PASTOR’S PONDERING
“Unwilling to Hear”
My wife and I are great people/watchers. They are the source of so many good stories. One Sunday while in Church, children were called to the front for a Bible message. That morning, many children came forward – more than the teacher could handle, if they decided to wander. The group never settled into a hearing – mood before one little tyke began to come up on the platform. At that moment, he was right in front of me so I picked him up and brought him back to the group. We sat down on the end but the little rascal began to squirm trying to dislodge himself from my grip. I looked at my wife who was on the front row and I mouthed that “he doesn’t know it but I am going to win this contest of wills.” At that moment, I really thought I would but his continued contortions to get “Free” kept up with my desire not to let that happen. Thank God, he was not a vocal soul but he was determined to break the grip that held him in a place he didn’t want to be. Well, I did win that contest but our struggle reminded me of how often adult people react in the same way, when God calls for our attention. We are unwilling to stay long enough, in close contact with him. God might need to hold some of us in a headlock to get our attention. We are so used to getting our own way that we resist spiritual advice coming from the creator. The child I held wasn’t aware that the words of the teacher were meant for him – they were words right from Jesus, the greatest teacher of all time. A child can be taught to open up his/her ears and begin to listen but how do we apply that principle to uncaring adults? Thankfully, Jesus has done that in so many of his parables. Jesus taught using stories that could only be understood when we took time to run them through our human understanding. When we make time to hear, we open ourselves up to the instructing of the Holy Spirit. Scripture reveals the names of countless folks who did that-is it too much to believe that God reveals in our day, and time? Jesus’ direct quote is “let him who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
https://www.timesrepublican.com/opinion/your-view/2016/07/unwilling-to-hear/
OPTIONS FOR RETURNABLES
Your returnables can be a source of income to assist individuals in Lincoln County to afford low income housing by donating them to Stepping Stone Housing, Inc. The process is easy:
- Take a green CLYNK bag from the back of the church (or take more).
- Fill the bag (no more than 20 pounds) with returnables.
- Take the full bag (tied tightly) to Hannaford when you go shopping.
- You will see the redemption center on the left as you enter the first set of doors to your right. Go to the scanner hanging on the wall by the small door with a handle on it.
- Scan the white tag on the outside of the bag. This is Stepping Stones’ label.
- Open the small door and slide the bag down the ramp.
EASY! And all of the proceeds from the returnables are given to Stepping Stone Housing.
OFFERING:
In lieu of passing the offering plates we are now placing them on the small tables at the beginning of the isles. You can place your offerings, tithes and gifts as you come or go from the sanctuary.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY SCHEDULE
June we’ll meet as usual, but no Bible Study during July & August.
