Westwood Message – 2/18/2010

Invite a Friend to Westwood

You can always invite a friend or family member to come to Westwood with you, but in the next few weeks we will have two events to which I would like to encourage you to invited others.

First, we will hold an outreach event on March 26 at 7:00 pm when we host a presentation from Jews For Jesus titled Christ In the Passover. Jean Hanson, a volunteer with Jews For Jesus will make the presentation, and we will follow it with a feedback/question and answer time. While the presentation focuses on the Jewish Passover, it is relevant for everyone seeking to know Christ as it shows how God used the Passover to prepare people for the coming of his Son into the world.

Second, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 4. On that day, I will conclude my current sermon series with a message on the resurrection by looking at Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead using the theme, “Discovering the One Who Defeats Death.” Our worship planning team is discussing ideas for an uplifting worship service that Sunday. It will provide you with another great opportunity to invite a friend or family member to attend with you.

By early March, we will have flyers ready for you to use to invite people to these events. You can begin now to pray about who you can invite.

See a Special Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum

The Milwaukee Public Museum is currently exhibiting, in a limited engagement, “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures.”

We are planning a group trip to see the exhibit and will be announcing a date soon. Keith Schoville, our “resident biblical archaeologist” has agreed to see the exhibit. He will be able to answer some of the questions people in our group might have.

The exhibit brings together archaeological objects and manuscripts to tell a story 2,000 years in the making. You will witness actual Dead Sea Scrolls and other early biblical artifacts to learn how transmission of these early writings has shaped the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity and influenced aspects of Islam. This is the largest temporary exhibit ever produced by the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Free Showing of ”Sophie’s Choice”

Care Net Pregnancy Center is hosting a special screening of the newly acclaimed film, "Sarah's Choice" starring Rebecca St. James. This inspirational movie is about a young woman who experiences an unplanned pregnancy and is torn about what to do. With financial pressures mounting and her career at stake, she must make a choice. This free viewing of the film can be seen on February 28 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at High Point Church. You can sign up for free tickets at Care Net’s web site.

JESUS CAN CALM THE STORMS IN YOUR CHURCH

On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the largest carriers on the Great Lakes, found herself in the worst storm to hit Lake Superior in more than thirty years. She had sailed the lakes for seventeen years when the storm with wind speeds of 80 miles per hour and gusts of 96 miles per hour and with waves running thirty feet high struck the mighty ship. Shortly after 7:00 pm in the looming darkness the Edmund Fitzgerald's long hull bent, then bent further, then snapped like a broken bone. Her two great pieces foundered momentarily and began their tragic descent some 500 feet, settling 170 feet apart on Lake Superior's bottom. Some say that the breakup happened in ten seconds. One instant she was plowing through waves as high as a three-story building, the next she was gone.

During his ministry, Jesus encountered a sudden storm one evening while crossing the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Given the much smaller size of their boat and of the Sea of Galilee compared to the Edmund Fitzgerald and Lake Superior, the storm was just as dangerous for Jesus and his disciples. Storms can strike fast and hard on the Sea of Galilee. This one was of such proportions that the disciples were afraid for their lives – even the veteran fisherman in the group who had no doubt navigated many harsh storms on the Sea of Galilee.

Matthew says this terrific storm blasted them “without warning.” Luke calls it a “squall,” which literally means “a hurricane wind” that came down on the lake and swamped the boat. Matthew uses the word “earthquake” to describe the storm. It was as though the lake was being shaken.

I have seen storms come up like that in people’s lives and in the church. One day everything is going fine when without warning a storm hits. Sometimes the storms are personal, but they strike at the heart and soul of a congregation because of the nature of the storm and who it strikes. I have seen this happen when a leader in the church or a member of a leader’s family falls into sin and the entire church is affected. Other storms can be congregational in nature when a major disagreement erupts in the church or a physical calamity strikes. Whether it is personal or congregational, the storm can make it feel like the entire congregation has been shaken.

When the storm struck the Sea of Galilee that night as Jesus and his disciples crossed, Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat – but he had not left them. When they awakened him, Jesus instantly calmed the wind and the water. Just as suddenly as the storm appeared, it disappeared. Here is a compelling thought: the storm did not disturb Jesus, but the unbelief of the disciples did. He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

The disciples should have known Jesus could calm the storm. At this point in his ministry they had already see him perform several miracles. He had touched an “untouchable” leper and healed him, healed a centurion’s servant without even going to his home, and raised a widow’s son from the dead.

If we have followed Jesus for any length of time, we have seen him do some amazing things. Yet in the midst of the storms that disrupt our personal and congregational lives, we do not always believe that Jesus is there in the midst of us. We think he is asleep, not in the boat, but at the switch. Our faith falters, and we wonder if he will wake up. Then he stands in the midst of us and calms our worried souls. He can and does act to bring stability to our lives and the church.

When he calmed the storm that night, the disciples were once again amazed at what he did. People were constantly amazed at what Jesus did. Just read the Gospels again, and notice how often the word is used. The disciples said, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Who is he, indeed! He is the Master of the universe and the one who loves us deeply. When a storm hits your church, he is the one you need to turn to. He is the one who can calm people’s lives and empower the church to carry on her mission no matter how terrific and threatening the storm is. The next time a storm threatens your church, allow him to work. Then watch in amazement and say, “Who is this? He calms the worst of our storms.”

Invite a Friend to Westwood

When Jesus called his first disciples, Peter and Andrew, Matthew’s Gospel tells us he saw these two fishermen brothers casting a net into the Sea of Galilee. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Shortly afterward he saw two other brothers, James and John and called them. All four immediately left their nets and followed him.

Jesus calls all of his followers to be fishers of men. One way to encourage your friends and family to follow Jesus is to invite them to events and services at Westwood.

We have been working to turn Westwood into a “fishing” church. Toward that end, we have two opportunities coming up in late March and early April that will give you an opportunity to invite someone that you know to come learn about Jesus.

First, we will hold an outreach event on March 26 at 7:00 pm similar to the events we have held in each of the past two years. This year, we will host a presentation from Jews For Jesus titled Christ In the Passover. Jean Hanson, a volunteer with Jews For Jesus will make the presentation, and we will follow it with a feedback/question and answer time. While the presentation focuses on the Jewish Passover, it is relevant for everyone seeking to know Christ as it shows how God used the Passover to prepare people for the coming of his Son into the world.

Second, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 4. On that day, I will conclude my current sermon series with a message on the resurrection by looking at Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead using the theme, “Discovering the One Who Defeats Death.” Our worship planning team has already begun discussing ideas for our worship service that Sunday. It will provide you with another great opportunity to invite a friend or family member to attend with you.

By early March, we will have flyers ready for you to use to invite people to these events. Begin now to pray about who you can invite. Determine to be a fisher of men.