Madison Ave. Church of The Brethren

From the Pastor’s Desk

It’s that time of the year again! School’s out – or almost so – and the kids are excited about summer and all its activities. Summer is the time for many new and exciting and fun-filled things to do. It’s the time of vacations, and camps, and travel, and people on the go. It’s also the time many people go Church shopping, or at least Church visiting, because of the many changes in schedules that prevent their attending their home Church. I would encourage you to worship at other churches during your times of vacation and travel this summer, to get an appreciation for worship in different settings and to experience the many varied ways we, as a family of faith, worship God. And be sure to invite others to worship here with you each Sunday you are home.

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The Lamplighter

April  2010

From the Pastor’s Desk

Change; change; more change. As much as we humans fight change, it is a constant part of our lives. With the single exception of the Word of God alone, everything must and does change. The next big change for MACOB will begin the first of April 2010. By action of the Church Council, we have approved the sharing of our Worship facility with another congregation – The House of Restoration Ministries.

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From the Pastor’s Desk

Probably one of the best known verses in the Old Testament is the one found in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” This promise was given to Solomon, and the people of Israel, at the time of the dedication of the temple. But I don’t think it would be a misuse of Scripture to claim it as a promise that God would make to all of his people at all times. It seems especially applicable to our situation in the US today. Every year in the US …..

• over 957,000 marriages end in divorce
• over 15,000 people are murdered
• nearly 1,800,000 pregnancies are aborted

Have we forgotten God’s call upon us and His promises for us when we obey His Voice?

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From the Pastor’s Desk

I’m convinced that many of us in small churches today wear ourselves out trying to do too much that really cannot be considered as ministry. While it is an absolute necessity that we maintain our buildings and care for our facilities, equipment and the like, in my opinion, we expend huge amounts of energy treading water. Too many people, taking their faith very seriously, are wearing themselves out trying to do too much while a number of folks who are less committed seem not to care about matters of faith. The end result is that the faithful are burning themselves out by simply doing too much and ignoring the counsel of Psalm 46 – that is to “be still and know” God and find our energy and purpose in God.

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