Calendar for Head to Heart

Time to Relax

We all need time to relax. However, what does it take to relax? A time away from the normal days? A time of quietly fishing in some lazy river? A time for worship and considering the time God has given us? How do we unwind? Do something totally different from the ordinary? Stop thinking about tomorrow and just focus on today. Pray for those who labor daily to help others. Pray for mothers who daily set examples for their children. Pray for dads who work to make a living under the stressful changing financial times we find ourselves living in. Pray for our leaders and those who report on their progress. People today need our prayers for God's guidance.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John-working to relax in Flordia

Confirmation-What is It?

The question of what is confirmation is important. Is faith God's work or is it ours? If it is God's work we must recognize then that confirmation just confirms in words that we understand what God has done in us and for us. Having said that confirmation must then be a response or profession of what we believe. The best metaphor that helps me to get a handle on what understanding confirmation is when a 16 year old finally gets their driver license. Prior to receiving they were dependent upon their parents and others for transportation. In the process of getting a license they had to take classes to understand the dynamic of driving. The dangers and the laws which guide the proper use of the automobile. During this time the parent rides along with the child as they learn to drive, but the parents remain responsible as the young person. But then the day comes when they get the driver license. At that point they become responsible for their choices and mistakes. If they drive took fast, it's not the parent who pays the fine. (at least it should be). After confirmation the young person's faith, thought given by God, now becomes the responsibility of the young. Do they realize what an awesome responsibility it is to make the choices and do the things (reading, studying God's Word, worshipping, listening, receiving the Lord's Supper) that keep that faith in Jesus safe? May we who have lived much longer keep these younger saints of God in our prayers that they may ever retain and be blessed by their faith in Jesus.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Community

When Paul wrote, "Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it" was he not telling us something about our relationship to one another when we become connected to our Savior in baptism? What I do effects other members. I need other members and other member need me. When I stay home from worship because I am too involved in things which neglect my role in helping other members I am also neglecting something God desires us to do. Sometimes the pronouns we use tell the story. We say that's "their" church, instead of this is "our" church. Is the pronoun plural or singular. I think we all miss out on many of God's blessings because we fail to see how our choices impact the lives of others. As members of the precious body of Christ we must aspire to a higher calling than following the worlds pattern of individualism.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Read Any Good Books?

Where do ideas come from? How do we learn new things? Do we need to be exposed to different cultures and ideas? Reading helps us learn new things and it help us think through the things we already know. When I read I learn about the many things which impact my life of which I may not be aware. This blog is the result of reading an article in a church newsletter. I have added a widget about the books that I have read from another website, which helps me learn about books I can read. As I consider all the information that I have read, I wonder how much I have missed because I haven't read about it yet. God's world is so special and unique that I'd love to learn as much as I can about it.

How Do You Remember Things?

I have many, many things to remember. Times, dates and places fill my mind. People who have touched my life and I have touched theirs need to be remembered. How do you remember all these details? Their are tiny, tiny cells in your brain and a multitude of different chemicals that need to work together to keep that memory in place. It is sad to watch someone search to remember. It is even painful to us to try and search the memory banks of our mind to recall who that person is or where did I leave my checkbook. Now, you may ask, "What does this have to do with God.?" Well, when you do remember things that are important thank Him. For you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And when someone can't remember your name or who you are consider how difficult it is for us to remember anything or anyone. Thank the Lord that you can remember what you do you remember.

Have a Blessed day!

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Little Things

Jesus said,
^"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." Luke 16:10 Over the years, as I have read these words and considered the impact of this truth, I am amazed at how important little things are.

    As I was trying to help my young son do his homework of finding the adjectives in the sentence, he was struggling because he really didn't understand what a noun was. Then when he was looking for the adverbs, it was clear that he really did not know what the verb was. In all this the problem was little things. The little thing about what a noun is. The little thing about what a verb is. These little things build to bigger things. One sin tends to lead to another. It may have been little when it started out, but it becomes like a snowball rolling down a hill picking up more snow the farther down it goes. What talk about "nipping it in the bud" which means of dealing with problems when they are small as a bud on a tree.

How do we teach children and adults for that matter that each little piece matters? How do we show them "little things" are what big thing are built on? The time we spend around the table as a family connecting and bonding. The values we gain from watching our parents endure the trials and struggles of life. The smile and laughter was share with co-workers and friends or even the stranger on the street. They may all be "little things" but when we are faithful in caring for the little things the big things get easier.

God Bless you day!

