In the book of Revelation, John tells of time of great testing in which those who have been redeemed by Jesus will be put on trial and threatened with death. However, John admonishes his readers to overcome by bolding placing hope in the Lamb of God and by staying true to gospel by proclaiming Christ.

The early church spread like a wildfire throughout the Roman Empire. The multitude of unnamed christians, most of which were slaves, women, or people of the lower class, bore witness to God that loved them and gave himself for them. Their testimony wasn’t an articulation of reason or logic (though at times in church history this has been the case), but rather a willingness to proclaim Jesus through their actions and through their church. Rumors spread about this odd lot of people that loved their wives as equals and who cared for abandoned babies (Roman society practiced this to rid themselves of unwanted children- dropping babies in wells or leaving them out in the woods for wild animals to have). When people were sick, these christians aided them at the risk of their own lives.

Their witness preceded them everywhere they went, so that when persecution came, the bearing witness in these trials was only the natural outcome of a life of denying themselves, taking up their crosses and following Jesus. In fact the word “martyr” means “to bear witness.” As Tertulian, an early church leader, has said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Meaning that by the uncompromising dedication to Jesus, the outside world took notice and the church spread.

Perhaps we may never be put on trial for our faith or face death and persecution, but may our staunch dedication to Jesus and his way be our testimony to the world around us.

Announcements:

• Woody Work Day! This Saturday Chris Hale will be leading a group of volunteers to perform a few tasks in preparing The Woody Island Facilities for winter. If you would like to assist, the Even Stephen will be leaving from Near Island at 9 with plans of returning at 4.

• Fall Festival on October 31 from 3-5pm at KBM

  • we are looking for a few volunteers to facilitate the Fishing Game (the CBC booth for Fall Festival).

  • Use the Signup Genius link here to sign up for times

  • https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D44AAA62FA3FDCF8-66965797-fall

• Christmas Shoe Boxes along with instructions will be placed at the back of the church for anyone or group that is interested in filling a Christmas Shoebox for a child

• The Special Finds Jamboree Dinner is on Oct. 24th. Ticket prices are listed in the Flyer below.

• Community Art for November 21 is from 4-6. More Information will be provided as we approach that time

Weekly Church Schedule

• Sunday School has resumed

  • 9:45 for Children and Adults

• Worship at 11pm

• Prayer Posse at 12pm on Wednesdays

• Pastor Steven will be in his office from 8-4 (Monday -
  Thursday), unless I am meeting with a church member or a community member outside of the church building

• If the “Open” sign is on, I am in the office. Come on in to say hi and sit and talk for a while. I would love to see you

• If you need me for anything, you can call or text me at 972-921-2516

O God, who has made of one blood all nations to dwell on the face of the earth, and who has revealed your will for all people by your Son, the Prince of Peace: Give us charity, we pray, to regard all people as our brothers and sisters, and to share with them the heritage we have received from you. Deliver us from pride, prejudice, and arrogance. Put far from us all selfishness and malice, suspicion, enby, and anger, and the unrighteousness passions which make people to be enemies with one another. Turn all peoples to you, that, following your holy example and united in your service, they may become one family in you, and that your peace may possess every heart and run in all the nations of the world; through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord. Amen

____

Announcements:

• Community Art is this Saturday from 4-6pm

• Community Art for November 21 is from 4-6. More Information will be provided as we approach that time

• Fall Festival on October 31 from 3-5pm at KBM

• Christmas Shoe Boxes along with instructions will be placed at the back of the church for anyone or group that is interested in filling a Christmas Shoebox for a child

• The Special Finds Jamboree Dinner is on Oct. 24th. Ticket prices are listed in the Flyer below.

Weekly Church Schedule

• Sunday School has resumed

  • 9:45 for Children and Adults

• Worship at 11pm

• Prayer Posse at 12pm on Wednesdays

• Pastor Steven will be in his office from 8-4 (Monday -
  Thursday), unless I am meeting with a church member or a community member outside of the church building

• If the “Open” sign is on, I am in the office. Come on in to say hi and sit and talk for a while. I would love to see you

• If you need me for anything, you can call or text me at 972-921-2516

Isaiah 42:3

A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Isaiah 53:1-3

1. Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
³ He was despised and abandoned by men,
A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.

