First Christian Church, Flora, Indiana

May, 2011

Do you know who Fanny Crosby was? Fanny was the author of many familiar hymns that we sing throughout the year. “Blessed Assurance”, “My Savior First of All”, “Rescue the Perishing”, and “Saved by Grace” are but a few hymns she wrote. Fanny had a gratitude towards God after a direct answer to prayer, and that event helped her to put onto paper words from her heart. One day, as the story goes, Fanny was in need of $5 and she had no idea where it was going to come from. Within a few minutes a stranger appeared at her door with just the right amount. “I have no way of accounting for this”, she wrote, “except to believe God, in answer to my prayer, put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money. My first thought was, it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads and I sat down and wrote a poem to show my gratitude.” That poem was put to music by Robert Lowry in 1867.

Fanny Crosby was a remarkable woman. She was born in 1823 to parents who lived her greatly, buy were humble in their possessions. At age 6, she was blinded by improper medical treatment. She was a teacher and in her forties began to write her well known gospel hymn. She composed 8,000 hymn texts in her lifetime.

Talk about overcoming. Rather poor, blind and fighting all the obstacles that those things bring with them, Fanny Crosby would not be put down. She was a strong faithful woman. At her funeral, the words from Hebrews 10:22 were read to describe her faith: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having out hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Do you have things that might be holding you down or holding you back? Sure, we all do. Perhaps not something as serious as being blind, but every single day there is a possibility that “this” or “that” will get to us and bring us down with a crashing thud. When that happens (and it probably will several times), what is our reaction and how do we think about these moments? Do we make the most of them or do we let them get the better of us? Do we fight them off or let them conquer us?

I believe that with the strength of God, we can, and we will overcome it all. The promise of an empty tomb, which we celebrated just days ago, should not fade. It should remain as an icon of life and faith for our lives. Jesus overcame death. With his help and his presence, we can overcome any obstacle that comes our way.

As we sing hymns, and read scripture, may we be inspired to go forth with victory in our sights.

Pastor Woody

April, 2011

There is a lot happening this month: Camp Registration, Holy Week, Youth Events, and other special and regular events. While all of this is important, the most important words are found below. Read them over and over and reflect on what Easter means in your life.

Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell the disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and  took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

Matthew 28:1-10 and 16-20

Pastor Woody

March 2011

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Mark 16:15

Those words in Mark set for us a standard – something to aim towards as Christians. As Jesus spoke those words to the Disciples, he “called them to action.” He did not say “Since you know everything, and since you are a pretty busy group of men, just take it easy and don’t continue my work here on earth.” Instead Jesus commanded and challenged the Disciples to do what they had been taught: to go into the world and preach the good news to all the people.

Not all of us are preachers. However, I have never found anyone that does not have a message to preach or a story of faith to tell. So we might think that this commandment is for someone else. Perhaps it is for another “preacher” in our midst, but that doesn’t get us out of the responsibility set before us. Thus, I offer to the church a challenge that you can accomplish during Lent.

I have been preaching a series of sermons for 7 weeks. This Sunday is the conclusion of that sermon series and it is entitled “The Commission,” based on the words from Mark found at the top of this page. At the conclusion of that sermon, you will be asked to do several things: making commitments in your life during the short period which begins on Ash Wednesday. I will be asking you to do one of the following:

PRAY ABOUT YOUR DREAMS

CALL A NEIGHBOR

PICK SOMETHING TO LEAVE BEHIND IN LENT

COMMIT TO BEING IN CHURCH DURING LENT

READ A LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

 My prayers are that every member of the church will do at least one of the actions above. As we “go into the world,” we will be blessed and our lives will be touched by the spirit of God.

Pastor Woody

February, 2011

I am amazed. No, Really! Not a Sunday goes by without someone (actually several people) telling me that something I said in the sermon struck a cord with them. They repeat, verbatim, words I preached a half hour ago. Now, it is not that I am such a great preacher. I cough sometimes, stumble over words, and mispronounce those tough Biblical locations and names. But I do think that it is God who puts those words in my mouth. A lot of sermon preparation has to do with conversations with God. I was taught that in seminary, I guess, but didn’t put it into practice until much later. If I want to preach something that matters, my words have to be God’s words. He is by far a better preacher than I am. So I listen and He guides me to places I did not know I was going to go.

Such was the case last December. I didn’t get around much that month and the time I sat helped me to ponder and think about the next several months, and the messages God wanted me to preach. It hit me strongly one morning. I needed to share some of the most familiar stories in the Bible and see how those stories and lessons apply to our daily lives as individuals and as a Church. Thus, the series of sermons I am preaching now through the beginning of Lent came to be. Quickly the stories popped into my mind and soon I was outlining the 8 weeks of lessons. God continued to speak to me and helped me get a grip on what needed to be said. There is a theme, I think, running through the entire series, but I will let you decide what that theme is. For each person, it might be something different.

So what if these sermons are preached, received and understood. For them to make a difference, those who hear even one of them needs to be put in a place where action is a result. Again God started talking to me amd challenged me to come up with a commitment request  for each and every one of you. The only thing is that He’s not finished with the final product yet. So even though I want to tell you, I can’t tell you what your challenge for Lent will be. It will come to me, no doubt and as soon as I know, I will figure out a way to let you all know.

Listening to God. Something all of us need to do a little better than we are doing now. If it were not for His voice, we all would be drifting around, with no idea of where we are going, and no clue as to how to get there. Join the journey with me. I promise it will be uplifting and exciting!

