Minister's Minute

How many things do you do because you are imitating someone else? Your parenting skills, cooking skils, automotive skills, and so on probably were learned from watching and imitating your parents. As children we learn a lot by imitating the people around us.

We as parents should also realize that our children learn not only life skills from us,  but even more important learn what it means to follow Jesus from us. Their attitudes toward God, church attendance, service, Bible study, and so on are probably influenced a great deal by what they see in us as parents.

Jesus invited his disciples to follow him. They would have the chance to watch him and learn about God, hear him teach, watch him serve and watch him sacrifice his own life on the cross.

We may not physically be able to walk along a road with Jesus, but through the pages of scripture we today can also learn how to follow God and live as Christians in this world by noticing those same things the early disciples noticed. In essence we can still walk with Jesus and learn how to live.

We are looking at Jesus through the pages of the gospel of Luke. We want to notice how he lived, handled circumstances of life, interacted with people, and so on. Most important though we want to see how what we see in Jesus translates into our lives today, and allows us to walk closer to the Savior who leads us. So join us at Sunday morning services (10 a.m.) on this journey of rediscovering Jesus teaching us how to live!

In just a few days children (and some adults) will be tearing through brightly colored wrapping paper to discover the hidden treasures inside. There is excitment, anticipation and joy connected to this annual ritual.

The wise men came to find Jesus in Bethlehem and laid before him gifts - gifts of value in their day and gifts for a new king born to the world. Later on as Jesus is approaching the end of his life we see a woman pouring a very expensive perfume on Jesus and being criticized for its extragance and waste.

As you tear through gifts, prepare those New Year’s resolutions and think about the coming year – ask yourself what gifts are you bringing to Jesus? What gifts did you bring to him in 2011? Will it change in 2012?

Jesus sought disciples – people who would give up their lives to follow him. Yet I wonder as I look at my life and try to challenge others to walk closer to God – am I really giving God my best? Am I really sacrificing to provide Jesus those extravagant gifts in my life? Or do I just bring him the leftovers – the time I don’t use or need for myself, the money that is left after all is paid, the talents and abilities I have on a limited basis? Do I get as excited about Jesus as I do about the Cardinals winning a world series or the Blues who are playing well or you favarite college team or the band you love or whatever it is that you are passionate about? Or does God get the leftover excitement too?

Don’t get cheap on the gift you bring Jesus! Remember God’s gift of a baby in a manger and later hanging on a cross was the best he had – His very own one and only Son!

Joe

This is such a fun time of year. People are excited and maybe a little stressed. It is also a very busy time of year. In the midst of the hectic lifestyles we seem to live – let us not forget about Jesus!

This Sunday evening, December 18, at 6 p.m. we will have a Christmas devotional service and then follow that up with our children providing a short concert for us. After the service we will have a dessert fellowship. So bring a dessert, and come and spend a great evening together.

On Christmas, we will have services at 10 a.m. We will remember the birth of Christ and celebrate the life we have in Christ as we sing, pray, learn and share communion together. We will not have Bible classes on December 25 or evening services or small groups. Enjoy the time with family and friends.

I hope that in the midst of your shopping, going to parties, work and many other activities you will find the time to assemble with Christians and be encouraged. So make your plans to come and bring a friend!

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for many is food, football and family. Some probably ventured out to a store to do some shopping or get ready for Black Friday. In the midst of all the self-indulgence of the day  or the weekend did you ever stop to say thank you?

Do you thank God for the many blessings you have? For His Son who makes new life possible. The gift of mercy and forgiveness. Your church family. That Bible class teacher who leads you deeper into God’s Word. That person in worship whose smile brightens your day. The opportunity you have to be a participant in God’s plan. The list could go on.

Do you stop to say thank you to the people around you? Those that fix your meals or offer you a word of encoruagement. That special person who does you a favor expecting nothing in return. Your child who did their chores around the house.

Our lives are different when we stop and are thankful. We tend to be less self-centered and more appreciative of God and others. We tend to realize the world isn’t just about me or here to serve me. We will find a smile on our face, and our personality a lot more pleasing for the people who have to put up with us on a daily basis. We tend to be a lot less negative and more focused on the positive.

So take some time each day – maybe morning and evening – and think about the blessings you have. Say a prayer of thanksgiving to God, and don’t forget to say “Thank You!”

For the past few weeks we have focused our sermons on the book of Romans.  As I read the sixth chapter, I am amazed at what God wants to do in our lives.

In baptism we see that death occurs. Death to a past sinful life.  Baptism is also about a resurrection. As we are united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection we get to experience in our own lives God’s plan.

The resurrection means new life. Often I think we as Christians view what God wants to do as just changing the life we have or repairing our broken, messed up life. God does do that – but it is even more. He wants to give us a new life.

I like the idea of the “exchanged life.” This idea is not original with me. I saw the phrase used in a book I am reading by Watchman Nee, and have heard about before I read the book. What is really happening though when we submit our lives to God in baptism is an exchanging of our old life for a new life. We are to take on a new nature – not a sinful nature but a Godly spiritual nature. Our new life then is expressed in a life seeking to honor God in all we do by submitting to His will and desires. As disciples of Christ then we quit living like our old life and start enjoying the new life we have in Christ.

