COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 4-29-2021

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of April 29, 2021, which show that one index remains in the Red. 

• The Incidence Rate moved down 33.0 points (21.9%) to 117.1 from last week’s 150.1, in the Substantial category.

• The PCR Positivity Rate has moved down to 7.0% from last week’s 8.1% into the Moderate category.

(Allegheny County’s figures moved down during the past week from 130.7 and 6.9% to 97.9 and 6.2%.)

• • Beaver County is classified as SUBSTANTIAL.  

(If either metric is Substantial, the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Remote Learning.)

 

• Deadlier COVID-19 variants have now replaced the original coronavirus as the predominant strains here in the United States, making it more important every day that we do all that we can to protect the people who come to our Church.

On April 5, the CDC issued a “Science Brief” outlining that, in addition to people becoming infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects,  the principal mode by which people are infected with COVID-19 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus.

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• Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 21.4, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible until we can provide sufficient active air filtration in light of the latest CDC guidance and the deadlier variants now moving into the USA.

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As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

  

Central Church

Learning to Give Like God – Unconditional Giving

Key Bible Verses:  Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love.  You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way.  – Ephesians 4:2-3

Dig Deeper:  James 3:13-18

We know in our hearts that God does not want us to be selfish people.  We know that we need to learn how to give.  That means giving beyond what feels natural to us.  It means learning to love unconditionally.

My son once said to me, “Dad, you love me because I love Christ, but you don’t love me when I’m having a difficult time.”  Sadly, he was right.  I had to learn to love my kids unconditionally.  My conditional love was selfish, because I wanted them to do good so I wouldn’t look bad.

If you are going to follow Christ, you have to give up living a selfish life.  Your life absolutely must be about him first, and about others second.  You come in last.

The moment you start giving of yourself, God is going to do a wonderful work in your life.

Maybe today you need to extend a little bit of forgiveness to someone.  Maybe today you need to show a little bit of grace to someone.  Maybe today you need to give a little bit of space to someone.

As you learn to give, God will take your attempts to be a giving person and multiply them.

—Steve Mays in Overcoming

My Response:  Is there anyone in particular I need to work on loving unconditionally?

Thought to Apply:  Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire—that thou may be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.—Thomas À Kempis (German monk)

Adapted from Overcoming ((Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

COVID-19 – Current Numbers in the World, in the USA, in PA, and in Beaver County – April 29, 2021

For a sense of where we are now in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, here are the latest numbers as of April 29, 2021.

Summary:

• COVID-19 and its variants continue to kill people around the world and locally.
• The UK variant is now the principal form of COVID-19 in the United States.
• The fully vaccinated are at less risk of contracting COVID-19, and, if they do, have less risk of suffering a severe case.
• The unvaccinated are at an increasing risk of severe illness or death from the more contagious and deadlier variants.
• COVID-19 is primarily spread through virus-borne droplets in the air, although surfaces can also be a source of infection.
• Active air filtration is needed to remove virus-borne droplets from indoor air, and regular surface disinfection is still required.
• Masks and other coronavirus precautions will continue to be needed when in mixed groups for the foreseeable future, especially to protect the unvaccinated.

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1. In the World:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1. In the United States:

 

Which variant am I most likely to encounter in the United States?

The variant called B.1.1.7, which was first identified in Britain, is now the most common source of new infections in the United States. This highly contagious variant is also fueling the spread of the virus in Europe and has been found in 114 countries. A mutation allows this version of the virus to more effectively attach to cells. Carriers may also shed much higher levels of virus and stay infectious longer.

The main concern about B.1.1.7 is that it is highly infectious and spreads quickly among the unvaccinated, potentially overwhelming hospitals in areas where cases are surging.

Do the vaccines work against B.1.1.7?

All of the major vaccines in use — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sputnik and Novavax — have been shown to be effective against B.1.1.7.

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3. In Pennsylvania:

 

 

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1.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4.  Beaver County:

 

An average of 41 cases per day were reported in Beaver County.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 1 in 11 residents have been infected, a total of 14,623 reported cases.

December 2020 was the worst month for cases in Beaver County.

 

 

 

Central Church

Learning to Give Like God – What Jesus Wants

Key Bible Verse: “You fool!  Tonight you will die.  Then who will get what you have stored up?”  – Luke 12:20

Dig Deeper:  James 4:13-5:6

The rich man thought it was time to enjoy life.  But notice God’s response in today’s Key Bible Verse.  This man mistakenly believed that his whole life was ahead of him.  But this man was on the edge of darkness.  Living for himself, he had no knowledge that God was going to require his soul that very night.  He spoke as though he were the master of his life.  Jesus said this man was a fool because he left God out of the equation.

Don’t we do the same thing?  We make decisions that we think are good, but we don’t seek the Lord or look into his Word.  We constantly think about what we need to make us feel better or more comfortable rather than what others might need.  And we’re not alone in that.  All around us we constantly see people living for themselves.

Jesus came to stop that.  He wants you and me to live for the glory of God; he wants us to learn what it means to die to self and put him first.  We need to stop for a moment and ask, What would Jesus want me to do in this situation?  We must bring him into the decisions of  our daily lives.

—Steve Mays in Overcoming

My Response:  I will consider whether or not I am seeking God’s will in my daily decisions.

Thought to Apply:  When a man thinks he has got a good deal of strength, and is self-confident, you may look for his downfall.—D. L. Moody (pastor, evangelist)

Adapted from Overcoming ((Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

New CDC Statement Re Worship Services

On April 27, 2021, the CDC made several statements revising their previous position concerning in-person worship.

(You can find an article describing what the CDC said at:  https://religionnews.com/2021/04/27/cdc-director-masked-fully-vaccinated-people-can-attend-worship-indoors/)

In essence, the CDC stated that:

• Fully-vaccinated people who wear masks can safely attend indoor worship services; and
• Fully-vaccinated people who wear masks can safely sing in worship services.

• It is still very risky for unvaccinated people who wear masks to attend indoor worship services; and
• It is still very risky for unvaccinated people who wear masks to sing in worship services.

A slide accompanying the CDC’s announcement categorized many activities as “less” or “least” safe for people who are not fully inoculated against COVID-19.  Attending a full-capacity indoor worship service or singing in a chorus, for instance, were among the actions designated as “least safe” for unvaccinated people

Here’s the CDC’s slide:

• Note that the left column (for unvaccinated people) ranges from green through red for risk, and only the top two items are without masks.
• In comparison, the entire right column (for fully-vaccinated people) is low-risk green, and the top 5 items do not require masks.

This is the first CDC chart that suggests different ranges of permissible activities based upon a person’s vaccination status.  For example:

• Attending Full-Capacity Worship Services and Singing:

            Fully- Vaccinated:     OK with mask

            Unvaccinated:           Very risky, even with a mask

If you are fully-vaccinated, this may be a good time to consider returning to in-person worship.

Central Church

Learning to Give Like God – Portrait of a Fool

Key Bible Verse:  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come.  Now take it easy!  Eat, drink, and be merry!”  – Luke 12:19

Dig Deeper:  Luke 12:13-21

A parable in Luke 12 describes a man who chose to live his life for himself, and we read that he was foolish in his ownership.  His thoughts are revealing in verse 17: “What shall I do?” And then he thinks: “I have no room” and finally, “my crops.”  Verse 18 continues this selfish thinking: “I will do this: I will pull down” and “I will store.”  Then he says, “my crops and my goods.”  In verse 19, he says, “I will say to my soul … eat, drink, and be merry.”

His language reveals that there was no concept of God. It was all about him.

A selfish man does not bring God into the decisions of life.

Sometimes we leave God out of our marriage. Sometimes we leave him out of our business decisions, or we leave him out of our daily personal lives and bring him in only on Sunday morning.

God desires that we give him preeminence in all of life. The Lord requires that we surrender our lives to his authority. Too often, we are fearful that whatever we give to God, he will take away. But if it is taken away, that is ultimately good, because God knows it is dangerous to our hearts.

—Steve Mays in Overcoming

My Response:  What do my possessions, financial priorities, and spending habits reveal about my heart?

Thought to Apply:  None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.—Benjamin Whichcote (British philosopher, theologian)

Adapted from Overcoming (Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

Learning to Give Like God – Eyes off Yourself

Key Bible Verse:  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.  – Philippians 2:5

Dig Deeper:  Philippians 2:3-8

The Word of God repeatedly stresses that we are to live a Christlike life. We are to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ, who gave himself for the sake of others, willing to die so that we might live.

