Category: MidweekMessage

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #168

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #168! I hope this finds you having survived the first few days of school. I know a few teachers who are a little bit tired these days. I pray for a good school year for all involved.

Speaking of school…please be praying this week for all our students, teachers and staff as they return to school. We will begin praying for specific individuals starting this Sunday.

Remember to pray for Nick Hickman, our military person of the week. He is Linda St. John’s nephew and is currently stationed who-knows-where. He is not allowed to tell any of his family where he is located.

Well…I messed up. I guess that is nothing new to many of you, but I failed to mention the name of one of our students who moved up from the Late Elementary Class to “big church” in my MM last week. My apologies to Londyn Frye and to his mother, Tiffany Groomer for that mistake.  Ya just can’t take me anywhere. J

This past Sunday we celebrated taking the confessions of faith of 9-year old Ian and 8-year old Alethea Humble at the end of the second service, and then made our way to Clay City for a 2:00 baptism in the family pool. Welcome to Ian and Alethea. Please be praying for them as they step out and grow in their love and faith for Jesus.  Pastor Ryan had given them a booklet to study with their mom several months ago and they decided to make their decision sooner than later. I know he will rejoice when he hears of their confession and baptism.

Diana and I have received some pictures from Pastor Ryan of their trip out west. I believe Hope has been posting some on FB as well. I’m thinking they should be back in Spencer this week. While Anna, Caleb and Rachel will be around, Pastor Ryan and Hope will continue their sabbatical until August 31^st. Continue to pray for them. The pictures seem to show them having a great time seeing some of God’s handiwork.

DON’T FORGET THE ROOTS RECONNECT EVENT SCHEDULED FOR THIS SATURDAY HERE ON THE CHURCH PROPERTY. THIS IS AN ALL-FAMILY EVENT! Please contact Cassie Linville if you have questions: 812.821.8077

We try really hard to give support to our Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) and military personnel. We pray for them and try to remind you weekly to pray for them during the week. After the first service on Sunday, Heather Herrington was telling me about Robert’s next step in his military career. I asked her to send me some information so I could share it with you in this week’s MM. The following is what the next chapter in his journey will look like:

Ranger School is the Army’s toughest course and the premier small unit tactics and leadership school. The Ranger Course is a mentally and physically challenging school that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battle. For 62 days, Ranger students train to exhaustion, pushing the limits of their minds and bodies. The course incorporates three phases (Darby, Mountain, and Swamp) which follow the crawl, walk, run training methodology. In Darby phase, the students become trained on squad operations and focus on ambush and recon missions, patrol base operations, and planning before moving on to platoon operations. In Mountain phase, students develop their skills at the platoon level in order to refine and complete their training in Swamp phase. After these three phases, Ranger Students are proficient in leading squad and platoon dismounted operations around the clock in all climates and terrain. Rangers are better trained, more capable, more resilient, and better prepared to serve and lead Soldiers in their next duty position.

As she was describing the whole challenge in more detail, I was gasping for air. I cannot begin to tell you how much I admire, not just Robert, but every man and woman who aspires to serve our country honorably and to the best of their ability. Heather’s final words in her email say it all: Once again after all that the Lord has done for Robert and this journey, we are asking for prayer for God’s will and God’s protection over Robert. So add Robert to your prayer list for the next several months. Ranger School starts this Sunday.

Just an FYI for you. Two weeks ago, Stacy Wood had 17 children in the Preschool class. This past week she had 12! Not to be outdone, the Early Elementary Class (Grades 1-3), taught this week by JuliAnne Wiegand, had 15! WOW!! Stacy also asked me to say “Thank you” to the parents who are bringing their children. There is something special which happens in the heart of children when they hear about Jesus and get together with other children in a church setting.

Let me close this week’s MM by reminding you that my sermon this week is entitled “Crushed and Persecuted but NOT DEAD! from Revelation 9:1-10:11. Reading ahead helps you understand more what I am muddying. J  See you then! I love you all.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #167

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #167. Thank you for taking the time to read this communication from me to you in the middle of the week.

Remember to pray for our military person of the week: Jessica Parmer. Jessica is in the Air Force, and with her son, Jackson, is stationed in Colorado.

School begins Thursday in the Spencer-Owen school system. Can you believe it? Didn’t we just attend graduations and parties? Beginning Sunday we will be praying for school personnel. I’ll just ask you to pray for all the leadership, teachers, helpers, and students this week.

Man, Sunday was just a super day!

