Sermon

They say the Holidays are the most difficult time of year on families. People are more likely to report feelings of depression in winter than any other time of year.

I blame the moon.

Here in these winter months, it seems that we live lunar lives – there is more darkness than light in our lives. It happens every winter. The sun spends less time in our world this time of year and defers to the floating moon. In fact, experts have found that suicide is highest in the early spring months, but they believe the depression experienced in the winter built up to the suicidal act in the spring.

Apparently there is a certain chemical in our brains called serotonin that affects our emotional health and mood. Serotonin is regulated, in part, by sunlight. When we don’t get much sun, we are more prone to lose energy or suffer bouts of depression. For this reason, some Alaska school districts mandate at least an hour playing beneath a special sun lamp during the dark winter months.

While not entirely sunless, our Michigan winter solstice can be difficult also. The day is short – the night is long. Some people get so overwhelmed by the darkness that they wonder whether they will ever see the sun rise again.

It seems like we are always on one solstice or another. The Summer solstice is the longest day of the year. The active life can run unchecked for hours longer than usual. Here in Michigan, darkness may cover our area for only about 8 hours. These are times for the manic – full of light and serotonin.

But that is June, and this is January. It seems like a long time to wait. Our reality is grey for now. With envy, we have to watch sporting events in exotic tropical places – full of light and hope. Meanwhile, we are here with the snow and the lunar grey.

In these times, the day is short and the light is rare, but it is no less real. The reality of this light should cause us to use it well. Instead of bemoaning its brevity, let us celebrate the day while it is with us.

The next time snow falls, my wife will tell me about the beauty of it all. Instead of bemoaning the shoveling, the scraping, and the cold, I should just clear my driveway in the light that I have. And if the day lasts, I should shovel my neighbor’s as well or help someone in need. For, the day only lasts so long in these dark times.

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer” – Albert Camus

Immediatly, we are met with the Beatitudes and Jesus announces to us that the poor in spirit are blessed and posess the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the basic structure of the rest of the Beatitudes – blessed are the people who aren’t really blessed. Blessed are the losers. In Jesus’ kingdom the blessed are the down and out, bi-polar hard cases. It seems that Jesus isn’t very good at building, for he built his kingdom upside down.

To be poor in Spirit is to be spiritally needy. “Blessed,” Jesus seems to say, “are those who look at the towers they have built to Heaven and see so much missing.” Blessed are the lost simpletons who want someone to help them home. Blessed are those who believe, but need help with their unbelief.

Apparently, if I want to experience the blessedness of the Kingdom of Heaven, I have to lose it all. I have to empty my pockets of all these spiritual riches I have hoarded. I have to file for chapter 11 and declare myself spiritually bankrupt. And then, with nothing, i must climb into the lap of my father and ask for my allowance – the bountiful richness of his presence, his hope.

Abba, strip me of all that I have and leave me naked and in need of that which only you can give.

Come back and haunt me, Follow me home
Give me a motive Swallow me whole
They say I’ve lost it, What could I know
When I’m but a mockery? I’m so alone
Sooner or later you’ll find out There’s a hole in the wall
Today is ours Condemned to be free
Free to keep breathing, Free to believe
I look to find you Down on my knees
Oh God, I believe! Please help me believe – SWITCHFOOT (Soren’s Song)

One of the things that a person would immediately notice if they visited Bellaire both in the Winter and the Summer, is the vast difference in busyness. There are times in the depths of an ice cold winter that Bellaire is kind of a ghost town. In the Summer, however, it is the exact opposite. This Summer, residents of Bellaire have had to deal with traffic, long lines, and the bustle of tourist season.

Like our little village, our little church has been busy as well this Summer. Last UNday, we had 22 in attendance and 15 of them were from Farmington Hills, near Detroit. Hardly a Sunday has gone by this summer without at least one visitor. So it is with ministry in Northern Michigan!

July has featured:

• Corey’s commissioning service
• Michelle Sterner’s mission trip to Ukraine
• Hosting a team from Huntsville, AL
• Vacation Bible School
• Block parties in Bellaire and Pellston

This July, a lot of doors have been knocked on, and people have been prayed with. I have had the privilege of meeting many people. I have spoken with community leaders, cashiers, cowboys, kids, and the random person on the street. People have been warm and friendly and my family has been greeted warmly. It has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun this Summer.

People are getting to know me (especially realtors!). I try to stay in town for a good part of the day, walking around talking to people. Now, I am often recognized in my various haunts. Also, Pastor Andrew Palmerville from Church of the Hills has done a great service in introducing me around town. A very cooperative newspaper has been very good for publicity, as well.

We continue to deal with a difficult housing situation. We currently have an offer on a house in Bellaire, and have some wonderful renters lined up for our house in Fruitport. There are a few difficulties that we have yet to overcome before we can close on a house and get moved up to Bellaire.

Please pray for our housing situation. Ministering from a hundred miles away is difficult, and I believe ministry would be much more effective if I could get my family moved into the area.

I praise God for the many gracious hosts that I have had the privilege to stay with in the past couple of months. They have shown me exceeding grace and exceptional hospitality.

IN the next few weeks, I hope to follow up on some of the people I met during Vacation Bible School and the block party. I am signed up for several different volunteer opportunities in August that include the Commission on Aging, the Chamber of Commerce Duck Race, and the Manna Group. First Baptist is hosting a Love & Logic parenting class sponsored by the Heath Department.

