Food Pantry Needs

FOOD PANTRY NEEDS 2009

BAKED BEANS
CARROTS
CEREAL(ANY VARIETY)
CHILI
CORN
CRACKERS
FRUIT--APPLE SAUCE, PEACHES, FRUIT COCKTAIL
GREEN BEANS
PEANUT BUTTER
JELLY
MACARONI AND CHEESE
MIXED VEGETABLES
PANCAKE MIX
SOUP--VEGETABLE, CHICKEN NOODLE, TOMATO, BEEF, ETC.
SYRUP
SPAGHETTI SAUCE
PASTA FOR SPAGHETTI
PINTO BEANS
RICE
TUNA

Please feel free to donate money for pantry items by contacting Marie Stratton. If you have any questions about the pantry contact Angela Copeland at adcf99@yahoo.com or 571-330-7390.

"If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap." Luke 6:38

Needs and Wants List

More Immediate Needs

• Replace Sagging Side Entrance door on lower level

Longer Term Needs

• Resurface parking lot ($65K+)
  

Current Wish List

• Increase in Food Pantry funding
• Replace Exit Door near room 15
• Replace remaining basement classroom windows
• Add windows into classroom doors

Trust His Promises

As we learn to develop the skills for ministry we have been discussing over the last several weeks, it will be our trust in God to keep the promises he has made that will both sustain us and call us deeper into ministry. This prayer by Walter Brueggeman, an Old Testament scholar, asks God for help trusting his promises in order that we might answer his call to ministry:

You are the God who makes extravagant promises.

We relish your great promises

of fidelity

and presence

and solidarity

and we exude in them.

Only to find out, always too late,

that your promise always comes

in the midst of a hard, deep call to obedience.

You are the God who calls people like us,

and the long list of mothers and fathers before us,

who trusted the promise enough to keep the call.

So we give you thanks that you are a calling God,

who calls always to dangerous new places.

We pray enough of your grace and mercy among us

that we may be among those

who believe in your promises enough

to respond to your call.

We pray in the one who embodied your promise

and enacted your call, even Jesus. Amen.

-Walter Brueggeman

Sharing Our Faith

I got into the sharing my faith business a little differently than most Christians. I got hired into it as a missionary! We planned and trained to share our faith for a long time. It took years! I even raised money so I could share my faith and still feed my family. It was a long process of packing up all our stuff, moving to Uganda, buying a used truck, renting a house....all for the purpose of sharing my faith.

Then I arrived and started the job and realized I had no clue how to do what I was supposed to do. Sharing my faith, evangelizing, preaching, still felt awkward and unwelcomed and ... well, to tell you the truth... not all that fun.

Today we will talk about sharpening the sharing part of our ministry skills. We have talked about prayer and talked about caring and now comes the hardest one of all. Actually speaking to people about our faith.

The problem we have in America is that evangelism (sharing our faith) makes us feel like hucksters. We feel like that unwanted salesman we find at our door, or that pesky telemarketer we hate to speak with. Even if we are pedaling a good product, what's to differentiate us from the average AMWAY salesperson who is also convinced of their wares? After all, there is a "price" to the gospel, that's why the Bible has all those stories about "counting the cost".... and in that regard we are "selling it" when we try and convince others.

Most preachers, at this point, would try and re-convince you that the thing you are selling is the most important thing in the world! There is a lot of truth in that, and the fact we are not all more ambitious about telling our friends is perhaps a commentary on our faith. However, I think the "sharing" part is not something we need to make an effort. It is the result, the product of a life of caring and prayer. If we pray for others and genuinely care for them, then we will share with them as well.

