Days of Hope

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. In liturgical churches, Ash Wednesday is a day of repentence that begins a 46 day period, not including Sundays, of preparation for Easter. Easter is a day of Celebration of the life and redemption we find in Christ our crucified and risen Lord. Though we are not a liturgical church, I encourage you to be sensitive to the God-Given spiritual climate you might find in those you love and care for during the time of Lent. It's a great time to talk about Jesus and the life he wants us all to experience.

What I am saying is use this time to be redemptive in your conversations. I believe there is a great spiritual hunger in our society that will never be quenched without people seeing Jesus for who he really is. You might be all someone sees of Jesus so Pray that God's Spirit uses you as part of his redemptive plan. I will remind you of our Pray and Watch Prayer at the end of the blog.

Last week in I told you one of the ways to experience the presence of God throughout the day is a Catholic Tradition called the Divine Hours. Phyllis Tickle has written several books that give you scripture prompts and prayers throughout the day. I find them helpful to remind me all day of God's presence in my life. A church in Michigan hosts Tickle's writings online. Add this link to your favorites and go there often.

I encourage each of you to experiment to see what different spiritual disciples work best for you to create space in your life to conform to the image of Christ.

As we begin preparation for this Easter season, I encourage you to begin praying for those in your life you might want to invite to an Easter service. I know this will be a great joy for you and I will be praying for you as you invite.

What a joy for us to serve our Lord together. I am constantly amazed at the stories I hear of how God places each of you for his purposes. You are a great blessing to our community.

I look forward to seeing you all as we worship our Lord together this weekend. I just got new glasses so, I am literally looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Pray and Watch--Father, please send your Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of these people. Draw them to Jesus and make them kingdom workers.

Our lives can be all about the kingdom all the time. It's the privilege of His Presence.

Prayer Outage

Let's all admit how challenging it is to pray. I have met few believers who are satisfied with their prayer life, who have not in some way felt inadequate in their praying. I know I often feel that way. I get discouraged thinking I could have , I should have prayed more or with more energy. It's often our first way of dealing with a spiritual discipline. We feel guilt so we try harder, that doesn't work and we get frustrated and we try again, harder this time. Eventually we lose motivation and quit.

John Ortberg asks a good question. How do we do spiritual practices and devotion so the Pharisees can't win??? Good question and I pray as we study the Lord's prayer we will learn the secret of being in secret with God.

How are you doing this week?? Have you designated a secret place to meet with God? I encourage you to do it then simply ask God as did his disciples, "Lord Teach Me to Pray."

Many questions may come to your mind. Do I have enough time to pray; I don't know what to pray; Can I pray in a wrong way; Whatever your question I encourage you not to hesitate just start praying-Whatever, whenever, however.

This weekend we will focus on Mt. 6:5-8 with the theme of "Find God In Prayer." I have been blessed as I have studied-I know God will speak to you as well.

Remember to invite a friend- See you this weekend!

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Deeper

Luther once said it is a fearful thing for a sinner to come into the presence of a Holy God. Truth is a sinner can't come into the presence of a Holy God without the covering of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We have full access as believers to the presence of God. It is for every believer to know and be known by God. What a joy.

As we begin this new series it's my prayer that you will desire and crave being in God's presence . It is a great privilege. Beginning this week we will discuss the privilege of coming into God's presence by prayer.

I encourage you to invite a friend. The Lord's Prayer is known by many people. Was it meant to be recited as a prayer or does it point to a greater reality we are to experience in prayer. I truthfully don't believe when the disciples begged Jesus to teach them to pray they were looking for another memorized prayer. I have enjoyed digging into the Lord's Prayer again and I pray you will come with an expectant heart as we ask the Lord to reveal himself to us anew this weekend.

Most of you know I love the writings of AW Tozer. His writings challenge me to go deeper in my expereince with Christ. You can recieve a daily devotional by AW Tozer @ http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer

Enjoy and See you this weekend!

Pastor Randy

Double WOW

This past weekend our church received a special offering to build a housing unit for the Elikya Center. This building will be used to house widows and ophans in Congo, Africa. Our goal was to raise $35,000.00. As of Wednesday, the offering was over $37,000.00. All I can say is WOW!! I praise God for you and your heart of generosity to see the Kingdom of God built one life at a time. Please know your gifts to the Lord touch lives in a very real and tangible way and I know God is brought glory when we are generous givers.

I know some of you where not able to give last week and I encourage you to do so this weekend.

This weekend we will talk about Jesus' words to those who give to the least.(Mt. 6:1-4) He addresses this in a larger context of "How we practice public "righteous acts." I sure have enjoyed the insights I have recieved from my study. I pray you will be encouraged and challenged as we ask our Lord to lead, teach and guide us this weekend.

