Zion United Methodist Church

Today we worshiped at Zion United Methodist Church, 438 Bear Creek Road, Sarver, PA 16055, 724.353.1720, www.zionsarver.com, Rev. Robert H. Wilson, Pastor.

Scripture –

Psalm 51:1-17 NIV –

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Ephesians 4:1-16 The Message –

In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Bob’s thoughts:

The church has monitors on the side walls so people farther back can still see, and I did find a cross, so I was happy.

A little girl completely changed my perspective of the friendliness of the church when she walked by and stopped, smiled, and waved. How delightful!

The pastor referred to how God is fine tuning us as we are called to equip others. I guess the question is, how willing are we to accept this fine tuning?

Most of my work has been in construction. I might have argued with architects and engineers, but I never tried to redirect the electrician to finish the plumber’s work or any other tradesman to do a different job. We worked together to complete the project. Do we do this in church? Or do we hold tightly to a particular service only because we have “always” done this job? We need to lose our ego in church and let God use us where and when He wants.

At my last regular job, I supervised about 100 people in various fields. On reflection, I realize I could have been a better boss had I questioned who aspired to be more than they were and who may have been a better fit for a particular job.

I remember a woman in church who was shunned from every place she tried to serve. I asked her if she would maintain the pencil racks in the pews. She loved it, was outstanding in the attention she paid to it, and best of all, she became part of the church she served. She had ownership with that job. The lack of ego let her be happy to serve Christ and she went on to serve in other ways.

Jan’s thoughts:

As we pulled into the parking lot, we were taken aback to see building materials, equipment, and a sizable project well underway as there was no indication of this on the website. Following worship, the pastor was kind enough to take time to explain the intended purposes of this new space. It is planned to be in addition to the existing building and to be used as space for outreach to the community and surrounding areas for a variety of purposes.

As worship time was close when we arrived, we located restrooms with the help of the prominent signage, then found seats in the sanctuary.

The large sanctuary is modern-looking with brightly stained-glass windows lining the walls. In lieu of the usual single projection screen in the front, two sets of monitors are well spaced down each side. It was easy to read the rear-most monitor from where we sat almost all the way back.

I was surprised when a few people pinpointed us as visitors, since this is a multi-service church.

The sermon was entitled “Finely Tuned,” referring to the joy when things work properly, be it a piece of machinery or a group of people, such as the church. He said when it is the church, members need to be humble, grateful, and gentle while speaking the truth in love. It is necessary to stay focused on Christ and lose our pride and ego.

I think, ideally, we should all try to exhibit these characteristics every day, no matter who we work with. It’s a virtuous and challenging goal.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, we pray Your blessing on this, Your church as they move forward in working to show Your love and care to those outside their walls. Show Your power and bless their work in mighty and surprising ways. Amen.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Today we worshiped at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 409 Sarver Road, Sarver, PA 16055, 724.753.2424, www.stpaulssarver.com, Rev. Shawn Smith, Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

Acts 3:11-21 –

While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Psalm 4 –

Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods, Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.

Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

John 21:1-14 –

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus ), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Bob’s thoughts:

A year or two ago, a woman who was a rep for some medical equipment I was trying to use mentioned the church she attended and today it popped up in our file. Too often I have seen God’s hand in leading us to worship to ever doubt His guidance, and today that was the case again.

We were greeted and welcomed from when we came in the door. The church has stepped out in faith and is replacing their sanctuary, so we worshiped in the pleasant social hall.

I appreciated the wooden cross on the wall and the 4 x 4 cross draped in white.

There is a distinct friendliness to the congregation. We were pleased to enjoy the hand bell choir and, for me, it was particularly special to hear a song I was familiar with.

Something happened here that has never happened before: a gentleman nearby noticed my pain in standing and offered that it would be fine to sit. I appreciated his compassion.

Some of the hymns displayed at the front were copied from the hymnal and tiny to read from where we sat.

The pastor put his heart into the children’s message of Christ feeding the disciples on the beach after His resurrection. He was reminded by one of the children that they didn’t have salmon. He was quick to recover and adapt, and the children got the message. The same with the sermon and with application in easy-to-follow format.

I think we do feel lost often and when we consider the mission God is calling us to, we feel called to an impossible task. When we step out in faith, Jesus continues to provide the resources we think we don’t have.

Communion was offered with wine or juice although we had to ask someone which was juice. It was special that there was a young girl with a bowl of treats for the children who came forward with their parents.

