Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.
Eternal Father, Lord of Hosts
Watch o'er the ones who guard our coasts
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of thy love.
Grant to them Your eternal peace, Oh Lord,
For they have followed your commandment,
That No Greater Love has he, who would give up his life for another.
Americans are culturally individualistic. It’s been ingrained in us since childhood that we are supposed to grow up, get a job, move into our own place, support ourselves, and provide for our nuclear family unit. While this may sound fine on the surface, it misses a vital aspect of what it means to be human. We are often so focused on being self-reliant and chasing our own well-being that we can push others out of the picture. We may miss opportunities to interact with others in a way that is a blessing to ourselves and those around us. It is not sinful to want to be your own person or provide for your nuclear family. However, I strongly believe that our individualism is also the culprit of many issues we face.
The early church addresses this problem, and we see this in Acts 2. Believers met daily, shared meals, devoted themselves to prayer, sold their property and possessions, and pooled their resources to share what they had with those in need. This is a beautiful picture of how the church operates. There are no individual people in this system. There is an interconnected web of families, neighbors, strangers, and friends to create a network of support where no person is left behind. Those who have plenty provide for the poor, the healthy care for the sick, and all needs are met.
We have the chance and privilege to live like this today. In stark contrast to our individualistic society, we have a church that can provide the kind of community our world so badly needs. What would it look like to further embody an Acts 2 church at FCC? How would this interconnection transform our homes, towns, state, and even our country? How can we step up in our communities and be another string in a web that leaves no person behind?
We are in the midst of tourist season here in the tri-cities. I have mixed feelings about this. For those of us who are locals and live here year round, it can be a real inconvenience. Traffic on Beacon Blvd. and M-104 doubles during the summer months. We see a lot of out-of-state license plates (when they miss traffic signs and attempt impossible left turns that no local would try). As the Coast Guard Festival begins in a couple weeks things really get crazy. I tend to stay north of the bridge as much as possible this week. Yet I recognize that we need these out-of-towners to support our local economy and provide jobs. Being host to the Coast Guard Festival is a huge boost for local merchants and businesses. Busy-ness is the price you pay for living in a resort town. When you take this into consideration, we should do our best to be accommodating and hospitable.
It strikes me that church folks in general can act like locals. We’re familiar with the kingdom of God. We know the shortcuts and where to make left turns and where not to. The presence of not-Christian people or people who are different from us can be inconvenient. They don’t always know what we mean when we talk about life in the kingdom. And yet these “tourists” are the very reason we exist. The primary purpose of the Church is to announce God’s reign over all things to all people. We exist to announce this to the tourists. We hope that by God’s grace they too will one day be locals. It may be frustrating and inconvenient at times, but we in the Church should do our best to show the same love that Jesus showed to us when we were tourists.
Summer time is a much needed respite. From September through May life moves at a rapid pace. If you have school age children, you are busy supporting their curricular and extracurricular endeavors. If you have grandchildren, you are trying to keep up with them while balancing your own work and travel schedule. Within our church family our programs and ministries are cranked up from fall to spring. But summer is a time of rest - a sabbath of sorts. We scale back our schedules and programs and slow down a bit.
This summer reprieve gives us the chance to travel, vacation, and get away for long weekends. And that’s great. We need to recharge and rest. One of the unfortunate consequences is that we can start to feel disconnected from our church family. So here is a challenge for you to consider this summer. If you won’t be in church on Sunday, make a point to connect with a few people from our church family during the week instead. Invite a family over for dinner. Meet someone at the beach or for a walk. Even giving someone a call to check in can help you stay connected and deepen relationships. It’s important for some of the activity to slow down during the summer. But let’s not let up on relationships!