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

IT’s About Time

How do you spend your time? How much time do we really have in our life? Some once said, "We have all the time we need, but we must learn to use it wisely." I don't know who said this but is it true. If I used the time I have more wisely would I be more productive? It seems true but that would mean I would need to know the outcome before I started. The time it takes to learn that something doesn't work is productive but some would say nothing was accomplished. It takes time to think. It takes time to build and I think sometimes, because we live in the age of television we think stuff happens in an instant. We think that if we don't get from problem to solution in 15 minutes that somehow we have failed. What about our faith life? These two words suggest something more than an instant in time. They suggest and encompass all of life, not just an instant. My desire in writing this blog is move God's people to think. Think about the words. Think about what they mean and think about what God is tell us. In Acts 17 Paul writes, "Now these (the Berean Christians) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scripture (Old Testament) daily, to see if these things were so."

May God bless you study. That's' wise use of your time.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John    

First Sunday in Lent

Posting the weekly worship service for our members to listen to if this wish listen is the goal I have. It is now 8:00 pm Sunday night and the service is now posted so it can be heard. Just click this link Sunday Worship February 21, 2010.

Ash Wednesday Worship Audio

I am trying to post the most recent worship service to the Chirbit site as soon as possible. Please give me your feed back as we try and develop this ministry to our shut-ins and others. We have made available two cuts of this service. The short form includes the lessons, Creed and the message, while the Full Service choice is the full service including the pre-service hymn sing. We pray that you will enjoy hearing God's word and having the opportunity to join others in worship.

February 17, 2010 Short Form (just click on the words Short Form for the link)

February 17, 2010 Full Service (just click on the words Full Service for the link)

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Audio Recordings of the Service

Today I would like to share with you two links to Zion's last two worship services. The internet has opened a wide range of opportunities to us to share God's message of love and grace with our members and the people of our community. So I am placing these links to our last two Sunday worship services on in this blog. While this is a test in some respect, your feed back will also allow us to improve how we present this and what we make available to you. Bridging the gap and making connection with people so that they might see and know for certain what our Savior is really like is our goal.

Sunday, February 7, 2010 Worship Service can be found at this link: http://chirb.it/7O90br

Sunday, February 14, 2010 Worship Service can be found at this link: http://chirb.it/Gd1F1r

Thank you for reading this blog and taking the time to give us some feedback.

Thanks for listening.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Do you Look Forward to the Sermon?

Sermons account for a large portion of the time in worship. However, do people look forward to listening to the sermon? According to a BBC News article found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8467504.stm most people do. The article states, "Researchers at Durham University found 60% of churchgoers felt sermons gave them a sense of God's love." I think it would be nice if we could get a better idea of what people read do take home from our sermons. Sometime we get very little feed back from members so we wonder about the effectiveness of our messages. Having said that I think was also need to remember slow growth comes over time so we may not see nor understand the effect of a message for some period of time. What do you listen for when you listen to a sermon. Do you listen to hear the Law and how it impacts our lives? Do you wait expectantly to hear the healing grace of the Gospel? I think we must remember that both are vital to our healing and growth. With out proper diagnosis the doctor does not know what to treat or how to treat it. And once the doctor knows what the condition is, then he or she can treat it with the right kind and amount of medicine.

Blessings & Peace as you listen to God's Word,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Church “Membership”

How do people see their church membership? Is my church membership critical to my life? In order words, is it a priority or just a preference? I would like to take some time to think about my relationship to "the church". Does the pattern of my worship mean anything? Does it say anything? If I worship only sporadically, even thought I have no legitimate reason for not joining with my brothers and sisters in worship, does this conflict with my words about loving Jesus? If I truly love Jesus, than isn't taking time to worship an indication of that love? If I love Jesus than isn't taking time to study His word an indication of that love and commitment? Are others watching what I do? What happens when what I say is in conflict with what I do? Will they believe what I say or what I do? The other side of this coin is that attending worship does not necessarily equate with a deep and abiding faith in Jesus. I could attend, and sometimes I even do, when I'd rather be somewhere else. If I am not engaged with what is happening on Sunday morning, things like singing the hymns, praying, reading along, listening carefulling and meditating on what is being said and done, than am I truly worshipping? Am I showing my love for Jesus?

What did Jesus mean when He said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words." John 14:23-24 Or as John writes in His first letter,"If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20 What would happen if every person who said they loved Christ and were thankful for what He did personally for them were motivated and committed to show that love by growing in their understanding of His Word, worshipping as regularly as then attend to their occupation and showed a loving attitude toward their brothers and sisters starting with their own spouses and children and parents? Like you I need to examine the ways in which I am putting my faith into action. If I am truly a member of the body of Christ then what should my participation in "church" look like? If the U and R are missing than is it really a church any longer?

Thanks for listening.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John