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This past May, Harriette Thompson ran the San Diego "Rock N Roll' Marathon. The thing is, she happens to be 92 years old!!! Check out this clip from her crossing the finish line. I can't imagine running a marathon - let alone running it at the age of 92! She didn't even look tired at the end of it! This Sunday, August 2nd, we'll be looking at a familiar and well-loved passage from Philippians in which Paul uses the metaphor of running a race to talk about striving to become all that Jesus saved us to be. One hundred percent of our focus should be on the goal. The problem that most of us struggle with at one time or another is that we get distracted or lose motivation to keep running. We get down on ourselves for our failures or spend too much time celebrating our victories that we fail to remember that the race isn't over yet. A marathon is a good picture of our journey following Jesus. It's continuing for the long haul until we someday cross the finish line either when we enter God's presence at the end of this life or Christ returns. Until that day, let's follow Harriette's example and keep on running! I hope I'll see you this Sunday! Communion and the Good Samaritan FundThis Sunday we will celebrate the Lord's Supper. We will also be receiving a special offering following our worship that will resupply our Good Samaritan Fund. This account is used to assist people within our congregation and in the community who find themselves in financial need. Gene Westlund, Keith Larson and I oversee this fund and make decisions how the money is used. We have helped to pay power bills, car repairs, purchase groceries, and various other things. It is a joy to share Jesus' love with people in very tangible and practical ways and we trust that the Holy Spirit has used this assistance to open their hearts to His love for them. Many of the people who have received help have given money back into the fund when they've been able so that others may also be helped.
If you would like to contribute specifically to the Good Samaritan Fund, look for the basket in the Fellowship Hall following worship. You can also send or drop off your contribution at the church. In the early 1980's there was a silly TV show called "The Greatest American Hero". The premise was that an average guy put on a special suit which gave him superhuman abilities. Some of you may remember it, although it's biggest influence was it's very catchy theme song ("Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air..."). We're all born with a desire to look up to heroes - whether they're pop culture personalities (athletes, musicians, celebrities) or people who have made great contributions to the world. For many of us, our heroes have been family members or other people who have made a personal impact on our lives. Beyond our tendency to look up to our heroes, we also have a desire to be like them. Gatorade had an entire advertising campaign built around the desire to be as good a basketball player as Michael Jordan ("I wanna be like Mike"). There's nothing wrong with this type of thing as long as your hero is someone worth emulating. That's the issue: are we looking up to and seeking to model ourselves on the right people? This Sunday, July 12, we'll be taking a look at two people Paul holds up in honor in his letter to his friends in Philippi: Timothy and Epaphroditus. Take a minute to read Philippians 2:19-30 and what it was about these people that made them worth treating as heroes. I hope you'll be able to join us.  This week is CHIC 2015 and our teens will be joining 5000 others from around North America (and beyond) in Knoxville, TN. Remember to pray for Tim and the group as they travel on Saturday and have a life-impacting experience at this triennial high school event. If you're interested, you can watch a live stream of the evening sessions (or recordings of them) by going to the CHIC website.  |
Pastor JeffThoughts about living as a Jesus follower and life at Community Covenant Church Archives
December 2020
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