Announcements
Building
& Grounds—There
will be a building & grounds meeting on July 10. Speak with
Larrie Mansfield if you'd like to attend.
Wednesday
Fun—A
big thank you to Lynne Brock for organizing these!
Community
Kitchen Spot
There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God
and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to
help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday &
put them in the grocery cart.
8 oz. Styrofoam bowls
Dry Milk
Styrofoam Plates
Plastic Forks/Spoons
Pasta
New
Hope News
Sunday
School—This Sunday, the adult class will study 2 &
3 John.
$.02/meal—Next
collection will be July 21. Be sure to save your pennies!
VBS—Will
be the week of July 15-18. Make your plans accordingly!
Pray
For:
Russell
Mabry
John
L. Wright – He is now in Sisken for rehab (he's in room 522 if
you'd like to give him a call). Continue to lift he & Peggy up
in your prayers.
Links
Church
leaders respond to DOMA decision
(If
you celebrate the ruling, here
are some great
thoughts
from Jim
Wallis
and another article
about how resistance is futile..
If you oppose the ruling, here's
a well-written article about how the church should respond. If
you're not sure what to make of it all, Christian Century has some
analysis
of it.)
Keith's
Random Thoughts
Last night, Rachel and I took four minutes out of our evening to
watch the International
Space Station fly across the sky. (Click
here to track when it will be visible in your location. For
Chattanooga folks, it will be back Friday night.) It was pretty
amazing to think that there was someone inside that light as it
crossed the sky, and I couldn't help but wonder about how different
things looked from way up there.
It's pretty easy to lose a healthy perspective on things. When the
car breaks down and the kid is screaming and the roof is leaking, I
start to believe that the whole world is ending. I focus exclusively
on my problems, and when I can't make sense of them, it's easy to
begin to lose hope. It's easy to ask if God really cares, or if
chaos reigns supreme.
I have to imagine that things look different from another
perspective. I believe that God looks down upon creation and his
beloved children and sees our problems differently. I bet God sees
my leaky roof and wonders why I don't first give thanks that I have a
house. I think God hears my screaming child (well, he may use the
mute button on that one) and thinks I should first give thanks for a
child healthy enough to scream. I wonder if he looks at my car
breaking down and thinks that while it may be stressful, it is a
trivial matter in the face of so many bigger problems.
I don't fully grasp the mind of God, but I do believe that he has a
big plan for creation, and for each of us. I think he's leading us
down the road that leads to abundant, eternal life. When we think
about the life that awaits beyond this one, a life of infinite
duration (unlike those tires I purchased...), the problems we face
are like potholes.
Potholes come in various shapes and sizes. Some are minor, barely
noticed as we travel along at whatever the posted speed limit is.
Some are sizable, causing a noticeable 'thud' on the journey, often
causing you to wonder if something just fell off the car. Others
seem like they might swallow the car whole. They have the ability to
break tires and crack rims, and sometimes we have to stop a bit for a
repair. But we make it back on the road, and we head towards our
destination.
From God's perspective, I think he sees a much bigger road and a
longer journey. I believe he's focused on our overall growth in
discipleship, and the problems in our lives are seen as momentary
afflictions. They are serious things that we must deal with, but
they will not bring the journey to a halt. We will go over them,
around them or through them, but a broken car or screaming child will
not be the end. We will endure, and God will lead us deeper into
discipleship, farther down the road.
Now if I could only just remember to keep my problems in perspective,
trusting the long view, watching in wonder at what God is doing in my
life, knowing that I am safe in his hands despite the threats that
seem to loom.
Text
for this Sunday
Daniel
3
is a pretty long chapter. I'm not going to be reading the entire
chapter, just bits and pieces, but the sermon is based on the entire
arc of the chapter. If you'd like to read it,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel
3&version=CEV
New
Hope on iTunes
Keith's
Blog
& Devotionals
for your Kindle
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