Remnant Ramblings - April

In Luke 14, Jesus fins himself attending a dinner held at the house of a well-known Pharisee. At this dinner, his hosts again try to humiliate Jesus by placing a man suffering from dropsy in front of Him. The man was a test, probably unable to walk and with multiple tumors. He was not somebody who was normally invited to the house of a Pharisee. They thought if Jesus healed the man He would be guilty of disobeying the Sabbath law. Then the Pharisees could use his disobedience to make Jesus look bad before the people. After all, it was wrong to do work on the day of rest. Knowing something was up, Jesus asked his hosts, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" They were silent at his questioning, for if something of value to them was lost on the Sabbath, would they not do what was necessary to retrieve it themselves?

Those surrounding Jesus did their best to be seen in a positive light by the people of Israel. They were the 'in' crowd, an exclusive group. Not just anyone was welcomed to eat with them. They wanted Jesus to look bad in front of them. That's why the man with the disease was there. They wanted Jesus to mess up. After all, he was a troublemaker in their eyes, someone who upset the social balance. How dare he upset the system?

Maybe we're all too familiar with the class warfare idea, cliques, and exclusive groups. Perhaps we identify with the individuals in the text: the Pharisees, who think they're more special than the rest, the diseased outcast, or maybe even Jesus. Maybe we can identify with wanting the status of belonging to the 'in crowd'. This was the concern of Jesus in Luke 14:12-14. He said, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed."

Jesus was not saying, don't eat meals with your family members or that we shouldn't invite our friends over for dinner, but His message was to show hospitality to all. So often, we miss the people who need Jesus most because we are too busy paying attention to those who already are accepted, who get noticed. But who will reach out to those who are forgotten? In Matthew 25:40, Jesus states it from another perspective, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." When we extend hospitality to others, when we treat them well and allow them to be a part of the 'family', we are extending what Christ has extended to us.

With love in Christ,
Pastor Drew

Faith: The Gospel's Necessity

April 21, 2013
Faith: The Gospel's Necessity
Mark 1 & Romans 10
Scott Howard

God is a Holy God-- He also is a Just God.  So if all of us have rebelled against a Holy and Just God, how can a Holy and Just God save sinners and allow us to have a relationship with Him?  On our own we are infinitely separated from and dead without God.  But God is Gracious.  He sent His Holy Son, to become man to conquer death and sin in order to reconcile us to Him.

There is often Confusion over Faith:

1. We can so Dilute faith that we don't actually have it.  That's when we reduce faith to just believing that Jesus existed.  People can believe in Him, but their hearts are far from Him.
2. We can so Complicate faith that we can't ever know if we have it.  That's when we feel as if we don't know whether we've committed enough.  We may feel like we're living an endlessly frustrating supposed Christian life.

But...

• We can be restored to God only through true faith in Jesus Christ

This statement is twofold...

• We can be restored to God...

The goal of the Gospel is God...not Heaven, not peace, not joy.  Our goal is eternity with our Holy Creator and from Him flows all those wonderful things.

1. We can be acquitted before God the judge.  --> He will cancel our guilt.
2. We can be adopted by God the Father.  --> He will remove our shame.
3. We can be assured by God the King.  --> He will overcome our fear.

So how can we -- sinners, rebels, dead in our sin -- be restored to God?

• Only through faith in Jesus.

1. Jesus is the basis of Salvation. --> Our salvation is based on His innocence.
2. Faith is the means of Salvation. --> The realization that there is nothing we can do but trust in what has been done for us.
3. Works are the evidence of Salvation. --> Works are an automatic fruit of a life of faith in Christ.

When we place our faith in Christ to restore us to God, what does this involve?
Repent and Believe -- Mark 1:15

• We turn from our sin and ourselves.
• We confess our sinfulness (acknowledge our rebellion and separation)

Repentance is not trying to fix ourselves before God.  Repentance is saying, "I can't fix myself, God!"

• We die to our selfishness.  The essence of sin is self.  We need Jesus to be the center of our lives, not ourselves.
• We trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.  He died for us, in our place, and rules over us.