Paul said: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”  (Galatians 2:20).

So we are to die to who we are so that we can begin to live for the glory of God.

Why is selfishness such a dangerous issue?  A selfish person looks on himself as the ultimate answer and the ultimate point of concern.  Yet the Bible says that we are not to look upon our own interests and needs; rather, we are to look upon the interests of others (see Phil. 2:4).

We’re not to be concerned about our own lives; God will take care of all that (see Matt. 6:25-34).  Instead, we are to be gracious.  We are to be the givers, not takers.  We are to be understanding and extend that gift of life to others.

—Steve Mays in Overcoming

My Response:  In what area of my life am I most tempted to be selfish?

Thought to Apply:  Human history is the sad result of each one looking out for himself.—Julio Cortazar (Belgian writer)

Adapted from Overcoming (Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

Learning to Give Like God – A Change of Heart

Key Bible Verse:  When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  – Romans 5:6

Dig Deeper:  Romans 5:6-11

Throughout the Bible we find countless examples of men and women who desired to make their own choices counter to God’s expressed will.  And that’s the danger of selfishness—we make decisions thinking that we know better than God, or we disagree with God and desire to live a certain lifestyle.

God says that he is the Lord of all.  He is always to have preeminence over our lives. He made us; he bought us; we belong to him.  Selfishness will breed contempt for others and for God’s authority, destroy a marriage, chase the children out of the home, destroy a business, and ultimately destroy a person’s life.  A truly better path is dying to self and living for Jesus Christ.

What should really spur our hearts toward selfless living is the commitment of our Lord Jesus Christ to us.  God gave his very best when he gave us his own Son.  And he gave Christ to us when we were alienated from God.  Each of us was living in sin and on our way to hell when God reached out and gave us the gift of forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with him.

If we want to overcome a selfish life, we need to learn to give like God.

—Steve Mays in Overcoming

My Response: I will reflect on God’s gift of his only son.

Adapted from Overcoming (Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

Central Church – Online Worship Service – 4th Sunday of Easter – 4-25-2021

On this cloudy, warm fourth Sunday of Eastertide, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit for with our online worship experience! Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! To begin, simply click on one of the links below to join with the folks who have already made their way into our digital Sanctuary.  You can find this week’s online worship service on both Facebook and YouTube at the following coordinates: Facebook –    https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=955340168569720 YouTube –      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98JzUKEvTUI (If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.) Central Church Central Church

Learning to Give Like God – Flint, Sponge, or Honeycomb?

Key Study Passage:  Luke 12:13-21

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Who Said It … Steve Mays

Steve Mays is a former biker gang member turned senior pastor of Calvary Chapel South Bay in Gardena, California.  He holds a master’s degree in theology from Azusa Pacific University.

He is a well-known conference speaker and radio personality through the Light of the Word broadcast, and the author of Overcoming—the book from which this week’s readings are adapted.  Steve has been married to his wife, Gail, for 40 years.  They have two grown children and four grandchildren.

What he Said … Flint, Sponge, or Honeycomb?

Someone once said that there are three types of givers in life.  One type is a flint, another is a sponge, and the third is a honeycomb.  To get anything out of the flint, it must be hammered; even then, all that results are chips and sparks.  To get anything out of the sponge, it must be continually squeezed and put under pressure.  Finally, there is the honeycomb, just overflowing with its own sweetness.

We can apply this analogy to our hearts.  Sometimes, like the flint, God needs to work in our hearts in a difficult way in order for us to receive his goodness and then give it out.  Sometimes, like a sponge, God needs to squeeze us and put pressure on us to bring forth any life from our hearts.  Other times, like the honeycomb, we come to understand the goodness and grace of God, and love for other people overflows from our full hearts.

Adapted from Overcoming (Regal, 2012)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, give me the grace to put to death my selfish desires and habits so that I can generously give of myself to others.

Time to Return to Church

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Responding to Injustice and Inequality

“Of all the prophets who wrote after the exile, Zechariah is my favorite,” says John Perkins, a leader in a ministry to marginalized people. ”

He understands the problems of my neighborhood.  And he says God is going to fix the mess we’re in.  All I have to do is join up and be a part of what God is doing.”

This week’s study draws from John’s insights found in chapter six of Welcoming Justice .

Key Study Passage:

Zechariah 8

1.      What does verse 2 tell us about God’s relationship with Jerusalem?  How can this be applied to his relationship to the church? (See Ephesians 5:25-29.)

 

2.      What did Zechariah mean when he said Jerusalem “will be called the Faithful City” (v. 3)?  How had Jerusalem been unfaithful?  (See  Isaiah 1:21-23.)  In what ways has the church been unfaithful?

 

3.      In verses 4 through 15, what do we learn about God’s desire for Israel?  How do the truths in these verses apply to the church?

 

4.      According to verses 16 through 19, how should God’s people act?

 

 

5.      What happens when God’s people live in the way they’re supposed to? (See vv. 20-23; Matthew 5:14-15.)

 

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God to show you how to respond to the injustice and inequality you see around you; spend time interceding specifically for the poor and disenfranchised who live in your .

 

 

Zechariah 8

Promised Blessings for Jerusalem

1 Then another message came to me from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: 2 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!

3 “And now the LORD says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.

4 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. 5 And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.

6 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

7 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. 8 I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.

9 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building. 10 Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other.

11 “But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 12 For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings. 13 Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!

14 “For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 15 But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. 17 Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD.”

18 Here is another message that came to me from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 19 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.

20 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. 21 The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the LORD to bless us. Let’s worship the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ 22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

23 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'”

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 4-22-2021

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of April 22, 2021, which show that one index remains in the Red.

• The Incidence Rate moved down 29.2 points (16.2%) to 150.1 from last week’s 179.3, in the Substantial category.

• The PCR Positivity Rate has moved down to 8.1% from last week’s 10.0% into the Moderate category.

(Allegheny County’s figures moved down during the past week from 167.7 and 8.7% to 130.7 and 6.9%.)

• • Beaver County is classified as SUBSTANTIAL.  

(If either metric is Substantial, the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Remote Learning.)

• Deadlier COVID-19 variants have now replaced the original coronavirus as the predominant strains here in the United States, making it more important every day that we do all that we can to protect the people who come to our Church.

On April 5, the CDC issued a “Science Brief” outlining that, in addition to people becoming infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects,  the principal mode by which people are infected with COVID-19 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus.

• Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 21.4, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible until we can provide sufficient active air filtration in light of the latest CDC guidance and the deadlier variants now moving into the USA.

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Central Church

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Refusing to Be Quiet

Key Bible Verse:  How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  – Psalm 133:1, NIV

Dig Deeper:  John 17:23; 1 Corinthians 1:10

(continued from yesterday)  That first Friday, a racially mixed group of 25 uncomfortable teenagers gathered in the assigned classroom, with the three original boy,s the only ones actually looking like they wanted to be there.

But something began to happen that day.  One of the three boys started the conversation by confessing his own hurt and bias.  Voice after voice followed.  Sometimes it was confession, sometimes confrontation, but honesty ruled that hour.

The following week, 50 high-schoolers piled into that classroom, and the conversation began to migrate from confession and confrontation to reconciliation.  There were even times when students would get up, walk across the room, and embrace one another.

The third week, the gathering had to be held in the auditorium.  It had become positively uncool not to be there.

These three are not teenagers anymore.  They have grown up and moved on, but their legacy remains.  That school is more racially unified than it would have ever been otherwise, and it is only because three mostly unremarkable teenage boys would not remain passive.

They rejected the unbiblical status quo, and refused to be quiet about it.  Just three regular teenage boys, but they left something beautiful behind.

—Paul Tripp in Broken-Down House

 

My Response: In what ways have I accepted the “unbiblical status quo”?  What steps could I take to change that?

 

Thought to Apply: Men’s hearts ought not to be set against one another, but set with one another, and all against evil only.—Thomas Carlyle (Scottish essayist)

Adapted from Broken-Down House (Shepherd Press, 2009)

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Just Three Boys…

Key Bible Verse:  “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  – John 13:35

Dig Deeper:  John13:34; Leviticus 19:18

Three 13-year-old boys were attending a large and well-known Christian school.  But there were problems.  Tensions between black kids and white kids only seemed to grow each week.  There hadn’t been any violence, at least not yet.  And much of the racism was covert.  But it was there, and real, and undeniable.

