11-2017 newsletter - Clover Sites
Redeemer Evangelical Free Chu rch 7735 W. Howard Ave, P.O. Box 20864 Milwaukee WI 53220
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 1363
November 2017
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Neighborhood Thanksgiving We have the opportunity to provide 90 Thanksgiving meals to people in our community who otherwise may not be able to afford to celebrate with a traditional meal. As part of our vision to reach 5,000 in 5 years we want to express God’s love in practical ways. To feed 90 people we need your help! Volunteer are needed: • On Saturday, November 18 to help cook and prepare the food (at Elmbrook Church), • On Wednesday, November 22 to package the individual meals, and to deliver the meals to receiving families. Contact John Stephan or Teresa Arenz with any questions. Sign-up at the Welcome Desk if you’re willing to serve!
More Serve Jesus Opportunies Districts Youth Conference Come for a student weekend that will be life changing! Students from 6th-12th grade are invited to join us for the annual Districts Youth Conference in Green Bay where we will learn from well-known speaker Zane Black, worship with the Seventh Hour band, and hang out together as a youth group. This is the conference to be at! Price per student is $125. A deposit of $50 will be due November 19th! Signups and permission forms are in the youth room!
At Redeemer we are committed to being “on Mission” (Matthew 28) as we reach out to our community with the love of Jesus! God has laid on us a vision to reach 5,000 in 5 years with the love of Jesus! We also have these exciting ministry opportunities:
Redeemer is unleashing the love of Jesus on the Greater Milwaukee area. At BREATHE, kids enjoy an evening of food, games, and fun while parents and caregivers get a well-deserved break. Want to get involved? Please contact Pam Cada ([email protected]) or Pastor Bob.
Neighborhood Christmas—as we look ahead to Christmas we want to remind everyone that we will be doing our Neighborhood Christmas outreach to families in need again this year during the holidays. We hope to serve many struggling families in our community with gifts for them to put under their Christmas Trees. Plan to get involved, more details coming. If questions contact Teresa Arenz ([email protected]) or Pastor Bob at the church office. BREATHE Special Needs Respite Care provides a fun, safe, evening out for families with special needs kids and their typical siblings. BREATHE is one of the new ways
Phone: 414.541.5580
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.redeemerefc.com
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. —Melody Beattie
Technology and Your Student “If there is one word that sums up how many of us feel about technology and family life, it’s HELP! We sense the precious days of childhood are passing by, far too fast, in a haze of ghostly blue light. We feel helpless to prevent them from over exposure, far too early, to the most violent and intimate facts of life. Parents feel out of control and hopelessly overmatched by the deluge of devices.” Can you relate to this as a parent? If so, how do we go forward in our technologically savvy world? Do you allow no boundaries and total freedom to technology use and risk our student’s time and attention being stolen away by the glow of a screen, or do we choose to abolish all evidences of technology and move to an Amish way of living? Andy Crouch, writer of “The TechWise Family” provides us a third option that involves managing, not abolishing, our complicated relationship with technology. In this book that I would highly recommend for any family, he provides 10 everyday steps to putting technology in its proper place. I’ll share an abridged and modified idea of 3 key and admittedly hard questions to ask and decisions to make to be a techwise family. How can I (we) model wisdom and courage in my family? Family forms the person. Schools may provide your student with a laptop, but it can’t form your student’s personality. If you are trying to install good values with your students, it’s
important to note that you are the main model for them! Keep in mind that you are not alone. I fully believe the church family is a huge part of developing important values for you and your students so don’t discount the role the church-family has in your family’s growth!
Am I (we) creating a space for relationship and creativity to happen? When you think about your home, what is the “emotional center” or the place where your family spends the most time and the most energy; is that space creating a place for relational engagement and creativity? In my living room, the space is built around the televisionN. While there is nothing wrong with watching TV or having a computer, neither of those create a deeper sense of relationship or creativity. If I want to create a space where I can see more relationship building, perhaps a question to answer is “what could we substitute the TV with?” For example, can you build the living room around a table to have conversation over, create art, or play board games?
