Honesty – Technically True

00Key Bible Verse: Our responsibility is never to oppose the truth, but to stand for the truth at all times.  – 2 Corinthians 13:8

Bonus Reading: Jeremiah 17:9-10

During graduate school, I managed a center that offered tutoring to students preparing to take standardized exams. Part of my job was to promote our program. The best promotion was to showcase the improved test scores of our clients—improvements we could demonstrate.

Most of our students showed a significant gain on the SAT—an average of 120 points among those whose scores improved. However, a few students actually received lower scores!

If my promotional material spoke of the average improvement, rather than the average overall change, I could eliminate the scores of the students who didn’t improve. However, if I took them into account, the average student improved by only 90 points.

I faced a dilemma. If I spoke of average improvement, I was putting a deceptive spin on the truth. I’m sad to say that I failed to renounce the trickery of this world. I stated the literal truth—”the average improvement after taking our class is 120 points”—in a way that led people to believe that the average student increased his or her score by that margin.

Our promotional literature escaped an outright lie, but it didn’t tell the complete truth.

—Mark Roberts in the Dare to Be True

My Response: From what deceptive spin do I need to distance myself?

Adapted from Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Because You are absolute truth, Lord, give me the courage to adhere to Your standard.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – 4th Sunday after Pentecost – 1-30-2022

On this cold, fifth Sunday in January, when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service. Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! AND… Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!  To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”. To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off. A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy!  Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.  Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later. 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=368810384582004 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/b9vi-Wahc4c (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

Honesty – Burying His Hatchet

00Who Said It…Chuck Colson

Chuck Colson, a tough marine turned Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man,” was converted as the Watergate scandal closed in on the President’s inner circle. Skeptics saw this as a devious ploy. When an interviewer questioned his conversion, Colson said the evidence would be his life ten years later. The then second-most hated man in America is now the softened, forgiveness-seeking founder of Prison Fellowship.

What He Said…Burying His Hatchet

After fighting to prove his innocence, Colson’s born-again conscience led him to change course. An offered plea bargain was designed to let him off with probation. But he rejected it because he’d have to testify that he ordered a break-in at the offices of psychiatrist Daniel Ellsberg—something he hadn’t done.

But God helped him to see that his lack of direct involvement in the break-in was pure happenstance. He’d obtained the money to pay for a covert operation against Ellsberg, and tried to smear him in the press. So Colson told his law-firm partner, David Shapiro, that he’d decided to plead guilty to disseminating derogatory information to the press about Ellsberg while he was a criminal defendant.

“It’s not a crime!” retorted Shapiro. “No one’s ever been charged with that.”

Colson said that the prosecutor might accept it as an obstruction of justice charge.

“You’re an idiot,” shouted Shapiro. “You’re going to end up in the slammer.”

“I know,” was the soft answer.

Adapted from Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed (WaterBrook, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Because You are absolute truth, Lord, give me the courage to adhere to Your standard.

 

Endurance Test – Enduring Faith

The Christians addressed in the letter to the Hebrews had placed their faith in Christ for what He’d done for them in the past.

But times of persecution had struck. And some—ceasing to trust Christ for their present and future—were abandoning their faith.

The writer argues from the Hebrew Scriptures that if faith doesn’t lead to endurance, it’s not for real.

Interact with God’s Word

Hebrews 10:33-38

1. The inspired writer tells us never to forget our early days as believers. What stands out in your memory about this time in your life?
2. What does the writer specially want us to remember (vv. 32, 34)?
3. What is the basis for this faithfulness and joy (v. 34b)?
4. Do you know someone whose confident trust in the Lord has eroded?
5. What kind of self-reminder would have prevented that (v. 35)?
6. What quality should this expectation enable in your life (v. 36)?
7. Verses 37 and 38 quote the then-current Greek translation of Habakkuk 2:3-4. Is your faith for today and tomorrow solid enough to insure that you won’t “turn away”?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God for a faith that doesn’t fluctuate, but stays steady regardless of distractions, disappointments, or attacks.

Hebrews 10:32-38

32 Don’t ever forget those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. When all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew you had better things waiting for you in eternity. 35 Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 37 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you!

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 1-27-2022

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of January 27, 2022, with both indexes AGAIN showing very high levels.

 

• The Incidence Rate decreased slightly from 1,406.1 to 1,157.8 (a decrease of 248.3, or 17.6%) in the HIGH category.

 

• The PCR Positivity Rate increased from 28.3 to 29.5 in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures also remained high during the past week, moving from 1,163.8 to 606.4 and from 30.1% to 22.3%.)

Beaver County is now classified as SUBSTANTIAL on the original PA DOH scale and HIGH on the CDC scale.

 

On April 5, 2021, 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 165.4, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible for the foreseeable future.

---

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; and

• As our community COVID-19 levels continue to deteriorate, we have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

• In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

• (5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )  
  

Central Church

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Tithe

Tithing is a spiritual discipline many Christians practice.

In its simplest form, it means giving back to God 10 percent of what you make.

I’ve practiced it for years as a regular part of my giving.  I tithe ‘plus’ to my local church and I give to other causes on top of that.

However, I’ve seen 10 common reasons that church people give for not tithing. I list them below with a counterpoint below each.

1. It’s all mine anyway. Why should I give?

• Counterpoint: Everything we own is actually God’s.  – Psalm 50:10; Psalm 24:1

2. I give elsewhere.

This is the person who counts his giving to secular causes, his time or paying for his child’s Christian school tuition as his tithe.

• Counterpoint:  Do causes around the purposes of God get the lion’s share of your giving?

3. Tithing is not in the New Testament.

This is one of the most common.

•         Counterpoint:  When Jesus fulfilled the law, He didn’t revise spirituality downward.

4. God will provide through other people. 

This person believes that other people will give to support the cause of Christ in their church.

•          Counterpoint: God chose to release His resources through all believers.

5. My gifts don’t really count. 

This person thinks that because he can’t give much, his giving really doesn’t matter.

•         Counterpoint:  Don’t minimize the size of any gift (recall the story of the poor widow in Mark 12.41-44).

6. I don’t trust preachers.

This is understandable due to the few high profile ministers who misuse God’s money.

• Counterpoint:  If you lead a church, make sure you instill the highest standards of stewardship and accountability.

7. I only give to projects I like.

This is the control freak who only gives to projects he or she can designate funds to. Some people in this category even hold back their giving in their church because they haven’t gotten their way.

• Counterpoint: Trust your church leadership to wisely manage God’s money.

8. I have no control over my finances. My husband does.

In this case (and it’s almost always a wife in this position) her husband controls the finances and although the wife wants to give, he prohibits it.

•   Counterpoint:  Rest in the Lord, He knows your heart.

9. I will tithe when I can afford it.

• Counterpoint:  If you wait, you probably never will. Research shows that contrary to what we might assume, the more money a person makes, the less percentage they give.

10. I’m afraid to. (These people honestly fear what might happen to them or their family if they give.)

• Counterpoint:  Step out in faith knowing that God promises to meet your needs.

 

Endurance Test – God Isn’t a Quitter

Key Bible Verse: My nourishment comes from doing the will of God … and from finishing his work.  – John 4:34

Bonus Reading: John 17:4, 7-8, 12

Once, while Francis of Assisi was hoeing his garden, he was asked, “What would you do if you were suddenly told you’d die at sunset today?” He replied, “I’d finish hoeing my garden.”

Our perseverance doesn’t change God—it changes us. If we’re willing to continue—even when we feel like quitting—we’ll learn lessons of compassion, understanding, and dependability.

Jesus is our ultimate example of not quitting. Even as a child of 12, He reminded His distraught parents, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, NIV).  Later, during His public ministry, He told His disciples, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God … and from finishing his work.”

Even when Jesus was dying, He rejected the challenge of the crowd: “Save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:30). It is so human to let go and quit when under fire. However, it is divine to hang in there. At the end of His ordeal, Jesus said, “‘It is finished!’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

Many people are letting go, giving in, and coming down—quitting after 10, 20, or 30 years. How sad to someday realize that we didn’t finish our assignment.

—George Sweeting in Too Soon to Quit

My Response: On which long-term assignment do I need to firm up my grip?

Thought to Apply: The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.—David Sarnoff (broadcaster)

Adapted from Too Soon to Quit (Moody, 1999)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

Endurance Test – What Kick?

Key Bible Verse: For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  – Hebrews 3:14

Bonus Reading: Joshua 14:6-12

In the 1972 Munich Olympics, Dave Wottle, wearing his trademark baseball cap, was dead last in the 800-meter race. As the final lap around the track began, Wottle charged through the pack. “Watch out for the kick of Dave Wottle!” the TV announcer screamed. Wottle overtook the leaders in the last 20 meters and won the gold medal by three-tenths of a second!

Many think, That’s exciting—that’s how I want to run. It doesn’t matter if I fall behind; I’ll make it back with a big kick as everyone cheers me on.

But in remarks at a prep-school chapel service in Chattanooga, Wottle set the record straight. “The other runners went out so fast at the beginning that they slowed down at the end; I was able to maintain the same pace that I started with. … Even though I looked like I was kicking on them, they were coming back to me.”

