Mighty to Save – Discovering Compassion in the Miracles of Jesus

We have just concluded a celebration of the season in which followers of Christ give attention to what C.S. Lewis called “the central miracle asserted by Christians”: the Incarnation — God becoming man. Lewis says, “Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.”

The greatest grouping of miracles in any religion appear in the ministry of Jesus.

· He changes lives through his miracles like no one else.

· He performs deeds through his miracles like no one else.

· He amazes people through his miracles like no one else.

For the next few weeks, my Sunday messages will examine Jesus’ ministry through the miracles of Jesus as Luke tells about them. The theme for the series will be: Mighty to Save: Discovering Compassion in the Miracles of Jesus. As I have begun studying Jesus’ miracles, I am discovering three themes that his miracles emphasize:

(1) Salvation for those without hope. Many of Jesus’ miracles bring change to people who are hopeless because they are blind, deaf, paralyzed, hungry. In more than one case, Jesus heals them with the statement, “Your sins are forgiven,” or he says to them after they are healed, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus heals not just the body, but we will find he goes deeper to heal our souls.

(2) Power for those without strength. The power of God is behind the miracles of Jesus. Over and over, his miracles have Jesus doing the humanly impossible for those who have the least ability to do things for themselves. He not only heals the paralyzed, he gives strength to their legs so they can walk immediately, and he raises the dead. The power of God that created the universe is on display in Jesus’ miracles.

(3) Compassion for those without love. Jesus is so tender in how he deals with people — like the lepers — who have been cast aside by everyone else. He touches the untouchable as he heals their bodies.

We will see these themes demonstrated over and over as we look at Jesus’ miracles. And we will find that he still does for us what he did to the people he met during his earthly ministry.

Christmas Letter From Ken & Christine

Dear Friend,

As Christmas approaches, we will celebrate our 36^th wedding anniversary and three days later again celebrate the Lord’s birth. With one birthday, an anniversary, and Christmas, the last few days of December are always eventful for us. We are glad we can share some of our year with you at this busy time of the year.

Christine continued her pursuit of a master’s degree in theology with an emphasis in liturgical studies at Notre Dame during the year. For the second summer in a row, she spent six weeks in residence at Notre Dame and then took an online class during the fall. She will begin the year taking a two-week class in Tuscon, Arizona. She hopes to complete her classes and take her comprehensive exams in the summer of 2011.

Meanwhile she also continues working in her Music Therapy practice, Sonshine Music Center. She has fewer clients right now, as her largest contract has been scaled back, but she also continues serving as president of the Wisconsin Chapter for Music Therapy, and in her “spare time” helps lead our worship ministry at church.

Ken continues in his dual role as full-time minister at Westwood Christian Church and part-time Executive Director at WCMA. Both positions have their challenges, but he is enjoying preaching almost every week and leading both organizations. WCMA continues to make progress toward their next church plant and has a good start on saving funds for the plant. Ken started a blog of various things he writes for the church and Wisconsin Christian News. You can access it by going to http://kenhenes.blogspot.com.

We hosted our second Christmas Open House this year for people from our church, neighborhood, colleagues, and clients. We again had a good turnout, as we use the event to bring people together who otherwise would not meet.

Nancy and David continue to live in Cincinnati where Nancy is the training coordinator for a social work agency, Hamilton Choices, and David is fire chief for the Village of Glendale. They are very active at LifeSpring Christian Church and are enjoying their life together.

Nancy created some excitement at Thanksgiving. Most everybody from Christine’s side of the family was together for Thanksgiving dinner at her brother’s in her hometown – we had 23 for dinner. Early in the morning on Friday, Nancy woke up in her hotel room not feeling well. David took her to the emergency room, and by noon on Friday she was in surgery for an appendectomy. She was in the hospital overnight, and she and David returned home as planned.

Please pray for Christine’s mother. She turned 80 in January when we had a family gathering for her birthday. In November, she had congestive heart failure. While in the hospital, they found cancer on one lung. Earlier this month, she had surgery and the cancer was removed. They got all the cancer, but she is still recovering, and the doctors still need to decide how to treat her heart.

We trust that your year has gone well and pray that the Lord continues to bless you. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ken, Christine & Strider

Westwood Message – 12/15/2009

Christmas Carol Sing at Clare Bridge

Next Sunday, December 20, at 4:00 pm is our monthly hymn sing at Clare Bridge of Middleton, 6701 Stonefield Road. We will sing Christmas carols for the residents. We would like to have as many of our families with children as possible come and sing and offer Christmas wishes to the residents.