• I presented Matt, Mary and Akaydia Beckwith with their baptism certificates and a gift from the church at the beginning of the second service. They were all baptized on July 9th at the Y. Pastor Ryan baptized Matt; Matt baptized Mary; then they both baptized Akaydia. It was a beautiful sight to witness.
• Terrie MacMorran did a marvelous job with the Move Up Sunday program! Recognition was given to all the teachers and helpers involved in children’s ministry on Sunday morning, from the Nursery, Preschool, Early and Late Elementary teachers/helpers to the Youth Worship Team and Youth check-in desk/registration team. Seven of our young people will be moving up from the Early to Late Elementary class. Special recognition, which included crosses made by Jerry Standeford, certificates, and a charge were given to Trevor Floyd, Bella Madorin, Tessa Pashley, and Charli Wood as they move up from the Late Elementary class to “Big Church.” I was honored to close the Move Up Sunday ceremony with prayer.
• The highlight of the day for me was taking the confession of faith of Julian Carson, Cooper Wood, and Don VanDerMoere. Their baptisms which followed were a special event. Mike Edwards, Julian’s “Pappy,” baptized him, and I was honored to baptize Cooper and Don. Special thanks to Bob & Tiffany Kropack for the use of their pool since the Y therapy pool where we normally baptize folks is closed for now.

ALL IN ALL A TRULY SUPERB DAY!! 

I paused my series on Revelation with Sunday’s sermon geared to the young people. This week I will be back on schedule with a sermon from Revelation 8:1-13 called Heads Up! All four weeks of August will be on Revelation. That will take us to chapter 13. On Labor Day I’ll be preaching a standalone sermon called “It’s Off to Work I Go.” Then I’ll be starting a new series called The God We Worship. Even though it is hard to get back to a series like the one on Revelation after taking a break, I think it is essential, given the difficulty of the topic. The way it looks right now, though, I may actually be carrying Revelation over into 2024.

∙ Roots Reconnect event!

∙ Water games, ice cream, popsicles & fun at OVCF

∙ Open to OVCF youth, their families & friends!

∙ Please contact Cassie Linville with any questions:     

        812-821-8077

Monday morning during my Encounter Time I read the following story from a devotion book by Pastor Greg Laurie entitled Everyday With Jesus. Here is the story:

A homeless man was standing on a street corner, asking for money, when a well-dressed attorney came walking by. They recognized each other from third-period English class in high school. The homeless man admitted he had fallen on hard times.

The attorney wrote him a check for $500, to get cleaned up, and get a new set of clothes. With check in hand, the man went to the bank but when he saw now nicely dressed the people were and how clean and tidy the bank was, he felt unworthy and didn’t go in.

The next day, the attorney saw the same man in the same condition. So he asked him what he was doing there. The man said, “I felt ashamed. I didn’t feel worthy to go into the bank and cash your check.”

The attorney said, “That check has my signature on it. You take that down and cash it. It’s not based on who you are. It is based on me. My signature is on it, and it is good. Cash it.”

That is what God has done for us. God’s grace has been extended to us. We are wrong when we think we have to do something to somehow earn it.  {Story edited to fit}

That is a good way to end this MM. I pray you realize how much God loves you and made it possible for you (for all of us) to receive His salvation. I love you all as well.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #166

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #166! Thanks for taking the time to read this and
allowing me to share my heart, as well as some information with you. I hope you are having a
good week so far.

Remember to pray for our military person for this week: Christopher Erb. Christopher is a Staff
Sergeant, Air Force instructor at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Christopher is married to Alyssa, and
they have two children, Annabelle and William. He is the son of Dave and Heather Keith.

It was a real joy having Jacob and Mia McCall and their two children, Zion and Izzy, with us
Sunday. They were involved with Pastor Ryan and Hope at Hilltop Camp during Wilderness
Week (that week’s mission emphasis) and now partner with Freedom International Ministries.
They are one of the missions OVCF supports on a monthly basis. Jacob is an English teacher and
Mia is a nurse by trade and a stay-at-home mom by design. If you are interested in learning
more about the McCalls, please visit their website:

https://itisforfreedom.com/our-team/missionaries/jacob-and-mia-mccall.html

Here is something you can put in your FYI file and be amazed about: this past Saturday was the
Back to School Expo at the OC Fairgrounds. We started handing out backpacks filled with school
supplies for appropriate aged students at 10:00 and it was almost 12:30 when we finished. And
here is something which may astound you…we started with 600 backpacks and they were all
gone with a need for more!! OVCF helps with the Expo because we believe it is a good thing for
the students of Owen County. We even had some from surrounding schools and communities!!
What a great thing to be known for. Hats off the S-OCS system, the teachers, cheerleaders,
choir, Mark Ruble (he wore the un-air-conditioned mascot suit), the Owen County Chamber, the
LEOs, firemen, EMS, and all the miscellaneous volunteers who helped on a sweltering day. It
was a lot of fun (for me) to see past Kindergarten students I read to, and future K students I will
be reading to this year.

