Woodlawn CC

Woodlawn CC

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!!


God's blessings, grace and love to you all in this season of giving thanks to God for all He has provided for us.

In His Joy!
Roy


Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Giving Thanks, for all things. Sermon 11/22/15



This past Sunday my sermon (as many others around the Nation) focused on giving thanks.  There are just so very many things in our lives that we need to give thanks for that we could not possibly even begin to list them all.  Our mighty God provides for and guides us so untiringly and faithfully.

Now by now if you've followed my blog or watched any of my sermons I'm sure you realize that I am not of the persuasion that God causes bad things to happen to anyone.  But what I am a firm believer in is that God can gather up the pieces of all the awful things we and others bring into our world and make something good (or great) out of the wreckage.  This, however, is often predicated on us being open and willing to see and accept this blessing.  One of the things that I think we regularly fail to do is give thanks to a God that is so willing and adept at raising phoenixes out of the ashes of life that we leave behind.

I also believe that we fail all too often to give thanks for a persistent God that never stops tapping us on the shoulder and trying to guide us where we are called to be.  Thank you God Almighty, for never giving up on us who try so hard to ignore you and, in fact, run the other way.

In the sermon, I talk about how early in my life (I would have been 23) a minister asked if I had ever considered going to Seminary.  At that time, I certainly seemed to be the least likely candidate for such an endeavor.  But, I now often sit and wonder, was that God whispering in that old minister's ear... was that God trying to whisper into my ear through that minister's questioning?  I am left thanking and praising my God, a God that has never given up on me... even though I certainly wasn't responding.

I hope you enjoy the sermon if you decide to take a listen. Following the video, I have also attached a copy of my meanderings for the December Newsletter.

May this day find you well and richly blessed!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Absolute and Unyielding Grace!
Roy



Pastor's Report – December 2015

Well, what a wonderful weekend we just had!  We all woke up Saturday morning to snow covered sidewalks, a genuine winter wonderland!  I started out scooping the walks in preparation for the God's Portion Sale and eventually Scott DeVries and the Daisy clan showed up to help.  Lonnie started up the new snow blower and we made short work of the clean-up.

As most everyone should know by now the God's Portion Sale was a tremendous success!  With the proceeds from the lunch included we topped $ 9,000 for the event.  What a great turn out!  The meal that Donna Westcott prepared was fantastic especially considering all the stress she'd been through with dealing with Clyde's hip surgery just a few days before and only getting back to Lake City the afternoon before the event.  I was so very impressed with the Sale, and I am only sorry that Gail wasn't able to be with us, unfortunately on top of the weather she also fell ill the day before and wasn't up to traveling.  Thankfully though she will be with us all this coming weekend for the first Sunday of Advent.

I want to thank everyone who donated items to the auction, as well as all those who came and purchased items.  It takes both forms of contributions in order to make this a successful event.  Special thanks go out to Leon & Judy Hendricks and Clyde & Donna Westcott for agreeing to chair and manage the event.  You all did a fabulous job in putting together this wildly successful sale.  Thanks especially to Leon for all the hustling about and acquiring donations from local businesses!  A thanks to Jeff Frank for assembling the shelves and display for the Sale, Jeff came up and did this all by himself late one night.  I still can't believe he was able to pull that off alone, but he did it...

On Sunday, we had a great turn out for both the worship service and Thanksgiving dinner.  Thank you to both Brenda and Barb for preparing such a wonderful meal!  Thank you also to Linda Potts for getting a birthday cake for me, and a thank you to the entire congregation for all your well wishes and cards for my birthday.  You are all the very best and I do so appreciate you all!

The Community Thanksgiving Worship Service was held here at WCC that same afternoon and we had a great attendance there as well.  I'm very proud of the way that our membership turns out for these Community Services, we had a great representation at the event this last summer in the Square and we did so again this last weekend.  Thank you all!  Thank you also to Jodi for setting up snacks for after the service and also for setting up snacks for after the 'Hanging of the Greens' in the Sanctuary.  Which we did after our guests from the Community Service had left the Church.