___

Two Sundays ago we were blessed by Jess Ray, her husband Kyle, and Taylor Leonhardt as they shared their love for the Lord through their musical talents.

During one of Taylor’s introductions, she spoke about her muse for the song being Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant: “a bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not put out (Isaiah 43:2).” She told of how her faith in singing praises, even (or especially) when faith is only an ember. The song spoke of this deep longing to worship when we go through a dark night of the soul of uncertainty, anxiety and fear. With these lyrics and musings, I began to ponder how this suffering in others is met with the sufferings of Christ.

The sufferings of Christ are front and center to Christian Theology. The death of Jesus, and the subsequent resurrection, are the atoning works of God in the world. The Nicene Creed places an emphasis on this reality as well by telling us that he “suffered under Pontius Pilot.” The apostle Paul tells the church in Philippi that he longs to know the power of Christ and his resurrection by coupling this power to fellowshipping with Christ in his sufferings (Philippians 3:10). What is often missed is the congruency of Christ’s sufferings and his passion. The early church understood that it was Christ’s compassion (pathos) for the world that brought him to and through the crucifixion. In fact, words for suffering (pathema or pathetos) are derived from the same root word for passion (pathos). The retelling of Christ’s crucifixion is even called ‘The Passion of Christ.’ The early church, likewise, linked the sufferings they endured to the passion to be like Christ and therefore linked their sufferings to the Passion of Christ (see Ignatius and Origen on the sufferings of the saints).

The question then is how does this understanding of suffering and passion help us understand patience, or more importantly the patience of Christ as he deals with broken reeds and smoldering wicks? Scripture tells us in many places to be patient with one another. The greek word used in explaining the type of patience necessary is understood by the imagery of “slow burning” or having a “long wick.” The Greek word used here is makrothumia. It is often translated as long suffering, but it has a broader connotation than that. Makrothumia is a compound word from two others: macro and thumia. Macro is a common word in the English language meaning large, big, or long. Thumia is a more broad word that deals with passion, or spiritedness, wrath, anger, or fire. In fact the word thumiama is used in Luke 1:10 and Revelation 5:8 to mean incense (the burning of a fragrance). With this background, it brings to light the idea that the word that we often translate as patience or long suffering, has a meaning that conveys a large or long duration of burning or dealing with compassion over an extended swath of time.

This type of patience is only possible when we realize that this ideal patience is other worldly, ie. outside of ourselves and how the world around us usually operates. This type of patience is of God, shown and given through Jesus Christ, enabled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

I can’t help but see the juxtaposition in these two phrases: a smoldering wick (linon tuphomenon) and long suffering (makrothumia). Christ sees the smoke being emitted by a dying ember, barely holding on with just enough spark to give off a few whips of smoke. But Christ meets that with his long suffering, his patient and deep compassion.

Christ has a deep passion within him to love us and bring us back to life, no matter the circumstances, no matter how beat down we feel, no matter how far we have traveled from him and his purpose for our lives. He meets it with patience- a smoldering wick he will not put out. And he meets it with his own large wealth of compassion to breathe new life into the dying and smoldering coals -slowly, patiently, breathing new life into his beautiful world and into us.

A dying fire, he will never extinguish, but will instead meet it with his own passionate love- a reservoir of love that will never run dry and will never cease to give love and compassion to the broken world, to those that are barely holding on. In this way, Jesus is the long suffering servant.

Announcements:

• This Saturday we will be having our CBC Work Day from 9-12

  • A list of projects has been provided (see below)

  • sandwiches will be served at 12

• We are planning another Community Art Night for November 21. More Information will be provided as we approach that time

• We will be partnering with Salvation Army, KBM, and other church organizations to provide a Fall Festival event. More information will be provided in the near future.

