Our Search Committee has submitted the Congregation’s profile to the

Regional Office. Arrangements are being made to meet with Dr. William H.

Edwards, Regional Pastor, so that he can bring the committee the first group of

candidate profiles. This becomes a lengthy and tedious process for your Search

Committee. Please be in prayer for them as they enter into this time of

discernment of who God might be calling to come to Middletown. We have no idea

how long this might take.

Please note the progress chart posted in the Narthex.

As the summer winds down and we begin to experience the delightful hints of fall, changes are in the air. Well, some new changes and yet old recalling years ago are returning to First Christian. It will be happening the first Sunday after Labor Day. That Sunday is September 11 so get ready.

Our older Sunday School class will be starting at 9:15 a.m.

Karen Powers, Teacher

A young Adult class will be meeting in the Narthex starting at 9:30 a.m.

Timothy Hendricks, Teacher

Pre-school through second grade, 9:30 a.m.

Lora Schueller and Martin Schaefer will exchange teaching responsibilities every other month.

Third through Seventh grade, 9:30 a.m.

Gail Rudd, Teacher

 

Join your age-respective class or even offer to lend a helping hand when

needed.

 

Morning Worship will start promptly at 10:30 a.m.

Encourage your friends and fellow-worshipers to join you!

 

It is not too late to turn in a Pledge Card or to make a financial

commitment for 2016-2017.

For a number of years my wife and I have enjoyed feeding

hummingbirds. We usually hang one feeder right outside of our dining room

window and the other feeder we hang near the edge of our deck. It always

seems that in August the hummers become more active.

We have enjoyed the antics of the hummers over the last week or so.

To the best of our knowledge we have been able to count a least eight

hummers. Two are ruby throats and the rest are females and or their

children.

I share this because I believe that there are some significant images

regarding church relationships. You see, the feeder outside of our dining

room window has at least six feeding ports which means it would be possible

for at least six hummers to all sip nectar at the same time. Sadly, we have

only seen two hummers who are willing to tolerate each other long enough to

feed together. One hummer lands nearby to watch for others to come.

In our community life as His church, do we openly support one another

giving others a chance to serve or are we like one of these hummingbirds

ready to challenge and limit what God seeks for us to be? Let us always

remember that we have been called into the body of Christ and that we have

been called to be one.

First, I want to thank you for the vacation time. My wife and I had a

great time in Virginia and we were even joined the second half of the week

by my younger son and grandson and granddaughter. When we returned I

had a chance to kick back and relax and do some of the things that needed

to be done around the home.

While I was gone, I was made aware of a variety of concerns with some

of you here. Some of you were surprised when I would make a phone call

just to check in. A number of you said, “You are on vacation.”

This leads me to declare to all of you that God does not take a vacation.

He is with us every moment of our lives, moments when we are on shaky

ground, moments when we are having fun, moments when we are hurting

and need to experience his presence, moments when our faith has been

drained from us, moments when we are top of the mountain.

I reaffirm this with just the beginning of Psalm 139.

“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know

when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern

my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”

Need we have any more reassurance than this.

The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians the following:

“Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,

whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any

excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

(Philippians 4:8, NRSV)

Two weeks ago I wrote a brief article about excellence and how important it is

to maintain the utmost of excellence in all that we do in the church and the

ministries we maintain or seek to do beyond the walls of our local building.

When it comes to excellence I want to prayerfully consider the above words

from the Apostle Paul as he wrote his letter to the Philippians. Consider first the

way in which you are addressed. You are a part of the beloved community of Jesus

Christ. Secondly, consider the attributes that Paul mentions: truth, honor, justice,

being pleasant, always regarding your fellow Christians as commendable.

How do you desire to be seen by your fellow Christians and the surrounding

community? Do you desire to be unkempt and shoddy or sharp and debonair? The

same criterion applies to the church in which we worship and from which we seek to

do mission and ministry.

Again, read the words above from the Apostle Paul and seek to absorb them

into your being and way of living.

I desire for you to focus on a very critical word in the life of any congregation.

That word is Excellence. Consider how we can become not only a people of

excellence, but a congregation of excellence.

Excellence is putting the best foot forward, attempting to see that all is done

as best as it can be done. What are the ways in which we can strive to be on top as

a congregation and demonstrate that clearly to those around us?

Many years ago I was the pastor of a congregation in another state. One of

my worship responsibilities was to offer the children a message every Sunday. One

Sunday we had a number of visiting children. When the children had come forward

and gathered on the floor in front of me, one of our visitors held up her hand. I

asked her for her name and then I asked what she wanted to ask me. She simply

said, “You have a dirty church.” This prompted me to ask what she meant. She

stood up, turned around and exclaimed how dusty her slacks were because the floor

of the Sunday School room had not been swept. She then commented about how

much in disarray the shelves. I told her that I was sorry and told her that we would

do a better cleaning job. Her comment and complaint indicates a church that is not

excellent.

Sports teams practice so that they may do the best job possible. Musical

groups also practice to be able to present the best performance. Should we expect

any less of the church?

Over the next six months or more, pastoral candidates may come to visit First

Christian. Will it be said of us that we are a church of excellence?

Near the end of the first chapter of Genesis we can read the following:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created

him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, NIV)

This past week our attention has been drawn to the five tragic and fatal

shootings of police officers in Dallas, Texas. My heart and prayers go out the

families and the greater community of Dallas for what they are experiencing.

Before my pastoral prayer one week ago you heard me make the following

statement: “Black lives matter, white lives matter, native American lives

matter, Hispanic lives matter, Oriental lives matter, LGBT lives matter,

Christians matter, Muslims matter, and I could go on and on.”

My dear people, all of us are beloved children of God. In some of my

recent devotional reading, I have had to think about self, more than I

probably wanted to. I invite you to try this experiment of self-love. Stand in

front of mirror and give yourself a warm and sacred hug.

Remind yourselves of Genesis 1:27. We are created in the image of

God. No, there may be parts of us that we don’t like to see—our angry

selves, our selfish selves, our hateful selves. You have the chance each and

every day to turn it all over to God and that’s all that it really takes.

Your surrender become key and critical words.