Edgewood Baptist Church

Today we worshiped at Edgewood Church, 430 Edgewood Road, Beaver Falls, PA 15010, 724.843.2889, www.edgewood-church.com, Pastor Michael Coleman.

Scripture – ESV

Ephesians 4:11-15 –

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Matthew 5:5 –

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Psalm 33:16-18 –

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

Bob’s thoughts:

I liked the cross at the flagpole in the parking lot, as well as the one in front of the Communion table.

We were welcomed by a number of people and many brought others to introduce to us.

I loved the sound of the praise team…great harmony and solo voices. The lighting coordinated to the song and provided just the right effect with the lights/shadows through the ceiling joists.

The Daylight Savings Time skit was priceless and I appreciated the testimony during the offering that you can’t out-give God.

A favorite line from a worship song: “When death was arrested and my life began.”

The message spoke to meekness; it was well developed and supported Scripturally and relevant now. I liked his story about his college choice and when it washed over him that he wasn’t supposed to be at this utopian setting.

A strong point of the message: to be angry at the right time and not at the wrong time, a recent lesson for me. I felt God speaking through him to get the message to me. The pastor apologized for needing a sip of water periodically, but I noticed God was using it for a poignant pause to emphasize a point.

In the area of controlling one’s anger, an important lesson for the day was that when a parent says “don’t spill your Nerds” and the child only hears “spill your Nerds.” But his girls’ angelic faces would make it impossible to be angry about them obeying directions.

I don’t know how extensive the renovations were, but we were not aware we had visited recently as only the pastor looked familiar. I believe God sent us back just for today’s message.

I do wish I had remembered to ask about one of their missions, Communicycle.

Jan’s thoughts:

We arrived early and looked around, grateful for the coffee. As we waited for the service to start, we sat outside the worship area where a handful of people stopped to introduce themselves and chat. One of the ladies we spoke with said the worship area and adjacent children’s area were completely redone earlier this year.

We located seats in the back of the worship area where still more folks greeted us with conversation before worship.

Likely due to the recent renovation, the walls were bare; the front wall was attractively designed, and the projection screen appeared to be framed and immovable.

We had already been treated to the praise team’s rehearsal, which we appreciated from the hallway. Even so, I was impressed by the use of the lights to enhance the musical effect during When Death Was Arrested.

As the service began, Pastor Mike spoke about the Squirrel Hill shooting yesterday and read Psalm 34:15-22 then followed with prayer.

The current sermon series is called BE Attitudes, and this week’s entry was Blessed Are the Meek. As this was a recent topic of conversation between Bob and me, we felt called to attend this church today. Only after we returned home and checked the blog did we realize we had visited this church only six months ago, yet nothing looked familiar because of the extensive renovation.

The young pastor who preached is the son of the lead pastor. He defined meekness as giving full control of our life to God and spoke of three aspects of meekness: controlling our anger, self-control, and humility.

It was a message well worth hearing, and I was glad to be there.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we thank You for leading us here to meet with You. We pray You continue to bless and guide this, Your church. Amen.

River Oaks Community Church

Sunday past, we worshiped at River Oaks Community Church, 1855 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Clemmons, NC 27012, 336.766.0033, www.riveroakschurch.org, Pastor David Beaty.

Scripture – ESV

Matthew 6:16-18 –

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Matthew 9:14-17 –

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

Bob’s thoughts:

If I believed in coincidences, I would find it odd that our daughter chose to join the only church we had visited in this area almost a year ago. I do know God has brought her and her children to a healthy church that is on track with God’s purpose for them. She has found the stability and support she needs, and we are thankful.

I was pleased to note the church has sprinkler protection…an expensive safeguard.

The parking directors were helpful. When I saw the large cross on the outside and found smaller versions in the sanctuary, a lot of my questions were answered.

After only a brief exchange, I later went back for a refill of coffee and was greeted by name.

There is diversity and a wide mix of ages among the worshipers.

Three large screens made it easy to read the music and Scripture. I appreciated the reflection of the colored lighting on the suspended ceiling gridwork. The harmony of the praise team was agreeable and I enjoyed the solo by the female lead. I relished hearing the Scripture read with inflection.

We were pleased to be here to witness baptisms, and appreciated hearing their statements of faith and being able to see the baptisms on the projection screens.

It was most impressive to learn the building campaign will include mission giving. I was overjoyed to see some of their mission contributions; that is the best sign of a healthy church. You cannot out-give God. This church is blessed indeed.

The message was about fasting and I believe it brought a lot of understanding. Was well developed with supporting Scripture and current relevancy focusing on right motives.

Jan’s thoughts:

As our daughter will soon join this church, we were grateful for a chance to visit again and worship with her.

This is only our second visit here, but we’ve only seen a small portion of this vast campus. We caught up with our daughter and she directed us toward the coffee and restrooms, which was enough that morning.

Several people greeted us and many smiled as people of all ages either hung out following the education hour or waited for the second service to begin.

The service began with the baptism of three youths all under the age of 10. Each began with a video of the child telling about their faith walk followed by baptism by immersion and prayer. I was heartened by the sincerity of the faith expressed and felt honored to be present.

This church will soon begin a capital campaign for the purpose of enlarging and enhancing the building to accommodate the expanding congregation. Recent weeks have been dedicated to developing the spiritual thinking of the members. I was seriously impressed when the leadership stated that 10% of the funds given toward the capital campaign would be applied toward mission.

