Heaven Is the Finish Line – Tuned Elsewhere

Key Bible Verse: So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not seen.  – 2 Corinthians 4:18

Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9

On a balmy 1982 October afternoon, Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, was packed with over 60,000 University of Wisconsin fans watching their football team play Michigan State’s Spartans.  It soon became obvious that State had the better team and would win.  What was odd, however, was the seemingly unconnected and increasing eruptions of applause from the Wisconsin fans despite the mounting defeat.  Why were they cheering as their team was losing?

Many fans, it turns out, were listening to portable radios broadcasting another game in progress 70 miles away in Milwaukee, where the Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the World Series.  They were responding to something they couldn’t actually see.  Likewise, Paul encourages us to fix our eyes on the unseen.  When we do, we celebrate even in difficulties because we’re tuned in to see God’s larger picture at work.

Paul says a Jesus follower can live confidently because of the guarantee that God’s presence indwelling us carries.  His power is available to us here and now!  And we rest assured of a secure future.  We are at home in either place—in our bodies or with the Lord.

—Tom Taylor in Paradoxy

My Response: Am I really open to being at home in either place?

Thought to Apply: The bottom line is in heaven.—Edwin Land (physicist & inventor)

Adapted from Paradoxy (Baker, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Lord, for the hope of heaven. Use it in my earthly life to inspire and sustain my passion and purpose.

 

Heaven Is the Finish Line – After D-Day

Key Bible Verse: Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.  – Romans 8:18

Bonus Reading: Romans 8:18-25

D-Day and V-Day.  Oscar Cullman, in his book Christ and Time, used an analogy from World War II to illustrate the believer’s current status.

D-Day was when the Allied forces landed in Normandy and established a beachhead.  The strategizing generals on both sides recognized that the outcome of the war was decided on that fateful day in June 1944.  They understood that if the Nazis had driven the Allies back into the sea, they would have won the war.  But because the Allied armies prevailed at Normandy, they sealed the eventual doom of the Nazi cause.

But between D-Day and V-Day—marking the surrender of the enemy and the Allies’ liberation of all of Europe—there’d be many months of suffering and struggle. There’d be horrendous battles as the Allied armies, little by little, pushed back the Nazi forces.

The Cross and the Resurrection were God’s D-Day. God in Jesus fought and won the decisive battle. Although Satan is raising havoc, his power has been broken, and Christ, through the church, is driving back the forces of darkness. God’s V-Day isn’t yet here. But because of God’s triumph on D-Day, we know how it all will end.

—Tony Campolo in Speaking My Mind

My Response: How can knowing the final outcome give me an edge in today’s struggle?

Thought to Apply: Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.—Howell Forgy (chaplain at Pearl Harbor)

Adapted from Speaking My Mind (W Publishing, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Lord, for the hope of heaven. Use it in my earthly life to inspire and sustain my passion and purpose.

 

Heaven Is the Finish Line – Unnatural Death

Key Bible Verse: And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.  – 1 Corinthians 15:19

Bonus Reading: Philippians 3:20-21

Peter, a fisherman like his biblical namesake, had been a doer of kind deeds and a practical joker, but he was no churchman.  At his funeral, friends and family reminisced for almost two hours.  By the time for my meditation, I calculated I had about four minutes before the crowd would lose interest.  So, chucking my notes, I pointed to the three tables of photo albums and mementos laid out to represent Peter’s life.

“So,” I said, “what is all this?  Is this it?  Is this Peter’s life?  Is this what it distills to?

“I don’t care what religion you belong to or would never belong to, what beliefs you profess or scorn. I’d bet a sweet purse that every one of you in this room has an instinct that is sharp as a razor right now.

“The instinct is that this world isn’t big enough, long enough, deep enough to contain or explain even one single life in it. The instinct is that death, no matter how natural its causes, is always unnatural, a brusque intruder, a gloating enemy, and that death shouldn’t be allowed to have the last word.  The instinct is that we weren’t made for this world only.  We were made for eternity.  This world isn’t enough.

“Did you think it was?”

—Mark Buchanan in Things Unseen

My Response: I sense the universal yearning for life beyond the grave when …

Adapted from Things Unseen (Multnomah, 2002)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Lord, for the hope of heaven. Use it in my earthly life to inspire and sustain my passion and purpose.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Central Church – The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – 8-28-2022

On this sunny, warm, and humid twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, when 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! Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!    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://business.facebook.com/362949807093157/videos/364135335935990/?t=0 YouTube –   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7sQ4qhzAqI (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

Free COVID-19 at-Home Tests

*  How would you like to get $200 for free?

That’s what the federal government is offering in the form of free COVID-19 home test kits.  For the next week (or until supplies are gone), you can get up to 8 COVID-19 tests for free at your local pharmacist.  All you have to do is go in and ask for them (or use the drive-through).

Once the program is over, drug stores will resume selling the kits for about $25 each.

 

• Married? You can get 8 test kits each, for a total of 16 kits.

• You can also order the test kits online at: covidtests.gov.

Don’t miss you chance to get these free kits so you can test at home and seek medical treatment early on in the infection when countermeasures (like Paxlovid) are the most effective.

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At:  https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3618005-federal-government-to-halt-free-covid-19-at-home-tests-by-early-september/

Federal government to halt free COVID-19 at-home tests by early September

by Jared Gans – 08/27/22 11:56 AM ET

An at-home COVID-19 test shows a negative result. (Alix Martichoux / Nexstar)

The federal government is set to suspend its offer of free at-home COVID-19 tests by Friday, Sept. 2, without congressional authorization for an extension.

The U.S. Postal Service’s page for ordering the tests states that orders will pause by next Friday “or sooner if supplies run out.”

“Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2 because Congress hasn’t provided additional funding to replenish the nation’s stockpile of tests,” a message on the federal government’s COVID-19 website reads.

The Biden administration originally announced that it would offer 1 billion free at-home COVID-19 tests in January. The federal government used COVID-19 funding from the American Rescue Plan, President Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus and COVID-19 recovery package that he signed into law last year.

Biden has since offered additional rounds of tests for Americans to order, most recently in May. Households could order an additional eight tests in the most recent round.

The seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases has declined slightly in recent weeks following an increase fueled by the highly contagious BA.5 omicron subvariant. But a senior administration official told USA Today that the government needs to hold on to tests for a possible rise in the fall.

The official said that the administration will use its existing “limited” resources to obtain as many tests as it can, but distribution could resume on a large scale if Congress provides the funding for it.

