All posts by Cedar Hills Community Church

Cedar Blog

Will You Be 38?

Will You Be 38?

On our recent fall retreat, at Lake View Camp, our middle schoolers were challenged to contemplate the miracles of Jesus. There are 37 recorded miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. The most poignant may be when four friends bring a paralytic to Jesus for healing in Mark 2.

4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus healed the paralytic when he saw the faith of his friends. Wow! Can we be like those friends? Can we be a part of the miracle God wants to do in someone else’s life? Ultimately, we were challenged to invite God to do miracle 38 in our lives. The miracle of new life, salvation, and sanctification talked about in Ephesians 2.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

As I reflected on the retreat worship time I wrote a series of Haiku. I’d like to share them all with you.

 

Thirty-seven times

Jesus showed His godly might

Are you thirty-eight?

He demonstrated

Power over creation

Health, and even life

Jairus’ daughter

Jesus wept, Lazarus lived

Widows only son

Dead in sin, BUT GOD!

Children under wrath, BUT GOD!

But God’s rich mercy

 

Steve Poole
Pastor of Youth & Young Adults

What did you think of this article? Did you laugh? Cry? Learn something new? Let Steve know below.

    Cedar Blog

    Pointless Prayer?

    Pointless Prayer?

    This past Sunday I mentioned that one path into prayer might be bird watching. This thought emerged from Jesus’ suggestion to watch ravens and sparrows. “Consider the birds: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” (Luke 12:24).

    I’d like to say I landed on this idea without any help but – as with almost every good idea – it came when someone interrupted my train of thought. The guy’s name was Sam Bush who wrote an essay with this intriguing title: The Greatest Things in Life are Pointless. 

    If that doesn’t make you want to read on, I don’t know what will. So I read on.

    I imagined various birds winging their way into my backyard. Like the chatty sparrows who cluster at the feeder then swoop in mass to disappear in the pine tree when I arrive. Like the robins queued up for a bath – taking turns – one at a time. Like the goldfinch hanging upside down on a sunflower. Or my favorite, the owl who spins his head to see me and then floats away in silence.

    Then, without warning, I’m thinking about God’s watchful eye following the birds. And God watching me. How much more valuable am I than the birds? And I pray, “Wow!”

    Sam Bush draws this conclusion: Thus, the greatest things in life are pointless. They will not help you find yourself, but, rather, help you forget about yourself altogether. It is in losing yourself – in the wonder of creation, in riding an endless wave, in the learning and recognition of a bird’s call – where you become a new creation. No calendars, willpower or expertise needed.

    Kent Landhuis
    Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

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

      Cedar Blog

      What Prayer May Be

      What Prayer May Be

      After I preached on meeting God in creation, wilderness, and nature someone recommended the book, I Saw God Wash The World, by William Stidger. It is a book of nature and faith poetry.  I have enjoyed it so far and I really appreciate the perspective Dr. Stidger gives on prayer.  So, since our emphasis this year is prayer, I thought I might share it with you all, too.

      I THINK I KNOW WHAT PRAYER MAY BE

      I think I know what prayer may be

      In all its great simplicity;

      I saw its deeper meaning gleam

      Out of the wonder of a dream.

       

      I was a god myself, with power

      To answer prayer for just one hour.

      It was a little world, it’s true,

      But all its simple laws I knew.

       

      Each of its laws I could command

      With mind, and will, and heart and hand.

      Then, walking through this world I know

      I chanced upon a scene of woe:

       

      A bird and bee caught in a room

      Condemned to almost certain doom;

      Till I came by, with sympathy

      And saw their plight, and set them free.

       

      I have no doubt that bird and bee

      Believed it some great mystery;

      An intervention, filled with awe

      To baffle truth and time and law.

       

      It did not seem so strange to me

      To liberate that bird and bee.

      I broke no laws, performed no feat

      I could not any day repeat.

       

      Thus it must be with Him who cares

      To hear and answer human prayers;

      A simple, loving thing to do;

      Within His laws and Nature – true.