“Aren’t all religions just different versions of the same thing?” It’s a question that gets raised frequently. We’re all trying to get to God. We’re all headed to the top of the mountain. We’re just taking different paths. It can be hard to argue with this logic, especially when claiming that your religion is the right one comes across as arrogant or even judgmental. But there is a big difference between following Jesus and following other world religions. Most every religion in the world operates on karma. Karma is the idea that what you do now will come back to you in the future. We reap what we sow. But being in Christ is different. Rather than operating on karma, life in Christ operates on grace.
As people who belong to Jesus, we don’t reap what we sow. We reap what God has sown. We lie in a bed that God has made for us, rather than one we’ve made for ourselves. Blessing and joy and eternal life are not rewards for something we have done (i.e., karma). They are gifts because of something God has done (i.e., grace). It should be noted that we can easily turn Christianity into another system of karma. Go to church, tithe, do spiritual disciplines, and you will get eternal life and be blessed. But the true center of our faith is about grace. We trust God for everything we need and receive it as a gift, not a reward. Karma offers us fairness and the illusion of control. Grace offers us the gift of eternal life.
Dear Father,
We thank you for this stellar opportunity to share Good News with children in our church and community. So much work and planning has already gone into this week. Yet we recognize that our best efforts cannot make lasting change. We need your power to truly change these young lives. We pray that you would fill us with that power. We pray that every volunteer would be sensitive to the leading of your Spirit. Give them words to speak and actions that convey your love. Give them a spirit of teamwork and unity.
We ask that you would open the hearts of the children to the powerful message of the Gospel. We pray especially for the children who do not know you as Father and your Son as Savior. Let them receive the message and be changed. We also pray for the children that do know your love. May they grow even deeper in it. We want this week to be about you. May it bring your kingdom closer to earth. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Two weeks ago I visited Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Amsterdam. The stone structure built in 1306 is beautiful, but the Old Church now seems to function more as a tourist attraction rather than a church. When visiting, you may be one of the few people walking through this church museum. The floor is covered with gravestones where 60,000 people are buried. We were told the term “stinking rich” came from the odor of decaying wealthy people that had enough money to be buried in churches. We were told the practice of eating peppermints during the service arose to mask the church smell. Today, most of the action there takes place outside the Old Church in the surrounding Red Light District.
In contrast, Ferrysburg Community Church is currently being transformed into a multisensory galaxy with a mission to share Jesus with kids. Next week FCC will be filled with kids and volunteers actively engaged on a cosmic quest at Stellar VBS. FCC will be a space for kids alive with adventure! FCC will be a place to taste and see the goodness of God. Kids will have the opportunity to taste space ice cream and the constellations they create with marshmallows and pretzel sticks. They will see glow in the dark planets, shuttles, rovers and astronauts as we launch on a galactic adventure with experiments, games, songs, skits, stories and more as they learn about Jesus.
Our Stellar theme is to Shine Jesus’ Light. To shine Jesus’ light throughout our community, we ask for your promotion of Stellar. If you know any four year-old to fifth grade kids, please invite them! Registration by this Thursday would be very helpful, but we will welcome additional kids at any time through VBS week.
And please pray for our week! There are so many ways you can pray for Stellar. Here are some suggestions.
PRAY OUR MISSION WILL DRAW EVERYONE CLOSER TO GOD - "Dear Jesus, thank you that we can shine your light at Stellar. Thank you for the opportunity to pour into the lives of kids in deep and meaningful ways. We pray you will be glorified at Stellar and all who participate will grow closer to you."
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS AND CHURCH FAMILY - "Dear Lord, be with our leaders. Keep them healthy in body and mind. Enable all of our leaders to clearly reflect Jesus and powerfully share the good news of who you are with kids. Draw us closer together as a church family as we serve in this mission. Give our leaders peace when things get stressful, and fill their hearts with joy as they faithfully complete your work.”
PRAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY - “God, may Ferrysburg Community Church be a great influence in our community through Stellar VBS. May we be welcoming to all kids and families as we seek to grow louder in your world. May your goodness shine through us.” Amen.