This was not acceptable to the boys.  Theirs was a Christian school.  It was supposed to be known for its love.  Yet the culture of this school had become defined by worldly stereotypes and division.  They were just three teenage boys and not even recognized as student leaders.  But they decided to do something.

There in his office, having a conversation he never could have imagined that day, the headmaster found their idea a little scary, but the boys were politely not taking no for an answer.  He realized it could all go wrong.  Yet, they were right: the racism was real and growing worse.

So he allowed them to try holding a weekly Friday-afternoon discussion on race relations in the school.  He directed them to get two teachers to give oversight to the gatherings.  And, as they had asked, he arranged for information to be included in each Friday’s morning announcements, broadcast to the homerooms. [continued  tomorrow]

—Paul Tripp in Broken-Down House

 

My Response:  What can I do to become more in tune with the subtle racism around me?

 

Thought to Apply:  I will not let any man make me lower myself by hating him.—Booker T. Washington (educator, writer, orator, political leader)

Adapted from Broken-Down House (Shepherd Press, 2009)

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Inviting Jesus In

Key Bible Verse:  Always be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  – Ephesians 4:2

Dig Deeper:  Ephesians 4:1-4

When Rick was 12, he and his brother were attacked by an angry black youth.  After several swings, the fight broke up, but Rick began to hold a fear in his heart about young black men.

Later, as Rick grew in his commitment to reconciliation and justice, he knew that he had to deal with the memory of his fight and the stereotype of young black men that it enforced.  So during a special prayer time, Rick invited Jesus into his memory.

In his mind’s eye, Rick saw Jesus enter the baseball field where the fight happened, break it up, look at the young black man and speak words of tenderness to break through his defenses.

As Rick watched Jesus, he began to feel immense woundedness in the young man that had resulted in rage, and Rick began to feel compassion.   As a result, Rick was empowered by Jesus to extend forgiveness out of a new understanding, to pray for the young man, and to ask for God’s forgiveness for himself.

Jesus cleansed Rick that day and freed him to make a commitment to work for a world where people of color will not have so many reasons for rage.

—Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson in The Heart of Racial Justice

 

My Response:  In what ways have I bought into harmful stereotypes and destructive prejudices?  I need to invite Jesus into this bad memory that’s fueled by fear and/or anger: …

 

Thought to Apply:  The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West .… But Christ came to bring about reconciliation and peace.—Billy Graham (evangelist)

Adapted from The Heart of Racial Justice (IVP, 2004)

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Transfusion of Hope

Key Bible Verse:  “But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!”  – Matthew 5:44

Dig Deeper:  Matthew 5:38-47

John Perkins played a key role in my own enlightenment on racial issues.  In 1974, ten years after the landmark Civil Rights Bill, I accepted his invitation to visit the small town of Mendenhall, just south of Jackson.

As a black minister, Perkins had lived through the worst nightmares of the Civil Rights movement.  I heard the stories of his own encounters with violent sheriffs and the Ku Klux Klan during the week I spent in Mississippi.

After one horrific night of torture in jail, Perkins underwent a crisis of faith:

“It was time for me to decide if I really did believe what I’d so often professed, that only in the love of Christ, not in power of violence, is there any hope for me or the world. I began to see how hate could destroy me. In the end, I had to agree with Dr. King that God wanted us to return good for evil, not evil for evil. ‘Love your enemy,’ Jesus said. And I determined to do it. It’s a profound, mysterious truth, Jesus’ concept of love overpowering hate. I may not see it in my lifetime. But I know it’s true. Because on that bed, full of bruises and stitches, God made it true in me. I got a transfusion of hope.”

—Philip Yancey in Welcoming Justice

 

My Response:  A time when I have actually seen love overpower hate was …

 

Thought to Apply:  Love is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love.  There’s something about love that builds up and is creative.  There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive.  So love your enemies.—Martin Luther King Jr. (clergyman, civil rights leader)

Adapted from Welcoming Justice (IVP, 2009)

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Restored Relationships

Key Bible Verse:  For Christ himself has brought peace to us.  He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.  – Ephesians 2:14

Dig Deeper:  Ephesians 2:11-22

We’ve been so dehumanized by this world’s system that we think it’s natural to live for ourselves alone.  But it’s not.

God wants to restore us to the authentic relationships we were made for.  That’s what reconciliation is all about.

We’ve got a Father who loves us and who created us for real relationship.  But sin has separated us from authentic relationships.  It has put up these walls around us; it keeps us from knowing God and from being known by other people.

The Good News, though, is that Jesus has broken down the walls. (See the Key Bible Verse.)  The Bible says that God’s whole purpose in Jesus was to create a new community “and in one body to reconcile … us to God through the cross” (Ephesians 2:16, TNIV).

God reconciles us to himself as he restores us to authentic relationship with our neighbors and enemies through the cross.

If the gospel is going to connect with the deep yearning of this generation, we’re going to have to learn how to invite people into authentic relationships . Thankfully, that’s what a lot of the Bible is about.

—John Perkins in Welcoming Justice

 

My Response:  I will reflect on how today’s Key Bible Verse applies to the way I relate to others from different races, cultures, and social/economic backgrounds.

Adapted from Welcoming Justice (IVP, 2009)

Prayer for the Week:   Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Central Church – Online Worship Service – 3rd Sunday of Easter – 4-18-2021

On this sunny, warm third Sunday of Eastertide, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit for with our online worship experience! Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! To begin, simply click on one of the links below to join with the folks who have already made their way into our digital Sanctuary.  You can find this week’s online worship service on both Facebook and YouTube at the following coordinates: Facebook –    https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=791875371452223 YouTube –      https://youtu.be/yd_KQa5_MaI (If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.) Central Church   Central Church

Living the Good News of Reconciliation – Let’s Rebuild the Church

Who Said It … John Perkins

John Perkins was born in 1930 in the Deep South.  The object of violent racism, he was beaten nearly to death in 1970 in a Mississippi jail.  He had every reason to respond with bitterness and rage. Instead, he responded with love and forgiveness.

A much sought-after speaker on issues related to race and reconciliation, John has ministered among the poor for nearly 50 years. He is the author of several books including his recently released autobiography Love Is the Final Fight.

 

What He Said … Let’s Rebuild the Church

The church has been captivated by a church-growth strategy that says people are more likely to come to a church where most of the other people are like them.  So pastors in the suburbs catered their services and programs to middle class “seekers.”  Which means the poor aren’t members of our big churches.

If the gospel of reconciliation is going to interrupt the brokenness in society, our churches are going to have to rethink their strategy.  When I read the Bible, I always bring the problems of my community to God and ask when in history God’s people have had to face a similar challenge.  As I look at our situation today and the problems we face, I hear God speaking to the church in the words that he spoke through his prophets after the exile.  Coming out of our cultural captivity, I hear God saying that this is a time for rebuilding the church and remembering what it really means to be Christ’s body in the world.

 

This Week’s Key Study Passage:  Zechariah 8

–          Adapted from Welcoming Justice (IVP, 2009).   

 

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me what it means to have authentic relationships within your diverse body of believers; give me deeper insights into my prejudices; make me a catalyst for peace and reconciliation.

Contagious Faith – When the Light Turns Green

Q. How do you decide when to share your faith?

A.  Even those whom we peg as least apt to need God most likely will welcome meaningful spiritual conversation at some point in their lives.  Our job is not to force that intersection but to be ready for the opportunity.

Q. How do productive spiritual conversations come about?

A. Three factors must be in place: example, timing and content.

Q. Tell us about the right example.

A. Our actions must match our words. We do not have to be perfect, but we do have to be genuine and credible. There must be unmistakable evidence that we are attempting to practice the very message we are proclaiming. the old saying rings true: We are the only Bible some people will ever read.

Q. What about the right timing?

A. According to Proverbs 27:14: “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.”  The right words at the wrong time sabotage effectiveness.  Sharing faith requires a combination of patience and boldness: We need to hold our tongue until the light turns green, but then we don’t need to be shy about stepping on the accelerator.

Q. And the right content?

A. Launching into an analysis of the Trinity when our coworker is having trouble simply understanding God’s love probably will yield nothing more significant than a blank stare. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity,” counsels the Apostle Paul in Colossians 4:5.