Those things can foster relationships better than my TV can. What does taking a TechnologySabbath look like? What is rest for your soul? Personally, I think I can rest while watching a ball game or a TV show. But if I’m honest with myself, that does not rejuvenate my soul like a walk in the park, time with my spouse at a coffee shop, or reading God’s word and journaling does. With that being the case, how can I take a break from my technology? In the Bible, the Sabbath was God’s way of saying “take a break from the work you are doing and spend time with me in mind.” As a family, can you together take a day out of the week to turn off your phones and tablets and have a Sabbath? Can you read a brief passage of scripture before enjoying a meal, or go on a car ride together with phones left behind and ask what God is teaching each other in the family? You can reassure your kids that their friends will still like them, even if they can’t “snap” or “tweet” back to them right away. While these can be hard things to think through, it is worth the reward of being able to live a life with technology under control and a more fruitful time spent with the family! For more ideas, pick up “The Tech-wise family”. If you would also like to be involved with our Fuse parent forums in the future, let me know and I’ll be sure to include you for our next gathering on November 19th! ~ Mike Weiss, Youth Pastor
Pastor Dave: [email protected]
A Prayer to Remind Us of God’s Good Intenons I was pondering some of our options one Sunday with my ABF about what book of the Bible to investigate. And one of the books I threw out was 1st and 2nd Chronicles. One of the ABF members said, “Well, if it is a book I am unfamiliar with, I tend to go there. So I would lean towards Chronicles.” The next week, we began in Chronicles. Now, I know most people do not jump at the chance for a study of Chronicles. It seems like a rehash of Samuel and Kings. The first nine chapters are nothing but exhaustive genealogies. And it is history, for crying out loud! Snooze. In truth, the Chronicles offer some of the deepest and most meaningful theology in the Old Testament. They are a history of Israel from the standpoint of the return to the land after 70 years of exile. Jerusalem is in shambles. The wall needs rebuilt. The city needs rebuilt. The new temple is a shadow of its former glory. And there is no return of the presence of YHWH in the sanctuary. It would be very easy to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, helpless, and wondering if God has permanently abandoned you. Yet, the Chronicler insists on re-telling the history of Israel with an eye on a yetto-come Messiah and the continuing promises of GodNdespite the fact that it certainly does not seem like these promises are still in place.
One of the ways Chronicles injects new faith is the inclusion of different prayers, songs, and revivals not included in Samuel or Kings. One such passage is near the end of 1 Chronicles in which David is setting everything up–ordered worship through the Levites, materials for the temple, and preparing his successor, Solomon. Imbedded in these words to Solomon are some nuanced hints of the goodness and good intentions of God. “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act.” (1 Chronicles 28:9-10, NASB)
• I love the fact that Solomon is told to “know” God. This and Jeremiah 31:34 are the only places in the Old Testament where the imperative to “know God” is given. But, we are (by extension) exhorted not simply to obey God, or worship God, but also to know Him.
• The word “searches”, as in– “YHWH searches all hearts”–is probably better translated “seeks”. “Searches” has more of a scrutinizing feel to it. But, it is probably not that in this passage. God “seeks” (pursues, looks for) all hearts. The word “seek” (Heb. darash) is a favorite of the Chronicler calling on us to pursue God actively.
• “If you seek Him, He will let you
find Him”–Unlike passages like Deuteronomy 4:29 where it is a simple “If you seek Him, you will find Him”, the Chronicler places all the power in God’s hands. He will “let you find Him”. It is not based on your theological acumen or how deserving your efforts are. God lets us find Him because He wants to be found.
As Redeemer continues forward as a church of disciples who make disciples who make disciples, it was a short, largely unknown passage like this one that reminded me again of God’s goodness and His good intentions. This is the God we follow and a passage that offers us some moments of reflection on how we are to respond. ~ David Lynden
Momentum 40+ Singles Chrisan Community This singles Christian community gathers every Friday evening, even during the holidays. On Friday, November 24 at 3:00 PM will be a Thanksgiving's Second Chance Mixer. Momentum will provide the turkey and gravy. Guests should bring leftovers or any side dish to share. Join us at Mark & Leona Kimball’s home (3940 W. Grange Ave, Greenfield). Upcoming Schedule: November 3, 6:30 at Redeemer November 10, offsite event TBD November 17, 6:30 at Redeemer December 1, 6:30 at Redeemer December 8, Comedy Sportz more info to come
Pastor Bob: [email protected]
Pastor Mike: [email protected]
See our updates on the Momentum Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/momentumchristiansingles) and request to be on the list to receive weekly updates.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 1363
November 2017
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Neighborhood Thanksgiving We have the opportunity to provide 90 Thanksgiving meals to people in our community who otherwise may not be able to afford to celebrate with a traditional meal. As part of our vision to reach 5,000 in 5 years we want to express God’s love in practical ways. To feed 90 people we need your help! Volunteer are needed: • On Saturday, November 18 to help cook and prepare the food (at Elmbrook Church), • On Wednesday, November 22 to package the individual meals, and to deliver the meals to receiving families. Contact John Stephan or Teresa Arenz with any questions. Sign-up at the Welcome Desk if you’re willing to serve!