Many years ago a Christian leader made this statement: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” This is a beautiful quote, but it raises a difficult question. What is essential? What beliefs, if we removed them from Christianity, would leave us with something that isn’t Christianity? The early Church had a simple creed: “Jesus is Lord.” Since then we’ve added the Apostles Creed and many different confessions and positions. We’ve had a much easier time deciding what we believe than determining which of our beliefs are truly essential.
Where does the Gospel end and other matters begin? What is truly a salvation issue? It can’t be everything we believe. If baptism were a salvation issue, then about half of the global church is not going to heaven. At some point we must acknowledge that not everything we believe is a matter of spiritual life and death. Important, but not critical. As the Church of Jesus Christ finds herself divided over so many issues, it would help us to think about which are truly essential. It would help even more if we could commit to doing as the quote suggests: love each other in all things. The core message of the Gospel is narrower than most of our doctrine and dogma. But the love to which the Gospel calls us covers every part.
With several professions of faith in the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of Christian community. I was reminded of an old friend of mine who died in a house fire several years ago. At the funeral, his father got up and spoke about him. He thanked many people who had been there for his son over the years. However his most lavish thanks were reserved for his son’s church community. “If you don’t have a church, you need to get one,” he said. “There were all sorts of people from this church that played a part at different times. Some pastors were better than others. Some people clicked better than others. But they were all there to help put the puzzle together.”
I thought this was a beautiful expression of the family of God. Each life is a puzzle that God puts together through His people. Some people come into our lives, push one piece into place, and are gone. Others are there to connect large sections of our lives. We don’t put ourselves together. We can only become whole in the context of a gracious community of faith. I am so thankful to God for the people of FCC who are putting pieces together for children, teens, and adults in our church family. What can you do this week to push a few pieces together for a member of your church family?
Following Jesus is sort of like handing him a blank check. We sign our names and Jesus fills in the amount. We offer everything to him. We resolve to do whatever he asks of us. That’s a lot to get your mind around. It’s hard for me to think about the really big things Jesus might ask me to do in the future. What if he asks me to do missions overseas? What if he asks me to serve in a way that is especially challenging? What if he sets difficult circumstances before me?
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The real question is not: What might Jesus ask me to do someday? The real question is: What is Jesus asking me to do today? And it’s probably not terribly daunting. He’s probably not asking you to sell all your possessions and embark on a foreign mission. Rather, he’s asking you to speak a kind word or take an interest in someone’s life. He may be asking you to send someone a quick text to let them know you’re thinking of and praying for them. Jesus might ask you to do a favor for someone. Following Jesus is not about what he might ask you to do in the future. It’s about what he is asking you to do today. Jesus will take a blank check just for May 15. One day at a time.
According to the Vision Council, nearly 70% of adult Americans need some form of vision correction. It’s also common for those over 40 to require a corrective lens that aids in seeing objects both distant and near. These are called bifocal lenses. The focus for our 2022-23 Kingdom Investment is much like a bifocal lens. We are focused on making clear and tangible impacts both close to home and in places far away.
Our distant, or global, impact has been accomplished through our partnership with Filter of Hope. 15 FCC members traveled to Guatemala and were able to pass out over 85 water filters to families in need of clean water. On top of that, they were also able to share the good news of the Gospel.
Our near-home, or local, focus is through our work with Love In Action. LIA is creating what is known as a Food Co-op, which is a resource for those who are experiencing food insecurity but may not need the full service of a food pantry. This will allow many people to gain access to fresh, healthy food that they may otherwise not be able to afford. FCC has already donated money to this cause, but now it is our turn to participate as well.
There are several volunteer opportunities available for teens, families, adults, and seniors throughout May and the summer months. These include a postal food drive, working in a garden, and receiving produce from the Summer Grand Haven farmer’s market. If you are interested in signing up, please click here or call the church office. If you want to learn more about these opportunities before committing, talk to Bruce or Nancy Cook, Maggie Assink, or Kyle Mullin.
Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
God is everywhere. His presence fills the world. Earth is indeed “crammed with heaven.” It is ironic, then, that we so often fail to see it and behold it. We look at burning bushes and only see blackberries. Seeing God’s presence takes practice and intentionality. That’s why we’re asking you to take the month of May to be on the lookout, to keep your eyes peeled for signs of God’s presence. Rarely is it in a burning bush. It might be in a flaming sunset or a powerful thunderstorm. It could be in a friend who brings just the encouragement you need. It might be a set of circumstances so perfect that only God could have pulled it off.
God sightings need to be shared. Not only do they encourage you, they encourage our church family too. We have paper glasses in the sanctuary for you to jot down your God sightings and put them on the board in the Commons. We’re going to make sure that we don’t just sit around and pick blackberries. We will take off our shoes, because this is holy ground. Please keep your eyes open this week to the ways that God is present and write them down on Sunday. You can also click here to share it with us and we’ll write it down for you.
We didn’t do anything with it in our worship service, but Saturday was Earth Day. It’s a day when we renew our commitment to caring for the earth. It’s a day when we celebrate this beautiful planet on which we live. Yet it seems like there is controversy anytime the environment comes up. Some Christians are suspicious that those who want to protect and care for the planet are secretly pagan. Then there’s the science behind these issues. Some believe that scientific data points to a day in the near future when the ice caps will be melted. Others believe it’s a conspiracy to sell more LED light bulbs and electric vehicles.
To me the science and doomsday predictions have never been the issue. Regardless of how you feel about environmental issues, for Christians one fact remains: our world belongs to God. This is God’s creation - his masterpiece. And if we truly love him, how can we not care for what is his? Science and sustainability are great reasons to care for the earth. But they must not be the main reasons we care for God’s creation. Caring for God’s creation is one very tangible way to show our love for Him. More than anything else, that should drive our creation care.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Really? Snow? I don’t like it either! This weather is for the birds. After being teased with a few days in the 70s, here we are again - highs in the low 40s. It’s probably partially my fault for putting away the snow shovels over the weekend and jinxing our weather. Nobody will blame you for grousing about a snowy day on April 17. Despite this current inconvenience, in a few weeks - maybe even a few days - we’ll be in the 60s. Leaves will be on the trees. The tulips will be blooming in Holland. We’ll look back on April 16 and 17 with far less anger and annoyance. Years from now we may tell our grandchildren this cautionary tale if they get too eager for spring. No matter how annoying it is now, it will fade into a far less painful, and maybe even comical, memory.
I suspect that the new creation will do the same thing to the pain we experience now. Paul describes it as “light and momentary.” A few days of sleet and cold temperatures compared to a long summer of warm weather. That’s not to discount the deep pain and struggle you have experienced. It’s to remind you that an eternal glory that far outweighs it all awaits us in God’s presence.
Yesterday we had a wonderful celebration of the resurrection. We celebrated Jesus’ triumph over death with decorations, wonderful music, beautiful flowers, spoken word, and prayer. FCC was not unusual in doing this. Virtually every congregation in the world was doing something special to celebrate the resurrection. In the Church, Easter is not just a special occasion. It is THE special occasion.
There might be just one downside to all this celebrating: we can end up thinking that the resurrection is somehow less powerful today than it was yesterday. We can believe that it was more significant yesterday than it will be tomorrow. But the reality for us is that every day is Easter. Every day is the resurrection. Whether we gather to celebrate it in our church buildings or not, the power of Easter is just as strong. No matter how you feel on any tomorrow, He is still risen. And that makes any day a day worth celebrating.
