Today we worshiped
at Mount Chestnut Presbyterian Church, 727 West Old Route 422, Butler, PA
16001, 724.287.7601, www.mcpresby.com,
Rev. Ron Schermerhorn, Pastor.
Scripture
– Revelation 3:7-13 NIV
“To
the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These
are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he
opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds.
See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that
you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my
name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews
though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your
feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to
endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to
come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
I
am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never
again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name
of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven
from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let
them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
were warmly welcomed and a gentleman pointed out the restrooms.
The
sanctuary ceiling is a low-rise arch that frames the cross in the stained-glass
panel. I found some of the projection screen offerings useless with white
lettering over a light background, though some of the projections later were
readable.
I was
pleased that there was a Prayer of Illumination before the Scripture and
message and I liked the interpretation that John’s letters to the churches were
dictated by Christ. Also, the reference to losing flavor or saltiness, as I
have been placed on a salt-free diet.
We appreciated
the time the pastor gave us after the service. I was also glad to get a prayer
list.
I sense
Christ has good things planned for His church.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
took advantage of this beautiful morning for a drive and were welcomed warmly
by many folks throughout our visit.
The
music unexpectedly leaned a bit toward the contemporary. The song Soon and
Very Soon was an uplifting reminder of Malawi, and His Eye is on the
Sparrow refers to a verse I read just this morning and was another welcome
reminder.
The
large sanctuary had great acoustics and ideal volume.
It’s
not unusual for one person to act as liturgist for part of a service, but today
several others took leadership roles. It’s always encouraging to see leaders
stepping up.
The
current sermon series revolves around the churches in the Book of Revelation
and today’s message was entitled Patient Endurance – The Church at
Philadelphia. The pastor began by stating that Christ dictated this document,
which I believe is clear from the text. Christ has nothing against this church
because of their strong love for each other.
The
pastor stated the secret of their strong love was three-fold:
1
– Persistence – they held on to the truth of the Gospel;
2
– Power – they had little strength, but with God they were powerful;
3
– Patience – they had the ability to look beyond the circumstances of
oppression from the regime of the empire of Rome…and stayed teaching and living
out the Gospel message.
And
Jesus would reward them for their faithfulness.
I
appreciated this reminder of the value of patient endurance in Jesus’ eyes.
This trait is severely undervalued in our world.
We
enjoyed delightful conversations with the Music Director and then with the Pastor
and appreciated their time today.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray Your blessing on Your church. May You continue to guide and grow them
as they know You more and more. Amen.
Today we worshiped
at Crossroads Church, 8533 Peters Road, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 412.494.9999,
www.xr.church, Mike Arnold, Campus Pastor.
Scripture
– NIV
Matthew
28:19-20 –
“Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
Acts
8:4 –
Those
who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Ephesians
2:10 –
For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.
Bob’s
thoughts:
After
a week of questionable medical status, I was looking to put my health concerns
aside and just worship God and thank Him for being alive. My daughter, who
works on hearts, made the trip from North Carolina to get me past the diagnosis
and prepare me for my new lifestyle. Unfortunately, her twin had to work today,
but we were able to get all the grandchildren together in one place with our
other daughter, son, and son-in-law in worship. This was part of God’s blessing
and I cannot think of a more powerful medicine. To top it off, one of my
beautiful granddaughters was serving as a greeter at the door.
We
were greeted by a number of people I didn’t know, a very positive change. The
pastor talked a little about the history of the church, that with their
satellites they have grown to be the largest Methodist church in Pennsylvania.
They have experienced growth at this location and have demolished a house and
are moving dirt around to increase the parking area. My grands thought it great
when I referred to the construction equipment as toys in the sandbox and
suggested maybe we could play after the service.
I’ll
freely admit I was somewhat distracted by some of the mini members of this
church, but God got His message through to me anyway. As I become less and less
physically capable, God still has important things for me to do. His new vision
for my life does not require the same strengths as in the past. My prayer life
has grown substantially and when I reflect on it, some of the true prayer
warriors I’ve known couldn’t do a lot else. Maybe He is raising me to my new
life.
Jan’s
thoughts:
With
out-of-town family here for a visit, our family took the opportunity for most
of us to worship together. We managed to get photos of all nine grandchildren
together on this Grandparent’s Day.
Something
is different every time we worship here, and today the building that had been
in front of the church is no longer there. Due to increasing attendance, plans
are in place to expand the parking lot, which is great news for everyone.
