Shipwrecked
I've been following the ever unfolding story of the Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, that ran aground off the coast of Italy last week. Each day there are new images of that massive ship that is now laying over on its side next to a rocky coast line. The latest image comes from a satellite photo taken from outer space. It isn't a nice image, seeing such a massive machine half sunk and completely out of commission. Even worse is knowing that several people lost their lives as a result of this catastrophic accident.
Of course, when something like this happens someone is going to have to accept responsibility and take the blame ... whether that person is solely to blame or not. In this case everyone is pointing the finger of blame directly at the captain of the ship. I don't know if the captain of the Costa Concordia actually steered that ship into the rocks or not, nevertheless he was the man in charge, the responsibility was placed squarely on his shoulders and now he's the one who is being blamed for the entire incident. Words are being tossed out to the public to describe the captain, words like; inexperienced, irresponsible, and negligent. Everyone seems to be in shock that such a thing could happen.
The question I have is why? Not why did this happen, but rather why is everyone so surprised? After all, the captain of that ship and all of his officers and crew members are all merely human. Everyone has faults and flaws so it should be no wonder that accidents happen, mistakes are made and yes, sometimes negligent behavior is the cause of catastrophic accidents and incidents. As long as humans are in charge and have the ultimate authority there is always a chance that something will go wrong.
This is why you will never hear me refer to Christ United Church as "my church"; for this great congregation, this family of faith that we are so blessed to be a part of ... it isn't my church - It's God's Church! Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, that includes the entire body of Christ on earth as well as in Heaven. It also includes every congregation that is faithful to Him. As long as we remember that we are here to serve the Lord and ultimately everything belongs to Him, for His sake and the glory of His Kingdom ... then my friends, this church ... God's church will be able to weather the roughest of seas, the most stormy day and the darkest night. It will be able to sail proudly in the calmest weather and raise high its banner for all to see. Why? Because the hand of God is at the helm, not the hands of mankind; not our hands but God's hands in our place. Brothers and sisters, as long as we recognize our Lord Jesus as the Head of the Church ... the Captain of our spiritual ship, we will never run aground, capsize, falter or fail. We shall not be shipwrecked, for He is the Lord our God, He will navigate us onto the right course where we shall remain for all eternity. Praise the Lord!
"For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide forever!" - Psalm 48:14.
Just a reminder to everyone, this Sunday after worship there will be a worship committee meeting. The church council will also meet in regular session and everyone is invited to attend, especially council members.
Also, let us not forget the less fortunate in our community. Our ongoing food items and accessories collection is still a part of our mission outreach. This month we are specifically collecting canned meat (tuna, spam, etc.) along with dried beans, and spaghetti sauce for Cypress Assistance Ministries. Next month our focus will be on collecting breakfast cereal, peanut butter, jelly, and juice boxes.
Mark your calendars now, our annual congregational meeting will be held the last Sunday of this month, January 29 immediately after our worship celebration. We will be electing new council members, presenting the 2012 budget and electing representatives to attend meetings of the Houston Association of Churches as well as our annual conference meeting in June. If you'd like to represent our congregation as a delegate please let us know on or before the day of the annual meeting.
We are doing things slightly different this year in the sense that if you have signed up for or were drafted into serving in a leadership position for one of our upcoming worship celebration services, you will not receive a written notice in the mail unless we have no other way of contacting you. The preferred method is to send you an email, text or telephone you in advance.
If you have an article for the February issue of the Praising Post please get them to the church office as soon as possible.
This Sunday our Scripture lesson will be from Ecclesiastes 7:15-29. We will be talking about how our lives are complete in Christ and how empty they can be without Him.
No matter what your age, if you'd like to come and worship with our youth group on Friday night you are more than welcome to join us. The music is contemporary, the energy is high and you will have a blessed experience. Worship usually happens around 8 P.M.
Keep Christ at the forefront of your lives and have a blessed week.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Darrin
