Southminster Presbyterian Church

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


Scripture – Isaiah 60:1-6

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.


Bob’s thoughts:

We were pleased to be worshiping at Southminster for Dan Merry’s last day leading the service.

I thought it was ironic that first song was Breathe since I was having so much trouble doing so. The temperature, humidity, and an odor were playing havoc with what’s left of my lungs.

Dan preached a rewrite of his first sermon here 13 years ago titled The BEST is Yet to Come! I believe that is true for this church and for Dan, and look forward to seeing how God blesses both.

I have always enjoyed the praise team and the female lead singer and they were no exception today.

A highlight was an abusa (pastor) and his colleague who made the trip from Malawi to honor Dan.

We are excited to see where God takes this church and Dan and his family.


Jan’s thoughts:

We were overjoyed to be present today as this congregation thanked God for Pastor Dan Merry’s 13 years of ministry at this church and 42 years as a pastor. Dan’s retirement was clearly bittersweet for this flock.

We attended Crossings, the contemporary service; as always, the music was excellent.

The BEST is Yet to Come! was the title of Dan’s message, which he indicated was a reworking of his inaugural sermon presented September 13, 2006. After listing the statistics of his endeavors at Southminster over the last 13 years, Dan looked forward for some “possibility thinking” as he put it.

Acknowledging that change is never easy, and intended for anyone who thinks they are too old, too young, or too broken, Dan reminded the church of three things.

1 – We know who we are. We are God’s chosen and anointed and Christ died for us.

2 – We also know where we’re going. He advised Southminster to do three things for their new pastor: listen to his preaching, follow his guidance, and love and respect him.

3 – We know Who goes with us. Our Heavenly Father walks with us every step of the way.

Personally, I think these are excellent reminders for each of us as we move forward into the change that comes into our lives with each new day.

Gifts were presented from the congregation and Dan was conferred with the honor of Pastor Emeritus of Southminster Presbyterian Church.

Dan then introduced two visitors from Malawi who had traveled here for the purpose of wishing him well in his retirement. In his words to the congregation, Rev. Paul Mawaya, Parish Minister of St. Andrews CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) and Malawi Mission Initiative National Chairperson, pointed out that Dan was retiring from service to Southminster Church but not from service to God, to which all were in hearty agreement.

This was a special, heartwarming service praising God for the service of His servant and we were delighted to be present.


Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we pray Your continued blessings on Your church and on the Merry family for a smooth transition for all concerned. Amen.

Living Water Family Church

Today we worshiped at Living Water Family Church, 125 Center Grange Road, Aliquippa, PA 15001, 878.313.3894, www.lwf-church.net, Pastor Doug Dragan.


Scripture – NKJV

Romans 8:1 –

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 –

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 12:2 –

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

John 3:16 –

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Luke 15:11 –

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. ’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

1 John 2:1 –

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.


Bob’s thoughts:

We were warmly welcomed by many people, offered coffee and snacks, and given directions to the restrooms. I wish there had been a sign on the unlocked door stating it was occupied if the door was closed, since visitors would not know this.

In the worship area, the back of the platform is covered with wooden pallets with a cross wrapped in blue lights above “Jesus Saves.”

I was welcomed by a Marine and thanked for my service by others.

A highlight for me was the countdown to the service start time on the projection screen. It may be a first, I can’t recall when the countdown ended at any church and it got quiet. But the small church was quiet and then the pastor’s granddaughter let out a yell. The timing was perfect and enjoyed.

The five praise team instruments blended well and the vocals were pleasing.

The sermon was posted to Facebook live, delivered by a son of the church. He delivered a good response to the devil’s “you are who you were.” He used appropriate Scripture to support his message urging the renewal of the mind, and spoke with passion from his personal journey to Christ.

We were admonished that the battle continues and we need to be on guard.

We were thankful for the time with the pastor and others after the service.


Jan’s thoughts:

Our last visit here was in 2011, and as the church has since changed its name, we decided to see what else might have changed.

We parked in the visitor spot and received a warm greeting before we entered the building and then almost continually thereafter. The atmosphere was relaxed, friendly. and hospitable. The pastor’s mother sat next to us during worship and we found we had things in common, especially grandchildren.

I watched the countdown on the screen and was impressed when it reached zero and everyone was seated and prepared to begin the service. Just as the voices quieted though, a tiny voice from the back of the room (she looked to be maybe 18 months) squealed, “Yay!” and the room burst into laughter!

The music was led by an excellent praise band, and the song choices made me emotional, specifically Whom Shall I Fear and Cornerstone. The volume was perfect and I appreciated the song titles displayed in the corner of each slide; it has been a while since I heard/sang these songs and wasn’t sure I had the titles correct.