Romans 10:9-13 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

Have you put your faith in Jesus like this? Who reigns in your heart, self or Christ?   Remember, salvation is not about what you can do, but is simply trusting in Christ and depending on him to do what you could never do on your own. 

Worship Leader - April

What an amazing time that we have just come out of! Easter is a time of remembering the sacrifice that our Lord made for us, and also the great power in His resurrection! We can have eternal life because He died and rose on the third day! As we enter into spring, it always reminds me of God's mercy. In spring everything is new. The trees are budding, flowers springing up all around. Isn't that like God's mercy for us every day? God's mercy is new every morning! There is no better joy, than knowing we have new mercy every day!

I am constantly amazed how much the Lord loves me. How He takes care of me and my family. Even when everything seems to be going wrong, He is always there lifting me up! We can always depend on Him, even whenwe can't depend on anyone else. I am reminded of the wonderful words, What a friend we have in Jesus! All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit. O what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Just imagine all of the stuff that we carry around with us every day. When all we have to do is give it to Him and He will help us with whatever we are going through! 1 Peter 5:7 reads, "Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you!" I don't know about you, but every time I think about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords caring about me, I get pretty excited. We serve a wonderful savior, who gave His life for us, so that one day we could spend eternity with Him!

I serve a risen Savior; He's in the world today! I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy; I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, He's always near! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me, along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart!

I hope that you know this risen Savior and that He lives in your heart! There is no greater joy than knowing for certain that Christ is your Savior. He gave His life for you. Will you give your life to Him? Trust Him today for all that you need. He is faithful to be there for you and give you the strength you need!

Serving with you,
Gene Collins

Love Story of Redemption

April 14, 2013
Love Story of Redemption
Book of Ruth
Scott Howard

Kinsmen Redeemer: close relative, in close kinship, one who will purchase, restore and provide for

He said, "And who are you?" She said, "I am Ruth, your maiden; take me under your protecting wing. You're my close relative, you know, in the circle of covenant redeemers - you do have the right to marry me."    --Ruth 3:9 (The Message)

The book of Ruth is only 4 chapters long, read it to enjoy a beautiful love story that parallels what Christ did for us.

1.      Ruth realized the need for her redemption.

• Ruth’s past was not clean – she was a Moabite woman.  Moabites were known for their immorality and idolatry.

• Ruth’s future was not certain – she had no family, no heir, she was a widow

2.      Ruth trusted in the love of her redeemer.

• The Kinsmen Redeemer had 3 qualifications

1.      He must have the right to redeemer.  He had to be in very close relation to her.

2.      He must have the resources to redeem her.  Needed to be able to provide.

3.      He must have the resolve to redeem her.  He had to want to.

However, there was another who was in closer kinship than Boaz.  So Boaz gave that man the right to choose to be Ruth’s redeemer.   When that man heard she was a Moabite woman, he did not have the desire to redeem thus allowing Boaz to be the only redeemer for Ruth.  (see Ruth 4:1-11)

After their marriage, Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David who became King.  This is the family line in which Jesus was born.

Which brings us to how the love story of Ruth and her redeemer parallels our redemption through Jesus.  He came to a world filled with people whose past is not clean and whose future is dangerously uncertain.

 How can a sinful world be reconciled to a God that is Holy?  We needed a Holy Redeemer.  One who can cover our past and secure our future.  And we need to trust in the Love of our Redeemer.  (see Ephesians 1:7-8)

1.      Jesus alone has the right to redeem us.  He is both God and Man—He has kinship to us

• He is Devine over us

• He is human like us

2.      Jesus alone has the resources to redeem us.

• He has power over sin—He is set apart as sinless.  In order for one to redeem from sin, one must have no sin.

• He has authority over death—He is set apart because He arose and lives again

3.      Jesus alone has the resolve to redeem us.

• He seeks us as His own (stepped off His throne in Heaven to come to us)

• He saves us by His mercy (God is infinite in His goodness, He has Holy wrath and judgment against sin.  God is dead set against anything that will hurt us, so He is merciful to send us a Savior.)

• He serves us at His table (we are invited into His eternal home, not as guests, but as family, and His home becomes ours!)

Romans 3:23-25

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.”

Choose eternity with God and partake in the riches of His goodness.  It is way better than anything this world can offer.  He will never fail to satisfy the deepest longings of your heart.

