12-29-19 Bulletin

Last night, one of our kids wanted to figure out how to write 70 on base 8. (Imagine if we only had 8 fingers, so we would have a base 8 counting system instead of base 10.) Computers think is base 2, everything is either a 1 or a 0, on or off, like s light switch. In base 8, 8 is written as 10, 16 as 20, and 64 as 100. This morning, someone asked how we would write 100 in base 3. It was fun to figure out a math problem in a new way and a little bit of a mind bender. 

I have been reading the gospel of Matthew over the last few weeks and it gives me much of the same mend twisting feel. We live in a world that says the people with money and influence have all the power, but in Matthew the power lies with a baby in Bethlehem. In our world, religious people hear from God first, but in Matthew it is the pagans who first recognize Jesus as the true king. 

And then you get to the sermon on the mount and we are told the poor, the mourner, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, and the pure in heart are the ones who are blessed by God.. Our world tells us it is the wealthy, the powerful. those willing to bend the rules and compromise their values that get ahead. God’s ways are not the ways of our world. It takes some work to wrap our minds around his values and begins o make them our own.

Over Christmas, we remember that our world sees a scandal in an unwed pregnant 14 year old, but the gospel sees the coming of the savior. May our minds be more and more shaped by this upside down gospel that we might see the world as our God does.

Have a Merry Christmas from the mind bent Browers!

PS. For those who are curious, I think the answers to the two math questions are below:
70 written in base 8 is 106.
100 in base 3 is 10,201.

Connect to God
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all around the world.” At some point during the upcoming holiday season we will almost certainly hear those familiar lyrics on the radio, on a TV special, or at the mall. For many, Christmas means thousands of shimmering lights gracing trees, bushes, front porches, and sometimes entire houses, transforming the familiar landscape of our neighborhood into a cozy fantasy kingdom. Christmas means  scented red candles, the shining eyes and flushed faces of children as they come alive to the wonder of the season, and mustering an attitude of “good cheer” as we all strive to create an aura of serenity, stillness, and peace on earth. But what do we do when Advent doesn’t feel like Christmas? When life is not all warm and aglow with the joy of the season? This week, we encounter the God who moves into the neighborhood and loves us amid all the messiness of our lives.

After all the shopping, gift wrapping, and holiday events, it’s easy to get lost in the flurry of the season. But there is more to Christmas than the hurry and the scurry. Bring your whole family to Zion for a night of candles, carols, and reflection to rediscover the hope and joy of celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Join us Christmas Eve at 6:30 pm.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Thelma VanderZouwen continues to remain in the hospital awaiting surgery to heal a broken vertebrae. Gary Osterink had knee replacement surgery yesterday and will be returning home today. Katie Bremer also remains hospitalized on bed rest as they monitor both her and the baby’s vital signs. Please keep all of these people and their families in your prayers.

We extend our sympathy to Fred and Gwen Wallace and Mackenzie Wallace in the loss of their father and grandfather, Terrill “Terry” Wallace on Wednesday, December 18. Funeral services were held in Ohio on Saturday. Please pray for peace and comfort for the family during this difficult time.

Serve the World
At our Christmas Eve service, we will be holding an offering to support the ministry of United Church Outreach Ministry in Wyoming. For about 10 years now, we have partnered with UCOM through our Personal Care Pantry. UCOM provides material and educational assistance to meet basic needs, improve quality of life, and promote self-sufficiency in Southwestern Kent County.

Administrative Details
Last week, our Consistory met with Mike Stadelmayer from Church Growth Services (CGS) to decide if we should go ahead with a capital campaign to fund our building remodel. After interviewing about a dozen members in our church, surveying our staff and Consistory and another 140+ people through a paper survey on a Sunday in November, CGS formed an assessment of our ability to move forward with a building campaign. According to their surveying of our congregation

• over 80% of those surveyed are already planning to support the campaign and just under 80% think now is the right time for a capital campaign.
• Of those who are unsure, the reasons given were a need more information, a concern about our present giving levels, or a personal worry about their own ability to give.

• Text ‘give’ to be prompted on how much you’d like to give.
• Text ‘update’ to change the credit card or bank account you give from or to modify recurring gifts you’ve set up by text
• Text ’50 weekly’ to set up a weekly gift of $50. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give. You can also replace ‘weekly’ with ‘biweekly,’ ‘monthly’ or ‘yearly’.
• Text ’50 fundname‘ to give $50 to a specific fund. Replace ‘fundname’ with the keyword General or Building to designate to specific fund. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give.
• Text ‘unlink’ to unlink your phone from the text giving service so that your phone is no longer authorized to make donations

You can also give directly from our website by clicking on the  “Give Now” button below.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $321,662.78
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $296,007.19

12-15-19 Bulletin

On Monday this week, Rachel and I had the joy of watching one o four children sing in the Jenison Elementary Honors Choir at Fountain Street Church with several high school choirs and a choir from GVSU. It was a night of beautiful Christmas music and a chance to see this child shine and be exposed to a broader world of music.

