HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-07-23, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015. PAGE 13.
By Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Blyth Christian Reformed
Church
Most years, members of our
church youth group commit a week
of their summer to go on what we
call a “Serve” trip. This year was no
exception, and I had the privilege of
travelling with 15 youth and two
other leaders to Washington D.C.
There we spent a good part of our
days becoming acquainted with the
homeless people who live in the city
and we spent a little time working
with the various missions and
ministries who dedicate themselves
to providing food, housing,
counselling and support for those
who live in the streets.
I’m not sure if what we did as a
team made much of an impact on the
D.C. homeless community, but I do
know that I, along with the rest of
the group who travelled there, had
our eyes opened to the needs of
others. Perhaps the change in us was
as important as the work we did.
As part of our experience, we
spent time reflecting on what God
calls us to do with our lives. The
speaker for the week, Joe Skillen, a
pastor out of Atlanta, encouraged us
to think beyond the one week we
gave this summer to the other 51
weeks of the year. In his three talks,
he challenged us in a few ways:
First, God calls us to care for each
other, not just in a distant city for
one week every year but, rather, he
calls us to care for each other every
week of the year, particularly in the
place where we live. While Blyth
may not have a homeless problem on
the scale that we saw in D.C., there
are many people in our community
who struggle with such things as
loneliness, finding purpose, finances
or illness. God calls us to love our
neighbours as ourselves, and to do
that we must also have our eyes open
to the needs of those around us.
I suspect that before our team
arrived in D.C., we would not have
noticed the number of homeless
people who spend their days and
nights in the parks. After becoming
aware of them and having
conversations with a number of
homeless people, when we did
become tourists for a day, we could
not help but feel compassion for
those who have greater needs than
we. A service trip such as the one we
experienced as a youth group helps
refocus our eyes, but to truly serve,
we must have our eyes open the
other 51 weeks.
The second message we received
was this: we worship God for one
hour every week, but there are 167
other hours in a week. For many of
us, an hour of worship every week is
an important part of our lives. We
gather with people who think and
believe like us, and we praise God
for what he has done for us in Jesus
Christ. Our attention is turned
toward him. But, as our speaker, Joe,
pointed out, keeping God in focus
does not always happen for the
remainder of the week. Far too often,
he noted, we allow other things to
become objects of our worship. We
can identify those things by
analyzing what shapes us as we give
our time to it.
Worshipping God is meant to
shape us so that we not only see the
world from his vantage point but so
that we also do what he wants done.
In other words, the one hour of
worship we commit ourselves to on
Sunday is meant to show us what
God thinks is worthy of our time and
energy. We are called to engage in
what God wants done and not allow
ourselves to be shaped by what
others might tell us is important.
The third message was designed to
have us consider that God cares for
others too. I am one of 7.135 billion
people who inhabit this planet. I am
important to God, but so is everyone
else. While walking on the Mall in
D.C., I happened to notice a man
with a t-shirt emblazoned with these
words: “Jesus love you, but I’m his
favourite.” It was meant to be
humorous, no doubt, but it isn’t true.
I couldn’t wear that shirt because I
am not Jesus’ favourite. We are all
loved by God equally. And that
means that we are called to consider
others as important, even if they are
homeless, and even if they made
some bad mistakes.
All the youth who went to D.C.
are in their teens. They are in a time
of transition from becoming
egocentric to others-centred. Little
children, by nature, are egocentric.
That simply means that they see the
world as rotating around them. As
we grow older, we are supposed to
be able to see things differently by
seeing things from the perspective of
others. Sadly, our culture does very
little to encourage transition, and,
thus, many adults remain as
egocentric as a five-year-old child.
Of course, all of us revert back to
this childish behaviour from time to
time, but we should have moved
beyond that throughout our teen
years.
I am just one of 7.135 billion
people, and I know that as God loves
me, he loves them as well. And that
means that I am compelled to love
them too. This is one of the basic
tenets of Christianity. In fact,
Scripture teaches that we should go
beyond just becoming others-
centred. Like Jesus, we are called to
give our lives for others, especially
when they have needs. We don’t
always practise the self-sacrificing
love of Jesus, but that does not mean
it is not a basic principle in the
Christian faith. Of the 7.135 billion
people on this earth, all are
important to God. They should be
important to us as well.
We may not have made a
measurable difference in the
homeless problem in Washington
D.C. The need is great. But I don’t
doubt we made a small difference in
the lives of a few. We were in D.C.
for only one week, but we live in the
Blyth area for the rest of the year. If
we allow ourselves to be shaped by
what God desires and is doing, and if
we remember that he loves others as
much as he loves us, we have the
opportunity to make a bigger
difference. God has given us our
lives to live as a gift. What we do
with our lives is our gift to Him.
COME AS YOU ARE
(WE DON’T MIND THE HAIR)
HURON CHAPEL Every Sunday in Auburn @ 10:30AM
huronchapel.com
COME AS YCOME AS YOAS YYOOU AREOU ARE
HURON Ever CHAPELL Aury Sunday in uburn @ 10:30AAM
huronchapel.comhuronchapel.com
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
All are invited to join us for the Community Outdoor Service
at the Blyth Lions Park at 10 am on Sunday, July 26th.
Please bring lawn chairs. A potluck lunch follows.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, July 26
Brussels Business & Cultural Centre
at 10:30 a.m. and at various homes
at 6:30 p.m. from July 5 to Sept. 6
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
BRUSSELS
Brussels United Church
invites you to worship at
Melville Presbyterian Church at 10:00 am
or Blyth United Church at 10:00 am for the month of July.
United Church
Minister: Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M.Div.
Bulletin notices: 519-523-4224
blythunited@tcc.on.ca
Church bookings: 519-887-6377
Other concerns: 226-963-1175
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
Sunday, July 26 ~ Community service at Lions Park
10 am celebrating a successful VBS
Sunday, August 2
Guest Speaker: Susan Barnett
Worship Service & Sunday School at 10 a.m.
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.
Children
Welcome
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, JULY 26
Nursery care available
519-887-9017
Worship & Sunday School - 10 am
Coffee & Snacks - 11 am
We invite you to join our church family in:
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
getlivingwater.org
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Sunday, July 26
Evangelical Missionary Church
10:00 a.m.
Inter-church Post-VBS
Community Outdoor Service
at the Lions Park
Pastor Gary Clark preaching
Potluck to follow!
From the Minister’s Study
God gave you life, now give back with it
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