Good Monday morning, Members and Friends of
New Beginnings Church!!!
Thanks to Laura Titus, the worship bulletin from Sunday
morning's worship service will be forwarded to you following this Update.
Please review the bulletin for important information about upcoming meetings,
services, and activities at New Beginnings Church. We hope that you and your
family will participate as much as possible in the life of the church. The
information in this New Beginnings Update will supplement the information
contained in this bulletin.
It was a picture-perfect day - blue skies, bright sunshine, relatively mild
temperatures - as 126 of us entered New Beginnings Church at the Riverside
Chapel yesterday morning!! The mood inside matched the weather outside, as
Pastor Britt had to ring the bell several times to bring the noisy congregation
to order! Dianne Daily handled the morning announcements.
Ella Brandt did a wonderful job singing solo on two special
numbers!
From the cover of yesterday morning's worship bulletin: "Love is what
happens when you follow your heart. 'Beloved, let us love one another.'" (1
John 4:7)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Eli Hunt (4 on April 11!!); Evi Wahl
(83 on April 26th!!); Joel Guzzo (April 27th); Kye Reismiller (4 on April
29th!!); Cindy Myers (April 30th); Chase Eberly (April 30th); Charlie Scott
(April 30th); Peg Mencer (95 on May 1st!!!)!!! There will be a lot of
celebrating this week!!! May this be your best birthday ever!!!
ADDITIONAL PRAYER CONCERNS: Bill and Dee Pond upon the
death of Dee's daughter, Kathy; Brandy Miller and family; the family of Meade
Espenshade upon his death at age 97; the family of Newt Myers, who was killed in
a farming accident; Harry Hartman upon the sudden death of his friend; for the
success of all of our church activities and those who lead them; and all of the
earthquake victims in Nepal.
The following Scriptures were read by Mike Smith and
Pastor Britt at yesterday morning's worship service:
Genesis 2: 23 & 24 - "Then the man said, 'This is
the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man.' Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother
and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."
Hebrews 13: 1 - 4 - "Let brotherly love continue. Do
not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with
them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body. Let
marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for
God will judge the immoral and the adulterous."
Matthew 19: 4 - 6 - "He answered, 'Have you not read
that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said,
"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh?" So they are no longer two but one
flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put
asunder.'"
Pastor Britt then offered his morning message entitled: "The Heart Of The
Matter: Cutting Through The Lies Being Told About The Church In Regards To The
Covenant Of Marriage". What follows is a paraphrase of that message:
There are some times when the Lord will tap me on the shoulder and say, 'I
have a job for you to do!' And when the Boss talks, I listen! And it is often
not a pleasant experience that He has in store for me. He told me that I need
to talk about marriage. Talk about a controversial subject? It is a hot topic
in the news today, with the Supreme Court to hear arguments concerning the
legality of same-sex marriage this week. But today we are going to hear the
Gospel from the Boss! This is not me talking; this is Him! And He lets us know
that we will be held accountable for our actions!
I have always considered it to be a privilege to perform marriage
ceremonies. And when doing weddings, I never know what is going to happen! I
often tell the bride and groom to look at each other, NOT me!! I am already in
the 'club'! I had one groom vomiting before the ceremony! As I addressed
another young man during the ceremony, he scrunched his face up, and I thought
we had a runner!! Another young man hesitated in responding as I directed; I
got lost in the narrative and began to panic until he finally responded! And I
once did the unforgivable - I called a bride by the wrong name!! She forgave
me, and she even attends services here at New Beginnings. My biggest joy was
when a couple came to see me to get married to each other for a second time!
They had been through many difficulties, and their first marriage ended in
divorce. But they somehow got back together; they were two broken hearts on
the mend. They were both in tears during the entire ceremony!
Now, I am not up here to give a political speech. I am here to deliver a
sermon. Have you ever seen the Murray Povich show? Katie, bring me the
envelope, please!! We start with several statements:
(1) The church does not accept LGBT people. True? NO, it is a lie!
(2) The church is judgmental of LGBT people. True? NO, it is a lie!
(3) The church is bigoted. True? NO, it is a lie!
(4) The church is guilty of being hateful and insensitive. True? NO, it
is a lie!
Who is guilty of spreading all of these lies about the church's
relationship with the LGBT community? Satan!
Our society has transitioned from one of 'self-control' to one of
'self-expression'. For example, we went from 'no sex before marriage' to 'safe
sex at any time'. As a society, we try to redefine everything. Another example
is driving and stopping at stop signs. We were taught to stop. But some have
argued that stop signs outlined in white are only optional, and that one only
needs to slow down at such signs! We have taken rules that have been in place
for a long time and changed them to fit the times.
