"Be still and know I am God." Psalm 46:10

July 27, 2014

The more I read the Psalms… the more I appreciate David.

David sought to live with integrity.  He sought to be accountable to God.  For example Psalm 26 starts:

Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have walked in my integrity,

 and I have trusted in the Lord without

wavering.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and mind.

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

And I walk in faithfulness to you.

 

Being open to God allows David to grow and serve well.

 

Reflecting on the Psalms allows us to grow and serve well too.  I hope you are continuing in your reading and reflection.  Over the years, when I work with leaders and we pray, listening for God’s Word, what is often heard is Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  What an affirmation of God’s protection and power… that as we quiet our lives and put them before the Lord, God will be present!  Sometimes that’s all we need to know to journey forth from fear to faith… from chaos to peace.

 

Another  leader that benefitted from Psalms, is Martin Luther, a guiding light in the Protestant Reformation.   Luther was assailed by critics as he promoted reforms based on scripture, faith, and direct connection with God through Jesus Christ.  In the midst of grief and chaos, Luther wrote many hymns.  Perhaps one of his most famous is based upon Psalm 46 which we examine today.  It is title is “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”  I commend verse 2 to you for comfort and confidence today:

 

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus it is He.

Lord Sabaoth His name,

And he must win the battle.

 

God may we present ourselves to you, be still and know you are God, and from that experience be serve as you lead, knowing the battle has already been won.

 

Blessings,

Tim

July 13, 2014

Tim’s Tidings

“This is the Day the Lord has made!  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  So goes the call of the Psalmist as God’s people gathered for worship in the time of David.  Today we still gather to praise God, and we have many reasons for rejoicing.

In that light, as part of our offering today, there are yellow stars or “bright spots” inserted in your bulletin.  You are encouraged to write a joy or thanksgiving you have in your life on the “bright spot” and put it in the offering plate along with your offering.  Your bright spot might relate to the ministry of Eastminster Presbyterian Church.  It might be a member or staff person who shows compassion, a Bible study or program that enriches you, the feeling you receive being on the grounds, the beauty of music and worship, a mission outreach we have.  Your “bright spot” might be a family member or friend who has been there for you and shown you love.  God might be the bright spot in your life as God has sustained you.  Pick one “bright spot” today and offer it to God.  We will collect the bright spots and post them in the Christian Ministry Center, creating a wall of joy.

One way God is using this church is in reaching out to children and youth.  Today we will receive a report from Steve and Tamara Correll on mission work done in El Salvador with the Compassion International children which a good number of members of EPC support.  We also welcome back the youth who went to the Montreat Youth Conference and the Fruitland Park Music Conference last week.  They will be sharing some of their experiences next week.  Finally, note that there are just a couple of weeks left in our collection of school supplies for Master’s Workshop.  The deadline is Monday July 28.

In every year there are bright spots and challenges.  This year is no exception for Eastminster. Your session has called a Congregational Meeting at 11 a.m. next Sunday July 20 to present a mid-year review of our ministries.   All members and interested guests are encouraged to attend this meeting, which will last about 30 minutes.  The Congregational Meeting will provide a snapshot of our giving, outreach, educational and worship ministries.  Our goal is to move forward together in revival and revitalization with honesty, transparency and love.  It is a joy to me to be on this journey together!

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

July 6

Tim’s Tidings

As you read this we will have finished a very full week!  My view of summer is that it is “opportunity time” rather than down time.  We take a break from some of the usual things we do… yet we also do things we couldn’t during the other seasons of the year.

Last Sunday our church commissioned youth to go to the Montreat Youth Conference and to the Leesburg Choir Camp.  They are there now, and they will have a full week of growth.  A recent survey of ministers revealed that fully 40% of them were influenced in their calls to Christian service at events such as these.  Please remain in prayer for Christ to transform our youth and their leaders… and in turn influence our faith and the spiritual life of our church as they return.

Wednesday night your Session held a Congregational Forum to report on and discuss recent actions of the General Assembly.  There were about 70 members in attendance… all who offered prayer and encouragement as we wrestle with being faithful in an age of change.  It was affirmed that what will not change is:

1.       The Lordship of Jesus Christ—he is Lord and head of the church … our one foundation.

2.       The Authority of Scripture as guide to the Christian life.  It’s through Scripture, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, that we know God in Christ and grow best.