As a bonus, everyone is invited afterwards, children and adults, to the church building for pizza and a movie, “The Ultimate Gift.”Sandy Polcyn is hosting the event as a “thank you” to the children who worked so hard to put on our Christmas play last Sunday, but everyone is invited.

Christmas Eve Service

Our annual Candlelight Christmas Eve Service is at 5:00 pm on December 24. Make this family service a part of your family’s Christmas activities as we worship the Savior who was born to free us from our sins. This is always a special service that will encourage you and help you keep Christ central to your family’s Christmas celebration.

The Manhattan Declaration

On November 20 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, a dozen Christian leaders announced the release of an historic document called “The Manhattan Declaration. Prior to its release it was signed by over 140 leaders representing every branch of Christianity. Since its release over 291,000 individuals have signed it.

Charles Colson said this about the document: “The Manhattan Declaration is a wake-up call—a call to conscience—for the church. It is also a crystal-clear message to civil authorities that we will not, under any circumstances, stand idly by as our religious freedom comes under assault.” You can read his complete BreakPoint commentary at this link.

The Manhattan Declaration is “a call to Christian conscience” in our culture. It begins with these paragraphs:

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life

2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife

3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I want to encourage you to read the entire Manhattan Declaration at this link. You can also sign it online at the same site. It is necessary for Christians in any culture to stand firm on moral principles. Here is one way you can so today.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS YOUR CHURCH IN REACHING UNBELIEVERS?

The congregation I serve is working at reaching into our community. We are doing several things to minister in our community with the aim of reaching people for Christ, and we are constantly evaluating what we do and discussing new ideas for reaching people. In fact, our leaders just completed a discussion about how we can make one of our outreach programs more effective.

The truth is, though, that we are not doing a very effective job of reaching unbelievers. We think we have laid the right foundation for doing so, but we are still working at becoming more effective. So I paid attention recently when I read an article on the subject by Kent Hunter who leads a team of consultants at Church Doctor Ministries.

Hunter suggests that to be effective you begin by recognizing the different types of people you want to reach and establish a strategy for each. There are four types of people to reach:

· The De-churched consider themselves Christians, but do not attend church. They have been away from the church six to eight years or longer. They include those who have had a traumatic experience in the church or in their family.

· The Under-churched also may feel they are Christians. Their occasional attendance usually is triggered by a stressful event in their lives.

· The Semi-churched are frequently known as holiday attendees, they most often attend at Easter, but may also attend on Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Thanksgiving.

· The Unchurched, identified by their own perception, respond to questions about religious affiliation by saying, “I have no church (temple, mosque, synagogue).” Research shows most of them would say they are “spiritually interested,” and they may subscribe allegiance to a “higher power.”

The latter category represent 50 to 60 percent of the U.S. population. Another 10 to 20 percent would say they have a church, but could not tell you the name of their pastor or priest. They are “functionally unchurched.” The unchurched and the functionally unchurched represent between 60 and 80 percent of the people you know.

If Jesus has called your church to be a community of outreach, the unchurched is a primary population group on which to focus your ministry. But, Hunter says, “During a time in U.S. history when the population of unchurched people has grown significantly, the church has become increasingly ineffective at reaching them.”

So, how do become more effective in reaching the unchurched? Hunter offers at least ten strategies they have identified. Here is a sampling:

1. Add a “go” strategy to your church’s efforts to invite people to your events. Take the congregation I serve as an example. We are working to invite people to events, including the use of mailings, and to utilize our building for services such as a Food Pantry and as a meeting place for groups. We still need to find ways to meet unchurched people where they are.

2. Teach church members to see themselves as missionaries of the church. Consider training people through programs such as Becoming a Contagious Christian, so that they see themselves as missionaries to America.

3. Encourage members to spontaneously share their story of faith. A person’s story of faith is best shared when it is relevant to a conversation initiated by an unchurched person with whom you have an established relationship. You may also inject discussion about your involvement in various areas of ministry and church life into conversations with unchurched friends, just as you would discuss work or family or school.

4. Train members to see that their primary sphere of ministry is their workplace, neighborhood, school, sports club—wherever they develop relationships. We need to move people from seeing their primary ministry not as the church group they serve with, but as sharing Christ with people.

I hope your church is interested in becoming more effective in reaching unbelievers. These are just some starter ideas. If you are interested in reading further, you can find Kent Hunter’s article at http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=1396. Let’s once again realize the importance of the church reaching into the world with the Gospel.