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Central Church

 

Heaven Is the Finish Line – Tunnel Vision

Who Said It…Os Guinness

Os Guinness was born in China, where his parents were medical missionaries, and educated in England, with a doctorate from Oxford University. He has lived in the United States since 1984, serving as a scholar in several secular and Christian “think tanks.”

His passion is to take academically important public policy issues and make them intelligible and practicable to a wider audience.

What He Said…Tunnel Vision

Facing the prospect of a suspected brain tumor, I was in a hospital in northern Virginia ready to undergo a brain scan. A nurse entered the room briskly and said, “Excuse my asking, but are you claustrophobic?”

“No,” I answered.

“Good,” she said. “Some people can’t take the scanner. Our nickname for it is the ‘coffin machine.'”

“Thanks very much,” I replied lightly.

Five minutes later it was hard to get her words out of my mind. Both that session and the next turned out to be an unexpected time of personal review.  Just as a drowning person sees his life flash before his eyes, so I saw the years of my life scroll across my mind as I lay in my “coffin.”

Each memory was alive with sights and sounds and smells.  I shivered at the still-unrealized potential of hopes, dreams, and fears.  I felt again the wonder of this brief but glorious journey of life.  As Winston Churchill said in the last days of his life, “It has been a grand journey—well worth making once.”

—Os Guinness in Long Journey Home

Adapted from Long Journey Home (WaterBrook, 2001)

Prayer for the Week: Thank you, Lord, for the hope of heaven. Use it in my earthly life to inspire and sustain my passion and purpose.

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 8-26-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of August 26, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

 

The Incidence Rate decreased from 232.4 to 143.9 (a decrease of 88.5, or 38.0%) in the HIGH category for the fourteenth consecutive week.

• The PCR Positivity Rate remained at 15.4, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures decreased in the HIGH category during the past week, moving from 172.4 to 133.3 and from 21.4% to 17.9).

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The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

Starting on March 3, 2022, for hospitals and healthcare systems, the CDC is also issuing a new “COVID-19 Community Level“ index that measures the “current potential for strain on the health system” (in other words, the ability of hospitals to take in and treat additional folks with COVID-19.)  

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

The CDC currently reports that current “COVID-19 Community Level” moved down into the MODERATE category.  This metric was adopted on March 3, 2022, reflecting on the potential availability of hospital beds for new COVID-19 cases. 

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

• Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

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• At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

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

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

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

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 20.5, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

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As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

• Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

• 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

Real Disciples Do Church – Being the Body of Christ

Because converts in the New Testament were undergoing intense persecution, many who’d come out of Judaism were tempted to escape the heat by reverting.

The writer of Hebrews reminded his readers why their initial decision was still valid.  If they patiently endured, he urged, it would build their character and lead to victory.  But he realized their resolve was likely to founder if they tried to tough it out in isolation.

Interact with God’s Word

Hebrews 10:23-25

1. Do you know a professing believer who is neglecting to meet regularly with one church family?
2. Would you expect that this individual is holding tightly to his hope or beginning to waver?
3. What are some ways in which the very act of meeting together strengthens the faith of those who gather?
4. In what two ways can believers who meet together (v. 25) support each other?
5. Brainstorm some ways you could do the kinds of encouraging singled out in verse 24.
6. Why does the fact that we are getting closer to the day when Christ will return make regular involvement in a church family more essential than ever?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to provide you with a fresh impetus for growth from your church fellowship, and to help you determine how you can best make a vital contribution to your family there.

Hebrews 10:23-25

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Prayer for the Week:  In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Real Disciples Do Church – I Have a Dream Too

Key Bible Verse:  They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer.  – Acts 2:42

Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

I have a dream of being part of a Christian community where you can be honest about your doubts and fears without being met with worn-out clichés or empty platitudes;

• a place that recognizes faith as a time-laded growth process, not the product of an “instant-pudding” altar prayer;
• a place where you can get help today but be challenged to grow so you’re better prepared to face tomorrow; a place of intimacy, where you can know and be known;
• a place where it is hard not to find God; a place where finding God is as corporate as it is personal;
• a place where you belong whether you’re single, married, divorced, widowed, young, old, rich, poor, smart, dull, thin, fat, beautiful, or ugly;
• a place where you can find meaningful service, where you commit to something bigger than yourself;
• a place that needs you;
• a place of safety;
• a place off-limits to witches, demons, and the walking dead—the safest place in the world.

We could call it church.

—Ed Gungor in Religiously Transmitted Diseases

My Response: The something bigger than myself that I’m committed to is …

Thought to Apply: My burden is borne by the others; when I falter and fail, the faith of the church comes to my aid.—Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German pastor & theologian)

Adapted from Religiously Transmitted Diseases (Nelson Ignite, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

Real Disciples Do Church – The CH Syndrome

Key Bible Verse:  All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.  – 1 Corinthians 12:27

Bonus Reading: 1 Cor. 12:22-28

Many communities have several churches that preach the Word faithfully and experience the work of the Spirit among them.  People joyfully declare, “This is my church home.”

But in these same communities, a sickness—the Church Hopper Syndrome—runs rampant.

If you asked one of those infected, “What church do you attend?” they might answer, “Well, I go to Church A to hear my favorite preacher, but I go to Church B for my small group because they have a great program, and then I like to visit Church C for their fellowship activities, and I go to concerts at Churches D and E.”  If you asked, “So, which is your home church?” you might hear, “I’m actually a member of Church F, but I haven’t gone there for years!”

If you got personal and asked, “Where do you put down your spiritual roots?  Where do you serve?  Where do you give?  Where do you invest yourself in the lives of others?” you’d probably get a confused stare.  These people actually believe that the church exists to provide them with what they want from the experience. And that’s precisely why most are so miserable and empty!

—Kevin Harney in Seismic Shifts

My Response: Am I a consumer of religious services or am I contributing to my spiritual community?

Thought to Apply: It is no good supposing that membership of the universal church of Christ is enough; we must belong to some local branch of it.—John Stott

Adapted from Seismic Shifts (Zondervan, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Real Disciples Do Church – Nature’s Cathedral?

Key Bible Verse: “So we promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”  – Nehemiah 10:39

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 10:23-25

When editor Charles Dunagin interviewed me for a reporting job in 1979, he asked what, if any, church I attended.  “The church of the woods,” I retorted.  He was unimpressed.

I later learned that Dunagin was a churchgoer and a passionate quail hunter.  Though well acquainted with the glories of nature, he knew that the outdoors is no substitute for church.  Since then I’ve also become a churchgoer.

