Good Morning,
Douglas Copeland wrote a book entitled Girlfriend in a Coma. In the book, a young woman comes out of a coma that she has been in since ‘79. After she has been out of the coma for quite awhile, someone asks about her impressions of people who live in the ‘90s. She says, “A lack. A lack of convictions, of beliefs, of wisdom, or even of good old badness. No sorrow, no nothing. The people I knew when I came back, they only, well, existed. It was so sad.” But what would you expect from people who have crammed their lives with everything but God. Praise the Lord that, the Bible tells another story. It is a story about a God who created a world and called it good. It tells about a God who says he loves the world and has loved its people into existence. It says that he came to redeem people even if it meant dying for them. It claims he came to show us that death has no power over us, and that this world is not all there is. The Bible’s story is that history is headed somewhere and that there is a divine purpose to our lives and the world. It’s message is that there can even be meaning in suffering. The Psalmist tells us: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4). At the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., there is a large wooden altar from a Jewish synagogue. It was vandalized by Nazi soldiers who had come to remove all Jews from that city. The soldiers had tried to destroy the altar. You can still see the hack marks of their axes, but still decipherable across the altar is a single Hebrew phrase carved deeply into the wood. Though the axes of man attempted to delete the words, the phrase is still reads: “Know before Whom you stand.” The problem with our pagan culture is that we do not know before whom we stand; therefore we do not understand the value and purpose of life. We cannot stand at all. Is it any wonder that we have such a low view of the world and life itself? It is not a surprise that we have missed the clues about how good and wonderful life is since we have tried to erase the fact that we are to live before God in this life. David said, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:1-3). Too often we are afraid of life. But how can we be afraid when Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Erwin McManus tells about an experience with his son who had become afraid: “One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp. I figured he wasn’t going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn’t tell ghost stories, because we don’t believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified. ‘Dad, don’t turn off the light!’ he said before going to bed. ‘No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I’m afraid. They told all these stories about demons.’ And I wanted to say, ‘They’re not real.’ He goes, ‘Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?’ I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety. I said, ‘Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.’ And he goes, ‘All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.’” We can be afraid of life and retreat from it, or we can become dangerous and face life with boldness. In other words, you have to know that there is a God shaped future for you and the world. All the sufferings, all the injustices, all the pain of life will one day be redeemed. As the Bible says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (Revelation 21:4-5). This is what Isaiah prophesied when he spoke for God saying: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). Dr. Dale Robbins writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord.” Complaining makes us miserable — not to mention everyone around us. It is a failure not to realize that God is not through with the world. God is up to something wonderful. He will redeem the world in the end. He will restore all things. He will make, “justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). The innocence of the world will be restored and goodness will be renewed. God is up to something wonderful and he invites us to be a part of it. The world is not going around in circles, it is going in a definite direction. God will prevail over all human sin and arrogance. He will make new heavens and a new earth. With the blast of one word from his mouth all violence and quarreling will cease, and he will usher in his unshakeable kingdom that will never end. God is concerned with saving the world, not destroying it. The question is not about why this thing is taking place in your life, but what is God doing in the world and where is he taking it. The answer is that he is taking it to a glorious end. If you read the book of Revelation you realize that the world ends with triumph, blessing and the renewal of all things. In her book Mystery on the Desert, Maria Reiche describes a series of strange lines made by the ancient Nazea people in the plains of Peru, perhaps as early as 200 years before the time of Christ. The area where the lines are covers over 37 miles. It is impossible to make out what these line drawings are from the ground, and people at one time assumed they were irrigation ditches. No one really knew what they were until 1939 when Dr. Paul Kosok, of Long Island University, studied them by flying over them in an airplane. There is an assortment of perfectly straight lines, many running parallel, others intersecting, forming a grand geometric form. In and around the lines there are also strange symbols, and pictures of 70 animal and plant figures that include a spider, hummingbird, monkey and