HAPPENINGS AT PILGRIM REFORMED CHURCH THIS WEEK

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORSHIP, STUDY AND SERVICE
THIS WEEK

Tuesday, November 30 ...
7:00 pm Bible study
8: 00 Choir
Wednesday, December 1 ...
7:00 PM Pilgrim Circle Meeting in Parsonagwe
Thursday, December 2 ...
7:00 PM Choir
Sunday, December 5 ...
9:15 Sunday School Opening
9:30 Sunday School
10:30 Worship & Holy Communion
6:00 Youth Fellowship

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Saturday, December 4 ... Brenda Truell


THIS PASTOR'S VIEWPOINT
John H. Bigelow
For the week of November 28, 2010

There was a beautiful “contemporary folksong” sung many years ago I believe by Glen Yarbrough, one of the better known members of a group called the Limelighters. I believe the title was “How Easy We Forget.” It used different alliterations to begin each verse, such as “Give me a rose in the wintertime,” “Tell me of peace when there’s talk of war,” and “Give me your love in the autumn years,” but each verse was completed by the phrase “How easy we forget.”

I was reminded of this song in reading what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:1 (NLT) “I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, what happened to our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. God guided them all … and he brought them all safely through the waters of the sea on dry ground.” This event is certainly one of the most vivid accounts of God’s intervention in the affairs of his people for their welfare.

Indeed, without God’s guiding presence and the parting of the Red Sea, it is hard to imagine a successful outcome of the Hebrew’s escape from Egypt. The entire episode was told and retold down through the years so that it is unlikely that there were any who did not know of what God had done and was still capable of doing for his people.

Yet, how easily the Hebrews forgot. How quickly we, too, turn from the experiences of the past, those lessons learned in times of real trial by either ourselves or those who came before, and think we can do things “our” way.

Paul exhorts us to not forget, or to turn from following God and his leadership. As God delivered his people by the parting of the sea, he delivers us by the blood of his Son shed upon the cross.
Perhaps a new verse might be added to the folk song that would go something like this, “Tell me of Christ when the times are hard, or when I’m feeling low. Tell me of Christ and his promises, I’ve got nowhere else to go. God is good, most any time and yet, So tell me of Christ when the times are hard, how easy I forget."

Sermon, November 28, 2010, First Sunday of Advent

HUNGRY FOR GOD


Sermon Text: Isaiah 64:1 9 (NIV)

Bible scholar E. Schuyler English received a phone call one day.
A woman’s voice said, “Dr. English, I am calling from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The hand of God is here.”

Excuse me? thought Dr. English. The hand of God is at the museum?

Then Dr. English recalled that several months before, he had ordered a replica of Rodin’s sculpture, The Hand of God, from the museum gift shop. It had finally arrived.

The prophet Isaiah was eager to see the hand of God at work among his people. He implores the Almighty, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you . . .”

Welcome, on this first Sunday of Advent the season of the church year set aside to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord. This is also a season of anticipation and joy. ------ The world waits to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down . . .”

Arthur Gordon tells of a friend of his, an Episcopal minister, who was deaf and almost blind, but he was also a person of great faith and joy. It was Christmas time.

Gordon and his friend went into a crowded drugstore. On the back of the entrance door was a mirror. This mirror was placed so that as they turned to leave, his friend’s reflection came forward to meet him.

Thinking that someone else was approaching, the kindly, but the almost blind clergyman stepped aside. So, naturally, did the image.

Again Gordon’s friend moved forward and once more met himself. Again the old pastor retreated. A hush fell on spectators in the store who did not know quite what to say or do.
On his third advance, Gordon’s companion realized he was facing a mirror. “Why!” he cried, “it’s only me!” He made a grand bow to his reflection. “Good to see you, old boy! Merry Christmas!”
The whole store exploded in delighted laughter and one bystander said, ‘That man really has what it takes.”

Advent is a season of surprises. We await the celebration of Christ’s birth, and we wait for the fullness of God to be revealed.

Isaiah lived in a time when God seemed to be conspicuously absent. It was he who wrote that “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” (9:2) Darkness was a good description of the people’s plight in Isaiah’s time. Had God forsaken them? Isaiah longed for some sign of God’s presence and power. The absence of God speaks almost as loudly as does God’s presence.
When you have been separated from the presence of God for too long, you either stop caring about it, or you hunger for a move from God that is so earth-shaking that it leaves no room for doubt or apathy.

In this passage, Isaiah is reacting to the absence of God among the people of Israel. You and I can appreciate that. Many of us hunger for God to show Himself in our lives. Was there ever a time when you yearned to know that God was with you?

Maybe there was a season of your life when doubt and anxiety crowded your every thought. You had to convince yourself to get out of bed in the morning. You tried to pray, and the words just wouldn’t come. Have you ever sent up a desperate prayer like this, “God, just show me that You are real. Just show me that you are there. I can’t make it without You.”

Christian singer Chris Rice begins a song about searching for God with these words: “I would take ‘no’ for an answer, just to know I’d heard your voice.”

But why would God remove His presence from His chosen people, the people of Israel?

This was the same God who had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt; at one time this God had been a constant, visible presence in their lives. He had taken the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to guide and protect them in the wilderness. He had sent manna, food, every day so that the people would not have to worry about their physical needs. He had sent numerous prophets, judges, priests, and kings to lead the people and administer God’s justice. Why would God, who had shown such constant attention and care before, seemingly turn His back on God’s people?

We see the answer in the second half of verse 5: “But when we continued to sin against [God’s ways], you were angry . . . you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.”

So here is one answer to the absence of God: Our sins separate us from God and keep us from experiencing God’s presence.

When we knowingly and repeatedly do that which we know is not God’s will for our lives, we feel ourselves separated from God. Let me say very clearly that not every instance of the absence of God is due to some sin in our lives. Those of you who are extremely conscientious don’t need to use this Bible passage as luggage for your guilt trip.

But in many cases, we fail to experience God’s presence and power because we have allowed un-confessed sin to separate us from God. We have turned from God….not he from us!

A newspaper reporter researched a story on pilot training in the Air Force. I found this particularly interesting as Sue’s nephew was an F-15 fighter pilot and just recently retired from active duty. The reporter wrote that in these training sessions pilots are warned about “hypoxia,” or lack of oxygen to the brain.

