When the Storms Hit

Wow, that was some storm that hit Sacramento last week! It was amazing how quickly the weather changed from beautiful fall weather to a powerful storm off the Pacific Ocean. I must admit, I’ve lived in this area for many years and don’t remember anything like it. The electricity went out at the church and we sent the staff home. Olson Drive down from the church was a mass of downed trees on the roadway. A crepe Myrtle tree that I planted in my backyard over 30 years ago snapped in half and huge limbs were down all over the yard. I even had a big branch fall on my neighbors brand new shed. Oh, well, sorry about that! It was a mess.

Kind of like real life! We are moving along minding our own business and everything is going well, then things suddenly fall apart. We know storms will come, but we’re just not ready when they hit. Jesus warned us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Godly people do lose jobs and homes. They struggle in their marriages and with their kids or parents. Christians lose loved ones. Health problems come. We know there are storms in life, but we are so quickly caught off guard when they happen to us. Jesus clearly warned us that storms will come, but He gave us hope, He has overcome the world! He is still in charge. He has already won the victory. It may seem like everything is in chaos, but He is still sovereign, so children of God, take heart!

Later in the day, as I was sitting in the backyard under my patio cover watching the storm, I must admit I was nervous. What if one of those trees fell on the patio? I’m from Kansas and I know bad weather! Believe me, Kansans don’t sit outside and watch storms! They head for the basement. At the same time, I knew this was California and tornadoes aren’t supposed to happen here. So, like a fool, I calmly sat and watched the storm rage.

Kind of like being a child of God! We know that we are God’s kids and he takes care of us. We are never alone. God walks with us through the storms. That’s what Jesus promised in Matthew 28:19, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." No matter how bad the storms are, He is always right there sitting with us, walking with us, holding us and protecting us. That is a promise from Jesus Himself!

Several friends from the church shared pictures of two rainbows they saw during the storm. What a reminder from God in the midst of the storm, “Don’t worry, I’m still here!” So children of God, when the storms hit, reach out and take His hand. You are not alone. Remember, God is good all the time! Amen??

posted by:
Ted Smith
Senior Pastor

No Furloughs With God

Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t take furlough days? Can you imagine what it would be like if on a day that you really, really needed the touch of the Master, you got a recorded message stating that because of budget issues God couldn’t take your call and that you should call back the next day, but know that “because of an increased volume of calls, you may have to wait up to (insert creepy computer voice) ‘three hours and thirty-nine minutes’” !!!! Fortunately for all of us, the God of the universe, the creator of all time and life, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is on His throne right now. He’s not on a break, He’s not in the restroom, He’s not taking a furlough day. He is there and He promises to “never leave you nor forsake you.” That’s good news! He’s on the job. So whatever it is that is on your mind or heart at this very instant, you can take it to Him. He wants to hear from you and He wants to help you get through whatever challenge life is throwing at you. As I said, He’s on the job.

If you’ve been around First Cov for any length of time, you’ve heard Pastor Ted say, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything.” I believe that, but I must admit that I am a worrier. I pray about everything, but then I worry about it as well. I guess this is my way of giving God a hand with whatever it is that I’m going through. Ridiculous, yes, but unfortunately true, and I’m certain I’m not the only one who lie awake at night worrying about things that are out of my control. Go ahead, admit it – you worry, too.

I recently read a good book that has helped me with this issue, and I recommend it to you. It is Finding Peace by Charles Stanley. In it, Pastor Stanley deals with many of the things that keep us from experiencing the perfect peace Christ intends for us. It says, “Our loving heavenly Father holds on to us. He hears our cries. He embraces us with His everlasting arms. He holds us tightly in His comfort of us. The closer we cling to Him, the quieter our spirits become.”

This has been tremendously true for me. For years I had been hit and miss when it came to being consistent with my quiet times with Christ. Over the past few years, I’ve been able to develop the discipline to regularly read His word and spend time with Him in prayer. A great tool for me has been my journal, which actually serves as written prayers. As the statement from Stanley says, the closer I’ve clung to Him, the quieter my spirit has become, though I don’t succeed all the time. I still lie awake at night, but not as much.

So, the next time you hear of someone taking a furlough day, remember that God doesn’t, and He wants you to spend time with Him. When you do, you’ll experience His peace. I have, and you can, too. See you in worship.

posted by:
John Plastow
Executive Pastor of Worship Arts

Play Nice

This past week I came across an interesting part of scripture that I never really paid much attention to in the past. But for whatever reason, it really caught my attention.