The same is true of marriage. God's definition of marriage is found in the
second chapter of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis. God decided to make a
companion suitable for man. So when Adam fell into a deep sleep, God took one
of his ribs and made a woman. This woman was taken directly from Adam's flesh
and bone. As a result, God created the family unit. Scripture tells us that
man will leave his father and mother, and cling to his wife. This is God's
definition of marriage between a man and a woman. This is God's Word, not my
word.
Jesus was asked about this covenant of marriage, and the idea of divorce.
Jesus said that God made male and female, and united them as one in marriage.
And let no one put asunder those who have been joined together. When we are
born and join our family, that is actually the first community to which we
belong. From this family unit, this small community, we learn how to live with
one another.
The church does NOT discriminate based upon sexual orientation, or for any
other reason. But the Bible, in the Book of Leviticus, tells us that
homosexuality is a sin. If homosexuality is a sin, then same-sex marriage
violates God's definition of marriage. That is why we do not perform same-sex
marriages. AT THE SAME TIME, we do NOT judge others! We know from Romans,
Chapter 3, that ALL of us have sinned and fallen short in the eyes of God.
Matthew 7:1 tells us to 'Judge not, that you be not judged.' It is NOT our job
to judge others; that responsibility belongs solely to God. We are ALL
sinners. If you judge others and are harshly critical of them, you will be
harshly treated on the Day of Judgment.
Of course, we have all seen the "hate" that exists on this issue. How do
we counter that? We practice what Jesus taught us - we are to love others as we
love ourselves. Jesus did not hate anybody. He told us that hatred and anger
toward others is just as bad as trying to kill them. Romans, Chapter 12,
teaches us that we must 'really' love others, and that hatred is wrong. It is
okay to hate the sin, but we must love the sinner.
Look at our Faith Statement here at New Beginnings. It states that the
Bible is our discipline. Suppose a couple comes to me to be married, and I
learn that one of them is still married to a third person, or that one of them
is abusing the other. Should I marry them? No, because of the sins being
committed. I use the same standard across the board. Do we have ushers
standing at our doors, asking those who enter for their sexual preference? No!
We do NOT want to turn anybody away from attending here. There is no authority
from God that empowers us to pass judgment on anybody. Jesus hates our sins,
but He loves us all. We are likewise to love everybody.
We are in the business of helping others. It is our job as Christians to
share the Good News with everybody. We have never singled out anybody for any
sin! We instead have invited everybody to come in and join us. We understand
that there are a LOT of hurting people out there. We tell them that Jesus is
the answer to all of their problems. As Christians, we are not judgmental. Our
job is to love others, and to bring them into a loving relationship with Jesus
Christ. Our country is in a lot of upheaval over the issue of same-sex
marriage. This is NOT a time to shout and yell at each other. It is instead a
time for us to ask Jesus to help us love one another, and to stop all of the
bickering.
Amen.
End of paraphrase.
SOME INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'"
Late comedian Robin Williams
"The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it
lasts when all other pleasures fade."
Anthony Trollope - novelist (1815-1882)
"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't
hurt."
Lucy, from Peanuts
"I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second
time into things that I am most certain of the first time."
Josh Billings - columnist and humorist (1818-1885)
After 35 years of marriage, a husband and wife went for counseling. When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the years they had been married. On and on and on: neglect, emptiness, loneliness, no communication, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs that she had endured. Finally, after allowing for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and after asking the wife to stand, he embraced and kissed her long and hard as her husband watched with a raised eyebrow. The woman stopped talking, and then sat down as if in a daze. The therapist turned to the husband and said, "This is what you wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do that?" "Well," replied the husband calmly, "I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I go fishing every Friday." When my wife and I arrived at the auto dealership to pick up our car, we were told that the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver's side door. As we stood and watched on the passenger side for a few minutes, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I exclaimed to the technician, "this side is open!" To which he replied, "Yes, I know. I already got that side." Doctor: "Take the green pill with a glass of water when you get up. Take the blue pill with two glasses of water after lunch. Then, just before going to bed, take the red pill with another glass of water." Patient: "Exactly what is my problem, Doc?" Doctor: "You are not drinking enough water." Have a great week!!! Dave |
- New Beginnings Church
- Rev. Britt Strohecker-Full Time Pastor July 1, 2014
- Riverside Chapel-Happy 124th Birthday
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