a 1,000-foot-long pelican. One geometric figure goes in a straight line for nine miles across the plain. All of them are etched on a giant scale that can only be appreciated from the sky. When viewed from high in the air, these seemingly random lines form enormous drawings of art. They have meaning. People often assume that since they cannot see the purpose of something from their perspective that there is no purpose — no reason or rhyme to what they are facing. But from God’s perspective it makes perfect sense. There is not only order and design to what he is doing, it is a work of art. It doesn’t matter if you are too small to see the whole masterpiece, it is still there. One day, looking from heaven, the mystery of what God has been doing will be clear to us. What looked like a ditch to us will be seen as a part of God’s design that has been stretched out over his universe. All the beauty and purpose of what God has done will make us say: “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
In Christ,
Brown
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 11-25-08
Good Morning,
Today we are a just one month away from Christmas Day. Praise the Lord that we can enter the Advent and Christmas Season through the doors of Thanksgiving. The prophet Habakkuk provides us with an example of someone who understood “unconditional thanksgiving,” which is the kind of thanksgiving we should demonstrate. Rejoice in the Lord Always (Habakkuk 3:17-19) Here we see that Habakkuk was thankful to the Lord even though there was a lack of food and his physical needs may not have been met. These verses represent unconditional thanksgiving! The word “unconditional” means not dependent on, or conditioned by any external thing, but rooted in God alone, rooted in the experience of the wonder of salvation. Our thanksgiving to the Lord should be unconditional, just as God’s love for his people is unconditional. God’s love for Israel was definitely unconditional, as is his love for us. In Deuteronomy 7:7-8 we read, “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” The Lord did not deliver Israel from Egypt because he was pleased with the amount of people. Israel was not very great in number. He chose Israel because he was faithful to the promise he had made that he would make of Israel a great nation. God is always faithful and ever loving. We need to be consistent and faithful in giving thanks to the Lord, because he is faithful in loving us. The thanksgiving that Habakkuk spoke of is a thanksgiving, which is not dependent upon any thing, object, or circumstance, but it finds its source in God. It is not dependent upon the things that God has given, but upon who God is. Habakkuk wished to say, “Even if all my worldly comforts were taken away and God allowed my life to become desolate of any earthly ease, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. I will return to His presence with thanks.” He was proclaiming that his thanksgiving would not be infrequent. It would not be shallow. It would not only be given when things were agreeable and comfortable, but always-because his thanksgiving would be rooted in a profound, personal, and real experience of God’s salvation and of God’s present strength. I am reminded of the song by Matt Redmon called, “Blessed Be Your Name.” . This song is one that I first heard from my daughter, Sunita. We sang this song last Sunday during both morning and the evening worship services. He sings, “Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful; where your streams of abundance flow, blessed be your name. Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place; though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, blessed be the name of the Lord . . . Blessed be your glorious name . . . You give and take away . . . my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.” The inspiration for this song came from Job, where he declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Habakkuk spoke here not merely of the loss of everyday comforts, but of the very supports of his earthly life. He imagined one of the darkest and blackest pictures a person could possibly know. He used the language of the agriculture of his day. He said, if the fig tree does not blossom, the labor of the olive fail ; the fields would have no meat (the corn, the barley, the wheat-no food to be brought to the storage bins); the flocks would be cut off from the fold (the herds would not be found in the stalls (the barns would be empty and the livestock dead and gone). He imagined economic ruin, disaster, circumstances leading to famine, hunger, crying children, and malnutrition. He was talking about the collapse of the economy, somewhat similar to the Great Depression, but more severe. Though we are in recession right now, hopefully we will never have to see another depression. Habakkuk basically said that although my job may be gone, my income would be cut off, my ability to provide one mouthful of food taken away, (and we could add to that, my health or my loved ones lost); yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Bible commentator Matthew Henry, after being robbed once, wrote in his diary the following message about thankfulness, “Let me be thankful. First, because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” Come what may we should declare, “I will rejoice. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” The word “rejoice” means a leap for joy. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, says Habakkuk - the feet of a deer that is swift and leaps through the air, whose spirit soars. He says, “I will walk upon the high hills”. The idea here is of victory and calmness, rest and serenity, looking over all the land in victory. He spoke of an abundant, spiritual joy, unquenchable and victorious.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cyqn2LxKVk
