Yesterday, a member of Zion called to talk about a recent sermon and living under quarantine after a recent Covid diagnosis. It was one of those conversations that makes my day. It was so good to reconnect with someone who hasn’t been able to gather with us in church in several months. (Have I mentioned how much I miss seeing so many of you?)

Near the ends of the conversation, they shared a story I want to share with you. Recently, they drove past their old house. It was the house they had raises their family in, but they hadn’t been down that particular road in several years. Over the years, the house had changed. The grass wasn’t well maintained. Weeds were overgrowing the landscaping. It was painted a new color and needed a paint job again. The porch was full of stuff, just lots of stuff. The house they had lived in and maintained for 30 years was falling into disrepair.

Honestly, I thought I knew where the conversation was heading, because i was thinking about how sad I would be to see something I had invested in and cared for not be treated the way I would like. I expected to hear about sadness and maybe even a little anger that their home wasn’t being loved like they have loved it.

But then the story took a surprising twist. There was a man on the porch working at a little desk. And know I will do my best to paraphrase/quote the conclusion to the story:
“Seeing the man,I wondered if that man knew Jesus. Did he know God loved him? As you get older you start realizing the things we worry about don’t matter as much as we thought. The decorations. The perfect lawn. The cute home. I still like those things. But what really matters is that the man knows Jesus.”

The things we worry about. The things that stress us out. The things that fill our days to full and overflowing. In the scheme of eternity, they simply do not matter as much as this simple question: do you know Jesus? Do you kids know Jesus? Do your neighbors?

May we all have eyes to see the people around us through the eyes of God and love them as he does.

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather indoors at 9 and 11 am. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in below or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship this Sunday:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541818
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541794

If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. For at least the first couple of weeks, both our 9 and 11 am services will be live streamed  We will be live streaming both services at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

This week, we continue a series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. This week, we remember we are ambassadors of the kingdom of God, sent by God, with a message for our world and that this mission must remain first in our lives.

We will also be welcoming Andrew Moore for our moment for mission this Sunday. Andrew is a church planter from Community Reformed in Zeeland. He and his wife have felt a call to plant a new church in Grandville. Our staff and Consistory have been in conversations with Andrew about how we can be both a support and encouragement in this endeavor. We look forward to hearing about Andrew’s next steps in this planting effort.

Grow in Community
We had a lot of congregational care needs and celebrating recently at Zion
1. We extend out sympathy to John and Kim Little and Rachel Montgomery and family in the passing of Josh Montgomery, Kim’s son and Rachel’s brother, on Friday evening in a car accident.
2. We ask for prayers for Bernie Grooters father who was recently hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
3. We also ask for prayers of Mike and Sharilyn VanWyhe’s daughter Alison who is hospitalized with pre-eclampsia at 30 weeks pregnant.
4. And, we extend our congratulations to Bronson and Ashley Swan in the birth of their son SawyerMatthew Swan. Sawyer was born on Tuesday, September 22 weighing 7lbs 13oz and was 21″ long. We praise God for a safe and healthy delivery and that mom and baby are both doing well.

We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/

Children’s programming for kids Pre-school through 5th grade begins this week at both our 9 and 11 am services. Kids will begin in the church service as in prior years and will then be dismissed too their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.

Youth group begins this week for both Middle and High School. High school youth meet at 4 pm and the Middle school youth meet at 5:45. Both groups will be having a paint war as part of their kick-off meeting. Students are encouraged to wear old clothes and to bring an extra set of clothes they can change into after the paint war. The paint is washable, but we cannot guarantee it will all wash out so please keep this in mind when choosing what to wear to the kick-off meeting. It’s going to be great!

