real achievement and a life changing experience for many.

While Darlene played Worthy of Worship, Chuck read Psalm 29, which in itself is rich, but especially enhanced against the backdrop of Darlene's accompaniment. After a time of worship, Chuck and Gwen sang a duet during the offering.

Our Scripture reading was from Romans 9:1-5. After a time of prayer, Gwen took the pulpit to minister in song, sharing with us The Solid Rock.

David Eaton then stepped up to deliver the message.

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Eaton shared how much he enjoys the stories from the Old Testament, and that today he would be bringing us way back to one of its earliest books, the Book of Genesis. He then challenged us with a series of questions beginning with, "Do you believe God is good? Do you believe God is good in every situation?"

Our response is often filtered through our own experience and we often re-phrase this. "Is God good for me?" We also ask other questions like, "How could you let this happen to me?"

How do we handle it when life treats us unfairly? The variety of ways we can be wounded are innumerable. Terrible things can happen to people. How do we deal with it? Pastor Eaton noted that, "It's all about grace."

At this point he interjected the conclusion of his sermon, Genesis 50:20, noting that it's all about perspective. Joseph, speaking to his brothers, said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

The story of Joseph is a familiar one. He was the "golden boy" of the Jacob's twelve sons. The first ten were born three of Jacob's wives while his favorite wife remained barren. Eventually she gave him two sons, Joseph the first. And Jacob was elated. Joseph got special treatment, not the least of which was the coat of many colors his father bestowed upon him. All this caused a jealousy to fester between he and his brothers. This is the background for today's sermon, and the rest of the story.

Grace Unknown

In Genesis 37 Joseph tells his brothers about a dream he had.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

This and a subsequent dream caused the brothers' jealousy and rage shoot through the roof. Some of the brothers were so angry they actually wanted to kill him, but Reuben prevailed and instead they sold him into slavery, faking his death so that their father believed he'd been eaten by a wild animal.

God's hand was on Joseph, and while in the service of Potiphar, a land owner in Egypt, good things happened for Potiphar and Joseph's value increased. Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife took a hankering for Joseph. When he refused her advances, she told her husband he was putting the moves on her, attempted to violate her, and Joseph was unjustly sent to prison.

But even in prison it was apparent that God was with him, and as time crept forward, Joseph eventually was able to assist in the interpretation of the king's dream. This giftedness led to his ultimate release, after the longest time, to become 2nd in command in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the brothers may have been free of Joseph's dreamings, but they were in no way free of the guilt over what they had done to him. As "luck" would have it, a drought forced Jacob to send his sons to Egypt for food in a time of need.

In Genesis 42 the brothers show up in Egypt to get food for Canaan and it is Joseph to whom they must apply for assistance. Though he recognizes them immediately, they do not recognize him. And since he has been talking with them through an imterpreter, they do not realize he can understand them when they lament over their guilt from their behavior years earlier.

21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

They had done wrong and they knew it, but they did not have the power in themselves to fix it.

Grace Extended

In Genesis 45 Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and extends his grace to them. The revelation must have been an incredible moment, as they undoubtedly never expected to see Joseph again. Though they deserved harsh justice, they received from their brother mercy.

So it is with us. God loves us. Regardless of our checkered past, His grace is extended to all.

Grace Received

Perhaps the most incredible insight from today's message comes from this passage in Genesis 50:15...

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”

It's 17 years later and even though Joseph had forgiven them long ago, they still lived in fear of him. When Jacob died, the brothers connived a plan to make sure they would be safe. They did not understand that Joseph had extended mercy and it was not based on anything but love for them.

The brothers had presumed that Joseph was being kind to them out of deference for Jacob. Jacob was a safety net. Once the net was gone, their old fears returned. Now, they believed, Joseph would do what he's always wanted to do. They still did not understand the extent of his grace and unconditional mercy.

So it is with God, who loves us and desires that we accept -- fully -- His unconditional mercy.

Pastor Eaton said that throughout his life experience, especially in chaplaincy, he has encountered people who believe in God but still do not believe and receive his grace. I you are one of these, in that space between believing and receiving, the time to settle it is now.

Top right: David and Shawnee Eaton

Lessons From Moses On Prayer

"I'm delighted you're with us," Pastor Brad began, and on such a beautiful autumn day that felt more like summer he warmly welcomed us. The theme, he said, would be a continuation of last week, based on what Jesus said, "My Father's house shall be a house of prayer."

