Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His amazing grace though we often fail to comprehend it. We read in John 1:16, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” God's message to us is one of mercy and grace.
Some of you might have read the following heart warming story. Every Sunday for the past 9 years members of the Landisville, PA Mennonite Church have prayed for a son of their congregation. Every month they send him a small sum of money, and every month some of them visit him. Prayer, money, and visits sound fairly typical for a care-giving church, BUT THIS SITUATION IS NOT TYPICAL AT ALL.
Nine years ago, after a meal with relatives on a calm Sunday afternoon, 14-year-old Keith Weaver killed his parents and his sister.
The horror of the crime and the loss of lives rocked the Weavers’ family, the church, and the community to the core. In the midst of their grief and disillusionment, however, members of the Landisville Mennonite Church got busy. They helped clean the house where the murders occurred, established a legal support committee to care for Keith’s needs so that the surviving brother and sister wouldn’t have to, and founded a “seventy times seven” fund to collect money for his expenses. They studied grief, forgiveness, and victimization in Sunday School and sermons, calling on the expertise of area chaplains and counselors. A year after the tragedy, they held a memorial service to lament the loss of their loved ones and TO RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO THE JOURNEY OF FORGIVENESS.
Landisville Pastor Sam Thomas said, “Forgiveness is an act of God’s grace. You don’t forgive and forget. You forgive again and again and again.”
When I read this story about their forgiveness toward that young 14-year-old murderer I was humbled. In fact, I was deeply humbled and strongly humbled to think that they would do such a gracious thing. Praise to the Lord for His mighty grace at work in their lives!
As launch out to live our lives in 2011, in a world that is often cruel and harsh, may we become grace bearers.
In His grace,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJoEe_zO_Q
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue , Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, January 8, 2011
6 PM Coffee Fellowship Gathering
6:30PM Worship Service.
Worship Leader: Rev. Earle Cowden
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the band.
New Years Greetings by: Pastor Brown Naik
Message By Dave Hettinger
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Coffee and Gathering
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
and Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
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