MIDWEEK MESSAGE #33<\/p>\n
Good morning and welcome to MM #33!\u00a0 I appreciate you taking some time from your busy day to cozy up and read this.<\/p>\n
It sure is hard to believe Thanksgiving will be here in just a few weeks. Even amidst the year we have had time still seems to fly right on by us.\u00a0 This came home to me even more as I have been working on sermons. I finished my two sermons involving Thanksgiving and have been working on my Christmas sermons.\u00a0 Now, that will get you wired!\u00a0 Christmas already?\u00a0 Yep, in less than two months.\u00a0 6 \u00bd weeks. 51 days. Sorry I don\u2019t know the amount of hours, minutes and seconds. The math taxed my brain to figure out the weeks and days.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 Anyway, time flies by us. I guess that is why one of my philosophies to enjoy life while I can. Make the best of it now. No, I\u2019m not espousing my best life is now. I am saying that we need to live life fully and abundantly as Jesus said we could.\u00a0 (John 10:10)<\/p>\n
One of the \u201cmost fun\u201d things I have done over the past couple of years is the Real Men Read program.\u00a0 It was sponsored by the United Way in Bloomington. They asked for men to read to Kindergarten classes. Ryan was the first of us when he started reading to Cara King\u2019s class at MCES.\u00a0 He liked it so well I thought I would try it. I have been reading to Mrs. Lee\u2019s class at SES for the past 3 years. The RMR program was suspended this year in Owen County (for some crazy virus thing) so I contacted Mrs. Lee about reading on my own. Tami, our daughter, is a Kindergarten teacher so she has plenty of books I can borrow and Mrs. Lee said that it sounded like a great idea. We have had to make some changes, like I had to read outside the first time. It has been cancelled several times for various reasons (one of them because it was raining) but today (Tuesday) I am scheduled to read. It has to be outside, which I am okay with. That may be sort of tough to do in the winter months though.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 So I will enjoy it while I can.\u00a0 Maybe I can do \u201cFrosty the Snowman\u201d one of those days!!\u00a0 Given how cold it might be maybe I could find a book about Frosty and his popsicles. Okay\u2026I can see you rolling your eyes as you read.\u00a0 But then again, maybe I gave you a chuckle at my lame attempt at humor.<\/p>\n
The past few weeks I have tried to focus on the youth area and highlight them some. This week I\u2019d like to begin a couple of weeks focusing on some adults. During the pandemic when we were shut down, we were just one of many churches who were not ready for broadcasting our services. But that first Sunday, Tami took her iPhone and broadcast to our FB group. I heard I was like a bad Japanese movie- the audio and video were not in sync. Each week Tami worked hard at making it better and she succeeded. I was still like a bad Japanese movie. An actor I\u2019m not. \ud83d\ude42 Then someone donated money to buy some new equipment and the quality changed overnight. First, thanks to the person who made the donation! Second, I owe a big, huge shout out to Ryan for getting the equipment up and running! He was way out of his comfort zone when we started this. I can\u2019t say enough about how Ryan persevered, wanted to give up, then kept going. Until\u2026Joe Pavich stepped up to the plate. Man, Joe was a lifesaver. He saved Ryan\u2019s sanity. And he saved a lot of headaches. Each week it improved. Joe trained Karen Turner to do the live stream and she now does the first service. \u00a0Austin, whom Ryan met while doing ministry at the high school, is now involved in helping with the second service. So my shout out this week goes to those involved in the streaming of our weekly services. Thanks Ryan, Joe, Karen and Austin!<\/p>\n
One last thought: I mentioned earlier than I have been working on Christmas sermons. My theme is A Grand Production<\/em>. (Every time I type that my fingers want to do \u201cGrandi\u201d instead of Grand. Why is that?) It hit me this morning how appropriate the Christmas message is. Today, Tuesday, is voting day.\u00a0 I have no clue how it will turn out. Neither do you.\u00a0 I would ask two things though: First, we all remain civil to each other even though we may disagree on our choices. Second, we pray for our country no matter the results. Only God can bring the spiritual revival which is needed. But what struck me as I worked on my sermon this morning was how relevant and how the Christmas message of \u201cPeace on earth\u201d is so desperately needed. And just think: we have the story to share. \u00a0There is no question our country is in an upheaval. \u00a0Hate speech. Mean acts. Vitriolic words. Cities burning. Peoples\u2019 lives taken for granted.\u00a0 I wrote a blog about what Jesus has done for E.VE.R.Y.O.N.E. because to Him All Lives Matter.<\/em>\u00a0 I based it on Romans 10: 9-17 where it uses the word \u201cEveryone\u201d<\/em> twice and the word \u201cAll\u201d<\/em> once.\u00a0 The love of Jesus is for all people-no matter their class, color, creed, political persuasion, lifestyle, status, job, or lot in life. He loves each one and offers His peace to all.\u00a0 My prayer for you, for me, for our world, is to come to Jesus, the only One who can give the meaning to life so many crave.<\/p>\n Well, I\u2019ll step off my soapbox and say thanks for reading.\u00a0 I hope you have a great rest of the week. I say this seriously: I love you.<\/p>\n Pastor Bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MIDWEEK MESSAGE #33 Good morning and welcome to MM #33!\u00a0 I appreciate you taking some time from your busy day to cozy up and read this. It sure is hard to believe Thanksgiving will be here in just a few weeks. Even amidst the year we have had time still seems to fly right on … <\/p>\n