Greetings from Pastor Rob

Mid-winter Greetings, People.

I was reading in Leviticus this past week and something caught my attention. After a long list of sexual sins to avoid, God says this: "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws... And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Lev 18:24-28. 

Apparently, the people in Canaan had engaged in all manner of sexual sin for a long time. Because of it and other sins, the land was defiled and punished! Somehow, the sins of people even affected the land itself. AND... it was this defilement that caused the land to vomit out the sinful inhabitants. Wow. I wondered if that had happened elsewhere in scripture. Well, Adam & 

Eve had to leave Eden because of their rebellion. There are prophecies against nations around Israel concerning their sin and punishment: against Assyria, Moab, Cush and more. Judah herself was taken into captivity due to sin. Jerusalem ignored her Messiah, and its people were scattered by Rome for centuries. Does it seem strange that the land might be affected by our sin? Romans 8 says that the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God's kids. If you want your land to do better, avoid sin! That's a good thing to pray for our state and country. Let me know if you have any thoughts on this.

What's Going On...

*January is Secret Sister Sign-up time! Grab a form on the fellowship hall table, fill it out and drop it on Melissa's desk or give it to Jan H. 

*TOMORROW is the annual Men on the Mountain up at Doug C's place. It's a huge fire, good food and a chance to hang out with men of all ages (bring the boys). Bring chairs if you want. Burgers, dogs & brats will be served. If you wanna bring chili or chips, great. Meet at the church between 2:30–3pm for a caravan up the hill. Share a ride of you don't have 4x4 or good tires. 

*Bible reading plans are on the table in the foyer if you'd like to read thru the Bible in a year, with a bit of the OT and NT together so you don't lose steam hauling thru Numbers. 

This Sunday...

Story Hour down, Ambassadors for Christ up and ACE in the fellowship hall (with the excellent video series) at 9am, as usual. In the service, we'll have worship, prayer and a message from Daniel 6 (yes, back to Daniel). This is about Dan meeting lions. You know that story. How might it impact us? Check it out.

See you Sunday?

Pastor Rob

p.s. Musings: "Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil... and yet the kernels do not pop at the same time. Don't compare your child to others. Their turn to pop is coming!"