Wottle, one track expert explained, was “just maintaining in a dying field.”

Endurance is maintaining our walk with Christ even when no one else is. In a society of flash-in-the-pan celebrities and trendy spirituality, endurance is putting our faith to work by showing up for Christ every day, in every circumstance until the race of life is done.

—Tod Bolsinger in Show Time

My Response: What adjustments would help me maintain even pacing for the long haul?

Thought to Apply: To become a champion, fight one more round.—James Corbett (world champion boxer)

Adapted from Show Time (Baker, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

United Methodist Church – Debate about Church Future Heats Up

The following article by the UM News Daily Digest is provided as an update on the continuing division in the worldwide United Methodist Church on matters of sexuality.

As outlined below, since opponents of the current position of the UMC, as reflected in the Discipline, continue to publicly violate those requirements, the matter is unlikely to be resolved prior to the proposed 2022 General Conference.

Consequently, it is possible that the United Methodist Church will split into separate denominations over this issue, and local congregations will be forced to choose with which denomination to affiliate going forward.

---

Two excerpts from Paragraph 161.G of the United Methodist Social Principles affirm the sacred worth of individuals and the church’s stance that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

---

Key points

• United Methodists are gearing up to go in different directions.
• At the same time, disputes over church rules and the status of LGBTQ people continue to flare.
• Council of Bishops President Cynthia Fierro Harvey acknowledged the challenging times.

---

Two years after a diverse group of United Methodists introduced a proposal for separation, a global pandemic continues to keep the denomination uneasily together.

However, with General Conference scheduled for later this year, preparations are accelerating for the future United Methodist Church and the theologically conservative group that plans to break away. Meanwhile, a theologically progressive group that announced the launch of a new denomination in 2020 is re-evaluating its plans.

Amid all these preparations, long-simmering disputes over LGBTQ inclusion — that led the proposed split in the first place — have started boiling up again.

Council of Bishops President Cynthia Fierro Harvey acknowledged that anxiety is running high for many in the church. She said she often reminds herself of Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:6-7 not to be anxious but to bring prayers and petitions to God.

“We need to navigate this season with love and care for one another and not heap more harm on one another and The United Methodist Church,” she said.

It’s been a busy season. Recent developments include:

• The bishops sharing their vision for the continuing United Methodist Church.
• The North Central Jurisdiction approving a covenant for the future that welcomes and affirms LGBTQ people, and that covenant facing a challenge under church law.
• Iowa Conference leaders facing a backlash after opening the way for same-sex weddings.
• The East Zimbabwe Conference removing its lay leader because of his involvement with an advocacy group.
• Both theological conservatives and progressives making plans for their futures.

Tensions reached a breaking point with the 2019 special General Conference, which, by a vote of 438-384, strengthened bans on same-sex weddings and “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy. The relatively narrow vote did not settle the debate, but instead sparked widespread resistance and hastened discussions of a denominational divorce.

But for the past two years, much of the denomination has been in a holding pattern waiting for action by General Conference — now twice postponed by the pandemic.

The coming legislative assembly faces multiple proposals for division along theological lines. The most endorsed of these is the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, negotiated by a professional mediator with a theologically diverse group of United Methodists.

Under the proposal, churches and conferences that support restrictions on gay marriage and ordination can vote to leave with church property and $25 million to form a new traditionalist denomination. The protocol also sets aside $2 million for any other new Methodist denominations that form.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association, a theologically conservative advocacy group, has worked toward forming that traditionalist denomination — now named the Global Methodist Church. However, General Conference delegates have the final say on whether the protocol takes effect as written.

The Commission on the General Conference, which organizes the international assembly, expects to decide by the end of March whether the big meeting can go forward as scheduled Aug. 29-Sept. 6 in Minneapolis. The commission is looking at not just delegates’ access to vaccines but also the availability of visas. While visas are an issue for every General Conference, the pandemic has caused more difficulties. The commission has been clear that this coming assembly must have a reasonable level of global participation.

The commission met Jan. 26, mostly in closed session, and did not announce any final decisions about whether General Conference can go forward.

Even with General Conference still up in the air, United Methodists are moving ahead with plans to go in different directions.

In November, the Council of Bishops offered a vision for the continuing United Methodist Church as a big-tent denomination that is rooted in Scripture, centered in Christ and welcoming to all churchgoers — whatever their sexual orientation or theological outlook.

“Our best witness is to love each other as Christ loves us, to show the world the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to bind us together despite our differences,” the bishops wrote in “A Narrative for the Continuing United Methodist Church.”

Harvey, who also leads the Louisiana Conference, said she sees United Methodist congregations, conferences, agencies and individual followers of Jesus who are already living into the narrative.

“By that I mean, they are being faithful to God’s call to create space and embrace people from the left, the right and the in between,” she said.

Supporters of equality for LGBTQ people in the life of The United Methodist Church, some with their mouths taped shut, stand outside the bar of the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore., to symbolize the way LBGTQ people feel they are silenced by the church. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

As the bishops were developing their narrative, an ad hoc group of United Methodists urged bishops not to wait for General Conference but allow congregations that want to do so to leave with property now. The group’s open letter, titled “A Call to Grace,” garnered more than 2,030 signatures.

The special online session of the North Central Jurisdiction — representing 10 conferences in the U.S. Midwest — offered a statement that shares similarities with both the bishops’ narrative and “A Call to Grace.”

By a vote of 135-32, the delegates approved a “Covenant to Build BeLoved Community” that calls on the jurisdiction to work to end racism and to create a culture that welcomes and affirms LGBTQIA+ people. The covenant also encourages conferences to accommodate local congregations and clergy seeking disaffiliation.

John Lomperis, a delegate from the Indiana Conference and advocate with the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy, asked for a decision of law on whether the covenant violates the Book of Discipline. Lomperis specifically questioned the section that requests bishops “dismiss charges related to LGBTQIA+ identity or officiating same gender weddings.” That section goes on to say, “We will not restrict God’s calling based solely on a candidate’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Bishop David Bard, who was presiding when Lomperis asked for a ruling, decided that the section is aspirational and therefore does not violate church law. The section “asserts important values and encourages consideration of how one might live into those values,” wrote Bard, who leads the Michigan and Minnesota conferences. All bishops’ rulings of law must go for review by the Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, which recently has begun deliberations on its fall docket.

Invoking both the bishops’ narrative and the North Central Jurisdiction’s covenant, Iowa Conference Bishop Laurie Haller announced that the conference would not wait to live out the documents’ vision. While no one would be compelled to violate their convictions, the conference vision statement said, the question of same-sex weddings would be up to local congregations starting this month.

“To put it clearly, pastors will be able to choose which weddings they officiate, as long as it is two consenting adults who have been counseled,” the statement said. “Likewise, church leadership, in consultation with their pastors, will be able to determine their own policy regarding weddings.”

Many bishops have quietly held complaints related to homosexuality in abeyance as requested by the protocol. Both the Wesleyan Covenant Association and Good News, another theologically conservative advocacy group, argued that Haller’s statement went further and violated church law.

“If Bishop Haller and her cabinet permit this policy countenancing defiance of the Discipline to go into effect, I think they risk returning the UM Church to the level of conflict witnessed at the 2019 General Conference,” warned the Rev. Keith Boyette, WCA president.

In his Perspective column for Good News, the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht wrote that the announcement could have significant consequences.

“Local churches and laity have power, too,” he wrote. “They have the power of purse strings. … And secular courts might be inclined to say that, by this action, the Iowa conference has repudiated its status as a United Methodist conference, breaking the trust clause that holds churches hostage to the whims of a wayward church leadership. Who knows where this road of rule by power could lead?”

Members of the Iowa extended cabinet told UM News that the cabinet took the lead in developing the conference’s vision statement in response to false rumors and fears being spread about the future United Methodist Church.

“In this statement by the cabinet, we have been clear — and this is our truth — that for anyone who wants a future in The United Methodist Church, they will have a home,” said the Rev. Lanette L. Plambeck, assistant to the bishop and director of clergy and leadership excellence.

Living that vision right now, Plambeck said, gives United Methodists the chance to make decisions based on facts, not fear. “There is a difference between a truth that is asserted and a truth that is observed and experienced,” she said.

Iowa is not the only conference seeing changes. At a virtual session Dec. 4, the Zimbabwe East Conference resolved to relieve Simon Mafunda as its conference lay leader following the WCA hiring him as its Africa coordinator.

Delegates from the seven districts unanimously passed a vote of no confidence, asserting that his new employment presented a potential conflict of interest with his voluntary conference position as lay leader.

Mafunda called the vote flawed, saying it did not follow any established procedure.

“It is very key to be careful how we follow procedures so that it validates the outcome of the results,” Mafunda said. “I still respect and appreciate those who elected me to office but feel that they were all cowed down by this process.”

He added that he does not see a conflict of interest. “My appointment as a consultant had nothing to do with my role as a conference lay leader,” he said. The conference has not yet named a new lay leader.

