What is Your Story?

The people of God were commanded to keep the story alive of their deliverance from Egypt and the coming into the land of promise. The idea of “story” has been on my mind lately. I have been reflecting on the stories of those who have recently passed on. Someone real close to me shared about a part of their story that really encouraged me. There was a missing part to their story and now they have this particular part included in the story. We all have a “story” about our life. Many times we share a part of our story with other people. Some parts of our story are real clear and some parts (usually painful) are not as easily remembered. As Christians, we have our faith story that is very important to our overall story of our lives. When someone passes, it is usually family and close friends that share the parts of the story of the loved one that passes. I keep thinking, “What would I want my family and friends to remember about me?” What would I like to remember about myself? Some years ago I did a detailed time line of my life. It came at a time that I was wanting better clarity about who I am and what I want for my life. As I looked over my “story” it was amazing to see how different events and situations shaped who I am. If you are able to read this blog then the good news is that your story is still being “written”! I want you to think about your story and how your are “writing” even now for the rest of your life. What do you want in your story’s future? Where is Christ in your future? I don’t know about you, but I want to finish my story well! I hope you do too. God bless. 

Pastor Fred

Humility

When we think of great leaders, humility usually is not high on people’s lists. Humility is one of Jesus’ dominate traits. Christians have always believed that the Eternal Son of God humbled himself and became one of us in order to redeem humanity. Paul captures this theme in his letter to the Philippians, when he writes, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death – even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8). I watched an interview of Ben Carson this morning on my favorite business channel. The former surgeon and presidential candidate, he is now serving the government as Secretary to Housing and Urban Development. Putting partisan politics aside, I find the man to be extremely humble. I know he is a dedicated Christian and I think he reflects the kind of character we need in civil society. If more of our leaders had his posture, we would be a lot healthier as a nation! I am glad that the Lord of the Universe and my Savoir is humble and relates to me in kindness and mercy. I want His character to shape me as a follower. Let us pray that God will bring a spirit of humility to all of His children! God bless you and have a wonderful week!

Pastor Fred

A Reunion of All God’s Family

I just came back from a family reunion in Oregon. My older sister organized this reunion. This reunion comprised of family members from my mother’s side. My mother was the last of nine children. My mother passed on in 2004 and there are no remaining siblings. The folks that met were first, second and third cousins. Many of these folks met in Pennsylvania ten years ago. I was unable to attend the gathering ten years ago. This was the first time I actually met some of my cousins. My mother’s parents came from eastern Europe and settled in a mining town outside of Union City, Pennsylvania. It was a great time of sharing stories and having some good laughs together. One theme stood out as we shared. There was honor for our parents. My family has deep roots in the Catholic Church. Honoring parents was a value that continued through the family. We all were aware of the faults and short comings of our parents. But underneath all of the humanness was a deep respect and honor for our family. When my mother passed away fifteen years ago, I was going through a rough personal time in my life. It was hard to fully grieve the loss of my mom. This past week I felt a sense of closer for my mom. Having both my sisters present, and it has been fifteen years since we were together, was part of the healing process. I may not have another experience like this on this side of eternity, but it reminded me that when we meet Jesus, we will also have a reunion of all God’s family forever! God bless you and God bless my mom!

Pastor Fred

God’s Country

Paul’s words on giving was directed to the Corinthian church as it relates to helping the poor believers in Jerusalem. The church in Jerusalem was facing grim hardships and Paul was asking the churches throughout the empire to help. He praised the church in Philippi because they modeled generosity and now he is asking the Corinthians to do the same. Paul saw giving as a form of sowing seeds of love that would result in a harvest of blessing. He also gives instruction on the intent of giving. It is up to each individual to decide in their heart what to give and to give cheerfully to the Lord’s work. Underneath the teaching of giving in Scripture is the understanding that we are “stewards” or “managers” of the resources God has given us. We are not “owners” of anything! What we have is to be properly managed and when God leads us to release resources for His kingdom, we are to be willing and cheerful about releasing them! There is something freeing about not owning anything. If we are free then we will not be enslaved to our possessions or money. The idea of giving a proportion of our money to the Lord’s word is a positive act of discipleship and a reminder that what we have is the Lord’s. There are also times when He will challenge us to go beyond our regular giving to meet specific needs. Again, these are times when we realize that God owns all that we have. Paul says that as we “plant” resources into Kingdom work, then He will reward us with fruitfulness. A fruitful harvest may come in material form, but it also may come in ways that we may not directly see. For me, the times that I have “planted” by giving to Kingdom work, has resulted in a harvest of joy! I have found that there is almost no greater joy that blessing others! I have seen folks in our church bless others in many ways. The generosity of many in our congregation has brought me great joy! Are you a cheerful giver? Do you see your resources as a manager or owner? As New Covenant believers, we are not under any law when it comes to giving. Proportional giving and special acts of giving must come from your heart as you discern God’s leading in your life. My advice is to seek the Lord in the area of giving and watch how He will bless you as you sow seeds for His Kingdom!

