THE PASTOR’S CORNER 02/02/2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As I was looking at the calendar I have hanging in my office, I was reminded of several special dates in February. The 2nd is Groundhog Day. Maybe the infamous groundhog won’t see his shadow and spring will come early this year. Yet, even if spring doesn’t come early aren’t we thankful for the mild winter we have had! February is the month we celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Washington’s Birthday, and this year Leap Day. And some of you will be celebrating family birthdays and anniversaries this month, also. Our church calendar for February is busy, as well. In addition to our ongoing ministries, the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University classes begin on the 1st, the various church committees will be getting together to make plans for this new year, the church will be hosting the Date Night Challenge Event, and on the 22nd the Lenten season begins. February 22 is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is a season of 40 week days and six Sundays and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the word lencten, which means “spring”. The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time of confessing sins and seeking forgiveness by all Christians. Lent is a time to get closer to God. Lent is a journey from self-serving to self-giving. People may give up something they enjoy for Lent or fast for certain meals. Others give up a favorite activity, like watching television or internet browsing. Giving up things we enjoy become love gifts to God, given to God with love and thanksgiving. Making a sacrifice, even a small one, helps us to recall the great sacrifice God made for all of us. Lent is an invitation to “be with Jesus,” to seek His face and enjoy His presence. I encourage you to make the Lenten season a time to begin or renew or deepen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us for our Ash Wednesday Service at 7:30pm on February 22, at the Sharon Presbyterian Church and our Sunday morning worship services at 10am. Let us join together to spiritually prepare for Easter. There is nothing more important than drawing closer to the One who loves you so much that He gave His only Son to die for you so that you may have life and have it abundantly! And All God’s Children Said, “Amen.” Pastor Karen Add Comment THE PASTOR’S CORNER 01/03/2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It seems like only a few months ago we went from writing 2010 to writing 2011. Yet, here it is, 2012. Twelve months have passed! It certainly gives meaning to the Psalmist‟s words: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:1) “Let me know how fleeting my life is.” (Psalm 39:4) There is an important message in the above scriptures – Life passes quickly! Now is the time to do those things that will make a difference in this life and in the life to come. I recently read The Top 10 New Year‟s Resolutions for Christians:
Wishing you a very Blessed New Year and God‟s Good Gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love! And All God‟s Children Said, “Amen!” Pastor Karen THE PASTOR’S CORNER 12/07/2011
Dear Brothers and Sister in Christ, When you come to church on December 4, you will notice some changes in our church. That is because on November 27, the season of Advent began. While January is the beginning of the secular calendar year, Advent is the beginning of the "church year." Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve, December 24. The word "Advent" means "coming" or "arrival." We await the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and we look forward with anticipation to the return of Christ, the Second Advent. Now we live in the presence of our Lord and Savior who has come, is here, and will come again. You will see in the front of the church the Advent wreath. It is a circular evergreen wreath with five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. The circle of the wreath reminds us of God himself -our Heavenly Father’s eternity and endless love, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath signifies life, the eternal life we have through Jesus the Christ. The candles remind us of the light of God coming to us through the birth of Jesus. The four candles around the wreath represent the four Sundays of Advent and the center candle is called the Christ candle representing Christmas Day, the birthday of God’s Son, the Savior of the world! As we join together for worship this Advent season, take some time to look around you. Look at the changes in the church. Look also at the person in front of you, the person in back of you, the person to your right and the person to your left. Shake their hands, smile at them ,welcome them in Christ’s love. Enjoy being in the presence of God and worshiping with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Through the Spirit of God, may the love of Christ and the love of one another change us, too, so that we can more and more reflect the light of Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Wishing you a "life changing" Advent Season and a very Blessed Merry Christmas! And All God’s Children Said, "―Amen." The Pastor's Corner 11/01/2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In this constantly changing uncertain world that we live in, we need our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In uncertain times, it is good, in fact necessary to remember that the God we worship remains the same. God does not change. Our money says, “In God, We Trust.” This statement is a statement of faith, one we can profess in the good times and the bad. Regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, God is here with us –loving us, forgiving us, guiding us, caring for us. We serve a God who loves us more than we can even begin to imagine. Psalm 100 instructs us to: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Know that the Lord is God. It is He that made us, and we are His. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, And his faithfulness to all generations.” Coming before the Lord with thanksgiving is a good thing to do. Someone once told me that grateful people are happy people. And I believe that to be true. Remember the old hymn, “Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One.” Counting our blessings helps us to maintain a positive hopeful outlook on life. As we praise God for all he has done for us and through us, we naturally draw nearer to God, feel more of His presence, more of His peace and joy and grace in our lives. This Thanksgiving Season may we all take the advice of the Psalmist . Let us gather together, as the children of God ,to worship our Lord and Savior and thank God for our many blessings. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving. And All God’s Children Said, “Amen!” Pastor Karen
THE PASTOR’S CORNER 10/02/2011
THE PASTOR’S CORNER Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As I am writing this letter to all of you, I am looking at the September calendar and wondering where August went. And by the time you read this, many of us will be wondering where September went. Time does have a way of slipping away from us. Apostle Paul had wise words to share with regard to ―time slipping away.‖ In his letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the Word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:2-6) Making the most of the time. How do we make the most of the time we have? Something to think about! John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, had some suggestions on how to live our lives in order to make the most of the time we have: 1) Do No Harm 2) Do Good 3) Stay in Love with God Reuben P. Job, retired United Methodist Bishop, in his book Three Simple Rules, A Wesleyan Way of Living, shares his thoughts about Wesley‘s three rules for living. Job offers the following prayer to help us begin our day: Inviting God’s Intervention in Our Lives “Loving Teacher, come and make your home in our hearts this day. Dwell within us all day long and save us from error or foolish ways. Teach us today to do no harm, to do good, and assist us that we may stay in loving relationship with you and our neighbor. Help us today to be an answer to another’s prayer so that we may be one of your signs of hope in the world you love.” At the end of the day, Job suggests a time of reflection wherein we: Remember: A time of reflection on the day‘s experiences. Note the positive and the negative experiences and ask, ―How have I contributed to each. What is God saying to me through the events of this day?‖ Confess: A time of owning up to our own weakness, failure, and sin. Forgive: A time of asking for and accepting God‘s forgiveness and a time of offering forgiveness to ourselves and to all who may have injured us or those we love. Give thanks: Give thanks for each of the gifts of life that God has granted this day. How are you making the most of your time? Something to think about……. And All God‘s Children Said, "Amen" Pastor Karen Stewardship 09/03/2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am continually amazed at how God continues to work in our lives. Christian author, Max Lucado, wrote the following words in one of his books, “God loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way.” Praise God for that! A while back, I attended a workshop on stewardship. David S. Bell, Director of the Center for Christian Stewardship at the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, was the presenter. He began the workshop by asking us what we learned as children about money. Some of the responses were as follows: “A penny saved is a penny earned.” “Save for a rainy day.” “You can’t take it with you.” “Money is the root of all evil.” My response was similar to “save for a rainy day.” As a child, my parents taught me it was better to save money than to spend it. It is true that childhood experiences with money, to some extent, influence the way we think about money as adults. However, as adult disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to know what he Bible has to say about money and let the Word of God influence our thinking about money. The scriptures teach us that everything we have comes as a gift from God. “The world and all that is in it belong o the Lord, the earth and all who live on it are His.” (Psalm 24:1) God has chosen to share His world with all of us. Often times we don’t know what is around the corner. We have to walk by faith. And as we step out in faith, we learn that God is faithful and can be trusted. God is good at providing us opportunities to grow in our faith. One opportunity to grow in our faith has to do with our giving. Most people are not natural givers. I think our tendency more often is to hang on to what we have for fear we won’t have enough for the future, When God calls us to give, which God does throughout the Bible, answering God’s call often times requires a step of faith. Do we have faith in God’s promises with regard to giving? One of my most favorite scriptures about giving is found in Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes, “ Each one should give, then, as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly. And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. As the scripture says, ‘He gives generously to the needy; his kindness lasts forever.’ And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.” (2 Corinthians 9:7-10) In the days to come, may we all think about the opportunity we have been given to grow in our faith through giving. Thanks be to God! And All God’s Children said, “Amen” Pastor Karen First Post! 09/03/2011
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