Amid these disputes, the WCA continues its planning for the Global Methodist Church. In December, the WCA Sexual Holiness, Wholeness, and Brokenness Task Force released a 22-page report on proposed teachings around sexuality and gender. WCA members are now taking feedback and plan to bring the report for adoption at its Global Legislative Assembly on May. 7. The WCA continues to prepare other documents on sacraments and other aspects of church life for the still-being-formed Global Methodist Church.

The WCA also announced plans to pay for General Conference delegates in Africa, Europe and the Philippines to travel to receive vaccines with the intention of ensuring General Conference goes forward. However, bishops, General Conference organizers and others criticized the move for helping only delegates from the central conferences and not the community at large.

Meanwhile, the people forming the Liberation Methodist Connexion offered a transparent look at the challenges faced by all groups trying to start something new. In 2020, the connexion announced its launch as a new denomination that would center the voices of people of color as well as queer and transgender individuals.

In late 2021, the connexion’s collaborators offered a full assessment of where they are now, noting unexpected challenges and limited resources.

“Common ground was easier to find when we were focused on critiquing old institutions,” the group said in the statement. “It has been much harder to find as we all bring ideas about what can be.”

For now, the connexion — which is all unpaid volunteers — has decided that: “Positioning ourselves against the United Methodist Church or any other spiritual institution does not serve us and is an unfair burden to place on ourselves.” The connexion also no longer is identifying itself as a denomination.

“We are a group of people working to dismantle existing systems of oppression and liberating marginalized people, and we want to do that with as many people as possible,” said Adrian Hill, one of the connexion’s collaborators and a General Conference delegate. “These issues transcend membership in existing denominations.”

Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Eveline Chikwanah, a communicator in the East Zimbabwe Conference, contributed to this report.  Contact them at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

---

Endurance Test – Ridgeline Reruns

Key Bible Verse: Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will.  – Hebrews 10:36

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 10:32-38

Hiking north to south on the Appalachian Trail, I found the Smoky Mountains stretch that leads up to Mollies Ridge demoralizing. I felt like an ant climbing a giant staircase. I’d see the peak just ahead and, after a steep climb, breathe a sigh of relief, and think, I did it! Then I’d round a corner, and there would be an up-until-then hidden summit. What? There’s more? There were several premature celebrations before the satisfaction of finally reaching the Mollies Ridge shelter.

The ascent to holiness is like that. One peak after another appears as God fine-tunes our faith. In Hebrews 10:36, the writer of Hebrews calls for persevering on the path of improvement. Perseverance is by definition an ongoing pursuit; but receiving the crown of life is a one-time event. We strive to be holy for that moment when God will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Does your pursuit of righteousness seem to be nothing but an uphill climb? Be encouraged. This is the path God wants you on. He longs for Christians unafraid to take the trail all the way to the top. He’ll hike alongside you and give you rest when you’re weary. And the final reward is being with Him forever!

—Nathan Chapman in With God on the Hiking Trail

My Response: How do I respond to a succession of tests?

Thought to Apply: Victory is not won in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more.—Louis L’Amour (novelist)

Adapted from With God on the Hiking Trail (Harvest, 2002)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

How to Get Your Free N95 Masks, Courtesy of the Federal Government

How can I get my hands on these masks?

Earlier this month, the federal government announced its plan to distribute 400 million N95 masks across the United States.  And this week, the high-quality supplies are arriving at pharmacies and community health centers.

The CDC breaks down which pharmacies should have them in your state here.  But keep in mind, the program is expected to be fully up and running by early February.  For more info on finding N95 masks, check here.

Why should I get an N95 mask?

The Omicron variant is highly contagious (think: two to three times more transmissible than Delta).  And health officials say that N95s are more protective than cloth and surgical masks when it comes to the new variant.  And can filter out up to 95% of particles — if worn properly.

How many free government masks can I get?

The limit is three per person. 

Central Church

Endurance Test – The Q Word

Key Bible Verse: When your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.  – James 1:4, NLT

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:1

The summer before my last year of prep school, I decided to quit Coach Marvin Goldberg’s cross-country team. I was tired of grueling workouts. I wanted some free time for things like dating. Come spring, I told myself, I’d get serious again and run on his track team, but I wanted out of the fall schedule of long-distance competition, where our team frequently contended in 10k races against college freshmen teams.

I wrote Coach about my decision. His typed reply arrived. The gist: By not running with the cross-country team this fall, you’ll disappoint your teammates, who depend on you to help them win races, and turn your back on the team’s supporters, who show up at every race to cheer your team on. But most of all, whenever you’re faced with a challenge you don’t like, or that seems too difficult, or that asks for too great a sacrifice, you’ll find it easier and easier to walk away from it.

I changed my mind, returned to the cross-country team, and helped lead it to a league championship. I can’t claim that I enjoyed myself in that effort, but at a deeper level I learned the satisfaction of accomplishing something that ended well. Perhaps in the long view of life that’s more important.

—Gordon MacDonald in A Resilient Life

My Response: How can I learn to savor satisfaction that runs deeper than enjoyment?

Thought to Apply: It is always too soon to quit. —V. Raymond Edman (missionary, educator)

Adapted from A Resilient Life (Nelson, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

Endurance Test – Enthusiasm Leak

Key Bible Verse: Don’t get tired of doing what is good … For we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.  – Galatians 6:9

Bonus Reading: Matthew 24:45-51

On the first good day of spring, you get into the spirit of car washing. You wash and dry it with a chamois. You vacuum it out, take some cleaner to the bug spots, and start waxing and polishing. This is going so well that you see yourself moving on to clean out the garage and mow the lawn.

But then, as you wax and whistle, your back starts to ache, your right arm to feel sore. Your whistling slides into a slower rhythm and shifts into a minor key. Perhaps you’d better leave the lawn for another day. The garage can wait too, you guess. Doing this car is a big enough job all by itself. Well, leave the rest of the car for next Saturday too. Now find a hammock!

The sense of adventure and the rush of enthusiasm for doing good in the name of Christ can turn into a sinking sense of futility when others don’t notice or care. We’ve also felt a pain in the neck and all the adventure running off in sweat. Galatians 6:9 is a word for us spent-out Christians who’ve served until we can’t make one more phone call: we’ll reap the fruit of the Spirit in a life that never ends—if we don’t give up.

—Neal Plantinga in Beyond Doubt

My Response: A good cause for which my initial motivation is growing thin is …

Adapted from Beyond Doubt (Eerdmans, 2002)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

 

COVID-19 – Symptoms of Delta, Omicron, Flu, and Cold

Central Church

COVID-19 – Pennsylvanians over 5 years of age are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

• Click here to find an appointment near you

• What difference does getting vaccinated make? 

Here’s a chart of this week’s New York Times:

Here’s how to get free COVID-19 at-home test kits

COVID-19 at-home rapid tests or “antigen tests” have been hard to come by in many local drug stores for the last few months.

Every time I went to my local CVS or Rite Aid in the past few months, they were completely sold out. Maybe you experienced this too?

But now, you can get four COVID test kits (worth about $50) sent directly to your home at no charge due to a new initiative by the U.S. government to provide free at-home COVID-19 tests with free shipping to every residential address in the United States.

To qualify to get your free at-home rapid tests, you must be a U.S. resident. T est kits cannot be shipped outside of the country.

There is a limit of four free test kits per household. Your order must be sent to a residential address or residential P.O. box.  (Test kit orders cannot be shipped to agencies or other locations that receive commercial mail.)

• You can order your free COVID-19 at-home rapid test kits (or antigen tests) by going to www.covidtests.gov.

(Be sure that you go to the “.gov” site and not the “.com” site, since the “.com” site is an unsecured website that will not lead you to the correct online order form.)

Once you are on the site, fill out your name and the address where you would like to have your free COVID rapid test kits sent.  Shipping is free, so there is no charge for this.

Once you complete the order form, you will receive a confirmation with a USPS tracking code. According to the USPS website, the test kits will usually ship within 7-12 days.

• You can also place an order for free COVID-19 test kits by phone by calling 1-800-232-0233 between the hours of 8 am and midnight, seven days a week.

It isn’t clear how long these free test kits will be available, so place your order as soon as possible while supplies last.

Additionally, if you need a COVID test now, it is recommended that you go to a COVID testing location as soon as possible and get a free test there, rather than waiting 7-12 days to receive the at-home rapid test.

• If you have additional questions regarding these free at-home COVID test kits, please visit the official government site at www.covidtests.gov for more information.

Central Church

Central Church – Online Worship Service – 3rd Sunday after Pentecost – 1-23-2022

On this cold, snowy fourth Sunday in January, when only the hardiest of souls venture out for in-person worship, and when the Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus again prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service. Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! AND… Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!  To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”. To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off. A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy!  Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.  Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later. 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=470341507833134 YouTube –    https://youtu.be/Uka-ZypoRRo (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

Endurance Test – Roll of Rejection

Who Said It…Gary L. Thomas

Gary is a Bellingham, Washington-based writer and speaker. In the Center for Evangelical Spirituality, which he founded, he shares how believers can learn a great deal from historic Christian traditions without compromising the essential tenets of what makes them evangelical Christians.

