Coffee Shop, COVID-19, Easter, News, Open Table

Coffee Hour – Sundays 10am

Join us before the live service stream! Keep your coffee fresh (and your germs stale) at our digital coffee hour on Sundays, 10am in the Zoom app, just before the live service stream at 11am.  The staff will be in and out as well while we’re setting up for the worship service live stream.

Here’s the info you need to join us in Zoom:

  • Topic: Sunday Coffee Hour 10am
  • Time: Apr 5, 2020 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Every week on Sun, until May 31, 2020, 9 occurrence(s)
  • https://zoom.us/j/837179546
  • Meeting ID: 837 179 546
Lent

Lent 2020 – Day 38

Matthew 27:36-46

36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]

Lent

Lent 2020 – Day 37

Matthew 26:18-34

18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’[b]

32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

Uncategorized

Lent 2020 – Day 36

Matthew 25:31-46

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Lent

Lent 2020 – Day 35

Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Lent

Lent 2020 – Day 34

Matthew 25:1-13

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Bright Spot, COVID-19, News, Open Hands Food Pantry, Volunteers Needed

Bright Spot – Food Pantry Moment

We’ve witnessed many bright spots this week in how neighbors are reaching out to neighbors.  This beautiful scene happened during the Food Pantry Drive Up this morning.  A food pantry visitor’s car had died in the drive up lane and another visitor immediately rushed to help and give the car battery a jump.

The Open Hands Food Pantry has remained open in the midst of many closings around us.  Volunteers are working tirelessly to meet our pantry guests with our new ‘drive-up’ pantry regimen while maintaining regular pantry hours.  Visitors remain in their cars while a pantry volunteer walks out to meet them and get their information.  Other volunteers rush back to the pantry to load the shopping carts with bags of food to be delivered straight to our pantry visitor’s cars.  It has been a beautiful system and helps to limit exposure to any potential COVID-19 concerns.

The need for food and assistance is great in these times! Thank you to our volunteers for stepping up their game and keeping the pantry open!

Capital Campaign, Communication, Consistory, News

Special Letter From Our Deacons

Special Letter from Deacons
Cedar Hills Community Church family,

We hope this finds you safe and healthy. And for anyone who is sick or in need, we send our prayers and ask that you let us know so we can provide spiritual, physical, and community support. As a part of the leadership team, and as members of our congregation, caring for each other is our highest priority.

A bit of context and history…
The last couple of weeks have been challenging, confusing, and possibly even a little frightening. Certainly, this COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most unusual world events most of us have witnessed in our lifetimes. If the doctors and scientists are correct, then we have not seen the likes of it since the flu pandemic of 1918, and a quick Google search reveals that there may be a total of three Iowans alive today who would have been old enough to remember 1918. It was just a few decades prior to 1918 that God granted us the gift of modern medicine, and the knowledge that disease is caused by bacteria and viruses. Since then, He has continued to bless us with lifesaving knowledge and technology that will help us through the situation we are in today.

Why the history lesson? Well, because of that horrific pandemic in 1918, we now know what we should do to avoid the same experience our parents, grandparents, or great grandparents faced back then. We know from over a century of modern medical experience and study that public health measures are the key to beating back epidemic and pandemic disease. It started with clean water to eliminate cholera in the late 1800s and progressed to social distancing in 1918 to push back influenza. Social distancing is difficult because of the social and economic side effects. We’re social beings that are now being asked to self-isolate and we live in a consumer economy that is slowly being closed.

Our current response…
The church leadership is responding to the pandemic in a number of ways. As this letter is being written, one of our members who has fallen ill with COVID-19 has a prayer team outside the family’s home (staying safely distanced in their vehicles) to provide spiritual support. A team is working to find ways for members to share any needs they have with leaders and fellow members so that you can be connected to church or community resources that can help. We have many tech-savvy members in the church that would be happy to help you connect to your loved ones using one of the many technology tools available. The food pantry is open and still providing to any family in need, adjusting to the situation by providing drive-through service.

Additionally, one of the Deacon’s key responsibilities is financial stewardship of Cedar Hills Community Church. We are optimistic that our members will continue to give gifts and offerings to ensure that impact to the church and our mission is minimized so that we can continue to serve our members, our community, and our missionaries.

At this time we have committed to:

  • ensuring that our staff will continue to receive their salary and benefits
  • continuing to pay our bills as received
  • extending regular payments to missionaries

In other words, the lights will stay on and we, Cedar Hills Community Church, will be there to help those in need!

Though we believe the objective above can be met, we also felt it was important to bolster our financial footing by reviewing expenses. For now, our response is very measured.  Essentially, we want to “Stop and Listen.” Stop and listen to what God is telling us, stop and listen to see what direction He is taking us, and stop and listen for the needs of our community.

At this time we are temporarily:

  • stopping additional principal payments on our mortgage
  • closely monitoring/adjusting energy usage
  • stopping in-church program spending since public services are halted
  • pausing large Grow the Good expenditures

The goal is to ensure we have enough cash available to pay salaries, bills, and missionaries, and to serve our members and community as long as possible through a difficult time. It is due to this commitment, we encourage those who are able to continue giving to our church regularly via check or our online giving app. We are grateful for what you can still give to maintain our ministries right now.

The most important message we want you to take away today is that you ALL are in our thoughts and prayers and as a leadership team we are doing the best we can right now to maintain our outreach. We serve a great and loving God who has this situation under control and who is walking with each of us every step of the way.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the any of the Church staff or consistory.

The Deacons:
Alan Brockette, Bruce Boldt, Melissa Dahm, John Davidson, Allison Johnson, Nancy Josifek, Andrew Moen, and Josh Oberembt

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 
COVID-19, Easter, Worship

Easter Sign Project

Video

Wondering how to celebrate Easter this year?

You are invited to our Easter Sign Celebration! We are asking each of you to use “garage leftovers” to come up with the most creative sign/sculpture to post on the church property. We will line Stoney Point Rd and E Ave from our driveways to the roundabout.

Come post your signs on Saturday, April 11th….so by Easter day our property will be filled with signs reflecting Christ’s love for all to see while driving by.

Include a heart and a message of Easter hope, like “He is Risen”.

TIPS

  • It’s windy on our hill! Take measures to ‘sturdy’ your sign.
  • Bigger is always better for visibility!

Enjoy this Video

Love. Belong. Serve.