3.       Belief in God, Father, Son, and Spirit as expressed in the Apostles Creed and other Creeds contained in the Book of Confessions.

4.       Belief that God is the judge not us, but we are to prayerfully seek to live righteous lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture.

5.       The fact that our church has the ability to determine the ways in which this church is used, who our officer’s are, and how we invest our human and financial resources in the ministry of God.

Flyers on the key actions of General Assembly are available at pcusa.org.  White sheets on the issues of marriage and divestment researched and written by our Clerk of Session, Jack Rowley, are available on the information table.  These are reliable guides to understand issues and to share with friends who may be misinformed by less reliable reporting.

Finally, thanks to the many who worked to make the Fourth of July a key outreach for Eastminster.  We were able to show hospitality and love to hundreds of people in the community through wonderful music by a 60 member choir led by Kyle Jones, a 40 member band led by Stacie Cleveland, and ice cream, water and use of restrooms provided by our church and generous individuals.  We also passed out newly created church brochures made by our Outreach Team to those in attendance.  Thanks to Steve and Anne Adams, Nancy Fowler, and Bill McCaslin for serving as leaders of large teams, and to Sexton Art Paddock and the rest of our staff for being patient and helpful through the many events this week. 

Great ministry church!

Tim

Electing Elders & Discovering Eastminster

May 18, 2014

Today the Session of our church has called a Congregational Meeting for the election of Ruling Elders to lead and govern our church.  In Presbyterian governance, our leaders are elected by the active members of the congregation. 

Presbyterians have a Constitution that has two parts. Part I is the Book of Confessions.  It illuminates what we believe, while making clear that the Bible is the chief authority for faith and life.  Part II is The Book of Order. The Book of Order outlines our governance.  This is what it says about ruling elders:

As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in discernment of God’s Spirit and governance of God’s people. Accordingly, congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they “lord it over” the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with teaching elders (pastors), exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session.

The Nominating Committee (which is elected by the congregation) will place into nomination five persons to be elected as elders, one for a two year term and four for three year terms. All active members of our congregation will be allowed to discuss and vote to elect elders.  Pray for the Holy Spirit not only in the election, but also in the service of our elders… and all of us(!) as we seek to be a faithful church that pleases God by what it does and says.

Please note that EPC will hold a “Discover Eastminster Day” from 8:45 a.m. until noon on June 8.  This will be a time to meet our elders and to learn more about Presbyterian churches and specifically about the life and ministry of Eastminster.  It is open to all persons— non-members and members.  Non members will have an option of joining Eastminster at the conclusion of Discover Eastminster. You may sign up by tearing off the form in the announcements and placing it in the offering plate or submitting it to the church office.  I hope to see you there!

 

 

A Mother's Perspective

Today’s ‘Tim’s Tidings’ is a humorous but poignant blog by Jennifer Koppelman Hutt.  It gives a Mother’s perspective of parenting, motherhood, and the passing of generations.  Thank you God for good Mothers!

I'm not sure when it happened for the first time, but lately, I'd say two mornings a week and some evenings, too, I announce to my teenage son and preteen daughter, "I quit!"

I'm not referring to my employment... Oh no, I love that! I am referring to being their mother, which I also love. But some days, weeks, nights and months they make me crazy and make me want to run away to ANYWHERE!

And I know I'm not alone in this feeling. In fact, earlier today, my sister called and suggested we run away for Mother's Day (she's got three teenagers)!

We love our babies. A lot. Both my sister and I would shrivel up and die were the unthinkable to happen. Bleh. I'm nauseated just by that last sentence.

But no one can rile us up more than our kids. No one can bring us to the brink of rage and right back to love like our kids.

No one can make us want to pull both our hair out and theirs like our kids.

And isn't this the great omission of mommyhood?! Mixed with that incredible joy, laughter and undying love can also exist intense anger and intolerance. Oh and crippling anxiety over the well-being of the babies. Though they slept through the night at the end of year one, I didn't sleep through the night until my kids were 10 and 12!

And that adage "You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child..." is so true -- but compound that by adding "and you'll be blaming yourself for any discomfort that child is having..."

