See You at the Starting Line

March 31, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Pilgrims,
 
Don’t finish what you can’t start.
 
It’s an odd twist on an old cliché, but this is sage advice for a culture that is too quick to jump to Easter without moving through the Passion.  Our stores are stocked with plastic grass and chocolate bunnies, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Maundy Thursday gift basket or a Good Friday greeting card.  
 
Our propensity to skip past the pain and move to the reward is evident in how our culture manages its wealth, its health, and its fame.   We are canvassed with headlines of greed on Wall Street, ads for the latest quick-loss diet fads, and stories of bulked-up athletes on steroids.  In total, we want the praise without the pain, the celebrity without the sacrifice.  We want to skip ahead, foregoing the disciplines of saving, exercising, grunting, and sweating.  

We want the finish, without the start.  
 
Maybe that’s why Palm Sunday is so important.  It offers a formal invitation into a week of discipline and darkness that we would rather choose to ignore.  But such avoidance turns the empty tomb into an empty victory.  As my seminary theology professor frequently asked:  “If Jesus is the answer, then what was the question?” If Easter is a day of victory, then what has been defeated?
 
The gospel’s answer to that question is embedded in its narrative.  Following Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem:
 
·     He cursed a fig tree for not being fruitful.
·     He emptied the temple of self-serving moneychangers.
·     He confronted religious leaders who questioned his authority.
·     He challenged notions of financial stewardship by praising a poor widow.
·     He warned his followers of imminent persecution and called them to vigilance.
 
And that’s before we even get to the upper room. If we have any inclination to jump ahead to Easter morning, the Bible proclaims, “Not so fast.  You’re not ready.  There is much you need to hear.”

It’s captured in the words of Medieval mystic Thomas a Kempis:

“There will always be many who love Christ’s heavenly Kingdom, but few who will bear his cross.  Jesus has many who desire consolation, but few who care for adversity.  He finds many to share his table, but few who will join him in fasting.  Many are eager to be happy with him; few wish to suffer anything for him.  Many will follow him as far as the breaking of bread, but few will remain to drink from his passion.  Many are awed by his miracles, few accept the shame of his cross.

If you want to experience a truly powerful, meaningful Easter finish, then start the journey this Sunday with humility, repentance, and a renewed sense of obedience.  Remember your membership vows, and use Holy Week as a time for spiritual renewal:
 
·     Offer God your Prayers, using fewer personal pronouns and more divine ones.
·     Worship God with your Presence, with less a need to be entertained and more a desire to praise.
·     Present God with your Gifts, not with regard to personal benefit, but to the work of God’s Kingdom.
·     Pledge to God your Service, knowing that your only reward may be a cross.    
 
At the very least, I invite you to join us for all of Holy Week, not just for Easter morning.  Allow the services of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday to stir your conscience and call you to discipleship.  Through scripture, sacrament, and solemn ritual, let’s experience the drama, passion, and power of the week that turned the world upside-down.
 
See you at the starting line,
 
Magrey


Matthew 26:36-39
36  Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’
37  He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.
38  Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’
39  And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’


 

THE WEEK THAT TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN

April 5 , Palm Sunday
Obedience:  Losing Life to Gain It
Matthew 26:36-46
 
April 9, Maundy Thursday, 7pm
Love:  The Greatest Commandment
John 13:1-20
 
April 10, Good Friday, 7pm
Crucifixion:  The Covenant of Grace
Chancel Choir Cantata
 
April 12, Easter Morning
Resurrection:  The Great Reversal
Mark 16:1-8
Services at 7:00 and 10:10am
Fellowship Brunch, 8-10am

EASTER BRUNCH
The youth group will again be providing an Easter morning brunch, from 8:00-10:00am.  To provide a breakfast item or help with clean-up, please contact Karla Wilkie.
 
EASTER LILIES
We are taking orders for Easter lilies from Rhoadside Blooming House, which you can purchase in honor or in memory of a loved one.  The cost is $12.00. Write your order on one of the white attendance sheets, or contact the church office.  Orders need to be received by next Monday.  

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
This year’s theme is “Crocodile Dock,” and promises to be the biggest and best VBS yet!  Help put God’s love into action by providing material or financial donations.  Check out the website starting Wednesday for the list of items, or see the display in the narthex. And for more information, contact Jill Chalstrom.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

May 26, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
Attention, pop culture fans:  What do Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fiddler on the Roof, and Wayne’s World have in common?  How about this:  in each film, a main character turns to the camera and addresses the audience.  
 
