Category Archives: Cedar Blog

Cedar Blog

Giving Season

Giving Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time of year when every day I receive mail, emails, and texts from various organizations requesting donations. Charities, ministries, animal shelters, foundations, humanitarian causes, nonprofit institutions – they are all asking for gifts.

This annual barrage of requests for my money used to annoy the heck out of me. But I’ve been rethinking this in two ways. First, I give thanks that so many organizations commit to making our world a better place. Nonprofit organizations do so much good! Second, I give thanks that so many generous people give to support these important causes. Did you know that individuals donated $319.04 billion in 2022? That’s billion!

Did you also know that December giving accounts for roughly one-fourth (26%) of annual nonprofit revenue? That includes the church and we are a 100% donor-funded organization. We have no trusts or endowments or corporate sponsorships. We depend on the generosity of God’s people for all of our resources.

We are making the world a better place. We offer hope to a world in need of hope. We feed the hungry and encourage the outcast. We help every generation flourish in faith. We make a difference and we depend on your generosity to make that happen. Your giving to Cedar Hills matters.

I am so thankful to be part of a congregation committed to making the world a better place. And I am so thankful to be part of a congregation of generous people. And I am so thankful it is giving season.

But wait there’s more. God promises blessings to those who give generously. Consider this great promise in 2 Corinthians 9:6 – “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

The Lord be with you,

Pastor Kent

P.S. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8).

Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

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

    Cedar Blog

    Peacemakers

    Peacemakers

    Just now I couldn’t stop myself from clicking on a post entitled, “The Most Controversial Foods in America.” While waiting for the blog to open, I wondered if there was any issue that people don’t divide over. In case you are wondering, the most polarizing food in America is anchovies (followed closely by black licorice, oysters, beets, blue cheese, and okra).

    Every year at this time I say something about the state of the church and I am proud to say that we, the church known as Cedar Hills Community, are growing as peacemakers. Peacemakers seek peace – especially by reconciling adversaries. Peacemakers don’t avoid controversy but instead, enter difficult spaces with the hope of building bridges.

    The place I’ve seen the most peacemaking has been in intergenerational relationships. Many of you sought out people of another generation – not to argue with – but to pray for and pray with. It has been a beautiful bridge-building season. Uniting, not polarizing.

    Psalm 145:4 says, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” The goal of our intergenerational focus was to tell each other about God’s mighty deeds. We did this and one of the fruits of this – which I did not see coming – was the fruit of unity. One generation loved another.

    What a great place to be!

    Kent Landhuis
    Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

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

      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

            When a Scripture Gets Stuck in Your Head

            When a Scripture Gets Stuck in Your Head

            Do you ever get a verse stuck on the mind that you haven’t thought about in months (or maybe more) and wonder why you suddenly are pondering/singing that verse on repeat?

            “Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” – Hebrews 3:18

            That’s the song playing over and over in my mind today and I haven’t thought about this verse in a long time. (I looked in my records and it looks like I set it to music in early 2022).

            So I had to stop and ask God, “Why are you highlighting this verse??!!” because I believe this is one of the awesome ways the Holy Spirit works in us as we put the scriptures in our hearts and minds.

            When I started asking questions, it was like God began to highlight parts of this verse that I had previously skimmed over. It wasn’t just that Jesus was tempted as we are tempted and we can have victory because He had victory… but that He suffered when tempted. That’s the new part God highlighted for me that I’ve never noticed before—being tempted comes with agony and suffering. He deeply felt the burden of the temptation itself. Isn’t that fascinating??

            I hope I’m not reading too much into the text, but I am now seeing that Jesus, as fully human, felt that agony of temptation in ways that we feel it. It wasn’t like it was an easy streak for Him just because He was also fully God.

            Somehow this epiphany brings me great comfort in my struggles. IT WAS HARD FOR JESUS, too.

            And I can see this now, all because God brought a verse to mind. When this happens, I’m going to be quicker to ask, “Why this verse, God?”