The really big item on the agenda for this coming week is Sunday’s special day. Two things to
remember:

• First, is it a 5th Sunday so that means all the elementary age young people will be
  involved in the adult worship. The nursery and preschool class will still be meeting at
  10:45. Miss Stacy has something special planned for the preschool students, including
  those who will be moving up next week into the early Elementary class.
• Second, Terrie MacMorran will be leading the Move Up Sunday program since Pastor
  Ryan is on sabbatical. The teachers and volunteers who help with the children’s
  programs will be recognized. We will recognize the students who will be advancing
  from Early Elementary (grades 1-3) to Late Elementary and special recognition will be
  given to those moving from Late Elementary (grades 4-6) to the world of “Big
  Church”. If you attend the 1st service you are invited to stick around for the beginning
  few minutes of the 2nd service to witness the program. They are a fantastic bunch of
  young people who deserve our support.

There is a ROOTS Reconnect planned for August 12th. Cassie Linville is the one you will want to
see for more information.

Sunday was such a good day in the life of OVCF. I was honored to present Keely Wills with a
Bible, as well as Amelia Biggs. Keely gave her life to Christ at Senior High week at Hilltop and was
baptized on July 7th. Amelia gave her life to Jesus and was baptized at the end of the Junior II
week on July 23rd.   Keely is part of our youth group family and Pastor Ryan was sorry to miss
giving Keely her Bible. Amelia went to Hilltop at the encouragement of Linda St. John and you
see the result of that. This is one example of why the elders of OVCF believe in making sure
our young people and their friends have scholarships to go to camp. More exciting news to
come!

I had someone text me Sunday saying, “I cannot believe how many beautiful things are
happening right now!” I responded by saying, “God is in the good and the bad. You relish the
good; learn from the bad; and grow through them both. Above all, you keep your heart for
God.” That brought to mind something I read recently in a book called Fractured Faith by Lina
Abujamra. Lina was born in Lebanon and migrated here with her parents as a young child. She
came to know Christ and was on staff of a large megachurch as a Bible teacher in the Ladies
Ministry when the Senior Pastor imploded and took down others with him. Lina was one of
them. Her job was gone and her identity (and her faith) took a major hit. This book is her way
back to a vibrant faith. I’d like to share a couple quotes from her book to go along with what I
texted:

•  “The longer I live, I wonder if my inability to see God in my pain is rooted in the fact that
  I’m not really looking for God. I’m looking for a god to show up in the way that I want
  him to and to give me what I want him to give me.” (p.30)
• “The reality is that often we’re never as close to our Father as we are in our suffering.
  We’re never as alive to God’s purposes as we are when we suffer.” (p.30)
• “Pain’s gift is that it increases awareness. Suffering heightens our sense of need and
  deepens our heart’s cry for help. While suffering hurts, a growing sense of God’s
  presence heals.” (p.31)

There is more but I’ll leave you with those and with what I said Sunday in the sermon. “You can
trust God. He never wavers. He never changes. He never waffles. He is a rock. Run to the rock!”

With that in mind, have a good week. I love you all.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #165

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #165. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I received an email via Diana from someone who appreciates this weekly communication. I’m glad I have at least one reader! ☺

I think I heard a number of big sighs from several people sometime Sunday night, and no, it wasn’t us snoring. It was from the many young people and parents who were at the Owen County Fair. It seems no matter when it is scheduled a few things can be counted on. One is, it will be hot, and when I say hot, I mean H.O.T. I have a lot of respect for the young people, parents and adults who brave the weather each night for the fair. We went Tuesday night and after a couple of hours just sort of wilted. Two, a number of our young people did very well in the ribbon and prize department. I am not going to list any names here because as sure as I do that I will forget someone. So…congrats to all the young people! Now you can rest…until school starts in about 3 weeks.  ☹

Remember to pray for PFC Iain Ramsay. Iain is the grandson of MJ Ramsay and the nephew/cousin of Chris and Kori Wainscott’s family. Iain is in the Army and stationed at Ft Sill, OK.

DON’T FORGET! This coming Saturday, the 22nd, is the Back to School Expo at the OC Fairgrounds. It is open to all school students, but they must be present. It is like a big long parade and at the end each student is given a backpack full of school supplies. I will be at the end (aren’t you the lucky ones! You get to see me on Saturday and Sunday!). It is from 10-12. I hope to see many of you come through the line. Last year we gave away over 600 filled backpacks and it grows each year.

This coming Sunday Jacob and Mia McCall will be with us telling us about their mission work in the Dominican Republic. They are school teachers working with the young people who would not get an education without people like them. They will be sharing their work in both services. The elders met with them via ZOOM right after the birth of their second child so we look forward to meeting them in person. I look forward to meeting them and having lunch with them. I will still be preaching this Sunday, so you will have an opportunity to meet and talk with them before and after the services. The mission group they work with is called Freedom International Ministries and the McCalls are one of the families we support through our monthly mission giving.

Sunday, July 30th is a big day for some of the young people of OVCF. Pastor Ryan has named it Move Up Sunday. Several things are happening that day.

