Thanks for Pastors

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

This scripture is the verse of the day on BibleGateway.com, which I often use to look up Bible verses. The first part is familiar to us as it's similar to the words spoken by our pastors in the prayer before the sermon in worship services.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month and we're asked to take action to let our pastors know how important they are to us. It doesn't have to be much-just telling them we appreciate them can be enough. Any of us who are employed probably wish we were thanked more often for our work. We have the chance to let our pastors know we're grateful for them.

I found a poem by Judy Crowe for pastor appreciation month, and the first and last verses state (with a little editing):

Have you ever walked in our pastors' shoes,

And gone where their feet have trod?

Have you ever thought of what they mean to us,

And on your knees, given thanks to God?

Eastridge is blessed with two pastors who have different gifts to share with us. Let us remember throughout the year to give thanks to God for their service with us.  

(And even though there is no staff appreciation month, let us remember and give thanks for the staff members who support the pastors.)

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for sending Melodie and Thomas to serve our church at this place and time. Help us to remember each day that they are here to guide us on our journey. And help us to let them know we are thankful for them. Amen.

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)

God Owns it All

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another he gave two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Mathew 25:14-15

Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matthew 8:20

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. Matthew 27:57-59

That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. John 3:15

Bruce Wilkinson in “30 Days to Discovering Personal Victory Through Holiness” states:

"Sixteen out of thirty-eight of Christ’s parables deal with money; more is said in the New Testament about money than heaven and hell combined; five times more is said about money than prayer; and while there are five hundred plus verses on both prayer and faith, there are over two thousand verses dealing with money and possessions."

Depending on our talents, we all receive differing amounts of wealth on this world, and we sometimes think we don’t have enough and sometimes we think we have enough to give to others, but do we really realize that none of it is ours anyway.

Bruce Wilkinson also states:

"If you own your own home, take a walk around your property to get a feel for the reality of this principle. Reflect on how long that dirt has been there and how long it will continue to be there; then ask yourself if you really own it or whether you merely possess it. You may have the title to it, but that title reflects your right to possess it temporarily, not forever. Only God literally owns it forever."

Now think about Jesus, God’s son. He came to earth as a tiny baby lying in a manger in the stable. He had nowhere to lay his head. Because He had no money to pay the tax, he had to catch a fish with the necessary coin in its mouth. He had no home, no money, no possessions and when he died, his body was buried in a tomb belonging to another man, named Joseph of Arimathea.

We become rich through his homelessness because he offers us the way to heaven.

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven, help us to realize you made the earth and the people that reside here. Help us to know our lives here are not about how much we possess, as Jesus demonstrated, but the fact that you came here and died for us so we can eternal life with you. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Nature, Life and Being

Nature, Life, and Being by Joy Mead (Wild Goose Big Book of Worship Resources, pg 147-151)

Be gentle as you walk on the good earth,

our home and lifegiver. Touch with kindness

all that has being and shares with you this sacred space.

Smell the subtle scent

of bluebells in the spring; hear the summer wind

in the grass, feel it

light on your back;

touch the trees,

sense their nearness. Know the fragility

of wondrous plants.

Listen with care

to the blackbird’s song,

the lark’s morning joy

and the cuckoo’s haunting call. Hold in your heart

these sounds of life.

Let the precious wetness

of falling rain baptise you. Breathe deeply, fill your lungs with the air that keeps you alive; understand the need

to sustain its breathability.

Be still and connect in the silence

what you are

with what you value.

Never overvalue your own significance nor undervalue it. Know yourself

one small, vulnerable part.

Feel your feet on the earth

and know the joy of your place in the natural world.

Know our human need for beauty.

We fall in love with all life in beautiful places.

Rediscover your sense of wonder and share it with others –

it might yet be our salvation.

Give attention to life’s littleness – contemplate what it means

to honour the small things –

the seeds and sunlight –

that sustain our wider being.

Learn to simply be and live wholly where you are, and who you are and who you are with.

You, you’re another me; me ... I’m another you. We’re neither subject nor object. We’re one with each other

and the world.

On this sense of equality our survival may depend.

Love life as you live it. Don’t try to outdo it.

Let beauty break through your frantic need to do.

We’re the between people, the people on the edge

of catastrophe.

Our obsessive doing

may be our destruction. But we have, it seems, one last chance to save ourselves and honour our beautiful earth.

Look at your own hands,

small but with infinite possibilities.

Big problems need small solutions.

Put out your hand to those who have gone. Their wisdom and faithfulness stays with us.

Be prophetic and creative; reach out to those

who are to come

with love in your heart.

Listen, feel, touch and smell; think and imagine –

these are sacred acts.

Real life is what it is

not what you might be told it is. Listen to the earth

and life as you meet it.

Watch and never turn away. Discern what is needful.

