MIDWEEK MESSAGE #279
Hello everyone! I hope you have been able to stay warm and safe. As I write this portion of the MM, it is Saturday afternoon and the snow has just started. Pastor Ryan, Diana, Hannah and I put a lot of time and thought into whether to cancel services or not but we all came to the same conclusion: yes. We, of course, didn’t want to, but our first priority is your safety. Since we have so many who live outside of town where the roads are suspect, we made the decision to cancel. Following the Legislative Breakfast Saturday, Pastor Ryan and I recorded the message on his phone just in case we could not make it do the live stream. As I mentioned at the beginning of the message, if you saw it from the youth addition, then we made the right choice! Every once in a while we make a good decision. 😄 Thanks for understanding. I do hope you were able to watch the video on either YouTube or Facebook.
I ask that you pray for Shelly Sutton, our educator of the week. Shelly and Johnathan have been married for 28 years. They met at a Christian camp in Colorado where they both worked. Their oldest daughter, Lauryn, is getting married on June 6th and she and her future husband, Lucas, met at the same camp. They are also parents to son, Brodie, who graduated last year, works at Poindexter Metalworks, and is working on what is next for his future. Ayzleah, their youngest daughter, is a sophomore in high school. Shelly used to do scrapbooking, but lately says her hobby is party planning for her family. 😄She and Johnathan enjoy gardening together, and as a family they like to play board games and watch movies.
YOUTH NEWS:
Several of our young people are playing Biddy Ball at MCES:
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- Piper and Dax Bell and Jordan Mangia play for Team Tivoli. Jordan’s dad, Tom, is the coach.
- Marci Arnold plays for Team Apex.
- Barrett Zigler plays for Team Insurance Services.
- Barrett’s brother, Winston, and Hudsyn Biggs play for Cream & Crimson Flooring on an
older league (9U). They play their games at SES on Saturdays.
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For Your Information:
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- Due to the weather: our Church family pitch-in has been cancelled!🙁 Also, Deeper
youth Bible study is cancelled for today! - Safe Worship presentation at Martinsville this Saturday. Pastor Ryan and several of our
Safety & Security team folks are attending the training session. - Elder’s Meeting is Monday, February 2nd at 5:30.
- Due to the weather: our Church family pitch-in has been cancelled!🙁 Also, Deeper
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SPEAKING OF ELDERS:
I announced two Sundays ago and again on the recorded message that the elders are recommending to you that Charley Shipley become an elder at OVCF. For those who are new or may need a refresher:
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- The one being considered goes through a study with me on what an elder is by looking at why we have a plurality of elders and also a study of the qualities and characteristics of an elder as found in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
- We invite him to join us in several elder’s meetings so he can see how we operate.
- We then ask him if he would like to join our leadership team. If he says, “Yes”, as Charley has, we then announce it to the congregation and you have two weeks to submit a written (and signed) letter telling us why you cannot endorse Charley as an elder. (It must be a spiritual reason). After two weeks, if there is no concerning matter, we will announce Charley’s acceptance and will have him come to the front of the church to be prayed over and installed as an elder on February 8th. You have until this Sunday, February 1st to respond.
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Monday morning during my Quiet Time, I read from an amazing chapter in Mark: chapter 5.
It includes three events involving Jesus. A quick recap first: 1) A demon-possessed man so
uncontrollable that not even chains could hold him; 2) A woman who had bled for years.
Financially devastated by doctors; unclean for visits to the Temple; and an outcast among her
own people; 3) The daughter of Jairus, the synagogue ruler, who was dying as her father hunted down Jesus and begged for healing.
Each incident and miracle show us something different about Jesus:
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- His power over evil
- His power over sickness
- His power over death
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When evil seems to be winning, it won’t. When sickness seems to be so overwhelming, it isn’t. When death seems to have won, it hasn’t. We live with the reality of all 3 of those. Evil seems to win or be winning. Sickness seems to be rampant, ravaging all. Death is an ever-present reality-expected or unexpected. But we serve a Savior who can set us free from chains; who came to heal (if He so chooses); and who has defeated death and gives us eternal life, the ultimate victory.
WHAT A MIGHTY SAVIOR!
My sermon this Sunday is The Walking Dead from John 11. The “I AM” is intertwined with the story of Lazarus. I look forward to seeing you Sunday and sharing that with you. Until then, know you are loved.
Pastor Bill
