Live Worship Services with some COVID-19 precautions in place
Sundays at 11 AM.
September 19, "Faith Is the Metric"
First posted on February 28, 2021
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Re-run Season
We are currently giving our crew a break from producing videos. We will of course continue to have live services on Sunday mornings. Eighteen months of videos are available in our Video Archive. For now, we will feature one of these re-runs on our home page. If there was a Sunday service you particularly liked or one you were sorry you missed you can find it in the Archive. Newsletters and the letter "To the Church Family" will continue every week.
To the Church Family
20-20 FAITH VISION
September 19, 2021
By John Wiederholt
As followers of Jesus, we can’t always take things at face value. Sometimes we have to let the Lord give us a new perspective, a new point of view. Sometimes we have to try to see beneath the surface. Sometimes we have to look at the people and situations around us more deeply with the eyes of faith.
All of this comes to mind because Pat Koger made me a card last week. She said it was in response to one of my sermons, but it seemed to me that she was, in her own way, preaching a little sermon of her own.
We all know how Pat takes materials that she has found somewhere and applies card making magic to produce a little work of art. In this case, she took a picture of one of those machines that the eye doctor uses to determine your prescription. (She said it is a little blurry because her eyes were dilated.) Captions and typesetting and little objects from who knows where came together to create this card and I wanted everyone to see it.
20-20 FAITH VISION
September 19, 2021
By John Wiederholt
As followers of Jesus, we can’t always take things at face value. Sometimes we have to let the Lord give us a new perspective, a new point of view. Sometimes we have to try to see beneath the surface. Sometimes we have to look at the people and situations around us more deeply with the eyes of faith.
All of this comes to mind because Pat Koger made me a card last week. She said it was in response to one of my sermons, but it seemed to me that she was, in her own way, preaching a little sermon of her own.
We all know how Pat takes materials that she has found somewhere and applies card making magic to produce a little work of art. In this case, she took a picture of one of those machines that the eye doctor uses to determine your prescription. (She said it is a little blurry because her eyes were dilated.) Captions and typesetting and little objects from who knows where came together to create this card and I wanted everyone to see it.
As I said at the beginning, following Jesus gives us a whole new point of view. We see things differently in the light of his love. The eyes-of-faith eye chart on the card really emphasized the way we see things differently. How clearly do you see with your eyes of faith? Do you see the big print, the overview, the “God so loved the world” part? Good! Do you see the lines in the middle of the chart, where we see the real good in people and their potential to be better than they are and where we see the pain they feel and the needs they struggle with and where we are all oppressed by sin both our own and others? Great! Can you get to the bottom line, the fine print about how God is calling you to serve in this moment and as you go forward in life? Splendid. Heavenly!
There’s something else about seeing with the eyes of faith. Our physical vision doesn’t necessarily improve with age. We don’t generally see better with our physical eyes as we get older even though lenses and treatments may improve our sight for a while. Our faith vision, however, can and should get clearer and clearer as we follow the Lord and live in His light.
I don’t have my annual eye exam for several more months, but this card reminds me that I should always be examining my ability to see with the eyes of faith. I want my faith vision to be 20-20.
John
There’s something else about seeing with the eyes of faith. Our physical vision doesn’t necessarily improve with age. We don’t generally see better with our physical eyes as we get older even though lenses and treatments may improve our sight for a while. Our faith vision, however, can and should get clearer and clearer as we follow the Lord and live in His light.
I don’t have my annual eye exam for several more months, but this card reminds me that I should always be examining my ability to see with the eyes of faith. I want my faith vision to be 20-20.
John
A letter from our partners at Grace Network, Martinsville/Henry County
Resources for Helping those Suffering Food Insecurity
Grace Network
City of Martinsville-Healthy Food Hub
Food Insecurity in Henry County
Many Hands Giving Food in Henry County
PCUSA – Hunger action Congregations
Worship on Request
We are striving to create a worship environment that reminds us, as much as possible of the joy we feel when we can have church together. If you are on our mailing list, you received the order of service included in the newsletter which was emailed to you or, if you don't have email, sent to you by regular mail. We invite you to follow along in the service. You can say the prayer of confession with us, pray the Lord's Prayer together with us and affirm our mutual faith by saying the Apostles Creed. Where the internet fails to fully connect us, the Holy Spirit is able to bind us together.
If you are in contact with those who do not have internet access, a DVD of this service is available on request.
The Preacher this week is our Pastor, Rev. John Wiederholt. A graduate of Austin College and Princeton Theological Seminary, John has been our Pastor since 2002.
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