Hope is a powerful unifier. People at political rallies feel a sense of kinship and camaraderie. They are united by a cause or a person who promises to make things better. There is a unifying vision for the future that connects people. Sports fans who are complete strangers will often become dearest friends as they root for or celebrate their team’s victory. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the scene was probably not all that different. With one voice they shouted and cheered for an alternate future that they all desired - a desire that unified them in the refrain: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday with greater understanding than the people who lined the road into Jerusalem 2000 years ago. But we are just as united in our desire for a different future. Together as God’s people, we long for the day when Jesus rides back into this world to bring restoration and wholeness. That desire should bind us together with cords much thicker than those that bind political allies or people with a common rooting interest. Our common hope makes us brothers and sisters. Together with one voice we say, “Hosanna! Come, Lord Jesus!”
Perhaps more than anything else, to this world we are consumers. Everywhere we turn, companies are trying to sell things to us. If you visit a website or do an internet search for anything, you will see ads popping up for that very product on the next web page you visit. It’s eerie! But it must work. The internet is essentially built on advertising. And to it and the companies connected to it, we aren’t humans. We are consumers. Our identity is tied to what we consume: food, media, clothes, gadgets, and anything else that is marketed to us. Our primary function in the eyes of the world is purchasing things.
But not in the eyes of God. To him, we are not, first of all, consumers. We are his children. Rather than being purchasers, we are the ones who were purchased by Jesus for God. In this ad-driven world, it’s easy to forget that. To help us remember, this week we invite you to choose something that you normally consume and take a break from it. We call this fasting. When we go without something, when we stop consuming something, even for a short time, we remind ourselves that our worth and identity isn’t in what we consume, but in who we belong to. For some ideas on how you can practice fasting this week, click here to see our Lent practice guide.
Since Friday was St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share his famous prayer. It shows that he was much more than clovers and green beer. Take a minute to move slowly over these words. Make it your own prayer to God today.
I arise today through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear, alone or in a multitude.
Christ shield me today against wounding -
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
In just under 3 weeks, 15 people in the FCC community will be traveling to Santa Rosa, Guatemala to meet with families and community members, learn about their stories, hand out water filters, and share the Gospel. While we have a fantastic group of people traveling down, many of us remain behind. The good news is there is much vital work that can be done before, during, and after the trip in which every single person in the FCC community can participate. That vital work is prayer.
Prayer is not just speaking to God. Prayer is the work that opens doors, clears obstacles, and empowers believers to do that which God has called them. Without prayer, we would miss the opportunity to look back to God for the guidance we need. Without prayer, I would argue we would not have been blessed with the opportunity to work with Filter of Hope and go to Guatemala in the first place.
Even if you aren’t one of the 15 members traveling to Guatemala, you are still able to work towards the same goal as those on the trip. You can be a part of opening doors, clearing obstacles, and empowering the FCC Team to see how God is moving in Santa Rosa. There are 15 weekdays before this trip, meaning enough time to dedicate each weekday to a different member of the trip. If you’re interested, click here to sign up for the Mission Trip Prayer Email.
Have you ever felt guilty for doing something? Well, you shouldn’t. Not if you belong to Jesus. Maybe I’m getting caught up in semantics here, but it seems to me that guilt is an un-Christian response to our sin. When Jesus died on the cross, He fully satisfied the punishment for our sin. He took our guilt upon Himself. In God’s eyes, we are no longer guilty. And so feeling guilty about our sin is an incorrect emotional response. Guilt may drive us to God in the first place, but it has no business in our lives after that.
A much better emotion is sorrow. Sorrow comes from the awareness that we sin against the God who sent His Son to die for us. Sorrow occurs when we realize that we have wronged a God who loves us more than we can imagine. But even sorrow is no place to get stuck. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul writes, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” Our sorrow should be a productive force in our lives, moving us toward God’s grace and transforming power. It should never get stuck in regret. As you reflect on your sin and need for Jesus this Lent, I wish you godly sorrow. I wish you sorrow that brings repentance and helps you experience God’s grace and transformation more fully.
*Speaking of Confession, click here for our Lent Practice guide.
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