Example, timing and content are all Holy Spirit issues.  We will not drive them on our own.  But when He directs our spiritual conversation with colleagues, it is like cruising down a highway with no other traffic.  If it works in the tractor cab of an 18-wheeler in the middle of the night, it ought to work anywhere.

—- Thomas Addington and Stephen Graves are founding editors of The Life@Work Journal.

Adapted from Life@Work (7-8/99)

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 4-15-2021

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of April 15, 2021, which show that both indices are now back in the Red as the fourth wave of COVID-19 becomes more evident.

• The Incidence Rate moved up 40.2 points (28.9%) from last week’s 139.1, in the Substantial category.

• The PCR Positivity Rate has moved up to 10.0% from last week’s 9.3% into the Substantial category.

(Allegheny County’s figures moved during the past week from 177.4 and 7.7% to 167.7 and 8.7%.)

• • Beaver County is classified as SUBSTANTIAL.  

(If either metric is Substantial, the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Remote Learning.)

• As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to ensure our building is disinfected prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event.
• Deadlier COVID-19 variants have now replaced the original coronavirus as the predominant strains here in the United States, making it more important every day that we do all that we can to protect the people who come to our Church.
• On April 5, the CDC issued a “Science Brief” outlining that, in addition to people becoming infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects,  the principal mode by which people are infected with COVID-19 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus.  In response to the CDC announcement, Central Church is moving to adjust the way we are protecting people who come to Central.  Our current practices for disinfecting will continue, and we are working to obtain funding for equipment to increase our capacity to actively remove virus-carrying air droplets from the air when people are gathered here.

• Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 25.6, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible until we can provide additional active air filtration in light of the latest CDC guidance and the deadlier variants now moving into the USA.

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to ensure our building is disinfected prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event.

Central Church

Contagious Faith – Trucker to Trucker

Key Bible Verse:  For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—, his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.  – Romans 1:20a

Bonus Reading:  Romans 1:16-21

My employer required tractor-trailer drivers to run 24 hours a day as two-man teams in five-hour shifts.  Spending that much time every week in the close confines of a tractor cab allowed for lengthy discussions.

Most of the drivers knew I was a follower of Jesus.  Some were quietly unhappy about it.  So our conversations focused instead on issues truck drivers often discuss – —their families, the unpredictable behavior of “four-wheelers,” incompetent dispatchers and unfair state troopers.

But somewhere between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. the mood would become reflective—, almost meditative.  There was something about that time of the day, combined with the majesty of creation so evident in places like the Great Smoky Mountains— with the moon out on a cloudless night —that inevitably directed talk toward spiritual things.

They brought God up; I never had to.  Tough men became pliable, hardened hearts opened, and trivial conversation turned eternal.

We all have a void inside that can filled only by a relationship with Jesus.

—- Thomas Addington in Life@Work

Personal Challenge:   When people look at you, what attracts them to Jesus?

Thought to Apply:  Our task as laymen is to live our personal communion with Christ with such intensity as to make it contagious.  – —Paul Tournier (Late Swiss Psychiatrist)

Adapted from Life@Work (7-8/99)

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

Contagious Faith – Bathrobe Performance

Key Bible Verse:  Be prepared in season and out of season … keep your head in all situations.  – 2 Timothy 4:2b, 5a

Bonus Reading:  2 Timothy 4:1-5

I woke up to the familiar sound of the 6:00 news.  That day it was particularly depressing.  A woman had shot her boyfriend, a man admitted poisoning his wife, political campaigns were growing more negative.  Jim Scott, the usually upbeat deejay, said, “Won’t somebody call in with some good news?”

As I lay there in bed, still half asleep, I thought, “That’s a 50,000-watt station.  Somebody needs to grab this chance to say something positive for Christ!”  Then it struck me: I am somebody.  I dialed the number.  A few minutes later, Jim Scott put me on the air.

Thinking quickly, I told how my church had recently purchased an old church building in a center-city neighborhood.  I shared my excitement about how university students and community residents were pooling their resources and working hard to refurbish an old building to use as a place of worship and an activity center for youth.  After a few minutes, the deejay thanked me for calling, and I hung up.

Standing there in my bathrobe, I laughed out loud as I thought, “I must be dreaming!  I think I just spoke on the radio to hundreds of thousands of people!”

—- David Faust in Faith Under Fire

Personal Challenge:  What would you say to someone who asked you to share some good news?

Thought to Apply: When the heart is on fire, sparks will fly out of the mouth. – Anonymous

Adapted from— Faith Under Fire (Standard, 1997)

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

Contagious Faith – When Curt Broke

Key Bible Verse: Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  – 1 Peter 2:12

Bonus Reading:  Philippians 2:14-16

Richard is a developer of condominiums.  His partner, Curt, enjoyed working with him because he knew Richard could be trusted.  But in spite of Richard’s faith, character and strong family relationships, Curt was not interested in spiritual matters.

Richard knew better than to force the issue.  For nine years he just continued to live the life and pray for Curt.  Finally, on a business trip out west, Curt turned to Richard and blurted out, “I became a Christian.”

Curt’s family had been slowly spiraling toward disaster for years.  When he was forced to hospitalize his son for an addiction, he broke.  But throughout the breaking process he had watched Richard and his family.  Now he knew his best option was to ask God for help.

Today Curt and his family are making huge strides towards putting things back together.  Curt never misses church and reads everything Richard puts into his hands.  His son is out of the hospital.  He and his wife are rebuilding their marriage.

– —Andy Stanley in Visioneering

Personal Challenge:  Make time to maintain relationships with work colleagues; they may be what gives your career divine potential.

Thought to Apply:  What other people think of me is becoming less and less important; what they think of Jesus because of me is critical.  – Cliff Richard (English Pop Singer)

Adapted from— Visioneering (Multonomah, 1999)

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

Jackie Hill Perry: Why Does a Good God Allow Suffering and Evil?

Here is a timely article during this pandemic about why God allows suffering and evil, but it is also applicable in situations beyond COVID-19.

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Many Christians—and people in general—are uncomfortable with tension when it comes to life’s most difficult questions. Yet Christianity is full of paradoxes. And perhaps the most challenging Christian paradox of all is the problem of evil.

“I think one of the paradoxes that exists in the people around me, or one they struggle with the most, is this concept of God being good, yet suffering being present,” said author and speaker Jackie Hill Perry in a recent episode of The Gospel Coalition Q&A. “How does that work? How can God be a good God, yet at the same time there are so many bad things among us?”

While there are helpful truths we can recognize as we tackle the problem of evil, there are no easy answers—something Perry and fellow author and speaker Jen Pollack Michel made clear as they discussed how believers should approach one of the most difficult challenges many of us will face.

Christians and the Problem of Evil

How can a perfectly good, all-powerful God co-exist with the evil that is present in this world? If God cares about justice, why is injustice rampant?

Christians have their own version of this problem because it seems strange that God would allow his own children to go through pain and suffering. “How can God be good, yet there is suffering in my life as a Christian?” asked Perry. “Ain’t I his? I’m a beloved, but you said I should expect trials and that they’re good for me and they’re making me golden?”

Perry pointed out that God’s character is the root of why we struggle with the problem of evil in the first place. We desire justice because God loves justice, and we are made in his image. “I think it’s the impatient parts of us that don’t recognize that justice is on the way,” she said, “but that justice also was done in the past on Christ Jesus.”

Perry also suggested that one good question to ask is, “What do we expect out of goodness?” The implication is that if we expect an immediate resolution to what we are going through, we are likely to be disappointed. She said, “I’ve tried to anchor myself in the fact that God is so much more committed to my sanctification than he is my comfort. And so that being the case, then he is good to me because he is showing me him in these difficulties.”

Michel brought up the Book of Job, the classic biblical text that grapples with the problem of evil, and pointed out that, like many of us, Job’s friends did not know how to make sense of suffering. The friends incorrectly believed that Job, who was a righteous man, must have done something to deserve all of the pain he was going through. For him to be blameless before God but suffer terrible trials “didn’t make sense in their worldview,” said Michel.