From the Pastor's Heart - April

"I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." Revelation 3:8

Each one of us are given a number of opportunities every single day. It is what we do with those opportunities that matters. As I look back on all the opportunities that the Lord has given me, there are so many that I did not take advantage of and I now see the affect that has had on my life and the lives of those around me- be it family, friends, neighbors, etc...

I realize that I cannot do anything about the opportunities in the past that I have let slip by. The only thing I can do now is to not allow future opportunities to fade into obilivion. I believe that SRWC is sitting on the brink of some incredible, God-sent opportunities. Opportunities to grow; opportunities to see our lost loved ones and friends saved; opportunities to transform our community and impact others for the glory of God.

As I look at Jesus' letter to the church at Philadelphia, I feel like He could be writing directly to SRWC. As with all the other churches, Christ told them He knew their deeds. The entire panorama of the church's witness was before Him and Jesus gives them words of commendation for their faithfulness. Because of their faithful testimony and witness, Jesus places before them an open door. Most likely the door Christ opened for them was the same one He had earlier opened for Paul at Ephesus, a door of effective service (1 Cor. 16:9).

The Lord of the Harvest was saying that if they would walk through the door of opportunity, He was opening they would find the fields white unto the harvest.

It would not be easy, for this church had only a little strength. It was not a large church. It had not many significant members. It lacked financial strength, but with what spiritual strength it had, it was faithful in using for the glory of Christ. It would be wise to invest our life not on the basis of where there are large numbers or finances, but where the people are faithfully dependent on the Lord.

Christ also entrusted them with an open door because they had kept Jesus' Word. They were committed to the Word of God and would not depart from its teachings. This open door of opportunity was there for this church because they did not deny Jesus' name. In spite of open opposition and persecution they continued bearing witness of and to Jesus Christ. May the Lord help us to learn from the church at Philadelphia.

The door is open in front of us SRWC -  what will we do with it? The Lord is putting us in a great position to make a difference in our community and in the lives of your families.

GOD HELP US NOT LET THIS OPPORTUNITY SLIP AWAY!

To the church of Sandy Ridge Wesleyan the Lord says,: "I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." May we have faith to walk through it!!

Believing in you,
Pastor Scott

Lord, Awaken Your Church to Your Mission

April 7, 2013

Lord Awaken Your Church to Your Mission

Acts 1-2

Scott Howard

 
(Get out your Bibles, this is a page flipper!)
 
Most of us have read these first few chapters of Acts about the Great Commission and the empowerment of the disciples and the early church.  We will get into the parallels of the Old Testament as well.

• The driving force behind the Mission of the early church was the Person of Jesus Christ.  They not only had the opportunity to walk and talk with Him, but when He was taken to Heaven, He left His Spirit to dwell in and empower them.

CHARACTERISTICS OF JESUS CHRIST: Jesus is…

• The Risen Savior (Acts 1:3) –We now have victory over death through a Risen Savior.  How will we respond to this Risen Savior?  He is worthy of praise and all that we have.

• The Exalted Lord (Acts 1:2, 1:9, 1:11, 1:22, Philippians 2:5-11) Jesus is on the throne in Heaven, He as control.  So when we are confused, when things aren’t going well or as we planned, we can trust Him and have faith in His plans.

•   The Coming King (Acts 1:11) Knowing that Jesus will come back for us to bring us to our eternal home that He has prepared for us, to be co-heirs with Him to the Kingdom of Almighty God, that is a God worth following!

Passion for the Kingdom of God is fueled by passion for the King.  When we truly begin to grasp His goodness, His Holiness, His sovereignty then we will have the passion for Him and His mission.

God, awaken our affections so that we obey Your Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT ENABLES US TO...

• Experience God's Presence (Acts 2:2, Ezekiel 37:13-14) --the symbol of God's presence is wind.  The passage said it "sounded" like a mighty wind.  Just the sound was enough for the people to know that this was a supernatural event.

