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This week we laid to rest our dear sister in Christ, Phyllis Rinkenberg, who passed away at the age of 92. She lived a good and faithful life, having served the Lord with dignity and distinction. She was known as a loving wife, a prayer warrior, a good mother and a kind friend.
I knew her as an encourager. Almost every Sunday she would tell me that she was praying for me and for my family. And while many of you tell me that, it meant a bit more coming from Phyllis. As the wife of a Pastor, I knew that Phyllis understood the unique pressure of the life of ministry and that she could relate to the joys and the heartbreaks that come with the role of minister. Her prayers for me and for my family were a constant source of encouragement to me and I will always be thankful for them. Phyllis and her husband Robert never had much wealth in this world, they lived simply and trusted God for what they needed (and the Lord always provided). And so I think this proverb is so fitting as a way to learn from her life. "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver." Proverbs 16:16. I am thankful for Phyllis and her example of faithfulness. I am thankful for her prayers. And I am thankful to the God who gave her to us, even for a time, that we might learn from her wisdom and example. Let us all seek to live likewise, until we too receive our eternal reward and join her in the Kingdom where she now dwells. In Christ, Pastor Scott
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I've been called lots of things over the years. Most often I get called Scott (my name), Dad, Coach, Pastor and Dork (only acceptable from my siblings by the way). But a few times I've been called naive. You see, I have this crazy notion that no matter how things may appear, that God is working behind the scenes and we should trust Him. This sometimes drives non-believers (and even some Christians) crazy because they think I am not facing the facts or living in some fantasy land where everything is rainbows and unicorns...but that's just not true. I realize that life is hard and that bad things happen (they happen to me too). I don't doubt the existence of evil or pain and I know I live in a broken world where not every story has a happy ending. I just hold firm to the belief that I live in a story larger than my own...I live as a part of God's bigger story and that in His story, there is a good plan that WILL happen (even if I don't live to see it or recognize it). Isaiah 55:9 reminds us of the truth that "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." God is with us. God is for us. God is working. We may not see it; but it's not naive to believe it. In a world full of evil, there is a good God who is at work; and I'll take comfort in that truth. In Christ, Pastor Scott In football it's important to be on the same page, so the quarterback will often "huddle up" with his team to make sure everyone knows what to do on the next play. This involves getting all his players in a tight circle where nobody from the other team is allowed into their space.
Some churches tend to think the same way. We form a tight circle of who is "in" and who is "out" and spend our times in our "holy huddles" away from the evils of the world and its sinful ways. I get it, the world is pretty bad and it is tempting to want to hunker down and shut it all out, to protect ourselves and our children from the temptations and sin around us. But, when we do this, we also shut out those who need Jesus. Those people we shut out ARE the mission field we are called to. How can we love those we ignore? How can we serve those we hide from? How can we share the good news to our neighbors if we don't know our neighbors? Matthew 28:19 calls us to "go" and not to hide. The going isn't going to be easy. It will be messy, painful and sometimes full of temptation; but Jesus called us to go anyway. Hiding our light under a bushel isn't going to help anyone; we have to let it shine. So, we huddle up on Sundays or Wednesdays to encourage, worship, teach and prepare...but then we go out to do, love, serve and share. We have to break the huddle and get out on the field (the mission field of our lives) to where the people are who need Jesus. That's the plan, that's the call...and that's where Jesus wants us to be. So get out there...and, break! In Christ, Pastor Scott I love the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. You might remember that a few years ago we did a study of the book in worship and I highly encourage you to read it. Much attention is given (and rightly so) to the main character of Nehemiah and his leadership ability and how he is able to get the people to come together to do this great task of rebuilding the walls around the city. But maybe lost at the end is the most beautiful worship service and celebration in the whole of the Bible.
In chapter 8 the people of God come together to hear the word of God be read out loud and explained (a really good sermon) and they are so moved that they weep. This goes on for days and days and days. At the end of it, they celebrate with feasting and even take care to include those among them who don't have anything to bring to the massive pitch-in they threw. The chapter ends like this, "Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly." What a party! We Wesleyans could learn a thing or two from them about how to worship and how to celebrate! Our homecoming event was big, but not that big! But, in the next few weeks we are dedicating a bunch of children to the Lord and then the next week we are baptizing a TON of people (the most I've ever baptized in one day)...and that's a really good reason to celebrate!! So, let's follow the example of the Israelites and let's A) hear the word of the Lord well (and take it to heart) B) celebrate what God is doing! Amen! Pastor Scott |
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