Mark

Even the Waves

That day when evening came, [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4: 35-39)

Jesus removed the danger. He stopped the boat-sinking waves, but you can sense he hoped he didn’t need to. You can’t overlook what Jesus was doing when the disciples came to him: sleeping. How? He knew Who was in control and trusted Him fully. If only the disciples could have dozed! How extraordinary it must be to have no fear when life’s storms surround us. Can you even imagine not worrying when trying to stay afloat in rough waters? God does desire for even the waves of fear in our hearts to be calmed, whatever happens around us. Physical beings that we are, though, and if we’re honest, we know we aren’t there yet. Still, how good is God for wanting such freedom for each of us. As we mature in Christ, we become more and more like Him and do progressively experience God’s perfect will for us. In the meantime, when we don’t always rest easy on boats being tossed about, it’s nice to know God hears our cries and faithfully responds.

CTL

Welcoming Strangers

Like every kid in America, I knew that it was a bad idea to talk to strangers. We watched these creepy videos in school of bearded men in oversized sedans pulling up to little kids to offer them candy, and we all knew that the correct response to that hypothetical situation was to run away.

While telling one’s children not to talk to strangers is probably good parenting practice, John gives the church somewhat different advice in his third letter. In fact, he commends them for doing just the opposite: giving support to strangers. You can imagine how this scene might have unfolded. Demetrius shows up in a small town in Asia Minor and wants to be involved in the church. He’s some kind of traveling missionary who claims to know John, but no one in the church has ever met him. One group in the church wants to welcome and support him and another group is more reserved. Perhaps they’re concerned that he might teach something false or put the congregation in danger (Christianity is not exactly popular among the Romans at this time). Whatever their reason, this group, led by Diotrephes, takes a stand, refusing to welcome the strangers and trying to kick them out of the church. In our safety-conscious culture, we can understand their caution. John, however, sides with the first group, saying that they ought to welcome and support even strangers in order to be co-workers in truth with them.

After telling this congregation to welcome strangers, John makes another surprising statement. He writes to the congregation that they should imitate what is good, not what is evil. (No surprise there.) He goes on to say that whoever does good is from God (still no surprise), and whoever does evil has not seen God. He does not say whoever does evil is not from God, or whoever does evil is from the Devil, or whoever does evil ought to be kicked out. He simply says whoever does evil has not seen God, implying that what evildoers really need is not to be feared and shunned, but to have an encounter with our God. And what better place exists for that to happen than inside the doors of a church.

Tera

“I’m Church of Christ"

That's what I normally say at the Catholic University of America when asked by my peers (Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Mennonites) to describe my church affiliation. The name definitely takes some explaining since we're not one of the easily recognizable mainline churches, and we're also not an evangelical or Baptist church. But taking the time to explain the history doesn't bother me, so I usually do. What does make me uncomfortable, at times, is the "of Christ" part of our name.
It's not because I'm embarrassed. It's because I'm nervous. It is a bold name. A name says a lot, of course. Names are a powerful part of our language. The name Church of Christ can make me nervous because of what the bold meaning of the name implies. The "Church of Christ" is a powerful name because it highlights that our church belongs to Christ; that it is his church; that it is a gathering of people which represents the Messiah. The name Church of Christ makes our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ front and center. The name highlights a supposed proximity to Christ. And this should cause us to pause because a relationship to Jesus Christ is costly.
Taking on Christ's name requires that we give up what we hold dear to become part of his covenant family of others-focused communion. The name Church of Christ should always cause us to ask: "Are we of Christ?" "Are we Christ-like people?" "How well do we live up to a name that describes a people belonging to him?" If we claim to be the Church of Christ, we must recognize that we'll have to conform our American way of life to His death and resurrection way of life, not the other way around. The life of Christ was full of sacrifice and service on behalf of others who were "enemies and sinners" (Rom. 5). It is a narrow path. The life of Christ was a life begotten by the Father and sent into the world to seek and save the lost. Christ is the great reconciler of the divided and embattled. How tragic that Churches of Christ have, at times, become known for splitting rather than reconciling.
As we reflect on Randy Harris's retreat message that the church must "leave the building" to bring God's relentless, reconciling love to others (rather than expect them to come to us), we should think about what the name Church of Christ means for the Springfield community. We should let the name challenge us, and I think it's good that it make us a little nervous. To be a church that is worthy of the name Church of Christ will require relinquishing power and becoming vulnerable in order to serve others who are different from us. May the Lord give us the grace we need to more fully become a Church of Christ.