Weekly Church Schedule

• Sunday School has resumed

• Worship at 11pm

• Prayer Posse at 12pm on Wednesdays

• Pastor Steven will be in his office from 8-4 (Monday -
  Thursday), unless I am meeting with a church member or a community member outside of the church building

• If the “Open” sign is on, I am in the office. Come on in to say hi and sit and talk for a while. I would love to see you

• If you need me for anything, you can call or text me at 972-921-2516

Jerimiah Myers’ Celebration of Life Service will be this Saturday at 1pm in the Auditorium.

Who were the Hebrew prophets in their historical context? What was the vocation and expectation of these people? Why is the church still fascinated by their staunch positions of judgment and mercy? Want to dive in and find out? … Seriously!? Ok. Here we go…

It is helpful to understand that the prophets in Hebrew society as being split into two categories. The first category was the court prophets. These were the legally sanctioned prophets that were employed by the king to give guidance and conscience to the political leadership. Nathan, the prophet that confronted David with his murder of Uriah and his abuse in using his position of power to force himself upon Bathsheba– this Nathan was a court prophet that used his position within the court to speak the truth of YHWH. However as the history of Israel continued, both the political and spiritual leaders became increasingly corrupt, using the position of prophet to give holy credence to political and social norms. Because they were in the pocketbook of the king, these would-be spokes persons for YHWH were often solely loyal to the king and/or their own ambitions of power and wealth (Micah 3:5). They prophesied lies to the people concerning the will of God- using the name of God to justify the will of the kings and to fill their own appetites (Is. 9:15; Jer. 5:31). Instead of calling the people to repentance and faithfulness to the covenant, they spoke of peace between God and nation, assuring the people that God was on their side, but there was no peace in the mind of YHWH (Jer. 6:14). Instead of speaking the truth of the LORD, they spoke only what was appeasing and soothing– taking bribes to do so (Micah 2:11). These leaders were supposed to have given warning to the people and correct them when they were in the wrong. However, these court prophets cared only for selfish gain and political position, and therefore spoke only the words that showed loyalty to the king and their positions of power- forfeiting their loyalty and fidelity to YHWH.

The sins of the people could have been corrected, but the leaders did not act and speak faithfully and so forfeited their calling to be the ones that speak, “Thus saith the LORD.” Therefore the wound, as Jeremiah refers to the sin of the people, became inflamed with infection (Jer. 6:14).

The second category is a very loose group of people in which many did not hold a court appointed prophet title. These prophets broke with tradition and became spokespersons of the LORD to the general populations of Israel and Judah- constituting the corpus of the prophetic books (the prophets and the minor prophets) that we see in the Canon. The occupation of these prophets ranged from shepherds (Amos 1:1) to priests (Jer. 1:1; Ezek. 1:1) and almost everything inbetween. They spoke out against corruption (often to their detriment), called the nation to covenantal faithfulness, and told of the imminent destruction of the country as the natural consequence of their infidelity. They were rejected by their people, mocked and ridiculed (Amos 7:12-13, Jer. 43:2, Hosea 9:7), hated, and even killed (Matthew 23:37). Despite this, they were faithful to the calling of the LORD to be exposers of corruption, preachers of faithfulness, and foreboding voices of warning- destruction and exile.

These spiritual leaders spoke out against the injustice being done to the foreigners, the poor, the orphans, and the widows (Is. 1:23, 3:15, Jer. 2:34, 7:6, Ezek.18:12, 22:11, Amos 2:7). The people of Israel and Judah were taking advantage of the foreigners, paying them less than desirable wages, knowing that they could do this and get away with it. The foreigner, being alone in a foreign land, had no familial backing or legal representation to protect them (Ezekiel 22:7). The poor were having their houses and fields taken away from them to pay debts that were unjustly forced upon them by the judicial system (Micah 2:2). The merchants were selling their goods for much more than what they were worth (Amos 8:5-6), thus taking advantage of the poverty of the widows and orphans. Despite all these evils, the people had the audacity to go to the places of worship and provide the correct sacrifices and offerings (Is. 1:11; Amos 4:4-5), doing religious duties and singing praises to God all while they were destroying the poor in their midst. The people believed that because they were providing the correct sacrifices, saying the correct prayers, and singing the right worship songs, the LORD was appeased. However, the prophets emphatically disagreed. God did not desire these mere religious actions; God desired the people to act justly towards one another and show mercy (Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:23-25; Micah 6:8). The corruption of the nation permeated all corners of Hebrew society. The judges did not administer justice but were taking bribes (Micah 3:11; Amos 5:12; Isaiah 5:23). The priests were not teaching the law of the LORD, but were leading lives of promiscuity and became “yes men” to the kings of their day (Hosea 6:9; Micah 3:11; Jer. 2:8, Ezek. 22:26). The general public did not know the LORD or his mandates (Hosea 4:1,6) due to the corrupt nature of those that were tasked with teaching and showing them who the LORD was and what he desired. This is why Hosea would later say, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).”