Gary says he is a big-time introvert who runs marathons and takes his wife, Lisa, and their three kids to Starbucks “far too often.”

What He Said…Roll of Rejection

I’d been invited to deliver a commencement address as an author who also speaks widely. But I wanted the students to see someone wondering if anyone would ever want to hear what he believed God had given him to say. I knew that 99 percent of the kids wouldn’t remember a thing I said. So I prayed about providing a picture that would stick with them.

I found it in my rejections box. My family helped me staple and tape together over 150 rejection letters I’d received from publishers over the years: editors telling me my work wasn’t wanted.

When I told the young graduates that God’s calling doesn’t mean there’ll be no setbacks, I nodded to a few students who began to unroll my rejection letters. Murmurs, laughs, and gasps were unleashed throughout the auditorium as the roll grew longer and longer, ultimately stretching across the entire ballroom.

You see, many Christians don’t fail; they just quit before they get ripe.

Adapted from Authentic Faith (Zondervan, 2002)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Savior, for enduring all the way to the cross. Give me the stamina to be a finisher.

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Tithe

Tithing is a spiritual discipline many Christians practice.

In its simplest form, it means giving back to God 10 percent of what you make.

I’ve practiced it for years as a regular part of my giving.  I tithe ‘plus’ to my local church and I give to other causes on top of that.

However, I’ve seen 10 common reasons that church people give for not tithing. I list them below with a counterpoint below each.

1. It’s all mine anyway. Why should I give?

• Counterpoint: Everything we own is actually God’s.  – Psalm 50:10; Psalm 24:1

2. I give elsewhere.

This is the person who counts his giving to secular causes, his time or paying for his child’s Christian school tuition as his tithe.

• Counterpoint:  Do causes around the purposes of God get the lion’s share of your giving?

3. Tithing is not in the New Testament.

This is one of the most common.

•         Counterpoint:  When Jesus fulfilled the law, He didn’t revise spirituality downward.

4. God will provide through other people. 

This person believes that other people will give to support the cause of Christ in their church.

•          Counterpoint: God chose to release His resources through all believers.

5. My gifts don’t really count. 

This person thinks that because he can’t give much, his giving really doesn’t matter.

•         Counterpoint:  Don’t minimize the size of any gift (recall the story of the poor widow in Mark 12.41-44).

6. I don’t trust preachers.

This is understandable due to the few high profile ministers who misuse God’s money.

• Counterpoint:  If you lead a church, make sure you instill the highest standards of stewardship and accountability.

7. I only give to projects I like.

This is the control freak who only gives to projects he or she can designate funds to. Some people in this category even hold back their giving in their church because they haven’t gotten their way.

• Counterpoint: Trust your church leadership to wisely manage God’s money.

8. I have no control over my finances. My husband does.

In this case (and it’s almost always a wife in this position) her husband controls the finances and although the wife wants to give, he prohibits it.

•   Counterpoint:  Rest in the Lord, He knows your heart.

9. I will tithe when I can afford it.

• Counterpoint:  If you wait, you probably never will. Research shows that contrary to what we might assume, the more money a person makes, the less percentage they give.

10. I’m afraid to. (These people honestly fear what might happen to them or their family if they give.)

• Counterpoint:  Step out in faith knowing that God promises to meet your needs.

Central Church

Why Should We Give?

Every day, we are given the opportunity to open our hearts to the many gifts we have been given by our God. We are asked at that time, to consider what we can give back to God, through our giving. We should remember that giving is not seasonal, but continual.

When considering our giving, there are several questions we need to ask ourselves.

• Are we giving for the right reasons?
• Are we giving to our Church to “keep the lights on” or to advance God’s word?
• Are we looking inward or outward?
• Are we giving for mortar or missions?
• Are we giving out of a feeling of begrudged obligation or out of gratitude?
• Do we give only to the ministries we agree with rather than to the overall mission of the church?

There are several reasons people don’t like to give to the church.

• Some may feel that they need to spend the money on themselves and their families.
• Some may have disagreements with church leaders over how the money is spent.
• Perhaps some fear the future – not knowing if they will have enough.

For all the reasons we may have for not being a faithful steward, the Bible gives us reasons why we should.

So, why should we give?

• We give financially to God because he has given us everything.
• When we give to God, we are expressing our love to him.
• We should give to expand his Son’s church.
• When we give financially to God, we will become rich in every way, but especially spiritually.
• God gives to us so that we are able to give yet some more.
• Every possession we have is through God.
• He provides for us so that we can use His resources to bring Him glory and expand His kingdom.
• God deserves and expects us to give to Him first before anything else.
• He expects us to give cheerfully and to give regularly and in accordance with our income.

Please prayerfully consider all these principals today and every day when determining your level of giving.

Deuteronomy 15:10

¹⁰ Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

Central Church

How Religious Are You?

Pew Research has come up with a different way of classifying American religion.

Instead of looking at broad categories (evangelicals, Catholics, mainline Protestants), or affiliations (denominations, religions), it has drawn up a “typology” based on how religious a person is, along with some other descriptors.

The Pew study based on these categories has some interesting findings.  First, here are the seven categories:

Pew defines each category with quite a few traits, including demographic and political characteristics.  See the Pew Study:  The Religious Typology:  A New Way to Categorize Americans by Religion, which is quite fascinating to dig around in.

• Take the quiz to see which category you fall into.  

• Read a discussion of this study and its findings, by Lori Johnston.

One problem with the study is that it lumps together not just denominations but different religions (Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc.), putting them in with “Sunday Stalwarts” if they regularly attend their religion’s services (though Muslims and Hindus aren’t really required to) and frequently read their “religious text” (though the Hindu’s use of the Bhagavad Gita is not the same as the Christian’s use of the Bible).

A better result would be obtained if researchers were to study American religious by focusing on actual religious beliefs?  (Do you believe that salvation is based on [a] how good we are [b] God’s forgiveness of sins. . . .?  Do you believe that God [a] looks down on His creation from a distance [b] is incarnate. . . .?)

• What category to you fall into?

Central Church

What the Holy Spirit Does – The Fruits of the Spirit

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

How come the Holy Spirit manages an “extreme makeover” in some lives but barely makes a dent in others?

As you work through this passage, ask yourself: “Do I really want to hear from the Spirit?” “Am I ready to take action on what He reveals?” and “Am I making a good-faith effort to distinguish between my own ‘druthers’ and His promptings?”

Interact with God’s Word

Galatians 5:16-25

1. What two sets of desires, according to verse 17, are in conflict in your life?
2. Review the list (vv. 19-21a) of “what the sinful nature desires.” Which of these still threaten to trip you up?
3. Review the list (vv. 22-23) of “what the Holy Spirit wants.” Which of these needs work in your life?
4. What drastic action is required (v. 24) to insure that “what the Holy Spirit wants” comes out on top?
5. How can you be confident that you’re being “directed by the Holy Spirit” (v. 18)?
6. To assure the Spirit’s control, which people or things trying to determine your values and standards must you push aside?
7. Paul urges us (v. 25) to follow the Spirit’s leading “in every part of our lives.” Ask yourself if He’s in control of the emotional, physical, social, intellectual, and vocational aspects of your life.

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to give you an ear that amplifies the Spirit’s voice while suppressing competing voices, and a will prepared to make the changes He calls for.

Galatians 5:16-25

16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18 But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

Tithing – Why I Give

Shannon Meister, laywoman, talks about her faith in tithing.

Recently, someone asked me to provide a testimony about why I give my resources and my gifts to the church. I grew up in The United Methodist Church and was always taught about giving and tithing. Yet, giving a testimony really made me think and reflect about why I truly give.

My parents always made a point to give money every Sunday we were in church, which was nearly every Sunday. My mom used to write the check and let me put it in the offering plate. That left an impression on me because of her faithfulness in this act.

When I was in middle school or high school, I remember having a conversation with our pastor about how and why she tithed 10 percent of her income before taxes. I remember as a young teenager how that simply blew my mind. That memorable conversation has stuck with me so much that as I have gone through various jobs and wages, I have strived to do the same.

One wise pastor often preached that giving is not about the church’s need for money but about our need to give. Isn’t that true of all of our gifts and resources in the church? It is about our need to be a part of something bigger than we are. It is about hope for a better world that we believe and know is possible.

Much too often, it is easy to be caught up in our consumer society where it is all about us. We want better, newer and faster everything. I find this especially true with the technological gadgets in my life. However, we, as Christians, know that this is not where our treasure lies. We know these things are not what is truly important. Yet, we are still tempted, aren’t we?

As I further reflect, I know I have friends who have a lot more time and money than I do. Some days, this bothers me. But when I think about it, I know they probably don’t tithe their resources; and they don’t have something bigger to believe in and live for.

“Crazy,” a song by Mercy Me, states, “Even though the world may think I’m losing touch with reality, it would be crazy to choose this world over eternity.” Even though the world often thinks of Christians as crazy for the things we do and the sacrifices we make, we know there is a bigger picture than just life on this earth, don’t we? That is why I give and why I believe. It is about something bigger than the hour I spend at a missions meeting or the check that I write. It is even about something bigger than a weekend with several thousand youth. It is about how we can pool our resources and change the world by the grace of God.