Matt

Keeping In Touch

Here’s a great quote from Samuel Wells’s God’s Companions: Reimagining Christian Ethics: “When people of the current generation talk about keeping in touch, what they usually mean is email, mobile phones, landlines, or even perhaps a letter. The irony is that none of these involve touching anybody. Eating together is one way, perhaps the most important way, in which people learn to touch one another. In eating together, they become one another’s companions--bread-sharers.”

I know distance makes keeping in touch with others very difficult. I constantly experience the painful feeling of being apart from many people I love. It seems like we can channel this longing for close relationship in several different ways. One way that may not be helpful is relying exclusively upon technology to meet our relational needs. Don’t get me wrong, I think technology is great. I have a blog. I have a Facebook account and enjoy it very much. I’ve even written on how the Internet is a real community. But I have to remind myself that technological communication cannot replace the experience of a face-to-face, bodily meeting with another person. This is really tough to remember in our culture of gadgets. Even the phone call, one of the most basic gadgets around, cannot replace talking with another person face-to-face.

The relentless production of new forms of communication requires us to be very intentional about preserving the practice of making local friendships. This will be especially hard on those accustomed to relying solely on long-distance friendships. It seems easier just to contact the long-distant friends using technology than it does developing an entirely new friendship. We all know finding new friends takes a lot of time. But I don’t think it’s worth the cost of neglecting face-to-face friendship. There’s something deeply real and Christian about a face-to-face encounter, especially over a meal. I think the communion table is a symbol of this deep reality. Genuine relationship is nourished by breaking bread together. Despite the newness and the risk involved, the forming of face-to-face friendships over meals is perhaps one of the most Christian, and counter-cultural things we could do. So, do you know any good places to eat around here? Matt

Continuing by Faith*

By faith Abel, by faith Enoch, by faith Noah, by faith Abraham and Sarah . . .

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth . . . they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, by faith Isaac, by faith Jacob, by faith Joseph, by faith Moses' parents, by faith Moses, by faith the people passed through the Red Sea, by faith the walls of Jericho fell, by faith the prostitute Rahab . . . was not killed . . .

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

By faith, fifty years ago, a group of Christians began a congregation . . . may we continue by faith, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . .

*from Hebrews 11: 3-40 and 12: 2

Announcing a Special Event

God prepared the Hebrews for their departure from Egypt, as told in the Book of Exodus, He commanded them (verse 14 of Chapter 12): “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD – a lasting ordinance.” In verse 17 He again says: "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. This commemoration has come to be known as the Passover Festival. It was so important that God further told the Israelites to renumber the months of their calendar so that this commemoration would occur during the first month.

Would it surprise you to know that as Christians, and for the most part Gentile Christians, we have learned the meaning of, and continue to celebrate the Passover?

This year the original Passover festival, more or less as laid out in scripture (Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23) will be celebrated for a week beginning at sunset on Friday April 18. How and why is this significant to Christians? Why, how and when do Christians continue to celebrate this festival? Come share a different kind of experience with us. Find out the answers to these questions and more.

During our worship service on Sunday, April 13, we’ll begin to explore the Christian significance of the Passover festival. Then, on the following Saturday, April 19, you are all invited to explore the full meaning of the Passover Seder - the combined service and meal associated with this holiday. If you’ve never attended a Passover celebration, this is your opportunity to learn all about it. If you have had this unique experience, this too is for you, because we’ll explore Passover from a Christian perspective.

So bring your family and join your Springfield brothers and sisters for a fascinating learning experience and a potluck meal. More information will follow, and the specific time will be announced over the next few weeks. We’ll also have a sign-up sheet (so we’ll know how many we need plan to accommodate). Mark the date on your calendar now, and plan to be with us for this special event.