More Serve Jesus Opportunies Districts Youth Conference Come for a student weekend that will be life changing! Students from 6th-12th grade are invited to join us for the annual Districts Youth Conference in Green Bay where we will learn from well-known speaker Zane Black, worship with the Seventh Hour band, and hang out together as a youth group. This is the conference to be at! Price per student is $125. A deposit of $50 will be due November 19th! Signups and permission forms are in the youth room!
At Redeemer we are committed to being “on Mission” (Matthew 28) as we reach out to our community with the love of Jesus! God has laid on us a vision to reach 5,000 in 5 years with the love of Jesus! We also have these exciting ministry opportunities:
Redeemer is unleashing the love of Jesus on the Greater Milwaukee area. At BREATHE, kids enjoy an evening of food, games, and fun while parents and caregivers get a well-deserved break. Want to get involved? Please contact Pam Cada ([email protected]) or Pastor Bob.
Neighborhood Christmas—as we look ahead to Christmas we want to remind everyone that we will be doing our Neighborhood Christmas outreach to families in need again this year during the holidays. We hope to serve many struggling families in our community with gifts for them to put under their Christmas Trees. Plan to get involved, more details coming. If questions contact Teresa Arenz ([email protected]) or Pastor Bob at the church office. BREATHE Special Needs Respite Care provides a fun, safe, evening out for families with special needs kids and their typical siblings. BREATHE is one of the new ways
Phone: 414.541.5580
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.redeemerefc.com
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. —Melody Beattie
Technology and Your Student “If there is one word that sums up how many of us feel about technology and family life, it’s HELP! We sense the precious days of childhood are passing by, far too fast, in a haze of ghostly blue light. We feel helpless to prevent them from over exposure, far too early, to the most violent and intimate facts of life. Parents feel out of control and hopelessly overmatched by the deluge of devices.” Can you relate to this as a parent? If so, how do we go forward in our technologically savvy world? Do you allow no boundaries and total freedom to technology use and risk our student’s time and attention being stolen away by the glow of a screen, or do we choose to abolish all evidences of technology and move to an Amish way of living? Andy Crouch, writer of “The TechWise Family” provides us a third option that involves managing, not abolishing, our complicated relationship with technology. In this book that I would highly recommend for any family, he provides 10 everyday steps to putting technology in its proper place. I’ll share an abridged and modified idea of 3 key and admittedly hard questions to ask and decisions to make to be a techwise family. How can I (we) model wisdom and courage in my family? Family forms the person. Schools may provide your student with a laptop, but it can’t form your student’s personality. If you are trying to install good values with your students, it’s
important to note that you are the main model for them! Keep in mind that you are not alone. I fully believe the church family is a huge part of developing important values for you and your students so don’t discount the role the church-family has in your family’s growth!
Am I (we) creating a space for relationship and creativity to happen? When you think about your home, what is the “emotional center” or the place where your family spends the most time and the most energy; is that space creating a place for relational engagement and creativity? In my living room, the space is built around the televisionN. While there is nothing wrong with watching TV or having a computer, neither of those create a deeper sense of relationship or creativity. If I want to create a space where I can see more relationship building, perhaps a question to answer is “what could we substitute the TV with?” For example, can you build the living room around a table to have conversation over, create art, or play board games?