It would be a good week to invite a friend. We will talk about Hypocrites as Jesus does in this passage. Many people outside the church believe the church is full of Hypocrites. I wonder what they will think about what Jesus has to say to all the Hypocrites. Invite a friend and find out. I bet you will have a lot to talk about after you admit......................

What a joy to see God at work in our Body!! See You this weekend.

God Bless,

Pastor Randy

Worry Society

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.... If Jesus wouldn't have said that, I think I would discount the speaker as out of touch with real life. Thankfully Jesus wasn't out of touch and wants us to live in His life and fullness. I invite you to the weekend services, you will find great Hope from the stress, anxiety and worry that you might be holding.

Elikya Offering: This weekend we will be recieving your gifts for buying the materials for a housing unit for the widows and orphans at the Elikya Center. What a privilege and a joy for us to unite and bring this offering. We are trying to raise 35,000.00 dollars to be able to complete this project.
I gotta warn you the Sonday Adventure Kids are ahead of us right now. They have bought 12 bricks(@10$ a brick) so far. They have great hearts to serve the Lord and I pray we will all be able to match their vision and desire to complete this great project.

Sponsor An Orphan: Anytime is a right time to do this. You are giving a life and a future to an orphan in the Congo. Stop by the Kiosk or go online to begin your sponsorship. www.globalfingerprints.org

We serve a great God---Maybe that's one of the reasons you don't need to worry. Find out this weekend!

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Eelpout and Stinkabees

My father-in-law is in town this week so a one day ice fishing trip was in the plans. It was one of those trips with alot of firsts. It was the first time I stayed for 24 hours in a fish house. (maybe the last) It was a first for my son who caught his first walleye through the ice. (hopefully not the last) It was the first time that a group I have been with caught an eelpout and tullibee.

It turns out the eelpout has it's own International Festival on Leech Lake in Walker MN. (Feb 17-21) An eelpout is a ugly slimy fish that looks like something they eat down south. I am sure they taste just like a walleye. And it turns out that a tullibee is part of the cisco family with the 4lb 3oz record taken from Big Sandy lake in McGregor MN. I have nick named them stinkabees because-well they just plain stink, Mc-Gregorites must be so proud.

Anyhow it got me thinking about God and his wonderful creation the church. I think sometimes we forget how wonderful the body of Christ is and what a privilege it is to participate in the Lord's purposes and causes to build his kingdom. You can read all about the body, each one's participation, vital role played and the importance of that in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Anyhow, I know some of you wouldn't want to be known as an eelpout or a stinkabee but believe it or not each one has a vital part to play. Here are a few things I thought about.

1. How creative God is.
2. How purposeful God is.
3. Eelpout is quit a cleaner.
4. Stinkabees are vital to the food chain.
5. Everyone in the body is meant to be celebrated for God's good work and purpose in their lives.
6. Everyone's part is vital.
7. We really need each other.(Sometimes hard to believe and not always appreciated)

One of the tullibees as it was being caught, spun around and wrapped up 5 lines and caused over an hours worth of untangling work. Believe it or not it lived to tell the tale and so did those who cleaned up and impossible mess. In this case nothing could steal a blessing.

This week I had the privilege to begin our Church Vision process for the coming year with our Elders. I once again feel so privileged to be your pastor. I am amazed that God has entrusted to this church a vital ministry to our county that extends beyond the borders of our country. You are an amazing congregation and I encourage you to run hard for and after Jesus. Let's be sure to do our part for partnering in building God's Kingdom with the gifts and resources with which we have been given.

Fincancial Peace University- WOW over 300 people pre-registered for this fantastic course taught by David Ramsey. I know this will change your world for the good. How great will it be for you to really experience God's Freedom Financially. It was a great start and I am praying for each of you. If you haven't signed up but want to--don't hesitiate it's not too late but you need to get started this week.

Prioritize worshipping together this weekend. We will be having Baptisms in the Current services this week and that is always a special time of celebration for our Church. We will also be highlighting our Congo partnership project. This year we hope to raise money to build a housing unit that will house some of the widows and orphans of Elikya. What a privilege for us to serve our brothers and sisters in this way.

See You this Weekend

God BLess

Pastor Randy

Meet Kazika

I have had a bunch of wonderful African memories flooding through my heart and mind this week. You will get to share in some of those memories this weekend. In our services, you are going to see my first meeting with Kazika, the Global FingerPrint Orphan Deb and I support monthly. The fact that I was able to go to Africa is on account of our shared desire to influence and touch our world with the Good News that Jesus saves. Each one of us shared in the blessing. It is building for each of us "eternal heavenly treasure that will never be destroyed"(Mt. 6:19-21).

Right Sight-New Freedom! This weekend we will be challenged by Jesus' words. Namely, that in the practical living of life, our vision of Kingdom Principles really matters. Almost every person with whom I come into contact desires their life to count for something. And I believe wholeheartedly Jesus wants that for each of us more than we probably do for ourselves.

