Cedar Chips, February 2023

Pray Continually

Pray Continually

The day before we left for our Guatemala trip, we learned that one of the participants had just been diagnosed with a large mass in her stomach. She and her husband would not be coming because they immediately scheduled follow-up appointments with an oncologist and a surgeon. This news created a bit of panic in everyone who heard it.

Her surgery took place on the Wednesday while we were in Guatemala and so that morning we gathered in a circle to pray. It was a subdued prayer. Of course, we had already been praying non-stop and most of our prayers had been quite glum based on the initial prognosis. When we returned from our day of work we were told that the surgeon had removed a mass the size of a softball – and it was NOT cancer!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” The context around this verse surprises me. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I often pray out of desperation and the mood of these crisis prayers is often somber – maybe even depressed. I wonder what it would look like to be able to pray about all things with rejoicing and thanksgiving. Would that change my attitude about prayer?

This year I am asking God, “Teach me to pray continually with gladness, joy, and gratitude.”

Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

Did you enjoy this article? Did you laugh, cry or learn something new? Let Kent know.

    February 2023

    God’s One Liners

    God’s One Liners

    One of my spiritual goals this year is to make time for listening prayer—but also not overcomplicate the listening process.  So I started a notes file in my phone, and put this question on the top:

    “Lord, what’s on Your heart today that You want to tell me?”

    Then I add today’s date, ask the question, and wait patiently for an answer.

    It doesn’t take long before an impression fills my mind.  Part of not overcomplicating this process is me going with the first thing I ‘hear’, the first thing that impressed in my mind.  Here are some of the things I’ve heard this year.

    “Pray for your boys.”

    “Keep affirming words on your mouth.”

    “Don’t just go about your day any longer.”

    And so I’ve done my best to be faithful to these words and small tasks God has given me.

    My great desire is to be able to hear God with greater clarity! I’ve been in His word, I’ve been memorizing His word, and now I want to know His voice in the way Jesus did—to receive my daily bread, my daily instructions, and walk more greatly in the things He has for His Church.

    This feels like just the beginning and sometimes feels like I’m still using my training wheels, but it’s amazing how much God can say in a one-liner.  I understand the heart behind each line, the greater picture of what He means, and even the details of what these little one line answers are referring to. 

    I’ll admit I haven’t been faithful to do this every day!  Getting into a new habit (even though it takes only about 60 seconds!) has been a bit of a challenge.  Even as I type right now, I’m going to stop and put a reminder in my phone…

    There. Done.  Hopefully that will keep me on course to hear more of what is on God’s heart this year with greater clarity!

    Leah Carolan
    Director of Worship & Media

     

    Did you enjoy this article? Did you laugh, cry, or learn something new?  Let Leah know.

      Women's Ministry

      Lifeway Women’s Conference

      A group of women from Cedar Hills are attending the Lifeway Women’s Conference LIVE at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, April 28-29! The conference runs both days 8am-2:30pm.

      $158 total, plus an optional $17 for lunch.  (For hotel accommodations with our group, it is an additional $129/night–see details below.)

      REGISTER

      If you want to sign up for both days, please let us know by Sunday February 12th and we will purchase your tickets through our church and you will pay the church. (Lunch is a gourmet turkey & cheese sandwich, chips, fruit, dessert & bottled water)

      If you plan to attend only one day, you will need to purchase your ticket on your own. The Friday conference is $79 and the Saturday conference is $99. The Friday conference is advertised as a Leadership Training but that applies to all women in their faith.

      There will be 4-5 of us driving and will coordinate carpooling. You are also welcome to drive yourself at your convenience. We 9 rooms reserved at the Drury Inn- West Des Moines for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. They have 2 queen beds for $129/night. Please let Carmen Gronewold know by Sunday March 12th if you need a room. She will be taking care of all hotel reservations. Priority will go to ones who are staying multiple nights.

      Please let us know your plans ASAP so we can coordinate all the details! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! CONFERENCE DETAILS:  https://www.lifeway.com/en/events/you-lead/you-lead-des-moines.html

      Uncategorized

      Parent’s Night Out Mission Fundraiser

      Drop the kids off at the church Feb. 11, 5:30-8pm for Parent’s Night Out! We are launching a couple from our church into missions and want to support them financially.  Parent’s Night Out proceeds will go straight to funding their call to foreign missions!  The minimum donation is $20/child or $50/family, pay at the door.

      We will be providing snacks, but not supper. Please plan on feeding your children before arriving.

      REGISTER NOW

      VOLUNTEER

      Would you like to help with this fundraiser? We could use adult, high school and middle school aged caregivers to assist the event.

      REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER

      Uncategorized

      Chains Interrupted Presentation Jan. 8


      January 8 during the 9:45am Sunday classes hour we will be hosting a special speaker from Chains Interrupted, a local organization that fights Human Trafficking.  We want to invite all adults to attend this event at 9:45am, in between the two services.  All regular adult classes will be attending this event instead of their regular class times.  Children’s classes and nursery will still be in session.

      Uncategorized

      One Service Jan. 1, 2023

      January 1, 2023 we will have one worship service at 8:30am.  Regular services will resume Jan. 8 at 8:30am and 11am, as well as regular nursery care and the 11am Children’s Worship.


      Also Jan. 8, we will be hosting a special speaker from Chains Interrupted, a local organization that fights Human Trafficking.  We want to invite all adults to attend this event at 9:45am, in between the two services.  All regular adult classes will be attending this event instead of their regular class times.  Children’s classes and nursery will still be in session.

      January 15, all classes resume, as well as some new classes beginning.