Perry and Michel agreed that when it comes to the problem of evil, we need to accept suffering as being “mysterious.” Michel said that when she has experienced personal suffering, some people have wanted to offer her quick answers in order to explain what happened. And it is true that the Bible does “make sense” of our suffering. Romans 5:3-5 says, “We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

“But that does not really reduce the tension of it,” said Michel, “especially when you’re in the middle of it.” So instead of trying to escape the tension as quickly as we can, we need to accept the mysteriousness of our situation. She believes that when we refuse to do so, it is out of a “desire for control.” We want a God who “acts as we expect, a theology that is going to deliver outcomes that we can anticipate.” The problem is, said Michel, “that kind of desire for control is not faith. Faith is taking God at his word whether it looks like it makes sense or not.”

Perry affirmed this and said that faith means that we are willing to obey God even when we do not understand. “What God has revealed about himself means he is worthy to be trusted even when what he is doing doesn’t seem to make sense,” she said. We might be tempted not to obey till we get an answer, but that is not true faith. Said Perry, “Jesus asked God questions, but he still obeyed.” His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is especially instructive.

When Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will,” he is showing us a “both/and” answer to the question of how to respond to our suffering, said Michel. “I think so often we want to leave one of those parts out.” We either push for our own way, or we are not honest with God about our desires. To acknowledge what we want while submitting our wills to God “feels like a paradox” and takes faith, but is also how we grow in intimacy with God.

The main points the two women seemed to be making were that 1) we must accept some level of mystery about the suffering we experience and 2) we need to continually set our hope on what we know about God’s character. “God does not not see what is happening…he is going to handle it if he hasn’t already handled it,” said Perry. “If we anchor our questions maybe in what is very clear, which is the gospel, then I think we can have some resolve, even in all the confusion.”

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Central Church

Contagious Faith – Panic at 30,000 Feet

Key Bible Verse:  Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence.  – Proverbs 3:25-26a

Bonus Reading:  Psalm 91

For several summers during the mid-1990s, Dave Wolter, head women’s basketball coach for Concordia University in Irvine, California, flew to Asia and put on basketball clinics for both players and coaches.

On one flight, his plane experienced mechanical trouble at 30,000 feet.  Panic broke out.  People were screaming, crying and standing up in the aisles.

Wolter, on the other hand, sat calmly and prayed.  When a woman sitting next to him saw how different his demeanor was to the rest of the passengers, she shouted in Wolter’s face, “Why aren’t you hysterical?”

Fortunately, the crew was able to correct the problem, and nervous tranquility was restored in the cabin.  For the rest of the flight, Dave answered the woman’s question as she and several others listened intently to how his faith in Christ Jesus enables him to face death with confidence.

Witnessing takes place not only through our words, but also through our actions.  Stated another way, the fish symbol on the rear bumper of your car definitely makes a statement, but people will probably pay more attention to how you drive.

—- Steven B. Borst in Men in the Church

Personal Challenge:  How would your life be different if it was characterized by the “peace … which transcends all understanding”?

Thought to Apply:  Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me. – —Dwight L. Moody (Evangelist, 19th Century)

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

Contagious Faith – Pete Was Watching

Key Bible Verse:  You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  – Matthew 5:15

Bonus Reading:  Matthew 5:13-16

Pete’s family moved to the United States from the former Soviet Union when he was 12.  His parents were agnostic and therefore had never encouraged Pete to explore anything that had to do with religion.

When I met Pete he was full of questions about Christianity.  I told him I would be happy to answer as many questions as I could.  We began having lunch together every week or so.  During our first meeting together I asked Pete why he was so interested in the gospel.

This is what he said:  “I am in business with several families who have the kind of marriage I want to have some day.  All of them are Christians.  I know their families are the way they are because of their Christianity.”

After ten months of Bible study and debate, Pete prayed to receive Christ.  Why?  Because several couples conducted their marriages and business in a manner different from the norm.

Upon close examination Pete caught a glimpse of something divine.  Their lives birthed a vision in Pete of what could be true of his own marriage someday.  They lived lives worth watching, and unbeknownst to them, Pete was watching.

— – in Visioneering

Personal Challenge: What unbelievers do you know? When’s the last time you had them over for dinner?

Thought to Apply:  The world is far more ready to receive the gospel than Christians are to hand it out.  – George W. Peters

Prayer:  God, help me to live my life to shine as a light for You.

Contagious Faith – Fueled by God’s Blessings

Key Study Passage: Isaiah 12

Today’s study passage is a celebration of the salvation of God.  He has always been about the business of restoring our relationship with him and unleashing blessing upon his children.  As we “drink deeply from the fountain of salvation” (v. 3), that blessing can’t help but overflow to others.

The writer of this passage is so overjoyed that God has come to the rescue of his people that he exhorts them to tell the nations all about what God has done. And we have seen even more fully the glory of God’s salvation in Christ.  How can we not do the same?

1. What are some instances in the Bible of God rescuing his people?
2. What are some times in your own life when God has rescued you from trouble?
3. How does reflecting on rescue stories help you to be thankful for God’s salvation in your own life?
4. Why do you think God allows his people to get into trouble in the first place?
5. Spend some time worshiping God for his blessings and salvation. Think of ways you can make that joyful worship contagious to those around you.

Spend Time in Prayer: Thank God for the ways that he has blessed you, and ask him to help you spread those blessings to everyone you meet.

Isaiah 12

Songs of Praise

12 In that day you will say:

“I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

 

Rainy Days – Up Close & Personal with Tom Landry

Tom Landry led five Dallas Cowboy teams to the Super Bowl during the 1970s.  But in 1989, without a word of consultation, Landry was out of work.  Before he was so much as informed, a new Cowboys owner and head coach were toasting each other in a Dallas restaurant— in front of press cameras.

Q.  How could you cope with such a humiliating end to your brilliant career?

A.  My relationship with Christ gives me a source of power I would not have otherwise. …  The knowledge that my life is in God’s hands helps me to keep my composure or regain it in tough situations.

—Tom Landry coached the Cowboys for 29 seasons.

– Adapted from Stephen Arterburn, The Power Book (Nelson, 1996)

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Rainy Days – God Has Rejected Me

Key Bible Verse:  Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds.  – James 1:2

Bonus Reading:  James 1:2-8

In 1966, I ran for governor of Georgia and lost to avowed segregationist Lester Maddox. My sister, Ruth, drove to Plains and listened while I deplored the poor judgment and racist tendencies of my fellow Georgians and vented my anger toward God. Then Ruth quoted today’s Key Bible Verse.

I said, “Ruth, my political life is over!  It’s not my goal just to grow peanuts, sell fertilizer, gin cotton, and build up a bank account.  God has rejected me through the people’s vote.”

Ruth replied, “Jimmy, you have to believe that out of this defeat can come a greater life.”

I responded bitterly, “There is no way I can build on such an embarrassing defeat.”

Patiently, Ruth explained what James was saying.  When we face trials with courage, we learn to endure and pray for wisdom.  Wisdom leads us to depend on things made available to all through God’s love.  Christ gives us courage to take a chance on something new.

Ruth advised me to do something totally unrelated to my business or politics.  Shortly afterward I was asked by the Baptist Brotherhood to go as a lay witness on a mission in Pennsylvania.  I did, and it changed my life.

– —Jimmy Carter in Living Faith

 

Personal Challenge:  Do you agree that “out of this defeat can come a greater life?”

 

Thought to Apply: T he difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.  – —Anonymous

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Rainy Days – Why Would an Eagle Do That?

Key Bible Verse:  You yourselves have seen … how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.  – Exodus 19:4

Bonus Reading:  Deuteronomy 32:9-12

An eagle builds its nest on a cliff, hatches its young and feeds them.  But eventually she puts her head up against one and pushes gently.  The eaglet gets closer to the edge. “Mom, what are you doing?”  It says, “You wouldn’t!”

But she does.  That little bird goes flapping down the face of the cliff, surely to its destruction.

Not so!  In one mighty swoop she catches the little one on her wings and brings it up.  She pushes the little ones out of the nest over and over.

Later she picks feathers and leaves from the nest and casts them overboard.  She takes the great sticks with her beak and snaps them in two.  Is she breaking up housekeeping because she doesn’t like her children any more?

No, she understands something they don’t.  They were made to soar.  She destroys the nest to get them to discover who they are and what they can do.

Have you ever had things together and comfortable and suddenly you’re pushed out of the nest?  God intends to mature you.  You’ll be falling, thinking this is the end, God has abandoned you.  It isn’t the end because underneath are those everlasting arms.

– —Terry Fullam, Florida pastor

Personal Challenge:  Memorize one of the key verses from this week, or post it near you at work.  Pray for God to build your hope.