The technical description for this screenwriting device is the removal of the “Fourth Wall,” the invisible yet presumed perspective through which an audience observes the story.  Normally, action takes place within “three walls” of a set, and the fourth is invisible.  But when a character notices the audience and draws them in through dialogue, the wall is torn down, and the audience becomes part of the story.
 
Now what does this have to do with Pentecost Sunday?  I’ve often said that Pentecost is my favorite Sunday of the year.  Whereas Christmas and Easter have become heavily commercialized by marketers, Pentecost remains the church’s day.  You can’t buy a Happy Pentecost card, decorate your yard with inflatable tongues-of-flame lawn ornaments, or bite the ears off a chocolate Peter.  (Unless it’s Peter Rabbit.)
 
But I really like Pentecost because it breaks down the Fourth Wall of the biblical narrative.  We might observe the rest of the Bible from a comfortable distance, but not so in Acts.  We don’t live in Old Testament times, when God’s voice was clearly audible in burning bushes.  We don’t live in gospel times, seeing Jesus face to face as the Word made flesh.
 
But when Pentecost happened, God was revealed in spirit and power, in subtlety and strength, just the way we experience God today.  And at that precise moment, God the Divine Screenwriter turned toward the camera, peered through the Fourth Wall that separated us from the ancient story and said to us, “This is your story now.”  
 
We are the living embodiment of what happened at Pentecost.  It is now a story about us, living into the unfolding story of God’s power, wind, and flame, to the farthest reaches of the earth.  
 
Join us this Sunday for the celebration of Pentecost, as we experience together the God of Acts, the God who birthed the church, the God who sets us aflame today: Invisible but active.  Subtle yet strong.  Almost imperceptible, but very, very real.  The sermon is titled “Inextiguishable Fire” and you are invited to wear red colors to mark the occasion.  Together, let’s experience the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
It’s still great to be the church,
 
Magrey    
 
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org



Acts 2:1-12
1  When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2  And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
4  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5  Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
6  And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
7  Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8  And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
9  Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10  Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11  Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
12  All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’
 

SUMMER SCHEDULE
As a reminder, we begin our summer worship time on June 7.  Services will begin at 9:30, with Christian Education classes taking a summer break.  The regular schedule will resume on Sunday, July 13.
 
PRAISE BAND
Be sure to join us next Sunday as we have the praise band once again lead us in worship.  If you are interested in volunteering for this exciting new ministry as an instrumentalist or a vocalist, please contact David Klee at klee@bvu.edu. 

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

May 19, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,

“Darling you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?”

Far be it for this preacher to make it a habit of quoting the rock band The Clash in his weekly e-mail messages, but these lyrics come to mind when considering the gospel text for this Sunday.  “Should I stay or should I go?” is the dichotomy embedded in Jesus’ last words to his disciples prior to ascending to Heaven.  First, here’s Matthew’s version, and pay attention to all the action verbs:
 
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

“Get busy!” Jesus said to the disciples in Matthew.  Get moving.  You have a mission to fulfill, so get on with it.  But flip over two books to Luke’s gospel, and you get a very different story.  Without mention of the Great Commission or a prescribed list of actions, Luke’s version has only one imperative:
 
You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

And then, that was it.  Jesus ascended into heaven, out of sight, leaving the disciples blinking and bleary-eyed, with only one commandment to fulfill.  Stay right here and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit.  
 
There you have it.  Matthew or Luke?  Should they stay or should they go now?

In the Christian liturgical year, this Sunday is Ascension Sunday, just one week before Pentecost.  Before we get to the fiery power and wind-sweeping surge of the Holy Spirit, we pause on the mountaintop, listening to Jesus give us some final instructions.  Most of the time, we automatically hear in our minds Matthew’s Great Commission.  It’s our Ascension Sunday text-by-default, the one we think of first when we consider Jesus’ last words.  
 
But I would suggest that it is just as important to consider Luke’s version.  Whereas Advent prepares us for the glory of Christmas, and Lent prepares us for the Hallelujah of Easter, we have only one Sunday - Ascension Sunday – to get ready for the high moment of Pentecost, the arrival of the Holy Spirit.  
 