In
today’s message, Taking it Personally, Pastor Mike outlined in detail the
four eras of Crossroads’ vision and told how these goal-setting visions have
served to grow Crossroads into a church with five campuses and turn it into the
largest Methodist church in Pennsylvania.
Then
he moved to the topic of personal goals. He said the key to avoiding the regret
of wasted time was helping others and stated God has made each of us with
intention to do something important. Each person is uniquely crafted by God to
make a positive impact, and our opportunity is waiting.
I
would only add: in God’s good time, as some of us bloom earlier and some later.
I found great encouragement in this message and I was glad we were here.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray our eyes are open to our new call from You. May our hunger to serve
overcome our fears. Amen.
Today we worshiped
at North Hills Community Baptist Church, 7801 Thompson Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA
15237, 412.366.2662 www.nhcbc.com, Rev. Dr.
Timothy Spring, Pastor.
Scripture
– John 6:41-60 NIV
At
this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread
that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from
heaven’?”
“Stop
grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is
written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has
heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father
except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell
you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your
ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread
that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living
bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then
the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?”
Jesus
said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me
and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because
of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna
and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this
while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On
hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can
accept it?”
Bob’s
thoughts:
I
noted this church on a recent trip to a garden supply store and was pleased to
visit today.
We
were welcomed by a number of people, given some information on the church, and
offered coffee. We were made to feel welcome as we enjoyed a most pleasantly
decorated social area.
At
the beginning of the sermon the pastor asked what denomination the congregation
came from. I remember attending an Evangelical United Brethren Church which went
on to be Methodist. Since my Mother was Ukrainian Catholic and Dad Presbyterian,
I’m sure we went to them also. We also went to a Baptist church, and I wonder
where else we worshiped. The joke was that my dad would worship at whatever
church was closest.
The
message from The Hard Sayings of Jesus series related to Communion: This
is My Body…This is My Blood. I used to wonder if this was just to see what
interpretation we would come up with, but I believe the metaphoric Protestant
interpretation is as close as we come.
The
pastor told of a woman who was to help serve who presented herself in tears and
how that affected a sacrament that dims to a ritual at most churches. It is
what I miss most about not having a church home; serving Communion was an honor
and I loved making it as personal as possible, celebrating Christ’s Presence in
the meal.
Perhaps
a time of confession before would help bring the meaning back; it always
humbles me. The churches that celebrated Communion every week were blessed.
They also experienced demonic warfare as they became more of a hinderance for
the Devil. The story of the server in tears brought me back to those powerful
times; may it affect all of us as we humbly come to the Cross.
I
loved the cross high on the wall suspended with crossing window chains, a powerful
presentation.
Communion
was served silently, and the pastor was served.
I
enjoyed the voice of the woman leading the music especially during Communion. Her
voice was a good match for the songs.
Jan’s
thoughts:
I
was glad we had arrived with time to spare as many people greeted us warmly and
engaged us in conversation. We were invited to help ourselves to coffee in the
lovely, cozy café and people stopped to introduce themselves.
The
sanctuary was decorated simply with banners on each side bearing Christ’s “I AM”
statements.
There
was one screen in the front on which words were displayed and I had no trouble
reading them although we sat in the very back row.
The
Children’s Story time focused on helping the young ones understand symbols
Examples included a football helmet and engagement/wedding rings, then segued
into a description of the Communion elements. I thought the explanation was
well laid out in a format the children could grasp and generally did an
excellent job of teaching about Communion.
This
week’s message was part six of a series entitled The Hard Sayings of Jesus
and was called This is My Body…This is My Blood. The pastor began with
an informal survey among the congregation about their denominational roots
which he closed by noting the diversity of those present. He lamented the
existence of 9,000+ denominations at this point in spite of Jesus Christ’s
prayer in John 17 for unity among believers.
He
continued by contrasting the Roman Catholic understanding of the Communion
elements called transubstantiation, where the belief is that the elements
become the actual body and blood of Christ, versus the understanding taught by
Martin Luther, that Christ is “in, with, and under the elements.”
He
concluded by recounting a Communion service in which one of the servers
experienced the Presence of Christ, and because of her emotional response, the
Spirit spread among those present. I believe the point of this message was that
whatever our denominational beliefs about the elements and the sacrament, the
real Presence of Christ will change people every single time.
I
was pleased to be present to celebrate Communion.
Our
prayer for this church:
Heavenly
Father, we pray for Your continued guidance for this congregation as they
celebrate Communion that they truly commune with You. Amen.