People of faith today look upon these true prophets and understand that these were faithful voices crying out in the wilderness, who dared to be loyal to YHWH, declaring his decrees in the midst of chaos and corruption. While pseudo-prophets attracted massive crowds with their words of appeasement and greed, the true prophets chose faithfulness to YHWH over popularity and acceptance. We look upon these true prophets as courageous people of faith- using their story of faithfulness to ponder anew what the Almighty can do in our time. Being invigorated by these faithful witnesses to the truth, perhaps we too can be the people who live totally and unreservedly in obedience to YHWH, speaking out against corruption and infidelity to the LORD- doing this in spite of the costliness that is often coupled to prophetic witness. May we be brave enough to live out the prophetic call of the church– to be people that bear witness to Jesus and all that he has commanded. And God willing, we will do so.

_____________

Announcements:

• This Sunday at 7pm we will be hosting the Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt Concert

• please use the link provided to like, comment, and share this Free Concert with other. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1K22xWkBWf/

• We are planning another Community Art Night for November 21. More Information will be provided as we approach that time

• We will be partnering with Salvation Army, KBM, and other church organizations to provide a Fall Festival event. More information will be provided in the near future.

Weekly Church Schedule

• Sunday School has resumed

• Worship at 11pm

• Prayer Posse at 12pm on Wednesdays

• Pastor Steven will be in his office from 8-4 (Monday -
  Thursday), unless I am meeting with a church member or a community member outside of the church building

• If the “Open” sign is on, I am in the office. Come on in to say hi and sit and talk for a while. I would love to see you

• If you need me for anything, you can call or text me at 972-921-2516

During a time of great spiritual darkness due to wanton violence over religious ideals, Teressa of Avila did not succumb to the fear of death but instead called men and women to a life of peace and prayer. In the 1500’s, the Spanish Empire was becoming the richest nation in Europe. Sending ships of conquerors to the Americas, the Spanish found gold and silver in abundance as well as slaves. The violence these Conquistadors did to the inhabitants of the new world is unimaginable. But, at the same time, with the same veracity and unhindered bloodshed, the nations of Europe were at war with one another over protestant and catholic views of faith and governance. Nation fought nation for dominance and determination in being either a Catholic or Protestant kingdom. In the midst of such a tumultuous time, Teressa called her fellow Christians to a life of spiritual renewal, seeking to be transformed each day into the likeness of Christ.

Here is an excerpt from her piece, “Prayer, as Faith and Fervor for God Alone.” In this, you can see Teressa’s devotion to the one true King as she beckons others to follow her in complete surrender and allegiance to this King in the midst of such dark times.

______________________________________________________________________

It is quite clear that when a master teaches anything, he developed a love for his pupils so that what he teaches will inspire and delight the pupil. It is helpful also to pay attention to what is being taught. Our Heavenly Father acts toward us in a similar way.

Take notice, then, of the fears that men may represent to you, or of the dangers they put before you. Consider that these are not times when we should believe everybody, but only those who you see are walking conformable with the life of Christ.

Mental and vocal prayer belong together. If some tell you that you can recite the Lord’s Prayer and yet still think of the world, here I am sadly silent. For if you would conduct yourself before so great a Lord, it is proper to realize Whom you are addressing- if you would pay Him proper respect. For how can you address a king, and call him “your majesty,” or know the etiquette when addressing a noble, unless you are acquainted with his rank and dignity.

