Jesus is watching you
A burglar broke into a home and was looking around. He heard a soft voice say, “Jesus is watching you”. Thinking it was just his imagination, he continued his search. Again, the voice said “Jesus is watching you”. He turned his flashlight around and saw a parrot in a cage. He asked the parrot if he was the one talking and the parrot said, “yes.” He asked the parrot what his name was and the parrot said, “Moses.” The burglar asked, “what kind of people would name a parrot Moses?” The parrot said, “the same kind of people who would name their German Shepherd Jesus”.
Upcoming events in August
Sign-up for Sunday School Volunteers
Thank you to those you went through the background check (we’d love to add more if you’re interested) and willing to be Sunday School Volunteer/Teacher. The Sign-up sheet will be passed around. What you’re signing up for is to volunteer with another adult, going downstairs with the kids the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Sunday during worship starting in September. There will also be an alternate position in case one of the volunteers can’t make it. If, as the volunteer you can’t make the date you signed up for, please let Pastor Michael or Stacy the office manager know so we can contact the alternate in advance. We will post in the bulletin the volunteers and alternate for the current and coming week starting in September.
Sunday August 25th – Outside Worship/Picnic
Thanks to Chuck & Helen for hosting, much like our Hawaiian luau we’ll have a sign-up sheet for side dishes for the picnic that follows worship beginning at 10 am. And thanks again to everyone that made our outside worship/luau such a success. With special thanks to Chef Mike from Tailgate Caterers that donated all food and proceeds to the church youth fund.
Blessings, Pastor Michael
God’s Gift of Music
What helps you sort out what you’re feeling, or experience an emotion more deeply? What allows you to let loose and cry, or fully celebrate when you’re joyful? Nature helps some of us get in touch with our feelings, perhaps because it removes us from screens and other distractions.
But when getting out isn’t possible — no mountain lake is nearby, or the weather isn’t tranquil — consider the gift of music. Often instrumental or vocal music helps us access the depths of our soul like nothing else can. God may even speak to us through music — whether in song lyrics, our own inner thoughts or wordless stirrings of the heart.
Albert Schweitzer, a pastor, musicologist, physician and more, said, “Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water.”
Make some playlists for various emotions: joy, grief, anxiety, hope. Then imagine yourself relaxing in nature, and experience God’s love.
The Meaning of Membership
Oklahoma pastor Ricky Jones tackles the meaning of church membership, or being part of Christ’s body. “Leaving the church is not simply leaving a club,” he writes at the Gospel Coalition website. “When you walk away, you dismember yourself from the body. Jesus and the rest of the body sorely miss you, and bleed after your departure. You cut yourself off from your only source of life and nourishment. Like an amputated hand, you will slowly bleed out, wither, and die.”
Jones contends that “being a part of the universal church without submitting to a local church is not possible, biblical or healthy.” It’s impossible because you need to be part of a smaller community before you can be considered part of a greater community. It’s unbiblical because the New Testament epistles are addressed to specific local churches. And it’s unhealthy because wanting to independently make your own choices is “at the heart of sin,” the pastor writes.
“You need to know we’re all in this life together, and we won’t walk away from you just because
you let us down or we disagree,” says Jones. “Together we build each other up into the image of Christ; no one can make it alone.”
What is your Oasis?
As the gospels make clear, even the Son of God needed an occasional break. For Jesus, a solitary place reached by boat served as an oasis.
Although an oasis might make us think of a beach-like vacation spot in the middle of a desert, it’s simply “something that provides refuge, relief or pleasant contrast” (Merriam-Webster).
So, what’s your oasis? For someone who recently lost a spouse, it could be a break from the newfound silence. For a young parent, it could be a block of solitude and silence to complete a thought.
I haven’t found any definition of oasis that includes a timeframe. Such an experience could last 30 seconds or a full week. Work within your circumstances so you can get away for a time with Jesus.
As you identify and pursue an oasis, consider your answers to these questions:
- What circumstances in life cause you to desire an oasis, or break?
- What will it look like to create a personal oasis or sanctuary at home?
- When you spend time with Jesus, what do you want to do?
Janna Firestone
A Gardener’s Legacy
I’d like to leave but daffodils to mark my little way, To leave but tulips red and white behind me as I stray; I’d like to pass away from earth and feel I’d left behind But roses and forget-me-nots for all who come to find. I’d like to sow the barren spots with all the flowers of earth, To leave a path where those who come should find but gentle mirth; And when at last I’m called upon to join the heavenly throng I’d like to feel along my way I’d left no sign of wrong. And yet the cares are many and the hours of toil are few; There is not time enough on earth for all I’d like to do; But, having lived and having toiled, I’d like the world to find some little touch of beauty that my soul had left behind. Edgar A. Guest
JourneyCare Home Health & Hospice