Remnant Ramblings: June

Summer is now upon us and I think that is good news for most of us.  The warmer weather is a great change of pace and allows for more outdoor activities we enjoy.  Of course, we also look forward to BBQs, different types of gatherings, and family vacations over the course of the summer.  Summer can be a very relaxing and enjoyable time for most of us, but it can also be a very busy time.  It is no different for those of us involved in youth ministry.  We typically like to keep our teens busy over the summer, as one of our aims is to give our teens opportunities to fellowship, serve, and carve out many special memories.  As my wife and I were drawing up our summer calendar recently, I reflected on hard lessons learned in my early days of youth ministry.

I spent a whole summer working on youth group curriculum for the upcoming year.  I invested hours upon hours of research and writing, trying to build the perfect set of questions and reflections that would enable teens to go deeper in their relationship with Christ.  To make a long story short, this curriculum fell way short of the hopes and expectations I had envisioned.  Why?  It was too complicated.  I had spent too much time making sure it was perfect that I ended up losing focus and creating something mostly unusable.

I can recall a couple nights in particular where I was super excited about the messages I was to give.  It was so well thought out and planned, right down to games to match up with the Scripture and theme of the message.  Of course, God didn't show up and it made for miserable nights for me.  And when this happens, my students suffer as well.

What's the common denominator here?  I became so consumed with feeling pressure to perform and crafting something “perfect” that I forgot to invite God in and let him take the lead on my well-crafted plans.  It completely threw my life out of balance as a result.

Perhaps this is something you can relate to in your own life.  Many times we get so bogged down with burning the candle at both ends, the different pressures we feel, and our busy day-to-day schedules that we forget to place God in his rightful place as the center of our lives and the plans of our lives.

Does this mean we should not strive for excellence, or feel guilty about working hard, or settle for less than the absolute best we can give?  Absolutely not.  Let's just remember to allow God to work through us.  Too many times I've not included God in my plans and the results have always been fruitless.  Keeping God out front is a habit that takes time to develop; however, the more we allow him to move and work through us, the more we'll be able to move through the messiness of this life.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”      Matthew 6:31-34

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31                                            

Yours In Christ,

Pastor Drew

Worship Leader: June

I really enjoy listening to praise and worship music, and one of my favorite worship songs is by Chris Tomlin, and it is called, “How Can I Keep From Singing”.  The message in this song is so powerful, because it says, even when we are going through storms or any type of trouble.  How can we stop singing His praises?  Jesus said if His people stop praising Him, the rocks will cry out!  This is one of the verses that really speaks to me:

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

We serve an awesome God!  Just the fact that when we say His name, He gives us the peace that we need, no matter how big the problem!  This song begins, “There is an endless song, echoes in my soul.  I hear the music ring.  And though the storms may come, I am holding on.  To the Rock I cling.”  Are you clinging to the rock today?

Maybe you have had a bad week, gotten bad news from the doctor or maybe you just don’t know what to do.  Keep the endless song in your soul that Jesus loves and cares for you.  He knows our needs even before they come.  I am reminded of the words to this wonderful hymn,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.  Let the water and the blood, from that wounded side which flowed.  Be of sin a double cure.  Save from wrath and made me pure!

We have a Savior that will never leave us or forsake.  You can always depend on Him to lift you up and encourage you!  How can you keep from singing His praise?

Serving with You!

Gene Collins

Announcements for June

District Conference

The NC West District Conference will be June 17-19 @ the Hickory Metro Convention Center.

You are invited to join us on Monday Evening for the Opening Rally @ 7:00PM.  Rev. Tom Harding of the ALIVE Church in Central, SC will be speaking along with Special Singing.

HOMECOMING

Join us Sunday, June 23^rd for SRWC’s Annual Homecoming.  The Gospel Group – Heart-2-Heart will be here to minister to us during the Morning Worship Service.  Lunch will follow in the Fellowship Hall

The Playground Equipment from the small playground behind the church is being auctioned off.  Each piece is numbered; please write down the number of the piece you are interested in, your name & contact information, and how much you would like to bid on it – seal it in an envelope and give it to Phyllis Howard. Funds raised will be used to buy new playground equipment for our children.  The last day to submit a bid is Sunday, June 16^th .  The Playground Equipment must be picked up by Saturday, June 22^nd.  

