FEBRUARY 2006
The Source Of Power
The story is told about a missionary in Kenya who was
given a car a few years ago, to help him in his missionary rounds, going from
village to village to preach, teach the Bible, etc.
After he had the car
a few months, it refused to start. He looked under the hood, but not knowing
anything about engines, he presumed the battery was worn out. He found,
however, that he could get the car started by getting some boys from a local
school to push it 50 feet or so, or he could park it headed down hill, and roll
it off, engaging the clutch. He endured two years of this.
Then he needed to
take his family back to the
The new missionary
looked under the hood for a moment, then said, "Dr., I think that the
battery cable has come loose from the starter." The new missionary
reconnected the loose cable, got in the driver's seat, turned the key, pressed
the starter, and the engine roared to life!
If you and I are not
as excited about the things of faith as we once were, perhaps it is because we
are not as in touch as we once were with the source of our strength and power.
King Duncan
Why Haven't You
Invited Me?
Nathan Williams told of two men who had been business
partners for over twenty years.
They met one Sunday
morning as they were leaving a restaurant. One of them asked, "Where are
you going this morning?" "I'm going to play golf. What about
you?" The first man responded rather apologetically, "I'm going to
church."
The other man said,
"Why don't you give up that church stuff?" The man asked, "What
do you mean?"
"Well, we have
been partners for twenty years. We have worked together, attended board
meetings together, and had lunch together, and all of these twenty years you
have never asked me about going to church. You have never invited me to go with
you. Obviously, it doesn't mean that much to you."
John A. Stroman
The Personal Touch
Many of you will remember the 1989 MVP
of Super Bowl 23: Jerry Rice. There is an interesting story about him. He was
the longtime star for the
He was once asked, "Why did you attend a small, obscure
university like
The big-time schools recruited through cards, letters, and
advertisements, but only one came to meet him and showed Rice personal
attention.
It makes a difference in this world to meet people eye to eye
and invite them to be a part.
It is the personal touch which attracts us; is it not? Cards and
letters are nice and they’re meaningful but they can only do so much. And
advertising is so impersonal. But a shake of the hand and a personal touch, it
makes the difference.
You may be surprised how many people would come along to church
with you – if they were personally asked.
Try it!
What are some of the tips we need to
remember as we fish for disciples?
·
Go where the fish are. Be with people
on their own turf.
·
Be real, be vulnerable, and be
honest.
·
Be creative. We don’t have to do
things the same old way.
·
Be spiritual, but not
"churchy".
·
Be patient.
·
Be ready for surprises!
·
Be willing to step out of your
comfort zone.
·
Be on the lookout for where God is at
work.
·
Be praying.
Pelicans Caught
Unprepared
I recently read an article about some
pelicans in
After a while, the fishermen found out they could sell the fish
waste, and so they stopped chucking it into the water. The pelicans were caught
unprepared. They continued to sit and wait for the fishing boats to come in and
throw free food in the water. And they grew thinner and thinner and seemed able
to do nothing about their situation.
Wildlife officials came to check out what was going on, and
concluded that the pelicans had forgotten how to fish. So what they did was to
bring pelicans in from another area to join the flock and teach the starving
birds how to fish again.
Today’s church needs to relearn how to fish again.
Nostalgic Fishermen
Someone suggested that we imagine this
fishing club where the members merely sat around swapping fish stories about
the big one they landed, the whopper that broke away, but they never stepped
into a boat or cast their line in the water. What kind of a fishing club would
it be whose members were content to admire the trophies on the wall but never
go out and actually go fishing?
A lot of churches are
like that. They sit around bragging about the days when their boat was full of
fresh fish. They look nostalgically to the days when the main purpose of their
church was to go fishing, to reach others for Christ. But they never actually
go fishing; they merely talk about going fishing. That's not what we're about
as a church.
A Symphony Of Teamwork
There was an interesting article in
National Geographic recently about the Mbuti men of
central
Because each man can only play one note, all the men must work
together to create music. If one man is missing from the group, the music is
noticeably different, lacking in harmony and richness that results when all the
men are playing together.
What a magnificent metaphor for the church. Imagine that every
member of our congregation had a flute that played one note. The only way we
can produce a symphony would be if every member shows up and does his or her
part.
What
Do You See?
