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During the COVID-19 crisis this blog will not be available. Be safe, sensible and wash your hands!

If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us,

His ear open to our prayer – His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable.”  John Newton

It’s not surprising those who don’t know Christ are terrified over the spread of COVID-19. The virus is known to be in over 60 countries – resulting in over 3000 deaths. Our governor declared Michigan in a state of emergency. The president spoke to the nation Wednesday night. The virus is 10 times as contagious as the flu and is especially harmful to the elderly or those with a compromised immune system.  We need to take precautions – wash our hands, don’t go out if we’re sick, etc. But we as believers must not wring our hands in fear. For Christians this is an opportunity to share hope, courage and truth.  

God is never surprised by calamity or tragedy. He is still on his throne, even using calamities, to accomplish his purposes. 

Christians must not panic. When times are at their worst, we should be at our best. And we will be when we live in faith knowing this world belongs to our Father, that he has it all under control and in the end, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

A Chinese pastor wisely said, “When you’re in an emergency – dial your spiritual 911- Ps 91:1, ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.’”

“Not having children in your church is a far more deafening sound than the noisiest child. Be thankful you have children in your church.”

That was a post I read on Facebook recently. A friend of ours had an uncle from Germany visit their church in metro Detroit. 

He couldn’t get over all the children he saw. He said churches in Germany have no children.  

Recently I read of a pastor in Tennessee who stopped the service to have a woman escorted out because of the noise her baby was making. Let me say this – children are gold. We love children. Yes, we must be sensitive and courteous, but we must be tolerant and loving as well. Chairs in the back foyer are available if a child is being disruptive. When I first started ministry, all moms put their kids in the nursery or childcare. 

That’s not true anymore. I don’t know what caused the change. 

Some parents like to involve their children in the worship service. I am thankful for our nurseries. We seek to keep them clean and well-staffed, but if a parent wants to keep their child with them in the service that’s a parental decision we respect. 

Like I said, “children are gold.” 

Pray for our parents. This is a tough day in which to raise children. There have always been challenges each and every generation face. We are thankful for every child here – humbled to be a part of their formative years. What a privilege we as a church have in investing in the next generation.  

This week Sue and I have been invited to attend a Pastors and Wives Forum hosted by Ethnos360 (formerly New Tribes Missions) in Sanford, FL. Ethnos is paying our travel, food and hotel costs. Other pastors and wives will be present – listening to and discussing world missions. Sue and I are honored to have been included. Pray for us – safety in travel, attentiveness – and for us to be a blessing to others. We have 2 missionaries with this mission agency – Bells and de Roos’.  

Next Sunday Paul Gardner will speak in our ABF hour to teens and adults, reporting about Camp Barakel. This ministry works with 1000s of children/teens during the summer – as well as adults too throughout the year. Barakel camp is located in Fairview, MI. Over 30 churches own and operate the camp – HBC being one. Paul has been on staff there since the early 1980s. He is currently the director. He and Hannah have been here before. 

Summer brochures for camp are on the kiosk. Scholarships are available. Please see me if you are interested. Many life-changing decisions were made by both Sue and me at a Christian camp. Check out those available dates. 

It’s that time again – those winter blues. To help break up the monotony, sign up to participate in our Progressive Dinner here at the church, Saturday, March 14. Check out the sign up list on the bulletin board for a dish to bring. Don’t isolate in your igloo – venture out and enjoy food, fun and fellowship. 

Are you naïve? I recently read the US Coastguard got letters in the 1960s about a group of people stranded on a deserted island. I guess folks thought Gilligan’s Island was real. When the drama-soap-opera Dallas was being aired on TV, Pastor AW Criswell, then pastor at First Baptist in Dallas, received a letter urging him to make a pastoral call on the Ewings – “this family has major problems, but just think, if JR got saved, what their tithe would be to the church!” Then there’s the individual who called a radio station complaining a deer crossing sign should be moved because of the potential accidents it could cause – as if the deer cross there after reading the sign. We laugh at such – and shake our heads. Can people really be that foolish? And yes, unfortunately some are.

But what is far worse is when believers are spiritually naïve. We live in an age of spiritual deception. The evil one misleads.  He mixes truth with falsehood. Just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn’t mean they are. Throughout the NT we are warned to be careful – to examine all things.  

With all this in mind, Tom Davis will begin an adult/teen series at 9:30, March 15, “Lessons on Discernment.” We must know how to decide if a ministry or someone is teaching the truth or is not. False teaching often uses our vocabulary but not always our dictionary. The Bereans were commended for taking Paul’s message and comparing it with Scripture. That’s our measuring line. The day in which we live is spiritually dangerous. I encourage you to come an hour earlier to our ABF class.

I’m so thankful for the dozens of people here who are serving Christ.  Ministry cannot be accomplished by the elders or ministry team alone.  It takes everyone using their gifts to see the body grow. And yet there is a special group of servants in the church called “deacons.”  Unfortunately, we haven’t had anyone in this role for a while – and it has bothered me. Our constitution has a place for deacons.  We have addressed this situation thru-out last year as what to do about it.     

Tradition or misunderstanding have obscured this noble office. In my home church deacons were ruling executives or honorary positions given to those have attended faithfully or gave generously. And yet the NT doesn’t describe them as such. Deacons and elders are not the same though most of their qualifications overlap. Elders teach, administrate, lead. By their very name we conclude deacons serve – and that changes from culture to culture. Since elders are given oversight its best to see deacons serving at the elders’ discretion – in areas where they need help. And we do need help. 