Adapted from a story by Shannon Meister, director of Culture & Connections at The Way

United Methodist Church Giving is about people working together to accomplish something bigger than themselves. In so doing, we effect change around the world, all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Central Church

Why Why Even Go to Church? The Truth About Those Sundays When You Just Don’t Want to Be There

Here’s a short article by Paul Tripp with important truths for each of us.

---

Church is wonderful. Church is important.

Church is meant to remind us of the miserable condition in which sin left us and our world, and of the glorious rescue of redeeming grace.

The songs we sing, the Scriptures we read, the sermons we listen to and the prayers we engage in are all designed to keep us from ever taking the person and work of Jesus Christ for granted.

Despite all of this, there are some Sundays when I don’t attend church with a good attitude.

I know you are more like me than unlike me.

While there are many Sundays that we are excited for church, there are those “other Sundays” when you just don’t want to be there.

On more Sundays than I wish to admit, I grumble my way into the worship service. There are some weeks when I’m just running through the motions, going to church because I’m supposed to.

(Sometimes I go because my wife makes me! But I know that has never happened to any of you…)

But on these Sundays, something happens: The glory of God confronts my fickle heart.

God ordained for us to gather for worship because he knows us and the weaknesses of our grumbling and easily distracted hearts. He knows how soon we forget the depth of our need as sinners and the expansiveness of his provisions in Jesus Christ.

He knows that little lies can deceive us and little obstacles can discourage us. He knows that self-righteousness still has the power to delude us.

So in grace, he calls us to gather and consider glory once again, to be excited once again, and to be rescued once again.

It’s not only that these worship services remind us of God’s grace; these worship services are themselves a gift of grace.

Going to church is designed to confront you with the glory of the grace of Jesus so you won’t look for life, help and hope elsewhere.

Are you allowing yourself to be confronted?

God bless

Paul Tripp

This resource is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com.

Central Church

Why Why Even Go to Church? The Truth About Those Sundays When You Just Don’t Want to Be There

Church is wonderful. Church is important.

Church is meant to remind us of the miserable condition in which sin left us and our world, and of the glorious rescue of redeeming grace.

The songs we sing, the Scriptures we read, the sermons we listen to and the prayers we engage in are all designed to keep us from ever taking the person and work of Jesus Christ for granted.

Despite all of this, there are some Sundays when I don’t attend church with a good attitude.

I know you are more like me than unlike me.

While there are many Sundays that we are excited for church, there are those “other Sundays” when you just don’t want to be there.

On more Sundays than I wish to admit, I grumble my way into the worship service. There are some weeks when I’m just running through the motions, going to church because I’m supposed to.

(Sometimes I go because my wife makes me! But I know that has never happened to any of you…)

But on these Sundays, something happens: The glory of God confronts my fickle heart.

God ordained for us to gather for worship because he knows us and the weaknesses of our grumbling and easily distracted hearts. He knows how soon we forget the depth of our need as sinners and the expansiveness of his provisions in Jesus Christ.

He knows that little lies can deceive us and little obstacles can discourage us. He knows that self-righteousness still has the power to delude us.

So in grace, he calls us to gather and consider glory once again, to be excited once again, and to be rescued once again.

It’s not only that these worship services remind us of God’s grace; these worship services are themselves a gift of grace.

Going to church is designed to confront you with the glory of the grace of Jesus so you won’t look for life, help and hope elsewhere.

Central Church

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 1-20-2022

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of January 20, 2022, with both indexes AGAIN showing skyrocketing, record high levels.

• Note in particular how the vertical axis of the Incidence Rate chart has AGAIN had to be expanded to such a degree to accommodate the current high numbers that three of the four categories (Low, Moderate, and even Substantial) have been reduced to an almost unreadable mishmash at the bottom of the Incidence Rate chart. 

Even though we all tend to become numb to the latest numbers and just want to put the pandemic behind us, this chart painfully emphasizes how far we are from returning to our pre-pandemic way of life.

• The Incidence Rate increased from 1,195.0 to 1,406.1 (an increase of 211.1, or 17.6%) in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to the last two weeks, for the entire period of the pandemic since we began tracking weekly readings on July 30, 2020, a weekly Incidence Rate had only been over 600 once (on December 18, 2020).  This week’s number is over 1,400 .

• The PCR Positivity Rate has moderated somewhat from 30.2 to 28.3 in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to the last two weeks, during the same period, the highest that the PCR Percent Positivity Rates had been were 17.6 on December 18, 2020 and 17.9 on December 9, 2021.  Last week, the rate was 30.2, and this week, the rate is 28.3.

(Allegheny County’s figures also remained in the stratosphere during the past week from 1,528.6 to 1,163.8 and from 32.9% to 30.1%.)

• • Beaver County is now classified as SUBSTANTIAL on the original PA DOH scale and HIGH on the CDC scale.
    

Perspective – If both metrics are Moderate (i.e., 10-50 Incidence Rate and 5%-10% PCR Positivity Rate), the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Hybrid Learning.

Even so, full in-classroom teaching is continuing in most schools, and several school boards have even eliminated the requirement to wear masks in response to vocal groups of parents who prefer to avoid the inconvenience of the pandemic precautions and  want procedures to return to “normal” regardless of medical realities and in the face of an unprecedented skyrocketing of the above COVID-19 metrics.

(Parents have recently filed lawsuits against the North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair school districts for endangering their children with their “masks optional” policies.)

On April 5, 2021, 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 200.8, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible for the foreseeable future.

---

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; and

• As our community COVID-19 levels continue to deteriorate, we have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

• In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

• (5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )  
  

Central Church

What the Holy Spirit Does – Emotional Scale

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

Key Bible Verse: It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit.  – Revelation 1:10

Bonus Reading: John 4:23-24

I treasure the Holy Spirit because He feels things. The word “ecstasy” figures prominently in descriptions of revival through the centuries. When God sweeps into the middle of our lives, we laugh, we cry, we bow, we rejoice, we’re “alive in the Spirit.” If we don’t feel these things in worship, we’re prone to say God isn’t present in our praise.

Many of my Pentecostal friends seem to have a need to feel their religion more than my Episcopal friends do. Yet I can’t castigate them for this. I suspect that how we respond to joy has much to do with the kind of personalities we have.

Some souls seem more buoyant by nature and therefore require a more demonstrative expression of their faith. Most Italians seem more jolly to me than Nordic peoples. I don’t disparage either group for being who they are. I feel the same about different worship styles.

Don’t I have my own preferred kind of worship? Sure. I like the heritage and content of Episcopal worship. I like the open, confessional, warm style of the Assemblies of God. I feel generally happy in a Baptist church, which gives me a little of each. I feel most comfortable about half way between Billy Sunday and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

—Calvin Miller in Loving God Up Close

My Response: Am I wired to respond to the Spirit more in deep calm or vibrant exuberance?

Thought to Apply: Holy Wind, blow across my mind; free me of the things that bind.—Source Unknown

Adapted from Loving God Up Close (Warner Faith, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Holy Spirit Does – What Next?

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

Key Bible Verse: The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk beside the carriage”  – Acts 8:29

Bonus Reading: Acts 8:26-39

Back in 1984, a young man in our church looked out a window of his home and saw a woman sitting in her den next door. She’d been his neighbor for some time, yet he’d never spoken to her about Christ. Resolving to change that, he rang her doorbell and convinced her of her need for Christ.

The next Sunday she came forward to announce her new faith, and asked if I’d talk to her husband about Christ. During my visit in their home, he also came to faith.

That second Sunday he publicly acknowledged his conversion, and asked me to talk to their grown son, an attorney. The son, too, became a believer.

On the third Sunday, he started down the aisle to announce his newfound joy in Christ. Rising from his seat, his father met him halfway. From their tears, witnessed by our entire congregation, sprang an era of utter revival.

Over the next eight weeks, many families found healing from dysfunction as they committed themselves to Christ. The church added more than 100 members. Attending church became a priority. Who’d dare miss a service whose very existence called the world to a new order of things?

—Calvin Miller in Loving God Up Close

My Response: I’ll pray for a Spirit-driven awakening that I can be part of.

Thought to Apply: Where the Spirit is poured out on the church, it sweeps the believers along in a great river of obedience, praise, and mighty works.—Richard B. Hays

Adapted from Loving God Up Close (Warner Faith, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Holy Spirit Does – We Are One in the Spirit

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

Key Bible Verse: Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? … Any fellowship together in the Spirit?   – Philippians 2:1

Bonus Reading: Acts 2:43-47

The Holy Spirit is the pillar at the center of our togetherness as a community of faith. We long to be one with Christ, but the Spirit is the person of the Trinity we depend on to bring us together to act and worship in oneness.

I’ve never felt the center of God’s community so powerfully as when I visited the catacombs of Saint Sebastian in Rome. Some 525 miles of these catacombs—sunless, subterranean tubes—lace the ground beneath the city of Rome.

These narrow, soft-lava passageways housed the underground community of Christians during the persecutions of Nero and later emperors. But they served as more than hideaways. They became the places where Christians gathered to cheer on their martyrs, to hold each other up in their most desperate hours.