In one of the All
in the Family episodes that aired some years ago, Edith and Archie are
attending Edith's high school class reunion. Edith encounters an old classmate
by the name of Buck who, unlike his earlier days, had now become excessively
obese.
Edith and Buck have a
delightful conversation about old times and the things that they did together,
but remarkably Edith doesn't seem to notice how extremely heavy Buck has
become.
Later, when Edith and
Archie and talking, she says in her whiny voices "Archie, ain't Buck a beautiful person." Archie looks at her
with a disgusted expression and says: “You’re a pip, Edith. You know that. You
and I look at the same guy and you see a beautiful person and I see a blimp.”
Edith gets a puzzled
expression on her face and says something unknowingly profound, "Yeah, ain't it too bad."
Folks, what we see and what we hear in life depends not upon the
events but rather who we are as people. It's not what is out there but what is
inside of us.
selected
One Of God’s Surprises
Here’s a true story about a professor
who sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His
housekeeper had laid that day’s mail and papers at his desk and he began to
shuffle through them, discarding most to the wastebasket.
He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him
but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to an article titled
"The Needs of the Congo Mission".
Casually he began to read when he was suddenly consumed by these
words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the
Professor Albert Schweitzer closed the magazine and wrote in his
diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the
That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone
else, was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the
title. It leaped out at him.
Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises.
selected
God's Grace At Work
Anne Lamott,
author of the wonderful book Traveling Mercies tells of how in her church
babies get passed around the moment they're brought into the sanctuary -
everyone takes care of everyone else's babies. Every baby instantly has more
parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles than he ever knew.
Imagine what that teaches children about Christian community!
What they learn about love even as infants! For the adults everyone gets a
chance to remember the miracle of birth, God's hand in our human being.
If there is a heresy today it is that we're so preoccupied with
other things that we fail to pay attention to the fact of God's spectacular
grace at work in and through our humanity, God's miraculous unmerited love in
evidence around us. God's Son born to bring us Second Birth while we labor
under the assumption that we have to do it all ourselves.
The World’s Greatest Prayer
William Barclay once said that the
world's most popular prayer is, "Thy will be changed." But the
world's greatest prayer is, "Thy will be done."
When people ask why preachers waste their time on the people in their
pews, "preaching to the converted" or "preaching to the
choir", they fail to understand that it is those who aspire to goodness
who most need to be reminded of and protected against the dangers of the moral
ambiguity that is the seed of temptation.
Those who are in church are like those who are in a hospital; they are
not there because they are specimens of virtue or health. They are there because they know their needs.
Hospitals are not healthier places than other places, but in the hospital
the weapons to fight the illness are ready to hand. So too is it with the
church.
Jungle Journal
Mt. Olive member, Missionary Terry Schultz, Lima,
It was only four days till Christmas
as two women, one our member, single-parent Marianne, the other her neighbor,
left their houses early in the morning. The neighbor was going off to buy
presents. Marianne was off to join fellow workers in the front lines of a
desperate protest march against the city government. By late afternoon
the two women returned home. The neighbor, doubled over with her bags of
purchases, stumbled into her house. Marinne,
doubled over from a hard punch to the stomach during the march, staggered into
her house. So much for the holiday season. How did our Christian
sister end up in the middle of a violent melee? On with our story!
I have known Marianne for over 6 years. She is one tough
gal. She is a survivor. She has next to no formal education and
cannot read. Her non-Christian, philandering husband is a drifter who
rarely comes around. He barely makes a living selling discarded books and
magazines he scavenges, spreading a sheet of plastic on the sidewalk to display
his wares a few blocks off the Tarapoto town
plaza. The materials he sells include everything from astrology guides to
porno magazines. When he does come home for a couple days he leaves no money,
or at most a dollar or two for Marianne to buy food for herself, their teenage
daughter Lynne and 8 year old son Nicky. Then he’s off again, often for
months at a time.
Left to fend for herself and the two children, Marianne was
always trying to find a way to make some money to buy food. She would
clean people’s homes and iron clothes by day. She would scrounge up color
pictures from religious calendars and magazines, cover the pictures with
plastic, and sell them for wall hangings on the street for a few cents.
