Consider This with Pastor John 5/11/12

Hi this is Pastor John at 1049 the River heralding and celebrating this Sunday’s tribute to Mothers!  If you’re a mom and there were a job description for your position it may read…wanted, athlete in top condition for tireless toddler, knowledge of first aid is essential. Must be able to pray, drive, clean, cook, email and juggle another dozen things at the same time.  Workday is 15 hours!  Would consider pediatric nurse with Olympic background.  Less than 2 years later the ad would read… wanted:  an expert in early childhood education.  Must be able to pray for your family and have everyone participate in church. Should have experience in art, music, recreation, linguistics and psychology.  Must help with teaching the Awana’s cubby or sparks theme songs. A few years later in the later elementary years it would read; wanted: Prayer warrior, expert in sports injuries, open to referee-ing or coaching, den mother, room mother, and block mother experience helpful. Public relations skills are essential; should be able to teach basic English grammar, science and how to study the Bible; should be able to deal effectively with parochial or public school teachers or your home school co-op; must have no objections to mud, insect collections, pets, neighbor’s kids or new math.

Thanks Moms—We love what you do!

On behalf of everyone here at 1049 the River, happy Mother’s Day!

Consider This with Pastor John 5/3/12

Hi this Pastor John at 1049 The River with another “consider this”.
Did you know that…

God won’t ask what neighborhood you lived in, He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors.
God won’t ask about the color of your skin, He’ll ask about the content of your character.
God won’t ask what church you belonged to; He’ll ask if you loved the Triune God manifest via The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
God won’t ask if you were known as the Food Network chef extraordinaire, He’ll ask how many needy people did you prepare for and feed?
God won’t ask about the square footage of your house, He’ll ask how many people you welcome into your home.
Oh yeah…and this is important…
God will never ask how many works you did to get into heaven, He’ll take note whether or not you receive the all sufficient work of forgiveness His Son secured for all who believe.

As always, if you’d like prayer or someone to talk to email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 4/12/12

Hi this is Pastor John at 1049 the River with another “consider this.”  After 23 years in the pastorate I’ve talked to so many people who have been tempted to throw in the towel because life is a struggle; maybe they’ll go back to their old lifestyle and some think another religious system will work better.  Some won’t hold on to what the apostle Paul says to hold onto concerning authentic hope and change found in Philippians 1:6 in that we can possess a confidence that the good work God has begun in each of us who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior will be ultimately, Scripture says, accomplished.  The Bible is chock full of passages that encourage us to persevere.  We also have stories from previous generations; from our grandparents; like the tortoise and hare or the little steam engine…remember the engine sang, “I think I can” over and over and ended up not giving up while repeating the victorious finale…”I thought I could…I thought I could!”  You remember this one? “Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again; If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again; then your courage should appear, For, if you will persevere, You will conquer, never fear; try, try again.

As always, if you’d like prayer or someone to talk to email me pastorjohn@1049TheRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 4/5/12

Hi this is Pastor John at 1049 The River. Amazingly, this Friday is Passover which occurs just days before Easter Sunday.  Although primarily a Jewish holiday, Christians can glean a remarkable truth from Passover.  Do you remember the events in the OT book of Exodus telling how God rescued the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage?  Before the 10^th judgment or plague was manifest, God told his people to follow these rescue instructions.  They were to take some of the blood of a slain Lamb and place it on the doorposts of their homes.  When they did this and the angel of judgment was dispatched, the angel would PASSOVER the homes that had the blood of the lamb on their doors and JUDGE those homes that didn’t have the crimson marking.

The Passover Exodus lamb represents Jesus Christ, the ultimate Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  The gospel teaches us that for us to be PASSED OVER in judgment we must have the Lamb of God’s blood applied to the doorposts of our hearts which can be gained only by confessing our need, turning to Jesus and believing that he died and rose again.  From all of us here at 1049 The River; may your Passover and Easter celebrations be blessed.

Consider This with Pastor John 3/29/12

I know firsthand about worry.  In the early 90’s I suffered from anxiety disorder.  I feared so many things.  Hi, this is Pastor John with another “consider this”.  Worry is one of the most common dilemmas that confront us.  All of us experience it from time to time; however others are prone toward intense mental, emotional and physical agitation which occurs from undue concern over something bad we anticipate.  It boils down to an obsession with “what if?”  We get caught up with an obsession that something bad is going to happen, the pressures of life, past experiences and sometimes we get attacked by the enemy.

These worries are often based upon groundless, imaginary, unsubstantiated fears; however, there is hope!  Prayer is huge; disciplining our thinking toward Biblical truth is vital-In 2 Cor. 10 Paul spoke of holding certain thoughts captive so as to not allow those negative thoughts to advance any further—we identify the temptation to give into fear and resist it; continue to tell yourself the truth and keep your perspective aligned with God’s perspective about you—he so loves you: seek refreshing experiences like regular church participation, supplemental worship, retreats, conferences and stay in Christian fellowship.

