Friday, November 20, 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Though Veteran's Day is just past, here is a story with which some veterans can relate:

While working as a Navy nurse in a military hospital's emergency room, I was required to introduce myself by my rank and full name. I usually refer to myself as Ensign Mike Payne, but one busy day I rushed into a patient's room and blurted, "Hi, I'm Ensign Payne."

"Hi," the patient responded. "I'm in some pain too."

And then I read this one which hits a little closer to home for me:

"The human brain is a wonderful thing: it starts working the moment you are born, and never stops until you stand up to speak in public."

I have had to work hard at this and still do, always hoping for the best - not for me, but for my listeners.

As you attend church services this Sunday, I hope that in addition to listening that you will also participate fully in all ways. For us here at Faith in Streetsboro we have the following for your blessing and growth:

9:30 AM - classes for all ages including four Adult Bible Fellowships ("1 Thessalonians," "Colossians," "The Life of David," and "Fighting Spiritual Battles.")

10:45 AM - Worship service with great songs of praise, an opportunity to give, and hearing from God's Word from 1 John 2:18 - 27 as we consider, "Correct Doctrine, Our Safeguard Against Error."

4:45 PM - Choir practice for the upcoming Christmas cantata. (note that practice for the children & teen Christmas program is during the second half of the morning service.)

6:00 PM - in the service for Adults, Jeff Sheldon will be sharing from God's Word along the lines of Thanksgiving to prepare our hearts for the holiday. Our Student Ministry will fellowship together in games, food, and learning about "Transferring the Title" of your heart to Christ. And our AWANA kids will enjoy their club time of learning and fun. The special activity for them this week is to bring your favorite stuffed animal to show, so don't forget.

Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday this week please note that there will be NO midweek services on either Wedsnesday or Thursday. And our offices will be closed after Tuesday. My family would appreciate your prayers for us as Joshua, Emily, and Leah travel here on Tuesday, then all of us will travel to Indiana to spend several days with Sarah, Sam, and our Grandboys we are looking forward to this time together. (oops! I mistakenly inserted the wrong picture of Sarah with Jonathon - since he is already in one with Sam, I must be "fair" and include Nicholas, you know? And I cannot figure out how to delete a picture that once gets posted in this blog - any help??)

In my absence next Sunday a friend, Pastor Bob Kuhns will be speaking in our morning service. Bob recently retired from a long term ministry at Brown Street Baptist Church in Akron, OH and is available for speaking engagements such as ours. In the evening service next Sunday our friend, Pastor Igor Bagirov will be updating us on his ministry with the Beth - El Congregation in Cleveland and will bring a message from God's Word. Please plan to give a love offering to him for his ministry. He always enjoys coming to our church, I am sorry to miss him this time.

Our annual church business meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 PM. This is the meeting when we vote to affirm proposed officers and a new budget for 2010. Both a list of officers and the budget will be posted this Sunday on the bulletin board for your review and prayer. If you are a member this is one of those obligations you have to be a part of the life of our church; we need you there. We will also give any updates on ministries as well as progress on the informal merger talks we have mentioned in our services the past two weeks.

Our UPWARD basketball registration is in full swing! See the display in the lobby to pick up a brochure, and if you will help us distribute brochures, put a sign in your yard, or help get the word out in other ways we would appreciate it. We also need more to volunteer to be coaches, referees, and concession workers, as well as financial aid sponsors for needy children. You can sign up in the lobby as well as see me or Dan Kieta about sponsorship.

For the most part we are thankful for good health in our congregation overall in the midst of the flu season. I understand from news reports that the swine flu "epidemic" seems to have hit it's peak and is on the way out. I certainly hope so, but I also encourage us all to continue to use caution and common sense in healthy cleanliness.

May God bless you as you pray and prepare for His services on Sunday. And if you attend a church other than ours here at Faith, jot me a comment (below on this page) letting us all rejoice with you in the activities of your church and the blessings God gives through its' ministries.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Where were you in the great days of summer, 1971? Well, as usual, I was heading to a week of basketball camp with our high school team. Man, did we ever look COOL! You will have to look over this picture carefully to figure out which one I am. And thanks to my friend, Rick, for discovering and sending me this and several other pictures. I particularly appreciate the ones of my father who drove us to the camp at Grace College in Indiana. In our recent phone discussion, he said he was 38 years old at that time. Now he is twice that age. But I am NOT twice the age I was in 1971 - funny how numbers work the way they do.

Well, our numbers for this week are as follows:

9:30 AM, 10:45 AM, 4:45 PM, 6:00 PM. If you are a regular reader of these weekly notes, you know that these numbers represent our regular services that we offer to you each Sunday. Classes and worship experiences are always worthwhile and encouraging for your spiritual growth. This Sunday in our worship service we will continue to look in 1 John 2:12 - 17 regarding the "Results of Our Good Spiritual Health." Read the passage again in preparation. And remember the choir practice for our Christmas cantata for all adults. Parents, please have your children here on Sunday AM when they will practice for their Christmas program part way through our worship service.

Don't forget that our AWANA kids (6:00 PM) are collecting food for the Streetsboro Christian Cupboard and this is the last night for it. Our Teens will meet at this time for their activity and study time from Psalm 139, and our Adults will sing and fellowship together and then hear from our own Dan Oreskovic who will share a message from Acts 17:1 - 10 regarding "How Can I Be Used By God To Change The World?" Encourage Dan and Jyll by your prayers and presence.

