Zion E-News (2-18-2021)

The season of Lent, the 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter, began yesterday. They are an opportunity to prepare ourselves to celebrate Easter, to remember our need for a savior, and to take new steps of obedience to God.

For many people, Lent is a season of self-denial, of giving up a habit or small treasured treat like chocolate or caffeine. For the last several years I have practiced some sort of fast during Lent. One year I gave up pop and another year caffeine and then pop again. There may be a theme here.

But this year, I decided to give up a different activity. I am going to try to not be hard on myself. I have noticed in myself and in others lately that we are often hard on ourselves for simply being human. We get down on ourselves for not being able to be with people we love during a pandemic. Or, for not anticipating things that could go wrong. Or, for getting tired and worn out. Or, for getting discourage and or emotionally frayed. But, all of these are things people with finite minds and finite bodies do. Our frail bodies get hungry, grow tired, and cannot predict the future. So for Lent, I am going to try to not be hard on myself for simply being a finite person.

Should we also repent of genuine sin? Of course! But we do not need to repent of being weak and frail humans. God knows we are. Being frail is and not invincible is not sin, just part of being human. Adam and Eve got tired and hungry and worn out sometimes, too.

This is part of the lesson of Ash Wednesday. We are frail. We are weak. We are finite. We all die. We are dust. We are not God and do not need to pretend we are. So be soft on yourselves friends. It’s OK to be human.

From dust you are and to dust you shall return.

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather in person at 9 am and online at both 9 and 11 am. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

Christianity at its core is not about thinking the right things about God or knowing our Bibles inside and out, but about following Jesus. The earliest believers were called Christians because they looked and acted like little Christs, little Jesuses. In Mark 5, we find a crowd around Jesus, following to see what he will say or do next. And a woman who, for twelve years has been declared unclean, sneaks onto the scene to show us what what reaching out to Jesus in times of heartache and pain, loneliness and isolation, can result in. What will we learn as we join the crowd and witness Jesus’ interaction with this woman?

Jeremy Zoet will be preaching this Sunday. We look forward to hearing what God has placed on his heart.

Grow in Community
Please keep Clyde Francisco, son-in-law to Jim and Barb Overweg, in your prayers as he experiences complications after open heart surgery on Monday.

In the last decade, a giant cultural wave has swept the North American church into a brand new world — a pluralistic, complicated, high-tech/low-touch world that has only been accelerated during this Covid-time. Facing the challenge of engaging a jaded world, a fresh expression has emerged alongside the traditional church. If you have any interest in church planting or how to reach new generations, join us for a 3 week discussion led by Andrew Moore of the book Fresh Expressions of the Church. You can sign-up for this book discussion by e-mailing Pastor Greg at gbrower@zionreformed.org.

We are reading through the New Testament over the next year as a congregation. The reading schedule for this coming week is below:
Monday: Luke 17
Tuesday: Luke 18
Wednesday: Luke 19
Thursday: Luke 20
Friday: Luke 21

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Serve the World
Several people have asked about the homeless people living under 196 near church. We have contacted Dégagé Ministries and they have reached out to offer support to them.

While there is nothing we can do directly as a church, let us all pray for those in Texas without power, water, or heat.

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.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget:  $388,732.36
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $386,794.47
Giving Last Week: $23,192.00