1-30-22 Bulletin

To form Adam,
To bury Moses, 
To heal the sick, 
To defend a sinner,
To conquer the grave,
Our God got in the dirt.
In all things, we can rest.
The Lord can handle our dirt.
(credit Heather Thompson Day and Eric Schumacher)

I ran across this quote a week or so ago and it has stuck with me. Sometimes, we can think God lives at a safe distance from the mess of life. As if, somehow, God is untouched by the brokenness and sin in our world. Like the deists of 250 years ago, we can imagine God as some great clock maker who made the world, but now watches over it at an aloof disinterested distance.

Scripture, however, does not present God this way. In the Bible, God gets intimately involved in the messiness of people’s lives. He stoops into the dirt to form a mud man (the literally meaning of Adam). He meets Abraham and Sarah in the pain and struggle of infertility. He sees Leah when her husband loves another. He buries Moses when he dies at the end of Deuteronomy. Jesus spits into the dirt to make some mud to heal the blind man. He stoops and writes in the dirt to protect the woman caught in adultery (the story seems like it was a setup of the woman of some kind). And of course he goes through the agony of crucifixion and willingly dies to be buried in the ground on Good Friday.

There are lots of places in life where we have to put our best foot forward, put on a happy face, and make the best of it. We may feel that pressure at work as we keep a professional demeanor even when it feels like everything is falling apart at home. Or, in public at school functions, we may wear a mask to keep these causal relationships safely superficial. There are times when we need to be careful what we show to protect our hearts and other relationships. Sadly, some can even feel that pressure at church.

But we should never feel a need to hide the truth of who we are and what we are going through from God. God already knows your struggles. He already knows the flaws you worry about. He knows. He knows the hurts and rather than judge or watch from a distance, the incarnation reminds us God chooses to get down in the dirt and messiness of life and be with us. God can handle your dirt. You can rest. God has you.

As Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

May you believe this good news and live in its peace.

– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. The service will be live-streamed and replayed again at 11 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. Next week, we will remaking some upgrades to our live stream technology and this may impact our ability to replay the service at 11 am. The service will continue to be available on Facebook and YouTube to watch at your convenience.

This morning, we continue the sermon series Upside Down Kingdom. This series draws from the gospel lectionary readings, predominantly in Luke, to help us see the counter-cultural values and ways of God’s kingdom. Our text today comes from Jesus’ sermon to his home town of Nazareth. His vision of his ministry and the kingdom he will bring come straight from the Old Testament prophets. This vision of justice and healing challenges us to consider how our lives align with Jesus kingdom or the values of our world.

Grow in Community
Beginning February 22, we will be hosting a book discussion on Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. The book focuses our attention on how we can build bridges across racial divides to model the restoring and unifying work of Christ among all people. You can sign up for the discussion through the Connection card on Sunday.

Following Kent County Health Department guidelines, we are no longer be requiring children to wear masks in Zion Kids as of last Sunday, January 2, 2022.

Serve the World
Threads will be having a semi-annual sale, which will be open to the public, on Saturday, March 12 from 9am – 1pm. Each and every item in the boutique will be priced at $1. The money raised from this sale is used to self-fund our ministry and purchase needed items. All are invited to come in and shop!

Currently, Threads is in need of new underwear and new socks for all ages / sizes, and also in need of plastic white shirt hangers and pants hangers. Any donations of these items is greatly appreciated.

Every fifth Sunday of the month City Chapel, our church plant, celebrates Embrace Sunday. On Embrace Sundays  they go out into the community to bless downtown Grand Rapids in some way. City Chapel invites you to join them on their next Embrace Sunday, January 30th, at  Degage Ministries where they will be making birthday party kits.  If you would like to join them and learn more about this important church plant partner of Zion meet them at 11:15am, Sunday, January 30th at  Degage Ministries 121 Sheldon Ave SE, GR.

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
The remodel of our bathrooms began earlier this month. Fixtures are being removed. Walls knocked down. It is a little noisy at times in the offices! You can check out the progress in some pictures below. The first shows the bathroom from the former entrance to the women’s bathroom and the second shows the same space from the former entrance to the men’s restroom.

As a reminder, during the remodel, the only restrooms available on the main floor of church can be accessed through the doors at the front of the sanctuary. They are single stall uni-sex restrooms.