Westwood Message – 12/4/2009

New Self Renewal Center Plans Donation to Westwood Food Pantry

New Self Renewal Center, a business owned by Suzi and Kirk Grundahl, daughter and son-in-law of Marion and Marilyn Greaser, will make a donation to Westwood’s Food Pantry of proceeds from a 6-week program offered in December by the center. The center made a similar donation last year. Below is information about the program.

Join the Holiday Hustle at New Self Renewal Center

November 30 – January 9

The Holiday Hustle is a 6-week program designed to help you be proactive and stay on track during the Holidays! For a $60 investment you will receive:

· A 6-week single w/ children membership to New Self.

· A handy “Holiday Hustle Food/Activity Journal” to keep track of your daily food intake and your daily exercise.

· “10 Quick and Essential Moves” workout complete with photos.

· Plus, 25% of proceeds will be donated to local food pantries.

This is a great way to test drive a New Self membership & Make Life Balance during the holidays. Sign up today!

Call 608.310.6775 or visit www.newselfrenewal.com for more details.

New Self Renewal Center
608.310.6775
www.newselfrenewal.com

Christmas Open House

Christine and I would like to invite you to a Christmas Open House at our home, 112 Vista Dr., Cottage Grove, on December 12 from 2:30 to 5:00 PM. Neighbors and friends from other activities we are involved in are also being invited. We hope you come and celebrate the Christmas season with us.

Upcoming Dates

Christmas activities at Westwood are picking up as we move into December. Check out the list below. You will certainly enjoy the Kids’ Christmas Play during our worship service on December 13. Then we will offer our annual Christmas for Kids on December 19. Finally plan to make our Christmas Eve Service on December 24 a time of family worship as a part of your family’s Christmas events. Each of our Sunday worship services are also planned with a Christmas theme in order to encourage you to live out the reasons for celebrating Christimas.

Cards are still available at the church building that you can use to invite friends and family to these events.

• December 6 – Annual Meeting at 11:00 am
• December 11 – Women’s Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange at 6:00 pm
• December 12 –Christmas Open House at the Henes’ from 2:30 to 5:00 pm.
• December 13 -- “Deck the Halls and Trim the Tree” Kids’ Christmas Play at 9:30 am
• December 19 – Christmas for Kids at 9:00 am
• December 24 – Christmas Eve Service at 5:00 pm

Westwood People to Perform With Community Choir

Three Westwood people will sing with Edgewood College’s Campus-Community Choir on Sunday, December 6 at 2:30 pm. Choir members from Westwood are Eric & Rachelle Purington and Dawn Zimmerman. The choir will perform Mozart’s Requiem along with the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra in St. Joseph Chapel at Edgewood College. There is a $5.00 admission fee which goes to a choral scholarship fund at Edgewood.

Great Moments in Christmas History

NBC Sports has been running a special feature this year during the halftime show for Sunday Night Football that they call “Great Moments in Tailgating History.” Three observers go “back in time” each week to a game from the past and “record” a tailgating event that results in the beginning of a football tradition. They have “recorded” such “great” moments as the first use of a cowbell ringer (1922), the inspiration for the seat cushion (1959), and the accidental invention of the rain poncho (1958).

The most recent discovery was shown last Sunday night. It dates to a 1935 game in Pittsburgh when a tailgater accidentally splattered a substantial amount of mustard on his friend’s face. Though clearly a blunder, surrounding fans embraced the yellow-faced man as a symbol of support for the Pittsburgh team. Cheers ensued and a movement was born.

Who comes up with these things? I don’t know, although it is a nice diversion from the football game. It got me thinking this week, though: What are the really great moments in Christmas history? What have been the great Christmas moments in your family?

In the US, the great moments of Christmas come down to whether the shopping, decorating, and busyness of the season dominate our time or are we moved once again by the greatest Christmas moment of all, the birth of the Savior.

Christine and I have had many wonderful family Christmases through the years. Often we and others of our family have traveled to be with each other. Sometimes, we have been at home, often with family traveling to visit us. Since those in our extended family are followers of Christ, the memories we make each year include wonderful Christmas worship services that we have attended with each other wherever we are.

My greatest moment of Christmas still comes from my memories of our family Christmases growing up. We were always at home: Mom, Dad, four of us kids, and one Grandmother. We opened presents on Christmas Eve, and then concluded the evening as Dad read the Christmas story from Luke’s Gospel. Those simple family Christmases are why the Christmas story of the Gospels still resonates with me.