Thought to Apply:  The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials.  – George Mueller (British Orphanage Founder, 19th Cetuary

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Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Rainy Days – Dealt a Bad Hand

Key Bible Verse:  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  – Hebrews 12:3

Bonus Reading:  Hebrews 12: 4-13

President Dwight Eisenhower described his mother as a smart and saintly lady.  “Often in this job I’ve wished I could consult her.  But she is in heaven.  However, many times I have felt I knew what she would say.”

One night in their farm home, Mrs. Eisenhower was playing a card game with her boys.  “Now, don’t get me wrong,” said the former president, “it was not with those cards that have kings, queens, jacks, and spades on them.  Mother was too straitlaced for that.”  President Eisenhower said the game they were playing was called Flinch.

“Anyway, Mother was the dealer, and she dealt me a very bad hand.  I began to complain.  Mother said, ‘Boys, put down your cards. I want to say something, particularly to Dwight.  You are in a game in your home with your mother and brothers who love you.  But out in the world you will be dealt bad hands without love.

Here is some advice for you boys.  Take those bad hands without complaining and play them out.  Ask God to help you, and you will win the important game called life.”

The president added, “I’ve tried to follow that wise advice always.”

—- Norman Vincent Peale in This Incredible Century

Personal Challenge:   What tempts you to complain? A sk God to help you develop a “trigger response” of gratitude instead of griping.

Thought to Apply:   Those things that hurt, instruct. – Benjamin Franklin (18th Century Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher)

Adapted from— This Incredible Century (Tyndale, 1991)

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Rainy Days – Beat into Shape

Key Bible Verse:  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  – 2 Corinthians 4:17

Bonus Reading: 1 Peter 1:6-7

In Carmel, California, a weathered, gnarled cypress tree grows out of solid rock on the rugged coast.  The object of photographers worldwide, it is a symbol of tenacity and courage amid the ravages of nature.

If that cypress could talk, it might complain about the coastal storms that have beat against its trunk and branches.  But, wise tree that it is, the cypress would probably say, “I would not have the elegance I manifest today were it not for the pressure of the wind, rain, and storms throughout the years; I have been shaped by their combined forces.

Bruised?  Yes.  But I remain vibrant and strong because I made the decision to grow my roots deeper into the rock, and I weathered the storm.”

And so can you.

The challenges of your life have shaped you.  Some have been wrenching, terrible.  Most of your early experiences were out of your control.  All the greater reason to view them from a fresh perspective and see the past with adult eyes, taking note of your struggles in a light that will enhance your growth, give you hope for your better future, and bring inner healing.

—- Greogry L. Jantz in Becoming Strong Again

Personal Challenge:   Ask God to reveal ways He has and is using your past to bring good.

Thought to Apply:  The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor men perfected without trials. – —Chinese Proverb

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Rainy Days – Depression U

Key Bible Verse:  It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.  – Psalm 119:71

Bonus Reading:  Psalm 107:1-32

“After the stock market crashed in 1929, Dad could no longer find work in his bricklaying trade.  In desperation, he took a job as night watchman for $28 a week.  The Depression taught my family many life-building lessons:

We learned the importance of each family member as we struggled to meet the monthly mortgage payment.  Mother took in washing and ironing.  Brother Bill and I sold magazines door-to-door.  The three boys helped deliver milk.  We all made hat bands for a nearby factory, made and sold paper flowers.

The Depression days also taught us thrift and frugality.  When we used tea bags, we did so again and again.  The phone was used only for emergencies.  One electric light was allowed on per room.  Usually, we all studied and worked in a single room.

We also learned the value of money and the importance of avoiding credit.  Mother used to say, “If your outgo is greater than your income, then your upkeep is headed for a downfall.”

The Great Depression strengthened our faith.  A few years of poverty can do more for spiritual maturity than 10 years of prosperity.  I look back with gratitude for the lessons we learned.

—- George Sweeting in Too Soon to Quit

Personal Challenge:  What values have you learned because of difficulties you’ve had to face?

Thought to Apply:  A man who has not suffered, what does he know? – —Henry Suso (14th Century)

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Easter Sunday – 4-4-2021

Happy Easter!  He Is Risen Indeed! Brothers, sisters, and friends alike, we hope you are filled with joy as you celebrate the glorious moment of Jesus’ resurrection today!  We are reveling in this miracle of all miracles with you. Much has changed over the past year, but one thing hasn’t:  We have been and will continue to pray that you find comfort and peace in our Conqueror of death and Giver of peace. We hope today is acting as a reminder to trust in our Savior every day. On this sunny, warm Easter Sunday, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit for with our online worship experience! Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! It also has a special short, 3-minute video by author Lee Strobel that’s especially pertinent today.

To begin, simply click on one of the links below to join with the folks who have already made their way into our digital Sanctuary.  You can find this week’s online worship service on both Facebook and YouTube at the following coordinates:

• • Facebook –     https://business.facebook.com/watch/?v=1355022601538814

• • YouTube –      https://youtu.be/OdoFLROexeM

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Central Church

Why is the Easter season 50 days long?

Easter for Christians is not just one day – it’s a 50-day period.

The season of Easter, or Eastertide, begins at sunset on the eve of Easter and ends on Pentecost, the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church (see Acts 2).

Easter season is more than just an extended celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In the early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday. The initial purpose of the 50-day Easter season was to continue the faith formation of these new Christians.

Today, this extended season gives us time to rejoice and experience what it means when we say Christ is risen. It’s the season when we remember our baptisms and how, through this sacrament, we are “incorporated into Christ’s mighty acts of salvation.” As “Easter people,” we celebrate and ponder the birth of the Church and gifts of the Spirit (Pentecost), and how we are to live as faithful disciples of Christ.

Many churches use these weeks to teach the theology of the sacraments and help people discern their spiritual gifts and callings. Congregations may have a service of commissioning laypersons into ministry as part of their Pentecost celebration.

Lenten Devotional – Easter Sunday – Risk

Scripture:  Matthew 10: 38-42 –

³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Spring is a time of risk. Farmers risk by planting their crops. How much to plant, where, and what? Teenagers risk by asking someone to go to the prom.  Will they say yes? At home we risk by putting up winter things and bringing out summer things. Will we have another cold snap?

God took a risk. God sent the Son to see if we would respond. Even the Son took risks. Would we believe, follow, learn? What happens if loving us meant death? Would that end it?

We all want the sure thing. Most of us will trade the maybe for the sure, even though the reward of the maybe is 100 times greater than the sure thing.

We are called to risk.  We risk….our power and authority when we invite new people to become a part of our community; our security when we go out on a limb to make justice, mercy, and humility our values; our self-image when we become involved with those who are poor, oppressed, or different from us; our well-being when we decide to go where Jesus is.

Where is God calling you to risk? Where are you really being put on the line? Jesus did it for us on the cross, and the rewards were not only our redemption but resurrection. If you haven’t felt the power of God lately, maybe it’s time you took a risk.

Prayer:  Dear God, help us to risk all for you.  Amen.

  – Michael B. Henderson – Florence, SC

Happy Easter! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

Central Church

HAPPY EASTER!

What are you hoping for this Spring?

We have reason to hope because we have been given Easter time. Jesus has risen from the grave! He triumphs over sin and death. It is only through acceptance of His sacrifice that we can have peace.

Hoping for an end to uncertain times? Jesus gives us reason to hope.

Hoping for a turnaround, or to make sense of what just happened during the past 12 months? Jesus gives us reason to hope!

Hoping to start over? Its because of Jesus, that this is possible!

Let Jesus Christ our triumphant King, rule in our hearts today! Look out, Easter is coming!

On behalf of all the friendly folks at Central United Methodist Church,

we wish you a Happy Easter!

Central Church

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday marks Jesus’s resurrection. After Jesus was crucified on the Friday, his body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and an enormous stone was put over the entrance.

On Sunday, Mary Magdalene and some of Jesus’s disciples visited the tomb. They found the stone had been moved and that Jesus’s body had gone. Jesus was seen later that day by Mary and the disciples, and for forty days afterwards by many people. His followers realized that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Christians call this the resurrection.  In doing so, Jesus conquered death and redeemed us from sin if we believe in Him.

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Many people today believe that life goes on after death, and we would agree with that, but we also think it is important to share that though we believe that God created everyone to live eternally, we won’t all live in the same neighborhood.