Seek to overcome the greedy child who is inside each one of us

and would take to itself

what belongs to all.

We can no longer sleep unaware nor be silent while others sleep. May the sound of our own voices disturb our foolish slumber.

Awake and see!

Awake and tell what you see! Awake and seek

a sustainable and fairer future for all life on earth.

Shared by Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon, Senior Pastor

Words from the book of Peter

 

All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  For,

“Whoever would love life

    and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

    and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;

    they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. 1 Peter 3:10-22

Spreading Kindness

 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Luke 6:31 

I have a former co-worker who has started a church in our community, the focus of this church is on being a good neighbor. You might have seen this church on the local news when they started meeting at an apartment complex clubhouse.  Or heard about this church when the Mister Rogers movie with Tom Hanks came out last year. As I have mentioned before, with virtual church, we sometimes attend more than one church service in a week, sometimes more than one in a single day.  At that church’s service this week, the musician sang a song called Revolutionary by Josh Wilson. If you keep up with current Christian music maybe you have heard it. The music is lovely and the lyrics really lead to introspection.  The chorus of the song returns to “Why does kindness seem revolutionary, when did we let hate get so ordinary”. The artist wrote it to document all of the turmoil we experienced in 2020 and efforts for us to overcome this through kindness, collaboration and perspective.  

We have a lovely and eccentric gentleman who lives down the street from us. He is single, retired, served more than 40 years in the national guard and has been deployed many times. He always has older cars that seem to be in jeopardy of falling apart. When they will cost more to repair than what he paid for them he leaves them where they die. Monday very early as I pulled out of our driveway this neighbor was pulling into the neighborhood and his car was shooting flames out the back (imagine Back to the Future). As he turned onto his street he realized that the car was on fire. I yelled to him to park and get out while I called 911. He ran into his home to get the fire extinguisher but by then the car was too far engulfed. We stood together in our driveway as we waited for the Fire Department to arrive and we hoped that they could maybe salvage his belongings, even if the car was no longer drivable. Sadly, the car and virtually everything in it was a total loss. The fire investigator found that he had driven oven a sign post on the highway that someone else had hit and it punctured his gas tank. The post created the spark for the gas and he was lucky to escape when he did. 

Our neighborhood is amazing. People came to make sure he was ok, one of our neighbors has an older vehicle they will be selling (exactly the kind of on-its-last-legs cars that he likes) and people were quick to help with clean-up. They also shared with him how glad they were that he was ok. As Brian and I talked about this throughout the last few days we mentioned this song and the fact that our experience, even in this terrible event, reflects the kind of Nebraska that we want to live in.  And the kind of country that we want to live in. A place where when a tragedy strikes people call for help, and they support each other. A place where we tell our neighbors – I’m glad you are safe. A place where a police officer gently asks questions of an older gentleman moments after a shocking event and commiserates with him about the wallet that was on the front seat of the car – and is now burned up. A place where kindness isn’t that unusual.  

Prayer: Creator God, thank you for watching over us. Thank you for helping us spread your love and your kindness to our families, friends, neighbors and strangers. Help us to increase the spread of kindness everywhere that we go. Amen    

Christi Moock  (reprinted from 2021)        

Hungry

...As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 

"For I was hungry and you gave me food." Matthew 25:35

And the King will answer them, "Truly I tell you just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Matthew 25:40 

A week or so ago a group of us met with people from other local churches to participate in the Kids Against Hunger program by packing meals that will be shipped all over the world. The person who oriented us provided a little background information about the program, but I decided to learn more. Here is what I found out.

Mission: Kids Against Hunger is a humanitarian food-aid organization whose mission is to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the USA and to feed starving children throughout the world. It is not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. In order to achieve this goal the approach includes packaging highly nutritious, vitamin-fortified soy-rice casseroles. They are distributed to people in over 60 countries through partnerships with humanitarian organizations throughout the world.

The International Headquarters offices are located in Omaha, NE. There are also offices in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri as well as 75 independent non-profit packaging satellites across the US and Canada. Last year volunteers at Kids Against Hunger packaged forty million meals.

The vitamin formula is proprietary and is the "secret sauce" of 21 essential vitamins and minerals that goes into the food. Food scientists have determined that this formula is the most easily digestible by a malnourished child. To prepare the meals the contents just need to be boiled in water. The bags are specifically made from moisture-proof odor-proof material to prevent spoilage and insect or rodent problems. Kids Against Hunger meals have a shelf life of at least three years.

As you enjoy your evening meals this week please remember all those who feed the hungry with the foremost being Jesus the Christ.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us Jesus's example of feeding the hungry. Please remind us to reach out to help those organizations who provide food for the needy here and around the world. In Jesus Name, we pray, Amen.

Kathy Kuehn (reprinted from 2015)  

Words from Philippians

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9