Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

² Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.

³ There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice^[b] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵ which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

⁶ Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect,^[c]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;

⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;

⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules^[d] of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

¹³ Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Romans 1:20-23
²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

____________

The Psalmist begins with the declaration that the heavens, declares the glory of God. God is seen through the beauty, vastness, and diversity of the heavens - the sky, clouds, sun, moon, planets, solar systems, galaxies, black holes, the expansion of space itself. Here on our beautiful island we see first hand how God reveals his creativity and character through his created order- from the snow capped peaks to the intricacies of moss growth.

Many theologians through the years have called this type of revelation, General Revelation. This is the revelation that points to divinity, and in this way it awakens the divine image within us. With constant exposure, it causes the divine image latent within each of us to yearn for the divine.

Paul points out that with only general revelation, humans tend to worship created things rather than the God of all the universe. With the divine image within each of us, we have a longing for a relationship with God, but without the specific revelation, humanity worships other created things or even things that we have created. We do this, because there is this innate desire to worship and give praise. We were made for communion with the Divine. As Augustine said in his Confessions, “You have created us for yourself. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you, Oh God.”

Therefore, as the Psalmist and Paul in Romans point out, there is a need for a specific revelation, i.e. the revelation of who God is. The Psalmist points to the law, the Torah, to be the defining mandate. Here we see God’s character and judicial order revealed. Jesus later said, he came to fulfill the law, meaning that the full revelation and mandates of God are seen and learned through him.

The specific revelation of God is Jesus Christ. He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3)- the same image as God (Philippians 2:6). We see and experience Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit as it speaks to us through scripture. Scripture tells us that if we want to see God, how God rules, how God treats his enemies, how God seeks and saves the lost, how God shows compassion and endurance in commitment, we look at Jesus.

We cannot live the type of life God has in store for his people if we do the Christian life in isolation. Christianity was never meant to be a personal, sequestered belief lived merely in the private confined parameters of personal life. Stanley Hauerwas jokingly personifies this type of theology by saying, “Jesus is Lord and Savior, but that is just my personal opinion.” If Jesus is Lord, he is not just my Lord, but Lord of all creation- the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them. This means that all things under heaven and earth fall under his authority, including (and perhaps most importantly) the communal life of the church. The church, as it interprets scripture in community and seeks to live out this Word in community, together shares the image of Jesus. We need each other in order to share the full image of Christ, the specific revelation of God, to the world. When we read scripture or seek to live out the christian life in isolation, we read with our own set of spectacles, our lens of understanding the world. We interpret and live out the word through our lens of culture, education, experiences, etc. This, when done without the body of believers, (at best) gives only a sliver of the vastness and wholeness of Christ. At worst, it creates a false identity of God that is formed in our own likeness (since we become the only one that listens and defines the will of God). Isolation of faith (without a community of believers) often creates a false deity that resembles the individual, i.e. the deity loves and hates the same things that the individual loves or hates.

Therefore, we need each other to share our own spectacles (experiences, culture, etc.) so that together we may grow and build each other up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16)- to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). A community of faith is not optional; it is essential. We need each other.

Announcements:

• Potluck this Sunday after Service

• No Sunday School classes (youth and adult) until September

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• Pastor Steven will be visiting family in Texas from June 22- July 8 (if you need, me call or text - 972-921-2516)

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

²³ I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴ I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.

²⁵ I looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.

²⁶ I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah laments the lack of relationship the people have with the Lord. They have priests and prophets in the land, but are unaware of who He is and how he desires a covenantal relationship with them. The false prophets proclaimed a blessing without repentance, wealth without sacrifice, and justice without obedience.

The people did not just turn from God but were actively working against him. They used the name of God as a pillar of power rather than a sign of humility and service. Because of this, the good creation of God suffers. Jeremiah looks upon the earth and sees that it is “without form and void.” The sky above “had no light.” The hills are a flowing chaos, no human was on the land, no birds of the air, and no fruitful gardens to be seen.

In Genesis 1, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters of the deep, meaning that God was over the chaotic soup of maverick creation dust. The author of Genesis makes this statement as a contrast to other creation myths where the deity (or deities) are fearful of the chaotic physical matter (see Mesopetamian creation myth of Tiamat). But in Genesis 1, Elohim (the Hebrew word used for God here) is in control of the waters, the soup of creation dust. Elohim then brings order and boundaries within creation, as one would separate the colors and edge pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Elohim makes light, land, sea, birds, animals, and lastly humanity. He then looks upon his creation and declares it to be very good.