It was also a deeply sad experience for me. Fountain Street, if you are unaware, is a universalist church that according to the church strives to be a vibrant church community that challenges individuals to craft their own spiritual journeys, and to engage in creative and responsible action in the world.

Fountain Street started as a baptist church in the 1860s and had a long legacy of both evangelistic and discipling passion. They were engaged in caring for the poor and seeking a more just world. But over time, they slowly drifted away from their first love. It may have happened slowly as an effort to stay relevant to the culture or to reach unbelievers, but at some point, they started compromising the authority of scripture. They became less concerned with Jesus and his reign and more concerned with personal character and a secular humanist worldview.

And now today, rather than holding Sunday school, they have Character school where kids learn different moral principles from many religions of the world. They hold values for inquiry, love, justice, and community. But, there is no longer a passion for the kingdom of God, the gospel of Jesus, or even Jesus himself.

I love that at Zion we care about justice issues and caring for the weak and outsiders. We do this through Hand2Hand, Personal Care Pantry, Camp Zion and soon Kids Hope.

I love that at Zion we care deeply about discipling our kids, both children and youth, and are willing to invest deeply in volunteer time and our staff to raise these kids up in the faith.

I love that at Zion we care about evangelism. We plant churches. We support missionaries all over the world.

But what I love most at Zion is that I never doubt our motivation for all we do. We love Jesus and we want his name to be lifted high by our ministry. May he always be the center of our life together.

Connect to God
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all around the world.” At some point during the upcoming holiday season we will almost certainly hear those familiar lyrics on the radio, on a TV special, or at the mall. For many, Christmas means thousands of shimmering lights gracing trees, bushes, front porches, and sometimes entire houses, transforming the familiar landscape of our neighborhood into a cozy fantasy kingdom. Christmas means  scented red candles, the shining eyes and flushed faces of children as they come alive to the wonder of the season, and mustering an attitude of “good cheer” as we all strive to create an aura of serenity, stillness, and peace on earth. But what do we do when Advent doesn’t feel like Christmas? When life is not all warm and aglow with the joy of the season? This week, we hear the voice of John the Baptist preparing the way for God to come and be with us.

Join us next week Sunday, December 15, for our annual Sunday School Christmas Program. They have been working hard for weeks to learn lines and prepare songs. All to share with us the good news that God is indeed with us and the exile of the garden has ended.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Barb Overweg had open heart surgery this morning and is currently recovering, please continue to hold Barb and Jim in your prayers during this time of healing.

Serve the World
We are in the early stages of planning a trip to Kenya in June of 2021. While there, we will see the progress on Jeremiah’s church we have been supporting, have a project planned to work on, do some visiting and touring of Mahi Mahui where Jeremiah and Mary live, and finish off this trip with a Safari. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Pastor Rick.

Jeremiah Kuria recently sent several pictures of their Sunday school rooms with a roof on thanks to the generosity of Zion. You can check out some of the pictures at the bottom of this e-mail.

Administrative Details
On Tuesday, December 10, our Consistory will be meeting with a consulting firm we have contracted with to help us both conduct and assess the feasibility of a capital campaign for our proposed building remodel. Please be in prayer for our Consistory as they consider this weighty decision next Tuesday.

We have recently begun accepting donations to the General Fund and Building Fund online or via text. If you are interested in supporting the ministries of Zion financially, you can do so from our website www.zionreformed.org by clicking on “Give Online Now” or text 1-616-219-2181 using one of the commands listed below:

• Text ‘give’ to be prompted on how much you’d like to give.
• Text ‘update’ to change the credit card or bank account you give from or to modify recurring gifts you’ve set up by text
• Text ’50 weekly’ to set up a weekly gift of $50. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give. You can also replace ‘weekly’ with ‘biweekly,’ ‘monthly’ or ‘yearly’.
• Text ’50 fundname‘ to give $50 to a specific fund. Replace ‘fundname’ with the keyword General or Building to designate to specific fund. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give.
• Text ‘unlink’ to unlink your phone from the text giving service so that your phone is no longer authorized to make donations

You can also give directly from our website by clicking on the  “Give Now” button below.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $299,479.14
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $279,194.19
Thanksgiving Offering to date: $9,751.00