Those folks who claim the outdoors takes the place of church don’t typically spend their outdoor time in worship.  Back when I missed church during deer season, I was watching for antlers on Sunday mornings, not seeking spiritual instruction.

The Bible praises the wonders of nature; and Moses, Elijah, and Jesus withdrew to the wilderness to commune with God—but not to the exclusion of His house.

The woods can’t deliver what church offers.  We experience a unique closeness with fellow believers as we praise God in song, communicate with Him though prayer, respond to His Word preached, and partake of Communion.

But you’ll still find me camping out on several weekends each year.  And I don’t think God will fault me for it.

—Ernest Herndon in Nature Trails and Gospel Tales

My Response: Does recreation or corporate worship have prior claim on my weekends?

Thought to Apply: Being a Christian without joining others in church is like being a soldier without an army or a football player without a team.—Mrs. William Janzen

Adapted from Nature Trails and Gospel Tales (InterVarsity, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Real Disciples Do Church – Staying True

Key Bible Verse: And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.  – 1 Peter 2:5

Bonus Reading: Romans 12:4-8

[continued from yesterday]  My visits to the other church are exciting for a time.  They do seem to have it all together.  But soon the reality takes over from fantasy.  The other church isn’t so perfect.  The preacher isn’t adored by everyone.  There is a grumbler’s club.  They have budget shortfalls.

It’s taken me years and countless mistakes to learn that no matter which church I’m in, people will be people and we all fall far short of God’s glory.  We all need His mercy to survive another day.  There is no perfect church.

While I may enjoy friendship and fellowship with other Christians in other churches, I owe it to my church family and friends to stick with them for the long term, shoring up the foundations in my own congregation.

There are legitimate and often painful reasons to leave a church and seek spiritual fellowship elsewhere.  Many Christians have been forced to make that difficult choice, and rightly so.  Too many of us look for a new church for the wrong reasons—out of boredom, discontent, and a desire to spark up what we ourselves have neglected, instead of sticking it out for the sometimes difficult but ultimately rewarding long run of church membership.

—Steve Russell in FaithToday

My Response: How much time and effort have I put into enhancing my church?

Thought to Apply: Every person needs three homes: a family home, a heavenly home, and a church home.—Billy Graham (evangelist)

Adapted from FaithToday (9-10/05)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Real Disciples Do Church – Flirting?

Key Bible Verse: When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath.  – Luke 4:16

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 6:11-12; 10:35-36

I was whining to a friend recently about church.  I told him I was disillusioned.  Little things were bugging me and worship had lost its spark. I felt numb, lifeless, and unfulfilled.

“Well, why don’t you check out our Sunday evening service instead?” he replied.  “It’s just your style.”  My friend goes to another church and, in fact (gasp), another denomination.  It sounded good.

Craving something exciting and different had crept into my life.  So I took him up on his offer and dropped by his little church.  Fresh music, new friends, warm smiles, and a challenging message from a different kind of preacher—it was as refreshing as a cold drink on a hot day.  The place was alive.  I drove home tapping the steering wheel and singing one of their edgy praise songs.  I had a rush of new hope.  If that was what church could be like, I wanted to go back.

But as I stood on the doorstep, slipping my key into the lock, I felt a sudden pang of guilt.  I had been flirting with another church.  I checked over my shoulder to see if any of my elders had followed me.  I ransacked my pockets—was I going to get caught carrying their bulletin?  I felt that I was having an affair.  [continued tomorrow]

—Steve Russell in FaithToday

My Response: A feature of my church that I’m not so keen on is …

Adapted from FaithToday (9-10/05)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Central Church – The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – 8-21-2022

On this sunny, warm, and humid eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, when 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! Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!    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=589767979285311&t=0 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/o7G_2V7mhNo (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

Real Disciples Do Church – Loose Connections

Who Said It…Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler isn’t your average pastor.  He’s been a disc jockey, won repeated awards from the Associated Press for his broadcast writing, authored his own books, and co-authored 11 books with youth evangelist Josh McDowell (two received the ECPA Gold Medallion award).

Bob and Robin live in southwestern Ohio and have two adult children.  They have also foster-parented ten boys (“not all at once!” Bob clarifies).

What He Said…Loose Connections

Many of us shop around until we find a church geared to meet our practical needs.  It’s only normal to include these needs in an evaluation of a church and its ministries.

But it’s something else entirely to evaluate a church in no other way.  As a pastor, I’ve answered many questions from Christians looking for a church: “Do you have a youth group?” “… a men’s ministry?”  “Do you belong to a denomination?”

There’s nothing wrong with those questions, but no one has yet asked me, “Does this church need more servants?”

We attend the church we select and eventually we join.  Until something happens.  The pastor fails to visit us in the hospital.  Or Mrs. McKenzie in the nursery snaps at us when we’re late picking up our children.  Or the church grows to a point where we don’t feel “at home” anymore.

So we move on.  We find another church.  Until something happens there.  We’ve bowed to the idol of individualism instead of committing to a community and staying faithful through good times and bad.

Adapted from American Idols (Broadman & Holman, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: In my community, Lord, help me to be a functioning part of Your body as You intend.

 

Centering Down – Focusing on God

Two factions of Israel’s religious leaders were temporarily allied in playing “stump the chump” with Jesus.

First Jesus silenced the Sadducees. Then the Pharisees pitted their expert against Him.

The Pharisees had classified more than 600 laws, often trying to distinguish the more important from the less important.  So to their minds, the question their expert posed was luring Jesus into a quagmire.

Interact with God’s Word

Matthew 22:34-40 Matthew 22:34-40

1. Do you think the Pharisees placed more emphasis on what people should do or what they shouldn’t do?
2. Which aspect did Jesus emphasize?
3. How can you love God as a person, not a mere force (See John 14:9 and 16:27)?
4. What spheres of love are suggested by “heart,” “soul,” and “mind”?
5. How does the word all restrict the way your love may be attached to other objects?
6. In the second commandment, why is a person’s self-love taken for granted?
7. How would displacing your self-love with God-love make it easier to engage in true neighbor-love?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to help you penetrate through daily responsibilities and church involvement to a personal encounter with Him.

Matthew 22:34-40

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 24:12

12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 8-19-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of August 19, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

 

The Incidence Rate decreased from 151.9 to 232.4 (an increase of 80.5, or 52.9%) in the HIGH category for the thirteenth consecutive week.

• The PCR Positivity Rate decreased from 17.5 to 15.4, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures increased in the HIGH category during the past week, moving from 151.3 to 172.4 and from 17.5% to 21.4).

