A much loved member of our church was going to assist us last week with our monthly worship service at the Fox Den Retirement Home in Sandown when she slipped and fell. The result was that rather than worshiping with us, she ended up in the emergency room of a local hospital. As I prayed for her, I realized that I seem to be slipping and falling more recently myself. In my case, maybe it’s a result of my age or perhaps I’m just not paying attention to where I’m going, or trying to do too many things at one time. When I applied that metaphor to my life, I was reminded of the words of psalmist who said: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” and reminded me that without a daily commitment to God’s Word I’m going to be slipping and falling through life, making the same mistakes over and over and never really become the person that Christ wants me to be. Great lesson to stay in the word for all of us. If you’re in the word – don’t let anything distract you. If you’re not, a great place to start is with the Gospel of John. It will change your life and help you from slipping and falling. Just saying!
Our first core value at St. Matthews is everyone needs Jesus! One of the powerful ways that we share the Gospel is through our missional outreach. We have a team returning to My Little Lambs orphanage in Honduras this week. The team will be spending time with the kids, building relationships in the community and sharing the love of Christ. Please keep Pastors Rachel, Jon and the team in your prayers. If you would like to help financially support one of the orphans, contact Pastor Rachel or Pastor Jon.
Final plans are in the works for our 8th Mission Trip to the Gulf Coast February 25-March 4. This year we will be helping to rebuild Wilderness Ridge Camp at Forest Glen – Springs, a Christ-centered wilderness experience for young folks and families. Led by Rick McCully, we have an amazing team of 32 men, women and youth. Folks often ask, how can “we help?” Here are some thoughts:
- Join us! While the mission trip is sold out at the moment, historically at the last minute conflicts arise from team members and we’re usually scrambling to find a replacement or two. On faith we purchased 25 non-refundable airline tickets which means that if they are not used we forfeit the ticket. Let me know if you’d like to be on the waiting list or want more information.
- Pray! The most important thing you can do for the team is to keep them in prayer. They work long, hard days, always going above beyond. Thankfully we’ve never had a serious incident which we firmly believe is an answer to prayer. Like the Apostle Paul said, “pray without ceasing!”
- Ride to the Airport. We're leaving EARLY on Saturday, February 25 from St. Matts to Logan Airport. If you can help transport the team and luggage that would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know and I'll get you all the details. Since our return is late on March 4th, we've arranged for a bus to pick us up.
- Financial support. Team members pay their own way including airfare, food and their personal expenses. Presently there are one or two that could use a little financial help. Any money left from the trip is donated to projects at the camp or goes back to the Mission’s Fund for the next project. If you would like to support the team, please make a check out to St. Matthews with “Texas Mission Trip” in the memo line.
This week we will conclude our current sermon series Reboot with some important insights that we can apply to our lives to make 2017 the best year ever. Join us!
See you Sunday,
Pastor Frank