• First, it is a 5th Sunday so that means all the elementary age young people will be involved in the adult worship. The nursery and preschool class will still be meeting at 10:45. Miss Stacy has something special planned for the preschool students, including those who will be moving up the next week into the Early Elementary class.

For more about Move Up Sunday, I have asked Terrie MacMorran to write up something to inform you since he has been working hand in hand with Pastor Ryan to plan and prepare for that day. H-e-e-e-e-r-e’s Terrie!!

• We will begin by recognizing those that participate as teachers and students in our Sunday morning youth activities. We will be acknowledging the students who will be advancing from Early Elementary (grades 1-3) to Late Elementary and those moving on from Late Elementary (grades 4-6) to the world of “Big Church.”
• It is hoped that as many students, parents, and teachers as possible will attend this special part of the service, especially as those moving from the Late Elementary to “Big Church” are honored.
• If you attend 1st service, please consider staying around for the beginning few minutes of the 2nd service to witness this program. They are a fantastic bunch of young people and deserve our total support. They give us hope for the future of the Church!

There is a ROOTS Reconnect event scheduled for August 12th. You might want to put that on your calendar. See Cassie Linville for more information.

One final thing: I will continue my series on The Lamb Wins this Sunday with a sermon from Revelation 7:1-17 called Here Comes the Umbrella! It is about two promises God makes to we who follow Him. I look forward to seeing you here. I have changed my sermon for the July 30th program. I decided to do one with an encouragement to all the young people, especially with school starting that week (Thursday, August 3rd). I’ll tell you more in next week’s MM.

You are loved…more than you know.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #164

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #164. After a week’s hiatus due to the holiday and other stuff (how’s that for an educational word?) I’m back. I know you missed me. If not, please don’t tell me. ☺

Our Military Person of the week to pray for is Robert Herrington. Robert is a 2nd LT and just graduated the infantry officer basic leadership course. His desire is to complete both ranger and airborne school before moving to Ft. Johnson, Louisiana in December, where he will be part of 1st battalion 509th infantry regiment Geronimo.

As most of you are aware, Pastor Ryan & Hope, and their children, Anna, Caleb and Rachel leave for a 7 week sabbatical this week. He will be incommunicado during this time. If you have any questions please direct them to Diana or me. I could say just Diana since she know a whole lot more than me about what is going on. ☺ We will try to answer any questions you may have. With that in mind, Pastor Ryan asked if I would include the following in my MM and I told him, “Sure.” So here is a “send-off note” from Ryan:

As you read this, it’s very likely that we are somewhere in the flatlands of Iowa, Nebraska or South Dakota making our way west in our grand “the Easts go West” road trip. Our anticipation at this stage is set on the sites of grandeur that await in the beautiful western national parks. I’m looking forward to Friday’s sunrise peeking over the pinnacles at the Badlands in SD.

Recently, one of our students, who is a football player, commented on how summer conditioning is going. It’s hard, hot work meant to yield mental toughness and physical strength and endurance. Its benefits compound, meaning the more regularly you do it – the greater the payoff over time. Conditioning done once yields little results, but conditioning done over time leads to great endurance and much gain.

Back to that SD sunrise… watching God doing something beautiful and AWEsome, majestic and wondrous – doing that once is great, but over time, done daily will yield a compounding kind of AWE and praise of God. It is to the soul of a Christ-follower what summer conditioning is to a football player. We are praying that God would condition our hearts to be AWED by Him and to love Him and praise Him and give thanks to Him – over and over as we repeatedly take in the majesty of what He’s created.

This leads me to a last thought. It is easy to praise God in such circumstances, natural even. But what about in the less-beautiful parts of life, in the daily grind, in the normal stuff, in the busy calendar, in the pile of dirty dishes and laundry to be done, when the uncut grass reminds you there’s still normal work to be done, responsibilities to be attended to? What about an attitude of praise and thanksgiving when the bills pile up, when others let you down, when prayers seem to go unanswered, even feel unheard. In those times, praise doesn’t come easy and thanksgiving feels unnatural. In all these circumstances, lean hard on the TRUTH: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice. Does your heart need the kind of conditioning that only rejoicing can bring?  I want to practice this truth daily, regardless of circumstances. Will you join me in that practice? May God reveal his love and favor to you as the eyes of your heart search for him through praise and thanksgiving! May his abundant grace be yours!