A few announcements were interjected before commencing the service. We were reminded that next week church begins at 10:15 and that afterwards we will all go to Twig Park for a potluck picnic. We hope you will all be there.

Also, the new church directory is almost done. (After the service your faithful blog scribe noticed a few people scrambling to get last minute pictures taken.) This Thursday a few volunteers will be gathering here at the church to assemble and staple together the directories for distribution.

After an introit by Darlene, Pastor Brad led us in worship.

Today's Scripture readings were as follows...

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Mark 7:24-37

After the offering, and a time of prayer, Brad took the pulpit to continue his theme.

Lessons From Moses On Prayer

As with last week, Brad asked how we would rate our personal prayer lives on a scale of 1 to 10. He reminded us once again that God's prevailing power flows through those who pray.

After reading again the passage from Exodus 17:8ff Brad noted that the battle was not won in the valley below, but on the hillside, through prayer. Joshua indeed served his purpose, and did need to fight, but the battle was won on the mountain.

In short, we must seriously devote time to prayer if we would be victorious in our daily battles. This is an important business. Get out your calendars and mark them, set aside time for prayer. Moses did not lead the troops. He was away from the battle.

In our modern times we are obsesses with being productive. Producing visible stuff has value, by some standards. But what has value by God's standard? Brad tested us. Which of the following are Productive and which are Unproductive?

Work?

Watching TV?

Using large power tools?

Vacation?

Prayer?

By the world's standard prayer falls into the unproductive category, along with TV and vacation.

Too often we let the world set our agenda. To the world, prayer does not seems productive, though some try to crib this a little by saying if we prayer more, our lives will become more efficient, as if God is a button we can push to make things fall our way.

Brad reminded us though that prayer time is not wasted time. It does involve a sacrifice of time.

He told a story about a judge he knew who turned down a Federal Judgeship because it would cut into the time he spent in prayer. His prayer life was more important than career advancement.

Several points were made throughout the sermon drawn from this passage. First, that we are utterly dependent upon God. Second, that prayer takes time. Third, Moses accomplished his task with the help of some aids. Here are examples of things that helped. He went up onto a hillside where he could see what was going on. This vantage point gave him a good view. We, too, need to find ways to stay in touch with what is going on.

Brad suggested some of the following small ways we can be praying for others. We can pray for each person we meet during the course of a day. When we read the paper we can pray for those whose names we encounter there.

Moses,when he climbed up on the hill, carried the staff which he had with him years before when he first encountered God at the burning bush. This staff had been transformed briefly into a poisonous snake, before he was instructed to grab its tail, whereupon it became his staff again. Wherever he carried it, the staff was a visible reminder of the power of God.

Brad asked if our minds ever wander while in prayer. A few chuckles... because who has not experienced this at one time or another. It is one of the great difficulties of prayer. He cited a quote by Henri Nouwen that our minds are like a banana tree filled with monkeys, all jumping about, quite distracting when we're trying to be still.

Sometimes we need aids to help us be still, or to feel God's presence. One man placed a chair in the room to acknowledge Jesus' presence.

The verse, "Be still and know that I am God" is our starting point.

A fourth lesson from the passage is that Moses involved other. Aaron and Hur came with him up the hillside. Brad noted that our deacons are "praying deacons" who are helping fight the battle with regard to our church mission. We ourselves can ask others to pray with us or for us.

Brad outlined a fifth lesson: afterwards the built an altar. The altar acknowledged God had been there to help them win the battle. One example of a way we can close the loop might be to write down answers to prayer in a journal.

As we face the new year, building decisions and new programs, the most important project is making God's house a house of prayer.

Celebration of the sacrament of communion followed the message.

Indescribable

Today's service had a number of special features that made it somewhat unique. First off, we had two worship teams arrive, each unaware of the other. Perhaps one of the nice features of a small church is the opportunity to demonstrate its flexibility. In addition to the quarter+1 we also had De Elliot Bros. jugband to share some gospel tunes with us.

Pastor Brad Shannon welcomed us with a warm "Good morning" on a chilly mid-summer day. He thanked us for the special 40th birthday surprises and picnic we gave him last week. He then said he would be talking again about taking risks, and in particular, as it applied to forgiveness.

