Pastor's thoughts...Bible reading week 17, day 1

Today's devotional is an in between chapter one and we will get back to Lamentations 2 on Wednesday.  This might seem more like some of your pastor's thoughts as he prepares for future messages and also projects I am working on myself.  These are things that are important to me and rise to the top of my list.

The first is the idea of creating some time for feedback.  I preach a sermon every Sunday but we don't have a time to have some interchange about it.  I am investigating how we could have a question time that might focus on that passage but also maybe something else that has been burning in your mind.  We all have questions and I am not the answer man of it all by far but it could be helpful to create a time where they are welcome and handled better than just a short conversation in the foyer before leaving.  Our technology has allowed us to hear the message even away from the public proclamation on Sunday morning but again that is only one sided and deeper learning comes to both of us when we spend some more time working on the application of the passage.  I desire this and so I working on a plan to see it come to pass.

Another project of mine is small group opportunity of evangelism.   It is a small group that is made up of those who don't know God in a saving way and are curious to look at Him.  I am test running a program called "Christianity Explored" with the YMCA Bible Study group.  We are trying to approach as if we had never heard or read this before.  It uses the Gospel according to Mark as it outline to look at Jesus' life.  It will be challenge to find a host home and then work with that host family and maybe others of the church in the near vicinity to invite neighbors and friends to this community gathering in their home to learn more about Jesus.  I guess this is another place to ask questions.

I am also excited about the summer combined adult Sunday School class.  Last year we went through the "9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations."  This is material that we need to be reminded of and encouraged to incorporate in our daily lives.  I found out that there is more material to teach on this so we will have a refresher course this summer and hopefully more stories to tell about encounters we have with others in our community.  We will start off the course with a guest speaker, Nancy Klaussen, who will share like Jan Taet did last year about her encounters using the principles of the 9 Arts.  Nancy is a member is the Illinois Valley Evangelical Free Church of Ottawa.  So be thinking about attending the summer class starting Sunday, June 3rd at 9 a.m.

The last thought to share this beautiful Monday morning of April 23rd is that God raises up within His local congregation those needed for the tasks of the ministry.  Just as we spoke yesterday in the sermon about the funding of the ministry coming from the local congregation, it is also true that the leadership of the ministry comes many times from the local congregation.  I have seen that here.  I see God raising up what we need and who we need to go forward in our community with the gospel.  I do believe that sometimes we might not recognize them in that position because they are young or maybe young in the faith compared to others or young in the sense of not of the community for many years.  Timothy was so young but Paul saw the spiritual potential that was fed into him through the discipleship of his mother and grandmother.  Timothy, Titus and others were discipled by Paul and put into places of ministry with his letters of support coming to them and sometimes his very presence.  Paul actively was handing off the ministry to those God was raising up while circumstances held him up in jail or before councils.  This is a challenge to practice this practice of Paul.  Be on the look out with me of those God has placed here who we need to be encouraged to step more into the roll they are helping us with as a faith community.  As you see them serving, thank God for them and be ready to see them as a gift from God for such a time as this in the life of our church.  Be on the lookout for our Timothys and Titus's and lets provide them the encouragement they need, sometimes a push and challenge to step up in a more formal way and the room to use their spiritual gifts for the Lord here.  Let us pray.

"Lord, how we love Your church.  Thank You so much for the gathering of Your saints.  Thank You that You are continually providing what we need and help us to not get in the way of that progress.  Help us to grow and provide the place for others to grow as it was given to us.  And Lord, help us to see and trust the process of being a Paul to a Timothy and a You to Your disciples.  Amen."

Pastor Adam