Watching the Sanctuary being converted from its Fall trappings to its full blown Christmas attire was a magical experience.  Everyone was like a bunch of little bees going about setting up the decorations in the long tradition of Woodlawn Christian Church.  Many of these decorations have been here for many, many years and are a large part of the members experience of this most blessed Holiday Season.  What a wonderful thing to become a part of.  Thank you to all that helped out, though I could see that it was a labor of love and everyone was enjoying themselves tremendously.

This coming weekend is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday when we will be lighting the 'Hope' candle.  With all the uncertainty and senseless violence that we see in the World today, perhaps there has been no time in history when we needed to so fully place our 'Hope' in our Lord and Savior.  We place our 'Hope' in Christ, and we know that He will provide and guide us and the World through these perilous times.  Praise be to God!

Ryan Daisy and Emily Winker are back from school at UNI for this coming weekend and will kick off the Advent season for all of us here at WCC by lighting the candle of 'Hope'.  I sincerely, hope that you all will join us in this amazing time in the Church Calendar, the celebration of the Advent season and the expectation of the birth of the Christ-child.

God's Love to you all and remember always to, “be a blessing to someone today!”
Pastor Roy




Wednesday, November 11, 2015

A Wedding at Woodlawn Christian Church

,

This past Saturday I was able to perform my first wedding here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  The young couple Matt Weiss and Alicia Stonehocker, are a wonderful couple and I enjoyed going through the premarital counseling with them and the wedding went off without a hitch.  I am very confident that Matt and Alicia will enjoy a lifetime together as one, and I am extremely happy for them and proud of them.

I've attached below the script of the service.  Our wedding coordinator for the Church, Roxy Crandall told her husband that it was the best wedding service she'd seen.  I think that's likely an extreme stretch, but I'm thankful that it went over so well.

Thank you, Matt and Alicia and God's blessings on you both!

In His Grace,
Roy




Stonehocker / Weiss Wedding
Prelude

Processional

Bridal Processional

Introduction
When two hearts are bound together in the bonds of Christian matrimony, it is a blessed and sacred moment. We recognize that marriage is an important part of God’s plan for mankind. God Himself long ago ordained and instituted marriage, and it was He who performed the first wedding ceremony in the Garden of Eden.

When our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world He chose a wedding at Cana in Galilee to perform His mighty miracle. In order to achieve success in this, the highest of all human commitments, we must look to Gods’ Word for direction. The Bible says that you are to submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, you are to submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body.

Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. A man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

The beautiful love you share with each other is described in 1st Corinthians 13. There the Bible says, “Love is ever patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone you will be loyal to them no matter what the cost. You will always believe in them, always expect the best of them, and always stand your ground in defending them. All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, but love goes on forever. Someday prophecy, and speaking in unknown languages, and special knowledge— these gifts will disappear. There are three things that remain – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:4-9, 13, TLB).

Giving Away of the Bride
May the Lord bless you both as from this day forward you seek to carry out these scriptural ideals in your marriage.
In light of the serious approach the Scriptures take toward marriage, it should be entered into with sobriety and great reverence.  If any man can show just cause why this couple should not be joined together, let him speak now or else, hereafter and forevermore, hold his peace.
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Response: Her mother and I.

Prayer
LET US PRAY
Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life.

We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of a man and a woman in his Holy Name. By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon this man - Matthew, and this woman - Alicia.  Defend them from every enemy.  Lead them into all peace.  Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads.  

Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Message




Vows
So, Matt and Alicia, you have come today signifying your desire to be formally united in the bonds of Christian matrimony.  Will you now please join both hands, remember always that the closer you keep Christ in the center of your life, the greater your love will be for the other.

Matt in taking Alicia to be your lawful and wedded wife, before God and these witnesses present, you must promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, and leaving all others, to cleave only to her and be to her in all things the true and faithful husband so long as you both shall live. Do you so promise?

Response: I do.