Today we are a just one month away from Christmas Day. Praise the Lord that we can enter the Advent and Christmas Season through the doors of Thanksgiving. The prophet Habakkuk provides us with an example of someone who understood “unconditional thanksgiving,” which is the kind of thanksgiving we should demonstrate. Rejoice in the Lord Always (Habakkuk 3:17-19) Here we see that Habakkuk was thankful to the Lord even though there was a lack of food and his physical needs may not have been met. These verses represent unconditional thanksgiving! The word “unconditional” means not dependent on, or conditioned by any external thing, but rooted in God alone, rooted in the experience of the wonder of salvation. Our thanksgiving to the Lord should be unconditional, just as God’s love for his people is unconditional. God’s love for Israel was definitely unconditional, as is his love for us. In Deuteronomy 7:7-8 we read, “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” The Lord did not deliver Israel from Egypt because he was pleased with the amount of people. Israel was not very great in number. He chose Israel because he was faithful to the promise he had made that he would make of Israel a great nation. God is always faithful and ever loving. We need to be consistent and faithful in giving thanks to the Lord, because he is faithful in loving us. The thanksgiving that Habakkuk spoke of is a thanksgiving, which is not dependent upon any thing, object, or circumstance, but it finds its source in God. It is not dependent upon the things that God has given, but upon who God is. Habakkuk wished to say, “Even if all my worldly comforts were taken away and God allowed my life to become desolate of any earthly ease, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. I will return to His presence with thanks.” He was proclaiming that his thanksgiving would not be infrequent. It would not be shallow. It would not only be given when things were agreeable and comfortable, but always-because his thanksgiving would be rooted in a profound, personal, and real experience of God’s salvation and of God’s present strength. I am reminded of the song by Matt Redmon called, “Blessed Be Your Name.” . This song is one that I first heard from my daughter, Sunita. We sang this song last Sunday during both morning and the evening worship services. He sings, “Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful; where your streams of abundance flow, blessed be your name. Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place; though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, blessed be the name of the Lord . . . Blessed be your glorious name . . . You give and take away . . . my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.” The inspiration for this song came from Job, where he declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Habakkuk spoke here not merely of the loss of everyday comforts, but of the very supports of his earthly life. He imagined one of the darkest and blackest pictures a person could possibly know. He used the language of the agriculture of his day. He said, if the fig tree does not blossom, the labor of the olive fail ; the fields would have no meat (the corn, the barley, the wheat-no food to be brought to the storage bins); the flocks would be cut off from the fold (the herds would not be found in the stalls (the barns would be empty and the livestock dead and gone). He imagined economic ruin, disaster, circumstances leading to famine, hunger, crying children, and malnutrition. He was talking about the collapse of the economy, somewhat similar to the Great Depression, but more severe. Though we are in recession right now, hopefully we will never have to see another depression. Habakkuk basically said that although my job may be gone, my income would be cut off, my ability to provide one mouthful of food taken away, (and we could add to that, my health or my loved ones lost); yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Bible commentator Matthew Henry, after being robbed once, wrote in his diary the following message about thankfulness, “Let me be thankful. First, because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” Come what may we should declare, “I will rejoice. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” The word “rejoice” means a leap for joy. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, says Habakkuk - the feet of a deer that is swift and leaps through the air, whose spirit soars. He says, “I will walk upon the high hills”. The idea here is of victory and calmness, rest and serenity, looking over all the land in victory. He spoke of an abundant, spiritual joy, unquenchable and victorious.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cyqn2LxKVk
Monday, November 24, 2008
Brown's Daily Word & India update11-24-08
Good Morning,
Praise the Lord. It is Monday, and just one month away from Christmas Eve, 2008. The Lord blessed us wonderfully during morning worship services yesterday, and the evening worship led by one of the Worship teams from Binghamton University was anointed. I shared from Revelation 19 during the morning worship and from Psalm 65 during the evening worship. The following is a portion from the message I shared yesterday.
