A lot of you know that I have spent a lot of time working on the landscape at the church over the past six months. We finally have a pretty decent looking lawn on most of the property and the planter beds have been cleaned up quite a bit. The look of the grounds will continue to improve as the new plantings start to mature.
As I was pulling weeds a few days ago, I noticed several seedling volunteers of plants I never planted. The truth is that these probably came from seeds that were planted a long time ago. Only now, with regular water and fertilizer have they sprouted. A lot of the time that is the way it works out in the lives of people we reach out to. We often don't see how the Lord has used us in His plans.
In a few weeks we will host "Take The Plunge", a water park themed Vacation Bible School. The lessons focus on where Jesus taught around the water. I still remember going to Vacation Bible School at my Grandparents church when I was 9 years old. It had a powerful impact on my life. My parents were not real keen on me going to church. But during my two week visits with my Grandparents, my parents had no say in the matter. I did not start attending church regularly until I was an adult. However, the seeds were planted during VBS as a child.
Vacation Bible School is an awesome way to reach out to the community. We will probably see a few people start to go to church right after their kids participate in our program. But, we may never see the impact that this ministry has in some of these little lives. Even so, be assured that God has a plan. There will be seeds planted. Some will sprout and bear fruit soon. Some will wither and die. Some will take years to do anything, but they may turn into mighty oaks.
We are blessed to be a part of it all. To God be the Glory!
Pastor Dmitri
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Words of the Prophet
Every Sunday morning I teach a Sunday School Class at 9:15 AM. I would like to say that attendance is huge, but it isn't. The fact is that people today seem to struggle to carve out an hour to and hour and a half each Sunday morning togo to church. The thought of taking an extra hour (even if it is to learn about and study God's word) seems to be too much for most. There was a time when peoples' entire Sunday would revolve around church and it was pretty much an all day affair. What a concept - observing the Sabbath!
Anyway, I know how hard it can be with all the pressures of the week. We struggle with how to get done all of the things we want to get done. I know that a lot of you have great intentions when it comes to prayer and Bible study. Even as your Pastor, there are times when I have trouble following through with my devotional practices.
Today I want to start offering you some tools to help make this process a little bit easier. Bit by bit, I plan to start adding content to the web site that you can access at your convenience. For example, the Sunday School class is studying Isaiah right now. The prophecies of Isaiah foretold the coming of Christ and he is the prophet most quoted by Jesus in the Gospels. I am going to start putting the materials for this class on the web site. That way, if you can't make it to class one Sunday or if you can't ever make it to class on Sunday, you can still do the study on your own. It wont' be nearly as rewarding as doing it in a group. However, it is a good alternative nonetheless. Remember that God's word is a gift!
This coming Sunday (6-17) we are looking at Isaiah: Chapters 9-11.
Read these three chapters (It would really be good for you to go back and read from the beginning.) and try to answer the questions that follow. You will get much more out of it by re-reading each passage multiple times. It is helpful to take notes on what you see as you go. It is also a good idea to use a study Bible and look at the notes offered there.
This week's questions:
1. What does it mean that he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles?
2. What is the prophecy saying about the nation of Israel in 9:3?
3. What should believers do in hearing or reading 9:1-7?
4. Why is there such a dramatic contrast between the frist part of chapter 9 and the second?
5. What does the warning of 10:1-4 reveal? Why will there be judgement against Assyria?
6. What is the recurring theme in the Bible about "the remnant?"
7. What does the "stump of Jesse" mean?
8. Should verses 11:6-9 be taken literally?
9. Would Isaiah make more sense without the negative prophecies interspersed with the words of hope?
10. Since Isaiah's prophecies in chapter 9 and 11 did not see fulfillment for hundreds of years, why would he have any enduring credibility?
Next week read Isaiah 12-14.
If you would like to get the study guides for the earlier weeks on Isaiah, please contact the office. I would be happy to provide them for you.
Have a blessed day!