Pastor Fred

Food of Eternal Life

Last Saturday night we had a great time in our courtyard feasting on great food. It was a labor of love to bless all who came. For me, I wanted to try my hand at pulled pork and a new recipe for beef sliders. I hope all who came enjoyed the food. What I wanted most of all was for people to enjoy meeting in community and introducing our guests to our fellowship. The “work” was hard, but the focus was on the “food” of sharing in community in Jesus’ name. On Sunday, I was aware that the “food” that we shared in God’s word and worship is the real food of eternal life! This is the food that can transform us and sustain us in our journey of faith. I am writing this blog on Labor Day and I am thinking about the work that all of us do each day. There are different dimensions of work, and not all of our work is for money. Whether it is making a meal, cleaning house, washing our cars or going to a job, we all expend energy each day. Jesus reminds us in our Scripture of the week, that the real work that we need to focus on is working for the Father. The Father’s work is how we love those among us and witness to the presence of the Kingdom of God. Our witness is to be in both word and deed. The Father’s work is not confined to “church” work, but work that we do both in the church and in the world. The Father is busy seeking to reconcile the world to Himself. As we go about doing our work, we need to be aware that God is also working in the world. Our work, if done for the Lord can be a source of spiritual food. Plugging into the work of the Father provides us an opportunity to enter into a deeper dimension of eternal work. It may be praying for someone or sharing the Good News of the Gospel. It may be helping a stranger or loving our neighbor. God has given all of us a certain amount of energy to work for His Kingdom. May our prayer be that we dedicate our energies to the work of the Kingdom. Thank you Jesus for giving us eternal life! See you Sunday. 

Fred

Share a Meal

One of the great pleasures of life is sharing a meal with other people. Whether it is in a home or at a public place, there is something special about “breaking bread” and enjoying fellowship over food. The early church practiced table fellowship on a regular basis. This would have been a unique time for both poor and rich to come together in Christ for fellowship. The meal was called a “love feast” and it may have been a continuation of sharing the Lord’s Supper in worship. Over the years some of my best times in church life have been at pot lucks. One of the church’s that I served at had a weekly pot luck on Wednesday night which was followed up by bible study, youth and children’s ministry. Every Summer we have had a shared meal on the courtyard. I have had the joy of barbecuing for those who come to the dinner. This year we are having a Hawaiian theme and I will be preparing sliders and teriyaki chicken. I know that it will be a blast and I hope all that can make it will enjoy the dinner. When we read the Gospels, we observe that Jesus regularly ate food with many different people. He welcomed all to table fellowship. This got him in trouble with some of the religious leaders. What Jesus was modeling for us is that God the Father invites all to share the new life of the Kingdom. When we share a meal with someone we are opening ourselves up for the possibility of deeper communication and sharing. As Christians, we want those “outside” to realize that God invites them into relationship with Him. Our hope is that as people are drawn to the “good food” provided by our church family, that they may realize that there is “better food” which is provided by the Spirit of God. In our worship and time in God’s Word, we are feasting on the Spirit of God and the food that He provides through Christ. I really enjoy cooking for all that come, but what really brings me joy is sharing the Word of God to all that come to worship! May God bless you this week and hope to see you on Saturday the 31st for dinner and Sunday the 1st for worship!

Pastor Fred

Falling Asleep

There was an eager expectation in the early church that Jesus would return soon. As some of the first generation of believers began to pass on, it caused a disturbance among some of the brothers and sisters. This happened in the church at Thessalonica. The Apostle Paul had to write them to give them assurance that these loved ones are with the Lord and they will come back with him at his return. Paul describes passing on as “falling asleep”. The truth is that those who are born anew have already passed over into eternal life. Death does not have the final word. Physical dying is simply falling asleep and waking up in the presence of Jesus! Last week another one in our church family went to be with Jesus. Thomas Strojin was a part of Eagle Rock Community Church for many years. Thomas was our church chair-person when I came on board as your pastor. I really enjoyed getting to know him and I am thankful for his service to our church and to the Lord. He went to be with the Lord last week. We will be having a service in the Fall to celebrate his life and say our goodbyes on this side of eternity. Because of his physical challenges over the past several months, he was not able to attend church. He will be missed and I am thankful that he will be one of the many that will come back with Jesus when he returns. Because Jesus died and rose again, we do have hope! Hope is one of the greatest gifts that God gives His kids. It is a living hope that can empower us to face all that life throws our way. May God empower you today with hope! See you Sunday. 