Ray Bakke tells a story of something that happened during World War II: “I knew an old Glasgow professor named MacDonald who, along with a Scottish chaplain, had bailed out of an airplane behind German lines. They were put in a prison camp. A high wire fence separated the Americans from the British, and the Germans made it next to impossible for the two sides to communicate. MacDonald was put in the American barracks and the chaplain was housed with the Brits. Every day the two men would meet at the fence and exchange a greeting. Unknown to the guards, the Americans had a little homemade radio and were able to get news from the outside, something more precious than food in a prison camp. Every day, MacDonald would take a headline or two to the fence and share it with the chaplain in the ancient Gaelic language, indecipherable to the Germans. One day, news came over the little radio that the German High Command had surrendered and the war was over. MacDonald took the news to his friend, then stood and watched him disappear into the British barracks. A moment later, a roar of celebration came from the barracks. Life in that camp was transformed. Men walked around singing and shouting, waving at the guards, even laughing at the dogs. When the German guards finally heard the news three nights later, they fled into the dark, leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning, Brits and Americans walked out as free men. Yet, they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the war was over.” The great thing about having a Bible is that we not only know some of the struggles the world will face, we have been told the outcome of the final battle. We know that we are on the winning side, and that good will triumph over evil, truth will win out over the lie, love will conquer hate and Jesus Christ will reign. There is cheering in our camp even though the guards and dogs may still be seen, for we know that they will soon be gone and the gates to the prison will be opened. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing his fiancée from a German prison, observed, “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened ‘from the outside,’ is not a bad picture of Advent.” We cannot open the door, but there will be One who will come and open it for us. That will be the greatest freedom we have ever known. In the Revelation 19, we are told of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Far from being something we should dread, it is one of the greatest events the world will experience, and which Christians should anticipate with eagerness. The Bible calls it the “blessed hope” when it says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). The second coming is our great hope.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gd6uCD2FM
Praise the Lord. It is Monday, and just one month away from Christmas Eve, 2008. The Lord blessed us wonderfully during morning worship services yesterday, and the evening worship led by one of the Worship teams from Binghamton University was anointed. I shared from Revelation 19 during the morning worship and from Psalm 65 during the evening worship. The following is a portion from the message I shared yesterday.
Ray Bakke tells a story of something that happened during World War II: “I knew an old Glasgow professor named MacDonald who, along with a Scottish chaplain, had bailed out of an airplane behind German lines. They were put in a prison camp. A high wire fence separated the Americans from the British, and the Germans made it next to impossible for the two sides to communicate. MacDonald was put in the American barracks and the chaplain was housed with the Brits. Every day the two men would meet at the fence and exchange a greeting. Unknown to the guards, the Americans had a little homemade radio and were able to get news from the outside, something more precious than food in a prison camp. Every day, MacDonald would take a headline or two to the fence and share it with the chaplain in the ancient Gaelic language, indecipherable to the Germans. One day, news came over the little radio that the German High Command had surrendered and the war was over. MacDonald took the news to his friend, then stood and watched him disappear into the British barracks. A moment later, a roar of celebration came from the barracks. Life in that camp was transformed. Men walked around singing and shouting, waving at the guards, even laughing at the dogs. When the German guards finally heard the news three nights later, they fled into the dark, leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning, Brits and Americans walked out as free men. Yet, they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the war was over.” The great thing about having a Bible is that we not only know some of the struggles the world will face, we have been told the outcome of the final battle. We know that we are on the winning side, and that good will triumph over evil, truth will win out over the lie, love will conquer hate and Jesus Christ will reign. There is cheering in our camp even though the guards and dogs may still be seen, for we know that they will soon be gone and the gates to the prison will be opened. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing his fiancée from a German prison, observed, “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened ‘from the outside,’ is not a bad picture of Advent.” We cannot open the door, but there will be One who will come and open it for us. That will be the greatest freedom we have ever known. In the Revelation 19, we are told of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Far from being something we should dread, it is one of the greatest events the world will experience, and which Christians should anticipate with eagerness. The Bible calls it the “blessed hope” when it says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). The second coming is our great hope.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3gd6uCD2FM
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 11-22-08
Good evening,
Praise the Lord for this beautiful evening. We have a touch of winter here. It has been a bright, sunny day, with sparkling snow on the ground. Alice has started decorating the house with Christmas trees and garlands, and has started listening to Christmas carols. Sunita and one of her friends will be attending a live concert by Andrea Bocelli tonight at the Lincoln Center in Washington, DC. The concert is being conducted by Placido Domingo. Sunita is thrilled to be able to attend. Laureen and Alice have been started to get Christmas ideas for the family.
Tomorrow is Christ the King Day in the life of the Church. In fact, it is the Christ the King Festival. We are so blessed to belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. "Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away, but there's something about that name." (Bill Gaither) Jesus is the King, and He shall reign forever.
Please pray for our ministry events over the coming days.
Tomorrow is the gathering of shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
Sunday, November 23 at 7 PM is our Thanksgiving service. A worship team from Binghamton University will lead the service.
Saturday, December 6 at 2 PM is the Annual Ladies' Tea.