Serve the World
Our downtown church plant, City Chapel was recently profiled by the Christian Reformed Church as it is a “union” church. A union church is one that is part of both the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church. You can learn more about City Chapel at the link below.
https://www.crcna.org/news-and-views/union-church-focusing-millennials

We also received an update recently from Albino and Sandy Rodriguez, missionaries whom we support in Peru. You can read their update at the link below. There is also an opportunity to help provide food to struggle families at the end of their update. So, please check it out.
https://mailchi.mp/62a0d1e38c17/rodriguez-family-update?e=03ac51f875

If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap    Bar Soap    Dish Soap         Disposable Razors
Shampoo    Conditioner    Toothpaste         Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant    Tampons     Maxi Pads         Paper towels (1 or 2 pack)    Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $168,100.48
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $133,845.51
Giving Last Week: $6,958.00
Cash on Hand: $152,557.92

For several years now, Rachel and I have had a couple of CDs that we keep rolling over at the bank. They are our emergency fund. It’s not a lot of money, but it is a little cushion if something goes wrong. They came due last week and we had to go down to the bank and decide what to do with this money.

If you have any money in the bank, you know interest rates are really low. This is great if you are buying a house, but not so great when you are trying to save. So, we looked at several options: longer term CDs, putting it in the stock market, just putting it in savings or investing with the Reformed Church in America Church Growth Fund. (They loan money to churches when they need to remodel or build a church.) Investing with the Church Growth Fund is directly investing in the future of churches in the US.

This got me thinking about all the ways we invest in our lives: time, relationships, skills, money, and more. I invest in my kids when I sit down and listen to their days, offer some guidance, and cheer them on as they explore this world. I invest in my skills when I learn something new, seek out feedback, or simply admit I don’t know something and ask people for help. I invest my time in literally anything I do, so sometimes I invest it well in other people, in accomplishing tasks, in connecting with God, and sometimes in simply resting.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to store up our treasure in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy rather than to store up our treasure on earth where thieves break in and steal. The last several months have reminded us all that nothing is certain. We do not know how long we have on this earth. We do no know the challenges we will face. We do not know what will happen in our relationships, our health, our nation. But there is one place we can invest our lives and expect an eternal reward. How are you investing for eternity today?

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather for worship both in person and online. We will gather by the playground for our final outdoor service at 9 am. If there is a likelihood of rain, we will cancel our 9 am service. We will try to announce any change in venue by Saturday night on our Facebook page.

If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. Our 11 am service will be live streamed and you are welcome to attend worship at 11, though the focus will be on the live stream participants. We will be live streaming our 11 am service at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

This week, we begin a new series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. This week, Paul urges us in Romans 12 to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How are you renewing your mind? What voices are discipling you in this age of outrage?

Next week, we will begin worshipping indoors at both 9 and 11. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in our weekly E-News or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship on the 27th are below:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541818
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541794

Grow in Community
If you are interested in joining Zion or simply learning more about the life and ministry if our church, we will be holding a new members class beginning this Monday night at 7 pm. Door ‘A’ on the East side of the building will be open for you to join us in the Sanctuary. You do not need to join ur church to attend the class, but you do need to attend the class to join the church. While you do not need to sign-up to attend, it would be helpful so we can plan accordingly. You can sign-up by sending me an e-mail at gbrower@zionreformed.org.

We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/

Beginning on September 27, we will hold worship at 9 am indoors. This service will also be live-streamed. We also hope to begin holding Children’s Ministry for kids ages 3 through 5th grade during worship. We will not hold a large group gathering for children and will instead have them go immediately to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation. We hope to begin holding nursery closer to Christmas, but no firm date has yet been set.

If you are volunteering in Kid’s Ministry this year, we’re having a separate training for each class. It will include room specific children’s ministry training for teachers & helpers, new Covid guidelines, and our annual Keeping Kids Safe training, which is required for anyone 18 years old and older to be eligible to serve with children. We’re excited to open up our kid’s ministry later this month. Thank you for serving in these uncertain times! The training dates are as follows:

• Sunday, September 20th at 10:30am – Training for the Preschool team in Room 206
• Sunday, September 20th at 4:00pm – Training for the 3rd-5th team in Room 207

Serve the World
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap    Bar Soap    Dish Soap         Disposable Razors
Shampoo    Conditioner    Toothpaste         Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant    Tampons     Maxi Pads         Paper towels (1 or 2 pack)    Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $157,594.00
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $126,887.51
Giving Last Week: $4,808.00
Cash on Hand: $158,114.13

Over the past few weeks, I have been sharing some ideas and/or encouragement to intentionally share our faith in God. This week, I want to share a simple tool to help assess and encourage each of us to begin to think about our neighborhoods missionally.