I continue to cherish the many family memories of Christmas — both the cultural practice of gift-giving and the re-hearing of the story of Bethlehem. That story is the greatest Christmas moment of all. Be sure to let it touch your life again this Christmas.

Westwood Message – 11/19/2009

Invite Family and Friends to Our Christmas Services and Events

We have been telling you about our planned Christmas mailing. The card we will be mailing is pictured above. A supply of card is also available to you for inviting family and friends to our Christmas services and events. You can hand them to people or address one and drop it in the mail to them. Perhaps you can have an influence on a person or family experiencing Christ during this Christmas season.

Westwood Message – 11/19/2009

Christmas Sermon Series

One of the most enjoyable things that I get to do every year in ministry is also one of the most challenging: preaching sermons around the theme of Christmas. It is challenging because it is the one theme that gets addressed every year in the church from only a few passages of Scripture, and the accounts of the first Christmas are so familiar to us. It is enjoyable because most of us enjoy Christmas and it is a great time to acquaint people with the story of the Gospel.

This year, I will preach five messages around the birth of Christ beginning on November 29. I will use the theme Christmas on Purpose: The Reasons We Celebrate. In these messages, we will explore why we celebrate Christmas and why we should make Christmas a Christ-honoring event when our culture keeps pushing a secular agenda that celebrates we are not sure what. Here are the themes for those messages:

· November 29 – Christmas: A Time For Salvation

· December 6 – Christmas: A Time For Grace

· December 13 – Christmas: A Time For Peace

· December 20 – Christmas: A Time For Celebration

· December 27 – Christmas: A Time for Purposeful Living

PEOPLE WILL MEET CHRIST IN YOUR CHURCH WHEN…

As I am sure is true for many of you reading this, I have been enthralled with the Christmas stories from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke for many years. For me, the fascination began as I grew up through the Christmas programs at church and with my Dad’s annual reading of the Christmas story from Luke 2 to my family on Christmas Eve. The last two years, as I will be again this year, I once again preached the Christmas stories. I had not done so for several years while I was involved in para-church ministries. Again, I have found their message to be refreshing and challenging.

Last year, in particular, as I studied those stories, I found how the people in them met Christ in fresh ways in the midst of difficult circumstances. I began to ponder what are the circumstances in which people can meet Christ today in our churches, particularly at Christmas. Can people encounter God in a fresh way like Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary and Joseph?

I discovered that people will meet Christ in your church when they respond to the circumstances of life the way the characters in the Christmas stories did. Here is just a taste of the circumstances out of which they responded to Christ.

People Will Meet Christ In Your Church When They Are Surprised. Everyone likes good surprises, but sometimes life can surprise us in ways that will either bring us to God or take us away from him. That happened to Zechariah, the priest and father of John the Baptist, when he served in the temple one day. God surprised him there, but in the midst of that encounter with God, he let God use him to become the father of the Messiah’s forerunner. God will sometimes surprise people in your church. He will show up at the most unexpected times, and we need to help them let God use them at such times.

People Will Meet Christ In Your Church When They Are Afraid. When the angel came to Joseph to tell him Mary was pregnant, the angel told him to not be afraid. He had good reason to be afraid with the circumstances the angel put before him, but he trusted God’s plan, and Christ was born. People we work with may sometimes be afraid in life, but when we help them trust God’s plan, they can meet the one Joseph heard about that day, the “one who saves.” It could not have been easy for Mary and Joseph in the ensuing months and during the years they raised Jesus, but God does not always promise us an easy way. He does promise to remove our fears.

People Will Meet Christ In Your Church When They Are Amazed. When people meet Christ, God works beyond the ordinary in their lives. Such was the case with Elizabeth when she met Christ during the events of the first Christmas. When Mary comes to visit during their pregnancies, Elizabeth expresses amazement at what God is doing. Upon meeting Mary, Elizabeth exclaims, “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” The phrase could literally be translated, “What am I in this that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” We should encourage people to look for what God is doing in their lives and to express amazement at how God can use them. When they do, they can respond to their amazement as Mary responded to Elizabeth’s amazement by offering high praise to God for what he is doing. God will do extraordinary things in people’s lives, and we should help them express praise to him instead of taking credit themselves.