These catacombs furnished the arena of the Spirit’s most important kind of community. In this space ordinary souls, who never thought of themselves as valiant, suddenly found themselves in the community of the Spirit, who forged them into a union able to endure life’s hard times.

The Holy Spirit still forms the center of our best community and inflames us with a common identity and passion.

—Calvin Miller in Loving God Up Close

My Response: I’m most aware of the Spirit’s presence in my church family when …

Thought to Apply: The gathered church is the place of God’s own personal presence [through] the Spirit, by whom God has now revisited His people.—Gordon Fee

Adapted from Loving God Up Close (Warner Faith, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Holy Spirit Does – An Attending Presence

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

Key Bible Verse: If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  – Galatians 5:25

Bonus Reading: Romans 10:13-15

A boyhood chum had terminal cancer but no faith to sustain him. I found myself praying with him as he trusted Christ, and I was holding his hand as he entered eternity. I summoned the nurse. As I was leaving his room, she arrived with an attending physician. “Were you this man’s pastor?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Can you tell me, sir, whether he knew Christ as his Savior?”

“I can,” I said. “I led him to faith some months ago.”

“Oh, thank you,” he said, “I feel so bad. I’ve been his physician for several months but never asked him if he knew Christ as his Lord.”

We parted, but abruptly sensing the leadership of the Spirit, I returned to the room, where the doctor was issuing the death certificate. “Excuse me, sir,” I said, “but I’ve visited people in this hospital for years and met a lot of physicians. But none ever told me he felt guilty for not having led a patient to Christ.” I handed him my card. “If ever you had the time, I’d count it a privilege to take you to lunch.”

The lunch we agreed to share became the first of many, cementing a life-long friendship. This man awakened my own hunger for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to become central in my life.

—Calvin Miller in Loving God Up Close

My Response: One way I’m hungry to sense the Spirit’s influence in my life is …

Thought to Apply: A simple definition of the Holy Spirit is “God in action today.” —Alan Walker (Australian evangelist)

Adapted from Loving God Up Close (Warner Faith, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Holy Spirit Does – Proof Positive

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window

Key Bible Verse: For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.  – Romans 8:16

Bonus Reading: Galatians 5:16-25

Matsuyama slumped cross-legged on the wooden floor of his one-room apartment on the second floor of a former army barracks. His was just one of dozens of poor families housed in the ramshackle old building.

“What’s wrong, Matsuyama San?”

“I’m not a Christian any longer.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, I got drunk, some guy bad-mouthed me, and I chased him with a baseball bat. What’s worse, when I got home and told my wife, she handed me the butcher knife. She said, ‘the Bible says if your right hand does wrong, cut it off.’ I’m no Christian.”

It was out of drunkenness that Matsuyama had been saved. An excellent electrician, he descended down the river of alcohol to poverty, taking his wife and three children with him. “Did you ever get drunk and fight before you became a Christian?” I asked.

“All the time.”

“Did you feel bad about it?”

“Only if I got beat.”

“Don’t you see, Matsuyama San? Since the Holy Spirit lives in you, when you fail you’re miserable. Your misery is proof you really are a Christian!”

—Robertson McQuilkin in 00

My Response: I recently experienced the Spirit’s convicting role when …

Adapted from Life in the Spirit (Broadman & Holman, 2000)

Prayer for the Week:  Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Holy Spirit Does – The Spirit of Creation

Central Church’s Holy Spirit Stained Glass Window00

Who Said It…Ted Haggard

Ted Haggard is the senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1985, Ted and his wife, Gayle, moved there with two of their now five children and started New Life Church in the basement of their home. Now its membership numbers 11,000. Ted says that his goal is to make it hard to go to hell from Colorado Springs.

He also serves as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

What He Said…The Spirit of Creation

Many churches do a good job of teaching about the power of the Holy Spirit. If we genuinely encourage people to be filled with the Holy Spirit, though, we had better be prepared for the work that He will do in them.

You see, the Holy Spirit is in the business of change. He is Mr. Change; it is what He does, and He does it well. He comes into people’s lives and starts changing them, and as this process develops, He starts giving them ideas for change.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Creation. In a fallen world, He always creates change because He is the agent God uses to make the world a better place. Thus, He always improves things. He always rearranges our furniture.

He always adjusts the status quo. So when He fills His people, we all prosper if our structures facilitate change. But if our structures constrain change, it’s a matter of time before something breaks. Let’s replace resistance to change with a culture of freedom.

Adapted from Dog Training, Fly Fishing, and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century (Nelson, 2002)

Prayer for the Week: Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

 

What the Good Book Is Good for – The Joy of Understanding

In Psalm 19, David looks at God’s greatness through two different lenses. He first does so through God’s creation.

Then he turns to God’s Word. When you’re doing the things that God created you to do and told you to do in His Word, he writes, your life will begin to overflow with a joy you never imagined possible.

Interact with God’s Word

Psalm 19:7-11

1. In verses 7-9, what names are given to Scripture? What different aspects do they highlight?
2. What words (after “is” or “are”) are used to describe God’s Word?
3. What six results or consequences follow for the person who takes God’s Word to heart?
4. Taken together, what do these statements tell you about the potential impact of God’s Word in your life?
5. What does verse 10 tell you about the Bible’s ability to satisfy your deepest needs?
6. What negative benefit of exposure to God’s Word does verse 11 add?
7. What positive benefit is promised to those who apply God’s Word to their lives?
8. What form do you think that “great reward” takes?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to grant you the joy of rightly understanding His Word and consistently conforming your behavior to it.

Psalm 19:7-11

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life. 9 Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.

10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. 11 They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them.

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 1-13-2022

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of January 13, 2022, with both indexes again showing skyrocketing, record high levels.

• Note in particular how the vertical axis of the Incidence Rate chart has had to be expanded to such a degree to accommodate the current high numbers that three of the four categories (Low, Moderate, and even Substantial) have been reduced to an almost unreadable mishmash at the bottom of the Incidence Rate chart. 

Even though we all tend to become numb to the latest numbers and just want to put the pandemic behind us, this chart painfully emphasizes how far we are from returning to our pre-pandemic way of life.

• The Incidence Rate increased from 843.0 to 1,195.0 (an increase of 352.0, or 41.7%) in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to last, for the entire period of the pandemic since we began tracking weekly readings on July 30, 2020, a weekly Incidence Rate had only been over 600 once (on December 18, 2020).  Last week, we have a reading over 800  and this week’s number is well over 1,100 .

• The PCR Positivity Rate has increased from 27.9 to 30.2 in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to last week, during the same period, the highest that the PCR Percent Positivity Rates had been were 17.6 on December 18, 2020 and 17.9 on December 9, 2021.  Last week, the rate was 27.9, and this week, the rate is 30.2.

(Allegheny County’s figures also remained in the stratosphere during the past week from 1,534.2 to 1,528.6 and from 32.7% to 32.9%.)

• • Beaver County is now classified as SUBSTANTIAL on the original PA DOH scale and HIGH on the CDC scale.
    

Perspective – If both metrics are Moderate (i.e., 10-50 Incidence Rate and 5%-10% PCR Positivity Rate), the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Hybrid Learning.

Even so, full in-classroom teaching is continuing in most schools, and several school boards have even eliminated the requirement to wear masks in response to vocal groups of parents who prefer to avoid the inconvenience of the pandemic precautions and  want procedures to return to “normal” regardless of medical realities and in the face of an unprecedented skyrocketing of the above COVID-19 metrics. 

 

On April 5, 2021, 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 170.7, so resuming small group meetings will not be feasible for the foreseeable future.

---

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; and

• As our community COVID-19 levels continue to deteriorate, we have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

• In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

• (5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )  
  

Central Church

What the Good Book Is Good for – The Right Verdict

Key Bible Verse: The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  – Psalm 19:9b

Bonus Reading: Psalm 119:137-144

God made us to seek and long for true justice.  As we see crime and evil in our society escalating at a sickening pace, something hidden inside our very being rises up, yearning for wrong to be punished and justice meted out.

There used to a little feature in Reader’s Digest called “That’s Outrageous.”  Here were true stories, specific accounts of people who had been severely wronged, telling how our society and our government failed to administer the justice due.  Criminals out of jail early, committing the horrendous.  Murderers let off on a technicality and freed to murder again, all under the banner of justice.  I had to quit reading the feature; it was just too upsetting.

How do you cope with this?

The only way I know is to keep in mind that we have a God of perfect justice.  Though the final judgment of God is yet future, the Bible tells what His verdicts—His pronouncements of consequence, and punishment for sin—will be.

God is not capricious like our human judges;  He doesn’t operate according to His moods or personal circumstances.  We can be sure that He will judge fairly and precisely, consistent with all He has told us in Scripture. Ultimately He will right every wrong and silence every rebel.

—James MacDonald in God Wrote a Book

My Response: One way I can reflect God’s justice in my society is to …

Thought to Apply:You never know a line is crooked unless you have a straight one to put next to it.—Socrates

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

What the Good Book Is Good for – Muddle Eraser

Key Bible Verse: The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life.  – Psalm 19:8b

Bonus Reading: Psalm 119:129-136

Remember a few years back when a new beverage came out called “Clearly Canadian”?