The pilots are put in a simulation chamber that simulates the atmospheric conditions at 30,000 feet in the air. Then, the pilots are told to remove their oxygen masks. Next, they are asked to write out the answers to a few questions. Within a minute after they begin writing, their partner in the training exercise will move quickly to force the oxygen mask back on the would-be pilot’s head. Why?

Well, of course they don’t want to kill pilots in training but … moments after receiving the oxygen, the pilot looks down at his paper and is shocked to discover that his answers are illegible. Here’s what unnerves him. He thought he was writing clearly.

Similarly, spiritually starved people may not know anything is wrong, but unless someone explains how to obtain the ‘breath of life,’ those disconnected from God will never gain spiritual ‘consciousness.’

The people of Israel were so caught up in their sins that they had lost spiritual consciousness. Isaiah was begging God to revive them. At this time, the people of Israel had wandered into idolatry, worshiping foreign gods. Many of them had abandoned the guidelines for purity that had marked them as a chosen people.

Widows, orphans, strangers, and poor people had once been protected among the Israelites. Now, they were exploited and oppressed.

In Isaiah chapter 30, the prophet declares, “These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (vs. 9-11). (NIV)

“Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” This is a vivid picture of a people who are on spiritual life support. They are very near death. They prefer lies to the truth. They know that they are living in sin, and they don’t want to be reminded of the danger they are in.

A preacher once compared the hardening effects of sin to an athlete’s calluses. He used the game of baseball as an example. He noted that “at the beginning of the season when you begin swinging the bat in practice, you soon develop blisters and have to stop. But a good thing you can do is come back the next day and swing the bat a few times again. Then come back the next day and swing a few more times. Before you know it, by swinging the bat over and over, you will develop calluses and be able to hit home runs all day without hurting your hands.”

He went on to say, “In the same way, when we repeat a type of sin day after day, we grow hardened to it. Our hearts callous over, and we sin without even feeling it anymore.” “We have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away… ”

The people are dying from their sins, and still they don’t want to turn away. The prophet Isaiah, who was called by God to bring the people back to Him, fears that God will completely abandon them. And so he cries out that God will show His hand: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.”

Maybe you have felt that same desperation. You, too, have prayed that you might see any sign of God’s work in your life. The silence was deafening. And you wondered, is there any reason left to have hope? And the answer is, yes.

Because God made us, God can also save us. As long as we are in God’s hands, there is still hope.
After all these words of despair, we come to verses 8 and 9: “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.”

In these two verses, Isaiah tells us that we cannot save ourselves from our sins. But God, as a loving Father, can and will do so. We can be re-created in God’s image. Just like a lump of clay on a potter’s wheel, we may lose our shape temporarily. But so long as we stay in the potters’ hands, we can still be molded into something worthwhile.

Some Sundays ago I told of often visiting the shop of a friend who is potter and I was puzzled by one operation which seemed to have little purpose. Norman was beating a lump of clay with a large mallet. It looked as if nothing was happening, so naturally I asked, “Why are you doing that?”

“Just wait and watch the results; then you’ll understand,” was the reply. Heeding the advice I soon noted that the top of the lump of clay began to quiver and swell as little bumps formed on its surface.

“Now you can see the need for the pounding,” he pointed out. “I could never shape the clay into a worthwhile vessel if these bubbles remained in it, so I must gradually work them out.”
Have you ever experienced God working out the bubbles in your life? Sometimes it’s not pretty, but it is necessary. The hand of God is at work seeking to save that which was lost.

And that is the meaning of Advent: “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” (II Corinthians 5:18)

Pastor Richard Exley tells of a Puerto Rican woman called Black Evie who found Jesus when she had hit the bottom of the barrel. Evie was a drug addict.

One day, Evie came down from a three-day high to find her infant daughter dead. ------ Evie had no idea what had happened to her child. Not long afterwards, Evie suffered a mental breakdown and was sentenced to a hospital for the criminally insane. She descended into a catatonic, uncommunicative state.

A local pastor began visiting Evie in the hospital. Every day, he read Bible verses to her. She sat and stared straight ahead, not responding in any way. Seven months passed before the pastor broke through to Evie.

One day, as he read to her from God’s Word, a tear trickled down Evie’s face. By the end of the week, Evie was out of her catatonic state. She prayed with the pastor and gave her life to Jesus. Today, Evie became the director of a rehabilitation program in Puerto Rico.

God has come to us in the babe of Bethlehem. We may not see the heavens rend or the mountains tremble. But God is at work in the lives of those who open themselves to Him.
Advent… A time of preparation …. A time to open ourselves and be ready for His coming.

Amen.

Opportunities for Service and Worship
Tuesday, November 23 …
7:00 PM Bible study
8:00 PM Choir
Thursday, November 25 …
All Day THANKSGIVING
Church office closed.
Sunday, November 28 …
All day STUFF THE TRUCK
9:15 Sunday School Opening
9:30 Sunday School
10:30 Worship
11:30 Annual Church Meeting

Everyday… Please be in prayer for each other.

Birthdays this week
Tuesday, Nov. 23rd …
Katherine Davis & David Rollins
Thursday, Nov. 25th …
Sylvia DuVall
Friday Nov. 26th …
Mary Alice Swing
Saturday, Nov. 27th …
Travis Hege & Gerald Hege
Sunday, Nov. 28th …
Shirley Truitt

This week's Pastor's Viewpoint and Sermon follow

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT

I had a friend, a member of a former church, who was searching for God’s will in his life. He had come to a job related crossroad. One direction offered, it seemed, great promise in terms of possible career advancement and income as well as the opportunity to get away from a superior he didn’t like. But, making this choice meant he would have to move far away, disrupt his family among other things not to mention also leaving his church home in which he was very active..
He did a lot of praying. He prayed “God, please show me direction – to stay in a muddled political mess here, or leave for potential big money.”

Within minutes he saw the initials G-O-D on the back of a truck that had just merged into his lane. Almost immediately he saw the word CHRISTIAN on a billboard and then a truck trailer parked at a home and garden business that he was sure said “Jahway” on it’s side. Looking back he saw it said “Roadway” but he was still sure he saw “Jahway.”

He turned off the highway he was on and a red truck in front of him advertised that it had been sold by James Ford. He then passed 13th Street and then a mailbox that had only the word “four” on it.

As soon as he got home he began trying to make sense of these “clues” and thought that perhaps the Bible could cast some light upon the mystery. He found there was no chapter 13 in James so he tried James 4:13 and here’s what he found. “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. ‘ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:13-17 NIV).