We appreciated the time after the service with the pastor and others, including some prior military, and I was pleased to have a copy of the prayer list.

Jan’s thoughts:

We did not realize this church was in the midst of a huge construction project, so worship was held in the social hall. This was a long-term project, though, so the comfort level was high.

Nearly everyone we saw or were near took the time to greet us, and though we routinely seek out a pastor after worship, today he kindly sought us out.

We were handed bulletins and informed Communion would be celebrated and both juice and wine would be available. We found seats at the back and met some of the folks sitting around us before worship began.

I was grateful the bulletin was the only reference during worship and the words to hymns were displayed at the front. This makes it much easier in a service containing a fair amount of liturgy.

I thought the Children’s Message reenactment of the focus Scripture passage was excellent…the children were engaged and enthusiastic participants.

The untitled sermon focused on God’s constant, abundant provision as told in the story of the Miraculous Catch of Fish in John 21. I found his point fascinating that the questions for the disciples between Christ’s resurrection and the first Pentecost are the same questions we face in the time between the first Pentecost and His Second Coming. Christ offers His Presence and provision in the midst of the confusion, just as He did for the disciples. And like the disciples, we need to obey, trusting Him in spite of our “disqualifications.”

We were able to take Communion and appreciated both wine and grape juice being available as well as the instructions of our friends sitting nearby as to which was which.

We stayed for an informational meeting of the congregation and learned more about the construction plans, then stayed longer to speak with some of the folks.

Our prayer for this church:

Thank You, God, for entrusting this congregation to build for Your church. We trust You to continue to provide abundantly for their every need. Amen.

Alive! Community Church

Today we worshiped at Alive! Community Church, worship held at South Pike Cinemas, 130 Cinema Way, Route 356, Sarver, PA 16055, 724.816.2713, www.alivecc.com, Dave Roddy, Senior Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

Exodus 20:1-3

And God spoke all these words:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me."

Mark 8:34-38

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Bob’s thoughts:

We were invited by a worshiper to come visit this church, and from the invitation we expected only a few, so were pleasantly surprised by 50+ in worship.

The church meets in a movie theater, which from what we learned is a win-win for all. The theater’s sound system was too much for my ears but what a blessing for the church.

God has blessed them to be a church without the burden of a building. My only disappointment was the lack of a cross; I thought there might be one displayed on the large screen, but did not get to ask why not.

A visiting couple, the Youngs, spoke about their ministry against human trafficking in Europe and we were blessed to be there to hear a little about it and meet with them afterward. I was pleased that the pastor would call the family forward and pray a blessing over them. In all, the pastor’s prayers were a highlight for me as he sounded very comfortable and willing to lift up prayers.

This was week two of a sermon series on the 10 Commandments and God used this pastor to clarify a seed He had planted in me. I thought I was called to grow a half-acre garden on our hillside and donate the proceeds to feed the hungry. Last year, while lamenting that it was killing me, it came to me that this was Bob’s idea, not God’s. I kept putting off getting my little wood shop operational because I was too busy with the garden and woodworking was just for fun. I came to realize that was God’s whisper to get my shop in order. I still got carried away this year…the garden is smaller but still way too much. Now I have rotator cuff tears in both shoulders, and He has my attention.

Some of that enjoyment in obeying God finally will be praising Him for His leading to however He will use me.

Jan’s thoughts:

After receiving an email invitation to visit this church I found myself wondering what worship in a movie theater would look like, as this concept was new to me. I learned that this is far from a new idea: I was told that at least two national theater chains have divisions devoted to arrangements between the cinemas and churches.

As we approached the building, the doors were held open for us and we were greeted with smiles and bulletins. We found information about the church on a folding table in the lobby, and several friendly people greeted us, including the pastor.

The restrooms were well marked of course and we easily found our way to the appropriate theater where the band was set up and seating was excellent. The words to the songs were projected toward the top of the screen, leaving plenty of room for worship leaders to stand in front. The concession stand was open, making it possible to bring drinks in and use the convenient drink holders built into the arms of the seats.

Some of the music was unfamiliar to me, but the group had a great sound. After the opening songs the pastor spoke about the importance of the theology expressed in the music, and I completely agree that accurate theology is vital.