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The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

Starting on March 3, 2022, for hospitals and healthcare systems, the CDC is also issuing a new “COVID-19 Community Level“ index that measures the “current potential for strain on the health system” (in other words, the ability of hospitals to take in and treat additional folks with COVID-19.)  

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

The CDC currently reports that current “COVID-19 Community Level” is now in the HIGH category for the second consecutive week.  This metric was adopted on March 3, 2022, reflecting on the potential availability of hospital beds for new COVID-19 cases. 

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

• Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

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• At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

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

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

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

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 33.2, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

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As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

• Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

• 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

Centering Down – Battlefield Baptism

Key Bible Verse: “Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is.”  – Amos 5:23

Bonus Reading: Amos 5:21-24

At chapel yesterday with my friends from around the battalion, I eagerly anticipated the baptism of SSG Falcon, the soldier I’ve been discipling. I wanted this new beginning experience for him to be just right.

We began the service with a hymn. This being Iraq, we get no guitar, keyboard, or drums. We have the chaplain standing in front singing.  That’s it.

As we sang, I noticed the dirt on the concrete floor, and that just about everyone was singing off-key.  This isn’t how baptisms are supposed to go, I thought.

But then I felt God’s gentle vise-grip of conviction on my heart as I began to see the service from His perspective.  These 20 or so men weren’t concerned about making a show of worship or impressing people with their voices.  They were here to be impressed with God, and to give Him their hearts.

God isn’t into the song if the singer’s heart isn’t in tune with Him.  He’s not pleased with a church’s “high-techness” if the focus isn’t His glory.  He’s tired of people “worshiping” just to feel good, or to display their own abilities or creativity.  God is serious about His people’s hearts.

—Chris Plekenpol in Faith in the Fog of War

My Response: How reliant is my worship on program elements and surroundings?

Thought to Apply: Many of us are not thirsty for God because we have quenched our thirst at other fountains.—Erwin Lutzer (Illinois pastor)

Adapted from Faith in the Fog of War (Multnomah, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

Centering Down – The First Commandment FIrst

Key Bible Verse: Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.”  – Matthew 22:37-38

Bonus Reading: Matthew 22:34-40

“Love God with all your heart” means: Find in God a satisfaction so profound that it fills up all your heart.

“Love God with all your soul” means: Find in God a meaning so rich and so deep that it fills up all the aching corners of your soul.

“Love God with all your mind” means: Find in God the riches of knowledge and insight and wisdom that guide and satisfy all that the human mind was meant to be.

In other words, take all your self-love—your longing for joy and hope and love and security and fulfillment and significance—and focus it on God, until He satisfies your heart and soul and mind.  You’ll find that this isn’t a canceling out of self-love.  This is a fulfillment and transformation of self-love.

Self-love is the desire for life and satisfaction rather than frustration and death. God says, “Come to me, and I’ll give you fullness of joy. I’ll satisfy your heart and soul and mind with My glory.”

This first commandment makes the second commandment doable.  The second commandment no longer threatens to be the suicide of our own happiness.  Instead, our inborn self-seeking—now transposed into God-seeking—overflows and extends itself to our neighbor.

—John Piper in What Jesus Demands from the World

My Response: How can I begin to love God, and then my neighbor, as myself?

Thought to Apply: We should give God the same place in our hearts that He holds in the universe.—Anonymous

Adapted from What Jesus Demands from the World (Crossway, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

Centering Down – Your Belt Sander

Key Bible Verse: Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  – Hebrews 10:23

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:1-2

One power tool in my arsenal is a belt sander.  Its two rotating cylinders that drive a loop of sandpaper in a circular motion look a bit like a miniature Caterpillar track.

The challenge is to keep the sanding belt in the middle of the track.  The belt tends to slip to the right or the left, and eventually slides off the cylinders altogether if I fail to stop and make adjustments.  So I end up sanding a bit, stopping to center the sandpaper, sanding some more, stopping, re-centering, sanding, and so on.

Belt sanding isn’t a profound activity even for one who likes power tools.  But it provides a useful metaphor for Christian spirituality.  We slide off center, you and I.  We need to stop and center ourselves in God’s presence over and over again.

There are deadlines at work and bills to pay and children to taxi and all sorts of other distractions.  The world tells us to speed up and step up and keep up.

God whispers an invitation to slow down, to sit down, to center, to remember, to be bathed in grace and love and wisdom, to keep Christ as close as possible to the core of our lives.

—Mark McMinn in Finding Our Way Home

My Response: What adjustments would help me re-center on Christ?

Thought to Apply: The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ears not to hear. —A.W. Tozer (Illinois pastor)

Adapted from Finding Our Way Home (Jossey-Bass, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

 

Centering Down – Face Time

Key Bible Verse: His servants will worship him. And they will see his face.  – Revelation 22:3-4

Bonus Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

I once read that on average American children spend less than three minutes a day face-to-face with their fathers.

Ever since learning that sad fact, I’ve made it a point not simply to spend time with my children, but also whenever possible to look them in the eye.  This is how a father knows his children: by studying the subtle changes in their countenance.  And this is how children know their father: by gazing upon his face, where they see the sternness of his rebuke and the tenderness of his love.

That’s why it is so amazing that God offers us such knowledge of Himself. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror,” the Scriptures say 1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV). “Then we shall see face to face.”

There’s something metaphoric about this promise, of course, but we shouldn’t dismiss its literal dimension.

When we get to heaven we’ll be able to gaze upon Jesus’ physical face. God has promised to show us His glory “seen in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

If only we knew our heart’s true desire, we’d know that His face is the one we’ve been looking for all these years, that seeing Jesus face to face will satisfy our deepest longings.

—Philip Ryken in He Speaks to Me Everywhere

My Response: How frequently do I carve out “face time” with my heavenly Father?

Thought to Apply: Human things must be known to be loved, but divine things must be loved to be known.—Blaise Pascal (French scientist & philosopher)

Adapted from He Speaks to Me Everywhere (P&R Publishing, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

 

Centering Down – Halfway Measures

Key Bible Verse: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce.'”  – Matthew 15:8-9

Bonus Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

Involved in a project, I was torn between doing something with my son and finishing my work.

But after a brief debate with myself—A good Christian dad would spend time with his son versus Yeah, but work is important, too—I went out to our driveway with him to play basketball.  Well, to be honest, my body went out there, but the rest of me was still down in my office working.

After about ten minutes of playing what probably felt to him like a one-sided game, Brent said, “Dad, if you have something else to do, we don’t have to do this.”