We love you. We are grateful for this season. And we are praying for you! Thank you for your prayers, love and support. -Ryan

My guess is that it will seem a little different around here. In our Monday staff meetings, Ryan is the one who normally brings the Dry Bar Comedy video to make us laugh, or the scene from The Chosen to make us think, or the video to make us shed a tear. It will seem strange not seeing him on the drums. It will seem odd not hearing a foreign accent (British, Scottish, Australian, Russian, etc) not coming at random times. We were talking this past Saturday, when he stopped in at the office, about making memories. I can still remember the anniversaries spent at camp when I was a dean in Ohio, or Tami’s face when she found out she had been tricked and that we were going through Dyersville, Iowa to stop off at the Field of Dreams in 1993. (I can also remember Janna’s face and demeanor when she found out we were in Illinois and almost home on that same vacation. ☺ She is a homebody). And I can also still remember Janna’s hesitation and ultimate joy when she shared that she really wanted to go back to Lincoln Christian University for her Sophomore year and I said, “We will make it happen.” Memories are the building blocks of family life that last forever. Pray for Pastor Ryan and Hope and their children to make lasting memories…even when the “fun” of being in a van for what seems like forever becomes a chore. I told him I would pray they would all survive and still like each other at the end of their trip. ☺

As I stated this past Sunday, I have returned to the series on Revelation after the two month hiatus on Anxiety, Worry, Fear, and Depression. My sermon this week will be Here Comes Trouble from Revelation 6:9-17. My plan is to be in Revelation until the end of August and then do a series on The God We Worship.  I’ll give more details as I firm them in the future.

We have one camper this week: Trevor Floyd will be going to Hilltop for the first ever Paintball Camp. Yeah…I probably won’t make that visit. Trevor might decide to “welcome” me. ☺  Next week we have two campers: Julian Carson and Cooper Wood for the Junior II week.

Jacob and Mia McCall will be with us at both services on July 23rd to tell us about their work in the Dominican Republic. I will still be preaching that morning as well.

One more thing: Move-Up Sunday is the 30th. I will share more in upcoming MMs.

Have a great rest of the week. I hope you are enjoying your summer. I miss seeing some of you on Sundays but I hope you are watching our live stream. This past Sunday Christine Chambers texted to say that she had to work at the restaurant but, when it was time for church to start, Eliza (age 10) asked her to sign in so she could watch. That is so cool! One more thing: never forget you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE 163

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #163. We have hit the longest-day-of-the-summer point (June 21) and if the previous month has been a harbinger of things to come, we are in for a doozy the next two months. But I’m not complaining. I enjoy the heat much more than I do the snow. Did I just say that nasty word? Forgive me and I hope you will still keep reading.

Remember to pray for Le’Von and Ashley Griffin. Ashley is Dawn Murphy’s daughter. She is an inspector for the University of Texas and Le’Von is a police officer for the city of Austin, TX. They have 4 children: Quinlan, Sterling, Jacyn, and Ilam.

This past Saturday was the Serving Owen County Together event. One word describes the day: H-O-T! But it was also very fulfilling.  Aaron LaGrange, the organizer of the event, sent out an email Saturday evening. All told there were 112 volunteers. We served 1054 people- 577 adults and 477 children. That is not including the food given to the Lions Club for their free lunch program; Backpack Buddies, which serves our S-OCS students with food to take home on the weekends; and the Spencer Food Bank (Mark Mission). I know others received the same comments Jo and I received of how grateful they were and thankful for the food and clothing they received. (Everything was provided free of charge). I truly feel we offered some hope and help to people who needed it.

“A pox upon me for a clumsy lout.”  Those words by George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life to Mary were strange to my ears. Still are. I think he meant “I really messed up.” Well, I have to say that as well if that is the meaning. When I was mentioning in last week’s MM the young people who were campers last week and this week, I left out some names. (Insert forehead slap here). Anyway, I failed to mention that Sophia Kropack was a camper at Day Camp II on the 22nd, and then Sophia and her friend, Loran Lewis, and Amelia Borders were campers on the 23rd at Wilderness Day Camp II.  I also failed to mention that Alli Anderson is a camper this week at the Sr High Wilderness Camp.  Abby and Anna Bales are also campers.  You know what is even more sad (or possibly scarier) is that I had their names written down with check marks (I wrote them a note) right in front of me! ☺

So…here are the campers at Hilltop this week: (Dorm side-Jr. Girls) Charli Wood and Bella Madorin.  (Wilderness) Mackenzie Adams, Alli Anderson, Abby and Anna Bales, Anna East, Caleb East, Meilynn Hess, Nolan Miller, and Hannah Pendleton.  Faculty: Pastor Ryan & Hope East (Deans), Macy Carlson, Brandon Chandler, Anna Katz, Westin & Cassie Linville, Linda St John, and Mollie Wainscott.

Your campers to pray for next week (HS week at the dorm side): Kathryn Anderson, Maddie Miller, Noah Pendleton, Evie Willen, and Keely Wills.

I missed all the action Sunday afternoon! Not that I’m complaining after getting back into town. I was visiting someone in Hendricks County Hospital (Danville) when on my way home I started getting phone calls and texts from Jo and also having my music interrupted by a voice telling me a thunderstorm warning or tornado warning was so many miles from my current location. As I drove home the sky looked really ominous. I had maybe 5 minutes of rain the whole trip. I kept looking at the sky and looking for places to possibly pull over if necessary but I didn’t have to. However, I saw some of the damage hail can cause when I got back into town.  I hope you were and are safe from this latest round of “weather events.” It sure has been a weird weather season hasn’t it?