We also have our regular mid weekly times for Prayer and Bible study on Weds. at 7:10 PM and Thursday at 11:00 AM. And for our Board members, remember our regular meeting on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 PM.

Mark December 12 (Saturday) on your calendars for our Annual Adult Christmas Banquet. This is always a highlight of our year together and a great way to enter the Christmas holiday time. Details on ticket prices, etc. will be forthcoming.

We have available registration forms for the upcoming UPWARD basketball program for kids ages 4 through grade 6. Early fee is $55, but after December 6 it will be $65 so register early. For families with multiple kids involved we may be able to offer financial help, please contact me or Dan Kieta about this. And if you are able and willing to sponsor one or more children to help, let Dan or myself know that, too. Evaluations will be held at our church between 6:00 and 7:30 PM on Monday, Dec. 14 and Thursday, Dec. 17 so please sign up early. This is our joint venture with First Baptist Church in Aurora; please keep this ministry in prayer.

I will talk about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 with my ABF this Sunday, and in particular I will point out this quote by Pastor Kent Hughes which is good for us all to consider:

"Though Lot was revolted by Sodom, Sodom was in his soul. It is possible, then, for a believer to be distressed by the world while willfully clinging to the world."

Meditate on this, and if applicable, consider how you can change this pattern in your own life. God bless you as you do, and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!


Thursday, November 5, 2009

Sunday, November 8, 2009

With the cooler weather this week (and even some wet snowflakes here yesterday) the fall season is certainly upon us. Though I love the fall, I am always sad to see summer depart because of the outdoor activities I enjoy. But cutting grass is NOT one of those activities, so when our lawnmower broke earlier this summer I didn't mind, but Beth kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.

But somehow I always had other things to take care of first such as fishing, or arranging my tackle box, or messing around with my little aluminum boat, etc. These things were more important to me than cutting grass.

So finally, Beth thought of a clever way to make her point: when I arrived home one day (from church or fishing, I don't recall) I found her seated in the tall grass in the front yard busily snipping away with her sewing scissors. I silently watched her from the sidewalk for a short time, then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush and said: "When you finish cutting the grass, please be sure to sweep the sidewalk."

The doctors say that I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

(haha - got you! This is copied from an email one of you sent to me earlier this week. Maybe next week I will share more!)

For this Sunday we have our full line up of services and activities:

9:30 AM - Sunday school for kids and teens and four ABF's for adults.

10:45 AM - A great opportunity for Worship including our continuing series in First John, this time 2:12 - 17 where we will consider the "Results of Our Good Spiritual Health." Remember that our Children's church time will consist of practice for the upcoming Christmas program, so parents, if you want your kids (up through 8th grade) in the program, they need to be here for practice.

Don't forget that this Sunday after our morning service will be our "Soup, Chili, and Bread" Social. We have these a few times a year and they are always a hit - especially during the cold months. Watch the Food Network or look through that section in the Saturday paper to get ideas for what kind of soup to bring. But I have to say, Pumpkin soup doesn't sound so great to me, but Beth would love it.

4:45 PM - Choir practice for the Adult Christmas Cantata.

6:00 PM - Part six (final video) in our series, "When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box." This has been a helpful series to us all. This video is: "The King Has One More Move" and will challenge us that the only trophy that lasts eternally is delighting in the heart of God.

Also at 6:00 PM will be our AWANA kids time featuring "Crazy Hair Night" (watch out!) And our Student Ministries will continue their series in "My Heart, Christ's Home" by looking at the "Bedroom" this week. Proverbs 5:15 - 21 is the passage.

Ladies, don't forget our Women's Ministry meeting on Monday at 6:30 PM. This meeting will be a time for "Thanksgiving" so come prepared to share of God's goodness in your life. A sharing of favorite desserts will also be featured, so be sure to sign up to let us know you are coming and what dessert you will bring. And as pastor I am the "ex officio" member of all ministries, so I may pull that card on Monday so I can sample the desserts!!

Don't forget that our annual meeting for Election of Officers and Budget Ratification will be held on Weds. December 2 at 7:00 PM. Your involvement is appreciated as you Nominate officers ahead of time, so please use the sheets on the lobby tables and deposit them this Sunday in the box on the missions table. And please put this important meeting on your schedule.

Last year we had a great Upward Basketball season and it is time to organize for this coming year. We will have some sign up sheets available soon for coaches, referees, concessions workers, and other general help. Please consider being involved in this fun ministry.

Our ministries can't happen without your volunteering and leadership, and I want to say Thank You to Bill and Debbie Mace and all their helpers for making our recent "Trunk or Treat" another success! Also for the Mace's as they represented our church in the city "Trunk or Treat" at WalMart. And I want to thank those who helped in the kitchen and parking lot this past Tuesday during Election Day. Also thanks to all who supplied bread, coffee, etc. for us to be able to give away to our neighbors who came to vote. This continues to be a great annual "Ministry of Kindness" which has positive impact on our community for the cause of Christ.

It seems like this never slow down around here, but I think I wouldn't want it any other way. It is wonderful to serve the Lord together with you, and I look forward to this Sunday as well as the special things in the coming months of the holiday season. Please be involved, I know that God will bless you for it.


Though Nicholas celebrated his 3rd birthday in September, his main gift came this past week when his parents took him to a live production from the "Imagination Movers", a favorite of all preschool age children. He could hardly believe they were there in person, and he had a wonderful time. Jonathon kind of enjoyed it, but I understand he fell asleep halfway through the show. I hope he doesn't do that during one of Papa's sermons! It was a wonderful but tiring time for little boys.