Sunday, December 7 at 7 PM is the Christmas Sing-Along. It will be an evening of lessons and carols.
Monday, December 8 at 6 AM, the bus will be leaving from the Church parking lot to go to New York City for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.
Friday, December 12 at 7 PM the St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble will be in concert, presenting a concert that includes both sacred songs and folk tunes, in Russian.
Sunday, December 14 at 7 AM there will be a Men's Breakfast.
Sunday, December 14 at 5 PM there will be Christmas Caroling, followed by fellowship, cookies, and hot chocolate at the Parsonage.
Friday, December 19 a group will gather to attend the Messiah at the Forum in Binghamton, with the performance beginning at 8 PM.
Saturday, December 20 in the morning Christmas baskets will be delivered.
Saturday, December 20 at 5 PM there will be a Living Nativity.
Sunday, December 21 in the 8:30 and 11 AM services, the choir will be presenting their Christmas Cantata. A reception for all will follow the 11 AM service.
Wednesday, December 24 at 7 and 10:30 PM there will be Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Services
Many people have recently been ill with stomach viruses. Please keep them in prayer.
Continue to pray for George Cameron, who is hospitalized.
My Dad did not have a good night. Pain in legs is pretty severe (that is due to the lack of circulation and compounded by the fact that he has been in bed with no moving for 4 days...plus the new heart attack). They are giving him pain meds now but still have not been able to get him back on any blood pressure meds, plus he is off all blood thinners. He has been able to get up a little (with help) but he still has the heart monitor and the cath. He wants to come home so bad but I think it will still be a little while. At this point I am grateful that my Dad is still with us.
Continue to pray for those who are recovering from recent hospitalizations: Gordy Glover, Vickie Hektor, Sue Mason, Evvie Binder, Ray Fowler, Bill Jubin.
Pray for the elderly and shut-ins.
Pray for the persecuted Christians in India and around the world. Approximately 70,000 Christians have been made homeless in Orissa.
Continue to pray for my brother Potel, who is still in jail. We are claiming a "break-through" for him next week.
Pray for those who are lost in sin and walk in darkness, who do not know Jesus.
Pray for the homeless and jobless, the Lost, the Last, and the Least.
Pray for all the laborers in the Kingdom of Jesus.
Pray for Ryan Menhennet, who will be having surgery next Tuesday.
Pray for Peace.
"Could you please add Kathy Hentz and her mother Norma back to your prayer list? Kathy got the report below, and her mother who now is dealing with an enlarged heart. Kathy has an appointment 11/25, and her mother is back on for surgery 12/4. God is in control, and he hears our prayers! By his stripes we are healed!
Thanks prayer warriors!"
"Please use your faith to lift this man of God and his great congregation in prayer.
Emergency:
Our Son, Fred is part of a huge Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Salem, OR. His Lead Pastor, a marathon runner, was stricken with a baffling disease of the blood about two weeks ago. Today, Pastor John is hanging on by a thin thread of life, literally battling for his life.
Father, please, please, please extend your healing power to Pastor John Stumbo today. Either use the doctors and medicines to turn this "door of death" illness around or just let the "finger of God" touch him and heal him. Win glory to your name in all that happens in his life. We come against any and all influence the Enemy has in this sudden and horrible situation. And Father, be with his family and extended family as they prayerfully and anxiously await what God will do. Surround them with your love and grace. Use the many prayers of varying degrees of faith and the prayers of those needing you to help their unbelief, of this congregation to create the climate of faith needed to see this miracle of God. We will give you praise and glory, now and forever. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Fred Wenger "
We extend our congratulations to Chuck and Jane Loeffler, who have been married 67 years.
Happy 85th birthday to Naoma Leathers.
Happy 60-something to Linda Geer.
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
Psalm 4: 6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, More joy in one ordinary day 7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, For you, God, have put my life back together. ( Message)
Praise the Lord for this beautiful evening. We have a touch of winter here. It has been a bright, sunny day, with sparkling snow on the ground. Alice has started decorating the house with Christmas trees and garlands, and has started listening to Christmas carols. Sunita and one of her friends will be attending a live concert by Andrea Bocelli tonight at the Lincoln Center in Washington, DC. The concert is being conducted by Placido Domingo. Sunita is thrilled to be able to attend. Laureen and Alice have been started to get Christmas ideas for the family.
