Category Archives: Cedar Chips

The month newsletter of Cedar Hills Community Church.

Cedar Chips, Lent, News

Do You Remember Prepositions?

As we head into the season of Lent, we are intentionally choosing to abide more with Jesus. In fact, we’ve made that a key goal of the season, to learn more about the practice of abiding with Jesus.

Sometimes when we create new sermon series and discern where we want to go as a church, we throw out fun titles, creative picture ideas, creative stage concepts and logo designs. One thing in particular about this next series is still causing me to think and I hope it has the same effect on you:

LIFE IN THE VINE

Wait, what? Don’t you mean Life ON the vine? Like… Jesus is the vine and we are a bunch of grapes hanging there with Him. Things hang ON vines, not IN vines. How can I be a hanging grape INSIDE a vine? See my frustration??!!!

It’s not just a catchy play on words, but an invitation to someone and something deeper. We are not abiding ON Christ. We’re not just sitting on His lap and gazing at Him. Though we could be. The invitation is to be IN Christ.

Do you remember the study of prepositions in school? I learned a preposition was anything that could fill in this blank: The squirrel goes ____ the tree. In the tree, around the tree, on the tree, up the tree, etc. Each one communicates something different and is distinct.

We are invited to be IN Christ. How can we do that and what does it look like? This is our goal for the Lenten season. I pray you will find time in your schedule to mark out Wednesday nights and join us to go deeper into the vine.

Leah
Director of Worship & Media

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry

Children & Family – March Update

Love. Belong. Serve.

Soon these three words will become very familiar to our church, as they will provide the framework and foundation for all of the ministry efforts of our entire church. We hope these words already reflect your experiences with Cedar Hills, but that may not be the case for everyone. Maybe to you, these words represent worthy aspirations for our church to pursue.

It is clear that throughout Scripture these three words (Belong, Love, Serve) are important and distinctive of the Christian faith, for any age and place in their spiritual journey. Wherever you’re at, these three simple words represent some BIG priorities that we believe are central to making disciples who make disciples. In light of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, we must approach the harvest field like in Luke 10:2, with a humble mindset. Some of those “laborers” for the gospel are wearing diapers today. However, they are no less valuable to the Kingdom work that lies ahead. We should behold the words of Charles H. Spurgeon, “If we dream that the Lord will not notice the little and insignificant, what do we think of this text: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father’s care (Matthew 10:29)? Does God care for sparrows but not care for little children?

The idea of insignificance should be set aside at once” (Spurgeon, Come Ye Children, 41-42). Thus it is of utmost importance to the Kingdom that we must help our children belong, love and serve, today, as they become disciples of Christ.

Kyle French
Director of Children & Family Ministry

Cedar Chips

March Consistory Update

Listen to Jesus

Some Bibles show the words of Jesus with red letters. Reflecting on these red-letter passages can help us listen more carefully to Jesus. In the Sundays leading up to Easter, we will spend time listening to the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus invites those with ears to listen.

Abide with Jesus

Lent is a season of forty days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter. This year it starts on February 26. It is a time of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus and one way we prepare at Cedar Hills is by eating and worshipping together each Wednesday. Come connect with our Cedar Hills family and abide with Jesus in worship. Meals are served from 5:15-6:15 pm and worship is from 6:30-7:00 pm.

Lent Reading Plan

For the season of Lent, we invite you to dwell in the red letters of Matthew. Each day read the words of Jesus, reflect on their meaning and apply them to your needs. A helpful tool for you might be TNA—Truth Needs Application. A daily reading plan will be included in the bulletin each
week and online.

Leadership Notes

Our leadership board, the Consistory, is made up of Deacons, Elders, and pastors who discern the path God calls us to follow, who keep us on that path, and who celebrate progress along the way. At our February meeting, we reflected on Joshua 1:1-9 and discussed God leading us to our Promised Land.

Our meeting focused on two items that will keep us on the path. Since we open our church to many outside groups, we offered guidance on storage challenges. Unfortunately, we are not able to store items from outside groups. We approved a Child Protection Policy, which reads as follows: Cedar Hills is committed to creating a
holy place of safety and protection for all, a place in which people can experience the love of God through non-abusive relationships.

We also celebrated the progress of the Grow the Good campaign. We praise God for the generosity of the congregation and approved the first projects which will be the updating of the youth room and the installation of the new audio system in the worship center. Also we are making progress in planning for Pastor Alan’s transition into retirement. We are now accepting applicants to fill the position of Ambassador of Care.

Cedar Chips, News

Abiding in Jesus

Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9).

Following Jesus is all about the gospel. The gospel can be described in many ways and my favorite way at the moment is to abide in God’s love. “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God loves us unconditionally and we know this is true because of Jesus. Rest in this love: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Gospel = Good News. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). Isn’t this good news? Sounds a lot like the good news of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Abiding with Jesus is by grace, through faith. And of course, faith itself is rooted in the work of God, the divine Gardner, who has grafted us into the vine. (John 15:3) The vine gives life to the branch which then bears fruit. It starts with abiding. In this season of Lent, “abide with Jesus and see what great love the Father has lavished on us” (1 John 3:1).

The Lord be with you,
Pastor Kent

Cedar Chips, Family Promise, News

Family Promise Update – February 2020

Family Promise Update
Cedar Chips – February 2020

Life presents us with many things to worry about. For me, fortunately, this doesn’t include wondering where I will be living next week and where I will get food for my family. Far too often I take that blessing for granted. Many families today don’t have this stability. They feel like they are facing the world alone. They don’t have a solid support system. They are either unemployed or under employed and can’t cover the basic living expenses of food and housing for their family.

