What? Me Volunteer! - by Sandy Hrostowski

Yes, that was me asking the question, three years ago.  I was looking for a new Church family, and ended up here at Redeemer.  Well, let me rephrase that. I was waiting upon the Holy Spirit to lead me to a new Christian church, and was led here to Redeemer. 

On my second visit to the church, an announcement was made, asking for volunteers for the Food Pantry.  Now, I had no idea what the Food Pantry was even about.  My interest was stirred.  I sign up at the volunteer counter, and my journey began.  I could serve those in need and at the same time discover an area of my life that needed to come forth. Serving the Lord with the Spiritual gifts He entrusted to me of compassion, hospitality and simply serving others.

As I began serving, I discovered an added benefit for myself.  I have found that once you open your heart to ways of serving others, your personal relationship with God grows.

There is so much work and so many ways to serve here at Redeemer.  I invite you to check out all the many ways of getting “Plugged in”.  Your heart and eyes will be open in ways you never imagined. 

To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.     Josephine Billings

Prayer is Powerful - by Kelvin Fizzell

It has been my privilege and personal blessing to have been a member of the Prayer Ministry Small Group at Redeemer Church since the summer of 2009. It has provided me, and the other members of the group, the opportunity to grow in the Spiritual gift of Prayer and to witness first hand God’s faithfulness in answering prayer offered on behalf of others.

We have seen God provide some answers almost immediately, others have taken years…but the answers did come. Sometimes the answers came as we asked for…in others, the answer God gave was far better than anything we thought to ask for. And yes, sometimes the answer given was not what we wanted or hoped for. And yet, we always found peace in the knowledge that God knew best…that even when we did not understand the outcome…God would reassure us… encourage us to trust in His faithfulness.

Each Sunday, members of the DeWitt Redeemer Church congregation fill out a communication card. Many people take this opportunity to offer a prayer request for themselves or for someone that they know. The Prayer Ministry small group is committed to spending time in prayer, collectively and individually every week, asking God to grant these requests. (These concerns are kept strictly confidential.)

We encourage members of the congregation to use the communication cards and offer their prayer requests. When you see God working in your life, or in the lives of others, as he responds to these prayer requests, please share these experiences on the communication card. As God continues to be faithful to us, the group would like to offer him thanks and praise for answering these prayers.

The need for intentional prayer, on behalf of members of the Redeemer congregation and the surrounding community, continues to grow. We are looking to form a new Prayer Ministry small group dedicated to praying for people each week. There will be an informational meeting at Redeemer Church Wednesday night October 22, 2014 at 7:00 pm in the church lounge.

If you long for a prayer life that is deep, fruitful, and real, this new prayer group will help you develop a relationship with God beyond anything you ever imagined. We want to help you discover prayer as a powerful lifeline to God…the source of all abundant blessings. Prayer can change lives like nothing else can.

Luke 11:9 NLT “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

If you have any questions, please contact Kim Metzer in the church office at 669-3430 Ext 116 or by e-mail, kim@dewittredeemer.org.

Growing Spiritual through Christian Books - by Diane Lantzy

Many of you may already know that I love to read.  I did think that when my children were older (and by older I mean 30 and 26 – how did that happen?? – I know I am not old enough to have kids that old!J) I would find much more time to read but often that is not the case.  Lately, I have been especially interested in reading historical fiction.  I find that by being able to put historical events in the proper cultural context allows me to understand it better and to remember it longer.  This is true for secular historical books as well as Christian historical fiction.  The one that I am currently reading is “Lineage of Grace” by Francine Rivers.  This is how the publisher describes this book:

In Lineage of Grace, we meet the five women whom God chose—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Each was faced with extraordinary—even scandalous—challenges. Each took great personal risk to fulfill her calling. Each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

Francine Rivers is a gifted story teller who keeps you intrigued with the story while retaining great Biblical and historical accuracy.  In reading the story of Tamar (who appears in Genesis but whom I did not remember from previous Bible studies/readings) I learned some great lessons/insights.

·         Tamar was an ancestor of Jesus

·         Bad things happen to good people but good can come from evil, even if we can’t see it

·         A childless woman in that culture had to depend on the generosity of others for her very survival

·       There were religious practices (outside of the Jewish faith)  during that time that seem quite unbelievable to me today

·        Often, God’s children are asked to risk much – including their lives – to remain faithful.  Most of us have not been asked to risk our lives for Him, but He does ask us to take risks on His behalf to further His kingdom on earth

Though historical fiction may not be what particularly interests you – there are many Christian books and resources that can further your spiritual walk.  I encourage you to explore these to see how enriching they can be.  Pages & Prayers Bookstore inside DeWitt Redeemer Church is one place (but certainly not the only) where you can discover not only Christian fiction, but Bible studies, Christian Living, parenting, devotionals and much more. 

Who Are We - by Susan Jensen

On September 21, Pastor Rod continued his message series “7 Critical Life Questions” with the message –  “Do You Know Who You Are?” Only two messages into the multiple week series, as usual, I am finding the series a very relatable.  In this series, Rod is delving into the life of Joseph as it begins to play out in late the book of Genesis. Midway through this past week’s topic, Pastor Rod points out 2 reasons why Joseph didn’t give in when tempted into an affair by Potiphar’s wife.

Reason #1:  Joseph’s boss, Potiphar trusted him with everything he owns
Reason #2:  Joseph refused to do this “wicked sin” against God.