Tomorrow is Christ the King Day in the life of the Church. In fact, it is the Christ the King Festival. We are so blessed to belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. "Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away, but there's something about that name." (Bill Gaither) Jesus is the King, and He shall reign forever.
Please pray for our ministry events over the coming days.
Tomorrow is the gathering of shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
Sunday, November 23 at 7 PM is our Thanksgiving service. A worship team from Binghamton University will lead the service.
Saturday, December 6 at 2 PM is the Annual Ladies' Tea.
Sunday, December 7 at 7 PM is the Christmas Sing-Along. It will be an evening of lessons and carols.
Monday, December 8 at 6 AM, the bus will be leaving from the Church parking lot to go to New York City for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.
Friday, December 12 at 7 PM the St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble will be in concert, presenting a concert that includes both sacred songs and folk tunes, in Russian.
Sunday, December 14 at 7 AM there will be a Men's Breakfast.
Sunday, December 14 at 5 PM there will be Christmas Caroling, followed by fellowship, cookies, and hot chocolate at the Parsonage.
Friday, December 19 a group will gather to attend the Messiah at the Forum in Binghamton, with the performance beginning at 8 PM.
Saturday, December 20 in the morning Christmas baskets will be delivered.
Saturday, December 20 at 5 PM there will be a Living Nativity.
Sunday, December 21 in the 8:30 and 11 AM services, the choir will be presenting their Christmas Cantata. A reception for all will follow the 11 AM service.
Wednesday, December 24 at 7 and 10:30 PM there will be Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Services
Many people have recently been ill with stomach viruses. Please keep them in prayer.
Continue to pray for George Cameron, who is hospitalized.
My Dad did not have a good night. Pain in legs is pretty severe (that is due to the lack of circulation and compounded by the fact that he has been in bed with no moving for 4 days...plus the new heart attack). They are giving him pain meds now but still have not been able to get him back on any blood pressure meds, plus he is off all blood thinners. He has been able to get up a little (with help) but he still has the heart monitor and the cath. He wants to come home so bad but I think it will still be a little while. At this point I am grateful that my Dad is still with us.
Continue to pray for those who are recovering from recent hospitalizations: Gordy Glover, Vickie Hektor, Sue Mason, Evvie Binder, Ray Fowler, Bill Jubin.
Pray for the elderly and shut-ins.
Pray for the persecuted Christians in India and around the world. Approximately 70,000 Christians have been made homeless in Orissa.
Continue to pray for my brother Potel, who is still in jail. We are claiming a "break-through" for him next week.
Pray for those who are lost in sin and walk in darkness, who do not know Jesus.
Pray for the homeless and jobless, the Lost, the Last, and the Least.
Pray for all the laborers in the Kingdom of Jesus.
Pray for Ryan Menhennet, who will be having surgery next Tuesday.
Pray for Peace.
"Could you please add Kathy Hentz and her mother Norma back to your prayer list? Kathy got the report below, and her mother who now is dealing with an enlarged heart. Kathy has an appointment 11/25, and her mother is back on for surgery 12/4. God is in control, and he hears our prayers! By his stripes we are healed!
Thanks prayer warriors!"
"Please use your faith to lift this man of God and his great congregation in prayer.
Emergency:
Our Son, Fred is part of a huge Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Salem, OR. His Lead Pastor, a marathon runner, was stricken with a baffling disease of the blood about two weeks ago. Today, Pastor John is hanging on by a thin thread of life, literally battling for his life.
Father, please, please, please extend your healing power to Pastor John Stumbo today. Either use the doctors and medicines to turn this "door of death" illness around or just let the "finger of God" touch him and heal him. Win glory to your name in all that happens in his life. We come against any and all influence the Enemy has in this sudden and horrible situation. And Father, be with his family and extended family as they prayerfully and anxiously await what God will do. Surround them with your love and grace. Use the many prayers of varying degrees of faith and the prayers of those needing you to help their unbelief, of this congregation to create the climate of faith needed to see this miracle of God. We will give you praise and glory, now and forever. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Fred Wenger "
We extend our congratulations to Chuck and Jane Loeffler, who have been married 67 years.
Happy 85th birthday to Naoma Leathers.
Happy 60-something to Linda Geer.
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
Psalm 4: 6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, More joy in one ordinary day 7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, For you, God, have put my life back together. ( Message)
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