Last week we loaded up a 40 foot trailer with supplies being sent to our missionaries in Honduras. There were about 11 people there actively working to move supplies from one storage trailer into the new trailer.

As I thought about that day, I was reminded about how important teamwork is in any endeavor. This project happened because many people came together to work and make it possible.

First the missionaries made arrangements for the trailer and contacted various contacts they had. We received supplies from not just our church members, but from Christians and churches in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Colorado and other places. We had members who helped to box the supplies, label boxes and transport boxes from our staging area in the church building  to the storage trailer a local construction company donated for this use. Then we had all those who showed up to load the trailer last week. One person could not have done this, but many working together could. As a result the missionaries in Honduras are going to receive in the near future block makers, first aid supplies, toys, backpacks with school supplies, clothes, furniture and many other items that will be used to bless the people in Honduras.

Scripture pictures the church as a body with many members each with its own unique gifts and abilities. When working together the body functions in a highly productive manner just as God intended. When one member fails to do their part, the rest of the body has to work harder to overcome that deficiency.

Thank you for all your work and effort to help the Lord’s work in Honduras. Remember the valuable lesson of working together and keep doing your part to help body of Christ be a shinging light to the world!

Are you ready for this Sunday morning? Have you even thought about assembling with your Christian family? Maybe you have thought about what you are going to wear or where you will eat after services. Maybe you have thought about the class you will teach that morning or some service task you are to do.  

What do you hope to get out of Sunday? How will you serve someone else? Most of all will your mind and heart be ready for Sunday?

As I read 1 Corinthians 14 and Hebrews 10:25 I am reminded that one of the reasons we assemble is to benefit others. We also come to learn and draw near to God. As you prepare for this Sunday consider these ideas:

- How can I encourage someone else? What can I say or do that will lift their day and help them walk closer to God? Will I be looking in the faces of my church family with a desire to help them?
- Am I ready to hear God? Am I going with the a desire to learn something from the Bible – God’s Word – that will help me live this week? Have I read the passage to be studied this week (Romans 6)? Will I even take a Bible with me?
- Have I prayed?
- How has God blessed me this week? How have I seen His blessing in my life and do I recognize that gives me a reason to celebrate?

Too often we are busy, focus on externals or tasks we have to do. Too seldom do we stop to prepare our minds and hearts for Sunday morning. May this week be a blessing to you and someone else!

Joe

The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team have provided their fans with an exciting month of baseball.  A month ago most fans had written off their chances of making it to the playoffs.  Yet they believed and kept winning, and the Braves kept losing.  On the last day of the season the Cardinals found themselves in the playoffs.  In life sometimes we have those same feelings of hoplessness  the fans did about the Cardinals.  We need to realize that God can provide hope and victory in our lives today-

Studying in Romans we have discovered that we are hopelessly lost.  We are sinners with no hope.  Yet Romans teaches us there is good news – there is hope.  That hope is found through Jesus.  We need to believe that God through Jesus can restore us to relationship with Him.

Faith is more than just mental or intellectual knowledge.  The faith the scriptures describe is a faith that leads us to change and live differently.  It is a faith that leads us to obey God with every aspect of our lives.  As we study Romans, God is telling us not only how to begin a relationship with Him and remove the guilt and penalty for our sin.  He is also telling us how our lives are to change and be different.  He tells us how to live as His followers now.  Living a life tranformed by God will impact our goals, choices, actions, relationships and our hope for our future!  Join us Sunday morning at 10 a.m. as we dig into Romans 5 and discover the life God wants us to live!

We live in an extremely busy world – sometimes I think way to busy. Yet, the opportunities to serve and help others, and share the message of Jesus are all around us. Jesus in John 4 turned down the chance to eat, for the chance at that moment to teach the crowds who were coming to him.

We have many opportunities coming at us quickly to help others. We are winding down our collection of supplies to assist the Honduran people and children that Marc and Terri Tindall are serving. In mid October a container will arrive, and we will load it with supplies to ship to Honduras. If you go to the Honduras link under ministries you will find a list of supplies we are collecting.

Kids Community Bible Study begins at Illini School, Thursday, Sept. 29 and very soon we will will be providing backpacks of food for children at Illini school.

The updating of our new website is continuing. Be patient with us in this process. The goal is that this website will be a place where you can find out about us at the Fairview Heights Church of Christ, learn of opportunities to serve and help others, and learn about God. We also hope to soon have available on the website our Sunday morning sermons.

As you go through the busyness of life – keep your eyes open to the opportunities that God is presenting you and seize that chance to bless someone else!

Joe

Welcome to our new blog. We are very excited about this new updated, and we believe, more useful site. More and more our society uses the internet for communication purposes. Most of the time when we want to find something, we head to the internet, do a search and often have more information at our fingertips than we can possibly use.

For us this website is a communication tool. On this site you will find out who we are, what we believe and what is going on. You will find a list of upcoming events and information on various ministries. Please be patient as we continue to add more information in the days ahead.

Our intent is for the information on this website to change on a regular basis so that you can keep up with the many things going on in our church family. This website will also be a place you can come for immediate information – such as cancellation of services or classes due to bad weather.

In addition, the ministers will provide information through this blog on a regular basis so stop in and see what is happening and hopefully be encouraged by the words we provide.

Joe