More Facts About Acts: Women

If we were to pick up the book of Acts and look for a theme in regards to women, we’d have a few choices. Women are mentioned either directly or indirectly over 20 times in the book of Acts. Here are a couple suggested themes:

How about the theme of suffering? (we might call this women’s sufferage;-)

There are three separate times that it mentions women who were tortured for their faith:

Acts 8:3 Saul committed women to prison,

Acts 9:2 That Saul might bring women bound to prison,

Acts 22:4 Saul/Paul testifies how he had committed women to prison before his conversion.

It’s true that they suffered but it’s not exactly a consistent “theme”.

How about the theme of women behaving badly?

Acts 5:1-11 When Sapphira lied for her husband and God judged her for her part.

Acts 12:13-16 Rhoda didn´t open the gate for Peter!

Acts 13:50 The Jews stirred up the “devout and honorable” ladies who did a pretty good job of joining with men to get Paul and Barnabas tossed out.

The problem with that one is the theme of men behaving badly is much more consistent, and the men are guilty of slightly worse offenses than “not opening gates”.

But how about a theme of Women Being Faithful?

In Acts chapter 2 Peter stands up and quotes the prophet Joel:

17" 'In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

18Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

We see the prophet Joel’s words come true in Acts. The very first European convert is Lydia. We see faithful women in Acts 10, 12, 16, 17, and 18. Thanks to our faithful sisters at Springfield…many of whom get limited press but do much of the work. Perhaps that is the major theme that has not changed since the first century . . .

Mark

Off the Bottom of My Screen

I have noticed there is a phenomenon at play in my life that drastically affects all I do. I suspect that it may be at play in your life as well. I call it "The Bottom of My Screen Syndrome". Basically it works like this: my life seems to revolve around people contacting me via emails. (Even my telephone voice mails at one job get automatically emailed to me as Mp3's.) They pile into my in box at a terrific rate. They come in fast enough that I can't possibly reply to all of them, so I find myself sort of randomly replying to the ones that are not urgently sent from someone work-related. Therefore, as soon as the emails disappear off the bottom of my screen...they join the thousands of others down there, and they are literally out of sight, out of mind. The only encouraging thing about this is that I don't yet have a Blackberry...which has an even smaller screen and thus subjects more and more of my emails to the "bottom of my screen" reality. Ironically, as I write this bulletin article it is this reality that causes me to forget to send an article to Carrie much of the time!

Sadly, we live in a culture where this is the way we operate. Priorities are often sacrificed because they get pushed off the bottom of our screens. Whoever shouts the loudest or sends the most SPAM gets our attention. God, who does not play that game, often gets pushed so far down the screen that we never even think of him. We are too busy handling the things on our screens... regardless of whether they are all that important.

Paul did not have this problem. God never left his screen, never became an after thought, and never got pushed aside by the worries of the day. This was true of Paul before he met Jesus, as he endeavored to serve his Lord as a Pharisee of Pharisees. But it was even more true of his life AFTER he met Jesus. Before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus he was passionate about serving God, but after he met Jesus he began giving speeches like the one he gave in Acts 17, where he said, "God is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else."

What was it that kept service to God on Paul’s screen even after he realized that the old-school-Pharisee motivation for serving God was not the main reason to serve him?

Mark

Some Facts about Acts

It’s not a fact that Luke wrote Acts, but evidence points us in that direction.

Here are some facts:

Acts was written on a Papyrus roll (35 to 40 feet long).
Both Luke and Acts are about the same length in material.
Luke is the longest book in the New Testament. Acts is the second longest book in the NT.
Both books describe arrests and trials in about the same way. Luke spends almost ¼ of his gospel on Jesus’ arrest and trial. Luke spends almost ¼ of Acts on Paul’s arrest and trial.
Both books are written to the same man, Theophilus, who may have hired a copyist to make copies of these two books so that they were distributed around the ancient world. Both books cover around 30 years of history...the gospel starting around 4 BC and ending around 30 AD. Acts picks up at about 30 AD and ends close to 60 or 62 AD. The gospel foreshadows Acts with references to things that are not fulfilled until Acts is laid out.

