I Wonder

This summer, Pastor Jay and I have been offering Children's Sermons on the spot with the Bag of Wonders! At the 9 a.m. service at Far Hills Campus and the 10:30 a.m. service at the Austin Campus, a child of the congregation is given the bag at the end of each week's Children's Sermon. That child gets to pick some things from home and is asked to bring it back the following Sunday. It has been a fun activity, and I have heard from members of the congregation that they look forward to seeing what is in the bag each week. Believe me, Pastor Jay and I do, too!

This past week at the Far Hills campus, I invited the children forward for a message and the Bag of Wonders! The kids came up, but the bag did not! The bag was nowhere to be found! I wondered where the Bag of Wonders might be. I later did find out where the bag ended up (more about that further down in the blog). So I had to come up with a message without an item. Quick thinking is key when it comes to this - what might I talk about? How about Jesus! (Good answer, Pastor.)  I said to the kids something to this effect:

"So do you remember the story of Easter? On that first Easter Sunday, the women, Mary Magdalene and the others made their way to the tomb. They had to wait until the Sabbath was over because you do no work on the Sabbath, so they came to prepare the body for burial. So when they went to the tomb, they expected to find something there, but it was missing. What were they expecting to find in the tomb?"

A little girl said, "THE BAG OF WONDERS!"

What a great answer! I felt sorry for her when we all laughed, and I did tell her that maybe that would have been a good place to look. But what they were looking for was Jesus. And then we talked about the good news that Jesus rose from the dead. We talked about how much God loves us, and that the promise God gives us is that we are never missing. God knows who we are, where we are. And God loves us no matter what.

The empty tomb is a wonder, isn't it? What a gift of life given for you and for me. In some ways I am glad the bag didn't show up. It helped us remember that sometimes things NOT there are good or even better than things that are!

So, what happened to the Bag of Wonders? It showed up at the Austin Campus. Imagine Pastor Jay's surprise when he had TWO bags with items for a Children's Sermon. It could have been like Monty Hall and "Let's Make A Deal" - "Do you want the item in this bag, or would you like to try your luck with the bag Carol Merrill is holding?" If you don't understand, ask your parents! What I believe is pretty cool is that the family that had received the bag at the Far Hills Campus on one week were at worship at the Austin Campus the following week. I am excited to see people feel like both places are places of worship that feel like home to them. We see that more and more.

To top off the day, we celebrated Marilynn's baptism. Any day we do a baptism is a great day! Marilynn's big brother, James was baptized a couple years ago. He is a boy with energy, and through his sister's baptism, he kept waving to us from his regulated spot in the pews with Grandma and Grandpa. Later in the service, I stood in the pulpit and started the Gospel reading, "The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 7th chapter." From the back of the church, James exclaimed in a loud voice, "Yay!" Amen to that. I couldn't help but respond with a "Yay!" myself. Better than a rote "Thanks be to God," James' exclamation said it all.

Sometimes things don't go the way we expect, but sometimes it is in the interruptions and unexpected events and interactions that we meet God, and messengers of God!  Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Angels are messengers of God, yes? I think I may have encountered a couple this past Sunday... you never know.  I wonder...

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

Natalie Rose Pearce

Natalie Rose Pearce was born on August 1, 2015 at 9:04 am. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 15.9 ounces (the doctor said let's just call it 7 pounds) and 19 inches long. She is beautiful! I am terribly biased being Natalie is our first grandchild, and we are loving every minute of it. Some rambling thoughts for you today.

Over the past few months, I have been told by many grandparents that there is nothing quite like being a grandparent. The love and joy you experience is beyond belief. I could not agree with them more. All of the joys of a newborn without all the responsibilities of parenthood are wrapped up in this bundle of joy.

My wife shared with my daughter about a week before Natalie was born these words: "You will finally understand how much I love you when you hold your own child in your arms." When we pray, Jesus tells us to begin by saying the words, "Abba, Father."  Daddy. We are held in the arms of our Father, and the love God has for us is of that of a loving parent.

The miracle of birth and the gift of life are amazing and powerful. How can one not believe in God the creator when one holds a newborn and counts the fingers and toes, sees the arms stretch and hear the voice cry. What an incredible gift. What an amazing miracle. And yet, it happens thousands of times each and every day. In fact, in the hospital Natalie was born, they have about 500 births a month!

I give thanks to God for the gifts of so many at the hospital who were at Natalie's side, and there with her parents throughout the birth and days that followed. I give thanks for the opportunity to be there too. God is good.

Here is a slideshow I put together of her first week.

Music - "Perfect Day" by Holley Maher and "Baby Mine" by Alison Krauss




Natalie Rose Pearce Week 1 from Charlie Woodward on Vimeo.


Peace,
Pastor Charlie