Marianne used to attend a Pentecostal church once in a great
while. One of our members invited her to visit our church. And in our
Service, the Holy Spirit really got hold of Marianne! Our clear message
of God’s love and grace freely given, of his constant watchfulness over his
precious sheep resonated deeply within Marianne. She learned that this tough
earthly life is only transitional, a journey that ends in paradise for those
with saving faith in Jesus. Marianne and her children cling to Jesus’
gracious promises as they struggle on. Marianne often tells me how she senses
the presence of her Savior close to her, watching over her and caring for her
all the time. Perhaps Jesus has gifted her with a heightened awareness of
his love, an extra shot of comfort. (She certainly finds that
unconditional Gospel message clearly taught in our church!) Jesus knows
Marianne is fighting for the survival of her two children and herself on a
daily basis.
Marianne went nearly a year without a steady job, try as she
might to find one. Her husband was gone, some said to the big jungle town
of
Like I said, Marianne is one tough gal. When the
demonstration leaders asked for volunteers to carry the huge banner at the
front of their street march, Marianne stepped forward. No one knew that
the reviled superintendent of the city workers would be ready and waiting with
an anti-demonstration strategy. As the city workers stepped off near the
plaza, they were met by a band of thugs-for-hire (former members the violent
revolutionary group Sendero Luminoso)
who dashed in and began beating the demonstrators. Marianne took a few
hits. (She mentioned to me later that she wasn’t at her
Christian-witnessing best that day, as she hit back.) Needless to say,
the city workers were dispersed in a matter of minutes.
Not a cent from four months back pay would come. The
strain on Marianne and the children increased and she sometimes got searing
headaches. She may have seemed a prime candidate for a breakdown except
for one thing: Her absolute, unwavering faith in Jesus watching over her.
Astoundingly, she never once asked the church for financial assistance, always
replying to our offers that, “the Lord is taking care of us. There are
others worse off than we are.” It was hard to imagine who she was
referring to. When I bluntly asked her what she and her two kids had for
food, there wasn’t the slightest trace of self-pity in her reply: “For a few
cents I can buy old broccoli and spinach at the end of the market day,
nutritious food, for me and my children.” That’s when I literally pressed
some folding money into her hand and closed her fingers around it.
Now if all that wasn’t emotional enough during my visit to Tarapoto just days before Christmas, here came Lynne, her
friend Iris, along with 8 year old Nicky, to sit in on our training
classes at our Bible Institute. (All our Tarapoto
members are invited to join the classes with our 5 Amazon native brothers,
which makes for great fellowship time.) Lynne and Nicky love to hear the
Bible stories and actively participate. Of course, they also are excited
to be invited to eat a free lunch with us during our noon break. At a price
of 75 cents for a big plate of beans, rice, and a tortilla, everyone can join
in. After the lunches each day, I help move our group along out of the
restaurant while Lynne stays behind and asks for a couple plastic bags.
She is not too proud to go from plate to plate scooping up every last spoonful
of leftover rice and beans to take home to her mom.
Back at the Bible Institute classes, our late afternoon sessions
include the eagerly anticipated time to prepare visual aids! Every
participant receives several large pieces of paper, pencils, and crayons to
prepare drawings of Bible stories and other scenes.
This week’s classes included an in-depth study of the beliefs of
our native brothers regarding evil spirits, creatures, witchcraft, and
sorcery. There are famous, individual malignant spirits known by name by
every native. Stories of certain creatures and ghosts are known by both natives
and city dwellers alike. Everyone was invited to draw a scene of their
village or barrio and the evil spirits that people believe may be encountered
there.
I was astounded at the interest and enthusiasm everyone took in
this assignment. Drawings of phantoms, witches, skeletons, and evil
spirits sprung up immediately. Mind you, this was serious business.
We’re not talking cartoon silliness here, like making cute Halloween
placemats. We’re talking images of evil spirits believed to have plagued
Amazon tribal cultures for untold generations, images based on specific stories
and beliefs. (I hesitate to use the words “legendary or mythological”
spirits and creatures as most natives believe that these creatures truly exist,
- malevolent spirits from the supernatural realm who can also inhabit the
native’s jungle, especially at night.
To carefully pry out the supernatural stories and beliefs behind
the creatures in the native’s drawings would be extremely difficult.
Our native leaders are at a stage where they get embarrassed
sharing their culture’s stories in light of my teachings that children of God
have nothing to fear. However, I am always eager to know what is in the minds
of the natives in the communities we serve. Disappointingly, not a single
native would stand up and explain his dramatic drawing to the class.
