JUNE 2019 NEWSLETTER

FROM PASTOR MIKE’S DESK:

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ!

            As I sit here at my dining room table writing this, the kids are helping Jessica make banana bread. I have to admit, watching them interact and work together it is quite comical. Maybe it is because they are trying to make three loaves of bread at the same time. Besides the comic relief they are providing me, there is another observation which can very easily made … they are definitely not quiet. They have a lot of extra commentary to add to what is a normally fun event. To quote them, and I have no idea where it comes from, Faith and Heath are so excited they say, “I’m so excited that my chin has fallen off!”  One thing is definitely for sure … they are not bashful in telling us what they are thinking.

            Which you know … their lack of holding anything back is something which is admirable to me as an adult. Why? Because there are times when I wish I wasn’t so reserved. Now you may be thinking that I’m nuts if I think that I’m reserved. I’m definitely pretty outspoken lately when it comes to cheering on the St. Louis Blues or my beloved Chicago Cubs. By the way, did you notice that they swept the Cardinals in the beginning of May when they played in Chicago? Hehe! ?

            Anyways, yes, there are some things which I am pretty outspoken about. I believe we can each say that about ourselves. Where our passions lie, there we find we are able to talk freely. But there are some things which are hard to freely talk about.

            And why is that? Maybe it is because we don’t know where the other person stands on a particular issue. Maybe it is because we don’t want to offend someone. Maybe it is because we don’t feel that we are educated enough or know the topic well enough to talk about it logically.        All this got me thinking about to the theme for the SuperStart! event that some of our younger youth attended in Bloomington back in March. The theme for that event was all about overcoming obstacles. There was even a female American Ninja Warrior there named Emily Durham who went through a makeshift version of the American Ninja Warrior course. The theme verse was Psalm 105:1, which says, “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done” (New Living Translation).
            The story of God’s amazing love for His creation as well as each and every one of us is an absolutely amazing story.  However, it is one which doesn’t get a whole lot of vocalization. But why? Like I said earlier, maybe it is because we don’t know if the person we are talking to a Christian or not. Maybe we don’t want to take a chance and offend them. Maybe it is because we don’t feel like we know the words and message of the Bible well enough. Whatever the reason is which we try to fall back on … none of them stand up to what the Psalmist tells us.
            The Psalmist says we are to give thanks and proclaim the greatness of the Lord. We are to tell not only our family members or our neighbors, we are to tell the whole world what it is he has done. This is pretty absolute. There are no conditional clauses here. Go and tell the good news. Period.

            No matter how many times tonight we tried to get the kids to quiet down … they couldn’t help but talk, be loud, and make all of us laugh. That is just who they are. As God’s people, as Christians, that is how we are supposed to be. The world wants us to quiet us down, but the message

we have is far too great to keep it contained and quiet.

            Here is my challenge to you … use your loud childlike voice. Hold nothing back when it comes the proclamation of the amazing God things which have happened in your life. Hold nothing back when it comes to the proclamation of what Jesus has done for you, me, and all people through his life, death, and resurrection. Hold nothing back when it comes to the proclamation of God’s law and promises found in the pages of Scripture, for “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

            It is my prayer that you be like my kids and never let anyone try to shush you when you are talking about our amazing God.

God’s blessings,Pastor Mike