Themes in Luke are continued in Acts:

1) Favorable attitude towards Samaritans (Luke 9:52-56; 17:11-19; Acts 8)
2) Role of women among Christ followers (Luke 8:1-3; Acts 16 & 18)
3) Clarification that John the Baptist was NOT the Messiah (Luke 3:15 & Acts 13:25; 19:5)

Some seeds that were planted in Luke are cultivated and matured in Acts. Ancient authors who wrote histories tried to make the volumes symmetrical in size and scope. Luke has done this with his gospel and Acts.

Mark

Peter Said, Paul Said

I wonder if Peter and Paul were friends. They had a lot in common. Both were passionate about their faith, living it out in impressive, larger-than-life fashion. Each had plenty of baggage from his background to remind him of past failures. Paul surely had those pesky memories of hunting down families and persecuting them. Peter must have had haunting recollections of telling Jesus he would never forsake him one moment only to forsake him three times that very same day. Also, both these men offer seemingly different presentations of the gospel message in the book of Acts.

Peter, a man of action, stresses action in his Acts chapter two sermon. "Repent and be baptized," he says. When Paul recounts his story of how he experienced salvation in Acts 22:16, he tells of meeting Jesus and Jesus instructing him to go see Ananias who says, "What are you waiting for? Go be baptized!" Ananias (as Paul retells it) feels a certain amount of urgency in this. In fact, it seems like a directive and not a mere suggestion.

However, equally plentiful are the messages from the two of these men that emphasize not OUR action but God's action in the salvation process. Referring to the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 15, Peter declared, "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us" (7-8). He continued by affirming that God "made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (9). Cornelius had received the Holy Spirit when he believed the Gospel. He was saved by faith-plus-nothing. Peter makes no mention of turning from sins, of baptism, of circumcision, or anything else. What's more, Peter specifically ruled out any role for works in our salvation, adding the powerful words, "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they" (10-11).

Similarly, in the conversion of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, the jailer asks the question, "…what must I do to be saved?" (30). Paul's answer is unequivocal: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…" (31). (Yet even in this instance we see the jailer and his family urgently baptized in the middle of the night.)

So what do we do? Do we ignore baptism as so many of our evangelical brothers and sisters seem to do? Or do we speak only of baptism and refuse to call others “brothers and sisters” unless they agree with us? Today we look at what Peter and Paul said about it in the book of Acts.
Mark

Acts 2: 38

Remember the guy in the rainbow wig who used to go to all the NFL games with a John 3:16 sign? You can bet the guy was not a church of Christer because if he were and he had the chance to show the world the Bible’s most important verse, he would have selected Acts 2:38 instead.

Peter does a masterful job in this sermon. He convicts he audience of their compliance in the death of an innocent man with the logic of a prosecuting attorney and the emotion and passion of a gospel preacher. He also offers us a great outline for what we can tell others when we speak. “Change your mind, change your heart and die (be baptized)”…that’s what it means to decide to follow Christ. And those who do get the amazing gift of he Holy Spirit to guide them in their journey. At the heart of Peter’s plea seems to be this: “You have chosen against God in the past, it’s time to choose God.”

That “plan” has been called by us and others the “plan of salvation”. Peter lays it out pretty clearly and does not want anyone to miss it. (By the way, the most notable group to call it a “plan of salvation” and use that exact same phrase is the Mormons.)

This week we will look at Peter’s first sermon and what it says about him and his expectations for the church. We compare his message with Paul’s later messages in Acts which quite often seem to counter Peter’s “here is how to choose God” messages with “here is how God CHOSE me” messages. Can they both be true? And how dangerous is it to ignore one or the other?

