If I can't eat

There was a little boy with a quarter to give during a Sunday offering. This Sunday, however, happened to be Communion Sunday, and as the elements were being passed the boy’s parents told him not to take any. “You’re not old enough,” they explained. Later, when the offering plate came by, however, the boy’s parents urged him to put in his quarter. He responded emphatically, “If I can’t eat, I won’t pay!”

I thought I would begin with a little humor as a way of announcing to you that we have the privilege of participating in the Lord’s Table this Sunday. Pastor Perry will lead the service, which will highlight the significance of participating in Communion. There is no doubt that Communion has been a very important part of the church and a reminder of what the Lord Jesus has done for us. The invitation to come to the Lord’s Table has been one that has thrilled the hearts of believers for centuries and I hope that you anticipate the worship, the meaning and the teaching that will surround the Lord’s Table this Sunday.

This Sunday will also highlight Pastor Perry Webb. Because of the membership vote of approval for our new budget, Perry is now serving as Associate Pastor of Care on a part-time basis and will receive compensation for his service at New Harvest. Perry has been as a volunteer pastor for two years, and now we are excited to acknowledge him in this new way to our church body. His ministry will focus on visitation, prayer and pastoral care, along with missions. Perry will work in partnership with John Doan, our new missions director. I look forward to you getting to know John as well.

These are exciting days at New Harvest Church. You can see the growing attendance and the hand of God at work.

"I'm Dreaming . . ."

A fellow had gone through hard times in his life and made many poor choices. He found himself at a Catholic church just a few days before Christmas. He met the priest and said, “Father, I’ve been floating around long enough. Could I join your church and settle down?” The priest replied, “Why yes. But first let’s find out how much you know about the Bible and the Christian faith.” With Christmas coming soon the priest asked, “Where was Jesus born?” The man replied, “In Pittsburg.” The priest shook his head and the fellow tried again, “In Philadelphia?” Again the priest shook his head and not wishing to embarrass this broken man anymore and said slowly, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” Quickly the guy declared, “Oh yea. I knew it was somewhere in Pennsylvania.”

Christmas is such a marvelous time. Maybe this year the real significance of Christmas will be the focal point in more lives. That’s what we are hoping for as we present a service entitled, “I’m Dreaming . . .” This Sunday service is meant to touch the lives of the people who will come, both those that know Christ and know a lot about Christmas, and those that know very little but realize their need for help. Please pray with me that many will come, that the weather will cooperate and that God will use it to draw people to the true gift of Christmas.

It is a privilege being your pastor and sharing in such a meaningful time of the year with Christmas love and service to others. Thank you for partnering with me for the sake of Christ.

Hidden growth

I feel led to just share an interesting thought with you that is connected to the wonder of God’s creation. I don’t know if you have viewed Jupiter, Venus and the moon shining brightly in the sky these last few days. In a similar way I was reading about the Ring Nebula, which looks like a smoke ring in the constellation of Lyra. It is a star in the process of exploding. Light from its explosion first reached the earth in 1054 AD. It was a supernova at that time, but now it is not so bright, but still exploding. It actually expands at the rate of 70 million miles a day. It is interesting to look through binoculars at something expanding 70 million miles a day. It does not budge. Its appearance size does not increase. Photographs of the Ring Nebula taken 15 years ago seem identical to photographs of it taken yesterday.

This brings up a spiritual point. Sometimes significant happenings are not visible to the naked eye, especially in the spiritual realm. But that’s only true from our perspective. If we could see from heaven’s standpoint we would know all that God is doing and intending to do in our lives. We would see God working in hearts in ways we cannot know. We would see God orchestrating circumstances that we know nothing about. We would see a galaxy of details being set in place for the moment when God brings the answer to fulfillment. The bottom-line – you can trust God, he is at work.

Winsome

Did you know that George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789 although some were opposed to it? It fact there was discord among the Colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving. However, Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, eventually became the catalyst through journalism to help establish a day of thanksgiving. After a 40 year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hales efforts became a reality, so that in 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a National Day of Thanksgiving.

I thought that was interesting in light of the day we live in. Some people scoff at the idea of God being the source behind all good things. Plus, the challenges in our world today are fairly difficult. We can even focus on circumstances and forget that God is in control. I want to help us look past the challenges and disappointments of life and focus on God’s faithfulness. We are going to study our last “W” which is a sermon entitled: “The Best ‘W’ of All.” It is going to be a glorious Sunday to be together as we lift up our praises to God.

