A Musing for March 21

There are so many things I don’t understand …
One day, Jesus said to His disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x squared plus 8x minus 9."
A man who had just joined the disciples looked very confused and asked Peter: "What, on Earth, does He mean by that?"
Peter replied: "Don't worry - it's just another one of His parabolas."

What do I make of the things in the Bible that I don’t understand? Jesus really doesn’t want to confuse us. Perhaps we should concentrate on the things we do understand clearly, like our admonition to love God and others. I think if we get the basics down, the other things will make sense over time.

GROWING IN OUR FAITH DURING LENT
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where the flowers is?
Sometimes growth comes in spurts. That’s certainly true of our amaryllis bulb. I have to admit, I had given up hope on a flower this year. We had done all we could do (water, sunshine, etc.), and I didn’t think anything was going to happen. But the Lord has provided the growth.

“For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” (Isaiah 61:11)

“Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.” ~Lou Erickson

KIDS TOGETHER
Dustin and Rory Flay were great leaders for Kids Together on Sunday. The children had a number of prayer concerns that we prayed for. They learned that it helps to take our concerns to God and also talk about them with others. Michael Cattell brought his new baby sister, Katy, with him this week (his parents were also here). He’s a proud older brother!

This week Karen and Danielle Burkett will help lead the Kids Together program.

NURSERY
Winnie Spoonts and Kristen McGeorge were our nursery workers this week. They had a good group in the nursery. Linda and Lloyd Casey will be in the nursery during the worship service on Sunday.

KIDS CLUB
The Kids Club continues on Sunday evenings. We talked about self-defense. Bill Hyde gave us a tremendous display of his tae-kwon-do. The kids even learned how to break boards in two. We related that to being physically and spiritually prepared to meet life’s demands. Dorothy helped the kids made their own snack, a special bread recipe of Dorothy’s. Next week we’ll continue talking about defending our spiritual lives; we’ll learn some special moves to fend off attacks of the devil.

Children grades 3 to 7 meet from 6:00 to 7:30 every Sunday evening during lent. Sherry Snyder and Dorothy Gardner join me as leaders for the Kids Club. Don’t forget to help us gather supplies for our ministry project: care packages for soldiers in Iraq.

VBS IS COMING
Mark your calendars for July 15-19, 2007. The Children’s Ministry Team is making plans to transform our children into ‘007 agents for God.

LEND GOD A HAND THIS WEEK
A farmer purchased an old, run-down, abandoned farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. The fields were grown over with weeds, the farmhouse was falling apart, and the fences were broken down. During his first day of work, the town preacher stops by to bless the man's work, saying, "May you and God work together to make this the farm of your dreams!"
A few months later, the preacher stops by again to call on the farmer. Lo and behold, it's a completely different place. The farm house is completely rebuilt and in excellent condition, there is plenty of cattle and other livestock happily munching on feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled with crops planted in neat rows. "Amazing!" the preacher says. "Look what God and you have accomplished together!"
"Yes, reverend," says the farmer, "but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!"

May you and God have a good week working together.

Pastor Steve

This Week’s Motto: Sic biscuitus disintegratum (“That’s the way the cookie crumbles”)