Fulfilling Vows - Part 2

Over and over in Psalm 103, the Psalmist remembers the “steadfast love” of God toward us. In verse four he writes, “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.” (Psalm 103:17-18; NRSV)

How do we truly give thanks to such a God? One way is to keep our vows to Him. Our songs and prayers of praise and thanksgiving are empty rituals if we do not “remember to do his commandments.” God longs for and certainly deserves our faithfulness to the vows we made to Him.

Every person who is a member of a Church made a vow of loyalty with our gifts to God. Commitment Sunday provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our vows to God, through commitment of our time, talents, gifts and service. 187 Adults/Families and 23 children have used the Commitment Card to reaffirm their vows to God. They have committed $907,305.64 toward our 2010 Ministry Budget. That brings us to 50% of the Ministry Budget being committed. The majority of these have also made commitments of their time and talents to one or more ministries of the church.

If you have not turned in your Commitment Card, I encourage you to do so. They help the Finance Committee in their recommendations concerning the 2010 Budget. Commitment Cards are available in the office and the Welcome Areas around the Church.

This Saturday, November 21, is our Community Service Day. A couple of us from my Small Group are anticipating doing some painting that morning. A few others from my Small Group are visiting some homebound persons, taking them some goodies and cards made by one of our Child Enrichment Classes. If you are not in a Small Group you can still share in this morning of outreach. Auburn is off and most of the projects can be finished in time for you to see most of the Alabama game. Be at the Church at 7:30 AM for prayer and final instructions.

This Sunday evening, November 22, we will host our Community Thanksgiving Services. I say services because there will be a Children’s Service in the gym at the same time as the service in the Sanctuary. Both services will begin at 6:00 PM. There will be special music lead by the worship ministries of our church and the Church Revived, with a combined choir from various churches. Pastor Curt Sanford, the president of the North Jefferson Ministry Association and Associate Pastor at The Church Revived, will bring the message. Let’s be good hosts and do our part in filling the sanctuary and gym.

Fulfilling Vows - Part 1

Os Hillman writes a couple of email devotions that I find meaningful. One is Primetime and the other Marketplace Leaders. In this morning’s (11-18-09) Marketplace Leaders he addresses the issues of vows.

In Ecclesiastes we read this about vows; “When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it.” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5; NRSV)

Those of us who are married or have been married, made a vow. Those in positions of leaderships made a vow in accepting their position. And every person who belongs to a church made a vow to God and the Church. How are you doing on your vows?

Hillman wrote:
Have you ever had a business relationship with someone who made a commitment but later said, "Well, things changed, so I cannot honor our original agreement.”? Sometimes this may be the case, but often it is simply an opportunity to avoid fulfilling an agreement. God is big on fulfilling vows. God's nature is righteousness and truth. You will always see God honor His Word. He expects the same of His people.
Hillman went on to point out…
God says there are consequences when we do not fulfill our vows. Subsequent Scripture verses reveal the following:
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry with what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:5-7)
God tells us that He will destroy the work of our hands for failure to fulfill vows. That's pretty strong language. It gives us an indication of how important fulfilling vows is to God. He will not prosper our work if there are unfulfilled vows in our lives.

Hillman ends the devotional this way; “Ask God today if there are any unfulfilled vows in your life. If so, begin today to make them right so that you may be successful in whatever God calls you to do.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I shared with the children this morning in Chapel that Thanksgiving goes further back than the Pilgrims and Indians. The Psalms are filled with reminders to give thanks to God. And one of the main reasons we are to give thanks to God is God’s faithfulness.

A Church For Children

Yesterday, at the North Jefferson Ministry Association luncheon, our Harvest Hoedown was one of the topics of discussion. I was reminded again of the outreach opportunity it is. We had over 1400 persons register. When you add in those who were serving and those who did not go by the registration table, there had to be over 1500 at this year’s Harvest Hoedown. This is a joint ministry between Gardendale-Mt. Vernon and The Church Revived. Of those registered, 130 were from The Church Revived and 250 from Gardendale-Mt. Vernon. That means about 2/3 of those who came were not a part of either of our churches. The majority did say they were members of a church, but 265 have no church home. That is the major reason we invest the time and resources in the Harvest Hoedown. As Kelly Wiegert said at our Administrative Board meeting on Monday, this is our largest Outreach Event. Our Evangelism Team will work with our Children’s Team to follow up on those who do not have a church.

I shared Sunday morning about a family who said they wanted to be a part of church that had such a heart for children. The person to whom that comment was made is not part of our church. When the father said, “I wonder what time worship is?” he was directed to our sign. I don’t know if they were in attendance Sunday. We did have first time guests, as we do most Sundays.

I keep thinking about that statement, I want to be part of a church that has a heart from children. Jesus certainly wants His Church to have a heart for children. He is the one who said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14; RSV) I thank God that Gardendale-Mt. Vernon is seen as a church that welcomes children.

At the Harvest Hoedown, a young lady introduced herself and her daughter to me and said, we are the ones who have an appointment with you. They are not in a church, but her daughter attends our Children Enrichment Center. Her daughter has been learning scripture in her class and in chapel. She had been asking her mother questions about faith. So this mother is bringing her daughter to talk with me. This is another opportunity to touch a child and through a child, touch a parent. These opportunities happen when we make kids a priority.

Here are some upcoming opportunities to touch children:
· Gardendale Soccer Servant Evangelism, November 7th, 4:00 PM. We will be serving pizza and drinks as the Soccer league has their Closing Ceremonies. Volunteers are needed to cook and serve. Contact Paul Wiegert, pwiegert@gmvumc.org.
· Operation Christmas Child - Our Missions Team has boxes with instructions on how to fill them. This ministry serves kids in 130 countries. Our goal is to fill 300 boxes. In order to get them to kids by Christmas, they are due back November 22nd.
· Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, December 12th. This is a great opportunity for persons who do not have young children to bless children and their parents. We want parents of preschool and elementary age children to be able to participate with their kids. Contact Kelly Wiegert kwiegert@gmvumc.org to volunteer.

Our Community Service Day, November 21st, provides the opportunity to touch God’s older children. The Mission Team has 15 projects lined up. They range from yard work, gutter cleaning to painting a shed and painting some bathrooms. There will also be some teams taking Thanksgiving goodies to some homebound persons. If you are not in a Living the Good Life small group, contact Paul Wiegert to volunteer pwiegert@gmvumc.org. You can also provide some financial resources to help purchase paint and other supplies needed that day. Simply identify your gifts for “Community Service Day.”

Talking about ministry with children, Frank Malone made a motion at Monday’s Administrative Board meeting that the Children’s Building Committee be reactivated. The motion passed. One of the first things I anticipate the Children’s Building Committee to do will be to get some new projections on the proposed building. Some other churches have found this to be a good time to build. We presently have $1,235,661.88 in our children’s building fund. Be in prayer as they begin their work.