It’s Thanksgiving time, and of all people on the face of the earth we understand the importance of gratitude and the good God who is behind all things; so let us come to our worship service this Sunday with a song of thanksgiving on our hearts.

We Worship

Let me begin with something I read this week about worship:

You can no more command someone to worship God than you can command someone to appreciate other pieces of beauty. Can you imagine saying to a grandmother, “Now listen: In just a minute I am going to take you into the nursery to show you your new grandson for the first time. When you see him, you want to get tears in your eyes, draw a sharp breath, and then say, ‘Oh my, he is beautiful!’ Ok? You ready?” No, no. Life doesn’t work that way, and neither, therefore, does the worship of God. A person needs to see and understand God and God’s work first – worship is the response that naturally follows.

Are you ready for our second “w” in this special series in November entitled “www.newharvest.now”? How high on the priority list is worship in your life? Would you call New Harvest a deeply worshipful church? What does worship mean to you? If you want to do a little reading ahead, open the Bible to Hebrews 12:18-29 and get ready for Sunday morning at New Harvest Church. This is an exciting time in the life of the church and I hope to see you.

Let me just say that I believe that this holiday season may be one of the best we have ever had as individuals and as a church. The challenges of the economy will help us reprioritize the kind of focus that God intends for us during these special holiday times like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hope this will be one of the best holiday seasons for you because what really matters will rise to the top for you and me.

The Deborah Factor

This Sunday I begin a three-part series on some specific topics that I believe are very important to the health of our church. I have entitled the series “www.newharvest.now.” Each of these topics are separate and the only connection is they all begin with “w.” I will only tell you about the first. You could begin with this statement, “Women want to be treated as equals not sequels.” Or how about this statement, “Cosmetics is a boon to every woman, but a girl’s best friend is still a near-sighted man.” I am not sure that is a compliment, I just thought it was funny. Or this statement from Will Rogers, “There is two theories to arguing with a woman, neither one works.” “Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” Margaret Thatcher said, “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” That’s a good lead-in to our message this Sunday, found in Judges 4. The title of the message, “The Deborah Factor.” I hope you will make your way to New Harvest at 9 or 10:45 am this Sunday, November 9^th.

Just a personal note of gratefulness for my trip to Southern California. I enjoyed a few days with both of my daughters. There was a swim meet, a dinner date, great conversations and a lot of laughs. The Lord is blessing Karissa and Hannah in their educational pursuits. I am proud of them.

This has been a busy week as planning begins for ministry during the holidays. We have Thanksgiving Boxes, Angel Tree gifts, a Christmas Special, Children’s Choir, extra music, Women’s Brunch and more. It is going to be a wonderful holiday season as we thank God for his goodness to us and celebrate the coming of the Lord through the Christmas story.

It's Just Stuff

I was reading in the October 13 TIME Magazine something about our economy that was on the lighter side: Instead of calling the “recession” try one of these new, upbeat terms . . .

$ Quality Family Time
$ Frugalfest
$ Saving Spree
$ American Idle
$ The Scrimpadelic Era
$ The Ramen Dynasty
$ Recess!

It’s hard to feel optimistic in the economic environment of our world these days, but you know that the Bible says that we are not to be anxious about anything, nor do we have any need to fear if we place our faith in the right source. What is the source of our happiness? What is the surest investment? How are we to view money and possessions? Again I have a few questions for you that I hope to address this Sunday as I bring a message entitled, “It’s Just Stuff.” This is the third message in our series about living in the United States in the volatile days before an election with so much uncertainty filling the air. Plus, this Sunday we will enjoy the inspiration of seven people being baptized, as well as Pastor Chad introducing us to a teenager who has just come to Christ. It is going to be an exciting morning to be together as a church.

I was listening to KLOVE Radio station this week and they mentioned the exciting story of a Baptist Church in Texas that was struggling which decided to deed over their property to the Assembly of God church that was being blessed by God even though they met in a school. This made national Christian news, affirming the unity we have as believers. We have been a part of such a miracle as well. The uniqueness of God’s blessing and the power of unity in the body of Christ is nothing short of a miracle. I just wanted to affirm to you again the wonder of what God has done here at New Harvest, as well as the connection with North Salem Baptist Church as we form one church for Him.