People Will Meet Christ In Your Church When They Are Troubled. Perhaps the one person in the midst of the Nativity who had the richest encounter with God was Mary. The angel appeared to Mary and said, “You are highly favored. The Lord is with you.” “Highly favored” literally means “enriched with grace.” Mary was troubled with this greeting and with the events happening to her, but she pondered what God was doing and let him work out his plan in her life. God can do amazing things in troubling situations in people’s lives when we help them find ways for God to work in them.

There is much to consider in the great story that we learn from every Christmas. Use the encounters from that story to help people meet Christ in this season of the year.

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

Upcoming Dates This Fall at Westwood

November 22 – 2010 Budget Presentation at 11:00 am

November 22 – Harvest Dinner at 5:00 pm.

December 3,4 – Salvation Bell Ringing at Copps on Whitney Way

December 6 – Annual Meeting at 11:00 am

December 11 – Women’s Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange at 6:00 pm

December 13 -- “Deck the Halls and Trim the Tree” Kids’ Christmas Play at 9:30 am

December 12 –Christmas Open House at the Henes’ from 2:30 to 5:00 pm.

December 19 – Christmas for Kids at 9:00 am

December 24 – Christmas Eve Service at 5:00 pm

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

We Appreciate Your Appreciation

I stated this in a sermon on November 1, but let me put it in writing: Christine and I appreciate the various notes and gifts we received from Westwood people during Pastor Appreciation Month in October. We want you to know that we also appreciate you and enjoy ministering with you.

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

Kids Christmas Play Rehearsal Continues

Our children continue to rehearse for the Westwood Kids Christmas Play, “Deck the Halls and Trim the Tree,” which will be part of our worship service on December 13. Parents, be sure to have your children here to rehearse during the sermon time each week between now and December 13. Everyone, plan to attend the December 13 service. Sandy Polcyn is directing the play, along with help from other people. We appreciate the effort Sandy and those working with her are putting into the play.

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

Westwood Christmas Mailing

We will have cards available on November 22 for the congregation that you can use to invite friends and family to our Christmas services and activities. You could begin now to think about people you could invite. People are often more open at Christmas that at any other time of the year to attend church and to consider their relationship with God. Take advantage of this opportunity to try and reach people you know.

Next week in a Westwood Message, I will give you information about the Christmas sermons I am planning. I am already working on them and think they will be a help to our faith and growth in Christ and will also help others consider their relationship to Christ.

The cards we are preparing that you can use to invite people to our Christmas services will also be used in a mailing the week of November 22. We have had information about Westwood this year in the book Welcome Wagon mails to new homeowners in our part of Madison. We receive the names and addresses of everyone those books go to and will be mailing to all those people – 720 addresses in all. Please be praying that the Lord will use this mailing to prompt people to consider including Christ in their Christmas celebration.

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

National Missionary Convention

The National Missionary Convention meets in Peoria, IL, on November 19-22. Attending this convention for a day or more would provide you with an excellent opportunity to hear about missions works all over the world, including missions that Westwood supports. Our entire congregation is already registered, so your only cost for attending would be travel to and from Peoria and expenses while you are there. Christine and I will be going to Peoria for part of the day Friday and part of the day Saturday. If you are interested, you can find more information at www.nationalmissionaryconvention.org.

Westwood Message – 11/12/2009

Harvest Dinner – 10 Days and Counting

Our 2010 Harvest Dinner is fast approaching. As I write it is only 10 days away, on November 22 at 5:00 PM. Be sure to sign up so we know how many people to prepare for. You can also sign up to help out in various ways – to bring pies (if you can make a good pie, sign up for that one J), to help with set up or tear down of tables and chairs, to help with clean up. If you read this after Sunday, November 15, call or email the church office as early in the week as possible.

Westwood Message – 10/29/2009

Tutoring Opportunity in the Madison Schools

We have been contacted at Westwood by an organization that trains and places volunteer tutors in the Madison schools and other Dane County schools that is looking for tutors to assist under-achieving students in learning. If you would be interested in such a service opportunity, contact the Westwood office, and we can provide more details.

Westwood Message – 10/29/2009

Who Can You Share Christ With During the Christmas Season?

Around Thanksgiving time, we will make available to the congregation cards that you can use to invite friends and family to our Christmas services and activities. You could begin now to think about people you could invite. People are often more open at Christmas that at any other time of the year to attend church and to consider their relationship with God. Take advantage of this opportunity to try and reach people you know.

In a couple of weeks I will give you information about the Christmas sermons I am planning. I am already working on them and think they will be a help to our faith and growth in Christ and will also help others consider their relationship to Christ.

