An Apple

by Rev. Gordie Barry |  February 3, 2012

February 3 Weekly Update

1.        A devotion from last week:

            Thomas Merton told me to quit trying so hard in prayer. He said, “How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun.” A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles, squinting its eyes and tightening its jaws in order to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe, and juicy besides it small green counterparts. Like the birth of a baby or the opening of a rose, the birth of the true self takes place in God’s time. We must wait for God, we must be awake; we must trust in his hidden action within us.”                             Merton’s Palace of Nowhere by James Finley

          Rereading this devotion in terms of our theme for this Sunday and Paul’s call to preach the gospel, it is good to remind ourselves that we too “wait” on God and God’s call for our own lives as well. Some time we too are just not ready, but it is in God’s time and when God calls us, we will be given what we need to carry out that call.

           

2.        There is a Revival Coming!!!!!

            Our theme for the coming Sundays in Lent (February 26— March 25) is “Membership Revival and Renovation.” This is a personal faith revival and renovation. We will read the book, “Renovate or Die,” which is a book people are reading all over our denomination. Each Sunday will focus on two chapters of the book and everyone is encouraged to come to a small group discussion during each week.

            Feb. 26             chapters 1&2                “Everyone is in Ministry”

            March 4            chapters 3&4                “Getting the Basics Right”

            March 11          chapters 5&6                “Relevant Worship to All”

            March 18          chapters 7&8                “Discipleship vs Member”

            March 25          chapters 9&10              “Our Mission Mentality”

           

Our plan is to have twelve small groups meeting at the church: Sunday morning, Sunday Evening, Wednesday evening, and another weekday during the day. Some of these could also be in the homes of members. We need twelve people willing to guide the discussion.

(Questions for discussion will be provided.)      

We will celebrate our personal revival and renovation after Easter on April 15th at one

awesome celebration service at 10:00 am!

           

3.        Work Day at Peace Temple building.

          Another work day is planned for Saturday, Feb.11. We will meet here at the church and leave at 9am and work until about 1pm. If you can come to any of this please let me know.

4.        The “World” counter in Faith Hall will be the place where we offer goods for the congregation to buy and help support various mission projects.

5.        The “Opportunities” counter across from the bulletin boards will remain for you to sign up for classes and areas of service in the church.

Have a good weekend, pause for some silent time remembering how much you are loved,    Gordie