Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

Last week we experienced an earthquake centered in New Jersey, with it felt out into Lancaster County, Delaware and other areas around us.  There was also a major earthquake in Taiwan last week.  While these things are concerning, and we should be praying for those affected, they are normal, natural events that happen often.

Yet a church couldn’t wait to put up a sign about earthquakes being a sign of the end times. 

The scriptures tell us that there will be wars and rumors of wars (which has happened throughout human history), earthquakes and all kinds of other things.  But we should not be afraid.

Looking for the “signs of the end times” is a waste.  Jesus did not tell us about the end times to scare us, rather to empower us.  He sends us on a mission that we must do.  It is an imperative, not because the end is nigh, but because His love is needed (whether we are speaking about the time Jesus walked the earth or today).

We have a choice.  We can be scared and hide behind the biblical prophecies, or we can embrace them going out boldly with the good news that God loves us, God forgives us and God strengthens us.

As you journey through this week, be bold and courageous.  Be filled with Christ’s love and do not be afraid. 

May the peace of Christ be with you,

Pastor Bill

³For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

He is still risen.  While the world moves on from the Easter (buying) season and candy will be discounted at the rack, it is still Easter.  Liturgically speaking, the season lasts 50 days, until Pentecost.  Realistically, however, Easter, rather the resurrection is everlasting.

We tend to get highly invested in the holiest times in the church, but then let the message slip away.  Christmas brings the Incarnation – God coming as human, and Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection – which we are to witness daily in our lives.

The true resurrection power is not only about where we go after we die, but in living as resurrected people – people already redeemed by Jesus, going out into the world to share His love and forgiveness.

This Easter season live with the power and take it beyond Pentecost.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

Holy Week Prayer

This is the most important week in the history of the church.  Beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Holy Saturday, this is the week Jesus enters Jerusalem, offers the Last Supper, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and is arrested then crucified on Good Friday. 

Click on the link each day for a prayer service:

Monday Prayer           https://youtu.be/ETX6KgnQBKc
Tuesday Prayer           https://youtu.be/RNSk4q4Qt-Q
Wednesday Prayer      https://youtu.be/klogiBMsDzM
Thursday Prayer         https://youtu.be/A_uwZf2zJWs
Friday Prayer              https://youtu.be/aODpVHlzaXs
Saturday Prayer          https://youtu.be/7gsNaxzXkFc

Peace,
Pastor Bill 

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.  Matthew 6:30-31

Come away and rest a while.  It is practical advice that touches our whole self, body, mind and spirit.  We need to find rest.  We need to find time away from all the things that need doing, all the stressors in our lives, all the things that can take away every precious minute.  Sometimes we need to just stop, walk away from what we are doing, breathe deeply, stretch and meditate.

We have a few more weeks of Lent.  If you are not already practicing the disciplines, it is not too late to start.  Carve ten minutes from your schedule (and we can all carve ten minutes).  Step away from your work, find a deserted place and rest a while.  Then allow the Spirit to refresh your soul.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

I lift up my eyes to the hills —from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and for evermore. Psalm 121

Monday morning and so far, the day has started off like it is Monday morning. A garbage truck rolled through the neighborhood extra early, there were other noises throughout the night, we are sleepy and dragging.  And two cars are giving us issues.

It is one of those days we just wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, but the schedules do not allow that.  Instead, we plug through.

Or we lift up our eyes.

There are two ways to face a “Monday Morning”.  We can grumble through it, or we can look to the good.  The birds are chirping, our first group of daffodils have bloomed and no matter how much is on the “to do” list, God is still here.  The maker of heaven and earth is still here, still sustaining me, still walking with me.  And with you.  And that makes all the difference.  Have a great Monday morning.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

How is your Lenten season going?  Did you begin Ash Wednesday with great plans for daily scripture, prayer and fasting?  Are you doing it, or do some days just get too busy?

Truthfully, it is sometimes hard to begin a new routine of prayer and meditation, especially if our daily lives do not (or in many cases, cannot) change.  Yet are there some areas where we are conforming to the demands of the world instead of renewing ourselves?

Paul calls us to be transformed, to allow the Spirit to change us for the better.  The Lenten journey is a great time for this, and if you have not started yet, or got off track, no problem, just begin again.  Keep trying, keep working and allow God to make those changes.

As you travel through these Lenten days, keep your eyes upon the Lord.  Make those little changes that give you more time for God.  Notice God in the budding flowers, the change in the winter sky, the feel of the coming spring.  Find God in the eyes of those around you, even strangers.  Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6).

Peace,

Pastor Bill

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?  Can we all agree on everything, especially with a church so fractured, so divided among so many thoughts. 

Somehow I don’t think that’s what Paul was saying, yet he is calling the church at Corinth, and the entire church, to a higher ethic. 

Do you have a disagreement with church leadership?  Do you have an issue with a fellow members?  Consider Paul’s instruction, pray about it and then follow the way of Jesus to resolve things.  Do not let some minor issue fester until it becomes a break in fellowship.

During this Lenten journey, take time to pray about these things, decide if they are truly an issue, and if not, lay them at the foot of the cross. If they truly are a divide, go to the person and find a godly way to resolve your differences.  After all, the real enemy is not the church member you disagree with, rather the one who wants to destroy the church.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Psalm 5:7

Often people joke with me saying if they walked into a church the ceiling would crumble, or some other such “devastation”.  It is a way of saying they don’t attend worship – and deep down, there is something they have done or are doing that preclude them from the sanctuary.

It may be a joke from someone who just doesn’t want to go to church, yet deep inside there is something else.  Many people just do not feel that they are good enough to be in the holy space.  They believe their sinfulness makes them unworthy of God’s love.

Yet the psalmist makes it clear – we, through God’s love, can come into God’s house.  It is not about our holiness, rather God’s holiness and grace.  It is not about how good or bad we are, rather how much God loves us and wants our presence.

Our worth is not determined by us, rather by God for it is in God’s image we are created, and God’s actions we can be forgiven and redeemed.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most recognized prayers in all history.  Jesus gave us this prayer as a gift.  Having difficulty in praying?  Say the Lord’s Prayer.  Need to pray with a group?  Say the Lord’s Prayer.  Want to know how God wants us to live?  Say the Lord’s Prayer. 

Once I made an emergency visit to a church member actively dying.  He had dementia and did not know who I was, nor did he say anything to me during the visit.  Until I prayed the Lord’s Prayer.  He joined with me in every word.  This was the last time we spent together on this earth, and it was powerful.  This prayer was a gift of grace from Jesus at that moment.

When we slow down and focus on each line of the prayer, we are not praying in vain or repetition, rather we are declaring our faith in God, and our desire to follow God’s will.

As you journey through this week, consider the Lord’s Prayer.  Say it slowly, meditate over each line, each word and allow the prayer to change you.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

 Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” ⁴⁹The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. ⁵¹As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. ⁵²So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” ⁵³The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. ⁵⁴Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.  John 4:46-54.

The sermon on Sunday charged us all to pray for our neighbors and co-workers, even people we do not know, even people who do not believe in Whom we believe.  Here is a foundational scripture for this.

The royal official, probably a Roman citizen, had a sick son.  He heard about Jesus, but there is no reason to believe he was a follower.  He just asked Jesus to heal his son. 

Jesus doesn’t even ask him to follow, he just heals the son.  This is one of the many times in John’s gospel where Jesus heals outside of Israel.  Jesus’ ministry is world-wide, He is there for everyone, even those who do not know him.

Today, say a prayer for someone you know, even if they do not believe in God.  Pray for their needs and ask God to bless them. 

Peace,

Pastor Bill