Westwood Message – 10/29/2009

National Missionary Convention

As you saw in November’s Caller, the National Missionary Convention meets in Peoria, IL, on November 19-22. Attending this convention for a day or more would provide you with an excellent opportunity to hear about missions works all over the world, including missions that Westwood supports. Our entire congregation is already registered, so your only cost for attending would be travel to and from Peoria and expenses while you are there. If interested, you can find more information at www.nationalmissionaryconvention.org.

Westwood message – 10/29/2009

2009 Westwood Kids Christmas Play

Here is an announcement from Sandy Polcyn about our Kids Christmas Play and rehearsals for it:

Announcing our 2009 Westwood Kids Christmas Play called "Deck the Halls and Trim the Tree" presented on Sunday, December 13, during the service. This includes 4-5 year olds through K- 8th grade.

PRACTICES begin Sunday, November 1, during the sermon time, downstairs in the grade school classroom. The 4-5 year olds will have class in their room through November 8, and will join the rehearsals on November 15.

PARENTS: I hope that you will encourage your kids to participate in this Play. This will be an exciting time to share the Good News of Jesus through drama!

I'm looking forward to working with your kids!

Sandy Polcyn

Christmas Play Director

Caller – Thanksgiving and Christmas

Only One Gave Thanks

There is a fascinating account in Luke 17:11-17 of one of the encounters of Jesus that resulted in a healing miracle. The passage tells that Jesus entered an unnamed village and was met by ten men who had leprosy.

Leprosy was the most dreaded disease of that time, a distinction it continued to carry in many places in the world until recent years. Now we know the cause of leprosy and that the disease is not contagious, but in first century Judea anyone who had leprosy was a social outcast. Today, AIDS carries a similar stigma.

So these ten lepers asked Jesus to have pity on them, to heal them. Jesus sent them to the priests who could declare them cleansed, and on the way they were cleansed. One of the ten returned to Jesus, praising God, and thanked him. Jesus said to him, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

People still fail to give thanks to God. God has freed us from sin and provides for us in extraordinary ways, so as we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, we should thank him.

Share Christmas With Others

Later in November, as we move from Thanksgiving toward Christmas, we will invite people from the community to our services during the Christmas season. We have been listed this year in the Welcome Wagon book for the area of Madison around our church building. Later this month, we will mail to the people who have received the Welcome Wagon book and invite them to Westwood.

Please begin to pray for this outreach effort, not that we will draw people to Westwood, but that we might draw them to Christ.

We will also make the contents of the mailing available to everyone in the congregation as a tool for you to use to invite people you know to attend worship during the Christmas season. We all know more people than we imagine who might respond to a simple invitation to attend a church service. There is no better time to invite them than during the Christmas season.

Westwood Message - 10/22/09

Westwood Walks in Crop Walk and Sings at Clare Bridge

Last Sunday, October 18, Westwood people were serving the Lord and our community in two different venues.

Crop Hunger Walk: Ten people from Westwood participated in the 35th Madison area Crop Walk. Some of those from Westwood walked 3 miles, others walked 1 mile, and some rocked instead of walking. Approximately $ was raised in sponsorship money for those participating from Westwood. Thank you to Mike Notaro and Dawn Zimmerman for organizing Westwood’s involvement, and to all those who participated either by walking (or rocking) or by donating money.

Clare Bridge: Later on Sunday afternoon, another 7 people from Westwood gathered at the Clare Bridge home in Middleton to participate in our monthly hymn sing for the residents. Several of our people sing for the residents every month and others participate at various times. Thank you to Sharon Staniforth who generally organizes everything and to all who give of their time to bless the Clare Bridge residents.

D. J. De Pree on Engaging the Word of God

I put this piece in my sermon on Sunday (10/18)) and am re-producing it here for your reference.

D. J. De Pree of Zeeland, Michigan, founder of Herman Miller Furniture, addressed the annual Gideon convention in Washington, D. C. In his message he pointed out that we must engage in ten important spiritual activities if we are to realize fully the revitalizing power of the Word. He said that the daily practice of these scriptural admonitions will keep you in a state of perpetual revival.

• We must read it (1 Tim. 4:13);
• eat it -- that is, take it into our very being (Job 23:12; Jer. 15:16);
• bathe in it for spiritual cleansing (John 15:3);
• look into it as a mirror to see our true self (James 1:23-25);
• meditate on it (Psalm 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:15);
• memorize it (Deut. 11:18; Psalm 119:11);
• study it (2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:12-14);
• teach it to others (Deut. 11:19; Col 3:16) ;
• talk about it (Josh. 1:8);
• and sow its seeds of truth in the field of the world (Matt. 13:3-9; Luke 8:11).

