Johnny: "Do you think people can predict the future with cards?" Throughout history there has always been interest in what the future holds. Some have come to believe that the stars or cards or even fortune cookies will give us a peek into what might be coming around the corner. Sometimes things actually do happen in line with what your horoscope might have said, but that's nothing but a coincidence. Is there any way we can know what the future holds? Scripture is significantly full of prophecies which have been fulfilled and those still yet to come to fruition. While God rarely provides a heads up as to what investment to make or other specific things in our lives, He does have plenty to say about the future of this world and humanity. The fact that God is in control of the future is a great deal of comfort when we look at the news reports. As the saying goes, "we don't know what our future holds, but we know who holds the future". This Sunday, June 28th, Don Wallis will be continuing his sermon series on prophecy (future sermons in this series will be shared on July 19th and August 23rd). I hope you'll be able to join us -- the swamp cooler and fans will be going strong on this hot weekend! Go ahead and nap on your own...My great idea about participating in the Twisp 4th of July parade next week got the cart before the horse. We won't be doing it this year, but I'm still committed for us to find ways to actively participate in our community - specifically in community sponsored events. Please consider ways we might do that in order to bring the light of Christ into the neighborhood! For you long-time Covenanters... I grew up going to Family Camp every July at Covenant Beach, our church camp in Des Moines. Almost 30 years ago our conference sold that camp (and Circle C Ranch in Leavenworth) in order to purchase the property where Cascades Camp now stands. However, Covenant Beach is an historic district and Des Moines as converted the property into a park and just restored the old dining hall. If you have a connection to the camp and happen to be on the Westside next week, you may want to be a part of this event and reunion of those who were impacted by the ministry of this wonderful camp.
If you come over to our home, you may notice a small Santa-like character wedged between the curtain rod and the ceiling in our living room. To be honest, we simply missed it when we were taking down the Christmas decorations about a year and a half ago, but I find it kind of fun to keep it up (and Tami doesn't mind, either). Some of you may be familiar with a children's book and accompanying stuffed doll by the name of "Elf on the Shelf". Maybe your family even has one. The basic storyline is that Santa is monitoring the behavior of the children by way of these elves who return to the North Pole to report to him each night after the children go to bed. Each day the elf finds a new place to view the children being either naughty or nice. Families who have taken up this tradition play a kind of hide-and-seek game each day looking for the little guy. While putting an elf up on the shelf may be limited to the Christmas season (unless you're a Palmberg), we are called year-round to put our self on the shelf. What I mean is that God calls us to take our natural tendency to be self-centered and put that aside in favor of becoming more self-less in our relationship with others. However, that's a whole lot more easily said than done! We are constantly driven to "look out for #1" whether it means grabbing the last slice of pie for ourselves, relentlessly arguing our position on some topic, or jockeying our way into the place of honor or power. The only way to effectively reject this selfishness and live in the freedom and joy of a selfless life is through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I hope you'll be able to join us this Sunday, July 21st, as we look at Philippians 2:1-11. COMMUNITY Covenant ChurchLast December our church put together a fun evening of comedy and Christmas music for our community that we called "A Cool Yuletide". The purpose was simply to provide a fun event and make connections with people who might be reluctant to walk into the church building on a Sunday morning. Through this program, we let people know that we care about Twisp and like to have fun. It was completely what you might call "relationship building". I've been thinking about ways we can continue to do this without all of the effort and expense of creating an event from scratch. What are things that are already going on that we could join? How can we find ways to move out beyond the walls of our building and be in our community? In a few weeks there will be a charming little 4th of July parade going down Glover Street. I want a group from our church to participate in the parade with the goals of
So, Tami and I are putting together the "Community Covenant Church Synchronized Napping Brigade". That's right: we're going to be marching -- and napping -- our way down Glover Street. It will be silly, funny, and definitely memorable! So we're looking to recruit all of you willing to be a little silly for the cause. Let me know that you're ready to join the Brigade! We'll have one dessert/practice at the church on Tuesday, June 30th, at 7:00 pm. Then we'll muster at Twisp Works at 10:00 AM on Saturday, July 4th for the 11:00 AM parade. It should be a hoot! Annual Agros 4th of July Fund RaiserWhen: Saturday, July 4th Music begins at 4:30, potluck dinner at 6:00
Where: The White House - Lookout Mt. Road Why: Raise money for Agros (to learn more about this ministry check out www.agros.org Questions? Call Bill or Suellen at 997-3252 I can't begin to count how many times I've had a plan that I was convinced was the best way to go... and it either didn't work out as I envisioned it or something else happened instead. And, in many instances, the thing that happened turned out to be much better than my original plan. As a Jesus-follower, I believe that God has a plan and that he can still accomplish what he wants to accomplish even when he doesn't follow my plans (imagine that!). I've come to realize that I don't always know what the best plan is. One of the reasons for this is that I have a limited point of view. Richard Wiseman created a video that points out how our limited point of view can cause us to reach incorrect conclusions. Take a look: This Sunday, June 7th, we'll be taking a look at how the Apostle Paul had to deal with his own plans falling through. How did he respond? He rejoiced. WHAT?! How could he do that? Join us and we'll talk about it. You may find that following Paul's example will help you when your own plans don't work out the way you'd like them to.
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Pastor JeffThoughts about living as a Jesus follower and life at Community Covenant Church Archives
December 2020
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