Sunday Afternoon Ramblings (Tuesday Edition)

Man, this is a late post! Sorry about that, but here are some thoughts on Sunday’s services!

First off, I want to thank Jerry A for helping with the snow removal at the church. After 16 inches of snow fell last week, the help was appreciated! I also appreciated Donna A for cleaning the church last week. Without their help, we would have had a real mess Sunday!

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Norma W for orchestrating the adult Sunday School Christmas party Saturday night. A great time was had by all, and I was overjoyed to see three guests, including two complete newcomers to our church. It is this kind of outreach which is absolutely critical to the continued growth of our congregation!

Speaking of Sunday School, I want to take a moment this week to highlight our Sunday School team. These women and man study and prepare diligently all week long so that they can share something meaningful with us, and they do a tremendous job! The team includes, in no particular order, Tien K (nursery) Keith I (elementary), Pastor Sharon (youth), Nicole G (adults), and Norma W (adults). This week, Pastor Sharon and Keith were at a funeral in Indiana, so I was honored to sit in with their classes, and I was reminded again how much work goes in to preparing an effective Sunday School lesson. If you’re not a part of our Sunday School ministry, I would strongly encourage you to get involved! We have classes for all ages, so you can be a student. All you have to do is show up at 9:15 am on Sunday! And if you’re really daring, we have an opening for one Sunday School teacher in the lower elementary age group. If you’re interested in helping out there, contact Nicole G at ngeerdes@woodward-granger.k12.ia.us.

On to the worship service. And what a wonderful service it was! Our attendance was off by a combination of weather and illness, but Adoration did a wonderful job leading those of us who were able to be there into a spirit of worship. As the service continued, Nicole G’s offertory was that Christmas song that I know only as Charlie Brown’s. I love hearing that song every year! And I must confess that classic Christmas carols such as “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful,” “What Child Is This?” and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” never fail to bring me into the Christmas spirit.

I am always excited to talk about the ramifications of the Incarnation, i.e., the advent of the Christ. There is no other religion on the planet that gets to talk about a God who was willing to donn humanity, live among His creation for a time, and then die to ransom them from sin. The hope which is represented in the Christmas account impacts every area of our lives, and I love to share that with others. That said, this week’s message came at an extremely appropriate time! The financial crisis in our nation has affected almost every one of us directly. At the very least, we all know someone who has been impacted. To hear the truth that Jesus came as a poor carpenter’s son, then, offers a profound dose of hope. Jesus, the Son of God, knew all about poverty! And He could speak to the issue directly because He had lived with it almost His entire earthly life.

So, just to reiterate what He had to say about finances, we must ensure that money is not our biggest concern in life. Greed is a sly and wily enemy which sneaks into our lives and takes over everything because we have a natural tendency to think our share is bigger than it probably should be, but there are many more important things in life! We must not worry. Whether we have much or very little, it is easy to start to worry about financial issues, especially if we watch the news at all. But worry accomplishes nothing, God has promised to take care of the stuff we need if we’ll follow Him first and foremost, and we don’t have to be afraid. Instead, with a confident faith, we should give away the stuff we don’t need to people who do. And we must always be faithful, ready to serve our Master at every opportunity because He is coming again, and we will be held accountable for the work we have been called to do, regardless of how much money we have (or don’t).

This week, then, the challenge before us is very simple. All around us, especially at this time of year, we are bombarded with the message that we need stuff. And then, inevitably, after the first of the year, we start to worry about all the bills we racked up. As you prepare for Christmas, try to keep things simple. Focus on God and let Him provide what you absolutely need instead of concentrating on all the stuff the world tells us we want. Do His will, and keep finances and wealth in their proper perspective.

God is good! And I am ecstatic about what He has coming up for Debra Heights Wesleyan! As we come up on the new year, I truly believe that God is on the verge of doing something great before our very eyes, and we will be talking about it all in more detail in the days and weeks to come.