I was embarrassed and quickly called the rest of me out of the office to join us.  I gave myself to playing with my son, and the activity turned out to be a lot more enjoyable—for both of us.

For days after that experience, God was teaching me something: If a ten-year-old boy knows when his dad’s heart isn’t in what he’s doing, you can be sure that God knows exactly how much of us is really involved in our acts of praise.

He expects us to give it our all.  Just going through the motions equals unacceptable worship.

—Gerrit Gustafson in The Adventure of Worship

My Response: If worship is total self-giving, could I be counted among the worshipers last Sunday in my church?

Adapted from The Adventure of Worship (Chosen, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Central Church – The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – 8-14-2022

On this sunny and warm, tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when 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! Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!    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=524990012732082&t=0 YouTube –   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIjJNk22fbU (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

Centering Down – Out of Nowhere?

Who Said It…Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley started out as a minister to students at First Baptist Atlanta in the shadow of his well-known father, Charles. But then, a dozen years ago, he, along with four others, founded North Point Community Church in North Atlanta.

That congregation has expanded rapidly and now meets on three campuses. Andy has consistently mentored a young group of future leaders and Christian ministers, and has hosted conferences for leaders under 40.

What He Said…Out of Nowhere?

One summer in the late afternoon, I was walking along the beach by myself.  The air was noticeably still.  I remember thinking how odd it was that there wasn’t even a breeze.

After walking for about a mile, I turned around to head back to the hotel and something strange happened.  Suddenly there was a breeze.  I didn’t feel it as much as hear it whistling in my ears. Where had it come from?

It had been there all along.  But as long as it was at my back, I didn’t hear or feel it.  As soon as I faced the other way, my ears immediately sensed its presence.

The same is true of God.

As long as we have our backs turned to Him—pursuing our own interests and desires, living life the way we think it should be lived—we remain unaware of His presence.

Once we turn in His direction, beginning to prioritize our lives around His values and principles, it’s as if He comes alive to us. There’s a heightened sense of His reality.

Adapted from Louder Than Words (Multnomah, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: When I feel driven and distracted, Your voice gets drowned out. Help me, Lord, to discover how to focus on Your presence in my life.

God’s Love Demonstrated – Compassion

Jesus told His disciples (Luke 22:15) that He’d looked forward to His last Passover meal “with deep longing.”

Apparently by prearrangement, a furnished upper room was provided to commemorate Israel’s escape from Egypt.  Peter and John drew KP duty: buying and preparing the lamb, as well as the ceremonial food and wine.  The absence of household servants may have been to assure privacy and security.

Interact with God’s Word

John 13:1-17

1. When Jesus and the other ten disciples arrived, there was no servant to wash the guests’ feet. Why would Jesus be the last person expected to perform this task (see Luke 22:27)?
2. How did washing His disciples’ feet show “the full extent” (v. 1) of Jesus’ love?
3. Why do you think Peter objected to allowing Jesus to serve him in this way?
4. What does this passage say about our willingness to serve others?
5. If we decline to serve others, is there a sense (v. 16) in which we are claiming prerogatives that Jesus didn’t claim?
6. How do you treat those who work under you (whether employees, volunteers, or children)?
7. Why is a general willingness to serve (v. 17) not enough?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to make you alert to opportunities to serve, and help you discover the satisfaction that caring for the needs of others brings.

John 13:1-17

1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.

4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?

13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.'”

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 8-12-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of August 12, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

 

The Incidence Rate decreased from 177.5 to 151.9 (a decrease of 25.6, or 14.4%) in the HIGH category for the twelfth consecutive week.

• The PCR Positivity Rate decreased from 21.8 to 17.5, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures increased in the HIGH category during the past week, moving from 173.5 to 151.3 and from 20.2% to 17.5).

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The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

Starting on March 3, 2022, for hospitals and healthcare systems, the CDC is also issuing a new “COVID-19 Community Level“ index that measures the “current potential for strain on the health system” (in other words, the ability of hospitals to take in and treat additional folks with COVID-19.)  

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

The CDC currently reports that current “COVID-19 Community Level” is now in the MEDIUM category for the second consecutive week.  This metric was adopted on March 3, 2022, reflecting on the potential availability of hospital beds for new COVID-19 cases. 

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

• Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

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• At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

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

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

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

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 21.7, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

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As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

• Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

• 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

God’s Love Demonstrated – Retreat or Rally?

Key Bible Verse: Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other, let us really show it by our actions.  – 1 John 3:18

Bonus Reading: 1 John 4:7-12, 16-17

In the fall of 2003, four independent fires raged through the Los Angeles area, with nearly 3,000 acres burning.  One fire reached Valley Center, devastating scores of families and homes.  Two families lost loved ones.  Those who lost their homes had no fallback position.

On the Saturday following “containment” of the fire, the men of Ridgeview Church decided to help out.  Instead of heading to the mountains for their annual men’s retreat, they stayed in Valley Center and spent the day cleaning scorched homes. The ensuing rains brought flooding, with erosion and mudslides. The men stayed to help with that, too.  More than 100 men gave this desperate community about 1,000 man-hours and thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies, equipment, and skill.

The people of Valley Center responded with profound gratitude for the help they received from the men of Ridgeview Church that Saturday.  But Sunday morning said it all.  Ridgeview Church was packed and filled with excitement.  And over the coming weeks, many in the community kept coming back to learn more about Christ’s awesome love for them.

We make the greatest impact for Christ when words come packaged with deeds.

—Todd Wendorff in Being God’s Man … by Claiming Your Freedom

My Response: Was canceling the men’s retreat a godly decision? Why?

Thought to Apply: Christianity demands a level of caring that transcends human inclinations.—Erwin Lutzer

Adapted from Being God’s Man … by Claiming Your Freedom (WaterBrook, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

COVID-19 – Revised CDC Guidance

Here’s a Summary of the CDC’s August 11, 2022 revised Guidance:

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• If you are exposed to COVID-19: Mask 10 days, Test on Day 5.

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c

d

c

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• If you have COVID-19:
  • Mask 10 days;
  • Isolate 10 days.
  • Stay away from people at High-Risk for 10 days.

• If Mild symptoms: Can end Isolation after Day 5 if no symptoms/fever.
• If Moderate symptoms: Isolate 10 days.
• If Severe symptoms: Isolate until doctor tells you to stop.
• If symptoms return: Restart Isolate 10 days.

c

The CDC emphasizes 2 components to protect yourself:

1.  Physical distance; and

2.   Ventilation.

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At Central Church:

For the present, we at Central Church will:

• Continue Physical distancing

• Continue Ventilation/Air Filtration

• Continue gathering Contact Tracing information (so we can keep people informed if any cases)

• Community Levels – Continue to monitor and take additional precautions when levels are High.