Look at what we also find in James 1:5-6 (NLT) . “If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you….But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer.” My friend asked and received because he expected God to answer. I might add that his experience reminds me of the last line in Robert Frost’s Road Not Taken…”And that has made all the difference.” It certainly did in my friends life…he stayed.

What would you like to ask God and are you prepared to seek his answer? He’s got one waiting and it too could make all the difference in your life.



Sermon, November 21, 2010



REACHING OUR FULL POTENTIAL
Sermon Text: Matthew 25:14 30 (NIV)

A young man was seen pedaling around a college campus with a T shirt reading “I’m going to be a doctor.” A sign on the back of his bicycle proclaimed: “I’m going to be a Mercedes.”

Roy L. Smith once told the odd case of an Australian youth who suffered a concussion while serving with the armed forces in Korea. At the time of his injury the young man was 5 feet 4 ½ inches tall. The blow started strange reactions within this soldier’s body so that he began to grow. Today he stands 6 feet 3 ½ inches high!

Needless to say this is a very strange case. But there are innumerable instances of people who never grow to reach their full intellectual and spiritual stature until after they suffer some terrible blow.

Here is the question for the day: Are you reaching your full potential as a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you growing because of some blow you have suffered or simply because you long in your heart to be more like Jesus, are you moving forward in your spiritual life?

In Matthew 25, Jesus warns his followers that the kingdom of heaven, the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity, will come upon them suddenly, at a time when they least expect it. And then he gives them a number of parables, or word pictures, of what this kingdom of heaven will be like.

In verses 14-30, Jesus says, 14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 ”‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. What is Jesus saying here? How are we to apply this ancient parable to our lives today?

I love this inspirational poem from Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, a former president of Morehouse College which can well guide us through the ups and downs of life.

“Life is just a minute / Only sixty seconds in it,
Forced upon you, can’t refuse it. / Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,
But it’s up to you to use it. / You must suffer if you lose it,
Give account if you abuse it,
Just a tiny little minute,/ But eternity is in it.”

And this catchy little poem perfectly captures our first point for today. According to Jesus’ parable of the Kingdom we will be held accountable for the stewardship of our lives.
Most of us connect the word “stewardship” to the wise management of our money or our time. But God has blessed us with infinitely more resources than just our time and money. We are called to be wise and generous stewards of our health, -- our intellect, -- our compassion, -- our wisdom and life experience, -- our influence, -- and our relationships.

In this parable, we are called to invest our lives in such a way that we see a rich return. Jesus is encouraging us to dream great dreams – to make our lives count for something. Some of us would prefer not to have great dreams. A man once said, “It is possible to evade a multitude of sorrows by the cultivation of an insignificant life.”

And that’s true. You can escape much pain and trouble if you never take a risk, never give of yourself freely, never step out in faith. But you will be missing so much of the abundant life that Jesus promises to his followers.

Are you cultivating an insignificant life? The best way to answer that question is to examine your motives. Are you working at your job to bring glory to God, or to get a paycheck?

Are you using your paycheck in a wise and generous manner taking care of your family and contributing to the Lord’s work? Or are you using your money to indulge in more stuff or more status symbols to impress your neighbors?

How do you use your time? Do you submit your time to God first, before you ever fill out your Day-Timer?

What about your relationships? Do you work to build others up, or tear others down? Or do your needs always come first? Do you care about others for themselves, or for what they can do for you? Do you take more than you give? Do you look for the opportunity to share your faith with others?

Famed baseball player Mickey Mantle died at age sixty-three of alcohol-related liver disease. Not long before his death, Mantle said to someone, “You talk about a role model? This is a role model: Don’t be like me . . . God gave me the ability to play baseball and I wasted it. I was given so much, and I blew it. I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up. I want to start giving something back.”

How sad it is to discover at the end of your days that you have been cultivating an insignificant life! No amount of money or fame or status can make up for a life that was spent in self-centeredness and vanity.

The second point of this parable is that our view of God affects the stewardship of our life. The first and second servants trusted their master’s commands. Even when he was gone, they proved trustworthy and wise in their handling of the master’s property. And in the end, they earned the master’s trust and fellowship. But the third servant viewed his master as a hard, unpredictable man and acted accordingly.

How do you view God? Do you see God as an absentee parent, a vague abstraction, a cosmic police officer? Do you see God as a hard-to-please taskmaster who piles on more expectations than you can possibly fulfill? Do you skip over those verses that speak of God as kind, gentle, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love? It is vitally important to examine your view of God, because your view of God will affect your ability to step out in faith.

Pastor Michael Yaconelli used to play an unusual game of hide-and-seek with his two young sons. Yaconelli would hide while his sons looked for him. Just moments before the boys found him, Yaconelli would jump out of his hiding place with a loud shout. Naturally, his two boys would run off screaming in the other direction.

But one time, the boys turned the table on their father. Just as he popped out of his hiding place, the older boy announced, “Hey! He isn’t a monster. It’s our dad! Attack!” And the two boys pounced on their father with giggles and hugs.

Pastor Yaconelli likens this moment to the time when we come face to face with God, our Heavenly Father. At first, we may feel immobilizing fear. At the same time, we cannot help but acknowledge that this incredible Presence is also our loving Father.

When you trust God’s leading, you will be able to follow. When you trust God’s provision, you can give of your resources generously. When you trust God’s love and mercy, you can share that love and mercy with others. Everything starts with your view of God!
And finally, Jesus is teaching us through this parable that what we do here in life has eternal significance. Our influence stretches on for many generations, long after we are gone. One life can have an immeasurable impact on this world. And when we invest our lives in glorifying God, God will honor that investment by multiplying it far beyond anything we could do with simple human effort.

There is a beautiful prayer by John Piper that expresses the desire to let God work through us for His glory. Piper prays daily, “Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.” That is the prayer of a man who is an obedient servant of God.

Lois Cheney in her book, God is no Fool, tells a revealing parable about a man who was touched by God. God gave this man a priceless gift --- the capacity for love. The man was grateful and humble, and he knew what an extraordinary thing had happened to him. He carried this capacity for love like a jewel and he walked tall and with purpose.

From time to time he would show this gift to others, and they would smile and stroke his jewel. But it seemed that they’d also dirty it up a little. Now, this was no way to treat such a precious thing, so the man built a box to protect his jewel. And he decided to show it only to those who would treat it with respect and meet it with a reverent love of their own.

