Nursing Home Ministry

Counting Blessings

/ pastorpete51 / 10 Comments 
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 
Hebrews 12:2

Some days it is hard to sing because as I look out on our audience at Life Care Center, I see people in wheelchairs, some with limbs missing, some no longer verbal, and I wonder what these words mean to them. How can they count their blessings when their life isn’t what anyone ever hoped for? And yet they sing, and they smile and some tap their feet or clap their hands because we are counting blessings together again by faith and Jesus draws near! And the Bible reminds me that Jesus counted the cross as worth it, in exchange for our salvation and for the glory that waited His return to Heaven. He didn’t count blessings with a song but with suffering and yet by faith He endured, as today’s verse tells us, by looking forward to the joys that lay ahead. I pray that no matter what you are going through this morning, that the presence of Jesus will fill your heart with grace and strength. Counting blessings is not always easy. Life is not always a song, and we do not skip down an easy road singing “Lalalala!” every day. Often the way ahead is filled with challenges, hardships and heart ache. But whatever we are experiencing this morning; Jesus has promised to never leave us. He is with us and takes our hand in His, and reminds us of the nails that pierced His, while He was counting blessings.

Amazing Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Singing the song Amazing Grace should be more than just a celebration of what we have received from God. Instead, it can be an opportunity to express the unlocking of God’s grace in our hearts in a way that makes it known to others: especially those who are hardest to love. It is easy to be gracious for those we like and who have blessed our lives. But it is even easier to make excuses for complaining about folks who have treated us badly. We forget that Jesus forgave us and loved us while He was nailed to the cross and we didn’t even know Him or care about Him at all. But grace means that when we are hurt by others God wants us to allow Him to pour HIs Calvary love out through us to them. Then, through the radical forgiveness of Jesus we can together experience and give God all the praise for His wonderful and truly amazing grace! I hope you might enjoy listening to us singing this wonderful hymn at Discovery Villages this past Sunday.

The Fire and the Cloud: A Christmas Story

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. Exodus 13:21 NKJV

You probably will ask, “What in the world does the cloud and the pillar of fire have to do with Christmas?” That’s a great question! Well, let’s consider the journey of the wise men. He sent the star to guide the wise men. In the same way, that In the wilderness, God sent a fire by night to lead His people. Have you ever stopped to think that sometimes God leads us that way also? When it is nighttime in our life, and things are going wrong, He sends His light to guide us, in the form of His Word.

But what about those days when there is money in the bank, everyone is healthy, and life is sunny? For the children of Israel, the daytime traveling was by a cloud. Though the wisemen had no cloud to follow, what they did was to continue on the course that the star had set by night. They did not stop and wait for evening but pressed on ahead. In the same way, we must not settle down in our comfort zones. God leads us forward even when things look good because our Promised Land is not here in the desert. No matter how great things look right now, there is a much more wonderful destination ahead because we are not citizens of the wilderness. Our homeland lies on the other side of the Jordan River. So, whether God sends a star, a cloud, or a pillar of fire, He will lead us to our own promised land. If we simply choose to follow Him, He will lead us both by day and by night. Then one day we will come to His home, pour out our treasures and worship Him forever!

The First Noel was one of the songs we kicked off our caroling with at the nursing home this year. Just as the wise men followed that star on the first Noel, God is calling you to follow Him by reading and following His word. No matter how old we are, it is never too late to have a First Noel!