Not only do we believe that because of Jesus we can spend eternity in heaven, but we also believe that those who do not trust Jesus will spend eternity separated from God in conscious torment forever.

Join us on Easter Sunday and learn how you can choose to live in the neighborhood of joy forever.

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Come join us at Central Church for our Easter Sunday worship service:

Easter Sunday, April 4, at 11 am

Due to COVID-19, masks are required.

Central Church

Lee Strobel Video: This Is Why We Can Believe in the Resurrection

In 2018, Easter fell on April 1st, and author Lee Strobel made a video where he noted how he would have reacted to that when he was an atheist.  (Easter Sunday is on April 4 in 2021.)

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Easter Sunday this year is April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day.  Author Lee Strobel says if that had happened when he was an atheist and legal editor at the Chicago Tribune, he would have laughed at that coincidence because he was convinced that anyone who believed Jesus rose from the dead had to be a fool.

Then, one day his wife came home and announced that she believed Christ’s resurrection story and had become a Christian. So Strobel decided to take his journalism and legal training and debunk the resurrection of Jesus. What he found shocked him.

He tells the story of his investigation in a three-minute video.

Here’s the 3-minute video:

Strobel says he spent two years analyzing the historical data surrounding Jesus’s death and resurrection and found history points to the resurrection as being an actual historical event based on four points:

• First, there is no dispute that Jesus was dead after the crucifixion. Even the Journal of American Medical Association found that Jesus was dead even before being stabbed in the side with a sword while still hanging on the cross.
• Second, early reports of the resurrection of Jesus came so closely after his death that they have to be taken seriously.
• Third, the empty tomb. Even opponents of Jesus admit that the tomb where his body was placed after the crucifixion was empty when they inspected it.
• And fourth, nine ancient sources inside and outside of the New Testament confirm and corroborate that the disciples encountered the risen Jesus.

Strobel calls that an “avalanche of historical data.”

In addition, Strobel cites seven ancient sources that confirm the disciples led lives of deprivation and suffering as a result of their testimony that they had seen Jesus after the crucifixion.  Strobel concludes that the only reason they would endure such difficult circumstances is because they saw the risen Jesus and knew the truth.  To see such a miracle made any amount of suffering worthwhile.

Strobel says his two-year investigation led him to the conclusion that Jesus is who he claimed to be—the Son of God—and he backed up that outrageous claim by rising from the dead.

Instead of a rush of emotion at such a discovery, Strobel said he experienced a “rush of reason” and became a child of God.

Easter Sunday 2018 was not an April Fool’s Day joke.  Strobel says it is a solid foundation of historical truth.

Strobel’s investigation is also told in his book The Case for Miracles.

Happy Easter!

Central Church

Coronavirus: Holy Saturday – An Easter Vigil Service for Worshipping at Home

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, you may not be able to gather in our Sanctuary to worship.

While Easter is a joyful festival, we keep it now in a time of difficulty and worldwide sorrow.

Still, we believe that Christ is with us in his word, by his Spirit drawing us together as one before God.  We believe that the gospel of Christ gives us strength amid distress, and comfort in the face of our sufferings.

As a sign of unity, you might consider using this resource for prayer today.

This resource for worship at home was developed by Godron Lathrop and Gail Ramshaw for Resurrection Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia, and is offered for ecumenical use.  It has been adapted and simplified for United Methodist use, especially use with children.

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THE VIGIL OF EASTER

Sit before an unlit candle and a bowl of water. Light the candle, saying:

The light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.

Then read this “Easter Proclamation”

Rejoice, all heavenly choirs of angels!
Christ has conquered; the risen Savior shines upon you.
This is the night in which the true Lamb is slain.

This is the night: this is the night.

This the night in which the children of Israel were led through the sea.

This is the night: this is the night.

This is the night in which all who believe in Christ are renewed in grace.

This is the night: this is the night.

The holiness of this night restores joy to those who mourn and humbles earthly pride.
Therefore, this night, O God, receive our praise for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May Christ, the Morning Star, rising from the grave, shed light on the whole human race. And we
pray, O God: preserve and protect your church.

Grant us peace in this time and forever.
Amen.

Then read this passage from the Old Testament:

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Genesis 1:1—2:4a:

About this reading: Especially now, we long for an ordered world. In spite of death and sorrow, the
resurrection of Jesus Christ contains the promise of a new creation. Baptized into his death and
resurrection, we are made witnesses to God’s new creation, and it is very good.

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Word of God, Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

After the Old Testament reading, read the Gospel:

GOSPEL:  John 20:1-18:

About this Gospel: Mary weeps; so do we. But do not weep. The Risen Christ calls each of us by
name. And remember the other readings: he is rescue from the fire, restored vocation, our dry bones
made alive, freedom from slavery and fear, and the very down payment on a new creation. Alleluia!
Christ is risen!

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Here you may share your thoughts with others.

If you have the United Methodist Hymnal, you might now read or sing

Hymn # 302  “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”  (click on the image for the video)

Christ the Lord is Risen Today | Charles Wesley

1 Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

2 Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

3 Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

4 Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

5 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

6 King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

  – United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

We pray, O God, for all the churches around the globe: for their people and leaders; for the newly
baptized; for the believers who cannot assemble for worship; for faithful endurance during this
time of sorrow and distress; and for a deepening sense of your presence among us.

A brief silence.

O God, you are our Temple: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray, O God, for the well-being of creation: for the health of seas and rivers and lakes; and for the will to care for your earth.

A brief silence.

O God, you are our Rainbow of promise: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray, O God, for peace and justice in the world: for an end to war and international turmoil;
for concord in our troubled society; for the heads of state, legislators, and local civic leaders,
that they enact wise procedures to deal with the coronavirus.

A brief silence.

O God, you are our Mighty Fortress: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray, O God for all who are facing the coronavirus: for all who mourn their dead; all who have
contracted the virus; those who are quarantined or stranded away from home; those who have lost
their employment; those who fear the present and the future.  We pray for physicians, nurses, and
home health aides; medical researchers; and the World Health Organization. Fill the aching in our
hearts with your merciful power.

A brief silence.

O God, you are our Everlasting Arms: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray, O God, for all in need: for those suffering for the faith; for those who are poor,
hungry, and homeless; for those who are sick and those awaiting death; and for those we name before
you here.

A brief silence.

O God, you are the Healer of our every ill: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

We pray, O God, for the desires of our hearts:

A longer period of silence.

O God, you are our Heart’s Desire: in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Receive our thanks for all who died in the faith, and bring us at the final resurrection into your
everlasting life, where sorrows will be no more.

A brief silence.

O God, our Beginning and our End, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

Into your gracious and mighty hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your
mercy, through your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever,

Amen.

Pray this prayer and speak these final sentences:

Eternal giver of life and light, this holy night shines with the radiance of the risen Christ.
Renew your church with the Spirit given us in baptism, that we may worship you in sincerity and
truth. May we shine as a light in the world, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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What is Holy Saturday?

Have you heard of Holy Saturday?  What is this day all about and what meaning does it have for Christians?

Holy, Holy, Holy

God alone is holy and no day in and of itself is holy.  Only God can make something or someone holy and so did God declare a particular Saturday as holy?  Why would a day be holy and why a Saturday?  I can understand Resurrection Day being considered by Christians as a holy day or a holy convocation or gathering but what is Holy Saturday and why is it called that?

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is sometimes called Sabbath Saturday but goes by the names Black Saturday, Joyous Saturday, and even Saturday of Light. It is the last day of what is called the Holy Week and is the 40^th day of the traditional Lenten Fast.  This day is when the Church holds a deep reflection of the death of Christ.  It is sometimes observed beginning with sunset and lasts until Sunday morning of the day Jesus was resurrected.

The church’s contemplation is believed to have occurred while the church awaited Jesus’ resurrection and Christians mediate on Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and death.  Some believe that this was when Jesus descended into hell to preach to those held captive (the “harrowing of Hell”).  It is frequently a time of fasting and prayer although mass is not typically held on this day.  Some Christian calendars even call it Easter Saturday although others strongly argue against calling it that.

Other Traditions of Holy Saturday

There are still some Anglican churches, like in the Episcopal churches, that have scriptural readings on this day that commemorate the burial of Christ.  If there is an Easter Vigil, it has to take place at nighttime, typically beginning at or near sunset and ending before dawn the next Sunday.  In the early church, this was the day that most Christians were believed to have fasted collectively, although it was not commanded.