Authors Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon have developed a simple “block map” to help you learn more about your neighbors. Sketch the image below on a piece of paper.

Imagine that the middle box in the image is your house and all the other houses are the 8 houses nearest to you — the  households God has put closes to where you live.

Your neighborhood probably isn’t quite as neat and tidy as the picture, you may live in an apartment building, on a culture-de-sac, or out in the country, but make a chart of your nearest neighbors. The layout doesn’t matter near as much as thinking about your neighbors.

In the your home, write your address. In the other boxes, answer the three questions to the left.
A. Write the names of all the people who live in the house. If you can give first and last names, great, if you only know first names, that’s fine, too.
B. Write down some relevant personal information you might know from talking to them once or twice: what do they do, do they have any pets or hobbies and so on.
C. Write down some in-depth information you would know after connecting with them. This might include career plans or family dreams or anything to do with purpose in their life. Write down anything meaningful that you have learned after interacting with them.

How did you do gathering all that information? After leading this exercise with thousands of people, the authors have found:

• About 10% of people can fill out the names of all 8 neighbors in line A.
• About 3% can fill out line B for every home
• Less than 1% can fill out line C for every home

How might your impact for God in your neighborhood change if you started intentionally loving the neighbors right next door? What might you do this week to get to know one or two neighbors a little better and fill in some more lines on your chart?

– Greg

Connect to God

This Sunday we will gather for worship only online. We will be live streaming our 11 am service at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

This Sunday, we will be joining the Reformed Church in America for a denomination-wide worship event. Because we cannot all physically gather from across the US and Canada in one place, the event will be live streamed. We will participate in this event at 11 am at zionreformed.online.church. This is the exact same place you can watch our service every Sunday. We will also include the service on Facebook and intend to rebroadcast it on WCET later in the week. The message will be offered by the Rev. Dr. Eddy Aleman, the General Secretary of the RCA. He will be preaching on Psalm 46 and how we find our rest in the Lord. This will be a great opportunity to hear from Eddy and worship with brothers and sisters across the continent. Please join me next Sunday at 11. (There will be no outdoor service on the 6th due to this joint event.)

For those who have been receiving sermon notes via the mail, we do not have any sermon notes this week because of the joint service with the RCA. We will resume providing written copies of the sermon next week.

Grow in Community

We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/

Beginning on September 27, we will hold worship at 9 am indoors. This service will also be live-streamed. We also hope to begin holding Children’s Ministry for kids ages 3 through 5th grade during worship. We will not hold a large group gathering for children and will instead have them go immediately to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation. We hope to begin holding nursery closer to Christmas, but no firm date has yet been set.

If you are volunteering in Kid’s Ministry this year, we’re having a separate training for each class. It will include room specific children’s ministry training for teachers & helpers, new Covid guidelines, and our annual Keeping Kids Safe training, which is required for anyone 18 years old and older to be eligible to serve with children. We’re excited to open up our kid’s ministry later this month. Thank you for serving in these uncertain times! The training dates are as follows:

• Sunday, September 13th at 10:30am –  Training for the K-2nd team in Room 205
• Sunday, September 20th at 10:30am – Training for the Preschool team in Room 206
• Sunday, September 20th at 4:00pm – Training for the 3rd-5th team in Room 207

Serve the World
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap    Bar Soap    Dish Soap         Disposable Razors
Shampoo    Conditioner    Toothpaste         Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant    Tampons     Maxi Pads         Paper towels (1 or 2 pack)    Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the lobby marked pantry donations.

Hope Eriks, through the Girl Scouts, was distributing personal care items to people through Dégagé Ministries. Through this week, she learned many homeless people in Grand Rapids are in need of warmer clothes as the summer ends. To help meet this need, we need your help. Do you have gently used sweatshirts or t-shirts you don’t need? If so, beginning Sunday, we will have two boxes in the lobby of church to accept your clothing donations.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $136,581.64
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $114,718.51
Giving Last Week: $5,383.34
Cash on Hand: $154,017.34