HALLELUJAH -- THE BIBLE AND HANDEL'S MESSIAH

      The Pastor's Class will resume this coming Wednesday, March 9 at 6:15 PM.  For you that desire to sing in the Westminster Choir, we will be finished at 7:30. 
       We will be covering Parts II and III during the season of Lent.  As with Part I, I will be leading a discussion on the Biblical Text used in the Lebretto.  (That was a word I did not know before we started this class).  Dr. Ron Anderson, will tell us about Handel's musical presentation. 
       If you were not part of the first round and need a Participants Book, I still have three in my offce.  They cost $20.
       I hope we have a large turnout as we discuss such great text as:
       "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world."  (John 1:29)
       "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the inquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
       "But thou didst not leave his soul in hell, not didst thou suffer they holy one to see corruption." (Ps. 16:10)
        "Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."  (Revelation 19:6)
       
See you in class,
Steve

WHEN THE ENDS CLASH

Dear Friends,

                For our guidance as a church, we have in our Book of Order the Six Great Ends of the Church.  The second on the list is, “The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God.”  The third one is, “The maintenance of divine worship.”  Well here at Westminster we have had a collision of the two, now what to do?

                When it comes to the “maintenance of divine worship,” our traditional order is to offer our resources and our lives to God following the sermon.  Actually, the offering is to be thought of as part of the Communion Service, for it is at the Table we offer ourselves to God in response to the Word which has been proclaimed, and in the elements Jesus Christ offers Himself to us.  When we do not celebrate the Sacrament, we should understand that the offering is still, in a sense Communion though the regular elements are not present.

                Now for the clash; when I was a child my mother gave me one dollar a week for my allowance, actually she gave me ten dimes.  The purpose was to teach me to tithe, because I was not to spend this small fortune until I had placed one dime in the offering plate.   This brings me to the problem.  We are missing out on a great educational opportunity by sending our small children to the Shepherding Time before the offering.   

                So what do we do when “The shelter, nurture . . .,” clashes with the “maintenance of divine worship?”  That is a “no brainer.”  We change our order of worship so the children can participate in the offering.

                Now you adults need to remember a few things:

                     1.  The purpose of the offering is to respond to God’s word, even though we have now placed it in a less than traditional place.                  

                     2.  Of course the offering is an appropriate response to the fact that we are forgiven, and in our new order we will place the offering following the Assurance of Pardon.

                    3.  It is the responsibility for all of us to teach our children by our word and example, (hummmmm, does that say something about tithing).

Just a thought,

Steve

WOW! I HAVE A BLOG

Dear Friends,

       After watching Julia and Julie, or was it Julie and Julia, I finally learned what a blog is, and now I have one.  I hope you will be patient as I learn how to use this "new fangled stuff."  My biggest fear is that I am used to writing for the ear, and if anyone is actually going to read what I write, I send it to my editor, who happens to be my best friend.  Sooooo, with the great fear of misspelled words and poor grammatical habits, I venture off into the "bloggisphere."
       My hope is to use this space for educational purposes, to remind folks what is coming up at the church, to brag about Westminter Presbyterian Church, to offer (for what it is worth) what is on my mind, and maybe an occasional joke.
       Anyway I hope you not only enjoy the new Westminster website, but that you will find this blog worth reading.

       May we all experience God's love today,
Steve