Reminders for November 1

Be sure to turn your clocks BACK one hour before going to bed on Saturday evening, October 31. That will be the last day of Daylight Saving Time, and November 1 is the first day of Central Standard Time for the winter.

Everyone who would like to help with planning for our annual Christmas For Kids is invited to a planning meeting on November 1 from noon to 1:30 pm. Let Clarissa know if you plan to attend, as lunch will be provided.

Ken’s Blog

For those of who like to check out things on the Internet, I have established a blog on which I will be posting some of the things that I write, including these Westwood Messages. If you want to recall something you read and deleted the email, you can go to my blog. I will also post columns that I write monthly for Wisconsin Christian News, articles for the Caller and other things. My blog address is http://kenhenes.blogspot.com. I will also provide a link to it in the contact information in the left column of the Westwood Message. If you would like to post a comment on anything that appears on my blog, you will be able to do that.

Upcoming Dates This Fall

November 22 – 2010 Budget Presentation at 11:00 am
November 22 – Harvest Dinner at 5:00 pm.
December 3,4 – Salvation Bell Ringing at Copps on Whitney Way
December 6 – Annual Meeting at 11:00 am
December 11 – Women’s Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange at 6:00 pm
December 12 –Christmas Open House at the Henes’ from 2:30 to 5:00 pm.
December 19 – Christmas for Kids at 9:00 amDecember 24 – Christmas Eve Service at 5:00 pm

Westwood Message – 10/15/2009

Food Pantry Donation from Roundy’s

For the second year in a row, Westwood’s Food Pantry has received a donation of food and cash from Roundy’s Foundation (Roundy’s owns and operates the Copps and Pick ‘n Save grocery store chains). Seven other Madison area food pantries received identical donations. This year Roundy’s donated 2,950 pounds of food and $500 cash to each recipient food pantry. They are donating to 50 food pantries in Wisconsin and Minnesota this week. Rob and Gloria Jean Ehlers received the food and check for Westwood, delaying a fall ten-day vacation to do so. Thanks to all of who work in our food pantry, enabling us to help people in our community. WKOW TV, channel 27, did a brief news story on the donations. The text of the story is posted on their web site if you would like to look at it.

Prayer Requests for Other Churches

I received two prayer concerns this week from other churches that I would like to ask you to pray for, one from a church planted over 150 years ago, and one from a church plant that will launch next September.

Williamsville Christian Church in Williamsville, IL had their long-standing church building struck down by a tornado on August 19. They were in the midst of a renovation project on the building at the time. I drove by the building many times in the early 1970’s driving through Williamsville on historic Route 66. The congregation has moved to temporary quarters, but plan to construct a new facility on or near their present site. The Lord has met many of their needs in the last two months, but they have many significant challenges yet before them as they make plans to rebuild. Please pray for their continuing efforts to minister in their community.

Lakeside Christian Church will launch in Hobart, IN on September 19, 2010. A longtime friend of mine, Steve Campbell, is the lead planter for this new church project of Ignite Church Planting, a Chicagoland church planting organization. Please put Steve and his team on your prayer list and pray for them over the next several months.

Christian Women’s Fellowship of Madison’s Fall Brunch

Dawn Baird, the speaker for our 2009 Women’s Retreat, will be coming to Madison to speak for the CWF Fall Brunch. The brunch will be held on October 24 at 9:00 AM at Community Christian Church, 5020 Maher Dr. This will be a great opportunity to get reacquainted with Dawn, to hear about her summer return to Africa where she and Bob have been long-time missionaries, and to fellowship with the women from other area churches.

Upcoming Dates This Fall

November 22 2010 Budget Presentation at 11:00 am

November 22 Harvest Dinner at 5:00 pm.

December 3,4 Salvation Bell Ringing at Copps on Whitney Way

December 6 Annual Meeting at 11:00 am

December 11 Women’s Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange at 6:00 pm

December 12 Christmas Open House at the Henes’ from 2:30 to 5:00 pm.

December 19 Christmas for Kids at 9:00 am

December 24 Christmas Eve Service at 5:00 pm

Choosing Mature Christian Leaders

Many churches choose new leaders in the Fall, including the congregation where I serve. Often these leaders begin officially serving at the first of the New Year. While we call ours elders, other names are used in some churches. Whatever title you give to these leaders, however, it is important that they be chosen from among the mature Christians in your congregation.