• If you have COVID-19:    Mask 10 days;

Isolate 10 days (unless mild symptoms end after Day 5); and

Stay away from people at High-Risk for 10 days (like the folks at Central).

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Central Church

God’s Love Demonstrated – POV Adjustment

Key Bible Verse: “Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”  – Matthew 7:12

Bonus Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

I was impatiently standing in line at the grocery store on a brutally frigid evening, anxious to get to my warm home for dinner. But the line wasn’t moving.

I waited and waited. I shifted my weight. I sighed loudly. I muttered under my breath. Still no movement. What was taking so long? Was the cashier a trainee? Was some customer chattering away to her? My blood pressure was rising fast.

Finally I looked at the head of the line to see who was daring to delay me—and I saw a tiny elderly woman slowly and painfully pulling dollar bills out of her wallet in slow motion, her hands red and raw and stiffened by the icy weather. She could barely move her fingers. Apparently she had walked to the store in the subzero weather.

Oh, man. My point of view (POV) was instantly readjusted. I glanced heavenward for forgiveness, then walked over to say, “Excuse me, ma’am, you don’t know me, but it’s cold outside and I’ve got a car. May I give you a ride home?”

This is what I’ve found: the Golden Rule becomes the most natural response in the world once you see life from the other person’s POV.

—Lee Strobel in God’s Outrageous Claims

My Response: Whose POV is God wanting me to see?

Thought to Apply: The great thing about serving the poor is that there is no competition.—Eugene Rivers (Boston pastor & social activist)

Adapted from God’s Outrageous Claims (Zondervan, 1997, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

God’s Love Demonstrated – Art Appreciation

Key Bible Verse: He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves.  – 2 Corinthians 5:15

Bonus Reading: Mark 10:42-44

Art Clark’s party was in full swing.  At least 200 people milled about, each trying to get close enough to shake his hand.  This loving man who’d brought great joy into his work was set to retire.

As I watched Art, I tried to imagine Jesus as a retiree.  What would His party have looked like?  Just like this, I thought.  Art and Jesus are a lot alike—God’s “gracious messengers of impossible love.”

I surveyed the room.  We were a hodgepodge of students and staff, young and old, children and grandparents, colleagues and neighbors, friends and family.  But different as we were, we were alike in the most important respect: we all loved Art.

Then, I shared a story about the end of a cold February workday.  I’d set out for my car through fading daylight and blowing snow.  Head down, I stepped off the drifting sidewalk, surprised to discover a cleared path ahead of me.  Someone had used a snow blower to lead me to my car.  Who did this? I wondered.

At that moment, I heard Art’s horn push through the wind.  Looking up, I watched his truck lights fading into the night, his outstretched gloved hand waving a farewell.  Impossible love?  Not for Jesus, or Art Clark.

—Clifford Denay Jr.

My Response: Someone I know whose joy in serving gladdens others is ____.

Thought to Apply: God does not so much need people to do extraordinary things as he needs people who do ordinary things extraordinarily well.—William Barclay

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

“Church Etiquette” – Wisdom from a Bygone Age

Pastor Wayne Nall Jr., Associate Pastor at Fair Haven Christ Fellowship in Cynthiana, Indiana,  writes:

 One of our church members recently brought me an old bulletin from a nearby church that she found stuck away in a book. 

 It was dated January 10, 1963.  The front of it was entitled “Church Etiquette.” 

 As I read these, I was amazed at the wisdom in many of these points.   I don’t necessarily subscribe to every one of these, but overall I found them to be quite helpful.

We live in a ultra-casual age.  Where people used to dress up for public functions, whether it was work, church, or some kind of other event, but now it’s “anything goes.”  Actually, I admit that I like some of this.  I often don’t wear a suit and tie to church, and we have members that come in all types of garb.  I would much rather someone come to church in a pair of ratty jeans and a shirt with holes in it than not come to church at all! 

However, somewhere along the line we’ve lost our way in the way we approach meeting with God.  We don’t have a nonchalant God, so we shouldn’t approach him in a nonchalant way!

These points from a bygone age are instructive to me, and I hope they may be to you as well:

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Central Church

God’s Love Demonstrated – Puzzling Presence

Key Bible Verse: I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.  – Philippians 2:20

Bonus Reading: Romans 13:8-10

I will never forget the day Arthur Clark reported to work at our local community college.  He introduced himself as “Art,” and warmly smiled as he offered a handshake.  His eyes were filled with life and laughter, empathy and understanding, kindness and compassion.  Art gave complete attention when he looked at me.  I was taken aback.  Where did this man come from? I wondered.

From God, it turned out.  Art treated folks as Jesus would have.  He didn’t preach God’s love; he demonstrated it in everyday acts of kindness and courtesy.  Throughout his 31-year career, Art’s gracious attitude never changed.  Stories of his love for students and staff alike flowed.  If a new student was lost, Art would often be seen walking him or her to the correct classroom.  He encouraged the discouraged, befriended the lonely, smiled at strangers, joked with friends, and always said yes to requests for help.

Countless times I watched him jump-start stalled student cars in the bitter cold of our northern Michigan winters.  Art always arrived on the frozen scene with a smile and battery cables poised for action.

Like Jesus, Art appeared where he was most needed and least expected.   [continued tomorrow]

—Clifford Denay Jr.

My Response: Where am I most needed this week?

Thought to Apply: Do little things as if they were great because of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ who dwells in you.—Blaise Pascal (French scientist & philosopher)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

God’s Love Demonstrated – What Fuels Them?

Key Bible Verse: “I have been a constant example of how you can help the poor by working hard.”  – Acts 20:35

Bonus Reading: Luke 10:25-37

As a cub reporter for the Chicago Tribune, I was assigned to write a 30-part series on the poor of Chicago.  Roaming the city in search of appropriate families to write about, my eyes were opened to the vast, informal network of Christians sacrificially serving the poor. I came upon food pantries, homeless shelters, clothing centers, job-training institutes, nursing homes, drug rehab programs, sports ministries for kids—all run by Christian charities.

An emergency shelter for homeless families operated by the Salvation Army especially inspired me.  I became a regular there, hanging around to talk with displaced families but also observing the volunteers who poured their lives into serving these otherwise forgotten people. For me personally, the Tribune assignment faded into the background as I began focusing on the much larger story of what was motivating these Christians to give so much of their time, energy, and money to helping others.

