A Challenge for the Season of Lent - by Susan Jensen

In less than two weeks… it’s Fat Tuesday!!! Paczki for everyone!

Food lovers pick this day to enjoy these round, sugar-coated, fruit-filled Polish pre-Lenten pastries, pronounced “poonch-kee,” available in bakeries nationwide. Paczki Day coincides with Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. It is the last day before the penitential season of Lent, during which many Christians “give up” something for the 40 observable days of Lent.

I pose a challenge for us here in DeWitt. What if we focus on gaining something rather than giving up something? Earlier this week, I ran across a free downloadable Kindle book “The Prayer Dare” by Ron Kincaid.  In the forward, the author talks about his personal prayer life and he refers to a prayer journal he has kept for over 30 years. In the Prayer Dare, Kinkaid leads us through 40 short prayer exercises, some from his personal journal, that are sure to enhance our prayer life and that in turn can only strengthen our personal relationship with God.

In another book I have also just begun, “The Jesus Model” by Joy Dawson, Joy says: “Multitudes of Christians have a huge boulder of unbelief in their hearts that needs to be removed through repentance. It is the boulder of unbelief that we can live like Jesus.” Jesus came to earth for several reasons and one reason was to live as a real-world model for us to follow, but we believe we can never be like Jesus…our unbelief boulder. Conversely, God would never ask us to do something He wasn’t willing to equip us for through the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived His earthly life in constant prayer, and that is the same kind of life God wants for us. God never wants to set us up for failure; all we have to do is ask Him to equip us to live in constant communication with Him, fully engaged and relying on Him for all of life.

How wonderful if Redeemer UMC became a more engaged community of pray-ers living more engaged and in tune to God. I invite you to join me in this 40 day “Prayer Dare” this Lenten season.

Winter Emergencies - by Sandy Hrostowski

Our weather is now well into the winter months.  If you’ve lived in Michigan for any period of time, you know the weather can be very unpredictable.  The possibility of an emergency while driving on our snow covered roadways is something we must be prepared for. 

During one winter a few years back, all I wanted to do was get home!  The roads were solid ice, and traffic was moving at a snail’s pace.  A semi passed me a little too close, which caused me to go into a full circle spin.  Not one spin, but three.  As I headed into the middle median, all I could see were trees.  I thought I was going to crash; instead I stopped just a few feet from the tree line.  It quickly became apparent to me that I was stuck.

Suddenly, there was a man and woman at my car window.  They told me they would help me, and to follow their directions.  They pushed me back up the hill and onto the road.  I can truly say I was visited by angels that day. 

For traveling any great distance by car, packing an emergency kit may make the difference between getting back on the road soon, and being stuck where you are for some time.

Same is true in our Christian life, be sure to pack your emergency kit every day to keep you on the right track … don’t get stuck - fuel your soul by spending daily time with the Lord. If you need a good Christian book to help you or a daily devotional, there is a great selection right here at DeWitt Redeemer Church in the bookstore.

Read the Manual - by Ben Barnes

Over the next month or two, the sound system at Redeemer will be getting a major facelift. We're having a new sound board installed that can do pretty much anything we ask of it... Except maybe taxes! I've read and researched and observed sound boards for close to a year and after all of that, I feel like the board we've ordered is the best option for Redeemer. Now the monumental task is to read (and understand) the 500+ page user manual full of diagrams, stories and examples that explain how and when to use each knob, button and flashing light on the new board.

When I made a new commitment to Christ in high school, I knew that it was for the best and I was really excited to live it out. However, I had no idea how to do that. I remember feeling overwhelmed by not knowing where to start with the task of living out the commitment I had just made. The beauty of the Christian life is that we have a manual.  The Bible is our instruction manual. There are stories, examples and instructions (and even maps if you have a high end model). As this year starts, keep in mind that we have help in the Bible. God's Word is there to help us figure out how to live our Christian lives while we're here. The task is to read it.

Things I Learn on Sunday Mornings – by Sue Campbell

Getting back after 2 weeks of not having Kingdom Kids or Kingdom Quest reminded me of some things (not in any particular order)---

• Kids are wonderfully concrete thinkers as shown in a recent discussion at the nursery snack table:

One child:  “Sometimes I get scared at night, but God is with me”

   Another child:  “God’s always with us”

   The 3^rd child:  “Yep, God’s always with us!”

I didn’t need to say a word – there were no but’s,
maybe’s, doubts or exceptions, that was that!

• Sharing food nourishes the soul as much as the tummy --- many of the best God-moments are during snack time
• No matter how prepared I think I am – there’s always something that comes up that makes me so grateful for our team and their grace!
• I need to worship – I start the morning by going to the 8:15 service to make sure I’m putting God first before I jump into the rest of the morning
• I need to learn – every Sunday I make new faith connections from listening to Pastor Rod’s message and spending time with the kids
• I need to serve – it fills my bucket to be a part of God’s plan here at DeWitt Redeemer
• God is good!  No but’s, maybe’s or exceptions!