Alicia in taking Matt to be your lawful and wedded husband, before God and these witnesses present, you must promise to love him, to honor and cherish him and leaving all others, to cleave only to him and be to him in all things the true and faithful wife so long as you both shall live. Do you so promise?

Response: I do.

Then, you are each given one to the other. In times of happiness and in times of sorrow; in times of plenty and in times of poverty; in times of sickness and in times of well-being; to love and enjoy till death shall separate you.

Exchange of Rings
May I have the rings?

Throughout all time the ring has been used to seal this most important of all human commitments. The ring is a beautiful symbol of your love, in that it is an unending circle symbolizing the eternity of your love, and the purity of gold in the ring symbolizes the purity of your love and marriage in God’s eyes.

Matt, will you take this ring which is a beautiful symbol and meaningful token of your love for Alicia and place it on the ring finger of her left hand while holding it in place repeat these words to her? “With this ring I thee wed, with loyal love thee endow, and all my worldly goods with thee I share, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”

Alicia, this ring is a beautiful symbol and meaningful token of your love for Matt. Will you now place it on the ring finger of his left hand while holding it in place repeat these words to him? “With this ring I thee wed, with loyal love thee endow, and all my worldly goods with thee I share, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”

The pouring of the Unity Sand
“Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). God created you as an individual, perfect by His glory and love. But God also said that it was not good for man to be alone, and so he created woman to be his partner and helper. Today as you have made a sacred covenant before God joining in marriage, you now become one flesh. You have chosen to symbolize that union with a sand ceremony.

First, I will pour in the TAN sand, representing your faith in God as the foundation of who you are as individuals. 

Now ALICIA, pour some of your sand, representing yourself as an individual before you came to this union. 

Now MATT, also pour some of your sand, representing yourself as an individual before you came to this union. 

I will next pour some more TAN sand, representing your faith in God as the foundation of your marriage.

Now, MATT and ALICIA pour your remaining sand together to represent your joining as one in marriage completely and eternally.

Lastly, I pour a final layer of TAN sand to represent God watching over you and protecting you with his everlasting love.

May God bless this marriage so that you are as inseparable as these grains of sand. Amen.

Signing of the Marriage Certificate

Pronouncement
Now, having pledged your eternal faith in each other, and your undying love for each other, having entered into a convent agreement with God, and having sealed that pledge and covenant through the symbolic union of your lives through the enactment of the unity sand, by the exchange of these holy and blessed rings, and by your solemn vows to each other before and with God, I, acting in the authority vested in me as a minister of the Gospel, and looking to God for his divine approval upon your lives, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).

Introduction of Couple
I present to you all Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Weiss.
Matt, you may now kiss your bride...

Benediction
May the God of peace who raised Christ from the dead strengthen your inner being for every good work, and may the blessing of God Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit Rest upon you both and dwell within you this day and forevermore. 
Amen. 

Recessional





Sermons for November 1st and 8th



It's been a bit crazy the last two weeks.  Last week due to preparing for the wedding that we performed here at the Church on Saturday.  I was back into Lake City on Friday afternoon rather than on Saturday evening as I generally am.  My time in Omaha was cut very short this week with leaving Lake City late Wednesday night and then getting back here about 4 pm.

I discovered that we had several members with health issues while I was gone and on Monday morning one of them passed away.  Unfortunately, I had not learned that she was ill until Sunday evening and I went up to the hospital to see her Monday morning only to find that she had passed before I got to the hospital.  Shirley Winter passed away that morning and honestly I feel awful as I had been to the hospital on Sunday afternoon visiting another member and had I known that Shirley was there also I would have stopped in and seen her.

All of our prayers are with the Winter family as they go through this time of mourning the loss of their mother and grandmother.  May God's comforting hand guide them through these days of grief.

I will put up another post concerning the wedding later but for now I wanted to get up the videos for the last two Sunday's sermons.

May God bless you all!

In His Grace & Care,
Pastor Roy



Sermon given November 8th, 2015



Sermon given November 1st, 2015