These volunteers weren’t serving reluctantly.  On the contrary, it appeared to energize them, flowing naturally out of their lives.  I got the sense that they simply couldn’t not serve.

As an atheist, it didn’t make sense to me.  I wanted to know why.

—Lee Strobel in God’s Outrageous Claims

My Response: When have I been energized by serving someone?

Adapted from God’s Outrageous Claims (Zondervan, 1997, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service – Central Church – The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – 8-7-2022

On this hot, humid, ninth Sunday after Pentecost, when 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! Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!    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=3201483066828401 YouTube –   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb-QNCK582M (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

God’s Love Demonstrated – Mop Duty

Who Said It…Bill Pollard

Bill Pollard began his career in corporate and tax law.  He then used this expertise as a Wheaton College vice president.

But in 1977 he joined The ServiceMaster Company, a firm that provides management services for hospitals and schools and serves the residential market under brand names such as Merry Maids, TruGreen, and Terminix.  Bill served as its CEO and now chairs its board.

He also chairs the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Executive Committee.

What He Said …Mop Duty

As a new member of the ServiceMaster leadership team, my orientation included We Serve Day. On that day every leader in the organization directly serves customers, like front-line employees do every day.

I was working in a busy corridor of Chicago’s Lutheran General Hospital. I had just set out my wet-floor signs and was about to mop the floor. Suddenly a passing woman stopped and asked me, “Aren’t you Bill Pollard?”

I responded that I was, and she identified herself as a distant relative of my wife. She looked at me and my mop, shook her head, and asked, “Aren’t you a lawyer?”

“No,” I said. “I have a new job.” Noticing other people gathering around, the embarrassed woman leaned toward me and whispered, “Is everything all right at home?”

Like the Twelve, too many shun “foot-washing” tasks that lack status but reveal a serving heart.

Adapted from The Soul of the Firm (Harper Business/Zondervan, 1996)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, please motivate me to reflect Your compassionate heart to hurting people around me.

 

Whose Will Be Done? – Following God’s Will

For new insight, try looking at a familiar Scripture passage from a fresh perspective. Take the story of the Woman at the Well—usually viewed as a case study in pointing someone to God.

Today, look at it from the angle of an exhausted Jesus and what it was that actually recharged his batteries.

This was early in Jesus’ ministry, and with His growing acclaim, He had apparently decided to withdraw from Judea to avoid immediate direct confrontation with the Pharisees.

Interact with God’s Word:  John 4:3-8 John 4:27-38

1. Based on verses 6-8, how would you picture Jesus’ physical and emotional posture at this time?
2. What did Jesus’ disciples assume would revive their exhausted rabbi?
3. What did Jesus hint (in v. 31) had already lifted His spirits?
4. How will knowing you are doing God’s will in His power (v. 34) bring a sense of fulfillment?
5. Share an example of how you felt rewarded with “good wages” and joy (v. 36) from being part of God’s planting-and-harvesting team.

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to empower you to make the shift from resisting or reluctantly accepting His will to gladly embracing it.

John 4:3-8 John 4:27-38

3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. 34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[a] for harvest.

36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 8-5-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of August 5, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

 

The Incidence Rate decreased from 209.2 to 177.5 (a decrease of 31.7, or 15.1%) in the HIGH category for the eleventh consecutive week.

• The PCR Positivity Rate increased from 14.4 to 21.8, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures increased in the HIGH category during the past week, moving from 163.4 to 173.5 and from 20.1% to 20.2).

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The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

Starting on March 3, 2022, for hospitals and healthcare systems, the CDC is also issuing a new “COVID-19 Community Level“ index that measures the “current potential for strain on the health system” (in other words, the ability of hospitals to take in and treat additional folks with COVID-19.)  

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

After four weeks in the LOW category, the CDC currently reports that current “COVID-19 Community Level” has now moved to the MEDIUM category.  This metric was adopted on March 3, 2022, reflecting on the potential availability of hospital beds for new COVID-19 cases. 

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

• Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

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• At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

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

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

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

• • 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
  • Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
  • Our current level is 25.3, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

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As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

• Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

• 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

Whose Will Be Done? – Listen to Your Coach

Key Bible Verse:  “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”  – Luke 22:42

Bonus Reading: Matthew 26:36-46

With his 2006 British Open victory, Tiger Woods had amassed victories in 11 majors, second only to Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18.  This victory was particularly emotional for Tiger with the recent loss of his father.  After his final putt he embraced his caddie and the tears fell freely.  To become the world’s best golfer, Tiger relied on his father as coach, mentor, and friend.  But I’m sure, like any other kid, there were days when Tiger simply didn’t want to practice.  Then dad was there to keep him focused on the goal.

Our Savior had a similar experience in the Garden of Gethsemane.  As He braced to shoulder the sins of the world, Jesus reached the limits of His humanity.  He cried out to His Father, pleading for another solution.  But the Father knew the ultimate goal.  Jesus relied on His Father’s perfect will and continued down the path to the cross, where He achieved an eternal victory.

Are you relying on your Father?  Do you hear His voice in desperate times?  “Don’t give up,” He whispers. “Victory is just around the corner. Keep walking with me, and we’ll make it through this.”  Listen for the encouraging words of your Coach, and you’ll be on your way to victory.

—Lane McGullion in Georgia

My Response: What might be required for God to keep me focused on His goal for me?

Thought to Apply: The basic decision, after all, is to let God be God, to say “yes” to the work of the Lord.  —Luke Timothy Johnson (monk turned theology prof)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.

 

Whose Will Be Done? – Clear Vision, Murky Path

Key Bible Verse: How can we understand the road we travel?  It is the Lord who directs our steps.  –  Proverbs 20:24

Bonus Reading: Numbers 9:15-23

As a computer professional, I worked for one company for 13 years, moving from hardware and software technician to officer and partner. Eventually I owned almost a quarter of the firm.

As my contributions to the bottom line increased, the company tried to tighten its grip on my heart.  But years ago I’d felt God’s call to deliver a message to the church.  A day would come, I believed, to leave my firm and become a full-time author.  I didn’t know how God would bring this about.  But on the side I learned the writing craft by attending conferences and producing magazine articles.

My vision remained sharp.  But my loyalty and sense of obligation to my company weighed heavily.  If I left, its survival was not assured.

Should I keep waiting? I tensely wondered.  Maybe God wants me to keep working and write part-time.  O God, show me what You want me to do!