I hope you make weekend worship a priority in your schedule. It's my prayer that God will meet you as we worship together. I am confident he will, for it is a stated desire of God. As we" draw near to God he will draw near to us".(James 4:8)

Financial Peace University begins this weekend. At last count I heard over 250 have signed to take this course. It is a wonderful tool to help all of us find financial freedom. I believe almost every person at Constance can profit from this great teaching by David Ramsey. I encourage you still to take steps to sign up for the Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday night sessions. I know this teaching tool will be a factor in your growing toward Christ this year.

I know we have all been travelling and very busy this last month. During that time, I was reminded what a blessing the body of Christ is in our lives. It's such a blessing to serve as your Pastor. I am continually amazed by the heart of this body and know your love and service is making an eternal difference for the kingdom of God.

See You this Weekend

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Three Sizes That Day

It's been cold this week. Physically painful. Not long ago I was hunting in windchills of minus 20-30 degrees. If I faced the wind too long with a bit of forhead showing I got a major "ice-cream headache". It hurt!

As physically damaging as windchill can be, a cold heart toward God is even more damaging. All week I have been studying about the heart-both physical and spiritual. Now I must admit I sometimes worry about the "old ticker"(mine has beat over 2 billion times). Sometimes I worry enough that I won't eat as much ice cream as I want. But I'd still rather get the real headache from eating than from walking. Nonetheless, I know deep down my heart before God is way more important than my physical heart BUT I don't always act like it is.

This weekend we are going to talk about how to grow our hearts toward God. I know it's easy to slide into a cold- two sizes too small heart. I also know God is in the business of growing hearts that desire to honor Him.

I am praying for each of us this weekend - that "the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day!" If it can happen to a Grinch, my guess is God wants that to happen to us.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of Life. Proverbs 4:23

See You this Weekend.

Merry Christmas

Pastor Randy

PS: Don't Forget to Make Christmas Eve Services a part of your Family Traditions. 3:00 and 4:30 p.m.

Two Sizes Two Small

Every Who
Down In Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Grinch,
Who Lived just north of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.(The Grinch that Stole Christmas! Dr. Seuss)

My guess is most of us like Christmas with all the fixin's. My guess is a lot of us see Christmas as a wonderful time that stresses us a bit but we get it done. Having said that-My guess is some of us, though we do it, may still have hearts that are two sizes too small. The Bible consistently warns us about monitoring, challenging and cleanising our hearts. By a small heart I don't mean you aren't generous with gifts or meals or lights and ribbons. Small hearts can celebrate big without being big.

The next four weeks we will challenge our hearts to see If "maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" As a body of Christ what does it mean to have our small heart expanded and transformed so the celebrations, gifts, parties expand in expanding Christ's influence in our neighborhoods and communities.

I was thinking about another Christmas Classic--the one with Scrooge in it. It occurred to me that for as long as I have known about that story I never wanted to be like Scrooge. BUT without paying attention to my heart I easily fall into Scrooge like patterns of thinking and behaving.

This Week we will ask how a changed and expanded heart deals with expectations that sometimes crush our hearts at this time of the year. We will look at the only answer for mis-placed heart affections. I really think you will be encouraged to find lots of room in your heart for Jesus and the things that matter to Him. It would be a wonderful time to invite a friend. Most people I know want to have the best and right kind of celebrations-the best place to start is with the heart.

See you this weekend! Remember to Pray and Watch wherever you go this Christmas season. As you do I know God will give you many opportunities to use your life as an influence for His Name.

God Bless

Pastor Randy

PS: Don't forget to calendar our "Constance Christmas Concert" (December 11 @ 7:00 p.m.) featuring all the worship teams from Constance. Great night to invite a friend. I will personally be doing a number from Handel's Messiah!(JUST KIDDING!)

Pause

I hope this week you will take some time and "Give Thanks to the Lord." This is not a meaningless pursuit, for the scripture states, "Give Thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Giving Thanks reminds us of the goodness and faithfulness of God. The One behind the blessings.
When we fail to thank the Giver of all things we come to idolize the blessing and set our heart affections on the gift rather than the giver.(children, family, success, honor, money, etc)

Years ago AB Simpson wrote in the hymn HIMSELF,

Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;

Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.

Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;

Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;

Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.

Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;

Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;

Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.

Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;

Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;

Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.

Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;

Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.

Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;

Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine.

Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;

And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.

All we are and have, all the blessings of the church and our lives in Christ are all because of Jesus. So take some time and "Give Thanks to the Lord!" And remember regardless of the circumstances of your life, "He is good and his faithful love endures forever!"

As your Pastor I am so thankful for each one who calls Constance home and shares the blessing of your life with this local body of Christ. You are a blessing. I pray that you will grow and that your love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.(Phil. 1:9-11)

Giving Thanks,

Pastor Randy