Pastor Dmitri
Anyway, I know how hard it can be with all the pressures of the week. We struggle with how to get done all of the things we want to get done. I know that a lot of you have great intentions when it comes to prayer and Bible study. Even as your Pastor, there are times when I have trouble following through with my devotional practices.
Today I want to start offering you some tools to help make this process a little bit easier. Bit by bit, I plan to start adding content to the web site that you can access at your convenience. For example, the Sunday School class is studying Isaiah right now. The prophecies of Isaiah foretold the coming of Christ and he is the prophet most quoted by Jesus in the Gospels. I am going to start putting the materials for this class on the web site. That way, if you can't make it to class one Sunday or if you can't ever make it to class on Sunday, you can still do the study on your own. It wont' be nearly as rewarding as doing it in a group. However, it is a good alternative nonetheless. Remember that God's word is a gift!
This coming Sunday (6-17) we are looking at Isaiah: Chapters 9-11.
Read these three chapters (It would really be good for you to go back and read from the beginning.) and try to answer the questions that follow. You will get much more out of it by re-reading each passage multiple times. It is helpful to take notes on what you see as you go. It is also a good idea to use a study Bible and look at the notes offered there.
This week's questions:
1. What does it mean that he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles?
2. What is the prophecy saying about the nation of Israel in 9:3?
3. What should believers do in hearing or reading 9:1-7?
4. Why is there such a dramatic contrast between the frist part of chapter 9 and the second?
5. What does the warning of 10:1-4 reveal? Why will there be judgement against Assyria?
6. What is the recurring theme in the Bible about "the remnant?"
7. What does the "stump of Jesse" mean?
8. Should verses 11:6-9 be taken literally?
9. Would Isaiah make more sense without the negative prophecies interspersed with the words of hope?
10. Since Isaiah's prophecies in chapter 9 and 11 did not see fulfillment for hundreds of years, why would he have any enduring credibility?
Next week read Isaiah 12-14.
If you would like to get the study guides for the earlier weeks on Isaiah, please contact the office. I would be happy to provide them for you.
Have a blessed day!
Pastor Dmitri
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Let My People Go!
Over the course of the next six or eight weeks we will be looking at Moses. Moses has been considered by most people as the greatest of all Jewish leaders (before Jesus, of course). It is hard to think of Moses without imagining the image of Charleton Heston in the famous movie, "The Ten Commandments." I especially like the way his hair looked when he came down from the mountain top after being in the presence of God. As a pastor, it would be really cool if you could have that bronzed, glowing complexion and wild, fire on the mountain of God hair. If I could look like that, then people would have to be convinced that I had a powerful and important message they needed to hear.
Anyway, as we move into looking at Moses the man, the prophet and the deliverer of Israel, I want to challenge and encourage you all to read the passages of scripture that we will be looking at each week. You will notice that every Sunday now, I put the scripture passage for the coming week's sermon in the bulletin. (For Moses, look in Exodus.) Probably most weeks I will be encouraging you to look at one chapter or so. You should be able to read that in ten minutes. Take the time. You will get more out of each week's message and it will make me happy!
I want to thank all of you for your favorable response to the series on Covenant Affirmations. If you have any questions, I hope that you will feel free to ask me.
Have a blessed week and check back from time to time as we continue to improve the web site.
Pastor Dmitri
Anyway, as we move into looking at Moses the man, the prophet and the deliverer of Israel, I want to challenge and encourage you all to read the passages of scripture that we will be looking at each week. You will notice that every Sunday now, I put the scripture passage for the coming week's sermon in the bulletin. (For Moses, look in Exodus.) Probably most weeks I will be encouraging you to look at one chapter or so. You should be able to read that in ten minutes. Take the time. You will get more out of each week's message and it will make me happy!
I want to thank all of you for your favorable response to the series on Covenant Affirmations. If you have any questions, I hope that you will feel free to ask me.
Have a blessed week and check back from time to time as we continue to improve the web site.
Pastor Dmitri
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