Announcements included the Tuesday evening board meeting here at seven p.m. Also, Mae urged us to make sure we verified our personal information for the church directory. And if you have not had your picture taken, they will use the photo from the last directory. Pam then stood and said that for the next three weeks we will be collecting school supplies to donate to local schools for needy kids.

At this, the two worship teams combined for an introductory number that got us in the mood for the service. The music was special for the musicians as well as the congregation.

Brad read two passages from Scripture before the prayer time. The OT reading was from Psalm 51:1-12. The NT came out of Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1-16.

During the prayer time Rebecca Bruley shared a deeply personal and moving account involving a powerful healing of more than 100 nodules on her lungs. The story gave evidence once more that we have a living God who cares about us intimately.

De Elliot Brothers performed one more song and then Pastor Brad spoke to us from in front of the communion table.

Indescribable

Brad began the message by putting on a backpack and asking if anyone here had carried something heavy for a long time. Nearly all of us have had to carry things, but especially those who have gone canoeing in the Boundary Waters or general camping in the wilderness have known the experience.

"It's bad enough," Brad said, "when carrying something is physically back breaking, but to carry emotional burdens is worse." He was referring especially to grudges. He compared grudges to babies, which was interesting. He pulled a small, fist sized rock from the backpack and held it up. Like babies, we nurse our grudges, we feed them... we help them grow.

He then pulled out and held up an even larger rock, saying that our "grudgette" soon becomes a full grown grudge. This is where we get in trouble.

Brad shared the story of Lamech from Genesis 4, a descendant of Cain. Cain, when he killed his brother Abel, was marked by God who said, “If anyone kills Cain he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Humans are not supposed to take vengeance, the pastor stated

Lamech, the first bigamist, evidently took Cain’s life and even seemed to glory in it, saying, "If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven," thereby justifying his grudge.

Grudges have tragic consequences, with some being passed on to future generations. Many do not know that Ann Landers was actually a sister of Dear Abby. Though they both gave years of advice to people on how to get along, neither one spoke to the other, having each nourished their perpetual grudges against one another. Sadly, the daughters of these two influential women continue to carry on the unforgiveness and enmity that split their mothers.

Nursing grudges happens in the workplace and it happens in the church. But Jesus came along to tell us there's another way.

In the famous passage from Matthew where Peter asks his Lord how many times he must forgive saying, "Up to seven times?" ... well, Jesus raises the bar. "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Brad drew our attention once more to the parable about the unmerciful servant who was forgiven much by his master, but in turn was mercilessly brutal to someone who owed him a pittance. The parable ends with what Brad calls "the scariest words in the Bible." From Matthew 18... 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Put down the stone, your grudge... and forgive.

We so easily forget the cost of forgiveness. It cost Jesus the Cross for God to forgive us.

Brad shared story about going to the prom in his ultimate best outfit, feeling jazzed and atop the world, looking spiff with his cane and accessories. His cheer was dampened a bit when a bird, flying overhead, let go a dropping to land on his shoulder. This suit was stained.

So it is that we ourselves have been inwardly stained by our sins, a major source of stain being our unforgiveness.

At this point Brad held up the rocks and said, "There's a place to put these rocks," which were symbols now of our grudges. He carried them to the foot of the cross and urged us to not focus on the rocks, our grudges, but to put our eyes on the cross.

"What is the grudge that you're carrying?"

Afterwards we celebrated the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, followed by a picnic at the Cresman's who graciously hosted the church on their lakefront property.

Finishing Well

Sunshine on a chilly February morning, but lots of warmth in our sanctuary today as we prepared to celebrate another baptism, which always seems to bring out a little extra passion from our pastor Brad Shannon who welcomed us by noting today’s theme, Finishing Well. “None of us run this race alone,” he said. “As those who follow Jesus we do this together…. It’s not how you start, but how you finish.”

After announcements – a board meeting Tuesday evening, and the Valentine’s Banquet postponed till next Saturday – an Introit was played (Crown Him With Many Crowns) and Pastor Brad read to us Psalm 150, with its exultant celebration of music and song, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

A youth group from River Falls Covenant in Wisconsin had spent the weekend here with our youth. Two musicians, Ryan & Tyler, shared a song, followed by a time of congregational worship. The baptism of River Lee Strom came next, with special music by Ed Newman, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go. Brad reiterated a recurring theme from his ministry: “We’re in this together.”

