MIDWEEK MESSAGE #162
Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #162! After surviving last week’s introduction of the MM (world famous, much-read and ever popular MM) I didn’t think I ought to try for another grand entrance. J So, I’ll simply say, thanks for taking the time to read this edition of MM.
Please remember to pray for Nikk Wood as our Law Enforcement Officer of the week. Nikk serves with the Bloomington Police Department as well the Indiana National Guard so he gets double duty from time to time. He is father to Charli, Cooper, and Tanner.
By the time you get this, the Ice Breaker camp at Hilltop will be over. It started on Sunday and was over on Tuesday. It is the camper’s first foray into overnight camping. Campers this week were Cohen Frye, Oakley Groomer, and Tanner Wood. It is never too late to pray for their time at camp to have a lasting effect on them. Reports from last week’s Jr. High Wilderness Week were very positive. I believe that is not only due to the planning and work of the faculty, and the campers’ cooperation, but also the prayers made on their behalf. Let me encourage you to never stop praying for a camper even though the week is finished. The Bible is very clear about planting seeds and the harvest that comes as a result.
Jo and I are grateful to all of you who sent us cards celebrating our 50th anniversary. We are very thankful for the thoughts expressed in each card and felt very loved, appreciated and celebrated. I understand there were some partners in crime I need to thank, primarily our daughter, Tami, and Diana, who sent out an email making doubly sure our names were deleted from the list. J We were able to take a few days and make a trip to Ohio to watch Mike, Janna’s significant other, play softball; then watch Braden play 3 ballgames. It was a wood-bat tournament. If you know anything about baseball these days, they normally use aluminum bats. This was “old school” in that they went back to wooden bats (the kind I used when I played oh-so-many-years-ago). His team lost by 1; came back to win the next game by 3 or 4; then lost by 1. The good thing for us is that no game was cancelled because of rain. Last year, every game but one was rained out, and then it was so cold it froze my face off. We enjoyed our time with our family, but it is always good to get back home and sleep in your own bed.
Father’s Day 2023 is history. We had a good day with nine different men sharing their thoughts on the man in the Bible whom they most look up to. A big thank you goes to Wayne Akerson, Andy Wood, Scott Herrington, Terrie MacMorran, Joe Pavich, Jeff Carlson, Westin Linville, Ryan White, and Steve Pendleton. Tony Roberts was unable to take part due to a knee injury.
Father’s Day was also the official end to New Beginning Pregnancy Resource Center’s Change for Life fundraiser. If you were unable to bring your change-filled baby bottle to the church building, you may turn it in at OVCF or take it directly to the NB building on Main Street in Spencer.
I thought I would practice the old adage “The early bird catches the worm.” Due to the MM coming out midweek, camp is already underway, so I thought I’d be proactive and give you a heads up about the upcoming Sr. High Wilderness Week at Hilltop. There are…get this…40 campers! Add the faculty to that and it promises to be a whopper of a week!! Faculty is Pastor Ryan and Hope, Westin and Cassie Linville, Anna Katz, Brandon Chandler, Linda St. John, and Mollie Wainscott. Campers and friends of students from OVCF include McKenzie Adams, Anna and Caleb East, Meilynn Hess, Nolan Miller, and Hannah Pendleton. To add to your prayers, there is also Jr High Girl’s Week on the dormitory camp side with Charli Wood and Bella Madorin taking part. That is a lot of campers to pray for!!
This Saturday is Serving Owen County Together at the OVMS/OVHS parking lot. I’ve been sharing you with the past month or so the details, so at the risk of being overly repetitive, let me just say we can use your help. The event goes from 7:00-4:00. I’ve said this all along: it is a great way to serve our community.
I just finished reading The Church in Babylon by Erwin Lutzer. He tells the following story:
Bishop Samuel, who died in a hail of gunfire when Anwar Sadat was assassinated in Egypt in the early 1980s, told a friend of mine how Christianity conquered North Africa. Christians were marginalized, and, at best, were given the hardest jobs, such as working in the fields or collecting garbage. When the plagues came, dead bodies were stacked up and burned. Whenever possible, the Christians washed the bodies and buried them, arguing that in light of the resurrection, even the wicked have a right to a decent burial.
They didn’t have abortion like we do, but unwanted babies were left out on the streets or in alleys to starve, unless someone wanted them. The church organized “baby runs” to find these abandoned babies. Of course, there were no baby bottles in those days, so the babies were brought to nursing mothers to nurse them as if they were their own.
And the pagans asked, “Where is all that love coming from?” (Pp.262-263)
He goes on to make this point: “It’s true the world can outnumber us, out-entertain us, and out-finance us, but let it never be said they can out-love us, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given unto us.” (p.263)
“They will know we are Christians by our love” the old chorus says. And may you always know you are loved.
Pastor Bill
