Monday Morning Musings | October 28, 2019

Last week was rather eventful. As many may know, I serve as president of the Lower Beaver Neighborhood Association. On Monday, the association held its October general meeting, during which our city councilman announced his intention to revisit the proposal to extend an area thoroughfare to the interstate north of us, cutting through the eastern edge of our neighborhood. (More on that in another post, later this week.) On Tuesday, we held the final Celebrate Recovery meeting (for now) at DHWC. The meeting was a celebration of what God has done in and through this ministry, and everyone enjoyed the ice cream sundae bar! Wednesday, I had “coffee” with a dear friend and colleague, John Kline of Zion Lutheran Church. That evening, the Adventure Club and Youth Group met. Thursday night, the kids had parent-teacher conferences. Friday, I met in the morning with Linda M about starting a church newsletter (details will be forthcoming in the near future) and held a wedding rehearsal in the evening. And Saturday, I officiated the wedding of Alexis (Greg and Sheri K’s granddaughter) and Bryce Hagner.

So like I said, the week was literally event-full.

Yesterday’s service, I thought, went well. This sermon series that we’re in, Reconciled, has just been so powerful! There has not been one week of this series that I haven’t heard someone say, “Wow, Pastor. I needed to hear that.” Yesterday, we dug into Matthew 18:21-35 and Jesus’ Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and discovered that, while we often ask the same question Peter did – “How many times shall I forgive?” – we should be asking a different question altogether: “How much have I been forgiven by Jesus?” The reality is that we each carry an insurmountable debt of sin, and the things which hurt us, significant though they may be, pale in comparison. We, therefore, must stop keeping score of how many wrongs others have committed against us and start forgiving simply because we’ve been forgiven.

Speaking of yesterday’s service, we had 43 in worship. What excites me is that this number is increasingly normal for our congregation! Indeed, year-over-year, DHWC has grown more than 12%. While some may point to our attendance and note that this represents an increase of only four people, I would remind those people of Matthew 18:13, which reads in part, “If he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep.” The whole of heaven rejoices over these four people to whom we are privileged to minister! Others may take exception to the fact that we even keep track of such things, insisting that we are focusing on numbers and such. But I assure you, each of those four people has a name and a face and a soul. We rejoice in this growth because it represents people who are loved by God!

Speaking of which, here are some other numbers. Within one mile of our facility, there are more than 6500 people living. If we extend that out to 2 miles, it’s well over 25,000 people. An estimated 60% of these do not know Jesus. So while we have seen some growth over the last few years, it is imperative that we not rest now! What can we do to make a dent in that number? Well, here are just a few things coming up in the next few weeks:

• Oct 30 / 6-8p: Trunk or Treat. Invite friends. It will be fun.
• Nov 6 / 6:30p: Wednesday night Discover Group kickoff. We’ll be talking about the past Sunday’s sermon and digging into the passage for the next Sunday. It’s going to be fun!
• Nov 17 / 10:30a: Harvest Dinner. Our friends from First Church of the Nazarene will join us in worship, and then we’ll all enjoy a classic turkey dinner.
• Dec 1 / 4:30p: Hanging of the Greens & Soup Cookoff. Decorate the church for Advent and then vote for your favorite soup. It’s just a great time, especially if you win the trophy!
• Dec 24 / 6:30p: Christmas Eve service. Scripture. Carols. Candles.

We’re also looking to schedule a time to go Christmas caroling again this year. A great time was had by all when we went out last year! So let me know if you’re interested in joining that.

This week, I am going to do something a little different than normal. Later this week, I am going to go on a personal day retreat. This will involve me disappearing for a day. I will probably spend it reading, hiking, and maybe a little fishing. We shall see. But this is something I have been meaning to do for months to re-center myself after the conclusion of my seminary studies. It has been postponed by two weeks by different things that were on the to-do list, but finally, I will take a day, rest and recharge, and mostly bask in the presence of the Most High.

Today’s featured image is a couple of the Adventure Club kids from this past Wednesday. Before things began, they were having a great time preaching and singing karaoke. More than a few laughs were shared!

Oh, and here’s a bonus pic. When I estimated my final GPA a couple weeks ago, I forgot to account for 6 credits I received for Advanced Standing. So, my GPA was better than I estimated!