Praise Team Schedule
August -- Amber King, David Grimes, Ralph Schulz September -- George & Kristi Armstrong, Michelle Williams October -- Greg McClain, Melita Dubach, Greg Hinton |
Special Music Schedule
July 28 -- Kristi, Melita, Michelle & Regina Aug. 4 -- French-speaking congregation Aug. 11 -- Ralph Schulz & Regina Oettinger Aug. 18 -- Melita Dubach Aug. 25 -- David Grimes Sept. 2 -- Ralph Schulz Sept. 9 -- Amber King Sept. 16 -- Greg Hinton & Laura Moser Sept. 23 -- Regina Oettinger Sept. 30 -- Kristi & Michelle |
Announcements and Upcoming Events
Praise Team Practice: every Sunday morning at 9:00
Praise Team Practice: every Sunday morning at 9:00
Weekly Word on Worship
When we get to chapter 7 of Ezra, the author himself comes on the scene. Actually about 60 years pass between chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra. (The book of Esther occurs during this time.) The previous chapters, Ezra wrote after the fact as a matter of history. As you’ll see in verse 6 he was a scribe or teacher that was well versed in the law of Moses. He came from a long line of priests. He joins a second wave of Babylonian captives making their way to Jerusalem.
We get a pretty good impression of what kind of person Ezra was in verse 10. He not only devoted himself to studying the law of God, but also to keeping it and teaching it to others as well. (By the way, that is the correct progression we need to see in leadership. First we must seek God and follow His Law, and only then are we able to teach it.) We see it mentioned several times that the hand of God was upon him. It was not the righteous legacy that he came from that enabled him to lead, it was God Himself.
Verses 11-26 are a copy of the letter that the king sent with Ezra to pave the way for him. You might be tempted to skip over it, but I encourage you to read it. It’s pretty incredible that a heathen king would reference God 15 times! Imagine that your people have been held in captivity for almost 150 years and all of a sudden you’re allowed to return to your homeland. Not only that but you are given money for your journey, for supplies when you get there, the authority to ask for more money as needed, the discretion to use it as needed, free from taxation, permission to get help from surrounding regions, and the authority to govern as you see fit once you get there! This is something only God could accomplish. When He changes hearts, He does it big! Ezra acknowledges that in verse 27 by breaking into praise to God. I imagine the 900-mile journey was a little bit easier after that, knowing that God was providing in a really big way.
(Sidenote: Artaxerxes was the son of Xerxes [or Ahasuerus as he is sometimes called], whom we find in the book of Esther. This might explain why he was sympathetic to the Jews’ situation. However, this in no way discounts the miraculous work of God in Ezra 7. Maybe watching the hand of God work in the life of Queen Esther encouraged Ezra to also boldly step out in faith.)
There are things we are born with and there are things that we choose. Ezra had the birthright of priesthood. But he chose to immerse himself in God’s Word (which would have been the first five books of the Bible at the time, the Torah) as a scribe. As a scribe, he would have been responsible for making flawless copies of the Torah, memorizing large portions of it, and teaching it to others. I encourage you to look back on your own life and see how things that you were born with/into and aspects of your childhood have enabled you to do the ministry that God has called you to today. For example, in my own life, I was born into a Christian family and my dad was the administrator of a Christian school. Who knew that all those tedious (to me, at the time!) Bible classes I had to sit through daily in school would enable me to teach His Word now? God was hiding His Word in my heart in spite of myself! All those piano lessons and hours of practicing have been put to good use. Even the painful times of my life have been used for ministry in helping others who go through the same things.
There’s a verse that I love that describes a dark period of my life. It’s found in Psalm 77. (If you have time, read the entire psalm. It does an awesome job of reminding us of God’s redemptive works.) Verse 19 says this, “Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were unseen.” There are times in our lives when we can’t see God’s footprints right away, but that doesn’t mean He’s not working. Take some time to think back over all the times God has been leading you and guiding you even when you didn’t even realize it. Then like Ezra we can say, “So, I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me.” (vs. 28)
When we get to chapter 7 of Ezra, the author himself comes on the scene. Actually about 60 years pass between chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra. (The book of Esther occurs during this time.) The previous chapters, Ezra wrote after the fact as a matter of history. As you’ll see in verse 6 he was a scribe or teacher that was well versed in the law of Moses. He came from a long line of priests. He joins a second wave of Babylonian captives making their way to Jerusalem.
We get a pretty good impression of what kind of person Ezra was in verse 10. He not only devoted himself to studying the law of God, but also to keeping it and teaching it to others as well. (By the way, that is the correct progression we need to see in leadership. First we must seek God and follow His Law, and only then are we able to teach it.) We see it mentioned several times that the hand of God was upon him. It was not the righteous legacy that he came from that enabled him to lead, it was God Himself.
Verses 11-26 are a copy of the letter that the king sent with Ezra to pave the way for him. You might be tempted to skip over it, but I encourage you to read it. It’s pretty incredible that a heathen king would reference God 15 times! Imagine that your people have been held in captivity for almost 150 years and all of a sudden you’re allowed to return to your homeland. Not only that but you are given money for your journey, for supplies when you get there, the authority to ask for more money as needed, the discretion to use it as needed, free from taxation, permission to get help from surrounding regions, and the authority to govern as you see fit once you get there! This is something only God could accomplish. When He changes hearts, He does it big! Ezra acknowledges that in verse 27 by breaking into praise to God. I imagine the 900-mile journey was a little bit easier after that, knowing that God was providing in a really big way.
(Sidenote: Artaxerxes was the son of Xerxes [or Ahasuerus as he is sometimes called], whom we find in the book of Esther. This might explain why he was sympathetic to the Jews’ situation. However, this in no way discounts the miraculous work of God in Ezra 7. Maybe watching the hand of God work in the life of Queen Esther encouraged Ezra to also boldly step out in faith.)
There are things we are born with and there are things that we choose. Ezra had the birthright of priesthood. But he chose to immerse himself in God’s Word (which would have been the first five books of the Bible at the time, the Torah) as a scribe. As a scribe, he would have been responsible for making flawless copies of the Torah, memorizing large portions of it, and teaching it to others. I encourage you to look back on your own life and see how things that you were born with/into and aspects of your childhood have enabled you to do the ministry that God has called you to today. For example, in my own life, I was born into a Christian family and my dad was the administrator of a Christian school. Who knew that all those tedious (to me, at the time!) Bible classes I had to sit through daily in school would enable me to teach His Word now? God was hiding His Word in my heart in spite of myself! All those piano lessons and hours of practicing have been put to good use. Even the painful times of my life have been used for ministry in helping others who go through the same things.
There’s a verse that I love that describes a dark period of my life. It’s found in Psalm 77. (If you have time, read the entire psalm. It does an awesome job of reminding us of God’s redemptive works.) Verse 19 says this, “Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were unseen.” There are times in our lives when we can’t see God’s footprints right away, but that doesn’t mean He’s not working. Take some time to think back over all the times God has been leading you and guiding you even when you didn’t even realize it. Then like Ezra we can say, “So, I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me.” (vs. 28)