In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus is talking about how great John the Baptist is and begins addressing the crowd and their skepticism about him. In verse 16 Jesus then asks this question:

“How shall I describe this generation? These people are like a group of children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, we played wedding songs, and you weren’t happy, so we played funeral songs, but you weren’t sad.”

Being a children’s pastor I instantly thought about what it is like when a group of children play together. Have you been to a school yard lately or stopped and watched a group of children playing together? It’s funny, but some things never really change. I have been volunteering at my children’s school once a week since they were in Kindergarten and the play habits of kids is almost the same as it was when I was in school. First let me say that the play ground is not a quiet place! Now I always find myself watching the kids play “wall ball,” you know the game where two of you take turns hitting the ball against the wall trying to get the other person out. The “Wall Ball” court brings lots of competition, yelling, arguing, pushing and complaining. The aggressive more authoritative kids are always the easiest to find. They are the ones who seem to change the rules and do the most complaining and in most situations bully themselves so they are always right and in control. The quiet, peacekeeping kids are the ones who just want to play and have fun. They have positive attitudes, for the most part, and usually just get back in line and wait for their next turn. In most cases the quiet kids are the minorities and usually just continue playing the unfair game. But sometimes, this minority will speak up through their actions and will leave and go start their own game or join another activity.

My challenge to you today is to not be the “complainer” on the playground. Don’t change the rules of how you should be living or acting so you can be in control. Humble yourself and put God first. Let your actions demonstrate that you are God’s child. Speak up and show this generation that you are going to play the game the right way. Who knows, maybe it’s time you started a new game of your own.

posted by:
Fred Hammer
Children's Ministries Pastor

When God Says “Go”

Read Matthew 14:13-21.

This is somewhat strange for me. Today is October 1, and signifies to me that I am no longer working at First Cov. As my parting devotional, if you will, I thought it fitting to reference Mark Shetler’s message from a couple of weeks ago regarding following God’s leading (Matthew 14:13-21). He mentioned in his message that when God tells us to do something, it does not always have to make sense in the moment. This exact concept is where my wife and I have been living in the past eight weeks.

This is an incredible time in the life of our church with the launching of Growth Groups, Equipping Classes, and rejuvenating our worship service styles. In fact, I led the team in revamping these services! And right in the middle of this process, God opened a door to a ministry opportunity in Dallas, Texas and told us to “go”. We were not looking to make a move at this time, and we were excited about all of the changes here. Nevertheless, the more we sought God through this, the clearer His voice was telling us to “go”. And not only Him speaking to our hearts, but also using other people! Several weeks ago, my wife was approached by a stranger at a local Quizno’s who felt she needed to pray for my wife by telling her, “God impressed upon me to pray for you as you are going through some sort of big transition”. Wow. There was no way she could have known what was going on in our lives! All of these instances cemented to us that we needed to obey God’s leading, even though it did not make complete sense to us. I mean, Dallas?? We are west coast people! We’ve always lived minutes away from I-5’s path...Dallas??

We know that God is leading us into an exciting ministry season, and we are confident that He will take care of us like He has so many times before. Likewise, I know that God is leading First Cov into an exciting ministry season, and I am confident that He will take care of His church like He has throughout history!

So what is God leading you to do? What is God speaking to your heart right now? Will you be participating in an Equipping Class? Be involved in a Growth Group? Help teach a children’s Sunday School class? Participate in A.C.T.S. day this Saturday? Support the Global Pipeline missions ministry? Are you listening to His leading? I promise you, if you make yourself available to be used by God, He will lead you into the greatest adventure of your life.

It has been a tremendous blessing to lead this church in worship of Him week after week for almost five years at First Cov. The worship team, tech team, choir, staff, and congregation have all made an incredible impact upon our lives. You are family to me and my family. We look forward to future visits and seeing the incredible journey that God is taking First Cov on in this next ministry season, and I would love to share with you what God is doing in our lives.

Remember, make yourself available to be used by God, and listen for Him; He will lead you. Just be ready when He tells you to “go”, wherever that may lead.

You can keep in contact with Kevin at www.facebook.com/kevmusic

posted by:
Kevin Goldstein
Director of Worship