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:  $369,938.91
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $317,954.25
Giving Last Week: $2,498.50

A year ago yesterday, my older sister’s father-in-law died after a long journey with Alzheimers. Wayne Leys was a friend and mentor to me for many years. When I lived in Chicago, he was pastoring a church in the suburbs and he and his wife Christine let me stay with them when the lease on my apartment ran out a week before my job ended. When we were living in Colorado, I spent 4 days with Wayne, my dad, and brother-in-law hiking the Grand Canyon from the North rim to the South rim. He gave me some wise counsel on some perplexing issues. It was hard watching this wise, well read, and thoughtful man lose so much of what made him uniquely Wayne.

But this morning, my sister posted a picture of Wayne with his arms raised by Lake Michigan in a posture of worship with pure joy etched into every line of his face. The one thing he remembered almost all the way to the end was worship songs, hymns and contemporary praise songs. He simply loved to worship God.

It reminded me of my Grandma Brower’s last few years. She died of Alzheimers while I was in seminary. Several times in those last few years, I would visit her while visiting shut-ins from the church at which I interned. She frequently did not remember me or even that she had grandchildren. Often, I would tell her I was a pastor from her church, which seemed to help her feel safe and comfortable. My favorite visits were on the afternoons when they would sing hymns in the nursing home. She may not have remembered me, but she knew every word of every verse of Amazing Grace.

I am thankful for two things as I reflect on these memories today. First, I am thankful for wonderful mentors and spiritual leaders who went before me and prayed over me in people like Wayne Leys and my Grandma and so many more. The support, wisdom, and prayers of older generations for teens and young adults are a gift to God’s church.

And second, I am thankful for all those who lead God’s people in worship. Our worship teams and audio/visual teams are not simply making music for a service, they are orienting our hearts to God. They are furrowing spiritual grooves in our brains that shape how we see God and ourselves. Music disciples and shapes us spiritually. That is why I am also thankful for the care Jeremy Zoet takes in choosing new songs for our congregation.

The music we sing shapes how we follow Jesus.

– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. The service will be live-streamed and replayed again at 11 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. 

This morning, we continue a sermon series entitled Upside Down Kingdom. This series draws from the gospel lectionary readings, predominantly in Luke, to help us see the counter-cultural values and ways of God’s kingdom. Our text today comes from the gospel of John as Jesus begins his public ministry at a private wedding. In this surprising story, Jesus defiles holy objects to turn water into wine and keep the party going. We rightly wonder what is happening here and what might it mean for us to live in a kingdom that turns sacred objects secular for the sake of a wedding.

Grow in Community
As Covid cases have risen significantly in the past few weeks, please join me in praying for the many people in our church who are or have been quarantined, the kids missing out on school, the teachers and substitutes filling in the gaps, and the hospital staff caring for the many who have been hospitalized. We can be very thankful as this new strain spreads quickly that it is also fairly mild for many and continue to hold up those affected by more severe cases.

Following Kent County Health Department guidelines, we are no longer be requiring children to wear masks in Zion Kids as of last Sunday, January 2, 2022.

Serve the World
Thank you all for your generous donations of money, clothing, diapers, and prayers for Threads clothing ministry. Since Threads opened at Zion in September, we have given away 2,943 pieces of clothing! On average, we give personal care products to 18 families each month and provide diapers for 25 families each month. Currently, we are in need of new underwear and new socks for all ages / sizes, and also in need of plastic white shirt hangers and pants hangers.

Threads will be having a semi-annual sale, which will be open to the public, on Saturday, March 12 from 9am – 1pm. Each and every item in the boutique will be priced at $1. The money raised from this sale is used to self-fund our ministry and purchase needed items. All are invited to come in and shop!

Every fifth Sunday of the month City Chapel, our church plant, celebrates Embrace Sunday. On Embrace Sundays  they go out into the community to bless downtown Grand Rapids in some way. City Chapel invites you to join them on their next Embrace Sunday, January 30th, at  Degage Ministries where they will be making birthday party kits.  If you would like to join them and learn more about this important church plant partner of Zion meet them at 11:15am, Sunday, January 30th at  Degage Ministries 121 Sheldon Ave SE, GR.

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
The remodel of our bathrooms began this week. Fixtures are being removed. Walls knocked down. It is a little noisy at times in the offices! You can check out the progress this Sunday when you come for worship. As a reminder, during the remodel, the only restrooms available on the main floor of church can be accessed through the doors at the front of the sanctuary. They are single stall uni-sex restrooms.

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:  $358,728.64
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $315,455.75
Giving Last Week: $21,400.65