NOVEMBER 2020

Holey Socks

We have a rule at our house: if your socks have holes, we throw them away. Simple. To the point. Life goes on.

It’s actually really hard to throw socks away for my kids. Often their socks are covered in pictures of their favorite characters—Batman, Spider-man, Woody from Toy Story, Forky.  Which also means the socks they love the most get worn the most and get holes the quickest.

But yet, the rules stands: If your socks have holes, we throw them away.

I’ve tried to fix socks. I’ve got some sewing skills. But socks are tough and more often than not, my ‘patch’ becomes an uncomfortable spot inside a shoe that drives your toes nutty. So I got over the mom-guilt of not being able to salvage those most-beloved socks and hold fast to the ‘throw-it-away’ rule.

The other day my socks had a hole in them. But I didn’t care, because it was not bothersome to me. They were a pair of my favorite bright and colorful striped socks. I was content with the holes. No big deal, right?

Until my three year reminded me “Mooooooom! We throw away holey socks!”

“Wait, what? That rule doesn’t apply to me! I’m mom! I’m an adult! I can wear whatever socks I want. That’s just a rule for you guys. It’s different for me.”

Matthew 7:3 says, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?“

This moment was enlightening. How often do we hold others to the rules while at the same time making room to exclude ourselves from the rules?

The log in my eyes was glaring. I could have used my official ‘mom’ status and kept the socks, but the witness to my children would have been extreme. Rules are rules.

There is no room for the log in true Christian witness. We must ask God for a greater self-awareness of our downfalls so we can effective deal with them. Then we can apply the rules to others in our influence.

Our kids our watching. Our families are watching. Our co-workers are watching. They can spot hypocrisy from a mile away.

I threw the socks away.

Leah Carolan
Director of Worship & Media

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NOVEMBER 2020

Don’t Give Up

I used to think that naptime was only for young kids. Now, I love a good nap even though I’ve found lately that even when I get enough sleep I still feel tired.

Did you know that your mind is capable of producing 50% more stress than your body can handle? When we experience trauma, stress hormones dull our pain and boost our energy so we respond quickly. Stress makes us alert and hyper-vigilant but over time it causes overload and fatigue.

2020 has created its share of trouble and weariness. Somebody encouraged me recently with this advice, “If you are weary, cut yourself some slack. Be good to yourself – get some rest.” Jesus invites us to this same place. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

Maybe you can find rest in this promise from Isaiah 4:29-31: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

We are the kind of people who invite weary people – including ourselves – to find rest in Jesus that restores hope. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9).

We face challenges but don’t give up! Keep doing the good God calls you to do. And if you need a nap – that’s okay.

Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

“Like cold water to a weary soul is good news.” ~ Proverbs 25:25

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NOVEMBER 2020

DARE 2 SHARE

Dare2Share LIVE is an international youth event focused on training teenagers in evangelism and discipleship. The core of their strategy first is to make sure that teens know and understand the essentials of the gospel so that they can share it clearly.  Please, ask one of our teens who attended what G.O.S.P.E.L. stands for!

Once students know the gospel, Dare2Share strategy continues with Prayer, Care, Share.  Pray for your unsaved friends and family.  Show the power of the gospel by caring for others well.  Finally, boldly have gospel conversations.

Along with training this past weekend, October 10-11, our group CARED for our community well by distributing free produce to our neighbors on D Ave, and cleaning the ditches along E Ave.  We didn’t find “everything and the kitchen sink” in those ditches, it was a bathroom sink! 🙂

Steve Poole
Director of Youth & Young Adults

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NOVEMBER 2020

BREAD

Bread is one of the essential foods of most cultures around the world. It is a staple in many diets, and for centuries, it has been one of the most accessible foods for people of all wealth and social status. Bread is pretty amazing in the Bible too. It is mentioned at least 492 times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. We still celebrate it today in both Jewish and Christian faiths.

After Jesus feeds the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, He tells them “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Jesus repeats himself in verses 48 and 51, when he reminds the people about the manna the Father gave their ancestors in the wilderness, after leaving Egypt. He states, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which translates as the House of Bread. In Hebrew alphanumerically, it also means nativity, the occasion of a person’s birth. The place of Jesus’ nativity is in the House of Bread. It is a place of life. Jesus did not come into the world mainly to give bread, but to be bread. We need bread to physically live, but God’s bread of forgiveness enables us to spiritually live. It makes the Lord’s Prayer a little clearer. When we ask God to “give us this day our daily bread,” we are asking for both His provision and that He would come and fill us up with His everlasting grace.  When we go to the House of Bread to accept God’s forgiveness of our sins, we see again how God feeds our souls with something we must have to spiritually survive. His bread is the only kind that leads to eternal life.

For those of us, who are followers of Christ, there is more. We join Jesus in being bread in the lives of others. Whenever Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, he summarized from His own life that He is chosen from all eternity, blessed at his baptism in the Jordan River, broken on the cross, and given as bread to the world.  When we submit to Christ’s calling on our lives, we are expressing our commitment to make our lives conform to the life of Christ. We too want to live as people chosen, blessed, and broken, and thus become food for the world.

Henri Nouwen shares the following regarding our call as Disciples of Christ:

“Like the bread taken by Jesus, we are chosen by God, selected for a unique role to play in God’s story. And as we recognize that we have been chosen, so also we recognize the chosen-ness of all people.

 Like the bread blessed by Jesus, we, too, are blessed by God. We are called to claim our blessing and to bless others as we live each day.

 Like the bread broken by Jesus, we also are broken in so many ways…in our bodies and in our hearts, in our homes and in our world. Jesus asks us to take up our cross, to claim our unique brokenness, and to join it with our blessing as we move into service to others who hurt.

 Like the bread given by Jesus, we also are given. Each of our lives is a gift to those close to us: family, friends, those we serve, as well as to people we will never know. God has given us each one of us as a sacred gift to the world.”

 Take a moment to consider how you have been taken, blessed, broken, and given in your life and ministry. When has this been most evident? How have you been changed by your work in service to others? How have you come to know Jesus through your service?

Gary Sager
Ambassador of Care

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