       

      He has the strength, He has the way;

      He knows the higher laws that play

      Their simple parts in such affairs.

      That is the way God answers prayers.

      I love how simply this poem puts the wonder of an omnipotent God. His ways, understanding and resources are so much beyond my comprehension! To Him, answering my prayer is as simple as shooing a bird and bee from my house would be for me.  The picture painted in this poem helps me visually how easy it is for God to miraculously answer my prayers. It helps me trust in His good timing and providence.  I hope it encourages you too.

      Steve Poole
      Pastor of Youth & Young Adults

      What did you think of this article? Did you laugh? Cry? Learn something new? Let Steve know below.

        Cedar Blog

        Encountering Light

        Encountering Light

        This summer the theme at Lake View Camps is “Be the Light.” So I have been contemplating light and darkness a lot lately.  One scripture I have come to appreciate more deeply is Ephesians 5:8

        “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—”

        It is not just that darkness was in us, or that now we have the light in us, it says we WERE darkness and now we ARE light in the Lord. Amen! What a transformation has occurred through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus says it this way in John 8:12,

        ‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’

        I need to hear Jesus say this sometimes when I get down from battling self-doubt and sin, or from seeing how evil hurts so many people in our world. I need a light. We need a light. The whole world NEEDS a light. Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world and if we follow Him we can experience new life.

        Another thing I have done this summer, ever since Pastor Kent taught the staff on his passion for poetry, is write some poetry of my own. I have written some about fishing.

        Anticipation
        Set the hook, you’ve got a bite
        Adrenaline pumps

        Another is remembering sitting with my dad on the porch or dock of a lake cabin we rented for the week for family vacation. We were up before everyone else, drinking coffee and telling stories.

        Smell the coffee brew
        Creaking dock, smell wormy morn
        Tell stories; miss dad

        The poetry brings me back to the light of Jesus because I have been trying to reflect on the Bible while writing poetry. I was thinking about the man born blind that was healed by Jesus and my own spiritual blindness when I wrote:

        Useless, lightless eyes
        Looking, seeking, desperate
        Groping in the dark

        I think that captures the helpless and hopeless feeling of despair I feel at times without God. Then when we first encounter light it can be overwhelming.

        Bewildered, blinded
        Caught off-guard, confusing light
        Disorienting

        Blinding, burning light
        Too holy and pure for me
        Exposed, pathetic

        Light purifies, that is why sometimes the light of Jesus makes me feel exposed. However, His light is good and His work in me, though painful, brings health and healing.

        Warm, comforting light
        Melts a soul frozen in pain
        Son’s heat like spring thaw

        Jesus’ love is light that brings healing to my wounded soul.  I need Him to thaw me and make me warm enough to be able to love others in His name. Ezekiel 37 tells of a vision God gives the prophet of a valley of dry bones coming back to life. This is the meaning of the vision:

        11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

        This is the hope we have too! That through faith in Jesus Christ we can go from dead in our sins to ALIVE in Him! Just as the stone was rolled a way, and Jesus rose from the grave, we too are born again into the family of God.  While this is a beautiful truth my heart still ask God this question:

        Purifying light,
        Plumb this foul, festering corpse
        Can these dry bones live?

        God’s answer to me and you from Ezekiel 37 is a resounding, “YES”!

        Steve Poole
        Pastor of Youth & Young Adults

        What did you think of this article? Did you laugh? Cry? Learn something new? Let Steve know below.

          Cedar Blog

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          There are sometimes where the daily rhythms of life feel so mundane.  Like breakfast dishes.

          Do you have a morning routine?

          I wake up, turn on the coffee pot, and while the water is heating and that first cup is brewing, I empty the dishes on the drying rack from last night’s dinner clean-up.

          I sit down to enjoy my coffee and open the Bible app on my phone and read until my kids slowly wake up and wander down into my quiet space.  Then, it’s time for breakfast, and more dishes.