Now here is a personality confession, I have a terrible habit of rushing through a thought without always pondering beyond the surface why something is important. So when the 2 reasons were pointed out, my initial reaction was, well of course #2 is important… why bother with #1. #2 supersedes it. Enough said.

Then something made me go back and think about why #1 would matter. The obvious reason is that Joseph would lose his credibility with Potiphar as well as making a grave enemy of him. Again, this seems to be a distant second to the consequences of sinning against God. Granted, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but in my mind #2 is a heavier deterrent than #1. And then it hit me, as Rod asked earlier in his message. If we are to be any kind of Christian role model, #1 is hugely important. Now remember, throughout this story we are constantly reminded that God was with Joseph and all he did was blessed. If Joseph is a Christian role model to all around him just think of the damage Joseph could do by giving into temptation.  Remember the quote referred to a few weeks back from D L Moody: “Out of 100 people, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” It would be easy for those around Joseph to say if a Christian can act like that, then what’s the difference, why bother being one?

If I had to put the reasons in order of why Joseph most likely chose to withstand temptation I would lean toward starting with #2, because Joseph valued his relationship with God and wanted to honor God. But #1 is definitely a huge benefit to #2.

So who are we? Do we belong to God? And if we belong to God, where does our loyalty lie? How deep does it run? Will we be easily swayed by temptations time and time again, or will we remember we belong to a loving God whose love is so strong for us that He gave His only Son to redeem us?

If you missed this past week’s message you can listen to it at www.dewittredeemer.org by clicking on the podcast.

Slavery still exists, even in our community - by Kim Metzer

There is a lot of talk in this country about being free and how we’re “free” because of our military.  Our military does do an amazing job of keeping this country free from tyranny and oppression and helping other countries free themselves from those things, but they can’t help everybody in every situation.

Slavery still exists – in our country, in our state and, yes, even in our own community.  The kind of slavery that occurs in the present day is not something that we can send in our military to eradicate.  No, freeing people from modern day slavery is a task that must be tackled by the average everyday citizen – in a word, YOU.

The best way to get started is to be aware of it, how it can happen and learn ways to prevent it from happening.  To help you get started in this effort Redeemer Church of DeWitt is sponsoring A Night of Hope and Freedom on Tuesday September 23, 2014 from 6 to 7:30pm.  On this night we will have two speakers from The Hope Project in Muskegon, MI; Julia Koch the Director of Development and Advocacy at The Hope Project and Malynda Jennings a survivor/ advocate on The Hope Project’s advisory board.

It is our hope that YOU will attend this event and come away with practical tips to not only help in the rescue of people trapped in the world of human trafficking, but also to keep your loved ones from becoming victims.

Contact me in the church office (517.669.3430 x116 or kim@dewittredeemer.org) for more information!

What is God reminding you of today? - by Sue Campbell

Well, the deadline for my turn at the DeWitt Redeemer blog has come and gone, but I was extended grace due to a busy 1^st day back in Christian Education this past Sunday.  No more excuses today though! While it would be fitting to write about the excitement and happy faces I saw in Kingdom Kids and Kingdom Quest last Sunday, something else came to mind as I sat down to write.

Thinking back a few weeks or more, to the lazy days of summer, I was reminded of a particular morning’s walk.  Up north, I like to walk on a quiet dirt road which winds through trees and past fields.  No cars - just the occasional sound of a bird chirping or squirrel rustling through the leaves.  This one morning, I came to the fork in the road where I usually veer to the right and circle around to head back.  But instead I had the thought that I should go to the left for a change and headed that way.  I saw something on the crest of the hill in the road and had decided it was a tree stump sticking out, but then it moved.  I waited and waited some more and was rewarded with seeing a deer cross the road, followed by her little one a short time afterwards.   After they disappeared into the brush, I circled back intending to head home.  But then, I decided to take the fork in my usual direction (being a creature of habit).  I walked down that way a little farther than normal and much to my surprise and delight, I saw another deer cross the road ahead of me! Two unexpected choices had led to two unexpected blessings. 

That made me think of a few things I often need to be reminded of ---

·    God’s blessings are all around us if we take time to notice them
·    Waiting can be hard but also very rewarding
·    You never know what might happen if you don’t step out of your routine and go a different direction
·    Good timing might just be God’s timing

What might God be reminding you of today?

The Amazing Three Day Beauty Treatment - by Debby Kloosterman

I love the Bible trivia quiz on our local Christian radio station!  Recently, the question was based on the Old Testament Book of Esther.  The Book of Esther is a wonderful story of how God uses ordinary people to accomplish His will (but I digress).

In order for Esther (formerly Hadassah) to enter the presence of King Xerxes, she had to undergo 12 months of beauty treatments.  My response to this was that even I could be suitable to meet a king after 12 months of beauty treatments!

On second thought…

The only king I know is Jesus and no matter what I do I will never be “good enough” to meet God’s standard of perfection.  The fact is that a year’s worth of beauty treatments and special foods are not what is required.  Jesus provided an amazing 3-day beauty treatment!  Through his death and resurrection, he paid the total price for me to approach the throne.  I only need to ask Him to be my savior and serve as my master and I am saved from my ugly sinful nature.  As the old hymn proclaims, “Though my sins were as scarlet, He washed them white as snow.”