Even that didn’t work, for some tried to break into the box. So the man built a bigger, stronger box, one that no one could get into, and he felt good. At last he was protecting the jewel as it should be.

Upon occasion, when he decided that someone had earned the right to see it, he’d show it proudly. But they sometimes refused, or perhaps they smudged it, or just glanced at it disinterestedly. Much time went by, and then only once in a while would someone pass by the aging man. He would pat his box and say, “I have the loveliest of jewels in here.”

Once or twice he opened the box and offered it saying, “Look and see. I want you to.” And the passerby would look and look, and look. And then he would back away from the old man, shaking his head.

The man died, and he went to God, and he said, “You gave me a precious gift many years ago, and I’ve kept it safe, and it is as lovely as the day you gave it to me.” And he opened the box and held it out to God. God glanced in the box, and in it was a lizard - an ugly, laughing lizard. And God walked away from him too.

Love guarded and unexposed. A jewel turned into an ugly lizard. A servant cast into the outer darkness.

Friends, life is not to be hoarded. It is to be lived fully, abundantly, without reservation. It is to be invested in love, in hope, in faith so that a wonderful harvest of lasting influence will be reaped.

So, how about it? Are you reaching your full potential as a follower of Jesus Christ?
When you face the Lord, will you have the joy of hearing these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”?

Today is Reign of Christ Sunday. Let us open our hearts that Christ may, indeed, reign there.

Amen

Opportunities and happenings through the week!

Tuesday, November 16...7:00 PM Bible Study

8:00 PM Choir Practice

Thursday, November 18 Senior Adventure to Seagrove Leave 9:00 AM

7:00 PM Choir Practice

Sunday, November 21 9:15 AM Sunday School Opening

9:30 Sunday School

10:30 Worship Service

6:00 PM Youth Fellowship

Please remember OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD BOXES.Last collection date is November 21st.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK

Friday, November 19th ... Sara Beck & Ethan Edwards

Saturday, November 20th ... Jacob Morris

AND NOW TAKE A LOOK AT SOME PHOTOS OF OUR CHICKEN PIE DINNER & COUNTRY STORE DAY BUT FIRST A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MANY WHO WORKED SO HARD AND LONG TO MAKE IT THE SUCCESS IT WAS!~!!

Our Chicken Pie Dinner and Country Store

Where you were greeted warmly at the door...

and discovered many beautiful things to take a chance on

or just buy and buy...

...and buy. And all for a wonderful cause!

Everywhere there were smiling faces...

in the kitchen...

at the tables...

while eating and

serving!

there was plenty of help at checkout and...

and in the kitchen!

There was a friend on the floor and...

friendly service at the tables.

And now the pastors Viewpoint and Sermon for Sunday, November 14, 2010

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT

For the week of November 14, 2010

High church officials and regular members of local congregations often, and unfortunately, share a common belief. This is nothing new of course, it’s been going on for years. Let’s look at a couple of examples of this belief and in looking at it we may discover this belief as one our own, and hopefully, alter it.

The church is in the process of selecting names to put before the congregation for election to the positions of deacons, elders, council or consistory members and others to serve on various boards. Invariably you will hear, somewhere in the process, that so-and-so has no training in doing this or that particular job for which his or her name has been set forth.

If that objection doesn’t come up in committee it is almost sure to be raised when some individual is asked if she or he will serve if elected. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m just an ordinary person. Why not ask _______ ? There’s a person with a lot of experience in doing that.”

In my Bible reading this week this very issue came up when the Jewish high church council was confronted with the early preaching of Peter and John. Acts 4:13 (NLT) says, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had no special training.”

The council members, you see, didn’t know anything at all about the Holy Spirit Christ had sent his followers to enable and empower them in their ministry. They saw them as just ordinary men with no special training so how could they speak with such conviction and boldness.

At the same time, Peter and John felt that they were far from ordinary because they were called out by Christ himself. As Christians, we are also called out by Christ and should be led by the Holy Spirit to do his bidding. When it comes up in your life, be bold, for as Christians, you are anything but ordinary.




Sermon, November 14, 2010

HOW A CHRISTIAN GRIEVES
Sermon Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13 18

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

In a technological society, we often need instructions for using new products. But where on earth do they find some of the people who write these instructions? Many instructions are hopelessly vague while others seem totally unnecessary to anyone with even minimal brain power. For example:

Once on a camera were these instructions: “This camera only works when there is film inside.” Well, duh! Big surprise there.

These thoughts were found on a package of airline peanuts: “Open packet and eat contents.” Do they really think we would try to eat the peanuts, foil wrapper and all?
On a chain saw was this wise advice: “Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands.” Ooh, that hurts.

And finally, on a steering-wheel lock was this counsel: “Warning--remove lock before driving.” Unless, of course, you plan on making right turns only.

But even worse than the really obvious instructions are instructions that don’t make sense at all. Ones that read like these:

Grasp the gizmo in your left hand. With your right hand, insert the doohickey into the little whatsit just below the bright red thingamajig and gently, gently!, turn it in a clockwise direction until you hear a click.

Attach the long thingamabob to the whatchamacallit. Do not under any circumstances allow the metal whatsit on the end to come in contact with the black plastic thingummy.
Failure to follow these instructions will result in damage to the doodad. I ask again. Where do they find the people who write instructions?

Much of the book of I Thessalonians is concerned with giving instructions.

The Christian believers in the city of Thessalonica faced persecution from the outset. In spite of this, the Thessalonians appeared to be a faithful community of believers. The apostle Paul, author of I and II Thessalonians, often praises them for their faithfulness, holy living, and generosity.

Yet he also wants to make sure that they are thoroughly instructed in the issues of the faith, because he knows they will come under great pressure from the surrounding society.
Keep away from promiscuity, he says to them, follow Christ’s example of holiness, work hard to support yourself, live at peace with your neighbors.

The first half of I Thessalonians, chapter 4, teaches the believers in Thessalonica how to live as Christians. The second half of this chapter teaches them how to die in the same manner. And here is where St. Paul’s attitude is so much healthier than our own.

We all crave instructions on how to live better, but rarely do we give much thought to the question of how to die better. In fact, we would rather avoid the subject altogether.

In the book, Children’s Letters to God, a little boy wrote, “Dear God, What is it like when a person dies? Nobody will tell me. I just want to know, I don’t want to do it. Your friend, Mike.”
Mike is wiser that most of us. He recognizes that death is part of life, and he wants to know what he ought to do when that time comes. So, for any of us who are as wise as Mike, listen again to what the apostle Paul wrote: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him . . .”
Dying is an important part of living, so let’s spend a few moments thinking about this unique event in human experience.