Unfortunately all Christian leaders do not prove to be mature or they take a major fall along the way. R. Kent Hughes, in his book of expository sermons on 1 Timothy, says, by his mid-thirties, after a little more than a decade in the ministry, he had "seen it all" as to “the duplicity and hypocrisy and immense evil that can exist in church leaders.”

He knew a man who was prominent in his denomination and community, a married man with a family, who was discovered to be a practicing homosexual and regularly consorted with several of his male employees. In another instance the church treasurer appeared in the church narthex on a Sunday morning dead drunk, glass in hand, wildly whispering that he was leaving his wife and family, and was departing that day on a private jet for the Middle East! And over the years, while speaking at pastors' conferences, he and his wife have had pastors' trembling wives seek them out and reveal abuse and perversion by their publicly straight-laced husbands.

I can tell my share of such stories, as could some of you who are reading this piece. Each story has a great sadness to it and leaves in its wake hurting family and church members who had put their trust in the fallen leader. Not only are families torn apart when leaders fall, but churches are affected. Some churches, of course, are severely wounded, but I have also known some to split or close when a leader fails them.

Of course, we all know that the leaders we choose are not perfect. After all, we all are sinners, and sometimes sin causes even leaders to fall. Yet, we can and must do our best to select mature Christian leaders for the church: leaders who have demonstrated strong Christian character by how they live in their homes, in the church, and in the community. Whenever you select leaders for your church, please do your best in this regard.

Paul suggests this very thing in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The moral characteristics for leaders that he includes in those two chapters really define the marks of maturity for all Christians. We should all review those chapters periodically and examine whether we possess those marks.

We have often failed to take as seriously as we should the marks of maturity that Paul presents in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 because we have created a check list out of Paul’s teaching. Then we try to determine whether leaders meet most of the “qualifications,” excusing them if they do not claiming that no one is perfect and no one can meet all the “qualifications.” However, Paul is not suggesting that these are maximum qualifications. He is suggesting that the various characteristics he lists are examples of one primary mark of maturity: being blameless or above reproach.

In both passages to which I have referred Paul puts being blameless or above reproach first, not as the first item on a list of qualifications, but as the primary qualification. All the other items on his two lists are examples of what it means for an elder, a leader, a mature Christian to be blameless. That is, someone who is not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, etc. will be above approach, because his character cannot be called into question.

It is important that we make every effort to get this selection of leaders in the church right. It is important because the leaders of the church represent God. They are entrusted with God's household, God's possessions, God's treasures, and God's riches. They act on behalf of God's interests. I hope your church will work to select mature leaders and help people in your congregation develop the marks of maturity for Christians.

Study of “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore”

On October 11, we will begin a new adult class on Sundays at 11:00 am. I would like to invite you to attend the class and join in the study and discussion.

We will begin a study of John MacArthur’s book The Jesus You Can’t Ignore. MacArthur’s book deals with the question, “Do you have any idea who Jesus really is?” This is an important question for us to consider because, as MacArthur writes, “What you think of Jesus Christ will thoroughly color how you think about everything else.”

The flyleaf of the book presents the issue like this: “These days, Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, a philanthropist, or a docile teacher. He strikes a plastic — and sometimes pathetic — pose in the minds of many. Some prefer the meek and mild Jesus who heals the sick, calms fears, and speaks of peace and goodwill. These things do represent a portion of the Messiah. But tragically, too many have never been exposed to the rest of him. They have never seen a full 360-degree view of the Savior…. MacArthur walks through the gospel records and shows you a remarkable and compelling picture of the Jesus you can’t ignore.”

MacArthur writes this book against the background of changing Christian attitudes about truth and certainty and therefore of the gospel itself. As he studied these attitudes, he found that they presented a different view of Jesus than the view he saw in the Gospels. While much thinking in the contemporary church calls for Christians to meet other worldviews with conversation, he saw Jesus preaching hard truth to the crowds who were representing to them “a style of religion and a system of belief that was in direct conflict with the very heart of the gospel.”

As we study The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, then, we will “move chronologically through the gospel accounts of how Jesus handled the religious elite of Israel. We’ll look at how He spoke to individuals, how He responded to organized opposition, how He preached to multitudes, and what he taught His own disciples.”

So I invite you to join us for this thought-provoking look at Jesus. We may not agree with everything MacArthur says, but we will get a closer look at Jesus, because the one thing you cannot do with him is ignore him.