Dear Friends, In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus talks about how his followers are to interact with each other and especially with the world around them. In chapter 5:14-16 (NIV) we read, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” In the Bible, as in other literature, goodness is represented as light and bad or evil is represented as darkness. John speaks of Jesus as the Light in John 3:19, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” So, in Matthew 5 Jesus is telling His followers that when they go about their daily tasks out among other people who are not following Him, that they are going into the darkness. There are some situations and places where darkness of evil is even more rampant because what is being done is so very evil. Anywhere the Christian goes they are going to be around darkness and it is our job to shine the light of the goodness of God into the dark world of evil around us. Because of standing strong against temptation, there are places where you and I will just not even go into so that we do not become weak and be overcome by the darkness. In those situations we pray for those involved and for those Christians that God has sent into those areas to shine His light. One of the great things about light is that it overcomes the darkness. All you have to do when you walk into a dark room is turn on the light. God is stronger than evil, just as light is stronger than darkness! Our admonition from Christ is to GO BE THE LIGHT! Don’t try to hide the fact that you are a Christian, but in love let His light shine through you wherever you go! Our Administrative Assistant, Jenifer Crowl, has designed the above design that we are having put onto the front of t-shirts that we will be taking orders for so that we can have them to wear to the Albion Fair (September 10-14). We can especially be wearing them when we are serving at the Snack Shack. They will remind us that we are there being the Light and will help those we encounter to see a truth from Scripture and perhaps ask a question about it. One the back they will say, “Be the Light...” with the Scripture reference. Whether or not you are wearing the t-shirt, be a part of TEAM LIGHT wherever you go. Many people are living in the darkness of evil, which is in their lives, and they need us to show them the Light by our love, grace-giving, compassion, and with our words. On Sunday, September 8th I will be developing these thoughts further in my message to the congregation. I want us to be ready to go to the Albion Fair and be TEAM LIGHT and to be His light as we invite our friends, neighbors, and families to Back to Church Sunday on September 15th. Who will you invite? I would love to see us double our attendance that Sunday, welcoming our guests with a smile and a joyous atmosphere of worship! (Listen to the sermon from August 18th online). Until next month (and beyond) BE THE LIGHT!! In Christ’s Love, Pastor Wayne
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9/23/2019 08:42:23 am
We all need to learn how to focus on whatever is in front of us and finish it before we all start jumping from one project to another. Someone said to me before that if you are not having any progress with what you are doing for two hours, you should leave it and just do another task instead. I think while this maybe true for mundane activities, this is still a form of procrastination. If you keep stalling, you will be unable to finish any task. This will just add up to your anxieties and it will be impossible for you to concentrate on other things too.
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