Becoming a CnE - by Debby Kloosterman

Sometimes we just need to think differently about things…  It’s easy for me, even as a Christian, to judge others too quickly. Perhaps I speak with disdain or even a little superiority about those individuals who only come to church on Christmas and Easter.  (You know those “CNE” people.)

Maybe I don’t understand how just two times a year is sufficient time to worship a big God. 

I am designing a new campaign for myself called “Take Back the Cross”. It’s modeled after the “Take Back the Night” movement. TBTN is a non-profit organization with the mission of ending sexual violence. The idea is that no woman should fear the night because she is vulnerable to predatory attack.  This involves reframing the status of victim to the status of survivor.

My campaign involves reframing “CNE”, Christmas and Easter, to” CnE”, Christ in Everything. “Christ in Everything” demands that I put aside judgmental attitudes and operate with mercy and compassion.

 

I am not sure how many others will join my campaign. “Take Back the Cross” may involve sacrifice, selflessness and thoughtfulness in what I say and what I do. It will undoubtedly be a life work.

 

Those who would like to join me don’t need to sign anything. Just ask Jesus to serve as your “life coach” and hold you accountable to be more like Him.

Year End/New Year Ponderings - by Ron Bekkering

Pastor Rod talked about it on Sunday.  Mary did it when it involved her son, Jesus, and I’ve been pondering what I would be blogging about on this last week of the year.  I thought let’s do something fun…maybe a year end list, maybe a bullet pointed 4 step program for us to grow closer to Christ?  I really was searching

So that leads me to what I’ve been reading in the book of Acts; wouldn’t you know it, all the pondering came to a rest, as it hit me like a ton of bricks last night after some painful and joyful week 16 NFL football.

Starting next week at Redeemer, yes the first week In January, Pastor Rod will be giving us a two week sermon series revolving around the topic of the “One Thing”. 

One thing, One anything.  

In Acts, Paul is talking to the people of Athens in Chapter 17 (vs. 16-34).  He is feeling, as he looks around, that they have a lot of gods that they follow, but they are missing the One thing or simply the One!  Paul introduces them to God so that they might be able to “worship intelligently”, and know who they are dealing with.

As we jump into 2015 with both feet I hope that we can recall the words of Paul and be refreshed by who our God is…

“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him!” (v.24-29).

As we the people of Redeemer United Methodist Church celebrate the passing of 2014 and rush head long into 2015, I hope we can take a few minutes and think about the One who means the most to us.  And just maybe we can feel the peace that passes all understanding and make a plan that involves more of Him and less of us.  Happy New Year friends!

Know Jesus, Know Peace!

Christmas Spirit - by Tammy Bowman

A few days ago, I was driving my kids and a couple of their friends home from school. While listening to Christmas music on a local radio station, my 9 year old son said with a huge smile “Whenever I listen to this music I get so excited and it makes me feel so happy and I don’t why!” This prompted the other teenagers in the car to agree and begin talking about feeling excited and happy during Christmas. As much as I wanted to interrupt their conversation and explain why they are feeling this way, I didn’t. I sat silently listening to them discuss this Christmas Spirit they were all experiencing. They talked about how fun it is thinking about all the gifts they were getting and giving. They talked about the food and their family traditions. Then they talked about how people just seem to act different.

This got me thinking…

They see people acting different in a good way. They see people being extra kind, helpful, happy and excited. I usually see people acting different in a negative way. I see people who are stressed. I see people (including myself) who are tired, too busy, lonely, dealing with broken relationships, trying to people please, over eating and over spending.  Many are simply trying to survive the holidays. Many have lost their Christmas Spirit. I am committed to keeping my Christmas Spirit this year and the only way I know how to do that is to dig into Scripture.

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”

This sentence is filled with obedience, a miracle, prophecy fulfillment and hope. Mary was obedient. The miracle is a child being born to a virgin. This fulfilled God’s prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14. Hope is found in the birth of a son to be called Immanuel.  Immanuel means “God with us” and I believe that is the key to finding our Christmas Spirit. It’s really not about Christmas Spirit at all. It’s all about Immanuel, God with us! God came to earth as a baby so he could be with us…all of us! He came to earth as a baby, He was a perfect example of how to live, and He died a painful death. Then He rose from the grave for all of us! He then left us the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit dwells in us! This spirit is God with us!

Throughout the month of December, the excitement of Jesus’ birth is all around us. It’s on display in more places than normal. It’s on display in the stores, on the radio, on TV, at the school performances, and at government buildings. Much of the Christmas Spirit is on display in the forms of Santa Claus, Christmas Trees and Christmas presents, however, Jesus remains at the center of all these displays of Christmas cheer.  It has popped up in the form of Christ centered Christmas music played at the Mall; Christian Carols being performed in school Christmas concerts; and being the topic of conversation among many as the “reason for the season.” 

As Christians it is great to keep Christ at the forefront of the Christmas season, but it is equally important to keep him as the center of our lives throughout the rest of the year.