LET’S BEGIN HERE: SECULAR PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH DEATH -- EXCEPT IN JEST.
If you are going to talk about death in polite society, you better do it with humor. Most people will think you are being morbid if you even mention the obvious that sooner or later all of us must die. Of course, there is something healthy about laughing at the Grim Reaper.

Before British actor Robert Morley died, he asked that his credit cards be buried with him. That is a novel way to try to take it with you. I wonder if they take Visa in Heaven? After Morley’s funeral, the London Times was bombarded with letters from readers pondering their own needs after death.

Wrote M.L. Evans of Chester, England: “In the unfortunate event of a miscarriage of justice and I spend several thousand years in Hell before my sentence is quashed, I will take a fire extinguisher.”

Heather Tanner of Woodbridge, England specified that she wanted to be buried with a good map. “I have immense trouble finding my way in this life,” she said, “so am extremely worried about the next.”

A pair of earplugs would accompany Sir David Wilcocks of Cambridge. “In case,” he writes, “the heavenly choirs, singing everlastingly, are not in tune.”

Maurice Godbold of Hindhead, England would take a crowbar: “In case the affair proved premature” and he needed to get out of the casket.

In writing this I recalled one of my personal favorites, that folk song of the 60’s that asked “can I tale my D-28 to heaven when I die?” referring to one of the finest Martin folk guitars.

If you are going to mention death in front of most secular people today, you better do so in a joke. Secular people don’t like to think about death. And yet, dying is part of living and we need to face up to it and prepare for it. But there is a second thing we need to see.

THERE IS A HEALTHY AND AN UNHEALTHY WAY TO GRIEVE WHEN YOU LOSE SOMEONE TO DEATH. When someone you love dies, it hurts. Sometimes the hurt is overwhelming. We call the process of dealing with that hurt, grief.

People handle grief in different ways. Some people try to deny their grief. They keep a stiff upper lip. They cram their emotions deep down inside and maintain a cheery countenance to their family and friends. I suspect they are the ones who suffer most. For grief that is not expressed in one way will be expressed in another. And the latter expression will be far more destructive than the former.

Other people become fixated on their grief. They refuse to be consoled. They refuse to move on with their life as if life has lost all meaning.

According to a study done by the National Institute of Medicine a few years ago, “Many persons who have a death in the family suffer such intense grief that they jeopardize their own physical and mental health.” Severe, continual grief can create enough physical stress, according to this study, to cause heart attacks or cancer.

Often well-meaning individuals unwittingly encourage bereaved people to grieve in unhealthy ways. A young woman who worked in a day care tells of witnessing a failed attempt at comfort between two little girls. A little toddler was crying one day.

A three-year-old girl walked over, patted her arm, and in her sweetest voice said, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s okay.” But when the tears kept flowing, the three-year-old changed her tactics. She stomped her foot and announced in her most authoritative voice, “I said it’s . . . OKAY!”
We try to rush people through the grieving process. “Isn’t he over it yet?” We try to deny the grief. “Just don’t think about it, Mama. Let’s talk about something else.” Or worse, we withdraw from the grieving person out of fear or awkwardness. Our silence is even worse than our words.
Paul does not tell us not to grieve. What he says is, do not grieve as those who have no hope. Grief is a natural part of losing a loved one to death. A healthy person must grieve. The question is what is different about how a Christian grieves?

FIRST, WE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HURT THROUGH BOTH TEARS AND TALK. We express to those closest to us honestly and openly the pain we are feeling, including our anger and our disappointment.

The widow says, “I am so angry with him for dying and leaving me alone that if he were here right now, I believe I would kill him.” And we understand. Her feelings are perfectly natural and she needs to express them.

The widower says, “I will never forgive God for allowing my wife to suffer like that.” But time passes and he does forgive God, and he learns to lean on God for support as he adjusts to a new life without his partner.

This is life. Death and grief are part of it. We need to express our grief through both tears and talk.

AT THE SAME TIME WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT AS CHRISTIANS WE BELIEVE THAT BOTH LIFE AND DEATH ARE TRANSITORY.
Walter L. Wilson, M.D., was talking with a man who was an atheist. This non-believing man said he believed death ends all. Dr. Wilson agreed with him.

To the surprised atheist, Wilson said: “Death ends all my wanderings, all my tears, all my perplexities, all my disappointments, all my aches and pains; death ends it all, and I go to be with my Lord in glory.”

When a Christian grieves, he or she grieves with hope, in the knowledge that their loved one has met the Lord face to face. Believers find their completeness in death, because it leads to the life that is truly life abundant.

Around 125 A.D., a Greek by the name of Aristeides wrote to one of his friends, trying to explain the extraordinary success of the new religion, Christianity. In his letter he said, “If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and they accompany his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby.”

He was describing the difference between the way pagans greet death and the way Christians greet death. “They rejoice and offer thanks to God,” he said, speaking of Christians.

Can we face death with rejoicing and thanksgiving? I’m not suggesting that we deny ourselves the chance to grieve. We must grieve but we grieve in hope. Jesus came to save us from death, and he gave his life as a sacrifice so that we could live forever in communion with him.

Dr. Diane Komp, a pediatric oncologist, described herself as an agnostic/atheist when she first entered the medical field. But working with dying children gave Dr. Komp an unshakable faith in God.

She tells of a typical case from her early years: seven-year-old Anna had fought leukemia for five years. She had no more strength to fight. But moments before she died, the little girl suddenly sat up in bed and announced that she saw angels. A smile lit up her small face as she described their beautiful singing. And then this little child, radiant with joy, lay down and died.
Diane Komp came to believe that God came for little Anna. She had seen the Lord face to face, and she lives with him now forever.

How do we face grief? Openly and honestly, but always in the knowledge that Christ has triumphed over the grave.

And how do we help others who are going through the grieving process. The apostle Paul says near the end of this passage, “Therefore, encourage each other with these words.”
Encourage each other by talking about death? Yes! That’s exactly what he means. Talk about it. --- Vent your emotions. --- Express your fears. --- Ponder the mysteries. But emphasize the hope!

Let’s return to our Bible passage: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him . . .”
This is the reality of death for followers of Jesus Christ: death hurts. It hurts bad, but it is not the end. We will be raised up to eternal life, and we will be with the Lord forever!