After the children were dismissed, Eric Borndal read from the Scriptures: II Kings 5:1-14 and Mark 1:40-45.

During the time of prayer we remembered Leonard Armstrong who was hospitalized Friday evening while in the process of preparing his gift to the church, our Valentine’s Banquet, now postponed a week. Leonard joined Lillian Peterson at St. Luke’s Hospital, with Lillian having fallen on the ice while retrieving mail.

It was also noted at this time that a donation for $100 had been made toward a professional quality food processor to help Leonard and our other kitchen services contributors. The target is $300 if you wish to pitch in and upgrade our kitchen.

Finishing Well

Pastor Brad began by reading portions of Hebrews 11, initially pertaining to Moses in vss. 23 and following, but noting that many others have demonstrated their faith throughout history.

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The message, in a nutshell, was this: "Just keep running. Just don't quit." But his sermon elaborated. He began by asking how many of us run for exercise. "Anyone tempted to quit?" he then asked. Laughter followed because that's the nature of running.

With marathons you especially see this pattern. In the beginning there's a kind of a high, a runner's high. All is well. How long this high lasts is directly related to the runner's condition. Brad jokingly said he lasts about seventeen steps.

Once the run begins there is a sequence that follows. After the initial exhilaration, there comes the laborious part, followed by exhaustion and fatigue. Then there's the wall. To keep going requires determination, and those who determine to finish must keep going.

The start is fun, finishing is hard. Finishing well is glory.

It's a metaphor for our Christian walk, of course. And to this end Brad asks, "Will you run the race to the very end? Will you finish well? Will you remain steadfast?" And once more he affirms, "Just keep running."

Returning the the life of Moses, around which our recent messages have centered, Pastor Brad picked up the thread of the story where Moses and Aaron finally believed that God indeed would do the amazing thing of liberating Israel by their hand. (Exodus 4:31)

In chapter 5 of Exodus, we see that, like the marathon runners, they begin boldly, with confidence. "Let my people go," Moses exclaims to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh, ruler of the world's greatest empire, is not impressed. Moses adds a "Pretty please" to the somewhat confrontational dialogue, and Pharaoh indeed responds by making life tougher for the Hebrews. Instead of supplying straw for their quota of bricks, they must now gather their own straw, with no diminution of the quota.

This is where Moses hit the wall. The Hebrews he had come to liberate were less than encouraging, a little more obstinate. To paraphrase, their response to Moses was, "You have made our fragrance stink."

Here's where we get tempted to quit. It seems like we're alone, that it's just us against the world. Moses was left alone with Aaron, with Pharaoh and Egypt and his fellow Hebrews against him. But Moses was not alone. And we're not either.

Moses turns again to the Lord. In chapter 6 God speaks to Moses: "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh... I will make Myself known..." What's more, God has not been indifferent to the suffering of His people. He has heard their groaning.

If you're going to persevere in this race, like Moses you will have to persist in prayer. Moses, every step of the way, kept turning to God. He begins, continues and finishes in prayer.

Brad then told two stories from the life of Jesus which were especially amusing because of the way Brad makes them relevant to our contemporary situations. The point of each is that God cares about us, our needs, our circumstances, and we are to seek him, with persistence.

Turning now to each of us, Pastor Brad asked, "Can you identify the greatest need in your life right now? Make a commitment to persevere... to pray saying, 'I'm going to do what Jesus commands me to do, no matter what.' Draw a line in the sand. Will you do that with me today?"

At this point, Brad revealed his motivation for being so passionate about this theme. "I can't have friends falling off the side of the road." His heart was thus opened up to us with that wide transparency so needed in our world today.

"Just keep running," he implored. "Don't quit, friends."

Amplifying these thoughts, he states that the church needs to be a place where we encourage one another.

Ultimately, however, the Bible is not a book about our persistence. It is a revelation of God's persistence. He will not give up on you. As it is written "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you."

This is the word of the Lord.

Not Gonna Do It?

With the sun illuminating the sanctuary, Pastor Brad welcomed us in his usual warm fashion. Today, he said, the theme would be about saying "yes" to God's call. His message would address five objections that we often raise, but this was the main point he planned to make: The ultimate reality of who we are is no longer defined by our limitations. Instead of focusing on what we can't do, our focus needs to be on God and what He can do in us and through us.