An unexpected visit from a missionary family was a special treat for us as well as for this congregation. This husband and wife team, along with their 3-year-old twins, are obeying God’s call to help stop human trafficking. The challenges presented in this scenario would seem insurmountable without faith that God empowers those He calls.

The message, “You’re Not God,” is the second in a series about the Ten Commandments. One of his most powerful points was a tweet quoted from David Platt: “The great mistake made by most Christians is hoping to discover in themselves that which is found in Christ alone.” I think there is much truth to this statement today, even though this observation originated with and was credited to A.W. Pink, an evangelist who lived from 1886-1952. Neither times nor people have changed much since, which you can easily tell from a quick glance at Facebook.

The pastor taught that “our ability to follow the other nine Commandments is based on our ability to follow this one;” that God can be replaced in our hearts and minds by His good gifts to us, i.e., our kids, our spouse, our job, our hobbies. These “good things can become god things”…we can find ourselves worshiping these good gifts from our loving God instead of worshiping God. But “God will not share His Bride, the Church, and He prevents heartache by being the center of our lives.”

I could only add that He not only created us but paid the ultimate price to redeem us; He deserves to be the center of our lives.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we give You thanks for blessing this congregation that they are free to be a church and not caretakers of a building. Amen.

Westminster United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 210 Westminster Road, Sarver, PA 16056, 724.352.1376, www.westminsterchurch.net, Rev. Deborah Huffmyer, Pastor.

Bob's thoughts:

With the rural setting of this church I expected an older facility, but beyond the Sanctuary, the restrooms, and Social Hall were modern. I appreciated the signage outside, and at the Sanctuary level little was needed as restrooms were in view and identified. Not sure where the nursery might be, and I noticed no signage in the short look we had downstairs.

We were welcomed as we looked around downstairs and invited to stay for a 90th birthday celebration. What a way to greet visitors, as three cakes were paraded by!

The Sanctuary is nicely trimmed and has a pressed tin ceiling.

The birthday honoree got to enjoy a number of her favorite hymns accompanied by two relatives on piano and viola. The music was enjoyable, but the program was a little confusing and took a half hour from the worship service.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was woven around the question: what do you do when you are up against it? The answer: retreat, regroup, and reconnect. The message was that when we take it to Christ He always provides more than enough.

I noticed that the prayer requests were for those serving as Marines, and this message reminded me of the Marine Corps adage, "improvise, adapt, and overcome."

Jan's thoughts:

Today we found ourselves in the midst of a 90th birthday celebration! It was obviously a very happy occasion for the church family and for the many other (family) visitors attending today.

The church is situated in a beautiful rural area, a perfect, peaceful setting for this surprisingly mostly-new facility. The outdoor signage especially was helpful. We were early enough to have time to conduct a self-guided tour, during which we encountered some folks carrying three cakes to the new Social Hall for the luncheon following worship. They were very friendly and invited us to join the celebration following the service. (We had to decline because our grandchildren were expecting us...they understood.)

The bulletin was user friendly with nice large print. The words to some of the songs were included in a handout, also in large print. The first half hour of the service was dedicated to singing some of the favorites of the birthday girl, with a piano and a viola leading the music then as they did during worship. The joy of these two ladies (mother and daughter) was apparent, and they were excellent.

From what we saw on display all around, there seems to be a fair amount of mission going on here.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was wound around Genesis 32:22-32 and Matthew 14:13-21. The Pastor began by asking what we do with the grief, pain, fear, stress, and guilt in our lives, and stated that 2/3 of the conditions currently being treated medically are caused by stress which, of course, can also lead to burnout. She pointed out that Jesus felt all these human emotions too and dealt with them by retreating, regrouping, and reconnecting with His Father...good advice for us as well. A spiritual retreat, even if brief, can reconnect us with our Heavenly Father and help us regroup and prepare to face whatever is next.

She pointed out that in the Genesis passage, Jacob could have run, or refused to face the truth, but he didn't. Instead he faced God and wrestled with his situation, and when the One with Whom Jacob wrestled asked who he was, Jacob owned up to who he was, as his name means "schemer." God then gave Jacob a new name - Israel, which means "prince of God."

When Jesus fed the 5,000 He began with little, but in His hands it was more than enough, and Jesus will give us more than enough too. Like Jacob, we must meet Him, tell Him honestly who we are, and hold on until He blesses us.

This sermon touched me for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has caused me to consider the idea of a spiritual retreat. Reconnecting with my Heavenly Father is always an appealing idea.