Mark

Luke-Acts: Community of Place

We have spent the last several months talking about Luke and the significance of the table in Luke. We talked a lot about this "table" being a metaphor for God's intention, which is that people would be brought into fellowship with Him. As we venture into ACTS, Luke's second book, we see God’s Church emerge as the ultimate representation of that fellowship.

But the Church is about more than fellowship. Country-clubs, alumni groups and other social organizations provide great food and fellowship for people each week as well. CS Lewis reminds us that the church differs from these other organizations in that they all provide a "unity of likings". In other words, people with common interests and tastes and probably similar backgrounds and political opinions, tend to gather in social groups around the world. They "like" the same stuff and they join organizations (like golf clubs) that offer them the opportunity to hang out with people of similar likings. But more than a community of likings, the church is a community of place. People come together simply because it is THE place God calls them to be, not because they all like the same stuff or have similar backgrounds, but because it is God's institution to change them and the world around them.

Obviously there are potentially big problems for churches who deal improperly with the tendency of people to gravitate towards "likings". We see some churches that are really nothing more than a gathering of likings; everyone looks sort of the same, drives similar cars, even dress sort of alike each Sunday. Many people spend their lives church shopping, hunting for that place where they "like" everyone and everyone there likes the same sort of stuff they do. Such an environment and such an attitude produce churches that are an inch deep and a mile wide. My experience is that they are often big and slick, have great coffee bars and nifty websites. Many of their "likings" are best seen in their corporate worship expressions which are measured by a slicker-the-better mentality and judged by how entertaining they are for the masses.

I don't think railing against the "community of likings" mentality is the most useful thing I could say to our congregation at Springfield. One look around and it's pretty easy to see that we are not geared to keep that crowd. We are not all alike, not from the same social clubs or political parties or economic backgrounds. We don't put a lot of effort into making our services slick or entertaining. However, if we don't watch it we may be guilty of falling down the other side of that slippery slope. The other side is perhaps not as shallow, but if left unchecked, can be as arrogant as the other side is shallow. It's a side which I might call the "if-you-don't-like-it-lump-it" side. This side correctly says, "We are not here to entertain you!" Then, rather than admit there might be room for diversity in what people like and don't like...we draw up a list as long as your arm of Biblical reasons to justify our dislike for the community of likings crowd. This side of the coin refuses to admit that actually liking something (say a worship service or a Bible study group) is possible.

This week we will talk about how we make those decisions by looking at how the early church used to make those decisions.

Mark

More Thoughts for the New Year

Beginning in November, several ladies participated in an e-mail study group using the book Preparing My Heart for Advent.* Below are some snippets from the devotionals for December 26 through January 6. May they bless the start of your New Year:

Did you know God knows your name? He knows everything about you (see Jeremiah 1:5). He knows exactly what you need and wants to give it to you. He is the giver of all perfect gifts [James 1: 17] . . . But what if you wanted to give God a gift? How would you know what He wanted? The same way you choose a friend’s gift. You need to spend time with Him and study about Him. You need to ask Him questions to know how to please Him and walk in His light (p. 137).

. . . we can look forward to deepening our relationship with God, as well as living with the ultimate hope of seeing Him face to face (p. 138).

O come all ye who are faithful, come adore Jesus all year long. And in His presence may you feel His life and His light (p. 143).

Let your goals reflect your priorities: God, spouse, children, family, others . . . Just like the psalmist, ask God how you can best spend your time to gain a heart of wisdom (p. 144).

Who are you living for this year? Philippians 1: 21 reads, “For to me, to live is Christ” (p. 146).

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5: 9) . . . In this new year, keep your accounts short. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness . . . (p. 148).

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5: 11a) . . . Isn’t it awesome that we have such a powerful positive tool to use for God’s glory? Let us step out in encouragement and love (p. 150).

*Ann Marie Stewart ©2005

Thoughts for the New Year

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

(Psalm 82: 3-4)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

(James 1: 27)

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

(Hebrews 13: 1-3, 16)

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

(Micah 6: 8)

Merry Christmas to All at Springfield!