Everyone was way to shy and embarrassed, probably at both the stories and their
art skills. On and on I pleaded for a volunteer, but the timid natives
simply would not budge. It would take none other than little 8-year old
Nicky to save the day. Letting out an audible sigh of exasperation, Nicky
stood up, took his drawing in hand, and walked to the front of the class.
It was simply incredible.
Nicky held up his drawing and it was full of fantastic
creatures. Amazingly, you could tell that some of the images were
immediately recognized by the natives. Nicky ticked off the names of the
creatures from the spirit world. There was Lampara,
the strange ball of glowing light often seen in the jungle. (If you come up
close to such a light in the jungle, you will see the living skeleton that
holds the ball of light in his boney hand. But by then it will be too
late, he will take you away…) Nicky pointed out creature after creature,
offering brief descriptions, while the natives nodded their
understanding. When Nicky came to Calavera, a creature
consisting of a skull the size of a giant leaf bag with no body or arms, just a
huge skull walking on two pointy feet, I couldn’t suppress an audible
chuckle. This brought a sharp look of rebuke from one of the
natives. They certainly weren’t smiling and chuckling. My smile
dropped to the floor. “Sorry,” I shot back with a perturbed look, then turned
to show extra interest in Nicky’s description of the clubbed-foot dwarf who
changed into a jaguar and tried to get into his bedroom one night.
After little Nicky finished, every native came to the front to
give his version of the spirits that plague the jungle villagers at
night. It was simply unforgettable. The cavalcade of night
creatures was described with remarkable clarity, with all the natives
acknowledging the accounts. Like I said, these tales of dreaded spirits
and frightening encounters have been passed down for generations. It will
be this generation, these born again believers sitting before me, that by the
power of God will break the bondage of fear the Devil has maintained through
these stories for so many years.
All too soon, class was over for another day. Nicky and
Lynne got up, took their drawings of horrific spirit creatures, along with
their bags of leftover beans and rice, and went home to their mom. She
would have been proud of them that day.
Marianne would be getting home from yet another city worker’s
meeting where they are still trying to figure out how to get paid. She
would later tell me that the plastic bags of leftover rice and beans was an
answer to her prayers, a gift from her Lord to her and her children.
Marianne often puts me to shame. She knows God will meet all her
needs. She has something I need more of: That gal has absolutely no
fear of the future.
A Blessed New Year to All,
Terry
LESSONS WITH A SMILE
An Old Farmer's Advice
·
Your fences need
to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
·
Keep skunks, bankers and lawyers at a
distance.
·
Life is simpler when you plow around
the stump.
·
A bumble bee is considerably faster
than a John Deere tractor.
·
Words that soak into your ears are
whispered...not yelled.
·
Meanness don't jes'
happen overnight.
·
Forgive your enemies. It messes up
their heads.
·
Do not corner something that you know
is meaner than you.
·
It don't take a very big person to
carry a grudge.
·
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
·
Every path has a few puddles.
·
When you wallow with pigs, expect to
get dirty.
·
The best sermons are lived, not
preached.
·
Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen, anyway.
·
Don't judge folks by their relatives.
·
Remember that silence is sometimes
the best answer.
·
Live a good,
honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a
second time.
·
Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
·
Timing has a lot to do with the
outcome of a rain dance.
·
If you find yourself in a hole, the
first thing to do is stop diggin'.
·
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you
get got.
·
The biggest troublemaker you'll
probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'."
·
Always drink upstream from the herd.
·
Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
·
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot
easier than puttin' it back in.
·
If you get to thinkin'
you're a person of some influence, try orderin'
somebody else's dog around.
·
Live simply. Love generously. Care
deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
The Perfect Husband
A cell phone on a bench rings and a
man engages the hands free speaker-function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen.
MAN: "Hello"
WOMAN:
"Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"
MAN: "Yes"
WOMAN: "I
am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it OK if I buy
it?"
MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like
it that much."
WOMAN: "I also stopped by the
Mercedes dealership and
saw the new 2005 models. I saw one I really liked."
MAN: "How much?"
WOMAN: "$60,000"
MAN: "OK,
but for that price I want it with all the options."
