Vol 3 No 17 - Back in the Game

I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am to be back in the game this week after recuperating from my recent surgery - I have missed you all terribly and cannot wait to see each and every one of you during worship this weekend. As I told my friend Lynn Malone last week, I am truly blessed to have a job that I cannot wait to get to every day and am distraught when illness or injury keeps me away (after all, how many people in our society can honestly say they love their job)? Thank you again, one and all, for who you are and how much you have and continue to bless me and Erin.

One of the great things about getting back into the swing of things is returning to the routine of the church's life. Most all of you know, from having read your April newsletter, that we are going to see the return of weekly group and Bible studies starting next week. There are several different studies being presented; please find more information about all of these as you scroll down. I must note that I made an error in my column about one group - it will meet on TUESDAYS at 6:00, not Wednesdays at 7:00.

Finally, it would be a terrible omission to not acknowledge that today is the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Whether we want to admit it or not, we never know when tragedy will strike us as we go about the routines of life. My hope and prayer for each of you is that you are constantly aware of, and engaging in the practice of, nurturing your relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the honor and privilege of serving a God who desires for us to commune with him not just when tragedies occur and we are searching for answers; no, our God desires for us to relate to him in all things, through all things. Can you honestly say that this is your outlook on life?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 16 - Holy Week

Most of the time I make an effort in this space to give you something to chew on as you walk in your journey with Christ, or to let you know of something upcoming in the life of the congregation. The starkness of this week leads me in a different direction, however.

This is Holy Week. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we will be gathering for worship at 6:00PM. Easter Sunday, we will be gathering for worship at 10:00AM.

If these days ever fail to get our attention and these worship opportunities ever fail to become the number one priority on these days, then it tells us more than anything about our faith. Christ's Last Supper, His Death, and His Resurrection. What more could he do to tell us of the importance of these days?

See you Tomorrow, Friday, AND Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 15 - Pre-Holy Week Recognitions

I want to take a moment to thank in advance a few people who are going to help make our Holy Week 2008 one of the best ones yet in the history of Pharr Chapel.

Thank you to John & Cindy Lacy, who are going to take care of cooking our lunch on Palm Sunday.

Thank you to Marietta Race who has helped organize this lunch.

Thank you to Dana Blanco & Thelma Liner for organizing the picnic activities.

Thank you to those unnamed who are going to help prep the church for Maundy Thursday.

Thank you to Marlene Hendrix and all those involved in our music ministry who will be leading our service on Good Friday along with some of their friends.

Thank you to those of you who purchased the lilies we will have in our sanctuary Easter Sunday.

This week is the most awe-inspiring week of the year. To remember again the miracles of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, the holiness of the Last Supper, the ironic victory of Good Friday, and the unbridled joy of Easter Sunday is something that we cannot allow ourselves to take for granted just because we've been through it before.

To have the opportunity to gather as a community for this Holy Week is an honor and a privilege for me. I cannot wait for us to journey down this road together, the highs and the lows, as we celebrate Christ's life, death, and resurrection. If there is someone you have been waiting to bring to church, this is a great time to do so.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 14 - Membership in Lenten Context

Less than three weeks! Three weeks! Can you believe that less than three weeks from now we will be celebrating Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday! O what joy! So much to do between now and then...

I had the great occasion Monday to visit about the vows of membership and what is involved in being a member of our congregation and it has gotten me thinking since then about what it does mean to be a member of this congregation and the responsibilities that come with these vows. Then I started thinking a little more about what is coming up over the next few weeks and saw that we will have the opportunity to live out all four areas that we pledge to fulfill:

1.) PRAYERS

Lent is a wonderful time to recommit ourselves to the discipline of prayer, and not just prayers for things in our lives, but also for our community of faith. As we approach Holy Week be in prayer now for those who will be attending worship with us as well as all of those leading our worship experiences.

2.) PRESENCE

In addition to our regular Sunday morning worship, we will be involved in our annual Mission Run/Walk on the 15th, our Palm Sunday picnic & Easter Egg Hunt on the 16th, Maunday Thursday communion worship, & Good Friday worship led by our music ministry, there are great opportunities to be with your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

3.) GIFTS

Quite simply, the Scriptures remind us over and over again that everything thing that we have is God's, given to us to bring him glory. No matter what your gifts are, the anticipation of the Easter season is a great time to ask yourself if you are bringing the gifts God has blessed you with to the ministry of this congregation.

4.) SERVICE

I know that we will need volunteers to assist with the Mission Run and with the Palm Sunday Picnic. In addition, I have been visiting with some of you about some local outreach opportunities to be involved with later this summer and a very special one around Thanksgiving - be sure to use this time of reflection and anticipation during Lent to ask yourself if you are truly carrying out with integrity the vow you took to be in service to your community of faith.