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          We get everyone ready for the day—diapers, clothes, hair, teeth and shoes.

          Sometime shortly after this, someone starts asking for a snack. It doesn’t take long for the word to spread that mom is dishing out the good stuff and everyone else becomes convinced they need a snack, too. More dishes. Only this time I let the dishes sit, because I know come lunch time, there’ll be other dishes to address.

          Then lunch. Then dishes.  Then snacks. Then dishes. Then supper. Then final dishes and a grand cleaning swoop before bedtime.

          It’s amazing how much of my day is spent addressing dish clean-up!  But there is a rhythm to it that if I stick to the rhythm, I don’t get overwhelmed.  If I let things pile up, the task feels too big, too time-consuming.

          I heard recently from a preacher about his frequent and favorite daily prayer times.  They go something like this:

          “Lord, help.”

          That’s it.  His day is sprinkled with this short prayer.  About to write an email? “Lord, help.”  Making a phone call? “Lord, help.”  Losing patience with the kids? “Lord, help.”  It’s a rhythm of constant engagement with God.  It’s not a two-to-three hour time slot (though his prayer life contains those, too!) but a short prayer that reengages his heart back to God in the midst of the mundane.

          Another prayer he uses is, “Holy Spirit, show me more.” Short and sweet and sprinkled throughout the day.

          I love this approach. If I were to pile up all these little prayers into a giant prayer time, it feels a little like letting my dishes pile up —a giant task that I just don’t want to tackle. My brain says it’s too hard! But five seconds throughout the day? No problem.

          While we should have goals to expand our spiritual lives and times of devotion, getting to that point can often feel like a giant mountain.  I genuinely WANT to be a person who prays for hours on end, but getting into that rhythm will take some practice. Can I start with a simplified rhythm? YES!

          Rinse. Wash. Dry. Repeat.

          Just because my musician brain is fully at work right now on ‘rhythm,’ here’s what I think my prayer life looks like and COULD look like:

          Leah Carolan
          Pasor of Worship & Media

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

            Cedar Blog

            Praying From the Heart

            Praying From the Heart

            I’m reading a memoir right now entitled My Father Before Me. The author honestly recounts his father’s troubled life and how it impacted him. He looks without flinching and then tells us about it. It is powerful. As I read about ordinary family events that often went wrong, I could not help but feel empathy.

            Reading these stories made me wonder how God might feel when I talk to Him about the ordinary events in my life. Does God want to hear the nitty-gritty of my daily routines? Does God share my joy or grief? Does God empathize with me?

            As we’ve grown in prayer this year, I must admit that I still have more questions than answers. Prayer, on the one hand, is a simple conversation with God, on the other hand, it connects us with God in mysterious ways.

            Our value of being authentic people helps us when we pray. We pray honest prayers from the heart and God listens and responds. When we talk to God we tell it like it is and then listen – that is really all we need to know.

            Keep praying from the heart!

            Kent Landhuis
            Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

            P.S. Special thanks to prayer champions and mentors praying for the next generation. Your prayers matter!

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

              Cedar Blog

              Artificial Intelligence in Ministry

              Artificial Intelligence in Ministry

              Recently, someone posted pictures on social media that an Artificial Intelligence generator created based on scripture. The pictures were amazing and thought provoking.

              That made me consider what AI would write for my chips article this month. I thought it would be interesting to ask the AI Generator to “Write three paragraphs on the value of Christian Friendship.” What you see below is what the AI bot came up with in a few seconds.

              Friendship is a bond in love through reciprocity, mutuality, and holiness. Friendship is essential to the Christian life for the church because it is a fruit of godly virtue, a gift of God’s grace, and a way of grateful obedience to God’s law. An essential aspect of Christian discipleship is friendship. Christians are called to love their neighbors as themselves (Mark 12:31), and friendship is one way that Christians can fulfill this commandment.