Outreach Opportunities

Salvation Army Soup Kitchen

Team #1 will be serving NEXT Sunday at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen at 4:00PM.  

The Open Arms Food Pantry serves our community with the love of Christ by meeting the needs of the hungry.  If you would like to get involved or would be willing to donate food items, see Charlie Hawkins, David Deitz, or Pastor Charles.

See Pastor Charles if you have any ??? concerning these two vital ministries.

Sunday School Announcements

God is love.  Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love.  Have you ever wondered if we're missing it?  It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not,   we all know something's wrong.

Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo?   Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts—it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.

Join us each Sunday Morning @ 10:00am beginning NEXT week, June 9^th in Pastor Scott’s Sunday School Class for this NEW study by Francis Chan.  

Youth Events

TUBING TRIP

Saturday, June 22^nd @ Larry and Janet Ward's!  8 am – 5 pm (approx.)

Sunday, July 7^th – Friday, July 12^th  

Prayer and Outreach: June

The Awesome Power of Prayer

Prayer is awesome because through it we are able to speak directly with the Holy God of the Universe.  It goes beyond the formality of daily devotions or an item on the program of the church bulletin.  We can, literally, talk with God just as we would talk to a friend.  Through prayer we discover the heart of God, the love of God, and the will of God.

There’s an account of an individual in 1 Chronicles 4 by the name of Jabez.  Perhaps you have heard about him.  Verses 9 and 10: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.  His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’  Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!  Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’”

The writer of Chronicles tells us that Jabez enjoyed a position of greater honor and status in the community than his brothers.  You ask, “So what is so special about that?”  It has to do with his name.  The name ‘Jabez’ means “pain”.  Can you imagine the enigma of having a name that tells everyone that your own mother thinks you are a pain?  Dogged with such an unlucky name, how could he ever succeed in life?  How did he do it?  The Chronicler gives away Jabez’s secret.  It was his prayer life; or rather the God to whom Jabez had the sense to pray.  Only God could deal with the negative images that the name ‘Jabez’ would generate within Jabez.

You ask, ‘What does that have to do with me?’  We too, are dogged with unlucky names that could keep us from seeing our prayers answered.  You see, we may have a past that might be dotted with bad choices that has labeled us as a loser, trouble-maker, bad luck, or a hundred other names.  Our self-esteem might have been shattered by insults like ‘You’ll never amount to anything.’, or ‘You’re nothing but a big failure.’.  If we aren’t careful, we can allow the enemy of our soul to convince us that God cannot possibly love someone like us and God will not even listen to us when you pray.’

Remember Jabez.  He had a bad start.  He carried a name tag that told everyone that his own mother said he was nothing but a pain.  Yet, his prayer is filled with confidence that God loved him and that God heard him.  The last part of 1 Chronicles 4:9 reads, “And God granted his request.”

No matter how jaded our past may be, God hears and answers the prayers of His children when we pray with faith.

YOUR PRAYERS MATTER.

                                                                       

Love In Christ,

Pastor Charles

From the Pastor's Heart: June

“Show respect for all people:                                                        

Love the brothers and sisters of God’s family,

        respect God, honor the king.”

--- 1 Peter 2:17 –NCV

In case you haven’t noticed, we have an awesome church family.  I realize I may be a little prejudice but I don’t believe I am too far from reality.  This is not a new revelation of course, but I am vividly reminded of it after each one of our BBQs.  Seeing our church family work so hard and work so well together is a beautiful thing.  It reminds me of what the Early Church had; the Koinonia (the fellowship; the oneness) that they shared. It really is a beautiful thing to behold, and something that shouldn’t be took for granted. 

Now don’t get me wrong; as a church family, we are NOT perfect.  We love each other and we care for each other.  But there are times when people “fall through the cracks” and the “missing” in our midst go unnoticed for a while.  It happens in real families too.  There are times when needs go unmet; but as is often the case in normal families, some needs are not made known to the family.  Sometimes things are said or done that hurt feelings; and although it doesn’t make it right, the same thing happens often in a normal family.  There are times when we disagree; but what family doesn’t have its conflicts. 

The bottom line is simple:  WE ARE FAMILY NO MATTER WHAT!  Thank you for being such a great church family.  And may all of us always treasure this family; never take it for granted; and follow Paul’s instructions when he said . . .

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.          Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope,                  be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”  -- Romans 12:10-13

Believing In You,

Pastor Scott