My sister can suggest we run away for a day. And I can talk her off the ledge while she does the same for me because our mother isn't here anymore. She died almost four years ago, and Mother's Day has an entirely different meaning and feeling for us now.

When we lose our mother, we lose our anchor, our judge, our jury, our best friend, our mentor, our mommy. And certain days, like her birthday and Mother's Day, highlight that absence just a little too much for me to bear.

Still, we will embrace Mother's Day as we should -- for our children. I've let them know in advance I'd like cupcakes and a new iPod with a speaker dock. Oh, and I'd like no fighting, no screaming, early bedtime and no complaints.

At least I'm guaranteed to get an iPod.

 

The Living Christ

I wish each and every one a blessed Easter!

If you have not been at Eastminster before… or have not been here for awhile… know that your presence is deeply appreciated!  Eastminster is in an “Easter Season” of its own—a time in which God is being experienced afresh and leading the church in exciting directions. 

So relax and enjoy worshipping God today.  Let the music and the Word, the sights, sounds and smells, bring you close to God, who loves you dearly and gave his Son that you might have Life.  Lift up prayers as we worship.  Praise God.  Thank God.  Ask God for help and guidance.  Give God your burdens.  Release your prayers and feel relief as the blessings flow.

My prayer this Easter is that we focus on the living Christ rather than the empty tomb.  May we proclaim Christ crucified and raised and alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.  May we live in assurance of Jesus’ promise:  “Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  May God’s Holy Spirit—God with us now-- roll the stone away from those “dark places” in our hearts and lives where hurts, wrongs, unforgiven sins, and resentments dwell.  May we surrender into loving, saving arms and come away stronger for having worshipped this day!

Welcome to worship.  I hope that this is an exciting day of a renewed spiritual journey for you and for Eastminster.  I’d love to get to know you and hear your story, so feel free to contact me or one of the other pastors as you desire.  God puts us together for a reason… let’s explore together.

Blessings,
Pastor Tim

321-608-8081
tmartin@epcfl.org

 

When the Going Gets Tough...

April 13, 2014 

Today is Palm Sunday… the day that Jesus triumphantly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey… he showed majesty and humility that day.  The crowds loved it.  They lined the streets.  They threw down their cloaks.  They waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Then they fell away when the going got tough.

That’s a shame… and most mature Christians know why.  Most mature Christians know that it’s those “tough times” that make life meaningful in the end.  It’s the times we are stretched and nearly broken, bruised by life yet not beaten that give us character and substance.  Nearly no one wants to go through such times … but many make it to the other side and say, “I came away stronger!”

That’s my hope for us as a church and especially for our children and youth.  That, as the tough times come, we stand strong in Christ together.  That we support one another when we face the storms and stresses of the world.  That we encourage one another across the age groups.  That the senior members of our congregation in years, faith and life experiences look back and offer a hand up to the emerging generations.

Saturday our youth group, Eastminster Power and Light, kicked off a new season of ministry under the leadership of Julie Rogers-Martin and a dedicated group of advisors.  They will form a close Christian community within our embrace.

Following the Sunday 10 a.m. worship, the Youth Room will be dedicated to God’s glory and in the hope that our kids come through the tough times of life stronger and resilient in their faith.  In your worship guides today are colored cards where you may write your hopes and prayers for our youth.  Those who are able are asked to come to the Youth Room on the second floor of the Christian Ministry Center for a brief service of blessing following worship. There is an elevator just inside the door of the Center.  Those that are not able to come may leave your “Hopes and Prayers” cards in baskets as you leave.

As we journey through this week with Christ, let’s hang tough with him… remembering the suffering he endured as we gather together on Maundy Thursday (April 17) for music by harpist Angie Beemis at 6:30 p.m.  and a Service of Darkness at 7:00 p.m. … and as we gather for an Easter Vigil at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday April, 19 the night before Easter.  May these be the times of seasoning!

And may we celebrate the Light… Easter Day at 6:30 a.m. sunrise, 8:15 and 10:00 a.m.…. and even today as we kick off a new season of ministry with children and youth.  May our youth prove to be as resilient and strong as the adults who guide this church through times of challenge and joy.

Blessings,