Amen.

Veterans Day 2010

Because, at Pilgrim, we remember!

Opportunites for service for the week of

November 7, 2010

Tuesday, Nov 9, 7:00 PM Bible Study

8:00 PM Choir Practice

Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7:00 PM Finance Meeting, Library

Thursday, Nov. 11, 8:30 AM Chicken Pie preparation

7:00 PM Choir Practice

Friday, Nov. 12, 8:30 AM Chicken Pie making

Saturday, Nov. 13 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM Annual Chicken Pie Supper and Bazaar

Sunday, Nov. 14, 8:00 AM Consistory Meeting-Fellowship Hall

9:15 Sunday School Opening

9:30 Sunday School

10:00 Worship

Loretta Burton has asked that all remain in prayer for her as she heals. Currently she is in great pain from her broken shoulder.

If you're a Senior please let Pastor John know if you would like to participate in our "Senior Adventure" to Seagrove on Thursday, November 18th. We will leave the church at 9:00 and return NLT 4:30. We have 5 signed up already can take nine more.

Birthdays For the Week

Monday, Nov 8th ---- Ashley Peacock & Donna Jones

This weeks Viewpoint and Sermon follow

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT

Rev. John H. Bigelow
For the week of November 7, 2010

If you are like I am you probably spend a lot of time looking in the wrong places for something you have lost. Rarely is it ever in the first few places I look. Sometimes I just accept it as being one of Murphy’s laws, but, at the same time, I also wonder why he didn’t create some good laws.
Instead of “Something missing always is found in the last place you look,” why can’t he have written something like, “You know where to find peace, go, look for it there.” Peace is often something that we seem to frequently misplace. I’m talking about peace of mind, a spiritual peace if you will, for this is the kind of peace that often seems most illusive.

Perhaps Murphy doesn’t bother to make up “laws” which he knows already exist. The place to look is, unfortunately, one of the last places we seem to go. Some people look for this kind of peace in alcohol, some drugs, some in spending money while others seek it through eating. That’s looking in all the wrong places.

The clue to the answer is found only in God’s word, the Bible. In John 14:27 (NLT) Jesus tells us “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives.” The answer is found in the source. The peace we seek comes to us as a gift from Christ while at the same time it is found only in Christ.

So, the next time you are troubled in mind or spirit, when you seem to have lost that wonderful thing called “inner peace,” you’ll know where to go to find it again. No more looking in all the wrong places and you can give a shout of victory because you have proven Murphy wrong. You looked in the right place the first time

Sermon, November 7, 2010

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOOKING GOOD AND BEING GOOD

Matthew 23:1 12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Is there anyone in church today who doesn’t enjoy looking good? We all do whether we admit it or not. And when we feel like we don’t look good, it affects how we feel about ourselves.

There was a study done by researchers at Yale University sometime back on what are often called “bad hair days.” This study found that on those days when our hair just won’t cooperate, we feel less smart, less capable, more embarrassed and less sociable.

What was surprising to the researchers was that men, not women, were most likely to be affected by bad hair days. Of course, some of us men no longer have to worry about bad hair days. But no matter we all like to look good. Anyone who says that looking good is not important is deceiving himself.

A few years back there was a poll on the Internet that asked this question, “Which one member of your family is the best looking?”

You want to guess how respondents answered? The top rated answer in the poll was, “Me.” A majority of the respondents listed themselves as the best-looking member of their family.
That corresponds with another public opinion poll which asked people which member of their family was the smartest. Once again, “Myself” or “Me” were the highest ranked answers. But when asked which family member was most likely to tell a lie, “Myself” or “Me” only ranked ninth out of ten possible answers. So most of us think that we are better-looking, smarter, and more honest than the rest of our family.

This brings us to the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. The Pharisees were a group of Jewish scholars who were experts in the Law of Moses. In some ways they were the best people in the land. Following God’s commands was the focus of their lives. Nothing wrong with that.

But somewhere along the way, the Pharisees seemed to miss the point. In their desperate desire to obey God’s laws, they begin piling on more and more rules. Soon, the Pharisees had compiled more than fifty volumes of rules and laws that a Jew must follow to be considered righteous. And there were some significant differences between how the Pharisees viewed the life of faith and how Jesus viewed the life of faith.

For one thing, the Pharisees valued rules over relationships. The Pharisees were caught up in just following the rules.

Jesus was passionate about establishing relationships. Jesus had been teaching about loving God and loving one’s neighbor. He’s trying to say to the Pharisees and anyone else who will listen that faith’s not about rules; it’s about a relationship. It’s about falling passionately in love with God. And once you know God and love God, then you will be inspired to live a pure and holy life. The rules will come naturally.”

Hundreds of years before Jesus’ time, the Jewish prophet Jeremiah said much the same thing. He said that for the time being, the people had God’s Laws carved into stone. But someday, the Lord would make a new covenant with His people.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 says, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

That’s the promise of what happens when we are in a true relationship with God. We can’t condemn the Pharisees because we are so often guilty of the same twisted thinking substituting rules for relationships.

There once was a monk named Simeon the Stylite who separated himself from sinful society by choosing to live at the top of a narrow pillar many stories high. He spent thirty-seven years living at the top of various pillars as a sign of devotion. Other monks became jealous of Simeon’s religious devotion, so they began building their own pillars to live on. Soon, pillar-sitting became a full-blown competition.

Agnes de Rochier was a nun who lived in the 1400s. At the age of eighteen, she asked to be entombed in a cell inside a church. Workmen built a brick cell around Agnes’ body, leaving only a small opening through which Agnes could breathe, hear the prayers and Masses performed, and receive food. She lived eighty years inside this self-imposed prison.

Instead of going out into the world to minister to others and to share the good news of Christ, people like Simeon and Agnes spent their lives in this absurd, self-contained state of supposed devotion.

There are still people today who believe that the Christian life is one of rules and regulations, rather than transformed living. Mirror, mirror the wall who’s most righteous of them all?
The Pharisees’ religion also valued appearances over authenticity. In other words, looking good was more important than doing good.

Jesus said, “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’” Pride and position were more important than sacrifice and service. The most important thing became what other people thought.

There is an old Jewish folktale that illustrates in a hilarious way this kind of attitude. The men of the city of Chelm decided that they must do something to prove their town’s importance. One man suggested that they choose the wisest man in town and name him “Chief Sage.” None of the surrounding towns had a chief sage. Everyone agreed and so Moishe the tailor was chosen to be chief sage.