              Friendship is important because love is greatest. God is love, and He is glorified by Christians who love wisely, rightly, and well in holy friendship. This love promotes the peace, purity, and unity of the church 1. The Lord knows there is value in earthly friendship, as well as fellowship. One place in the Bible where God tells us why having a good friend is important is in Ecclesiastes. There, we are told something simple but very profound: two are better than one 2.

              In conclusion, friendship is an essential aspect of Christian discipleship that promotes peace, purity, and unity of the church. It is a bond in love through reciprocity, mutuality, and holiness that Christians can fulfill the commandment of loving their neighbors as themselves. Friendship is important because it glorifies God who is love and it builds us up and helps us grow 3.

              1. tabletalkmagazine.com
              2.  ministry127.com
              3.  crosswalk.com

              What are your thoughts on using an AI generator in your ministry?

              Lindsey Ungs
              Connection & Communication Architect

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

                Uncategorized

                Girls of Grace – May 21 at Brewhemia

                We are Girls of Grace!

                This program is designed for young girls who are eager to grow in confidence, Christ and community.

                Come alongside us and help teach our daughters their worth in Christ, while walking in His grace.

                Join us Sunday, May 21, 8am at Brewhemia (Newbo area in Cedar Rapids)

                Questions? Contact Lindsay and Lauren below:

                Cedar Blog

                Do You Use the Guardrails?

                Do You Use the Guardrails?

                Recently my friend shared about the book “Boundaries” in the Parenting Together Sunday School class. This led to a new understanding of many areas of life that boundaries can be applied. Some of those areas include time, words, truth, love, values, limits, resources and gifts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs, behavior, desires, and choices.

                One of the biggest realizations for me is that I’m a boundary mover. I fall into the ditch of frequently adjusting my boundaries. Constantly, I’m evaluating: “Is this where my boundary should be or should I move it for a specific purpose?”

                For example, the other day someone needed dozens of rides to and from their home, throughout the week, because they could no longer drive. My week was already full plus I had meetings all five nights that week. My boundary is typically only three evening events per week in order to preserve the health of our family.

                In the moment, I wondered was God asking me to step up and toss one of my boundaries aside for this need? The answer for this specific situation seemed to be “no.” I needed to let others step up and care for this person.

                How do you handle boundaries in your life? Are they movable? What if the Holy Spirit calls you to move beyond your comfort zone? Or, do you need to add some boundaries in your life? Do you have any boundaries in place at all? Maybe you need to put some guardrails up in certain aspects of your life in order to prioritize what matters.

                I find that I fall into the ditch of constantly moving the boundary lines in my life. Others fall into the ditch of setting up boundaries and never evaluating them again.

                While it is good to be open to the Holy Spirit stirring in our heart, most of the time sticking to a boundary can be helpful.

                Lindsey Ungs
                Connection & Communication Architect

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

                  Cedar Blog

                  Friendly Prayer

                  Friendly Prayer

                  I get a kick out of kids’ simple, sometimes funny prayers. Prayers like these:

                  • “Dear God, if You can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am!”
                  • “Dear God, thank You for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy.”
                  • “Dear God, it must be super hard to love all the people in the world, especially my sister. I don’t know how You do it.”

                  These prayers open us up to unexpected thoughts and truths and usually help us see God in a new way. They help us connect with God and isn’t that one of the main reasons we pray?

                  • “Dear God, please take care of my daddy, mommy, sister, brother, my doggy, and me. Oh, please take care of Yourself, God. If anything happens to You, we’re gonna be in a big mess.”

                  I used to think prayers had to be proper. Self-important. Maybe even a bit pompous. We, after all, should approach God carefully. Right?

                  Now I think the most important thing is to come to God just as we are. Sometimes we come with big, bold, important prayers. Sometimes we just come with a friendly prayer to tell God what is on our mind. Like a kid.

                  • “Dear God, I don’t think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want you to know that I am not just saying that because You are God already.”

                  Keep praying.

                  Kent

                  Kent Landhuis
                  Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

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