Yesterday we worshiped
at Oak Hill Alliance Church, 2782 Rochester Road, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066,
724.776.4350, www.oakhillcma.org, Pastor Dan Aluise.
Scripture
– Isaiah 40 RSV
Comfort,
comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received
from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
A
voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in
the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the
rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all
flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A
voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all
its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower
fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people is grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for
ever.
Get
you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice
with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say
to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God comes with
might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his
recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather
the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those
that are with young.
Who
has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens
with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the
mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of
the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? Whom did he consult for his
enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice, and taught him
knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like
a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he
takes up the isles like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are
its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before
him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To
whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? The idol! a
workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it
silver chains. He who is impoverished chooses for an offering wood that will
not rot; he seeks out a skilful craftsman to set up an image that will not
move.
Have
you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits
above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who
stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell
in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely
are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the
earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them
off like stubble.
To
whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift
up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host
by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because
he is strong in power not one is missing.
Why
do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hid from the Lord, and my
right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The
Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not
faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the
faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall
faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for
the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like
eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Bob’s
thoughts:
It is
always a disappointing start to Sunday worship when you plan to visit a
particular church and show up at the time posted on their website only to find
nobody there or a potential later start time on the door. Yesterday there were
multiple signs indicating different start times. When you confirm via the church’s
website first, it makes it more frustrating.
After
driving around, we ended up at Oak Hill Alliance in Cranberry. I noticed a box
of tomatoes in a box by the door, something I loved to do when I gardened. But
what caught my eye as we drove by was bright blue, so I was relieved to see
they were just bags provided to take vegetables home. I couldn’t think what
fruit or vegetable could be that bright of a blue.
I was
pleased to find a cross both outside and inside and to see the praise team pray
before the service. I appreciated the gentleman who not only greeted (as many
did) but told us where to find the restroom and coffee.
The message,
Strength for Today, centered on power is not in your own strength. I had
a lot of trouble with some of the explanations, that a lot of super human acts
were not of God, not “enduement.” It seemed that credit was given to adrenaline
to lift a car off a trapped person or carry an injured person a mile out of the
forest.
I
have done things beyond my capabilities, it is a basic Marine nature, and never
thought of it as Christ’s assistance. Our firstborn son fell down our front
steps at a year or two old. I was sitting more than 20 feet away in our living
room when he fell, and I came across the room and down the stairs and caught my
son on the way down. Some years later, one of our twins fell down the attic
steps, and from the same area of the living room and across a bedroom, I caught
her before the cast iron radiator at the bottom of the steps did. Sounds
impressive, but I couldn’t move that fast. Nobody could have. No one can ever
convince me that this was not God’s intervention in my life, even before He
claimed me. There have been numerous times since where I got through on God’s
strength.
The
message was hard to follow and the sermon note sheet was little help; it may
have been easier with a printed copy.
I
have a file where I keep prayer requests from churches we visit and when adding
this week’s, I found the prayer page from our last visit in October 2016.
I
pray for many people, and after a fall in the recovery room, I have suffered
severe pain for five months. Last week my wife asked if I had prayed for myself
(I didn’t think of it), and the next day I was mostly pain free, walking
without my cane, climbing stairs almost like a normal person. Thanks be to God.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
first aimed to attend another church, but when we arrived for worship at the
time specified on the website, we found signs in the yard indicating worship
would be an hour later. Since we were more than half an hour early for the
incorrect (early) time, we interpreted this as God’s redirection. Long story
short, we drove quite a while and landed at this church which we knew we had
not visited for a while.
The
people were as friendly as I remembered, and we appreciated the many introductions
and conversations before, during, and after worship.
I
always smile when I spot the worship leaders praying together before the
service.
The
pulpit was filled by Rev. Jim Ailes, a hospice chaplain and member of the board
of this church, and the message was called Strength for Today. He began
by comparing fact and promise, stating a fact is a truth that is true, accepted,
and believed, whereas a promise is a truth to be claimed and received.
I
disagreed with his assertion that unnatural strength was different than supernatural
strength, since where would unnatural strength come from if not from God? But
his statement that our human strength and stamina will fail us sooner or later cannot
be disputed.
The
principle that God knows where we need to be and is able to place us there at
exactly the right time is something He has proven to us week after week, with
yesterday being the most recent example.
Our
prayer for this church:
Father,
may Christ’s church be a beacon on the hill and a rock for their community.
Amen.