The message was entitled Beyond Our Comfort: Prayer and Fasting for a Closer Walk with God. I cannot recall the last time I heard a sermon on fasting, and the message was clear and convincing. He defined biblical fasting, listed reasons, types, and motives for fasting, and provided practical suggestions.

I am delighted to know our daughter and granddaughters are being fed from this theological table.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we are thankful as always for Your Presence in worship and grateful for Your guidance and reassurance in growing Your church. Amen.

Mars United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Mars United Presbyterian Church, 232 Crowe Avenue, PO Box 805, Mars, PA 16046, 724.625.1365, www.mars-up.org, Rev. James Steiner, Interim Pastor.

Scripture – Job 13:1-12 NIV

“My eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. Hear now my argument; listen to the pleas of my lips. Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him? Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God? Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality. Would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you? Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.

Bob’s thoughts:

After some confusion over a church start time not being updated on a website, we ended up with time to kill and found a good breakfast place with delicious coffee and a church nearby where we could worship.

This small church is older but has a modern feel to it. There are dual projection screens and a third for the side-facing choir. The choir sounded pleasant but the print on the screens was small and so poorly contrasted as to be mostly unreadable. The congregation is older and I’m sure would benefit from more readable monitors.

I might have to pick up the book from the children’s message for our grandchildren. The message went well and was a good segue to today’s message: How NOT to Console a Friend, a favorite subject of mine. The valuable advice: show up, shut up, and keep up.

My favorite memory is visiting a widow from our church. I never spoke a word; I got her water, tissue, held her hand, steadied her walk, I listened only. She commented later that what I said meant the most to her in her sorrow. Be there. Place a reminder on your calendar to send a note on the anniversary of the loss. Don’t hesitate to bring up the loss, even if the bereaved doesn’t want to talk then about the person, they will still appreciate knowing you remember.

Let them talk! My therapy when our son was killed was to talk about our loss and his life and witness. Jesus Christ got us through the tough times but talking about him let us recover some sense of reality. It is a new normal and it takes time to get there.

A few people said hello and a woman spoke to us after the service, sharing their hopes of rebuilding as a church during this interim period. We did see some younger folks in worship, which is a good start. I don’t know if they have done a church assessment yet but hope they are praying to discern what God wants next for His church.

Jan’s thoughts:

After an unpredictable morning and redirection, we arrived just before the 11 a.m. service.

A few people welcomed us in the short time before the service began, and others greeted us during and after worship.

It has been 9½ years since our last visit to this church and we found it interesting that we recalled only one physical element of the facility: the doors separating the sanctuary from the fellowship area.

The sanctuary is traditional and the atmosphere formal…this felt like the church in which I grew up. It has been some time since we followed along with a bulletin and an order of worship.

The 11-member choir wore identical robes and a group photo was displayed on the monitors during the anthem.

The church welcomed Rev. Liddy Barlow as the guest preacher. Rev. Barlow has served as Executive Minister of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania since April 2014.

The message was entitled “How NOT to Console a Friend” and was based on both Job and her personal experience with loss. I appreciated her positive perspective on what one can do to comfort a friend in grief:

1 – Show up. In other words, be there, connect, and offer to perform specific tasks or functions as opposed to saying “Let me know if I can do anything.”

2 – Shut up…and listen. I have found this hard to remember sometimes.

3 – Keep up. Just as there is no timeline for grief, there should be no expiration date on showing care and concern for a friend who is experiencing a hard season of life.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray You will unite Your church in one accord to follow Your direction. May we all know the joy of serving You. Amen.

Southminster Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Southminster Presbyterian Church, 799 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228, 412.343.8900, www.spchurch.org, Rev. Dr. Daniel B. Merry, Senior Pastor.

Scripture – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Bob’s thoughts:

We were early and I was able to finish my coffee and partake of a donut.

I am always happy to find a cross here and appreciated the banners.

I realized we visited for a previous sermon from this man and was hoping for more. I turned my hearing aids up but still had trouble understanding some of the message. I question architectural and geographical references as being prime authenticators of Scripture. It was an important point that God was declaring the value of women.

I enjoyed Pastor Dan relating how during his time in Malawi he would be asked to what tribe he belonged. The concept that Americans do not have tribes was not believable to his Malawian friends, so he claimed the Steeler Nation as his tribe.

On a regular basis, when I am at the VA, people inquire knowingly that I am a WWII vet. For a long time I offered that my time of service was Vietnam but realized it’s much easier (and I guess believable) to just speak of a WWII battle and everybody is happy.

I enjoyed the children’s message especially because the speaker’s body language captivated the children.

Jan’s thoughts:

We arrived early enough at the 9 a.m. service that we had time to partake of coffee and donuts and enjoy conversation with some friends.

The room filled up slowly, as is usual with contemporary worship services, and the rear of the room is set up for parents to sit with their little ones while they play during the service. They are also conveniently nearby when it’s time for the children’s message.

The message was presented by Karl Hudson, the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. It was part four of a series called Believe, and this entry was titled Just Fairy Tales. In it, Karl stated many people have issues with trusting the truth of the Bible, but we should not mistrust it just because we don’t completely understand it. There is an abundance of proof, there are statements from eyewitnesses, and archeological finds that speak to the credibility of Scripture.

He pointed out that as a youth director, he loves to read Scripture to children, but the support of parents is a crucial component of helping youth to internalize God’s Word.

I was glad to be able to participate in World Communion Sunday.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, we pray Your continued blessings on Your church as they work to discern the person You are sending to lead them. Amen.