WOMAN:
"Great! Oh, and one more thing - the house we wanted last year is back on
the market. They're asking $950,000"
MAN: "Well, then go ahead and
give them an offer, but just offer $900,000."
WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later!
I love you!"
MAN: "Bye, I love you,
too."
The man hangs
up. The other men in the locker
room are looking at him in astonishment.
Then he asks:
"Anyone know who this phone belongs to?"
Three Fishing Stories
1. An old-timer sat on the river bank,
obviously awaiting a nibble, though the fishing season had not officially
opened. A uniformed officer stood behind him quietly for several minutes.
"You the game warden?" the old-timer inquired.
"Yup."
Unruffled, the old man began to move the fishing pole from side
to side. Finally, he lifted the line out of the water. Pointing to a minnow
wriggling on the end of the line, he said, "Just teaching him how to
swim."
2. Mark Twain once spent a pleasant
three weeks in the Maine woods. On his way home making himself comfortable in
the train to New York, a sour-faced man sat down next to him, and the two
struck up a conversation. "Been to the woods, have ye?" asked the
stranger.
"I have
indeed," replied Twain. "And let me tell you something. It may be
closed season for fishing up here in Maine, but I have a couple of hundred
pounds of the finest rock bass you ever saw iced down in the baggage car. By
the way, who are you, sir?"
"I'm the state game warden. Who are you?"
Said Twain, "Pleased to meet you. Who am I? Only the
biggest liar in these United States."
3. Two ardent fishermen met on their
vacation and began swapping stories about the different places they had fished,
the kind of tackle used, the best bait, and finally about some of the fish they
had caught. One of them told of a vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound
salmon. The other man listened attentively. He frankly admitted he had never
caught anything quite that big. However, he told about the time his hook
snagged a lantern from the depths of a lake. The lantern carried a tag proving
it was lost back in 1912. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that it
was a waterproof lantern and the light was still lit.
For a long time the
first man said nothing. Then he took one long deep breath. "I'll tell you
what I'll do," he said slowly. "I'll take 200 pounds off my fish, if
you'll put out the light in your lantern."
Senior members of Mt. Olive
congregation are encouraged to attend the 2006 Organization of WELS Lutheran
Seniors (OWLS) convention. It is scheduled for July 11-13, 2006, at the Holiday
Inn at Austin, MN.
More and more WELS members are entering their senior years. A
large number of seniors are often willing and quite able to carry on and
support gospel ministry. OWLS helps to organize and mobilize you for service.
In fact, the theme for next summer’s convention emphasizes that very thing:
“Saved to Serve”.
Please note that although sponsored by the OWLS organization,
all WELS members 55 years and above are welcome to attend! (Only OWLS members
may vote at the business meeting, however.)
Participants will enjoy a variety of opportunities to enrich
their lives and grow in Christian faith and service. While renewing old
friendships and making new ones, seniors may choose to participate in a wide
variety of workshops and tours to area attractions. The devotions, worship
services, ministry reports and fellowship with other Christians will lend a
distinctly spiritual flavor to the experience.
You may request a convention packet by writing to:
OWLS
Box 84
New Ulm, MN 56073
Convention information is also available online at: www.wels.net/jumpword/ OWLS
Scrap & Stamp, Etc
Scrap &
Stamp, Etc. will meet in the Fireside Room Saturday, February 18, beginning at
9:00 a.m. and ending at around noon. Bring your project of choice and enjoy the
company of your fellow crafters.
More Than Rubies
More than Rubies Bible Study
(formerly known as Young Women’s Bible study) will meet Tuesday, February 7 (instead
of February 14) and Tuesday, February 28 at 7 p.m. Our meeting location has
changed to Keri’s home. Please call Keri at 651.488.2362 for directions. If
you’ve never been part of a small-group Bible study before, or if you’ve been
thinking about joining a Bible study but just haven’t, now is the time to come!
You won’t regret it!
Women In The Word
Our women’s Bible study met for the
first time in January. We chose to study the Judge Deborah from the book of
Judges. The study is called “Daring to be Different”. The first lesson
encouraged us to be different for God.
Please join us for the second lesson which encourages us to
speak God’s word. We are meeting on the 2nd Thursday of the month at
7:00 p.m. Please consider coming together with your sisters in Christ for an
evening of Bible study, fellowship, prayer and sharing. We have snacks too. See
you Thursday, February, 9th at 7:00 p.m.
