40 Days of 365 Days of Kindness

It's Friday and I just got off the phone with some imaginative and exciting people who are collaborating to make this little facebook network/professional page become a movement of kindness. Our own Christmas 365 which launched in December of 2007 has now linked with a group that has over 11,000 friends. We are not only promoting 40 days of love we are looking to renew that movement that was inspired back in the early 90's by the movie "Pay It Forward." What would happen if we carry out acts of love and generosity and kindness 365 days of the year? How many others would we inspire?

This coming Thursday BLC launches the 40 Days of Love Simple Suppers and Small Groups which will be followed up by a Sunday Small Group opportunity. I hope that if you are in LaPorte you will consider joining us for this great 40 Day Love-in and Love-out. We are motivated by the message of the angels to the shepherds, "We bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all people." We need good news that creates great joy. WE also need to BE the good news by our lives and our actions. Join this movement and if you are on Facebook check out the information about the Club http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1075485771#/pages/365-Club/51660762372 (11,000 others are finding ways to share kindness 365 days a year - we are not alone).

40 Days of Love For Christmas 365

Lent is a season to give up and take on. I'm giving up a couple of things, soda and deserts - the second is harder than the first. I'm taking on an extra thirty minutes of prayer time each day. That is the plan. Beyond that I invite you to join me as I blog the journey of Lent. We are doing a program at Bethany called 40 Days of Love. It's a program developed by Saddleback Church but it is offered to help us grow in loving God, loving others, and loving ourselves. Really, life is all about love. If we don't learn that we have missed the whole point. In fact the Bible says that "God is Love." The very essence of Love is what God is.
What is your highest aim in life? Your greatest goal? Complete this sentence...My major life goal is ... How would you finish that sentence. What I suggest God's guidance would be is to love. Love God, love people, and love yourself. Jesus suggested that it wasn't just to love those who love you. As he said, "Even the pagans do that." Our aim is also to love the unloveable. Where do we begin. That is the invitation to you. Join me on the Podcast, which you can download, stop by the blog, and if you can come to be with us at Bethany we meet on Thursdays at 5:30PM for a Simple Supper, 6:00PM for a DVD presentation, and a small group time after that. If you miss Thursday join us Sunday Morning in the ARC at BLC during the 9:15AM hour for the DVD and small group time.
In addition to this we will include the study on the blog if you want to listen to the Podcast and read over the notes from our discussion. I'm excited about this Lenten study. If you live in LaPorte check out our billboard on Pine Lake Ave. as you drive south (right by Anderson Automotive and Philipps 66). We are excited about what our 365 Team will be cooking up in the near future too. Have a great day.

Christmas 365

Dear Friends of the Bethany Blogosphere,

Winter is not quite over and I fear that even with cross country skis the attempt to keep Christmas alive may fade as spring looms on the horizon. Don't let it happen. The "Spirit of Christmas" is the "Good News of great joy which will be for all people." We need good news desperately and what a great opportunity is just within sight. Forty Days of Love is coming!

Forty Days of encouraging one another to love God and each other. Forty days to focus on loving those around us for the sake of Christ. I'm looking for some folks who will step up and help shape what Christmas 365 will look like and what ideas can inspire us. Do you want to be a part of that?

It all starts February 25th with Ash Wednesday services at 4:30PM and 7:00PM. We are going to talk about what love can do. We are also working on an amazing idea that could raise $30,000 to $40,000 for Habitat for Humanity and be a phenomenal Christmas present to the community. Watch for the information on this and how you can be a part of it. I was recently a part of a national conference call discussing 365 Club. There are over 11,000 members of that group now on Facebook. We are looking for ways to inspire people towards acts of generosity and kindness all year long. Check it out and watch for information coming out on this.

Don't forget to sign up NOW for Forty Days of Love. You can sign up online right now by email at contact@bethanylaporte.org or use our contact page on the web site and indicate you want to be a part of a group. Leave your email or phone and someone will contact you.