Yes, it is important to “go,” to get busy and do the work of the Kingdom.  But it is also important to “stay.”  To watch for the movement of the Holy Spirit in and around us, through our daily disciplines of prayer, meditation, scripture reading, fasting, and worship. Viewing this story through the lenses of both Matthew and Luke allows us to see our walk with God in full dimension.  We should not get ahead of where God is leading us, and we dare not lag behind.  The dual call to stay and go enables us to remain in the cadence of the kingdom, in lock-step with God’s pace.  
 
We go, and we stay, with disciplined rhythm, balancing prayer with action, and solace with service.  
 
Years ago I knew a professional juggler, who threw everything from bowling pins to fireballs.  After I admitted to him that I couldn’t ever do what he did, he offered some advice:  juggling is more than keeping your objects in the air.  It is also about controlling the space between those objects.  Consider the space in between the things you are handling, and you will be able to keep juggling.
 
Indeed, keep busy.  Do what you need to do.  But don’t forget to honor the spaces in between the duties.  Create silence between the noise, and respite amid the responsibilities.  
 
Henri Nouwen wrote:
 
The English spiritual writer Anthony Bloom says it better than I when he writes:  “We complain that God does not make himself present to us for the few minutes we reserve for him, but what about the twenty-three and a half hours during which God may be knocking at our door and we answer, “I am busy.  I am sorry.”  Or when we do not answer at all because we do not even hear the knock at the door of our heart, of our mind, of our conscience, of our life.  So there is a situation in which we have no right to complain of the absence of God, because we are a great deal more absent than he ever is.” (“The Only Necessary Thing”)
 
As we prepare together for the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday May 31, take some time to observe the spaces.  In and among your to-do lists, create pockets of worship between the check marks.   Quiet your mind and open your heart to God.  As Luke says, stay.  So that, as Matthew calls us, we can go.
 
Grace and Peace,
 
Magrey   


WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY
We conclude our sermon series on 1 John with a focus on 1 John 5.  Come hear about the hope that is ours through the power of the resurrection, with a sermon titled, “A New Day Dawning.”
 

SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE
We begin our summer worship schedule on Sunday, June 7.  Worship will begin at 9:30am, and all Christian Education small groups will take a break for the summer.

No Room for Fear

May 12, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
Evangelist Dwight L. Moody once stood before a class full of students, holding up an empty glass jar.  "How can I get the air out of this glass?" he asked them.
 
One man shouted, "Attach a vacuum to it, and suck the air out!" To which Moody replied, "That would not remove all the air, and would potentially shatter the glass.”  After a number of other suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the jar.  
 
"There," he said, "all the air is now removed."
 
The epistle of 1 John would envision our lives like that jar, and would name fear as that invisible yet formidable presence that fills us like captured air in a fragile glass.  These fears would not just include mere phobic reactions to things like snakes and heights, but fears of the deepest, darkest, most existential kind.  These are the kind of fears that Sigmund Freud said are shared among all humanity:  a fear of death and our own mortality; a fear of being overwhelmed by forces beyond our control, and a fear of being hurt in our relationships.  The jar analogy is apt: try removing these fears on your own, and you have equal chance of destroying yourself as you do of conquering your fears.  No wonder the Bible contains 365 instances in which someone is told, “Fear Not!”
 
Against this, 1 John 4:18 offers this as the only solution:
 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
 

The word for love in this instance is the Greek word agape, commonly understood to be the highest, most divine kind of unconditional love.  Only when we are filled with that kind of love, the perfect love of God, can our deepest fears be displaced and our spirits renewed.
 
This may sound cliché, but regardless of what your deepest fears might be, remember that God loves you.  And furthermore, there are those in your life who love you unconditionally, regardless of your weaknesses and shortcomings.  Their support and care can sustain you, even in the toughest fear-filled times.  And most importantly, you have the capacity to share that same agape love with others, thereby giving you new passion, new meaning, and a new way to displace your fears with service and purpose.  
 
Charles Wesley captured this beautifully in one of our most cherished hymns:
 

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on 1 John with a focus on 1 John 4:16-19.  The sermon is titled, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and will give us a chance to claim the light and hope of Christ to vanquish our deepest fears.  Join us for the journey, and let’s live in the light of the resurrection.
 
Love, indeed,
 
Magrey   

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org


1 John 4:16-19            
16  God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
17  Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
19  We love because he first loved us.
20  Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
21  The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
 

GRADUATION SUNDAY
Join us as we celebrate this milestone in the lives of our graduating seniors.  If you are aware of church members who are graduating from college, graduate school, or any institution of higher learning, please let the church office know so we can acknowledge them Sunday.