Those things can foster relationships better than my TV can. What does taking a TechnologySabbath look like? What is rest for your soul? Personally, I think I can rest while watching a ball game or a TV show. But if I’m honest with myself, that does not rejuvenate my soul like a walk in the park, time with my spouse at a coffee shop, or reading God’s word and journaling does. With that being the case, how can I take a break from my technology? In the Bible, the Sabbath was God’s way of saying “take a break from the work you are doing and spend time with me in mind.” As a family, can you together take a day out of the week to turn off your phones and tablets and have a Sabbath? Can you read a brief passage of scripture before enjoying a meal, or go on a car ride together with phones left behind and ask what God is teaching each other in the family? You can reassure your kids that their friends will still like them, even if they can’t “snap” or “tweet” back to them right away. While these can be hard things to think through, it is worth the reward of being able to live a life with technology under control and a more fruitful time spent with the family! For more ideas, pick up “The Tech-wise family”. If you would also like to be involved with our Fuse parent forums in the future, let me know and I’ll be sure to include you for our next gathering on November 19th! ~ Mike Weiss, Youth Pastor
Pastor Dave: [email protected]
A Prayer to Remind Us of God’s Good Intenons I was pondering some of our options one Sunday with my ABF about what book of the Bible to investigate. And one of the books I threw out was 1st and 2nd Chronicles. One of the ABF members said, “Well, if it is a book I am unfamiliar with, I tend to go there. So I would lean towards Chronicles.” The next week, we began in Chronicles. Now, I know most people do not jump at the chance for a study of Chronicles. It seems like a rehash of Samuel and Kings. The first nine chapters are nothing but exhaustive genealogies. And it is history, for crying out loud! Snooze. In truth, the Chronicles offer some of the deepest and most meaningful theology in the Old Testament. They are a history of Israel from the standpoint of the return to the land after 70 years of exile. Jerusalem is in shambles. The wall needs rebuilt. The city needs rebuilt. The new temple is a shadow of its former glory. And there is no return of the presence of YHWH in the sanctuary. It would be very easy to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, helpless, and wondering if God has permanently abandoned you. Yet, the Chronicler insists on re-telling the history of Israel with an eye on a yetto-come Messiah and the continuing promises of GodNdespite the fact that it certainly does not seem like these promises are still in place.
One of the ways Chronicles injects new faith is the inclusion of different prayers, songs, and revivals not included in Samuel or Kings. One such passage is near the end of 1 Chronicles in which David is setting everything up–ordered worship through the Levites, materials for the temple, and preparing his successor, Solomon. Imbedded in these words to Solomon are some nuanced hints of the goodness and good intentions of God. “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act.” (1 Chronicles 28:9-10, NASB)
• I love the fact that Solomon is told to “know” God. This and Jeremiah 31:34 are the only places in the Old Testament where the imperative to “know God” is given. But, we are (by extension) exhorted not simply to obey God, or worship God, but also to know Him.
• The word “searches”, as in– “YHWH searches all hearts”–is probably better translated “seeks”. “Searches” has more of a scrutinizing feel to it. But, it is probably not that in this passage. God “seeks” (pursues, looks for) all hearts. The word “seek” (Heb. darash) is a favorite of the Chronicler calling on us to pursue God actively.
• “If you seek Him, He will let you
find Him”–Unlike passages like Deuteronomy 4:29 where it is a simple “If you seek Him, you will find Him”, the Chronicler places all the power in God’s hands. He will “let you find Him”. It is not based on your theological acumen or how deserving your efforts are. God lets us find Him because He wants to be found.
As Redeemer continues forward as a church of disciples who make disciples who make disciples, it was a short, largely unknown passage like this one that reminded me again of God’s goodness and His good intentions. This is the God we follow and a passage that offers us some moments of reflection on how we are to respond. ~ David Lynden
Momentum 40+ Singles Chrisan Community This singles Christian community gathers every Friday evening, even during the holidays. On Friday, November 24 at 3:00 PM will be a Thanksgiving's Second Chance Mixer. Momentum will provide the turkey and gravy. Guests should bring leftovers or any side dish to share. Join us at Mark & Leona Kimball’s home (3940 W. Grange Ave, Greenfield). Upcoming Schedule: November 3, 6:30 at Redeemer November 10, offsite event TBD November 17, 6:30 at Redeemer December 1, 6:30 at Redeemer December 8, Comedy Sportz more info to come
Pastor Bob: [email protected]
Pastor Mike: [email protected]
See our updates on the Momentum Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/momentumchristiansingles) and request to be on the list to receive weekly updates.