Stay Well - Seize the Day,

Pastor Denny

Week Three of Advent

Seize the Moment – Carpe Dieum

So much of life is lived in the past and future. Have you noticed that in your own life? Regrets, Monday morning quarterbacking, and feeling sorry for things done or left undone can really occupy our thoughts. Likewise living in the future, planning, worry, and anticipation can really distract us from fully appreciating the present. This week I will delve into seizing the moment this Christmas.
How will we do that? Here will be the suggestions: 1. Focus on the vital and not ust the urgent. Listen to Jesus words: “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 MSG; 2. Focus on spiritual preparations and not just the physical preparations. St Paul talks about this when he writes to the people in Colossae “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective.” Colossians 3:2 MSG; 3. Focus more on God than on yourself. Jesus famous conversation with Martha and Mary brings this to our attention: “‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘You are worried and upset by so many things but only one thing is needed.’” Matthew 6:41-42; 4. Focus on the supernatural rather than the superficial. I love what the prophet Jeremiah has to say about this; “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” Jeremiah 9:23-24.
I know my thoughts are a few among the memories, conversations, and activities of the week ahead but I hope for a few of you this might inspire you to grow closer to the Lord this very special week. Don’t forget the Christmas Eve Schedule December 24, 2008:

1:30PM Holy Communion and Canlelight 4:30PM Candlelight Service of Word and Carols 10:30PM Candlelight Service of Word and Carols

You might want to note that during the day on Christmas Day WCOE radio will being playing a lot of sacred and traditional music of which Bethany is one of the sponsors. In fact we are the only Church that is sponsoring music that day. Listen in if you get a chance. Thanks to Donna and Norma who got us signed up.

C U in Church,
Pastor Denny

Get Ready for Peace and Good Will

Good News? Did you know that there is a website dedicated to this very effort? Here it is: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ but no matter how much good news you read or hear any earthly news will not satisfy you deep down in your soul. The announcement about Christ’s birth was to be an announcement of peace and good will toward all people. Yet, that is not a shared vision by all of humanity. Some people want to intentionally bring chaos and misery. People are dying of cholera, starvation, and other diseases in Zimbabwe, Africa and the world puts this on page three because it is an internal political issue.
Read over what Jesus spoke about to his followers in Matthew 6:25-34. That will be the main text for the message this week. Read what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-9 years later after his life was completely turned around by Jesus. There is plenty to worry about in the world but Jesus addresses this by saying that we should not be worried. When we begin to lose ourselves in serving others we worry less. It seems like just the opposite. If you don’t worry about yourself, who will? God cares and that is literally all that matters.
The kind of peace that Jesus offers is a peace of mind that the world can never give us. The good will that Jesus shares is the good will that is generated by all the followers of Jesus living out their faith in life of service.
I was so pleased to see the response to the Clothesline ministry this past week. Today someone brought in a whole pile of NEW coats. Others are planning on caroling to shut-ins and nursing homes next Sunday night at 4:00PM. Still others are acting on their own doing all kinds of charitable acts of kindness, good will, and love. That is what makes Christmas – Christ’s Mass (the worship of Christ in our very lives.)

Get Ready For Christmas

I watched the Dow plunge another 600 points yesterday, the attacks in India were still headlines, people look to our President elect to solve a host of problems, and the job market is just plain scary. Is there any good news out there? The Good News, with a capital G and a capital N has been there for two millennia but we fear what is going on right now rather than looking with trust and faith to the consistency of God and the promise of a present and future guided not by markets and malevolent dictators but by the Christ. Christmas is about Good News. Good News announced to shepherds and wise men, to Kings and cattle, and to star gazers and carpenters. It is good news for everyone.

Over the next few weeks we are going to explore what the Good News is and what it means for us. One thing is for sure Christmas is less about consumerism and more about Christ. This week we will pick up the theme Get Ready for Christmas. We will explore three ideas: 1. If Christ brought us Good News we should know what it is. Read Psalm 107:2 and Philippians 4:4; 2. We need time to tell others the Good News. Read Matthew 11:28; 3. We need to share the Good News “on purpose.” Read Luke 2:15. Good News is not wrapped up in warm fuzzy stories that warm the heart. It is news that remains consistent dependable over the eons and stirs hope and faith in the midst of massive world troubles.

I will explore these three themes and make a few suggestions on how to live the Good News this Christmas season. We are putting ads in the Herald Argus over the next few weeks so you can point to those to tell a friend or neighbor about it. We can also run off color flyers for you to share with others if you like. Just give us a call or stop by the church office to get a few to pass out. We will also be decorating the sanctuary and hallways on December the 10th at 6:00PM with sloppy joes, chips, and hot cider and then try to make quick work out of decorating. As the saying goes, Many hands make light work. C U in church!

GIVE THANKS, GIVE BACK!

At the Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service, we will be giving out food certificates to attending persons in need of Thanksgiving Meal assistance.

Come, join us in worship. Give thanks... and if you could use a little help with paying for this years Thanksgiving meal, let us know. We want to give back in honor of the many wonderful blessings Bethany has realized in 2008.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!