Marnie, the kids and I are on the way to Missouri and Michigan to see our extended families, so we won't be with you today or next Sunday. After taking the year off from traveling last Christmas, we are off in the minivan this year to drive the roads! (Hope Clint Propst and I don't have to make another trip to Ohio like we did two years ago to retrieve a broken down van.)

What a year it has been at Springfield! We have had some very sad times, like the loss of Agnes Bennett, one our longest standing members. The departure of Agnes is truly a milestone of a faithful generation passing onward. She lived a long and faithful life, so it was possible to celebrate that life and share joys in the midst of the normal sorrow at her funeral. It was much harder to see the silver lining in the passing of Kyle Mack, who tragically lost his life in a car wreck this fall. It was a difficult and terrible thing to see a young life cut short.

But we have also had many times of great joy. We welcomed Kenneth's family from Ghana! (One sure way to grow your church is to import members from afar;-) We have added so many new people that I hate to mention names for fear of leaving some out. We had a great retreat with Randy Harris that inspired us and will serve as the first of an annual tradition for years to come. We have welcomed Gene Kraft home from Afghanistan (but Ray Gibson was shortly sent off in his place). We have seen baptisms of our young people and many inspiring stories of service and devotion.

I think we will all look back on 2007 as a great year... a milestone where we grew and began a pattern of growth that will carry on for years to come.

Please join with me in praying this holiday season for our church. Pray that we will have the vision and leadership to go forward in 2008. Pray that God will send us new people to join with us in our mission to serve God in our community. Pray that our hopes and dreams will be one with God's hopes and dreams for what we should be doing in Springfield.

Love and Peace to all,
Mark, Marnie, and the Kids

Would He Mind?

Donny was the best friend a seven-year-old could ever have. We did everything together. We rode bikes together, ate King Vitaman Cereal together, played war together, and spent the night at each other's house every weekend. We were blood brothers. We both hated girls, and we stuck up for each other when someone called me fat or him four-eyes. We even had a secret fort we built in the woods - a true friendship.

Donny looked up to me and rightfully so. I was older than him by two months, a fact I frequently reminded him of, and I out-weighed him by thirty pounds, a fact he frequently reminded me of. Age and weight are two factors that loom large in seven-year-olds' relationships, so when Don had a question, he would often come to me.

One December day, as we played in a snow bank, throwing snowballs at the Anspaugh's statue of the Virgin Mary, Donny had a question. We had been talking about Christmas, the number one December topic for seven-year-olds, when he posed a quasi-question/comment about Christmas being Jesus' birthday.

I must confess now that I rarely, if ever, knew the answers to any of Donny's questions. Usually I'd just act like I knew and he would believe me. But this time was different. I actually knew the answer. This was my chance to tell Don something about Jesus other than he was a prefix for various swear words.

"No! No! No!" I blurted out, scorning Donny for his ignorance. "It's not his birthday and don't let anyone tell you different. No one knows when his birthday is!"

Donny sat there for a while, I guess embarrassed that he had even asked. He knew better than to argue theological issues with a guy who went to church on Wednesday nights, but in reply he mumbled, "If nobody knew when my birthday was, I wouldn't mind if they just picked a day."

I still remember what Donny mumbled that day in a snow bank. Donny, who had never been to church a day in his life, saw a smiling Jesus who said, "Go ahead, just pick a day!" and I saw a frowning Jesus yelling, "No! no! No! For the last time, it's not my birthday!"

Do we really think that he cringes when we sing about mangers? When he hears songs about Bethlehem and wise men, does he pull his hair and say, "It never says three, it never says three ...." I doubt it. I really doubt it.

All these years later, I wonder if Don remembers what I told him. I hope not, because he now has a two-year-old who's almost ready to ask him the same question. What a shame if that's the only thing he remembers about his friend who went to church three times a week.

Mark