• Obey God's Commands  (flip back to Exodus ch19:16 - ch20:21) --At the time of Pentecost (our main text) the reason so many Jews from so many different countries and languages were in town was because they were celebrating.  On the 50th day after Passover (which, consequently, was happening when Jesus was crucified) the Jews celebrated another feast for the giving of the Ten Commandments.  So when we read about how and when the commandments were given we see God's fire on the mountain, whereas now we see God's fire as individual tongues of fire on each person.  This shows the relationship between God and man became more personal because of the sacrifice of Christ.  Also after Moses came down the mountain we see God's judgment against the people for creating their own god (the golden calf) and forgetting God.  3000 people died because of a plague that God allowed to strike them, however, when we go to Acts 2:41 during Pentecost we see how many people were saved because of their new belief in Christ: 3000!   

And how did all these people (from different lands) come to believe in Christ?  They spoke languages that the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak.  Which brings us to the third thing the Spirit enables us to do:

• Fulfill God's Purpose (Acts 2:4-12) --The people could hear the Good News of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection in their own native languages.

The Spirit wants this place and the world for Christ.  The Spirit's passion is to exalt Christ in this place and in the world.

When the Spirit fills the Church:

• The Church stands in Awe

When the Spirit fills His people:

• The world stands Amazed

Lord, give us your passion.  A passion for Christ and His mission so that the people will see God's power in and among His people.

Announcements 4-7

Men's Prayer Breakfast

Sunday April 14th @ 8:30 AM. All the men of the church are invited to join us for a great time of fellowship, food, and much needed prayer.

Baptism Service

Sunday PM, April 14th. Please see Pastor Scott if you are interested in being baptized. 

Walk to Cure Diabetes - JDRF

Catawba Valley Walk. Saturday, April 20, 2013. Lenoir-Rhyne University. Check-In: 8:30AM. Start:  9:30 AM. Length: 5K. If you are interested in walking or supporting someone who is walking see Jeff & Melinda McFarlin.

Mother-Daughter Banquet

Moms and Daughters: You are invited to the Mother/Daughter Banquet. Saturday, April 27th. See the Bulletin Board in the Foyer for more information and a Sign-Up Sheet.

Welcome our Newest Members

We will be receiving new members on Sunday, April 21st.

Local Church Conference Vote

Sunday AM, April 28th all members are asked to stay after the morning worship service to elect church officers.

BBQ Buffet

Saturday, May 18. Mark your calendars and set aside this date to help in the BBQ. Begin spreading the word!

Mall Madness Youth Event

April 12th @ Valley Hills Mall. 6-10pm. Scavenger Hunts, Games, Prizes, and Great Fellowship. Bring a friend!

Scentsy Party

Monday, April 8th 6:00 PM @SRWC. A fundraiser for Jessica Shook's Girl Scout Gold Award. Come stock up on some wonderfully aromatic candles.

Youth Camp is Approaching

Dates: Sunday, July 7th - Friday, July 12th. Cost: $225 early registration. ($85 deposit & forms postmarked by May 10), $250 Standard Registration ($85 registration & forms postmarked by June 14th) $275 late registration (anytime after June 14)

Hot Dog Sale

April 20th @ Sam's Club of Hickory. 10:00am - 2:00pm. This is a fundraiser to benefit youth camp. Any donations of condiments, chili, slaw, buns, chips, or even willing hands to help out would be greatly appreciated.

Spaghetti Dinner

April 24th @ 6:00PM at the SRWC Fellowship Hall. Fundraiser to benefit youth camp. Cost: (Dinner by donation.)

Hickory Crawdads Game (Youth and Adult Event)

May 3rd @ LP Frans Stadium. Van will leave the church at 6:00PM. Tickets are $6 each. Please let Pastor Drew know if any adults are interested in joining us.

Salvation Army Soup Kitchen

Team #4 will be serving on Sunday April 28.

Open Arms Food Pantry

As of March 25th: Open Arms Food Pantry served a total of 348 pounds of food to 11 families - 26 people all together. We received 1,172 pounds of food: 

From SRWC: 446

From Clyde Campbell School - 518

Regal Place TH - 55

Girl Scouts - 126

SRWC Youth - 27

The Open Arms Food Pantry is in great need of food donations. Your help with this vital ministry would be greatly appreciated. See the food list on the bulletin board & the food pantry.