In Great Britain, it is called Easter Even, and even the Great Sabbath.  During some Easter Vigils, a wax candle is inscribed with a cross and the Greek letters   Alpha and Omega are inscribed at the top and bottom of the cross and four numbers are written that represent the current year in which it is being observed.

For many new believers, this is the time when they are baptized, some even waiting months for this time and this is when the new converts are introduced and educated about Lent.  Only then are some of these new converts allowed to take communion for the very first time, on the very next day, that being Easter Sunday.  The baptisms and Jesus’ resurrection are seen as being similar.  Many disagree vehemently that Holy Saturday is called Easter Saturday, but this greatly depends upon which denomination or church one belongs too.

Conclusion

If you have never repented and trusted in Christ, may I ask you why not?  If you have been born again, have you not been baptized?  No one is ever saved by baptism but everyone that is saved should be.  The ordinance of baptism has great meaning to the believer and it represents the death, burial, and resurrection of the old man and the coming out as a new creature in Christ.

Why put this decision off?  Today can be your day of salvation, no matter what day of the week it falls on (2 Cor 6:2).  To delay this decision and with Christ coming before you decide to be saved, you will have no chance to repent and trust in Him then.  We would strongly urge you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today and you too will be raised at Christ’s return or be with the Lord at your death if the Lord tarries.

Central Church

Lenten Devotional – Day 40 – Holy Saturday – A Humble Heart

Scripture:  Isaiah 1: 17 – 

Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.^[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.

In the Old Testament God raised up prophets to speak on his behalf to his
people. Yes, there were many specific messages that he sent through them to his people, but in general they all were God calling God’s people back to him.  Unfortunately, we all need reminders in life to refocus and return our eyes to Jesus. Even in moments when we are doing many great things, we can easily find ourselves with our eyes on something other than Jesus. If we are serving others without worshiping God, the object of our service is not the good or wellbeing of others, it is ultimately ourselves.

In Romans 1:25, we learn that we can exchange the worship of the Creator for the worship of the created. When the worship of our heart is off, we can worship ourselves and our abilities. We often seek our own glory by vying for the
approval of others. A right view of ourselves, when God is the point of worship in our hearts, causes us to serve others from a humble heart, not seeking our own glory but God’s. A humble heart readily worships God and seeks to live a life as God calls his people to live. Hear these words of one of those prophets calling people back to God: Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause – Isaiah 1:17 ESV

Prayer: God, by your grace, may you be the focus of our worship, and the wellbeing of others be the object of our service!  Amen.

  – Van Hardin – Jackson, MS

Central Church

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Good Friday – 4-2-2021

On this cold, Good Friday, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit for with our online worship experience!

• Today’s online worship service includes an unfamiliar, but beautiful, HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

To begin, simply click on the link below to join with the folks who have already made their way into our digital Sanctuary: 

If you have any difficulty connecting with the link, you can find this week’s online worship service on both Facebook and YouTube at the following coordinates:

• • Facebook –      https://business.facebook.com/362949807093157/videos/281848523433007/
  • YouTube –       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMT7HTWBH2A

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Good Friday

On Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. 

Why do we call Good Friday “good,” when it is such a dark and bleak event commemorating a day of suffering and death for Jesus?

The suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.  The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be made available to all people.  The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy.

We have the opportunity to receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteous anger against sin.  Good Friday marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good.

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Come join us at Central Church for one or more of our Holy Week worship services:

• Good Friday, April 2, at 12 Noon; and
• Easter Sunday, April 4, at 11 am.

Due to COVID-19, masks are required.

Central Church

See you at Central Church – Community Good Friday Service at 12 Noon!

Coronavirus: Good Friday – A Service for Worshipping at Home

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, you may not be able to gather to worship together at Noon today at Central Church for our community Good Friday service with participating churches from the Beaver Falls Ministerium.

While Easter is a joyful festival, we keep it now in a time of difficulty and worldwide sorrow.

Still, we believe that Christ is with us in his word, by his Spirit drawing us together as one before God.  We believe that the gospel of Christ gives us strength amid distress, and comfort in the face of our sufferings.

As a sign of unity, you might consider using this resource for prayer today if you are unable to gather in our Sanctuary.

This resource for worship at home was developed by Godron Lathrop and Gail Ramshaw for Resurrection Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia, and is offered for ecumenical use.  It has been adapted and simplified for United Methodist use, especially use with children.

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GOOD FRIDAY

Sit before a cross or the image of a cross.

Begin with this prayer.

Almighty God,
look with loving mercy on your family,
for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed,

and to suffer death on the cross;
who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Then read the following:

GOSPEL: John 19:16b-42:

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.”^[a]

So this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,^[b] here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”^{[c] 37} and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”^[d]

The Burial of Jesus

³⁸ Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹ He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.^{[e] 40} Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹ At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

After the reading:

Word of God, Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

Here you may share your thoughts with others. 

Or, if a Good Friday sermon has been prerecorded, listen to it or view it here.

Hymn #288  “Were You There”  (click on the image for the video)

King’s College Cambridge 2014 Easter #20 Were you there arr James Whitbourn

1 Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

2 Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

3 Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

4 Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?

  – Psalter Hymnal (Gray), 1987

The Bidding Prayer

A brief silence follows each intercession.

We pray for the church throughout the world. . .
we pray for our bishop, our pastor, and all servants of the church. . .

we pray for those preparing for baptism. . .
we pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God. . .

we pray for those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. . .
we pray for those who do not believe in God. . .

we pray for God’s creation. . .
we pray for those who serve in public office. . .

we pray for those in any need. . .
and we pray for all afflicted by the coronavirus. . .

Finally, we pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever,

Amen.

Conclude with these words:

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Three Days continues tomorrow with the Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday.

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The Three Days of services (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) continue tomorrow with a service for Holy Saturday.

Rainy Days – Audience of One

Key Bible Verse:  Whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.  – 1 Corinthians 10:31

Bonus Reading:  Colossians 3:22-24

For a 19 year old from a small Texas town, Festival Hall at North Dakota State University was an impressive auditorium.  Our Wheaton College Concert Band was on the third day of its Spring tour.  We had a good warm-up that cold and rainy night.  But the cavernous arena was almost completely empty except for the 80 performers on stage.

As we gathered off-stage for prayer 10 minutes before the concert, I counted how many were in the audience.  Four!  Widespread grumbling went like this: “We came all this way to play for four people?  You’ve got to be kidding!”

Our director quickly sensed our discontent.  “I won’t tolerate your attitude,” he declared. “I don’t care if the auditorium is empty!  We play our music to the Lord, for His pleasure.”  Humbled by those stinging words, we prayerfully sang our standard pre-concert hymn [below], with fresh meaning.

We made our way back onto the stage and played the best concert of the entire tour—with an audience of 14.

Sometimes, when I find myself feeling unappreciated or not getting all the recognition I think I should, the Spirit of God takes me back more than 35 years to Festival Hall and the concert of a lifetime.

—Stanley Clark in College Faith

My Response:  Which audience am I playing to?

Thought to Apply:  May the love of Jesus fill me / As the waters fill the sea; / Him exalting, self abasing— / This is victory.

—Kate Wilkinson (hymn writer)

Adapted from College Faith: 150 Christian Leaders and Educators Share Faith Stories from Their Student Days (Andrews University Press, 2002)

 

Prayer:  Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

 

Lenten Devotional – Day 39 – Good Friday – A Life of Humility

Scripture:  John 13: 4-9 – 

⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Christ’s entire earthly life from birth to death was one of humility. He didn’t arrive as a warrior on a mighty steed or as a king as was expected. Instead, He came as a baby, born in a common stable with only His earthly parents and animals as attendants. His birth was announced to lowly shepherds tending their flocks in the fields.

He selected seventy disciples, then narrowed these down to his top twelve.  He chose not scholars nor intellectuals to spread his word, but mostly fishermen who worked with their hands and backs. Many of those he associated with were
the poor, downtrodden, lepers, and social outcasts. Even his parables were often about these very same people.

His last act of humility was to walk to the cross where he was crucified like a common criminal and where he gave his life for us.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your life which you sacrificed for us and for your example of humility at work.  Amen.

 

  – Carolyn Lee Purdy – Harrisonburg, VA

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