The prophet Jeremiah takes the Genesis narrative and shows the deep fissures that sin creates. Sin is not just a personal problem; it is a global one. It breaks apart humanity, animals, birds, land and sea. It runs directly counter to God’s good work. Like the humans that took the forbidden fruit with a desire to be like God, we continually lap up this false fruit of human arrogance and rebellion. We have sought to be gods without God, but we leave destruction and deserts in our wake. We may seek to create a utopia, but we leave children without a future, land that is poisoned, an internet littered with pornography, and entertainment that idolizes violence. Who will save us from this chaos we create?

Thanks be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came to be our God with us. To forgive and cleanse us from sin. To make us into that New Creation where we take our swords and spears and turn them into farming equipment. Where we live in the forgiveness of God and therefore live in our forgiveness of others. Where we look not just to our own interests but also to the interests of others. Where we live and move and have our being in the God who loves us and gave himself for us.

Sin destroys, but God creates.

A creation filled with life, abundant and eternal life, is indicative of the Spirit of God working and creating- taking the maverick particles of a broken world and making a people who are called to be ambassador of this New Creation.

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• VBS will be Aug. 3-5

  • sign up sheet is at the back of the church

  • We are looking for a few (4-5) people to help with snacks and crafts

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

This is a reminder that we will be having a video game and pizza get together for the kids. This will be tomorrow, May 29th, from 5-7pm. Right now I am looking at having cheese and pepperoni pizzas (2 of each), ranch, and fruit drinks.

I have 2 switch consoles with 4 controllers. If your child would like to attend and they have a switch one controller, please feel free to bring that with them. We will be set up in the upstairs youth room.

Blessings,

Pastor Steven Darst

5 Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

The story here tells of the prophet Elijah. He is running away into the wilderness, fleeing from the wrath of deadly royalty, King Ahaz and Queen Jesabel. Elijah had just got into a theological death match with the prophets of Ba’al. He had called their bluff and said, if Ba’al is god, he will answer you and ignite the offering altar with fire. So the prophets of Ba’al spent all day crying out to their deity, but no one answered. Then Elijah, after the false prophets exhausted themselves in the Palestine sun, takes some 5 gallon buckets of water and pours it all over the altar. He prays one simple prayer asking God to show that he is King of Israel and that he is turning the people’s hearts back to him.

Then suddenly, fire careens out of the sky and engulfs the altar, licking up all the water, proving without a shadow of a doubt that YHWH is the true God and true King. It was the emotional high point of Elijah’s ministry. He was faithful and the Lord had answered. He was a hero of the faith.

But all this changed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly the tables had turned. The royal family, devout Ba’al worshippers, were now seeking out Elijah to capture, torture, and kill him. So Elijah does a 180 degree turn and high tails it for the deserts of the south. He flees for his life, knowing that this could very well be the last time he sees his homeland. He runs to the wilderness, the place where God tabernacled with his people so long ago in the days of Moses. He goes out in the desert and like this great prophet of old, he desires to die there. He falls under a broom tree, and like Hagar and Ishmael in Gen. 21, he thinks that he might die. In fact, he welcomes this idea. He prays that it might happen. The great days of the past are gone. There is nothing more to look forward to.

But just as God in the past worked wonders in the wilderness, providing water and food for the Hebrew people as they dwelt in the wilderness or like Hagar and Ishmael as they were dying of thirst, here too God intervenes and provides food and water. Why? Because as the angel says, “the journey is too much for you.”

So many times we come to a point where we think the journey is too much. There have been great times, but the difficult times seem to outweigh all the good that has happened. The ups and downs are too much and the unknown is bewilderingly dark.

Here God intervenes. Giving us the daily bread. The word of encouragement. The believer that sends a text. The prayer from a sister. The meal that shows up on a door step. God uses his people to show he has not abandoned us. He loves us and will never leave us nor forsake us. The journey is too much for us. It is. But we are not, nor will we ever be, alone.

I pray that you and I may be the hands and feet of Christ. Handing to one another the bread of Christ, through sacrificial love, compassion, and commitment to those that God loves.