This coming Sunday is my last in the series of Faith Over Fear.  Confession time: this has been an interesting series to study for and to preach. I have never done one like this before so, in total transparency, it was sort of daunting to start with. I realize I am not an expert and did feel somewhat inadequate, but just hope and pray it gave some help and some perspective to some folks. Sunday, July 9th, I will be back in Revelation, starting at chapter 6 with “Here Come the Horses!” I’ll fill you in more as it gets closer but at this point I do plan to go to the end of August with this series. That will by no means be the end of it, but I may take another break to focus on something else. I’m praying about that right now. Like I said, I will keep you updated.

This Sunday is considered to be a part of the Fourth of July celebration. While I won’t be preaching on politics (never), I do want to encourage you to celebrate the birth of our nation and the sacrifices that were made when those early colonists and their ragtag army took on the British army and secured our freedom. The price many of those early signers of the Declaration of Independence paid can never be minimized.  I could list what kind of sacrifices the signers of the DoI made, but here is a complete listing for you: https://www.nhccs.org/Destiny.html  It is worth your while to check it out.

With that being said, it leads me to this next thought: With July 4th being on Tuesday and the office closed, there will not be a MM next week.  I know you will miss me but try not to cry too much. ☺ Since there will not be a MM, please add Logan Cain to your prayer list. Logan will be our military person to pray for next week. Logan is a Lance Corporal in the USMC, working as a military police officer at Quantico, VA.

Remember to celebrate our nation’s freedom next week, but always keep in mind the greatest freedom of all was purchased on a cross over 2000 years ago by the perfect Son of God.  I love you all, but He loves you more and deeper. Have a great rest of the week.

Pastor Bill

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 50^th 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

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #160

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #160. Well…with the temps already in the August range, sort of makes ya’ wonder what August will be like. But I’m not complaining. I like it hot. It makes it easier on these old joints. ☺ Anyway, I do hope you have had a good beginning to your summer so far.

Let me remind you to pray for Ryan White this week. Ryan is the Sheriff of Owen County. Pray for him to be a good leader, a fair one, and a good team leader for the deputies. As you can imagine, his job is not easy. He is married to Karen and they have two sons, Kaden and Kysen, who a-l-w-a-y-s get along. ☺ Last week’s LEO, Caleb Hutchison texted me to tell our church family thanks for praying for him!

We celebrated Grad Day this past Sunday. All told we celebrated three college graduates.

• Abigail Herrington graduated from Taylor University. After a wedding on June 17th at Abram Event Venue, she and Jonathan will be moving to East Lansing where she will teach 5th grade language arts and science.
• Kelci Wood graduated from Goucher College in Towson (near Baltimore), Maryland. She attended there on a swimming scholarship. Kelci has accepted a job as special assistant to the Deputy Mayor of Baltimore.
• Jacob Schunk graduated from IU/Kelly School of Business and has moved to Illinois to work for Granger in Chicago. We honored Jacob two weeks ago because he was moving the week of May 22nd.

We do pray for God’s blessings upon Abigail, Kelci and Jacob as they continue to follow His path. My prayer for them comes from my favorite chapter in the Bible-Psalm 37: “Trust in the Lord, and do good…Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.” (Verses 3-5).

Father’s Day is just around the corner and there are men lined up to speak at each service about the man in the Bible they most admire. Last year I had enough men willing to speak to have one service. This year I am super excited to let you know that I had enough men respond to fill two services!  Here are some of the men from the Bible they chose: Cornelius, Daniel, Jonathan, Job, Ananias, Joseph, Solomon, Stephen, Adam, and of course, Jesus. That last one was an expected one for obvious reasons. But…you knew that, right?! Those were names the men gave; not all will be spoken about.

When I mentioned Serving Owen County Together (SOCT) on Sunday, I said that I would have more information in the MM. We have helped and been involved since its inception 3 years ago. For those who may not have a handle on what SOCT is, here is a short rundown. SOCT involves several different organizations and vendors providing free shoes, socks, clothes, baby supplies, some furniture and a whole lot more! Here are more particulars for you:

• The date is June 24 from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  (The rain date is scheduled for July 1, but let’s hope we don’t need it). The event itself is from 9-3:00.
• It takes place in the front parking lot of the middle school/high school complex.
• Help is needed especially during the set-up and tear down times.
• You may stay the whole time to help or take a shift.
• Snacks and drinks will be provided for volunteers and pizza will be brought in for lunch.
• Here is the link to sign up to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d4dabae29a2fc1-2023#/

This is a good way to serve the community. This is a big undertaking and we need your help.

