church

Blessed

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 NIV

About a year and a half ago my wife and I retired and moved to Florida. Moving meant getting used to a new neighborhood, finding new doctors and most importantly of all finding a new place to call our church home. Moving from a small Brazilian church to an American mega-church was in many ways great. It was awesome praising God together with so many people and it is a joy witnessing new baptisms monthly. But the end of our Sunday services always felt like an important something was left out. This week I realized that what I was missing was the blessing from the book of Numbers that our pastor had always prayed. I was suddenly so sorry for just taking his blessing for granted. (I sent a message to him yesterday thanking him).

One of the really neat cultural things we learned from our Brazilian church was the concept of blessing. Not only in church was blessing a big deal, but even in the home. In the older generation after families got together for a visit (always with lots of food!) the children could not leave with asking the older relatives for bênçãos (blessings). “Bencoes tio (Uncle), Bencoes pa-pai(Daddy) or bencoes vo-vo (Grampa)” they would ask as they took the hands of the older relatives. Did you ever stop to realize how many of the blessings that God gives us that we take for granted? Maybe even just as importantly have we considered how important it is for us to use every opportunity that we have to bless others.

The blessing our pastor always prayed was the one that God commanded Aaron the High Priest to bless the people of Israel with. I’m not sure if this is an illustration of God’s grace or His sense of humor. After all God was asking the same man who had made the golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain to bless His people! So don’t think that because you have messed up with your family, friends or church that God cannot also entrust you with a blessing to give. One part of God’s healing process in our lives is to find ourselves at a place where we can impart blessings to others. So this coming Sunday when you leave church whether on-line or in person, don’t think lightly of the blessing given to you and remember to take advantage of the chance to bless others. Have a blessed week everyone!

Waymaker

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

So blessed to see William McDowell and Darlene Zschech sharing this song not only as a way to worship Jesus but as a way to unite us at this time. When we worship in separate sanctuaries we are all poorer for it but together we are the people of God!

Sharing Communion Apart

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Sharing communion apart seems to be a contradiction in terms and yet it is very much a reality many of us are living out in this Corona virus world. I wrote this devotional for my people from the various nursing homes where I normally would be visiting every week. Though it is a personal message specifically for them, I thought it might also be an encouragement to you as well.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”                                        1 Corinthians 11:23- 24 ESV

While we have been apart for more than two months one thing which I have missed the most is being able to share communion with you. You may be wondering if there is some way we can still remember this holy meal. The answer is a resounding yes! We can still be together in heart if not in person in the three important parts of our Lord’s last supper. First we Repent. Just as Jesus prayed with His disciples, we must also pray and not only give thanks as Jesus did, but also ask for forgiveness so that God can clean our hearts and prepare us for communion.

Second; we Receive the bread and the cup; but not only from the hands of a priest or a pastor. Instead we recall Jesus as the Living Bread. He is the one who is giving Himself to us. It is from His hands that we receive such a gift. He also passes us the cup which holds His life spilled out on the cross for ours. As we receive His life into us He washes our past away and gives us new life in Him. Last of all we do this and Remember. It is not that we are recalling something forgotten but instead it is an honoring of His death and a celebration of His life; until he comes again. Oh I am looking forward to the day when I can be with you again to have communion. But until then be sure to repent; receive and remember as often as you can because our hope is our looking forward not to a return to normal but to the return of Jesus to this world!

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