And to those that are facing the journey knowing that it is indeed too much for you, God is telling you to get up and eat. Take the comfort of Christ that is shown through his body, through the fellowship of believers. Reach out to those that love you and have a commitment to you.

And together, may we show the love of Christ to each other and to the lost world around us.

Announcements:

• If you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, please take a few moments to fill out the survey provided: CBC Survey Link

• This Sunday will be the last Sunday School until September. I will still be available Sunday morning from 10-11 for coffee and community.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 29 (this Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and even some pizza for good measure.

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

Hello Church,

CBC has created a Worship Survey and would like to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey using the link below.

Blessings,

Pastor Steven

link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScc4lLDgT4_ZCDLhxusPasxGMGbI4mS8BJqP4vAADWOLGBRRg/viewform?usp=header

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 29 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and pizza.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

These lyrics come from the Rich Mullins’ song, “Calling Out Your Name.”

From the place where morning gathers

You can look sometimes forever ‘til you see

What time may never know

What time may never know

How the Lord takes by its corners this old world

And shakes us forward and shakes us free

To run wild with the hope

To run wild with the hope

The hope that this thirst will not last long

That it will soon drown in a song not sung in vain

And I feel thunder in the sky

I see the sky about to rain

And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

In these words, Mullins expresses his expectation for newness- the newness that is only possible through the work of Jesus Christ. He illustrates an important point: it is not just humanity that longs for this new creation but all of creation with us. Just as Isaiah prophesied in chapter 11, the whole world is yearning for a newness that can only come through a miraculous work of the Creator. But in the mean time, we sing songs, we break bread, we are good stewards of the spiritual truths sharing the holy hope of redemption, and remain good stewards of the created order around us. In this we proclaim that there is a loving God, in Jesus Christ, who has not abandoned us to our own devices, but has entered into our world to redeem. And he will one day return to fulfill, entirely, that hope of renewal.

Announcements

• The service last Sunday was so beautiful. Many came up to me after the service telling me how much they enjoyed the community of reading, singing, and the wonderful sermon by Julie Ball. I was truly blown away by the powerful, worshipful atmosphere. Thank you to all who played their part in this. I would especially like to thank Marilyn Davidson for orchestrating the whole thing.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 29 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

We are forever getting confused into thinking that scripture is mainly about what we are supposed to do rather than a picture of who God is in the world. The basic message of the Sermon on the Mount is not about what works but rather about the way God is. Cheek-turning is not advocated as what works, but taught because this is the way God is- God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount. His teaching is not a stratagem for getting what we want; it is a picture of life that is available now that we have seen what God wants and what he does in Christ. We seek reconciliation with our neighbor not because we will feel so much better afterward, but because reconciliation is what God is doing in the world in Christ.

…

Part of the difficulty with the Beatitudes is that they seem abhorrent to us- in particular, we do not honor, or like to be, the meek. To be meek is, we think, to lack ambition and drive. You can’t be meek and survive the rough and tumble of the world. And that may be so, if the rough and tumble of the world is all there is. Granted, to be meek or peace-loving in a world that knows nothing but mechanisms of getting ahead at the expense of others will more than likely not lead to getting ahead in life. It is no wonder that Jesus’ first followers lived in renunciation and want. They are as Bonhoeffer notes in The Cost of Discipleship, “the poorest of the poor, the most tempted of the tempted, the hungriest of the hungry. They have only him. Yes, and with him they have nothing in the world, nothing at all, but everything, everything with God.” And yet Jesus saw and felt their suffering and had compassion on them. It is these Jesus calls blessed, not because they are somehow unfortunate but because they have responded to his call that leads to true life.

Announcements:

• THIS SATURDAY- I was notified yesterday that there will be a city wide clean up. A flyer of the event has been posted below. If you are interested in helping Pastor Steven and his 3 kids Saturday morning in picking up trash in a park or parking lot, please let me know ASAP (972-921-2516). We will meet at the High School at 9am on Saturday to receive our instruction on where to go. A lunch will be provided by The City of Kodiak.