Switching Gears: Several weeks ago Pastor Ryan told us about the sabbatical he, Hope and their children were taking from July 12-August 30. As we was speaking he told us about a Sabbatical Prayer Guide which would soon be available so we would know how to pray for them while they are gone. It was available this past Sunday on the back table, but when I looked there was only one left. Since I know there were many who were not able to be here; forgot to pick one up and remembered when you were outside or on your way home; or had children to corral, I talked with Ryan and he said more will be available this Sunday.

This past Sunday during my sermon on Bringing the Giant to Its Knees, I spoke about worry being a choice and also a liar. It isn’t just a bad habit; it is the enemy’s tactic-a strategy built on lies. Those lies are designed to tear our mind to pieces and to take away our peace and joy. Our immortal enemy (Satan) will stop at nothing to accomplish that. Monday morning I was reading from Anxiety…Knowing God’s Peace, the 31 day devotional I recommended to you. On Day 28 the author made a comment about Martin Luther’s song, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” He said, “God is our fortress; He is a military stronghold-an impenetrable building where we can run and hide. He is our bulwark; He is a stockade-a wall of defense against earthly and spiritual enemies.” (p.79) Later in that same devotion he says, “Anxiety hinders our faith and clouds our focus. It disables us. It doesn’t want us to see the good works of the Lord.” (p.80).

To go along with that, someone sent me a quote via text this past week: “Appeal to God’s presence when fear begins to overtake you so that the emotion of fear doesn’t become a spirit of fear.” (Quote by Tony Evans)

My prayer for you this week is that you will know the truth of Psalm 27:1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (ESV)

And may you always remember you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #159

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #159.  I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day celebration with family and friends and took time to remember the men and women who served, and now serve, our country. No matter what some may say, this is still the greatest country to live in.

During summer break, we will put our prayers for school personnel on pause. We will begin praying for our Law Enforcement Officers. This week please pray for Caleb Hutchison. Caleb works for the Department of Natural Resources. Like all LEOs he carries a big responsibility on his shoulders. Please include his wife, Amanda, and their two children, Addi and Owen in your prayers.

This coming Sunday is Graduate Recognition Sunday! We will be acknowledging the remaining two college graduates-Abigail Herrington (Taylor University) and Kelci Wood (Goucher College). I will have more details of their degrees and future plans after Sunday. Look in next week’s MM for those details.

Just an FYI: I am really, really, (did I say really?) excited about Father’s Day (FD). I will give you more information as we get closer, but let me just say that the number of men who have responded to my request to participate has exceeded my expectations. The number of men who have stepped up to do Communion Thoughts and now to take part in FD has shown me that there are some men who are serious about taking leadership in their home and in the church. I think you will be just as excited about FD as I am. More information to come!!

Another FYI: It is not too late to register your child to attend Hilltop Camp for a week that will change their life. I do not know at this point how many of our young people have signed up to attend camp, but I do know that Pastor Ryan and Hope have two full weeks of Wilderness Camp. One week is totally filled and the other is close. Ryan showed me the improvements which are being made to the wilderness camp area and they are beautiful. Just this past week we had some visitors who had children they were inquiring for about camp. If you would like to know more about Hilltop or about signing up your child, please call Diana at the church office. She can give you a code to use when you sign up. Just so you know: the elders of OVCF have made a commitment to pay scholarships for all campers. But we can’t do that unless you contact Diana to get the scholarship code. And I know this added bonus will convince you for sure! Ryan and I have made it a practice to visit the weeks of camp in which we have young people to let them know they are being thought of. We usually go in the afternoon, embarrass them in front of their peers by being the old geezers who come to visit (at least me), then leave. ☺  Hey, that alone is worth the price of admission!!

Did you also know that we have a ton, and I mean a ton of young people, who are participating in summer ball at the Sports Complex? I’m not even going to try to list them all, there are so many. Jo and I have tried to attend as many games as we can (Tami has also joined us as some of the kids were in her kindergarten class at school) and have spent many-a-night walking from one end of the complex to the other and back again. We come home and our legs and feet are sore, but man, have we had fun!! It sort of takes me back to my days as a youth pastor when I attended game after game. It was easier on my body back then, but I gotta tell you, we have had a blast!

Remember in past MMs how I told you that Pastor Ryan and I were reading to the kindergarten classes in the S-OCS system? Two new kindergarten teachers are being hired to cover new classes at GES and SES. What an exciting future for the schools! I can’t wait to see what that will bring when it comes to reading to the classes.

I’d like to share a story with you. I have been reading No Reason to Hide by Erwin Lutzer. Pastor Lutzer was the pastor at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago for an amazing 36 years. He now writes some very insightful books. One other I read during the pandemic was We Will Not Be SILENCED.  Anyway, here is the story:

Millions of mothers can be called heroes. One such is Sonya, who entered into an abusive marriage at 13, and later separated from her husband. She never did learn to read, but she was passionate that her children learn to do so.