The product featured wonderful berry flavors with a sparkling, fresh taste, sold in a blue glass bottle.  Just describing it makes me thirsty for that clear, crisp sensation I get in my mouth when I drink it.

To me there’s just something wonderful about stuff that is clear.  When I buy something for my home, I search for things with the words on the package “no assembly required,” because I hate those manuals that are so unclear and impossible to follow.  I like clean glasses and windows, and clear highways.  No doubt about it, “clear” rocks!

That’s why I was so excited the day I understood for the first time that the Word of God is clear.  You can pick it up yourself and understand it.  The commands of God are clear, laying out the positive results of doing what he requires and the negative consequences of disobedience.

People try to say that the Bible is confusing because they don’t want to accept its message, but actually the Bible is incredibly clear in what it asserts—so crystal-clear that God promises it will bring light to the darkness in every human heart.

—James MacDonald in God Wrote a Book

My Response: When seeking an answer, I’ll commit to turn to God’s Word first.

Thought to Apply: More people are troubled by what is plain in Scripture than by what is obscure.—Roy L. Smith (pastor)

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

What the Good Book Is Good for – In Sync

Key Bible Verse: The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.  – Psalm 19:8a

Bonus Reading: Psalm 119:1-8

Commandments are God’s prescriptions, pronouncements, principles.  The world has principles, too, doesn’t it?

Stuff like: “You only go around once, so go for the gusto.”

Or how about: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Everyone has heard that worldly principle—sort of like: “You might mess with me once, but don’t ever try it again.” There are hundreds of these shortsighted stupidisms.

But in contrast to all this faulty human thinking that seldom guides and never satisfies are “the commandments of the Lord.”  His principles are 100 percent right in all that they assert.  They’re not off-track, not even by a degree.  Isn’t that great to know?

Life is like a maze. The statutes of God set a right path through the maze so that we don’t wander aimlessly or get lost or sidetracked by things that don’t ultimately matter. God’s statutes take the pressure off.

Never do we have so much joy in this world as when we are living in conformity to God’s Word. Never. Like an engine firing on all cylinders. Like a gazelle running full speed. Like a symphony—every instrument pounding out the melody and harmonies in perfect tune and rhythm.

—James MacDonald in God Wrote a Book

My Response: How does God’s Word alert me to flaws in the godless thinking that surrounds me?

Thought to Apply: One who uses the Bible as his guide never loses his sense of direction.—Source Unknown

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

What the Good Book Is Good for – Wise Up!

Key Bible Verse: The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  – Psalm 19:7b

Bonus Reading: Psalm 119:97-104

The first time I met Luis, he was so angry and intent on doing what he wanted with his life that he was destroying his family and himself.  But he couldn’t see it.

Luis was addicted to alcohol. And by attending a church that didn’t preach God’s Word, he was never forced to face up to the fact that he was walking on the path of destruction.

His wife had heard about our church and prayed for weeks that she could get her husband under the unapologetic preaching of God’s Word, but he refused to come.  Then out of the blue one morning, he suggested to his astonished family that they attend.

That morning I was teaching from God’s Word on the subject “Wise Up About Alcohol.”  Luis squeaked and squirmed on the pew, but the Word of God got through to his heart.

Later that week he gave his life to Jesus Christ, and by God’s grace hasn’t had a drink since.  His marriage has been healed, his life has been transformed, and his children are filled with joy.

Why?  Because God’s witness about Himself is so trustworthy that it can take a stubborn, hardhearted alcoholic, with no discernment about right and wrong, and make him skilled in daily living.

—James MacDonald in God Wrote a Book

My Response: I’ll thank God for teaching me the basics of sound living through His Word.

Thought to Apply: We must allow the Word of God to confront us, undermine our complacency, and overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior. —John Stott

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

What the Good Book Is Good for – Extreme Makeover

Key Bible Verse: The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  – Psalm 19:7a

Bonus Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

Our church meets in a massive warehouse that was a Home Depot wanna-be.  Marty used to buy all materials there for his building projects.  Being a “tool guy” was his identity.  Sunday morning trips to buy home improvement stuff was his religion.  So he was ticked off when his “house of worship” went under and was replaced by “some stupid church.”

But when we opened, he got curious and came to check us out, defiantly sitting in the front row with his wife.  The truth of God’s Word began to penetrate his heart, and he couldn’t keep from coming back.  Before long Marty committed his life to Jesus Christ.

The word translated reviving in Psalm 19:7a means transforming. God promises that His Scripture is so totally comprehensive that whatever the condition of the individual, it can transform him to his core.  Marty had been so filled with himself that his marriage was in deep weeds; he wasn’t much of a father either.  Now he stands in front of the entire congregation to tell about the joy he’s found in following Christ and learning from the Bible.  He excitedly shares God’s truth with others, who are beginning to see their lives transformed.00

—James MacDonald in God Wrote a Book

My Response: I’ll memorize today’s Bonus Reading to lock in my confidence in His Word.

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

What the Good Book Is Good for – Always Current

Who Said It…James MacDonald

As a 27-year-old Canadian, James MacDonald was called to pastor a group of 18 believers in suburban Chicago.

Seventeen years later, the resulting Harvest Bible Chapel, composed of many new Christians, has grown to nearly 8,000 worshipers. It has also recently added two new campuses. Pastor MacDonald is heard on Walk in the Word, a daily radio broadcast.

He and his wife, Kathy, have three children, aged 18 to 14.

What He Said…Always Current

I will never forget the news conference of the Willis family after their van exploded in flames on the freeway, and their children inside were engulfed and consumed in an instant.

As they sat before those microphones, and the world listened in for insight as to whether their faith could remain in such tragedy, they began by quoting Psalm 34:1: “I will praise the Lord at all times, I will constantly speak his praises.” The Word of God was their anchor in a storm that would have quickly capsized most of the boats.

David wrote in Psalm 19—the one we’ll be walking 0through this week—“Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.” God’s Word is full-strength from cover to cover. Turning to it brings stability to every person in every generation. From the most successful athletes to people of quiet faith in the hidden corners of the globe, God’s Word is a constant, reliable source of stability in the toughest of times.

Adapted from God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Thank you, Lord, for giving me Your Book that tells me everything I need to know about life and how to live it.

 

Peace Under Pressure – A Special Blessing

It was customary for the Israelites to be “blessed” by the high priest. In this passage, Moses gives the wording to be used to convey that they were no ordinary people and that their God was no ordinary God.

This Aaronic Blessing not only expressed God’s special favor for His people; it also indicated what quality in their lives would best display that favor to others.

Interact with God’s Word

Numbers 6:22-27

1. The word bless means to treat with favor. What is one indication that God is on your side because you’ve declared yourself on His?
2. Recall one way in which you’ve recently experienced God’s protection.
3. Verse 25a could be rendered “May the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you.” How have you sensed His smile of pleasure on your life?
4. Being gracious goes way beyond good manners. It is to be merciful and compassionate. When have you observed this aspect of how God blesses?
5. To show favor is to give approval. Do you sense that your obedience and trust have elicited this response from God?
6. Do you think personal peace is a distinct gift or the effect of experiencing God’s favor, protection, pleasure, merciful compassion, and approval?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God for His divine favor to rest on people you relate to. Ask that His blessing create a solid peace foundation in your own life.

Numbers 6:22-27

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, 23 “Instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

24 ‘May the LORD bless you and protect you. 25 May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.’

27 This is how Aaron and his sons will designate the Israelites as my people, and I myself will bless them.”

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 1-6-2022

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of January 6, 2022, with both indexes showing skyrocketing, record high levels.

 

• The Incidence Rate increased from 370.2 to 843.0 (an increase of 472.8, or 127.7%) in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to this week, for the entire period of the pandemic since we began tracking weekly readings on July 30, 2020, a weekly Incidence Rate had only been over 600 once (on December 18, 2020).  This week, we have a reading well over 800.

• The PCR Positivity Rate has increased from 13.6 to 27.9 in the HIGH category.

Perspective – Prior to this week, during the same period, the highest that the PCR Percent Positivity Rates had been were 17.6 on December 18, 2020 and 17.9 on December 9, 2021.  This week, the rate is 27.9.

(Allegheny County’s figures also skyrocketed during the past week from 633.2 to 1,534.2 and from 22.0% to 32.7%!)

• • Beaver County is now classified as SUBSTANTIAL on the original PA DOH scale and HIGH on the CDC scale.
    

Perspective – If both metrics are Moderate (i.e., 10-50 Incidence Rate and 5%-10% PCR Positivity Rate), the PA Dept. of Health’s recommended school instructional model is Hybrid Learning.

Even so, full in-classroom teaching is continuing in most schools, and several school boards have even eliminated the requirement to wear masks in response to vocal groups of parents who prefer to avoid the inconvenience of the pandemic precautions and  want procedures to return to “normal” regardless of medical realities and in the face of an unprecedented skyrocketing of the above COVID-19 metrics. 

