It is going to be a beautiful day and looks great the whole week.  No rain in the 10 day forecast at this time though.  Hopefully you can get out for a walk and soak us some Vitamin D!

Today is pretty much a potpourri of thoughts!  One interesting one that I had heard about before as I thought about it came from Wilma Arbogast.  It was in reference to 1 Corinthians 13.  She said we should insert our name in the passage wherever the word “love” is used.   I have included verses 4-7 here to help you out:

(Your name) is patient and kind. (Your name) is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. (Your name) does not demand (his/her)  own way. (Your name) is not irritable, and (Your name) keeps no record of being wronged. (Your name) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. (Your name) never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Give it a try and see how you feel.  I know I have some areas to work on!

I am including a picture from a birthday celebration this past Saturday.  Our oldest daughter Tina’s birthday was Saturday and she and her boys came over for a dual celebration Sherry’s birthday.  This was one of the gifts Tina got for Sherry.  Sherry loves her coffee and her bible so it is appropriate.  There were other gifts but this tiny little bookmark got the most conversation over the evening as we played board games and ate cheesecake.  It doesn’t seem like a significant “gift” but it probably brought the most joy.  Your spiritual gift may be just like this little “coffee spill” bookmark.  It may not seem significant but you will never know how much joy your gift will bring if you don’t share it!

A note to the men of the church.  We are starting a new book study in our 9:10 am Life Group on Sunday, March 23.  The book is called “Dialed In,” a study of the qualifications of elders and overseers from Titus 1 and the letters to Timothy.  It is an easy read with discussion questions and an inventory at the end of each chapter. I will be ordering books tomorrow morning and the church is funding them.  Let me know if would be interested in joining us. Guys, if you are already attending “I gotcha!”

P.R.

Rick Neubauer

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness,  faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I Timothy 6:11

It’s going to be a beautiful week!  Get out if you can and enjoy the warmer temps and sunny skies! Hopefully you won’t spend all of your time outside but you will  find the time to complete your Spiritual Gifts Inventory this week.

I came across this in my reading and thought it would give you a great example of why everyone’s gifts are needed to effectively minister.  This example is about how the various gifts might be employed in a neighborhood setting, something that we have been emphasizing for the last six weeks or so.  Follow along:

Let’s say a neighbor finds themselves ill and bedridden for a month. If that person’s neighbors have varying gifts, how might they use them in ministering to that person?

• Prophesy (under edifying)– Remember not predicting! Someone who desires to see God’s will be done.  This person may pray for the ill one both at their bedside and in private, praying for strength and endurance according to God’s will.
• Servant – will take over meals, run errands, do housework, mow the yard.
• Teacher– may struggle to relate a little but will bring over some good books that might scripturally strengthen the ill one for the journey.
• Encourager – if you are gifted in this area you are probably there right away at bedside sharing uplifting bible verses for improving their spirits.
• Giving – will bring food and other gifts but probably more important in this situation giving of time talking and listening.
• Leadership– will find out the person’s needs and go around organizing the other neighbors to meet  those needs.  Set up a meal train or a schedule of rides to doctors appointments for example.
• Kindness/Compassion– this person will ask how the ill neighbor feels, empathize, give hugs, maybe even cry with the neighbor and will often sit by the bedside for hours.

It will take all of us to meet the neighbor’s needs.  The Leader is good at organizing but not be as much of an encourager.  His or her time is better spent scheduling and securing volunteers.  That doesn’t mean they can’t share some encouraging words but not like the Encourager can.  The Giver may not be good at organizing the neighbors to help but has time to give and will ask for help if need be.

It will be good to gather together next Sunday to find out “Whadjuget?”  (Hint: the title of next week’s message!

P.R.

Good Monday Morning!

I think today will be a good day…comparatively speaking!  Tomorrow sounds like it is going to be not so good!  Be safe and stay warm.

I don’t know about all of you but God just continues to amaze me.  He has really been hitting the “love your neighbor” idea and also this idea about “fruit.”  The last two weeks we have touched on the idea of “going and producing lasting fruit” (John 15:16-17) and “your lives will produce every kind of good fruit” (Col. 1:10).  You’re probably tired of seeing or hearing them!  Well, this morning I open up my daily devotion and it is chapter 21 of the Book of Matthew.  What is it you say?  The parable of the fig tree!  It is about producing fruit and how Jesus feels when appropriate fruit isn’t being produced

         In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He  went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.   Matt. 21:18-19 NLT

Jesus sees a fig tree looking the part.  It has leaves and he anticipated it having some figs on it.  He gets there only to find out that the fig tree looks good from a distance but up close…nothing! Nada! Zip! Zilch!  No fruit at all.   Jesus curses it and it withers.

The expectation was that if the tree was filled with leaves it would produce fruit.  It is the same with us.  If we look the part…we are sitting in the pew on Sunday, we are carrying our bibles, we tell people we are followers of Jesus…write a tithe check but we aren’t producing fruit…how do you think Jesus feels about us?  The John 15 passage says Jesus “chose you!”  He “appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit!”  That is the expectation.   Nothing less!  The Pharisees looked and played the part but Jesus had very few positive words towards them.   They certainly were very “religious” but weren’t producing any real fruit.

In Matthew 7, Jesus tells the people that you can identify a tree by their fruit.  A good tree produces good fruit and bad tree produces bad fruit.  Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.    Then, a few verses later he says that “not everyone who calls out to me “Lord, Lord!” will enter the Kingdome of Heaven.  Again, what is the expectation?  If you are a follower of Jesus…love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength…then you WILL PRODUCE FRUIT!   And this isn’t just about us as individuals.  This idea of bearing fruit is for the institution of the church as well!  I read a very scary statistic the other day that says only 3-5% of growing churches are growing by “conversions.”  In other words, growing by reaching the lost.  Otherwise, church growth is just “sheep swapping.”  It is estimated that there are 3 churches closing for every church being planted.

What kind of fruit are you producing?  Are you producing fruit?  Or are you just a tree that looks the part?  As a church, is MABC producing fruit…good fruit?  Lasting fruit? I know those are harsh words but we are living in trying times where the church needs to up its game and start producing more fruit.   Let’s be the oasis of fruit production here in “the neighborhood!”

 P.R.

Rick Neubauer

2 Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Last week I wrote of a 2007 trip to Nicaragua with a mission team from Park Avenue Baptist Church, El Dorado, KS.  As is Park Avenue’s custom, they had prepared and presented a one day Vacation Bible School that was held at a small church in Managua.

A good number of young people had gathered to participate and also some parents and grandparents came and sat quietly while enjoying the events going on around them.  The people of Park Avenue were well prepared for the VBS and had brought a couple of suitcases that were full of crayons and photocopied paper to be colored.  As the crayons and paper were distributed people of all ages were invited to participate.

I moved around the church and was taking photos of those who had gathered.  I happened to come upon a couple of grandmother aged women who were busy coloring their own artwork.  I attempted to get their attention before I took their photo but they never once looked up.  They were fully focused on their crayon work.

The captured photo of that moment is evidence of how, even as we become older, there is still a part of us that remains young.  That given a chance we are once again fresh and youthful.

I marvel at how the word of God becomes fresh over and over.  It is amazing how an often read passage of scripture can suddenly burst forward with new understanding.

Each of us experiences God in some way that is personal to us and he does this over and over again.