As always if you would like to prayer or just someone to talk to, email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 3/22/12

In our busy world rushing here and there and everywhere we can neglect our family and even our friendships.  Hi this is Pastor John with another consider this.  Friendship is an important topic. We see this proverbially in Scripture…for example, Iron sharpens iron as one friend sharpens another.  Solomon also wrote, “A friend loves at all times.” Jesus underlines this idea when he said, greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for a friend.  Do you have any high level friendships?  Like a Jonathon and David, a Ruth and Naomi?  Like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison? Like Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo? Like Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan?

God intends for us to have significant friendships.  We may go through the grinder for our friend who may end up causing us to be a little worn and torn; but that’s the reality of a friendship. Love covers a multitude of each other’s missteps; it doesn’t excuse them but gives grace and hope so as to overcome them. Hopefully each of us are blessed with a friendship that both blesses and may contain some difficulty; but true friendship endures the test of time and will help us grow into the person God would have us be.

If you’d like prayer or someone to talk to email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 3/15/12

Mark Twain once said, Honesty is the best policy, the Bible’s 9^th commandment is, thou shall not lie, one of the best know Aesop fables is about the boy who cried wolf, we’ve read the Italian tale of Pinocchio, we’ve all heard of Honest Abe Lincoln and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes… all lessons about the importance of truth telling. Hi this is Pastor John with another consider this.  Maybe you’ll remember this nursery rhyme…The boy who never told a lie…

Once there was a little boy, with curly hair and pleasant eye—

A boy who always told the truth, and never, never told a lie

And when he trotted off to school, the Children all about would cry,

There goes the curly-headed boy—the boy that never tells a lie

And everybody loved him so, because he always told the truth,

That every day, as he grew up, “Twas said, “there goes the honest youth”

And when the people that stood near would turn to ask the reason why,

The answer would be always this: “Because he never tells a lie.”

Bottom line?  An honest heart will always find friends.

As always, if you would like prayer or just someone to talk to email me…PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 3/8/12

After 23 years of full time pastoral ministry I, like you, have had my share of bad days, setbacks and trials.

Hi this is Pastor John with another consider this:

We all experience events that are mountaintop moments and others are in a category down in a valley somewhere.
On the lighter side, for a pastor, it would be a bad day if I preached the same sermon two weeks in a row and nobody noticed

You know it’s a bad day when you can’t find the book of Obadiah at the Bible study you are leading

You know it’s a bad day when the youth pastor asks you about the churches liability insurance policy because the church youth group used steel wool sponges for the community car wash

You know it’s a bad day when you’re the only one who shows up at the potluck

The point is this; no matter what transpires in life, lean into this biblical truth found in

Zephaniah 3:17  The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness;  he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

As always, if you’d like prayer or just someone to talk to email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 2/23/12

A couple of years ago, our daughter set off to live on the main campus at The Ohio State University  which changed 19 previous years of predictable continuity in the parent daughter relationship.

Hi, this is Pastor John with another “consider this”.  Both her mother and I have asked ourselves, “Did the ways we tried to explain there were dangerous boys and honorable ones and how to know the difference sink in?”  Would she be happy for other people’s successes?  Would she firmly shake a hand and look you in the eye?  Would she still honor family traditions?  Would she volunteer her time in ministry?  Will she be successfully independent?   Would she still say I’m sorry and ask for forgiveness?  Would she study the Bible, attend church and pray on her own accord? It is only by God’s grace that our kids do not depart from the parent/child development investments we’ve made over the years while still carrying the torch of faith.   If you get a chance, (without being a snoop) look around her room. Take a moment to look at her framed pictures and her keepsakes lying around. You’ll get a glimpse of her memories. This was the childhood, in part, we gave her.

As always, if you’d like prayer or just someone to talk to… email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com

Consider This with Pastor John 2/16/12

There was an encouraging story I read about a mom changing diapers while her 5 year old came in the room, plopped down beside the bed and asked, “Mommy, what do you want to be when you grow up?”  Mom assumed her daughter was playing some imaginary game and responded…Hmmmmm.  I think I’d like to be a mommy when I grow up.”  You can’t mom because you’re already one.  Okay, maybe I’ll be a school teacher!?  No mommy, you’re already one of those too.  You can be anything Jesus wants you to be!

Hi this is Pastor John with another “consider this”. This mom told her friends about the very special 5 minute interaction.  She was touched deeply because in her daughter’s eyes, Jesus could help her also be a pianist, a worship leader, an interior designer or anything she wanted to be.    God is not finished shaping any of us.  Be confident, the apostle Paul wrote, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  So what do you want to be when you grow up?

If you’d ever like someone to pray with or just someone to talk to, email PastorJohn@1049theRiver.com