God has truly blessed us with a wonderful congregation. Let's make sure that we are continuing (or beginning again) to remember our promises to God to be a part of the Kingdom work in this special place.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 13 - Worship Priority

One of the great honors and privileges I have as a pastor is to officiate at a Celebration of Life & Service of Death and Resurrection for the saints of the church when they pass away. This past Friday, we joined together in such a service for Mrs. Elma Voisin, one of our 88-year-old saints who has gone on to the next stage of life. What is so interesting about preparing these services and homilies is to revisit their life and their faith journey, and find out about how they saw God at work in their life. I was fortunate to get to know Mrs. Voisin well through our monthly communion visits, and even had privilege of worshiping with her during the final worship service she attended a little over a year ago. What struck me most was that when we talked about it, she could not stop crying. Just bawling. This was rare for me to see, so I asked what was happening. She told me that I just didn't understand; it was such a joy and overwhelming delight to be in worship with her church, her people, in the house of God. She went on to say that she missed it so much and that she would do anything to have the ability to attend every week, just to be with the people of God in the house of God. After she talked, it made me weepy as well.

Mrs. Voisin is not the only one of our shut-ins who has these feelings about Sunday morning worship - they would give anything to be able to be a part of the worship of the saints each week as we gather, hear and respond to the Word, give thanks and participate in communion, and are sent forth as the people of God to live out the kingdom of God.

The question you and I face as we hear these stories is, 'What is my attitude toward morning worship?' Is it something that is optional - something that is not really important and I can get along without it? Or is your attitude such that I will not allow ANYTHING to get in the way of my being in morning worship every week because it is what God's will is for my life and it is what I gave my word I would do when I joined the church?

I promise you that when we put ourselves in such a position that we drift away from worship on Sunday morning we are putting ourselves in position to drift away from what God's desire is for our lives. Trust me on this one. As as been said on more than one occasion, worship is about God, not us. Not our desires, our temperaments, our personalities - it's about God.

Since the beginning of January, various things such as secular holidays, weather, and other things have been allowed to get in the way of our worship attendance - let's make sure that we take TODAY to re-orient ourselves toward a life where our week is not complete without worshiping with our fellow Christians on Sunday mornings.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 12 - Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day. Every year, a debate rages in my mind - is this holiday more about Hallmark or the diamond cartels? No matter which way I go, I come to the same conclusion. Valentine's Day is a day that I laugh at, and a day that makes me sad. I laugh at Valentine's Day because so many use it as a day to go out of their way to tell someone special how much they love them. $300 dinners, $75 in flowers, etc. The jewelery companies tell you that if you buy this pendant/bracelet/watch/ring it will show how much you care. This stuff that makes me laugh also makes me sad. I hear stories almost every year from distraught people who didn't get anything (or didn't get what they expected) for Valentine's Day and, to make a long story short, it's not good. It makes me sad to think that it is an acceptable standard to set one day aside to tell someone in a very special way how much you love them. I am convinced that if two people are truly in love, and are showing that love to each other in the way that God intends, then Valentine's day is silly and pointless, for EVERY DAY is a day to show someone you love them.

Imagine if God operated the way that the greeting card, floral, and jewelry business wants you to operate towards those you love. Imagine if God only set one day aside each year to tell you how much he loves you. I don't know about you, but i would be very disinterested in a God who only made a big deal about how much he loves me one day a year. Fortunately for you and I, my friends, we get a valentine from God each time we draw breath. Want proof that God loves you? Who's the one that allows you to live? Want proof that God loves you? Think of the hope that you have that no matter what you go through on earth, on a given day/week/month/year, there is joy in the morning. And this is not something we are reminded of just once a year. If we are serious about our faith, we realize that it's not a matter of finding those things that prove God's love toward us. No, it's the realization that there is no possible way to get away from the reality of God's love, even if it is just by something as routine as drawing a breath.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 11 - Not Supposed to Happen

This year's Super Bowl was one of the best football games I have seen in a long time, and not just because the Patriots got beat. The spirited competition, the 12-point underdogs controlling most of the game - it was just a marvelous experience all the way around. In the post-game, a number of pundits and so-called 'experts' have droned on and on about this being one of the biggest upsets of all time. How could a team that finished six games worse in the standings and had inconsistent play from so many areas beat what was supposed to be THE BEST team of all-time? Forget that they are all professionals and that on any given Sunday one team can beat another - THIS JUST WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.

It was amusing for me to see all the chatter about this upset, for us Christians know that today, Ash Wednesday, begins our journey towards another upset that just was not supposed to happen. As we gather TONIGHT @ 6:00 for our Ash Wednesday service, we will mark the start of Lent, the season where we prepare ourselves for the most important days on the calendar, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We are preparing ourselves for what many (but not the Christian) considered the biggest upset in history - a simple man, born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem, who was tried, convicted, brutalized, and executed, by the virtue of his death and resurrection, defeated the evil one.

For us, it was no surprise. For us, it was the fulfillment of a promise. For us, it was the culmination of God's creating and saving work.

Don't forget to be a part of the Ash Wednesday celebration this evening, and to take part in all our Lenten activities. We are preparing to celebrate once again what the world considers the biggest upset in history. It's going to a celebration that even the Giants, with their ticker-tape parade yesterday, could not begin to imagine. Don't miss it.

See you Tonight (&Sunday)!
Lamar