Pastor Fred

Let’s Pray!

Jesus wants his followers to pray. He wants us to be seekers and to knock on heaven’s door! My wife and I have started reading through a book that helps parents pray for their adult children. If we include our two son in laws and daughter in laws, then we have nine adult children to pray for. I am grateful to have a praying spouse. She is the one who suggested this book and through her encouragement, I have committed myself to a deeper prayer life for our kids. The author drives the point home that our work as parents never ends, but changes from raising kids to praying for kids. All but one set of children have kids of their own. Each child has their own unique challenges and issues. Our desire is that each one of them will follow or continue to follow Jesus as the Lord and Savior. Geographically, our kids are spread out and with one in particular, we are not in contact. We know that God is present with them, even when we are not. We can always come to the throne of grace for our kids! We pray for God’s sovereign protection and that the Spirit of God will be poured out on them. If you are reading this blog and have adult kids, I encourage you to continually pray for them! Often in our humanness we feel helpless, but through prayer we can connect with God who is our helper and is present with them. Our culture is often times at odds with Christian values. Sadly, it is not getting better, but worse. This should give us more resolve to pray for our kids that have to face many unique challenges in our culture. Please make it a regular part of your prayer life to pray for your adult kids. This is not the “last” thing we should do but the “first”. God bless.

Pastor Fred

Four Points

There are four points from Paul’s words in Colossians that can help us live a better Christian life. His first point is that all work has value when we do it for the Lord. He says, “whatever you do” and this includes all work that is not immoral or unlawful. I spent several years cleaning bathrooms for a retail chain and it helped me to think of my responsibility as having value from the Lord. I realized that I was performing an importance service and God saw what I was doing as valuable. The second point that Paul makes has to do with our hearts. He says that we need to do our work with all of our hearts. This is easier to do when we do our work for the Lord. Much of our work is routine or not stimulating, but when we do it with our hearts, then we have a much better attitude when we do our work. The third point is that we are to do our work “for the Lord”. When I am conscious of the Lord while I am working, I find that I am not as tempted to “cut corners” or do just an adequate job. I want the Lord to be pleased with my work. I find that when I do my work for the Lord, I do a better job and it positively touches the people that I am working for. Finally, the fourth point is that we will receive an inheritance from the Lord for our service. I don’t quite grasp this idea, but I know that all that I do for God will not be wasted! This coming Sunday we will be looking at another psalm in the Songs of Ascents. Psalm 123 addresses service. We are all called to serve God. Service comes out of a heart of gratitude for His mercy and love. God is not a hard task master. Israel knew about hard task masters. They were slaves in Egypt for several centuries. God freed them from slavery and even gave them a Sabbath rest and times of renewal from their work. Let us thank God for the opportunity to serve Him! See you Sunday!

Pastor Fred

David’s City

Jerusalem played a prominent role in the life of Israel. The temple was there and the kings ruled from the city. It was known as, “David’s city” and the tribes went up for appointed feasts. When the nation divided into two, the southern kingdom retained Jerusalem as the central place of worship. Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. and was rebuilt when the exiles came back from Babylon. Jerusalem remained a central focus for worship up and through the days of Christ. In 70 A.D. the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Over the following centuries there were people groups that inhabited the area of Jerusalem, but it was not till the 20th century that Israel regained her nationhood and Jerusalem again became a central place of honor. Today, three major religious groups look to Jerusalem for inspiration. In Psalm 122:6 the people that are ascending to Jerusalem are called to pray for her peace. Because of her importance in biblical history, we are encouraged to pray for her as well. From a “kingdom of God” perspective, we are called to the “New Jerusalem” that will come from heaven to earth. The New Jerusalem are all of God’s redeemed people. The earthly Jerusalem is only a shadow of the reality that will come from heaven. As New Testament “pilgrims” we are traveling to the heavenly city. We are to pray for the security and peace of all who follow Christ. As we learned from last week’s psalm, the followers of Christ will not be spared trials and difficulties in this life. What we are promised is divine protection from evil. Evil cannot overwhelm us! We have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to protect us. We may stumble and fall at times, but we have God watching over us and his grace and power are sufficient. I don’t know if I will ever visit Jerusalem. I have been told that it is a great place to visit and learn about biblical history. What I don’t want to miss is the heavenly Jerusalem! Christ is preparing a place for me there and he made a down payment in my heart in the Holy Spirit. Until that day comes, I want to keep traveling the road of faith and worship with His redeemed people! See you Sunday. 

Pastor Fred

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