            Leah Carolan
            Pastor of Worship & Media

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              Cedar Blog

              What is the Gospel when it isn’t wanted?

              What is the Gospel when it isn’t wanted?

              What is the gospel to one who seemingly doesn’t “want it”, to one whose life seems pretty good, whose life is successful, whose dreams are coming together just the way they want in their career and family and position? And to one who is actually hostile towards the idea of a Supreme Being that leads His people via an outdated book, calling allegiance to some dude named Jesus?

              This has been my ponderings this week.  I have a friend that is this person.  How and what do I share with her?

              It gets even more complicated that her job and entire livelihood is tied into the worship of false gods.  She is an artisan of mystical and spiritual products–a coming-to-Jesus would eventually mean having to turn from creating art she’s mastered and developed for the last decade, and her family’s sole income.

              It just gets so messy when I think about the Gospel and my friend.

              It breaks my heart, actually, that I find myself at a loss of words.  I feel tongue-tied.  I am grieved.  And her salvation weighs heavily on me because I care deeply for the whole family.

              I keep thinking I need to ‘craft’ it just right to apply it to her life, looking for just the right inroad to make it all make sense. After stewing this over for a few weeks, I have come to this conclusion:

              The Gospel doesn’t change.  Whether fertile soil, or seed tossed on dry ground that the birds are just going to eat up, the Gospel is the Gospel. God’s good news is still the good news. I don’t have to curate it.

              And that good news is this:  We were created by a loving and Holy God that desires communion and fellowship with us and we were specifically designed by Him for this very communion.  But because we have chosen sin over his light, we can’t be in His presence.  He is that holy.

              And so we are separated from Him.

              But because of His great love for us, He always had a plan to restore us back into relationship with Him. And that plan is Jesus.  In His great love, Jesus, God’s Son, left his throne in heaven and came to earth.  He was born fully human, and yet fully God, and walked with us to know and experience the fullness of all humanity.  But he never sinned. He was perfect.  And in His perfection, He chose to die and take all of the punishment that we deserved upon Himself.

              Imagine if you were standing before a judge who was about to cast sentence on you for a heinous crime, and someone stands up and says, “I’ll take the death penalty for them and stand in their place.”

              It’s that serious, my friends.  Our sin (all sin, no matter how big or small) is deserving of death.  And Jesus’ willingly chooses to die for us.  We talk about his death on the cross—that moment on the cross is our death penalty fulfilled in Jesus.  But He didn’t stay dead!  He came back to life and conquered death and conquered sin! What?? Like, who does that?? Only God himself.

              So when we accept this Good News of Jesus standing in our place, and believe He is the Son of God who He declares himself to be, that his death was the punishment meant for us, and that He defeated death and came back to life—when we believe this good news, we are forgiven washed from sin and are restored back to our Creator. We are saved.   We are made pure–so pure, that we can come back into His holy presence.

              Thinking again about my mystical-spiritual-artisan friend… She, too was made for this grand restoration. Even if life is good. Even if life feels okay, just as it is.  Jesus came, died and rose again for her.

              I’m praying that God would remove the scales from her eyes to see, to lift any and all barriers in her heart and mind that would keep the Truth from reaching her.

              And I have to remember that if (WHEN!) she comes to faith, God knows that she’ll need a new career—this is not outside His realm of understanding or care.  He will take care of her.  His love is THAT big.

              Is this person you? Do you want to know Jesus as your Savior as well? To be restored back to the Heavenly Father that created you? Then pray this prayer—just say these words out loud and direct them to God from your heart:

              Lord, thank you for creating me, loving me, and making a way for me to come back into relationship with you. I believe that Jesus is who He says He is – your Son.  I believe He is perfect, that His death was for me, and that He came back to life.  I believe, and choose to follow Him and claim Him as my Savior. Thank you that I am forgiven because of Jesus!

              Show me what next steps I need to take as I step into a new life of faith. Surround me with teachers and mentors to guide me.  Help me understand the Bible and the great Truths it contains.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

              Leah Carolan
              Pastor of Worship & Media

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

                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.