Progressive Dinner
Our Annual Progressive Dinner is set for Saturday, February 4th,
starting at 5:30pm. A Middle Eastern theme has been chosen for this year's
dinner menu. We will be meeting at three houses, the first for appetizers, the
second for the main course and finally for desserts and games.
This is always an evening of good
food and great fellowship! As usual we are planning to have a “White Elephant”
gift event, so please bring a white elephant gift with you.
If you have any questions or to sign
up, please call Nicole Burkhardt at 763.862.8009.
Sunday School News & Notes
Sunday School is continuing its study
of the Old Testament. We are finishing Moses and going into the period of the
Judges. We will meet Gideon and Samson and Samuel and then the great King
David.
We will be singing in church on Sunday the 12th of
February. Please mark this on your calendar and plan to join your child for the
9:00 a.m. service. We will be singing a song of praise to our Lord and King. We
will also be singing for a Lenten service and for Easter Sunday. Watch the
Parent Page for more information.
Our parents are to be commended for regularly bringing their
children to Sunday School and church. Our attendance has remained constant
since Christmas and not fallen into a post-Christmas slump as is usually the
case. This is a change for the better. Please continue to bring your child
every Sunday to hear and learn God’s Word.
Christian Education
Sunday and Mt. Olive Minute Race
Even though it’s
still a couple months away, we want to give you the following information.
Our Christian Education
Sunday is set for April 30th. This will include many activities focused on all
aspects of our support to the education process including both children and
adults.
We will have our congregation join
the children during Sunday School to share and participate with the children.
Following will be a potluck dinner beginning at 12:00.
One of the key events is our Mt.
Olive Pinewood Derby race. This event is open to all in the congregation who
would like to participate. Some of the key dates include:
April 2nd - Pick up cars
at church and begin building
April 20th - 6:30 Car
Building Assistance Night
April 27th - 6:30 Car
Building Assistance Night
April 30th - 1:00 Race
Begins
Please plan to attend on Sunday,
April 30th and enjoy all the events of the day.
E. John Fredrich, Chairman Child, Youth, & Family Committee
It’s that time
again. Those Mission Box offerings for
Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society that you have been filling with change are
due. Please give to Mae Schmidt, LWMS
Reporter by March 12th, 2006, to ensure being counted before the
Spring Rally. New boxes are available in
the narthex. Thank you very much.
We take this
opportunity to acknowledge the following memorials to the Building &
Maintenance Fund:
In memory of Joan Voss from
Jerry & Mary Holen
George & Marlene Semling
Harold & Jean Brown
On Friday evening, February 10th,
at 7:00 p.m., in the Mt. Olive Fireside Theater, we’ll be showing the movie, “Beyond
the Gates of Splendor.”
This award-winning documentary chronicles how a violent and
isolated South American tribe was changed by five North American families who
dared to contact them. It’s a story of
how faith can transform tragedy into triumph, how courage can overcome
insurmountable obstacles, and how death can teach a family to live.
Fifty years ago (January, 1956) five missionaries gave their
lives for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but through their sacrifice,
many have come to believe in Jesus. This
is their story.
Please join us Friday, February 10th at 7:00 p.m. as
we view “Beyond the Gates of Splendor.”
Sunday Church Bulletins
Would you like to sponsor a Sunday
church bulletin? Maybe do so in honor of
a family member’s birthday or anniversary?
Or maybe in memory of loved ones?
There is a large poster in the back of church where you may sign
up for a particular Sunday or Sundays.
The suggested contribution is $20.00 per Sunday which covers the cost of
the bulletin and printing supplies.
A notice will be printed in the bulletin noting the donor (and
occasion or special event) of that Sunday’s bulletin.
Membership Directory
Did you pick up your copy of the Mt.
Olive Member Ministries Handbook which also includes a current membership
directory and e-mail directory? Did you
read it?
Not only is the booklet a valuable tool to present to those
interested in joining our congregation, but it is also a great “refresher” for
long-time members. It tells of all the
ministry opportunities open to us at Mt. Olive and our privilege to be involved
in them.
Please pick up your copy this Sunday – and READ IT – all 25
pages!