These are the homeless families that Family Promise strives to help. Family Promise is a mission that our church partners with along with 10-15 other area faith communities to provide overnight hosting four weeks per year (once a quarter). Family Promise’s goal is to help families get to a stable and sustainable living situation while keeping their family together. Over the past 18 months more than 100 people from our congregation have assisted in hosting five different families. Each of these families now has an employed parent and is in their own housing. Each of these families have unique complex situations, but we were a part of providing crucial first steps for them to develop a stable sustainable living situation.

As we host each new family, we share our faith with them through our love, fellowship, and actions. As we begin 2020, we continually focus on how we can provide a more positive impact to these families in the months and years ahead. If you have an interest in our mission, we openly welcome your involvement. If so, feel free to contact me by email or (319) 270-3547; or by catching me at church to talk about it.

BruceBruce Boldt
Family Promise Leader

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, News, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark Update – February 2020

Noah’s Ark Preschool
Cedar Chips – February 2020

We are now enrolling students for the 2020-2021 school year. We have a few spots left in our 4-year-old classes, which you can choose three, four, or five days of school. Our 3-year-old classes are offered on Mon/Wed/Fri or Tue/Thurs. The application can be downloaded from our webpage and the $50 registration fee paid online to hold your spot for next year. Contact us with
questions at 396-3125, by email, or visit the website: www.noahsarkcr.org.

We will have a Valentine card exchange, pajama day, and a visit from our favorite Dental Health Professional this month.
We will be hosting another Blood Drive on March 3 – register online! The stipend we receive after collecting 20 blood donations helps us purchase supplies. You can always donate supplies for the preschool. There is a box under the mission table in the Gathering Space.

Kris Crowther,
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, News, Worship, Youth

Children & Family Ministry Update – Feb. 2020

Children & Family Ministry
Cedar Chips – February 2020

Have you ever been amazed by the wonder of a child? How cheerful their faith seems to be? Or maybe it is how quickly they can absorb what is being taught or modeled for them? All of which are very true, our children are incredibly insightful and relentlessly curious. While the answers are not always hitting the mark, or maybe not even on topic for that matter, but the effort alone is palpable. The beauty of it is, that even if they’re wrong, kids will never stop trying to find the “right answer” or the “right way.”

Unfortunately, there are record numbers of teenagers and young adults that are leaving the faith in the 21st century, why? While there are a myriad of reasons, the most pressing and practical is this: our churches have continually sectioned-off
(intentionally and unintentionally) the various generations from worshipping together. To be clear, it is a very good thing that as a church we are tending specifically to the hearts of our youngest members. But we can’t lose sight, does our “ends justify our means?” What I mean by that is threefold: 1) While it’s common sense, children and youth don’t stay that way for long,
and thus must transition into something at some point; 2) How will our children learn to participate in a corporate worship service if they never get to experience it for themselves; 3) Children tend to learn best from having something modeled for them.

So then, what can we do to help our children? How about a resolution for the New Year? Keep it simple and start small. Designate one Sunday a month for your whole family to worship together for the entire service. That’s step one. Step two—talk about it! Ask your children not only about what they learned, but what they saw and how they felt about it. Even if they spent their time in “la-la-land.” If they know you’ll consistently be asking, they’ll start paying attention. There is no time like the present to begin setting the foundation for a lifetime of faith.

Kyle French
Director of Children & Family Ministry

Cedar Chips, Easter, News

Lent Begins Feb. 26

The Season of Lent
Cedar Chips – February 2020

Lent is a season of forty days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter. This year it starts on Wednesday, February 26. It is a time of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are different practices associated with the season of Lent, but the intention is that Lent serves as a season of growing closer to God. Consider using the special services and practices of Lent to help you grow closer to God!

During Lent, we meet on Wednesday nights for a meal (5:15pm-6:15pm) and a short reflective worship service 6:30pm-7:00pm. The season begins with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 26 and continues until Maundy Thursday on Apr. 9.  All are welcome for this season of reflection and going deeper into the Word.

Cedar Chips, News

Fear Not

Fear Not
Cedar Chips – February 2020

When we preach, we tackle questions that come up for people who follow Jesus. Many people— even people who take faith in Jesus seriously— wonder about how to deal with fear and anxiety.

Feb 2: Fear of Failure. Communion
Feb 9: Fear of Intimacy
Feb 23: Fear of Being Ordinary

Cedar Chips, News

Fix Broken Things

Fix Broken Things
Cedar Chips – February 2020

Today, somebody sent me a copy of an old Chips article I wrote in 2008 about Baxter, our yellow lab. I loved that dog and I was grateful for the trip down memory lane.

I love my dogs Sammy and Quincy, but Baxter was my first pet love. It is true love when the sound of a puking dog wakes you up in the middle of the night and you think “poor dog” not “poor carpet.” As Baxter aged it hurt to watch him suffer. I wanted to wave a magic wand to fix him.

When people tell me their problems, I have the same reaction. I wish all their brokenness could be repaired. I feel the same way when I watch the news and see so much brokenness in the world. I guess my desire to wave a magic wand of restoration means that I love the world, too.

My wish for the repair of broken things has turned into a prayer. Probably one of my most frequent prayers, “Lord fix broken things.” And the good news is this: God loves this world even more than I and God wants to fix broken things and promises to do so in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” In Jesus, God promises to fix all broken things. Someday. Maybe we can hold on to that promise when the sadness of brokenness hits. Also this promise from Philippians 1:6, “I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God loves us and wants to fix broken things and one day everything that is wrong will be set right. I’m sure of it!

The Lord be with you,
Pastor Kent