Now, how could they distinguish Moishe, their chief sage, from every other man on the street? The men of Chelm decided that as chief sage, Moishe must wear a pair of golden shoes. Then, everyone who saw his golden shoes would know that he was chief sage.

But as Moishe tramped through the streets of Chelm one day in his gold shoes, he stepped right into a mud puddle and the mud covered up the gold shoes completely. The men of Chelm then decided to craft a pair of leather shoes to cover Moishe’s golden shoes and protect them from mud. What a problem!

Now the leather shoes covered up the golden shoes. How could anyone know that Moishe was the town’s chief sage if they couldn’t see his golden shoes? Finally, the men of the town came to a solution: Moishe will wear the golden shoes on his hands. Now, if any outsider wants to know who Chelm’s wisest man is, they can point to the fellow who wears gold shoes on his hands.

If you laugh at that story, then do so cautiously. We live in what is arguably the most appearance-conscious nation on earth. From a young age, we are bombarded by societal messages telling us that appearance is more important than substance. And many of us have fallen into this trap.

The Pharisees, following the directions laid down in Deuteronomy 11:18, wore small leather boxes called phylacteries on their wrists and foreheads. And these can still be seen occasionally in Israel today!

These phylacteries contained verses of Scripture on them. Unfortunately, some of the Pharisees began wearing larger and larger phylacteries, as if to show that they were even more religious than their colleagues.

The Pharisees did the same thing with the tassels they wore at the corners of their garments. A fierce competition developed over who wore the longest tassels on his robes.
It would be similar to a competition between Christians over who had the most WWJD clothes in their closet or the biggest fish symbol on their car.

In a May 2002 issue of a celebrity magazine, model Marcus Schenkenberg claims that he often gets paid $5,000 a night just to hang around top nightclubs and look good. The nightclub owners reason that Schenkenberg’s good looks will draw in customers. Is Marcus Schenkenberg a young man of character, intelligence, or great talent? We don’t know. But he looks good, and in our society that’s all that matters.

And finally, the Pharisees’ religion valued respectability over righteousness. Remember Jesus’ words in verse 6: “. . . they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’” Some of the Pharisees were using their religious position as a status symbol.

A pastor I read about was less-than-encouraging when his daughter announced that God was calling her to serve as a missionary in Uganda.

At first, he refused to let her go. Don’t you know that Uganda is a very dangerous place for Christians? he asked. After two years, the young woman finally set out to pursue her calling. As the pastor watched her plane rise into the sky, he commented that he had wanted his daughter to be a respectable Christian --- not a real one.

What makes the difference between a respectable Christian and a real one? Jesus makes that very distinction in verses 11 and 12: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus never wore fancy robes with long tassels. He hung out with outcasts and sinners, not with the movers and shakers. Instead of expecting the place of honor at banquets, Jesus took the place of the lowest servant and washed his disciples’ feet. Respectable” members of society got nervous when Jesus entered the room. He didn’t play by their rules.

Back in the second century A.D., an anonymous man sent a letter to a friend in which he described the Christians, who were hated and harassed by their non-Christian neighbors.
He wrote, “They marry and have children just like everyone else, but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven.”

And Look at this next line: “They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the laws in their own lives.”

“They love everyone,” he continues, “but are persecuted by all. They are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if being given new life.”

Jesus wasn’t trying to abolish the Law of Moses. He was trying to go beyond it, to show people the abundant life that flows from living in a true relationship with God.

Let me close with a story about two men who illustrate Jesus’ principle very well. Brothers David and John Livingstone had very different goals for their lives. - John dreamed of being rich and famous. From a young age, David dreamed of following Christ. Both boys achieved their goals.

John Livingstone became rich and famous. David Livingstone became a medical missionary to Africa. He was never rich, although he did become famous as one of the best-known missionaries of the 19th century.

In his later years, he was offered the chance to return to England as a hero and live out his last days in comfort. Here was his chance to bask in the admiration of the people! To reap the rewards from his many years of service! Instead, David chose to remain in Africa, where he lived in poverty. He died of a tropical disease.

Both brothers lived out their dreams. And yet, on John Livingstone’s tomb are engraved these words: “Here lies the brother of David Livingstone.”

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

The saddest secret in most churches is the number of people who sit in pews week after week, year after year, and never develop a true relationship with the living God.

They keep all the rules. They look good. They are respectable. But they are spiritually dead. Don’t be one of those people! There is an abundant life waiting for those who are willing to seek God’s face and live in God’s will.

Amen

Funeral for "D.W." Brinkley

"D.W."passed away this past Tuesday and his funeral will be here on Friday at 11:00 Am. This will be followed by a meal in the church Fellowship Hall. Visitation will be Thursday evening at Davidson Funeral Home, Lexington. between 6-8 PM

In addition to the above please be in prayer for Loretta Burton who fell and broke her right shoulder bone. She is in a sling at home.

Ruby Hatley broke her wrist and is in a cast.

Carol Jackson has had a return of lung cancer which has spread to her bronchial tubes. She is currently in Forsyth Hospital

LOOKING AHEAD

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORSHIP AND SERVICE

Monday Nov. 1, Property Committee @ 7:00PM

Tuesday Nov 2 Bible Study @ 7:00pm

Tuesday, Nov 2 Choir Practice @ 8:00 PM
Wednesday, Nov 3 Finance Meeting 7:00 PM

Thursday Nov. 4 Choir Practice @ 7:00 PM

Sunday, Nov. 7 Consistory 8:00 AM

Youth bowling 1:30 to 3:30 at the YMCA

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK

Monday, Nov 1 ... Amanda Pipes

Tuesday, Nov 2 ... Doris Clapp & David Truitt

Wednesday, Nov 3 ... Jenny Burkhart

Saturday, Nov 6 ... Jane Kinsey

Sunday, Nov 7 ... Mary Everhart & Ruth Ward

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday, Nov 13....Chicken Pie Dinner and Bazaar 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Pray about nominations for Consistory

Begin filling shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child

(collection dates for above are Nov 14 & 21)

REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK ONE HOUR ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

Sermon, October 31, 2010

Pilgrim Reformed Church

Rev. John H. Bigelow, Pastor

Sermon, October 31, 2010

The Lord’s Prayer… “but deliver us from Evil.”

