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Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #169. I know you are busy with a lot of school stuff, work stuff, and family stuff (that word \u201cstuff\u201d sure is used a lot isn\u2019t it?), so thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope your week has been going well.<\/p>\n
Let me remind you to pray for Andy Cline this week. Andy is the Superintendent of the S-OCS system and I have come to the conclusion that I don\u2019t envy him one bit! \u263a<\/p>\n
I failed to mention last week about John Hess needing our prayers. On Wednesday he had a heart procedure done to either repair or replace a leaflet in his heart. The repair was more desirable and that is what they were able to do. His recovery has been a little rocky but the latest report is that he is improving. Pray for a complete recovery.<\/p>\n
Switching gears for a minute: I have been asked several times in the past week or so, and twice Sunday, about the progress on the proposed addition to our building. Here is the latest:<\/p>\n
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It was good to see Anna, Caleb and Rachel East yesterday. They got back home from their \u201cEast Meets West\u201d vacation on Wednesday. I think they all grew some while they were gone. They had a great time. And for those who missed the end of the second service, Pastor Ryan and Hope came to pick them up and visited some. While the young \u2018uns will be here, Pastor Ryan and Hope will be taking time away over the next 3 weeks to refresh and refuel personally. Pastor Ryan will return to the office at the end of August.<\/p>\n
There has been a lot of talk generated about the movie Sound of Freedom<\/i> starring Jim Caviezel. It is the true story of a government agent, Tim Ballard, who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers. (I consider sex trafficking a scourge on our society). You can tell it is a good, hard-hitting movie when the media pans it and spins lies about it. SoF<\/i> is playing at the Tivoli August 17-20. Please be advised that it is raw, in that it depicts the ugliness of the sex trade, so it is not advised for children under 14.\u00a0 Check the Tivoli for show times.<\/p>\n
As a young boy I had a dream of playing professional baseball. Most young boys growing up near Pittsburgh dreamed of either playing football or baseball. I latched onto baseball. I loved it when my dad would take a Sunday and we would go to Forbes Field to watch a doubleheader between the Pirates and whomever. It didn\u2019t matter. I was at the baseball field. That dream soon disappeared when I realized I wasn\u2019t good enough. (Basketball was the same way. A cranky back and two old knees show you where that got me! \u263a ). Several years ago my brother, Rob, gave me a book called Sermon on the Mound<\/i> and I recently pulled it off my shelf to read it in its entirety. Shortly into the book Mr. O\u2019Connor wrote something that struck me:<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganized religion, ironically, had a hand in my spiritual undoing. I think God is as comfortable with religion as the Rockettes are in Levi\u2019s. That\u2019s because, although He is interested in our buildings, our financial stewardship, our liturgy-all those things that hold an appropriate place within the fellowship and kingdom of God-He\u2019s not hung up on them. God is primarily concerned with relationship<\/i>. He loves us<\/i>, not our stuff. He longs for us to return to Him that same love.\u201d (p.20-21)<\/p>\n
There are discussions about religion vs relationship going on all the time. For or against. While religion is a term used in church vernacular, it carries a weight around with it that is hard to bear. It speaks of rules and regulations, of heavy-handedness, of misery.<\/p>\n
Relationship, on the other hand, carries with it a freshness, a closeness, an openness determined not by \u201chave to\u201d but by \u201cwant to.\u201d Because of that thinking, I would most definitely agree with Mr. O\u2019Connor. I would much rather have a relationship with Jesus than a religion.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s sermon is entitled The Word Everyone Dislikes<\/i> from Revelation 11. Please read the Scripture beforehand. It will give you a better handle on the message.<\/p>\n
Have a great rest of the week! I love you all.<\/p>\n
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Pastor Bill<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MIDWEEK MESSAGE #169 Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #169. I know you are busy with a lot of school stuff, work stuff, and family stuff (that word \u201cstuff\u201d sure is used a lot isn\u2019t it?), so thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope your week has been going well. Let … <\/p>\n