Worship
Messages 2005
Did you have to miss a worship service? Did you hear a sermon that you’d like to
share with a friend? Did you ever say,
“I wish I could hear that sermon again!”
No fear, Worship Messages 2005 is here.
“What's Worship Messages 2005,” you
say? It is all your favorite sermons
from Mt. Olive from 2005 on one CD! Pick
up your copy at church. It's FREE! It's MP3!
But wait there's more. It comes in a case. With an instruction manual too.
This is a project of love – and many,
many hours - from Ryan Young. Sincere
thanks, Ryan!
Sunday Morning Prayer Time
Before each Sunday morning worship
service – at 8:45am – everyone is invited to the Fireside Room for prayer time.
We need you! We need your
prayers! We need you to pray for God’s
Spirit to work through the Sunday liturgy, the hymns, Scripture readings, and
the pastor’s message. We need you to
pray for God’s blessing upon all who gather for worship.
We do need you! We need
you to pray that the Lord would bring “seekers” into His church and open their
ears to hear. We need you to pray for
the “anointing” of the Holy Spirit upon all who gather around the Word and
Sacrament.
Years back, Christians would make it a point to get to church at
least a half hour early just so they could sit and meditate. They came early to get into a “worship”
mindset, to free their minds and hearts of earthly clutter.
They also came early to pray.
They knew how powerfully God works through fervent prayers of righteous
people.
Back in those days, churches had a lot more people in them,
too. Is there any connection? I believe there is. Yes, I truly believe there is!
May I encourage you to come early to church to pray! May I be so bold as to suggest that it will
make a BIG difference to you – and to all whom the Lord gathers into His house!
Christians: pray!
Where In The Store?
“For the word of God is living and active.” Hebrews 4:12
Suppose you owned a bookstore and you
could arrange the books in any order you liked. You’ve just opened a shipment
from the publisher – several cartons of Bibles in various styles, translations,
and sizes.
“Hmmm,” you think. “Now where shall I place these books so
they’ll catch the most attention and sell to the most people?”
You could shelve all of them in the store’s Religion section,
but then the only customers who would see them would be those already
interested in religious topics. You could set the Bibles up in a stand-alone
display near your store’s front door; that might be a good idea. But where else
in the store might they fit?
How about in the Poetry section? Yes! You could certainly put
some Bibles there, couldn’t you? After all, the Psalms are excellent poems. But
then, the Psalms are also music, meant to be sung, so you’d better put a few
Bibles in the Music section too.
How about the Biography section? You bet! If you want people to
read about the life of Jesus as well as the lives of people like Moses and
Joseph and Noah – well, you certainly had better put some Bibles in Biography.
And while you’re at it, maybe you should place some of the Bibles in the
History section because this book tells the history of the Jewish people as
well as the history of the early Christian church. You might also want to
include a few Bibles in the Sociology and Psychology sections, too; after all,
what better book is there for learning about people’s ethics and mores and
behavior? And since the Bible contains lots of political intrigue stories,
you’d better put some in the Politics section.
Is this a book for children? Yes! So put some on the Children’s
shelves as well as in the Teens area of the store. And don’t forget that the
Bible contains some wonderful love stories, so you’d better put some Bibles in
the store’s Romance section. What about adventure? Oh, yes! The Bible is filled
with adventure stories: Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath, Noah and the
flood, Daniel and the lions. So you definitely should include some Bibles in
the Adventure section.
And how about the Self Improvement section and the How To
section of your store? You absolutely need to stock those areas with Bibles. It
is, after all, the ultimate blueprint for how to improve yourself, how to live
your life.
You know, the Bible really is a library (or a bookstore) all in
itself, isn’t it? You could argue that copies of the Bible belong in just about
every section of a bookstore. There’s something in this book for everyone, and
there’s an answer in there for just about any question. It has always
fascinated me that every time I read my Bible, I find things that I’d never
noticed before. God uses those words written so long ago to light my way here
in the 21st Century. It’s truly miraculous that the words inside God’s Word
never grow old, never go out of style, never lose their relevance or their
strength, never fail to soothe and uplift and teach.
This is the greatest book ever written, but its power doesn’t
become apparent until you actually read it! I urge you to pick up your Bible
and read it – today and every day.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17.
Kay Bradburn
www.totallyawesomegrace.com
Treasurer’s Report
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Those are the first words of the familiar "Doxology" fo