• Mothers’ Day

  • For the past two years, the women of CBC have led all aspects of the service on Mothers’ Day. Would you like to join us this Mothers’ Day, May 10? Please let Marilyn know by texting or calling her at 907.539.2386 and letting her know what role or roles you would be comfortable with taking. We’ll be looking for 2-3 short messages, scripture readers, ushers, musicians, prayer leaders, and if you have a reading that you would like to provide that would also be welcome. If someone is inspired to provide a children’ s sermon that would also be great.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 29 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

If we read verse 41-44 in isolation, you could make the case that this was indeed the deeply spiritual point of his teaching. However, if we look at it in context, i.e. reading it after verse 38-40, we are forced to see that Jesus means something quite different- forcing us to reevaluate how we preach and teach this passage. It’s like one of my professors once said, “The bible can ruin some of the best sermons.”

Jesus in these preceding verses speaks harshly regarding religious leaders and systems that take advantage of the poor. He says, “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” and after this statement, he draws everyone’s attention to the fact that this widow has given everything she has to live on, her whole life- essentially pointing out that the temple system is devouring this widow!

Jesus ridiculed a system that took advantage of the most dispossessed people among them. But are we able to see that his critique must still be preached today? What people and what systems are in place today that ask for such an allegiance that bolsters the riches and pride of men while dispossessing the already down trodden? And are we preaching and hailing the success of these people and systems or are we preaching for the needs of the poor? Jesus has shown us what he condemns, may we be faithful enough to do likewise.

Announcements:

• Music for Sunday, April 26

  • This Sunday is an open opportunity for any who would like to join us up front in leading the music/worship experience here at CBC! If you would like to join in vocally and/or instrumentally, please text or call Marilyn Davidson at 907.539.2386 and plan to be at the church for rehearsal at 9AM on Sunday morning. It would be great to have a group and all are welcome!

• Mothers’ Day

  • For the past two years, the women of CBC have led all aspects of the service on Mothers’ Day. Would you like to join us this Mothers’ Day, May 10? Please let Marilyn know by texting or calling her at 907.539.2386 and letting her know what role or roles you would be comfortable with taking. We’ll be looking for 2-3 short messages, scripture readers, ushers, musicians, prayer leaders, and if you have a reading that you would like to provide that would also be welcome. If someone is inspired to provide a children’ s sermon that would also be great.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The School District has asked pastors to share the opportunity for an upcoming event concerning Suicide Prevention. The flyer below will provide you with more information

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

The following is from his well-known book, The Pursuit of God, an influential book in his time and even today.

_____________________

Our pursuit of God is successful just because He is forever seeking to manifest Himself to us. The revelation of God to any [person] is not God coming from a distance once upon a time to pay a brief and momentous visit to the [human]’s soul. Thus to think of it is to misunderstand it all. The approach of God to the soul or of the soul to God is not to be throught of in spatial terms at all. There is no idea of physical distance involved in the concept. It is not a matter of miles but of experience.

To speak of being near to or far from God is to use language in a sense always understood when applied to our ordinary human relationships. A man may say, “I feel that my son is coming nearer to me as he gets older,” and yet that son lived by his father’s side since he was born and has never been away from home more than a day or so in his entire life. What then can the father mean? Obviously he is speaking of experience. He means that the boy is coming to know him more intimately and with deeper understanding, that the barriers of thought and feeling between the two are disappearing, that the father and son are becoming more closely united in mind and heart.

So when we sing, “Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,” we are not thinking of the nearness of place, but of the nearness of relationship. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray for a more perfect consciousness of the divine Presence. We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.

Why do some persons “find” God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian expereience? Of course, the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of His children. The difference lies not with God but with us.

…

Let us say it again: The universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no stranger or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of [humanity]. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures. (And this we call pursuing God!) We will know Him in increasing degree as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice.

Our God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen.

Announcements:

• We have VBS on August 3-6th. We will be needing volunteers to help serve and lead during this time. I am looking for one person to help lead this. If you are interested, please call, text, or email me. 972-921-2516 steven@kodiakcbc.org

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to his Word, so the beginning of love for the (family of God) is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that he not only gives us his Word but also lends us his ear. So it is his work that we do for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to him.

Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

The person that can no longer listen to their brother or sister will soon be no longer listening to God either; they will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.

Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by him who is himself the great listener and whose work they should share.

__________

Lord, help me to listen. May I be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Announcements:

• This Sunday is Potluck Lunch Sunday

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• 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

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