Sermon text: Matthew 6:9-13

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

”‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰ your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

¹² Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

But deliver us from evil is the way we usually say this phrase, yet it is equally suitable to pray “But deliver us from the evil one” or “save us from the evil one.”

Last Sunday we discovered that a Christian’s temptation is essentially a contest with Satan. It is not a matter of coping with sin or self but rather more a matter of being tempted by Satan through our “self” and our natural inclination to sin. There is a tendency for us to think of sin, self, and Satan as being separated from each other. In fact, just the opposite is true. They cannot be readily divorced from each other.

What it really amounts to is Satan, appealing to our “self” as a means to get us to sin. And sin occurs when our self-will over-rides God’s will. Because of this Jesus taught us to pray emphatically, “Deliver us from evil.”

Here’s the good news! This petition can be answered positively and it should inspire our spirits to know that we can, indeed, be delivered from evil and the evil one. It stimulates our souls and strengthens our resolve to be completely God’s children. To know this is to step out of despair into a delightful walk with our Father.

God is not one to indulge in double-talk. He would not teach us to ask for deliverance from evil if no deliverance was available. He would not instruct us to pray to be delivered from evil situations if our Father was unable to do so. HE IS!

God never wants to see us succumb to temptation. He does not want to see us fall. He does not want to see us down with despair, struggling with self, and stained by sin. He wants us to grow up in strength so we can walk serenely with him in the beauty of a strong, unsullied, and intimate companionship.

Sometimes it helps us to understand temptation better if we look at it from our Father’s viewpoint rather than ours. You see, God has precisely the same attitude to us, his children, as concerned human parents have towards their children.

The human parent knows that a child does not grow up in one day. Before we walk, we crawl, before we run, we walk. We run before we leap or jump. We learn by degrees. Each stage is a testing, trying, and often tumbling time. Every step is not always a forward step. And so it is in our spiritual growth with God.

We have seen our children struggle to stand on their own feet. A few wobbles, a tentative release of the chair, sofa, or table, a fall on the floor. What does the loving parent do? Holds the child’s hand, steadies his shaky steps, leads him gently encouraging him to try it again and again. That’s just what our heavenly Father does with us.

But often the child falls flat on his face, bumps his nose or bruises his head. Does the parent beat or berate him for failure? NO! He or she picks the child up, holds him in living arms, kisses away the tears, and hugs him close. This is a picture of God, the father.

As the years roll by we watch the child going from one stage to another. He or she walks, runs, leaps and jumps to say nothing of tackles hard bikes and climbs mountains. All with a parents encouragement and guidance and they are loved all the way. The child is given every assistance to keep on trying and to keep improving, to keep on until there is success. And in every triumph, the parent shares with joyous enthusiasm.

This is how it is in our walk with our heavenly Father. To see ourselves in this way, endeavoring to mature spiritually, is to see ourselves in a new light. In all our failures, God is there to pick us up, to give us a spiritual hug and to encourage us onward.

Are we surprised, then to have our Lord include this petition in his prayer? “Father, deliver us from evil” We need to remind ourselves that no matter how often or hard we fall, he is there waiting to pick us up and restore us simply because we are his children.

Our struggles with sin and self and Satan, as seen this way, are not the terrible trials we generally think them to be. Instead, they are challenging, testing encounters that can strengthen our determination to go on with God. There are three ways our heavenly Father delivers us from evil.

1. We have already touched on the first. It is simply this: He is always there. He is always available. If we are his children his Spirit resides with us. When we come into temptation we need only to remind ourselves that he is there and turn to him. It often helps to address him out loud. Say something like, “Oh Father, this is beyond me. I really stuck my feet in it this time I can’t cope with it alone…can I have your hand?”

2. The second is really a very homespun, happy method. He endows us with spiritual common sense, through the Holy Spirit, which he expects us to use in avoiding temptation. Paul tried to help young timothy this way in writing to him in his first letter by saying, “Flee these things.”

All of us know the areas of our lives where we are most likely to succumb to temptation. We know those places and situations where we can be caught in Satan’s traps. We know the people that would most readily influence us to stray or say things we shouldn’t. If we really want to be good and strong people for God it is utter folly and sheer stupidity to go to such places or associate with such people. And if we don’t have enough spiritual strength to stay away from situations where we know we will sin, then ask God to literally invade us with his Spirit. The moment we do so in complete sincerity, we will find that he does, in fact, work in us.

3. The third method of coping that our Father has given us is the ability to battle it ourselves. There are bound to be times in all our lives when we suddenly find ourselves struggling with Satan almost without warning. What then?

Sometimes in these situations we may not be immediately aware of the Father’s presence. It may seem as if we are suddenly alone, cut off from help. Even when we call upon him we don’t hear him answer, --- or so we imagine.

Is there a strategy for defeating Satan in this situation? YES! There is. In James 4:7 we are told, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” There is a sense in which God expects his children to be brave. He expects us to counterattack Satan. Far to often we give ground to the enemy without any resistance. We simply slide off into sinning without a struggle.

When we know full well what is right and in accord with God’s wishes, we need to be courageous enough to stand for it. And we can do this through the Holy Spirit and the strength of our Savior.

We should take notice that whenever Christ was tempted, he immediately reacted by addressing himself directly to the evil. Generally the encounter was over in a matter of a few brief moments after which Christ was triumphant.

If we wish to be armed against the devil, we must equip ourselves with God’s Word. Through reading it daily, thinking about it’s meaning in our lives, and even committing it to memory, we become fit to fight, just as our Lord did.

We live in an age when it is commonplace for many Christians to attribute many of their troubles to the devil. “The devil made me do it.” Although he may be ruler in hell, he has no claim upon God’s children, nor does he have the power to tempt them except by express permission of God.

It is extremely important to know and understand this. It puts us into an enormously powerful stance. We see ourselves surrounded by the loving, eternal, constant protection of God himself.

We find we are within the great fraternity of God’s family and no one can touch us unless for our own benefit. The classic example of this truth is the life of Job. It was only by direct permission from God that Satan was allowed to tempt Job as he did. After that ordeal was over, the end result for Job was enormous benefit and blessing.

When we counterattack evil we need not feel apprehensive. To the person walking with God his Father, there comes again and again the quiet reassurance that all can be well. Our confidence lies, not in ourselves, nor in our ability to counteract evil, but rather, in the character and strength of our Father who delivers us. He honors his own commitment to us as his children and delivers us from evil.

I’ll end with this doxology from Jude verses 24-25, To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Amen.