Ramblin' Man

THIS SUNDAY
January 14, 2007
8:00, 9:15 & 10:45
Bruce preaching:
”THE MORALITY OF VEGETABLES: Confessions Of A Carnivore”
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NEXT SUNDAY
January 21, 2007
NANCY preaching: “TALKIN’ WITH JESUS”
A Sermon On Prayer
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We’ve scheduled a big roll-out event for our partnership with the community of St. Andres, Nicaragua, in the form of a Sunday evening worship service on March 25, 7:00. Bishop Sherer will be with us, along with Reverend Mark Struckhoff, U.S. Director of the Rainbow Network, the coordinating agency. I’ll be traveling to Nicaragua the first week in March, leaving on Monday, the 5th, coming back Thursday the 8th. I figure somebody really needs to see St. Andrew’s, Nicaragua, so we can visual evidence of what we’re getting into. If you have interest in going, give me a call or shoot me a return e-mail. (I’m out of town from January 15-23.) A word of caution: Travel in Nicaragua is not for the faint of heart. Getting back into the rural area can be a drive of bone-crunching proportions. And the accommodations aren’t exactly five-star themselves. That said, I count my experiences in Nicaragua in the category of transformational and am looking forward to being back there in March.
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As to the above-mentioned dates of January 15-23, I’ll be in France, visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Bordeaux, with some time in Paris and the Waterloo Battlefield also on the agenda. I’ve had this trip scheduled for several months. (January is the most economical time to go to Europe.) Mary called on Christmas Day to tell us she is expecting a child, and it will be neat to share some time with her at this stage of pregnancy.
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As A-MAIL is sent out via a program in my laptop computer, A-MAIL will likely be off-line for a while, UNLESS I can figure a way to send from France.
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I pray that “Wars In Iraq,” scheduled for January 28, will be received as it is intended: a sermon of pastoral care and concern. It’s been a long time since I featured myself as a “young-and-fearless prophet.” I am not young. I am not fearless. I am not a prophet. My goal is not to persuade anyone of anything, but to share thoughts and experiences from my own pastoral life, with a lesson from scripture that I have found helpful. That’s the plan. I will appreciate your prayers--though, of course, I'll appreciate even more your prayers for our troops in harm's way.
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YVONNE M. writes: I have a prayer request that I would like put in A-mail. My sister Sue A. in Norman, OK has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is beginning an aggressive treatment plan. I am asking for prayers for healing and strength for her and her family.
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ONE OF OUR NEW MEMBER FAMILIES COPIED ME A LETTER SENT TO OUR CHILDREN’S DIRECTOR, NETTA P. WITH THEIR PERMISSION, I WANT TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.

Dear Netta,


Five months ago, you, Bruce and I had an e-mail exchange about summer Sunday School (see below). Back then, my family was still church-shopping (having moved to Omaha from Kansas City), and was deciding between/among a handful of churches we were visiting on a rotating basis.

Fast forward to today. We are happy, full-fledged members of St. Andrew's, Nancy baptized our youngest son the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and we are looking forward to many years of growth with and contribution to our new church family.

Why am I telling you all of this? Great question.

I dislike the fact that Americans are quick to fire off an e-mail with constructive criticism/feedback/whatever you want to call it, but when it comes time to pay someone a compliment or give positive feedback, that gets left on the back-burner......or left undone altogether.
This e-mail fits the latter category....and I'm finally getting around to paying a long-overdue compliment.

Our oldest son, David, is in the Kindergarten Sunday School class and he LOVES it. He's learning, he's having fun, he's connecting with other kids and his teachers. It is just great. In fact, one Sunday morning in December, Lori and I had had a late night at a Saturday night Christmas party. We were dragging as we crawled out of bed, and were moving slowly to get the kids ready for church. I said to David, "David, would you rather stay home from church today or would you rather go to Sunday School?" Without missing a beat, David firmly announced that he wanted to go to Sunday School. We picked up the pace, and the family made it to church. (Sometimes the best decisions are made by the younger members of one's family.) I know that God was at work in that conversation/decision, but if not for the great St. Andrew's Sunday School program and David's fantastic teachers, the correct decision might not have been made.

Luke, who is three and a half, also enjoys his Sunday School class. He is getting a great start to his Christian education and your teachers (who must have the patience of Job to teach a class of 3 and 4 year-olds) are doing a great job of helping him build a foundation of knowledge and Christian beliefs.

Thank you, Netta, for all of your work in the education and growth of the children of St. Andrew's. I'm sure that it is all too often a thankless job, and I just wanted to thank you and to let you know how important your efforts are to the members (and most importantly, the children) of our church.

God bless,
Nathan & Lori M.
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Romans 13:8-10
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
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BRD