Pastor’s Column. Easter is late this year, April 24. It never comes at the right time. It’s either late or early. Here are some pertinent dates.
March 8. Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the last day of feast and frolic before the Lenten season. If you find yourself in New Orleans, tomorrow morning it’s time to head home.
March 9. Ash Wednesday - the name comes from the Old Testament, “sackcloth and ashes” - the first day of Lent. No service at Grace. Lent consists of the 40 days and 6 Sundays ending Saturday noon prior to Easter. The name comes from the old English “lencten,” which means “lengthening” of the days of spring. The mood of Lent is discipline, perhaps doing something positive rather than doing without something. The color is violet.
March 13. First Sunday of Lent. Communion. What are you giving up or taking up?
March 27. Ministerial Alliance Lenten service held at Grace Sunday evening. Terry Crank of…
April 10. Symbols of Easter at the end of the morning worship service.
April 17. Chancel Choir Contata, “Whispers of …
April 21. Maundy Thursday seder service for families and children in Fellowship Hall. Eat before you come. We will have the elements of Jesus last supper with his disciples, but it’s not enough to make a meal.
April 24. Easter, the holiest day of the Christian year! Due to declining attendance at the early service, Grace will have only one service, 10:45.
May 8. The Grace Youth Group will be in charge of the service in Rev. Johnson’s absence. It will be a contemporary music/style format. Children and youth, bring your moms on her day! - DJ
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Pastor's Column Feb. 21, 2011
Like many organizations, the church has a vocabulary that is largely its own. The following is just a portion.
- Amen. The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
- Choir. A group of people who singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-synch.
- Incense. Holy smoke.
- Jonah. The G-Rated version of “Jaws”.
- Justice. When your kids have kids of their own.
- Magi. The first three men to ever attend a baby shower.
- Pew. A medieval torture device still found in some churches.
- Ushers. The only people in church who don’t know the seating capacity of a pew.
- Mercy. What worshipers give one another by turning off their cell-phones.
- Manger. Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph had no medical insurance.
- Ten Commandments. The most important Top Ten List not given by David Letterman. Also more important than any of the lists he gives.
- Religious relic. A person who has been going to church for so long that he/she knows all the responses. -DJ
- Amen. The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
- Choir. A group of people who singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-synch.
- Incense. Holy smoke.
- Jonah. The G-Rated version of “Jaws”.
- Justice. When your kids have kids of their own.
- Magi. The first three men to ever attend a baby shower.
- Pew. A medieval torture device still found in some churches.
- Ushers. The only people in church who don’t know the seating capacity of a pew.
- Mercy. What worshipers give one another by turning off their cell-phones.
- Manger. Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph had no medical insurance.
- Ten Commandments. The most important Top Ten List not given by David Letterman. Also more important than any of the lists he gives.
- Religious relic. A person who has been going to church for so long that he/she knows all the responses. -DJ
Monday, February 14, 2011
Pastor’s Column February 13, 2011
Os Guinness says in his book, The Call, that the one issue that comes up more so than any others is this: How do I find and fulfill the central purpose of my life? Who am I? What is the meaning of life itself?
We desire to make a difference. We long to leave a legacy. Our passion is to know that we’re fulfilling the purpose for which we are here. If we don’t satisfy this deep longing, we can live “lives of quiet desperation.”
In an early draft of Dostoevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov, the Inquisitor gives this account of what happens to the human soul when it doubts its purpose: “For the secret of man’s being is not only to live… but to live for something definite.”
For us Christians, this something definite is God’s calling. Our purpose can be found only when we discover the specific purpose for which we were created and to which we are called. Answering the call of our Creator is the “ultimate why” for living, the highest source of purpose in human existence.
Many Christians think only of pastors as being “called.” Not so. When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he’s inviting everyone, not just professional church workers, to join in a way of life in which “everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and energy.”
We’ll be looking at God’s calling and what this means to us in coming weeks. - DJ
We desire to make a difference. We long to leave a legacy. Our passion is to know that we’re fulfilling the purpose for which we are here. If we don’t satisfy this deep longing, we can live “lives of quiet desperation.”
In an early draft of Dostoevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov, the Inquisitor gives this account of what happens to the human soul when it doubts its purpose: “For the secret of man’s being is not only to live… but to live for something definite.”
For us Christians, this something definite is God’s calling. Our purpose can be found only when we discover the specific purpose for which we were created and to which we are called. Answering the call of our Creator is the “ultimate why” for living, the highest source of purpose in human existence.
Many Christians think only of pastors as being “called.” Not so. When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he’s inviting everyone, not just professional church workers, to join in a way of life in which “everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and energy.”
We’ll be looking at God’s calling and what this means to us in coming weeks. - DJ
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
PASTOR'S COLUMN Feb. 5, 2011
Can you distinguish among humanism, religion at its worst, and following Jesus?
• Our plans plus our power = Humanism
• Our plans plus God’s power = Religion (at its worst)
• God’s purpose plus God’s power = Following Jesus
It is easy to fall into the pattern of seeking God’s power to help with our plans (religion at its worst). How might we avoid this trap and follow Jesus instead? By remembering that God is always ahead of us, never behind us. We don’t tell God what to do but ask what God wants us to do. A healthy human life always begins with prayer. What is God’s purpose for my life? How will God’s grace empower me to fulfill his purpose?
A three-year-old was told by her parents that God was sending her a baby sister. Months later when the three-year-old was introduced to her newborn sibling, she said, “Hi, there, baby sister! Tell me what God is like because I’m forgetting.” Not only do we forget what God is like, but we forget the basic ordering of life. God leads, we follow. Prayer is part of how we know where God is leading, but there is more. Beginning next Sunday we will begin a series of sermons titled, God’s Guidance in a World That’s All OverThe Place.
We will be looking at a variety of issues. How involved should we be when it comes to determining God’s will for our lives? Can we over-analyze what God wants of us? Does God guide us to what we want or what we need? Do we just talk, talk, talk in our prayers, or do we actually listen for God’s voice? Does God have more of a purpose for our lives than a detailed plan for our lives?
• Our plans plus our power = Humanism
• Our plans plus God’s power = Religion (at its worst)
• God’s purpose plus God’s power = Following Jesus
It is easy to fall into the pattern of seeking God’s power to help with our plans (religion at its worst). How might we avoid this trap and follow Jesus instead? By remembering that God is always ahead of us, never behind us. We don’t tell God what to do but ask what God wants us to do. A healthy human life always begins with prayer. What is God’s purpose for my life? How will God’s grace empower me to fulfill his purpose?
A three-year-old was told by her parents that God was sending her a baby sister. Months later when the three-year-old was introduced to her newborn sibling, she said, “Hi, there, baby sister! Tell me what God is like because I’m forgetting.” Not only do we forget what God is like, but we forget the basic ordering of life. God leads, we follow. Prayer is part of how we know where God is leading, but there is more. Beginning next Sunday we will begin a series of sermons titled, God’s Guidance in a World That’s All OverThe Place.
We will be looking at a variety of issues. How involved should we be when it comes to determining God’s will for our lives? Can we over-analyze what God wants of us? Does God guide us to what we want or what we need? Do we just talk, talk, talk in our prayers, or do we actually listen for God’s voice? Does God have more of a purpose for our lives than a detailed plan for our lives?
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