Belief and Behavior

May 5, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
St. John the Short was a fourth-century desert father who lived in the Skete Desert in Egypt.  One day the hermit from whom he received spiritual guidance handed him a dead stick and instructed him to plant it:  “Pour a jug of water over its base every day until it bears fruit.”  The distance to the water source was such that John had to leave every evening to get it and did not return until the next morning.  For three long years, John maintained this daily practice until the dead stick turned green, and eventually bore fruit.  The hermit then picked the fruit, took it to the church, and said to the brothers, “Take and eat the fruit of obedience.” (The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks)

I’m reminded of that ancient story when considering these recent titles from self-help book publishers:
 
           Age Proof Your Brain:  Improve Your Memory in 7 Days
            How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less
            The 28-Day Foolproof Plan to a Healthy Body
            The Good-Bye Book:  How to Heal a Broken Heart in 30 Days

In a culture that prefers instantaneous transformation and easy results, the scriptures remind us that real change takes time.  Regardless of what publishers promise regarding weight loss, memory boosts, and attitude changes, there is simply no quick shortcut toward becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  Christian discipleship is, in the words of Eugene Peterson, “a long obedience in the same direction.”
 
Yet, while the process may take time, the recipe is relatively simple.  1 John, the subject of our current sermon series, would suggest that developing a pattern of wholehearted devotion requires two essential ingredients. Consider this sampling of verses:
 

• If you know that he is righteous (belief), you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him (behavior). (2:29)
• And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ (belief) and love one another, just as he has commanded us (behavior).  (3:23)
• Beloved, since God loved us so much (belief), we also ought to love one another (behavior). (4:11)
  

Like a pair of lenses, belief and behavior give the Christian life dimension and depth.  We must express our convictions through tangible action, and we must practice the faith for the right reasons.  To understand Christian concepts while avoiding its applications becomes mere intellectualism.  And to adopt a Christian ethic without claiming Christian tenets is mere charity at best, and hypocrisy at worst.  
 
Full discipleship is belief and behavior in balance.
 
And so, like St. John the Short, we journey forth, into the nightly twilight of our doubt and fatigue, to search for water for the dead and brittle parts of our souls.  Sometimes that search will call us to change our behavior in accordance to that belief.  We may find that we are so set in our comfortable rhythms that the regular practices of prayer, compassion, justice, and worship are too disruptive, and too unsettling.  Yet because we believe that the hermit was right, and that the dead stick will someday bear fruit, we keep going.
 
And at other times – when the journey is most difficult – we are filled with such doubt and uncertainty that we wonder whether what this hermit said is true.  How can we trust him?  How do we know?  And what do we do with our skepticism and reservation?  In these moments, when we cannot practice the faith because we believe, we are left only to practice the faith until we believe.   And eventually, night time will lift, morning will dawn, and new fruit will be born.
 
Author, preacher, and professor Barbara Brown Taylor offers:
 
Too often, I think we insist on deciding what we think before we will decide how we act, when it’s entirely possible that faith was meant to work the other way around.  The spiritual directors of the fourth century, the desert fathers and mothers had a ready piece of advice for all who came to them seeking wisdom. Go into your cell, they said, and your cell will teach you everything.  Trust the practice, in other words, and the practice will teach you what you need to know.  Lay hands on the sick, clothe the naked, pray for the enemy, give to everyone who begs from you, come near.  Do these things and eventually you may discover what to think about them. Do not do them, and what you think doesn’t really matter.  (Lecture, 2006 Festival of Homiletics, Atlanta, GA)
 
Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on 1 John called “Bright New Day:  Living in the Light of the Resurrection” with a sermon called “Radiating Love” based on 1 John 3.  Discover how we are called to give ourselves in service and surrender for the benefit of others.
 
Together, let’s put God’s love (belief) into action (behavior).
 
Magrey


1 John 3:16-22
16  We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
17  How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18  Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
19  And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him
20  whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21  Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;
22  and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.


VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Registration begins next Sunday for this year’s Vacation Bible School.  The theme is “Crocodile Dock” and promises to be the biggest, best ever! The cost is $7.00 and is for children ages 3 to completed 6th grade. Scholarships are available for families upon request.
 