Then God, in His mercy, solved my dilemma.  Another company, with its own computer systems, purchased ours.  Within a few months, I’d transferred our client data and transaction history.  I was then free to bow out with no harm to the firm.  And the sale provided me with money to live on as I pursued writing full-time.

—Bryan Davis in Spit and Polish for Husbands

My Response: In what situation am I waiting for God to act?

Thought to Apply: God always gives his very best to those who leave the choice with Him.—J. Hudson Taylor

Adapted from Spit and Polish for Husbands (AMG Publishers, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.

 

 

Whose Will Be Done? – Who Calls the Shots?

Key Bible Verse: “May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.”  – Matthew 6:10

Bonus Reading: John 4:31-34

What if we ask for guidance and God guides us in ways we don’t want to follow? What if we pray for wisdom and the wisdom we receive seems more like nonsense? What if we pray for patience and the answer means nothing but trouble for us?

All of this shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus hinted at the problem when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Included in that model prayer were the words [of today’s Key Bible Verse]. The basic difficulty comes clear if we lay it out in a syllogism:

1. God has a will (or desire) for your life.
2. But you also have a will (or desire) for your life.
3. Therefore, when you pray, “Your will be done,” you are asking that His will take precedence over yours.

Only one will can be done at a time. Either He is in control or you are. It’s not easy to pray like that because when you ask that God’s will be done, you’re implicitly asking that your will be overturned, if necessary. It’s not easy to pray that way when you’re standing beside the hospital bed of someone you love.

But then you’re not really in control anyway. It only seems that way.

—Ray Pritchard in The Incredible Journey of Faith

My Response: In what situation am I now prepared to pray, “Your will be done”?

Thought to Apply: Ninety-five percent of knowing the will of God consists in being prepared to do it before you know what it is.—Donlad Grey Barnhouse (Philadelphia pastor)

Adapted from The Incredible Journey of Faith (Crossway, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.

 

Whose Will Be Done? – Accepting Helplessness

Key Bible Verse: But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God.”  – Psalm 31:14

Bonus Reading: Psalm 31:9-20

[continued from yesterday]  Hearing my pregnant wife’s cancer diagnosis taught me what it meant to pray, “Your will, not mine.”

As much as I wanted Cathy’s health restored and a healthy baby, I knew there was nothing I could do to affect the outcome.  Accustomed to forcing outcomes at work and at home, here I was truly powerless.  It frustrated me, but, at the same time, offered an unexpected peace.  For once in my life, I had to place it all in God’s hands. I had no alternative; there was nothing more I could do.

Despite the chaos of having a healthy newborn and a wife drained from weeks of chemo and radiation treatments, I rejoiced as my daughter, Ellen, and Cathy progressed in their growth and recovery. I was ecstatic that, in this case, God’s will was to ordain an outcome that matched my own desires.

In the process, He taught me what true obedience felt like. Now, when I face much more trivial instances of wanting my will done, I remember that turning the situation over to God gives a sense of power in the midst of weakness. Sometimes the first step to accepting God’s blessings is setting my desires aside to receive them.

—Tom Petersen in Iowa

My Response: How has God responded in my life when I’ve prayed, “Your will be done,” and meant it?

Thought to Apply: The will of God is either a burden we carry or a power which carries us.—Corrie Ten Boom (Dutch concentration camp survivor)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.

 

Effective Stewardship – August 2022 Theme

Our August 2022 Stewardship Theme:

“Coercion” is action which makes us do something, usually by force or threat or punishment. For example, the threat of a ticket or the fine which results causes us to regularly check our speed when driving. We are “coerced” into obeying the law, whether we want to or not.

Some people give to God because of coercion. They envision God as a glorified “bully” who is seeking to extract from them some of their hard-earned money. They reason, howbeit incorrectly, that if they fail to give to Him, then somehow, divine punishment will result.

That concept is totally foreign to the Scriptures. In fact, as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, God wants us to give not because we have to, out of fear, or because we are required to do so. Rather, His desire is for us to give because we want to, because we have decided in our hearts to give in a manner which makes our giving something to be richly enjoyed.

Search the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, and you will discover God’s universal principle concerning giving: Give willingly from the heart. Not because someone is “coercing” you to give. Not because in a moment of emotional duress you made a commitment to give. Not because you desire to avoid punishment or discipline. Give because you want to, because you’ve decided in your heart to give.

A gentleman known as “Chaplain McCabe” was seeking to raise a million dollars for missions. In his quest, he often struggled with discouragement and disappointment as he encountered tight-fisted Christians who refused to give to God. One day, while going through the mail, he came across a tattered note from a young boy. Written in a boyish scrawl and liberally punctuated with blots, the letter read: “I’m sure you’re going to get a million dollars for missions. And I’m going to help you get it, too. So here’s a nickel towards it. It’s all I’ve got right now, but if you need any more, just call on me.”

Chaplain McCabe told that wonderful story around the world, and it was greatly used by God to challenge people everywhere to give literally millions of dollars to missions. As far as we know, no one forced that young boy to give all he had or even to write a letter. No one pressured him to part with his nickel. He did so willingly because somewhere in the recesses of his heart, he had decided to do so.

As you consider the Central United Methodist Church ministry and all that takes place in and through our church for God’s glory, will you do the same? Will you give “not reluctantly or under compulsion,” but willingly from the heart, with the full realization that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7)?

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Central Church

Whose Will Be Done? – Unwelcome News

Key Bible Verse: If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.  – Isaiah 50:10

Bonus Reading: Isaiah 40:27-31

Cathy and I were thrilled when the doctor confirmed her pregnancy.  Married for only a few years, we’d been praying for a child and were giddy at the prospect of this first addition to our family.

Time passed quickly until about six months into the pregnancy.  In addition to the usual odd cravings and inability to go more than 20 minutes without a bathroom break, Cathy assumed her night sweats and the lump growing on her neck were related to her pregnancy.  Conversations with our doctor provided no clear information.

Finally we pressed the issue.  She referred us to a surgeon to take a tissue sample.

We met with an oncologist after the biopsy. Cathy, he grimly informed us, had Hodgkin’s disease. The bottom fell out of our happy world.

The oncologist recommended inducing her pregnancy, in hopes that the seven-month-old fetus was old enough to survive.  That would clear the way for Cathy to begin chemotherapy treatments without further delay.

Suddenly, the pending joy of a baby’s birth was overshadowed by the coming struggle to defeat the cancer—and the uncertain final outcome. [continued tomorrow]

—Tom Petersen in Iowa

My Response: When have I found it hard to trust God?

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to accept your “good and pleasing, and perfect” will, even when that runs counter to my natural desires.