Also, I am exploring the possibilities of starting several small seeker groups in the area. These small groups are alternative ways of reaching unreached groups of people in the area. For instance, one possibility is starting a small group at a local horse ranch and targeting riders, horse lovers, and outdoors types in general.

So, there is a lot going on! We continue to seek God’s will, and to pursue the vision he has placed on our hearts – to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our families, neighbors, community and world.

Would you pray for our ministry this week? Here is a quick list of items that need prayer:

• LeCureux’s housing situation – pray that God continues to keep the doors open
• VBS Follow-Up Contacts – I will be calling on several of the parents and families I met at Vacation Bible School
• Seeker Groups – pray that God opens up lives and doors as we look for alternative ways to get out into the community.
• Volunteer Opportunities – pray that good contacts are made as I serve the community
• Please pray for the continued dedication of our small dedicated group of members
• Pray that God gives all of us involved a sense of the urgency in his mandate that we serve our neighbors, and that we live and breathe the gospel.
• Please pray for a musician/worship leader for our group (I’d rather not have to do it)

Thank you for your continued letters of encouragement, and for your continued prayers. We are anxious of the risk God has called us to, but excited for the opportunity. Your continued partnership is powerful blessing and motivation for this ministry. May God bless you for it.

I remain your partner and servant

At the end of the week, First Baptist, slong with the Huntsville team threw a block party at Richardi Park. We also received help from Dr. Ken Wilson and Darren Grier from Northwest Baptist Association. The block party featured dramas, puppet shows, popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy. The big draw, however, was a giant inflatable slide called the Titanic.

We met several families and were able to serve our community in a meaningful way. It was a great week. We very much appreciate all the help we received from all over the country!

Greetings from God’s North Country!

We wanted to give our friends, ministry partners, and prayer partners a regular update on this new adventure that God has brought us to in Bellaire, MI. As many of you already know, Keelie and I have accepted a call to minister with the First Baptist Church of Bellaire and the Northwest Baptist Association. As a part of our efforts, we are eager to have your support through prayer and encouragement. I hope that you can use these regular updates to pray for our ministry up here in this beautiful part of God’s creation.

Officially, June 1st was our first day, and while there are already some very exciting things happening in the ministry, we still have yet to move into the area. This delay is caused mostly by the fact that we have been unable to sell our house in Fruitport. So, I have been spending 4 days a week in Bellaire, while my family has remained downstate. As you can surely guess, this separation is difficult and we are eager to find a better arrangement.

Feel free to check out our temporary home on the web: http://bellairebaptist.wordpress.com

Here are a few requests for you to consider in prayer:

Requests for First Baptist

• We have a busy Summer schedule planned. Please pray that we meet many of our neighbors and bless them!
• We are hoping to generate depth and excitement for the new ministry. Pray for God’s Holy Spirit power and presence.
• Our theme this Summer is reBegin. We’re restarting a ministry and giving hurting people a chance to reBegin as well. Pray for those who need a new start here.
  
• We will be trying to minister to single moms and people who have been affected by divorce. Pray for collective hands that heal.
• Please pray that we find many more prayer partners, financial partners, and churches to join our ministry.
• Pray for our sponsor church, the Orchard, as they transition to a new pastor.
  
• Pray for our Association’s Director of Missions, Dr. Ken Wilson as he guides Corey in the ministry.
• Pray for Bro. Joe Norris as he continues to mentor Corey
  

Requests for Corey, Keelie & Caedmon

• Pray that old hurts and ministry battle wounds are healed
• Pray that our hearts become open to our new community
  
• Pray that our new community’s heart is open to our ministry
  
• Pray for the LeCureux’s house to sell
• Pray that God leads us to a quality, affordable house in the Bellaire area
• Pray that our new, tighter budget is loose enough to minister effectively

May God bless you for your help as we partner together in this ministry! If you have any questions, please call (231) 533.6407

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Cor. 5:17

Ever look at your life and wish that you could start over? When I was a kid, we had a thing called “take backs.” Remember take-backs? Take backs were opportunities that you were graciously given by another kid after you had said something mean or stupid to them.

For instance, one boy would say something insulting about another boy’s mother and immeadiatly realize he had went too far. For some reason mothers always got dragged into immature arguments. The insulted and infuriated boy would control his fury long enough to say, “I’ll give you one chance to take that back.” Of course, if the boy didn’t, somebody was going have to go home and explain their black eye to Mom.

Most of us are older now, and we no longer live in a world where take-backs are possible. The things we have said and done are said and done. Yet, we live everyday with the knowledge of all the things we wish we could take back.

You can’t go back, but you can rebegin. The Bible says that if any person is in Jesus Christ, he is a new creation. God is in the business of renewing and reforming lives that are hurting, broken, and full of regret.

Have you ever thought about beginning again? Have you thought about starting over?

Do you need a reBegining?

First Baptist Bellaire is a group of people who are experiencing this reBegining. We are committed to God’s plan for our lives, our families, and our world. We believe that God is changing the world. We believe that he sent his son Jesus to show us how we can have a perfect relationship to him and to eachother. the type of relationship we had before sin and brokenness entered our reality.

If you’re interested in reBegining, contact us, and let us know how we can help!