Monday Musings for January 5

MONDAY MUSINGS FROM PASTOR STEVE (01/05/09)

The story has been told …
Little Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer.
"Fine," said the pleased mother. "If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you."
"Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me not misbehave," said Johnny. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."

I regularly ask God to help you put up with me.

I want you to know that I pray for many of you each day. I trust that you spend time in prayer each day. Pray for me and for Maple Grove. Some have said that prayer is a building block of a passionate spirituality.

Sunday I spoke about being the kind of Christian and Church that God wants us to be. God called Abraham so that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him; God calls us for the same reason. I trust you will be a blessing to someone this week.

THANK YOU FOR SUNDAY

We have a wonderful worship and music program. I thank Rick and the worship team for putting together a meaningful worship experience. We ended our Advent/Christmas theme of asking God to “Let Your Face Shine” based on Psalm 80 among other passages. Our sound techs make me sound good and the video techs have an important ministry. Thanks to Cathy C for putting the slide picture show together during the confession part of worship. Melba did a great job coordinating the decorations.

There were many announcements on Sunday. Most all of these are available at our church blog: http://maplegrovemennonite.blogspot.com.

We had a number of visitors with us on Sunday morning – please remember to greet folks you don’t know and make them feel welcome. A large group of our visitors were relatives of Daryl and Kim Stoltzfus. It was a joy to have all of them present for the dedication of Nolan.

Jeff did a great job opening our 100th Anniversary celebration by taking on the part of Minister John M. Stoltzfus. Thanks Jeff! You even dressed the part.

Everyone came together to put away Christmas quickly and efficiently. All your help (voluntary or by obligation) is deeply appreciated.

A large chunk of our roof tiles blew off during the winds of last week. RuthAnn, Mast, & Anna picked them out of the parking lot and yard. Thanks! Kyle was up on the roof today. Pray for our trustees!

On Sunday evening a small group gathered to worship, and hear Debbie Davenport speak. Debbie is Director of Cornerstone Pregnancy Care Services. This is a ministry supported by Maple Grove. She gave us a real challenge to reach out to people who seem “undesirable.” It was difficult for many of our congregation to decide to come on Sunday evening. We really shouldn’t put you in such a position. I’ll remind you that we had our evening planned before the Eagles did.

Our quizzers got off to a good start on Sunday evening. We have two teams; Jeff S and Erin M are our coaches.

MEETINGS

The Finance Commission was to meet tonight, but rescheduled for next Monday.
On Monday, January 12 many of you will be at the church. Finance, Worship, Youth Ministry & Leadership will all meet that evening.

It’s a busy week … Xtreme Worship on Tuesday & Family Night on Wednesday. I thank the Lord for an active church.

NEXT SUNDAY

Depression is a common issue that many of us deal with from time to time. Sunday morning our Adult classes will meet in the Sanctuary to be led by Mike Lusby. Classes are asked to sit together.

Next Sunday we will commission our Mission Team to the Dominican Republic. Despite many obstacles, Eric and Co. have put together a good team. Let’s keep them in our prayers. It’s great to have Nicole as one of the leaders this year.


PRAYER CONCERNS

David is feeling better and went to school today. (Phew!)
There are a number of prayer concerns in addition to those listed in our bulletin. Remember to pray for Melissa A’s grandfather as he recovers from a stroke; we thank the Lord that Dawson accepted Christ on Saturday evening; Earl Umble (Brother to Mildred K, Harold and Vernon Umble) is not doing well, please pray for all of them. Paul S will have some tests this week.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I used to tell the folks in Bolivia that our group of churches is only as strong as the weakest church, and that we need to work to help one another to be strong witnesses for our Lord. I think the same is true for our congregation. We need to build each other up continually.

I appreciate the opportunity, which the Lord has given me, to minister with all of you. You are all very special to me. Thanks for putting up with me.

Pastor Steve Crane

Disclaimer: “That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.”