END OF SUNDAY SCHOOL YEAR
Just a reminder that this Sunday concludes a fun year of children’s Sunday school.  Thanks to all the teachers for their hard work and dedication in putting God’s love into action in the lives of our kids.

Adding Servanthood

March 3, 2009
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
I find it fascinating that when I type the word servanthood on my computer, I get a red squiggly line indicating a spelling error.  I know that I could add it to my software program’s dictionary, overriding its judgment and expanding its vocabulary.  But maybe I’ll keep it as an unusual word, as an ongoing reminder of just how counter-cultural the concept really is.
 
What’s more, if I type in the name Tim Berners-Lee, I get that same squiggly line.  I prefer to think it’s for the same reason.  
 
Berners-Lee is a British computer scientist and professor at MIT, who in the late 1980’s, wrote a program for his computer to store large amounts of information that he could access through a variety of random associations, just like the human brain.  He then took it one step further.  What if he could find a way for such information to be shared and accessed across a network with other computers?  He devised a relatively simple coding system, called HyperText Mark-Up Language (or, HTML).  And before he knew it, by 1991, his little invention enabled 600,000 computer users all over the world to quickly share information.  That number grew exponentially, so that five years later, 40 million people were using this amazing invention, and today the number tops a billion people worldwide.  

Meet Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of a little thing called the internet.   
 
Now, I introduce him to you not for the sake of mere trivia.  His story is fascinating for this little sidebar to his story.  During his development of the world wide web, many urged him to patent the idea, and profit from an invention that would surely pad his coffers and set him up for life.  Conventional wisdom suggested that he should have capitalized on his success, and he certainly had many opportunities to do so.
 
But Berners-Lee felt otherwise.  He felt that to do so “would have scuppered the whole thing.  It never would have taken off.”  Though many since have made a fortune from endless .com endeavors, Berners-Lee chose the non-profit road, both for himself and his invention. And because he felt that a me-first mindset would only stunt the growth of this world-transforming gift, he gave it to the world with no gain in mind.

Admittedly, I should fight the temptation to overly spiritualize Mr. Berners-Lee’s story, for there is no indication that he made his decision based on biblical values.  And certainly, there is more to the biblical concept of servanthood than relinquishing patent rights for an invention, just as foregoing personal profits for one’s hard work does not necessarily define radical discipleship.  But I do think there is something to be said here about yielding one’s me-first mindset in exchange for the community’s benefit.  When it happens in the secular world, people take notice.  They scratch their heads, and they question a person’s sanity.  Putting others ahead of self is a bizarre, and rare, gesture.  
 
But for people of the cross, this should come as no surprise.  Because the gospel frequently takes our assumed patterns of behavior, thought, and relationship, and flips them on their ears.  Our lives get turned upside-down.  That’s why servanthood is such a counter-cultural idea, and why Jesus said it so plainly and so directly to his disciples:
 
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10:45)

We continue our Lenten sermon series “Upside-Down: How the Cross Changes Everything” with a sermon on the biblical concept of servanthood.  We’ll take a look at how the Bible calls us to confront our own self-centeredness, and learn to be a servant to others.  We’ll also hear about the new Helping Hands program developed by the Caring Committee, and have an opportunity to link our skills and abilities with those in need in our congregation.
 
Together, let’s add the word servanthood to our common vocabularies.  And become red squiggly lines for the world to notice.
 
Grace and Peace,
 
Magrey   


Philippians 2:1-11
1  If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy,
2  make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
3  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
4  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
5  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
7  but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form,
8  he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
9  Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 
 
NEW PRAISE BAND AT ST. PAUL’S
We give thanks to God for Dr. David Klee, professor of music at Buena Vista University, who has offered begin development of a new praise band at St. Paul’s.  The Administrative Board two weeks ago approved the addition of this new program to our worship ministries, and we are currently looking for vocalists and instrumentalists for this exciting new opportunity.  We are particularly looking for drummers, guitarists, keyboardists, and horn players.  If you are interested, please contact David at klee@bvu.edu.
 
YOUTH GROUP CONCERT
Mark your calendars for a fun Christian concert this Friday, March 6, featuring national artists Third Day and Brandon Heath.  Cost is $15.00 per person.  If interested, contact Magrey or JoAnn Bieber before this Wednesday.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Don’t forget to adjust your clocks one hour ahead this Saturday night!