The gospel is never for individuals but always for a people. Sin fragments us, separates us, and sentences us to solitary confinement. Gospel restores us, unites us, and sets us in community.
– Eugene Peterson (Reversed Thunder)
Western Theological Seminary just opened the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination. Eugene was a friend of the seminary and several of my friends traveled to Israel with him back in the late 90s while they were in seminary. He had such a heart for the local church and for pastors. I find his writing often encourages me.
I just ran across this quote from his reflections on the book of Revelation last week. I love this explanation of both sin and the gospel. Sometimes we can narrow sin down to breaking the moral rules laid out in scripture, but I thin that misses the point. God lays out moral rules for us so that we don’t destroy relationships with God, others, creation or ourselves. The rules are there to help us avoid those behaviors that damage community. Sin destroys community. It separates us from other people. It separates us from God. It even separates us from ourselves. We are blind to those darkest parts of ourselves. Those hidden motivations. Those character flaws we cannot even see ourselves. Sin keeps us from knowing others and being fully known even to ourselves.
We see the results of sin in families estranged, in broken marriages, in the angry and fearful divisions between ethnic groups, income groups, political parties, and even within Christianity. But the hope of the gospel is that in Jesus all those divisions can be overcome. It heals us where we have been broken. It unites us not in a common enemy, but in a common love for God. And, it brings us into community where we can be known, loved, and accepted where we are right now.
For me, this is the joy of gathering together each week for worship. I get to be with people who are not all like me, who view life differently than me, who have different struggles than me, and yet, we choose to join our lives together through a common love for Christ and in a mutual mission to love this world God sent Jesus to redeem. We get to be the church.
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. The service will be live-streamed at 9:30 and replayed again at 11. You can find the services either on our Facebook page, at zionreformed.online.church, or streaming on our Youtube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
Churches are not places of model behavior. They have as many people struggling with sin, pain, and brokenness as those outside of church. Rather than being perfectly healthy communities, church is the place we can go to acknowledge, face, and deal with our brokenness. The book of James confronts the conflicts, tensions, and mess of church life head on. This week, as we conclude out study of James, we are called to respond to unjustice and suffering with patient perseverance and an enduring hope in our God.
This Sunday, we welcome Lisa Cook who will be sharing with us her work with Teen Deaf Quest as they reach one of the largest unreached people groups in the world with the hope of Jesus Christ.
Grow in Community
Over the past several weeks, I have had multiple nurses in our church ask for prayers for our nurses and hospital workers. Talking with those in our church who have been in the ER or admitted recently, all talked about how overwhelmed the ER seemed to be. Please join me in praying for nurses, medical workers, and their families as they have been working extra hours and with extra patients for much of the pas year and a half.
This Sunday, Nov. 14, kids in Kindergarten-5th grade are invited to sing the song “Raise a Hallelujah” during the morning worship service. Please have your child come by 8:45 so we can practice before church.
The kids will be rehearsing the music for their Christmas program every week after church until Dec. 12. Preschoolers stay in Room 206 after church for a 10-15 minute practice. Elementary kids meet after church in Room 205 for 20-30 minutes.
We are reading through the New Testament over the next year as a congregation. The reading schedule for this coming week is below:
11/15 Monday Revelation 13
11/16 Tuesday Revelation 14
11/17 Wednesday Revelation 15
11/18 Thursday Revelation 16
11/19 Friday Revelation 17
You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.
Serve the World
Every year, we designate three organizations to receive our Thanksgiving Offering. This year the Deacons have chosen:
1. The Pregnancy Resources Center which provides health care and support to women and families facing an unexpected pregnancy so they feel empowered to choose the life of their child.
2. Oasis of Hope Center that provides medical care to low income residents in the Grand Rapids community in the name of Jesus.
3. The Family Network of Wyoming’s Christmas Store. This seems self-explanatory. 🙂
Many Christians in the Middle East, Africa and southeast Asia suffer for their faith. Last year an average of 13 Christians were killed every day for believing in Christ and they need our prayers. Many of them will find it too dangerous to celebrate the Christmas holidays.
Pray for their boldness to continue sharing the gospel and teaching God’s Word.
Pray for their wisdom and endurance so they will not grow weary in serving Christ amid opposition.
Pray that many will come to know Christ as their Savior and that they will know they are not alone.
Two organizations that minister to the persecuted are Voice of the Martyrs (vom.org) and Open Doors (opendoorsusa.org). Those web sites contain more specific information and how to donate.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771.
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 2021/22 Budget: $257,836.21
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $188,582.09
Giving Last Week: $10,030.50
