E-Devo 10-07-09
Dear Friends,
Thank you for all the well wishes to our church staff with the seasonal bug going around. Hopefully, we’re all on our way back to 100%. And a special thank you to my husband and on-call preacher who shared the message this last Sunday. I hope you all enjoyed getting to know more about his ministry at FIU/MDC with college students. There are several important announcements at the bottom so please continue reading to the end. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll highlight some important happenings until our double issue newsletter (Oct/Nov) is mailed.
Last week, I shared a magazine article about the benefits of attending worship and belonging to a faith community, especially during difficult times. Difficulties can be the catalyst that helps us connect to God and others in meaningful ways that bring us hope. We may feel bad when “that’s what it took” to get us back to church and God, but don’t. God rejoices when one comes home even more so than the 99 who stayed (Luke 15:7). So, how ironic was it when I saw the results of a “spirituality” survey in Sunday’s Parade newsmagazine. Although 45% of respondents called themselves “religious,” 50% said they rarely or never attend worship services. One third said that religion was important but not the most important thing in their life.
On one hand, “religion” sounds like something you can live without, at least take or leave when you feel like it. But remember some of the things we’ve been talking about lately…God is our power for living. How well do we “function” if we’re not plugged into our power source? God is our fresh breath. How “out of breath” do we feel when we’re just busy and pushing from one activity to the next, even if they are fun ones? It should be vitally important to reconnect with God through worship, prayer, resting, communion, etc. This is the true goal of religion and religious services.
Perhaps the most interesting (and professionally disappointing) statistic was that only 17% of respondents said they would go to a spiritual leader if they needed guidance with a problem. A majority (55%) said they would rely on family members. That means YOU are very important! Truth is that you are just as able to point to God as I am. Indeed, you may be more effective to direct others to Jesus, the Bible, and the church because of your close relationship to them. There is a reason we say “Every Christian is a minister.” So, think about those people close to you know who are leaning on you…a co-worker with a problem, a family member at the end of their rope, a troubled friend. While there’s a limit to what any one of us can do to help others, what can you do point this person to God? Ask them if they’ve shared their problems with God. Invite them to say a prayer about it. Once someone turns in that direction, God the Father runs to meet them. Trust me.
This Sunday, we will talk about the Holy Spirit as our Comfort for Life. I am very excited that Shawn Sutta will be performing special music for us. You won’t want to miss this opportunity! See you then!
Peace
Pastor Amber
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*Please pray for Donna Portal for the loss of her mother, and is traveling back from Ohio. And also for Nicholas Horne as he recovers from surgery due to injury and infection.
*Our Youth Group is “Under Construction!” We are in prayer and having conversations about how we can better organize our youth ministry to fit the needs and schedule of today’s families. If have a youth (grades 6-12) and want part of the discussion contact Pastor Amber or Bridget Gaines.
*It’s almost time for Operation Christmas Child to begin. Would anyone be willing to be the coordinator of our shoeboxes? The job would include ordering leaflets, “quality control” on the boxes, and coordinating the delivery in mid-November. See Pastor Amber or Rebekah Joy.
Upcoming Dates-
Saturday, Oct 10, 9:30am Scrapbooking
Monday, Oct 12, 7pm Community Ministry Team
Thursday, Oct 15, 7pm Health Ministry Team
Sunday, Oct 18, 11:45am Lay Leadership Team