Announcements:

1. Be sure to sign up for the Valentine Sweetheart Banquet if you plan to come. (Editor's note: if you are not planning to come, you should.)

2. Susie stood and pointed out the new wall hanging that the children created in Adventure Club, noting that every picture tells a story. Be sure to ask the children of our church family what their stories are about.

3. Building committee meeting Thursday evening.

4. The Christmas ornaments were fun to make and Paula said they will be doing them again on February 21st here at the church.

Chuck then read a moving passage from Matthew that closes with the statement, "All who touched Him were healed." It was a special lead in to the quartet singing "He Touched Me" followed by a very nice worship time.

Pastor Brad read from Exodus 3 and 4 to prepare us for the message.

Not Gonna Do It?

Brad began by sharing what he considered one of the most profound statements about the human condition by someone he admired from the first time he saw him. Most of us know him. He loves to sail, is in tremendous physical condition and eats unbelievably healthy food. His name is Popeye the sailor man. Not sophisticated or educated, just a pipe smoking, tattooed sea faring sailor.

When he was sad, or when he made a mistake, or when he felt inadequate... or when he was called on to do something he didn't feel capable of doing, he always said the same thing. "I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam." It's the sad lament of the human race. In other words, don't get your hopes up.

After sharing his own shortcomings, Brad said it would be easy to excuse one's inadequacy by saying, "I yam what I yam." But God doesn't let it rest there. He has a purpose for our lives. This becomes Brad segue into the story of Moses.

Moses had fled Egypt and was living on the backside of the desert when one day he noticed a burning bush. The bush caught Moses' eye whereupon he turned aside to check it out. Moses could have walked past and missed it. But as a result of this turning aside, history was changed.

How about you? How are you at turning aside? That is, how do you do when it comes to turning aside to listen to God? Whether at home at the office, we can "turn aside" to appreciate moments of listening to God during the day.

In Exodus 3 God shows Moses His heart. God says he has heard Israel's weeping and seen the suffering of His people. And he lays out a plan with Moses at the center of it.

Moses objects. Who am I? I am not adequate. And I am a fugitive, and a murderer... I am not the guy.

God stays with it and says, "I know who you are. I created you, and I know everything about you. Your shortcomings are not the ultimate truth about you. I will be with you."

Brad noted that many of us are in the same spot as Moses. God has a purpose for us, but we have objections. One of our shortcomings is that we do not understand God's grace. Often we're still beating ourselves up for past failings. God says, "I know who you are and it doesn't matter."

After Moses encountered God in the bush his next question was "Who are you?" God replied, "I am who I am." There are no layers of bureaucracy with God. God desires to be known and invites us to know him.

Next, God turns Moses' staff into a serpent, then tells Moses to grab it by the tail. Despite Moses' natural inclination to run from a snake, at God's command he takes hold of it and it turns back into a staff. There are two Hebrew words that could be used that mean grab or take hold of. The first describes a somewhat calm action. This is the verb God used. The second means to snatch it with force. Exodus records that Moses grabbed it in this latter manner, not exactly what God intended.

Then Moses was instructed to put his hand underneath his cloak, which when pulled out was leprous. God restores the hand, and seems to be saying, "I will do amazing things with these simple things."

Pastor Brad showed how this has always been God's way. A few loaves and fishes feed five thousand. Five talents are multiplied extravagantly. A mustard seed fills the whole earth.

So, what's in your hand?

Moses still was not ready, however. "Whoa, I have never been eloquent," Moses told God. But God replied, "Who made mouths, Moses? I made your mouth. I can fill it with amazing words."

Brad said this exchange seemed to foreshadow the spiritual gifts of the New Testament. Are you using your gifts?

Moses still balked. "Please pick someone else," Moses said. God showed mercy by bringing in his brother Aaron to go along. This is a picture of the value of community. We do God's work together.

Who's your Aaron?

An interesting thing about the story here is that while Moses goes on to liberate his people, you never find out what happened to the burning bush. You find out what happens to Moses and Israel, to Pharaoh and his soldiers, but what happened to the burning bush. Pastor said, "I believe it's still burning... and God is waiting for people who will turn aside. I think God is waiting for that right now.

The celebration of the sacrament of Communion followed.