      NEW CLASS OFFERINGS

      • FaithQuest – Sundays at 9:45am for 8th graders – understanding foundations of our faith in the Gray Room. (This class will officially start January 15.)
      • Newly Marrieds – Sundays at 9:45am in the Loft Classroom. (This class will officially start January 15.)
      • Parenting Together – Sundays 9:45am (This class will resume January 15.)
      • Digging in the Old Testament and Finding Jesus – Sundays 9:45am (This class will resume January 15.)
      • The Character of God –  Sundays 9:45am (This class will begin January 15.)
      • Romans  – Ladies Bible Study – Tuesday mornings 10am (This class will resume Tuesday, January 3.)
      Uncategorized

      Support a New Global Mission

      Support a new global mission we are launching at Cedar Hills as well as grab a few gifts for the whole family–all in one click. If you buy anything from our page at causeteam.com, 40% of the profits will go to our new mission at Cedar Hills.
      If you’d like to avoid shipping fees, Beth Larson, a Cedar Hills member will be picking up the items weekly and bringing them back to the church for pickup  Beth will be in the Gathering Space to show you some of the fun items that are for sale Dec. 11 & 18.
      Cedar Chips, Christmas Edition 2022

      The Weary World Rejoices

      The Weary World Rejoices

      Christmas brings waiting. We anticipate family gatherings, giving (and receiving) gifts, colorful light displays, seasonal music, favorite treats – we wait with anticipation for these special seasonal celebrations. (We wait for it all to be over?)

      God’s people have a long history of waiting on God. They waited 430 years for deliverance from their Egyptian captivity. They waited another 40 years wandering in the desert. They waited 70 years exiled in Babylon. They waited 400 years longing to hear God speak.

      Waiting can be exhausting. “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old.” (Lamentations 5:20–21) Waiting for God’s intervention can wear us out.

      We live in a time of weariness. So many things are not the way we want them to be. They are not the way they ought to be. We long for the day when everything that is wrong will be set right. We look forward to that great day. We wait.

      Many Advent readings and songs invite us to wait patiently. The great day we anticipate is worth the wait. The one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas is worth the wait. “He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:32–33)

      When waiting for something really important, we can be worn out in the waiting. Christmas reminds us that the wait is worth it.

      One popular Christmas carol reminds us – The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. (If you can name the carol – let me know in the form below!)

      The thing you are waiting for is yonder – but it is coming.

      Merry Christmas,

      Kent Landhuis
      Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

      Can you name the carol?

        Cedar Chips, Christmas Edition 2022

        Good Tidings in Small Group

        Good Tidings in Small Group

        In my family small group, full of ladies and gentlemen, we had one of the best conversations we’ve ever had. After more than a year, we are getting to know each other in a way that is allowing for us to be vulnerable with each other. We are using Alisa Childers’ new small group study guide and video called “Another Gospel?”

        In our study was an inventory on key Christian doctrines. The first question asks “On a scale from 1-10, how equipped are you to deal with assaults on core Christian doctrines?”

        1 – I think I’m a Christian, but please don’t ask me any questions.

        5 – I know the answers to some things but not to others.

        7 – I enjoy conversations about faith. Even if I don’t have all the answers, I love to be challenged to learn more.

        10 – I love it when people ask questions and debate because I think I have good answers.

        This was only the first question in a long list. We found ourselves sharing about our beliefs and our honest faith questions. This was truly a great way to spend an evening with merry gentlemen and ladies. Christ is our savior and at times we do go astray. Thank God for a small group to be vulnerable with about my faith questions.

        Good Tidings of Joy,

        Lindsey Ungs
        Connection & Communication Architect

        Can you name the carol?

          Cedar Chips, Christmas Edition 2022

          Hate Is Strong and Mocks the Song

          Hate Is Strong and Mocks the Song

          You don’t have to watch TV, listen to the radio, or surf social media long to understand “hate is strong”.  Coverage of the war in Ukraine, hate is strong. Political diatribes villainizing the other party in the aftermath of the midterm elections. Hate is strong! Stories or statistics of human trafficking. Hate is strong.  The latest mass shooting in Virginia. Hate is strong. A sign saying, “My neighbor is a Karen.” Hate is strong. Earlier this month Cathy and I went to a fundraiser for Shirley’s House of Hope, a faith based domestic violence shelter. We heard testimonies about how hate was strong in the lives of these women. However, these testimonies all shared hope. The women encountered the hope of Christmas at Shirley’s. The Christmas song goes “for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on Earth, good will to men.” Peace on earth, good will to men. The women told stories of how they found peace in Jesus.  Not just peace from the violence in their lives, but “Shalom.”

          “The ancient Hebrew concept of peace, rooted in the word “shalom,” meant wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence.” (https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/inherit/what-is-shalom-the-true-meaning)

          They found wholeness, health, and prosperity in counseling and through relationship with Jesus.  This is the peace on earth we celebrate during the advent season. It is a holy peace that we cannot attain on our own, or earn by our good deeds. This Shalom comes from abiding in Jesus, who abides in the Father.

          Peace, lasting peace, transcends the situations and flaws of our own personal lives because it doesn’t come from us. It comes from God. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3–4). (https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/inherit/what-is-shalom-the-true-meaning)

          Trust in the LORD!  Trust in Jesus!  When Jesus is talking to His disciples on the night of His arrest, He promises the Holy Spirit will come upon them to equip them. Also, He teaches that they are to abide, like vines in the branch. In between these teachings, in John 14:27, Jesus promises His peace to the disciples.

          “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

          So, during this advent season I encourage you to turn off the TV. Unplug from social media. Put away your “Karen” signs. And abide in Jesus. Encounter the prince of peace, who promised to leave His peace with us.  Meet Jesus. Talk with Jesus. Seek peace with Jesus.

          Steve Poole
          Director of Youth & Young Adults

          Can you name the carol?

            Love. Belong. Serve.