Pastor Woody Slade

November, 2010

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Ecclesiastes 3

The scripture above speaks a lot about what is going on in our world today. With the change of seasons, we know that it is appropriate for the temperatures to drop, and the leaves too. It is time for harvest to be coming to a close and time to get the snow blower ready. In the life of the church, it is time to reflect on the past and on our blessings, and consider our gifts to the ministry of Flora First Christian Church in 2011. Time is so precious, that we consider it a gift from God and we must use it, and all of our resources, in the best way we can.

That scripture from Ecclesiastes also speaks to us about routines we get ourselves in. We often need change to make the present more meaningful. Change, as we all know, is a sometimes  a difficult thing to accept, but then again, it is often a breath of fresh air. Change causes us to see things in a different light, and often God speaks to us in new ways.

On Sunday, November 7, we will have a change in our morning worship service. For that morning, as well as 3 or 4 others during the year, we will have a more contemporary praise service on Sunday morning. Don’t get anxious! Basically we will sing several songs from the praise booklet and the choir will give an uplifting anthem. We will be a bit less formal, and at the same time, celebrate what God is doing and what God will do in our lives. All the regular parts of the service will be there, just in a different order and presented in a new way. Why are we doing this? Change is good. When we are surprised by what is going on in worship, we catch a clearer glimpse of God in action. This type of service is appealing to the younger generation, and we must do everything we can to attract them to our church family. Is this something we are going to adopt and do each week? There are no plans to even consider this, just a change for one Sunday every 3 or 4 months.

So, come with an open mind and be ready to experience the living God in a fresh new way.  Though this type of change is often uncomfortable, I pledge to make it as smooth as possible. Our hope is that on Sunday morning, we worship and praise God, no matter how we do it. After November 7, please let me know what you think of that morning’s worship format.

Pastor Woody

October, 2010

October. Leaves come down. Rakes get a workout. We wear jackets most mornings. Days get shorter. The church talks about Stewardship. All are certain. No doubt about it.

Ever since I began serving as a pastor, this is the time of year I try and choose my words carefully. First of all, you don’t want to sound like you are begging. Second, no one needs to feel guilty if they can’t give to the church. Third, I have no idea what anyone gives, except for my family, and that’s OK with me. But perhaps the most important thing about October and church giving, is lifting up this time as an opportunity to be involved in something that is much larger than any of us, and more important than anything we have to do. Our giving to the church allows us to participate in its daily ministry in Flora and beyond. Here are some examples of what your dollars have accomplished in the past year:

• You have provided a warm in the winter and cool in the summer place for God’s people to worship on Sunday morning. If you add up all the Sundays’ attendance, that means about 5800 people have worshiped in this church over the past year.
•  You provided funds for an active youth group that thinks not of itself, but of others as it buys Christmas gifts, does other service projects, and meets, inviting others to join on Christian Fellowship.
• You have supported our youth as they went to camp.
• Your donations have filled the pantries at Keepin’ It Real, homes in Mississippi, and in places where floods or storms have wiped out homes.
• You provided a living for the employees of the church, which when combined have over 70 years of service to the church.
• Your gifts allow the church to share its “good news” through the newsletter, computer mailings and word of mouth.
• Children and adults come to know more about the love of Christ, as they attend Sunday School and Bible Study.
• A student at Christian Theological Seminary received a scholarship, in the name of the church as they continue their education.

I could go on, but you get the point. Your gifts are important. In the month of October you will have the opportunity to consider your gift to First Christian Church for the year 2011. Pray and ask God what you should do. Follow His direction. He loves you so much. And, thank you in advance for being part of this vibrant, loving, moving congregation. I am blessed to be your pastor.

Pastor Woody

September, 2010

Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

None of us likes to wait. Not in line at stores, on phone calls, or in doctors’ offices. We tend to want things instantly. And so when God says, “not yet,” we don’t like the words. When he says “not ever” we tend to disagree.

Jesus had been ministering to the people for more than three years and when he told the Disciples he was going to die on a cross and then be resurrected, they must  have thought to themselves, “really?” But it happened, and the wait began. An hour. Two hours. A day. Still the resurrection didn’t happen. The Disciples were impatient, not unlike us today. The people of the day were told to sit around Jerusalem and to wait. Some walked away. Others complained. Others lost their belief. But some were patient and trusted in the promise made by God’s Son. So they waited.

Someone wrote that certain conditions cannot be accomplished in a moment. The breaking of the ground is the spring takes time. The frosts of winter are necessary as are the rains of spring to prepare the soil for fertility. The anticipation of a child being born actually lasts only 9 months. But it can seem like years. Wanting to be closer and more personal with God, as he speaks, is a process that might take us many months or years. But the wait is worth it.

So it is that we come to September 2010. I have promoted “Spirit Month” on Sundays and you have received a booklet with a map, Biblical readings and suggestions of activities. We have prayer partners assigned, and some fun activities as well. In the long run, when the month is over, we will have given God several opportunities to share His spirit with us. Be patient, and wait for him. He will be there and he will come to you in ways you never imagined.

As we wait for the Lord, we get new perspectives. If we back off from rushing things and not insist on moving too quickly, we can gain wisdom. If we look, we can see marvelous things never seen before. If we pray, perhaps God will speak to us in new ways.

The last activity of the month will be an opportunity for you to take a”gifts” test. This is a personalized inventory to what God has placed in your life as a gift. Personal, in that no one else will know the results unless you choose to share them.  But you will know, and this knowledge will open new doors and bring about new opportunities for the church.

Pray for the activities will will be involved in during September. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him.

Pastor Woody