It turned out that one member of the praise band was given the opportunity to preach today, so we’ll have to visit another time to hear the pastor as we still have not heard him preach.

Brian Schwartz is a member and son of this church and, like many other churches now, he livestreamed the message on Facebook. Brian pointed out the title of the song played during the offering: The Cross Changes Everything, and spoke about the truth of that. He referred to the tormenting thoughts of guilt, shame, and condemnation that regularly haunt believers, stating these are strongholds of Satan but we have the power to choose what we will believe. We must stop identifying with our sin and fight for the truth of our identity in Christ.

There were several lines in this message that specifically caught my ear:

“When we are in Jesus there are no bad days, only options to shine.” I hope to remember this on my next “bad day.”

“All of heaven went bankrupt to purchase you.” This is a powerful reminder of the value God places on each soul and that bankruptcy is reversible.

“God is asking you to give up what you were never meant to be.” I heard this as a reminder to surrender to His good plans.

I was deeply encouraged by this heartfelt message and truly blessed by this visit.


Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we pray You will continue to bless and grow Your church. Give them a clear vision of Your mission for them. Amen.

Feeling Blessed

We were unable to make it to church last week in the course of a long, exhausting drive home. All this caused me to reflect a bit.

I have been shot a few times, experienced knife and other wounds, had my thumb taken off with a 20-pound sledge hammer, survived some serious ailments, the loss of a son, and I now argue with cancer cells. God brought me through many trials before I even knew He cared for me. I don’t move fast and can’t move mountains, but I have been so overwhelmingly blessed that the ailments are but nuisances of no consequence. I have been used by God, and there is no higher calling. It’s been a great ride and I look forward to what comes next.

Crossroads Church

Yesterday we worshiped at Crossroads Church, 8533 Peters Road, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 412.494.9999, www.xr.church, Mike Arnold, Campus Pastor.


Scripture – NIV

Acts 2:38 –

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 18:3 –

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Romans 6:2 –

By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?


Bob’s thoughts:

We always jump at the chance to see our grandchildren, and since this past week was VBS, we knew they would get to show off what they learned.

The pastor’s message wove around the baptism scheduled for this morning. In the intro he talked about being at the airport with an elevated airline status and how that got them smoothly through the check-ins. It reminded me how, on a recent trip, the TSA agent pulled me and my entire family out of line leaving me wondering what I had done now. He explained that, as a former Sailor, he could not have a Marine wait in line and sent us on our way ahead of everybody.

The essence of baptism is dying to your former sinful life to be raised again in Christ; the big question is, are we that committed to Christ?

My baptism was as a child, but when Christ claimed me late in life, all my friends left. I thought how sad, till I realized the friendships were one-sided. The pastor related how in some other countries, in coming to Christ, your sacrifice is real, giving up family or job, being beaten or killed. Not so bad to lose a few you only thought were friends.


Jan’s thoughts:

It’s always a blessing to attend this church, to see family and friends, and to meet new friends. Each time we come here I meet another new person and make one more friend.

Last week was kidzXP (Vacation Bible School) and some of our grandkids are old enough to be leaders, although I’m not sure when this happened. They all had a fantastic time along with 152 other youth from the surrounding area, so naturally grandparents were invited (yay!!) to the closing musical presentation during worship. And God bless the 77 volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring to fruition the chance to teach these youngsters about the love of Christ.

This was a special day for another reason as well: it was Baptism Sunday, and we were blessed to witness an adult who reaffirmed his baptism, though it had all the earmarks of an adult baptism.

The stand-alone message, entitled A Change For The Better, examined the purpose of baptism. In our country, there is small risk of repercussion when someone chooses to identify themselves with Christ through this sacrament, but those in other countries often risk their very lives to do so. The pastor outlined the traditional baptismal vows taken in the Methodist baptism in the United States and contrasted them with those asked in some other countries. Those questions from other countries included:

1 – Are you willing to leave home and lose the blessing of your father?

2 – Are you willing to lose your job?

3 – Are you willing to go to the village and those who persecute you, forgive them, and share the love of Christ with them?

4 – Are you willing to give an offering to the Lord?

5 – Are you willing to be beaten rather than deny your faith?

6 – Are you willing to go to prison?

7 – Are you willing to die for Jesus?

We all hope we would respond affirmatively to these questions and then have the courage to follow through if circumstances demanded. What would happen if we in this country asked these questions of baptismal candidates?


Our prayer for this church:
Heavenly Father, we pray for continued blessing on Your church, that they would stay on track and continue to follow Your desires for their future. Amen.