 

On April 5, 2021, 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 120.4, 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 in 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; and

• As our community COVID-19 levels continue to deteriorate, we have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

• In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

• (5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )  
  

 

Central Church

Peace Under Pressure – Tantalizing Tranquility

Key Bible Verse: They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.  – Psalm 112:7

Bonus Reading: Psalm 46:1-11

A friend asked me to have lunch with him and a fellow he’d been sharing Christ with for nine years. I’m thinking, after nine years Gill (the unbeliever) ought to be ready to tell this guy to shove off.

So I asked him what it was that kept him in this prolonged dialogue. He laughed. “That’s simple,” he said. “Jimmy’s got something I want. He doesn’t worry.”

Do you know why peace shines so brightly in this world? Because everybody you meet entered adulthood with a picture of what they hoped for.  Now, years into the pursuit, they’ve accumulated lots of the stuff they set out for. But they aren’t happy and don’t know what to do about it.

When they finally meet someone who has peace, they take note. It highlights their emotional emptiness. And it confronts them with the fact that peace is achievable.

What if my peace isn’t merely for my benefit? What if God wants to use it to cause those I come into contact with to pause and wonder? What if the purpose of dark circumstances is to give my peace a chance to attract more attention than in the wrinkle-free days when everything goes right? What if God wants to use it to make my faith authentic for someone?

—Andy Stanley in Visioneering

My Response: Is there a dark circumstance that I should by faith thank God for?

Thought to Apply: First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.—Thomas À Kempis (Christian writer)

Adapted from Visioneering (Multnomah, 1999)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

Peace Under Pressure – Quiet Dinner

Key Bible Verse: The peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives.  – John 14:27

Bonus Reading: John 14:27; 16:33

Arriving at my mother’s New York apartment for dinner for the two of us, we sat down to a festive table. Just then the phone rang—for me. My teaching colleague’s voice broke, and I realized to my horror that he was weeping. A West Coast collision had landed his parents and sister in intensive care. He was at the airport. Could I come sit with him until his flight departed? I’d come if I possibly could, I responded, but I had to take care of some things first. Would he call back in ten minutes.

Back at the table, my mother called my friend’s request unreasonable and juvenile. She insisted that I not ruin our evening by going. Hearing what I’d been saying to myself expressed aloud made it appalling. I resolved to go as soon as he rang again. But when he called, he said he’d gotten hold of himself; I no longer needed to come.

This apartment was a haven from everything that seemed to threaten my peace. My friend’s broken voice on the phone was calling me out into a dangerous world not simply for his sake, I suddenly saw, but also for mine. The true peace that passes understanding isn’t found in retreat from the battle—only in the thick of it.

—Frederick Buechner in The Sacred Journey

My Response: Is the peace I’m protecting robust enough to invade turmoil?

Thought to Apply: The peace of God, in the midst of the uproar around us, gives us the assurance that everything is all right.—Bob Mumford (writer, speaker)

Adapted from The Sacred Journey (Harper & Row, 1982)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

Peace Under Pressure – Stress Mess

Key Bible Verse: And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  – Colossians 3:15

Bonus Reading: Philippians 4:6-7

In the early 1960s, my load in the grocery company was heavy. Several close co-workers were in open conflict, and I had to referee. I was still traveling a lot on the lay-preaching circuit. We had three small children. About seven o’clock one evening, I left the office, trudged down the long, steep stairs to my car, and headed home. Several urgent choices involving business, travel, and family faced me. I felt indecisive on every front. My stomach churned.

As I drove toward home, I tried to pray, generically committing the whole mess to God. Suddenly there came to my mind Colossians 3:15. This familiar scripture hit me like a shaft of calmness from heaven.

Immediately I knew what God was saying to me. “Howard, never go against your deepest sense of peace. Never ignore your sense of inner agitation, of uneasy disquiet, that intuitive buzzing. That unquiet feeling is telling you to back off, not to plunge ahead just to get rid of the issue. It doesn’t matter who gets upset or whom you disappoint. Forget who cheers or who boos. Follow the relaxation in your gut.”

It was a life-changing moment for me. To this very day that wait-for-the-calm principle clarifies my decision-making.

—Howard Butt Jr. in Who Can You Trust?

My Response: One area in which I need to wait for the calm is …

Thought to Apply: Whenever you obey God, His seal is always that of peace. Whenever peace doesn’t come, tarry till it does or find out why it doesn’t.—Oswald Chambers

Adapted from Who Can You Trust? (Crossway, 2002)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

CDC – COVID-19 Revised Recommendations – 12-27-2021

Central Church

Peace Under Pressure – Pre-Game Jitters

Key Bible Verse: I have discarded everything else … so that I may have Christ.  – Philippians 3:8

Bonus Reading: Philippians 3:4-9a

In Philadelphia in 1983, the night before the final game of the World Series, I lay there tossing and turning, plunged into joy and excitement one minute, panic and tension the next. If I was going to get any sleep at all, I desperately needed a sense of peace for my jumbled emotions.

Four years earlier, I’d invited Jesus Christ into my life. So I reached for my Bible and turned to Philippians 3:4-9a, where the Apostle Paul recalls how he was born in the right place to the right family, got the right education, and did all the right things. Yet he’d discounted it all “that I may have Christ.”

That verse could be talking about me! I realized.

My World Series and All-Star successes wouldn’t make a bit of difference when it came down to where I’d spend eternity. Only my relationship with Jesus would matter then. I was able to sleep peacefully after that, then went out on the mound the next day and pitched one of my best games ever. Our Baltimore Orioles won the series over Philly, and I was elated! But most exciting was to know that the peace within me wasn’t dependent on winning, but on knowing that God loved me.

—Scott McGregor in Winning

My Response: I’ll draw stability from my status and future in Christ.

Thought to Apply: Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown? Jesus we know, and He is on the throne. —Edward Bickersteth (English pastor and hymn writer)

Adapted from Winning (Regal, 1990)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

 

Peace Under Pressure – Blanket Coverage

Key Bible Verse: We have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  – Romans 5:1

Bonus Reading: Romans 5:1-11

The “peace of God” shouldn’t be confused with “peace with God.”

The “peace of God” is the inner state of well-being that is the birthright of those who’ve responded to God’s offer of forgiveness and been brought into a position called “peace with God.”

The peace of God is a result of having peace with God.

The Israelites had been called by God to be His unique people, and the blessing pronounced by the high priest (Numbers 6:22-27), designated them as such. The people would exhibit the divine favor by demonstrating to the surrounding peoples that God had given them His wholeness or well-being.

This inner sense of wholeness can’t be explained in purely human terms. Anyone can seem at peace when he’s eradicated all stress and negotiated the end of all hostility. But we enjoy the peace of God while the stress continues unabated and the hostility persists.

How can this be? When we’ve committed ourselves to the Captain of our salvation in ongoing, trusting obedience, He’ll make our well-being His personal responsibility.

0So we can rest assured in His benevolence and competence in the midst of the storms of life. We can live with composure that defies description and surpasses belief.

—Stuart Briscoe in One Year Book of Devotions for Men

My Response: Am I enjoying the benefits of my birthright? Why or why not?

Adapted from One Year Book of Devotions for Men (Tyndale, 2000)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – 2nd Sunday after Christmas – 1-2-2022

On this overcast second Sunday after Christmas, when the Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus again prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service. Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along! AND… Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!  To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”. To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off. A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy!  Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.  Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later. 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=601274810951408&t=0 YouTube –    https://youtu.be/P1mIoGzkzC0 (If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Peace Under Pressure – Stretched Splendor

00Who Said It…Randy Rowland

Randy Rowland is lead pastor of Sanctuary, an emerging church in Seattle, Washington. He has served as the public address announcer for the Seattle Seahawks.

Randy is also president of Sound Images, Inc., a media and marketing consulting and production firm. He has taught at Seattle Pacific University’s School of Business and Economics, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Pacific School of Religion. Randy calls himself a water dog.

What He Said…Stretched Splendor

Peace isn’t passive or wimpy; it’s brilliantly powerful. Peace is having everything in its right place, being used toward its right purpose.

Sailboats are equipped with numerous sails for different purposes. Unused sails are stored in nylon bags in a locker. But are stored sails at peace? I don’t think so. They’re just sidelined fabric. A sail is at peace when it’s unfurled, trimmed by the winch, and stretched to its maximum by a turn into the wind. Every grommet and rope on that sail is being yanked at magnum force. The material of the sail strains as it meets its destiny.

A good sail, well deployed, is a vision of peace. It possesses beauty in spite of the savage forces pulling it at every corner. Its beauty comes from its wholeness and purpose. You never look out on the water at a colorful spinnaker on a fast-moving sailboat and think, Oh that poor thing, just look at the stress it’s under, being pulled from all directions. What you do think is, Wow! That’s beautiful.

Adapted from Sins We Love (Doubleday, 2000)

Prayer for the Week:  Heavenly Father, show me how my misguided thinking leads me down the path of worry and fear; help me to see that no problem is bigger than you and your love; may you be glorified by the peace I experience in times of trial.