We’re asking you to seriously look at the 7 men we’ve nominated to serve examining them in light of the biblical qualifications. Talk to these men – ask them questions. Pray. But also consider these virtues (found in 1 Tim 3) are to be found in you too. Character is important. And serving isn’t just for deacons. All disciples are to be humble servants. Jesus is our example. He came to serve. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many, Mk 10:45.

Paul Krepps and I are pleased to announce we are asking you to consider Tom Davis to join the elders. Tom is a godly man – we believe biblically qualified to serve as one of our elders.

He has a heart for God, his Word and for this church. He has been attending our elder meetings since August and already has been a wonderful contributor. Talk to Tom. Pray for him. Tom and Charmayne will share their testimonies next week in our service. We will ask you to vote on him as an elder at our annual congregational meeting. 

We are also happy to nominate the following men to serve as deacons: Joe Hart, Graig Hayes, John Helmuth, Jan Peck, Matthew Price, Jim Rizzardi and Doug Troxell. It’s been awhile since we’ve had anyone officially serving in this office and it will be helpful to expand our leadership base. Again, speak with them – pray for them. You will be asked to vote on each one individually at the annual meeting as well.  

Speaking of which, we will vote today on moving the annual meeting to February 9. If so approved we will host a potluck dinner right after the service and then conduct the business meeting. Sign up to bring a dish to pass. True we will review last year expenses and vote on a new budget, elect leaders, etc. but its much more than a “business” meeting to me. It’s more like a congregational meeting where we as a church family meet to talk, pray and make decisions that impact the life and ministry of HBC. The proposed budget will be made available next Sunday. Special thanks goes to John Helmuth and the finance team. 

Disclaimer: This pastor’s pen is not intended to be political. Last month Kamala Harris, Senator from California ended her campaign to be the Democratic presidential candidate. She said that the country just wasn’t ready for a black woman president. I find that interesting since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 and Barak Obama won two elections prior.  

But what troubles me about her comment was – it was my fault. It was America’s mistake for not supporting her. It wasn’t that she never connected or that her message or persona just didn’t click. In other words, the blame wasn’t hers – it was ours.    

As I said at the top – this isn’t a political jab. It is a jab (and a loving one at that) at you and me. How often we are guilty of the same. It wasn’t my fault I lost my cool with Sue. If she hadn’t done such-in-such I wouldn’t have been unkind. You just don’t understand. The disagreement I had with you wasn’t my fault – you misunderstood me. We are blame-shifters. We have been since the beginning when our great-great grandfather said to God, “It was the woman you gave me.” And this is true in all areas of life – marriage, work, with the children (grandchildren), parents, school, friends, etc. We deny responsibility for our actions and blame our sinful behavior on others. I’m not insinuating there are never contributing factors, but the Bible puts responsibility where it belongs – with us. No one “made” us do anything. We chose. So let us stop blaming others, humble ourselves, admit when we’re wrong, ask forgiveness and thank the Lord for his mercy. 

1/5/2020

Happy New Year!  

This week on Wednesday we’re doing something new.  From now till May (we’ll re-evaluate and see then) the second Wednesday of the month we’re going to have what we call concerts of prayer.  Two opportunities are available for you. Nic Martin will facilitate a prayer time from 11:30 am till noon and I will facilitate one from 6:30-7:00 pm. Our focus will be different from week to week – praying for our missionaries to health concerns to church matters and of course individual requests. 

We will no doubt read Scripture, but this isn’t meant to be a teaching time but a time to pray. One cannot help but notice how the early church devoted themselves to praying together.    Young couples, I would suggest you take turns. One stay home this month, and the other the following month watching the kids.  If you don’t want to drive in the dark – the morning slot is available. If you are free during one of these times, we would encourage you to come – and to pray with us.  

DA Carson writes, “The one thing we most urgently need … is a deeper knowledge of God  … We are a culture of the spiritually stunted. So much of our religion is packaged to address our felt needs – and these are almost uniformly anchored in the pursuit of our own happiness … One of the foundational steps in knowing God … is prayer – spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer.”     

12/27/19

Wow. Thank you for praying for Sue and me this past week. We both came down with influenza A (too bad we had the shots for influenza B … the doctor didn’t think that joke was funny, but we did have the shots).  I started feeling better Monday, Sue on Tuesday.  So appreciated everyone filling in for us. We moved our vacation plans from being with my sister for Christmas to being there New Year’s Eve. Pray for safety in travel. 

Randy Barton is filling the pulpit again today. How I appreciate Randy and his commitment to the Word of God. I leave you in very capable hands. Thanks to Lily Krepps filling in for Sue on the piano and for Joe Cecil and the praise team.   

A new year dawns this week. Do you have any personal new year resolutions?  I have.  Yes, we understand all is under the sovereign hand of our good and great God. “If it is the Lord’s will we will live and do this or that.” But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan or dream. It’s not just a new year though, but a new decade. I have found that this time of year is a good time to re-evaluate my life. We are told, to number our days and be wise.   

A new ABF series starts next Sunday on the Holy Spirit. Since I missed preaching the last message in the series, Christmas in Isaiah, we’ll going to look at Isaiah 11 next Sunday.  James will wait till the following week. Enjoy the holiday this week. And an early Happy New Year.