She had two son, Curtis and Benjamin. Ben was 8, his brother, Curtis, was 10 when their parents divorced. Sonya worked 2-3 jobs at a time, leaving their small apartment at 5:00 a.m. to go to work, and not coming home until midnight.

When the brothers came home with poor grades, she instituted a strict change. She limited her sons’ TV time and they couldn’t go outside until their schoolwork was done.

Sonya could not have predicted her son Ben would become a famous pediatric surgeon. He performed the first reported separation of twins who were joined at the back of the head. He was an esteemed professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Ben Carson always paid tribute to his mother and credits her fervent dedication to him and his brother for their success. {Pages 230-231- Edited for space}

More could be said about parenting and schools (but I’ll refrain), but I leave you with this: we may never know the influence we have now, or down the road. But let’s make sure it is a good one.

Have a good rest of the week and remember you are loved.

Pastor Bill

MIDWEEK MESSAGE #158

Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #158, and welcome to summer vacation! S-OCS graduation is history. Congratulations is in order for all the 2023 graduates. For the first time in the time I have been at OVCF, we had no high school graduates. But we do have three college graduates: Jacob Schunk (IU/Kelly School of Business); Kelci Wood (Goucher University) and Abigail Herrington (Taylor University).  We will be recognizing Kelci and Abigail on June 4th. We recognized Jacob this past Sunday since he leaves Friday for his job with Granger in Chicago. He will return to be married to Sydney Stockman in October and then they will moving there for possibly two years. Jacob graduated with three degrees from IU: 1) Information Systems Management; 2) Supply Chain; and 3) Business Analytics. I will give the details about Kelci and Abigail after the June 4th recognition. Congratulations again to all the 2023 high school and college graduates.

It is now officially known! If you were here Sunday, watched via livestream, or heard by word of mouth, Pastor Ryan and his family will be taking a 7 week sabbatical from July 12-August 31. As Ryan mentioned, he will not be in the office for that period of time, nor will he be answering phone calls or texts. Methinks mine and Diana’s summer just took on an air of “what-will-all-this-mean-for-us?” As Ryan expressed, we (the elders, Diana, and I) have known about this for several months and it has allowed Diana and I to kick around some things already. Ryan has also done a great job of delegating responsibilities for different classes and youth-oriented programming. It will mean a lot of people involved in the youth program and helping where needed. It will also mean Diana and I (her especially) will be the contact person for different questions which may arise. I ask for your patience with all things youth. I’ll talk more about that as the sabbatical happens.

One thing it may affect is the Midweek Message. It is possible I will not write one every week. They may be sporadic this summer, depending on Diana’s and my workload. I’ve said this before, but she is the one who really makes the MM palatable. ☺ I write it; she edits it. I say things that she rewords to make more sense or to even make them “softer.” I sometimes forget that the MM goes to more than just OVCF folks. It is on our website; our Facebook group; the Chamber offers it; and it is sent to a ton of people via email. I even send it to several people separately. All that to say that the MM may be hit or miss this summer. But who knows? No one has ever accused me of being at a loss for words. ☺ ☺

Don’t forget New Beginnings Pregnancy Resource Center’s Change for Life fundraiser that started on Mother’s Day and has a target stopping date of Father’s Day (June 18). Here again are the ways you can donate:

• You may take a baby bottle to fill and return with your change or check.
• Mail a donation to the Center (PO Box 313, Spencer)
• Give online through their website: http://newbeginningsowen.org
• Use the link on their Facebook page/our Facebook group

The ministry of NB is so essential, especially in our community. During the Mother’s Day presentation, Becca Anderson told us about a client they were able to smile with about pregnancy news; grieve with when she lost her baby; then rejoice with when a healthy baby was born just a few weeks ago. NB made a difference in that family’s life. There are more stories like that which I’m sure could be shared. Your donation makes a difference!

This coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I found the following story in my files and I’d like to share it with you.

One day a poor boy, who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only a dime left and he was hungry. He decided to ask for a meal at the next house but lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead, he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry, so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly and asked, “How much do I owe you?” “Nothing,” she said. “Mother taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

Howard Kelly decided then and there that his life had meaning and his faith in God and others was restored. He would somehow “pay back” to others.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled and finally sent her to a big city hospital. Howard Kelly was called in for a consultation and he recognized the town’s name. He also recognized the patient.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it but finally looked at the edge and read the words…”Paid in full with one glass of milk.” (signed) Dr. Howard Kelly (edited to fit)

This Memorial Day remember those who served so that we might be free. They have often never heard a “Thank you” for their service. If you know someone who served in the military, tell them thanks. Also keep in mind this Memorial Day that Christ has paid the debt-IN FULL! THAT is what we ought to be most thankful for.

My sermon series on Faith Over Fear continues this week with Three Essentials You MUST Believe.” The Scripture is Psalm 13:1-2, 5-6. See you then! You are loved!!

Pastor Bill