What, then, is this? O my Sovereign! How can it be tolerated? For you are my God, the Eternal King, Whose Kingdom is not a borrowed one! So I must meditate about the greatness of God, even as I pray silently to Him.

Announcements:

• Sunday School Starts this Sunday at 9:45am

• Children’s Church will also begin again this Sunday.

  • We are looking for people to help by joining in the rotation for children’s church

  • If you are interested, please reach out to Pastor Steven.

• This Sunday is Potluck! Bring a dish and an appetite.

• MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!! Sept. 20th starting at 7pm we will be hosting a FREE Concert. Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt are amazing musicians. Shout out to Leslie Fields for making this all possible. (See Flyer Below for more details.)

• Link to the CBC Calendar

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday School at 9:45am

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Children’s Church after Worship Singing (during the sermon)

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

This week, Wendell Berry, an influential writer and personal favorite of mine, went to be with the Lord. I was introduced to Wendell Berry’s work by my seminary professor of pastoral ministry during an extremely formative time in my life. My professor showed that the long, slow growth of creating healthy agrarian terrain, a favorite topic for Berry, ran parallel to the commitment necessary for spiritual growth and pastoral care.

I will forever be indebted to Berry’s wisdom and christian conviction. He taught a very unpopular ideal: to be people that work for the healing of the world, we must live fully and purposefully within our place. In a time when most people live transient, fast paced lives, constantly looking for the next place to live, to work, to get- he taught, through his writings, that the most influential thing you can do is to find a place- taking in all the pains and problems, joys and beauty of that place and to live fully within it. In this way, we become like the mustard seed that grew roots deep into the soil and become so large that it gave comfort to everything around it.

Here are a few of his words that I hope will encourage you:

For many years, my walks have taken me down an old fencerow in a wooded hollow on what was once my grandfather's farm. A battered galvanized bucket is hanging on a fence post near the head of the hollow, and I never go by it without stopping to look inside. For what is going on in that bucket is the most momentous thing I know, the greatest miracle that I have ever heard of: it is making earth. The old bucket has hung there through many autumns, and the leaves have fallen around it and some have fallen into it. Rain and snow have fallen into it, and the fallen leaves have held the moisture and so have rotted. Nuts have fallen into it, or been carried into it by squirrels; mice and squirrels have eaten the meat of the nuts and left the shells; they and other animals have left their droppings; insects have flown into the bucket and died and decayed; bird have scratched in it and left their droppings or perhaps a feather or two. This slow work of growth and death, gravity and decay, which is the chief work of the world, has by now produced in the bottom of the bucket several inches of black humus. I look into that bucket with fascination because I am a farmer of sorts and an artist of sorts, and I recognize there an artistry and a farming far superior to mine, or to that of any human. I have seen the same process at work on the tops of boulders in a forest, and it has been at work immemorially over most of the land surface of the world. All creatures die into it, and they live by it." (From his essay, What are People For?)

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
(From his poem Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front)

Announcements

• Sept. 5th from 10am-4pm will be our Woody Island Retreat

• Labor Day Picnic- Sept 7th from 11am-1pm

• MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!! Sept. 20th starting at 7pm we will be hosting a FREE Concert. Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt are amazing musicians. Shout out to Leslie Fields for making this all possible. Click here to read more about this band. (See Flyer Below for more details)

• Link to the CBC Calendar

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

Announcements:

• This Saturday is our Family Art Event. (See Flyer down below)

• Sept. 5th from 10am-4pm will be our Woody Island Retreat

• MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!! Sept. 20th starting at 7pm we will be hosting a FREE Concert. Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt are amazing musicians. Shout out to Leslie Fields for making this all possible. Click here to read more about this band. (See Flyer Below for more details)

  • We are looking for a few volunteers to handle merchandise for the band

  • Please contact me asap if you would like to help (972-921-2516)

• Link to the CBC Calendar

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org