King David Is Coming to Westwood This Summer

 

King David will visit Westwood this summer through a new sermon series: “Living With a Heart For God.” Perhaps as much as anyone else in the Bible David teaches us how to live with a heart for God.

Chuck Swindoll says about him: “Few men in history have been so gifted and respected as the sweet singer of Israel, David, the youngest son of Jesse. His personality was a strange combination of simplicity and complexity.”

J. Oswald Sanders summed up David’s life this way: “He swung between extremes, but paradoxically evidenced an abiding stability. The oscillating needle always returned to its pole – God Himself.”

His story begins before we even meet him. When the prophet Samuel rebukes King Saul, David’s predecessor, for not obeying God, Samuel said to him, “Your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people.” David was that man, and so became known as “the man after God’s own heart.”

David always longed to serve God well, from the time he was an obscure shepherd boy in the hills of Judea to his reign as king. Yet woven in his life were moments of sin and the normal struggles with life that demonstrated flaws in his character and failure in his reign. He had great victories, such as his defeat of the giant Goliath, but also struggled with great sin, such as his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Yet he wrote some of the greatest songs of praise ever written, words in the Psalms that still move our hearts.

We can learn much from him about having a heart for God. Let’s share the adventure of his life together this summer.

BUILDING ON THE RIGHT FOUNDATION

Early in May, I officiated at the funeral service for Wendell Smith. He was 90 years old and had been an active member of our congregation in Madison for all but a brief time since the congregation started in 1958. His life speaks to what it means for a Christian to faithfully serve the Lord.

The funeral was held in our church building, which Wendell had a large part in building in 1958. He also played a part in the decision to start the congregation. It was the first time I conducted a funeral in a building constructed by the person being remembered. Among the stories he told over the years about that construction project was how he laid the brick for the building. He had never laid brick before, but did so expertly, taking to the task with his usual attentiveness to detail, making sure the job was done right.

That is the kind of building that God wants us to do with our lives and that Wendell demonstrated consistently with his life. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 to be careful how we build “for no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” We are to build our lives on Jesus Christ. He alone is the foundation we should build on.

From the time that Wendell walked down the aisle of his home church in Jamestown, Indiana, as a young man and gave his life to Christ, he faithfully followed Christ for nearly 80 years. The foundation of his life was Jesus Christ, and Wendell worked to honor Christ.

Wendell was a woodworker. He made many things with his hands and demonstrated through them how to build our lives with Jesus Christ as the foundation, Among them were various items that he made for our church building and for people. Here is a sampling:

One of Wendell’s district managers for the insurance company he worked for before retiring in 1984 told us at the funeral about a grandfather clock that Wendell built for he and his wife. A few years ago, he made a small clock for my wife and I that sits on the desk in my office. He made many of those clocks for people. Wendell did things like that to bless people, doing what Paul commands: “make the most of every opportunity.” Now the clock has run out on his life on this earth, but his influence remains, and he reminds me that we should leave things behind that will be a lasting influence on others.

We have a directory board that Wendell made in our church building with pictures of the people in our congregation. Wendell and his wife, Helen, have been committed to the people of our congregation for all these years. The people of our congregation have been their family. They demonstrated faithfulness to the church over the years, staying active in the congregation through good times and bad, because you stay with family.

We have two candelabras in our building that Wendell made and that we use for Christmas Eve and Good Friday services, weddings, and on other occasions. He also made candelabras for other churches and has them scattered in churches across Wisconsin. Candles are important to those of us who follow Christ, because they are a visual representation of the light of Christ. Jesus is described in Scripture as the “light of the world” who came into the darkness to save us. When we light candles in our churches, they can remind us to live our lives by the light of Christ.

Wendell made our pulpit a few years ago. I generally do not preach from a pulpit, but it is still a reminder of the importance of preaching and teaching the Word of God. Through the preaching of the Word of God, we learn the truth of God and receive encouragement to live by it. We should work at making sure our churches are Bible believing and Bible preaching churches.

The cross at the front of our worship center and our communion table were both made by Wendell. The cross, of course, is the very essence of Christianity. Jesus came into our world to go to the cross and redeem us from our sins. We remember Jesus’ death every time that we take communion, so our communion table has been central to the worship of our congregation from the time that Wendell built it.

You may not be able to build a church building or furnishings for a church building, but you need to build your life on Jesus, and we need to help others build their lives on Jesus Christ. I hope that is what your legacy will be.

Church Plant in Menomonee Falls, WI

WCMA, a church planting organization that I work with, is working with some other organizations and churches to plant a new church in Greater Milwaukee this coming Fall. The target community is Menomonee Falls. If you would like to follow the plant’s progress and pray for it, you can find the latest update from our church planter, Jerod Walker, at this link: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=301031f422f4725bc1e2f0750&id=54897f1b45&e=154a360ad2.

Westwood Message–April 14, 2011

Food Pantry Donations

The Lord continues to bless the ministry of our Food Pantry, including two recent donations.

We received a donation of a $60.67 credit at Second Harvest from this year’s Million Pound Challenge. The Million Pound Challenge is sponsored by the Princeton Club. Several of our people have taken up the challenge to lose weight or exercise as a way of developing donations to food pantries throughout the area. Our Food Pantry purchases food from Second Harvest that supplements our other food donations. The Million Pound Challenge continues through May.

We also received a donation of 2,872 pounds of food and $500.00 toward purchasing perishable food from Roundy’s Foundation. That donation was presented to our Food Pantry and others in the area on April 11 at the Copps Food Center on University Ave. Gloria Jean Ehlers, our Food Pantry director, received Westwood’s donation. Thanks to Gloria Jean and all of our Food Pantry volunteers who make this ministry possible.

Easter Offering For the New Church in Menomonee Falls Continues Through April

We continue through the rest of April to receive designated gifts for our Easter Offering. That offering will go toward the new church to be launched in Menomonee Falls in the Fall.

Good Friday Service on April 22 at 6:00 PM

Join us for our Good Friday Service at 6:00 PM on April 22. This service is a special service of music, scripture, and readings, as we explore the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Sermon Series for April and May

Upcoming Dates at Westwood

April 22 Good Friday Service at 6:00 PM
April 24 Easter Service at 9:30 AM

A Westwood Message–April 7, 2011

Easter Offering to Go to New Church in Menomonee Falls

Plans are well underway for a church plant in Menomonee Falls which will launch in the Fall. WCMA, a ministry supported by Westwood, is partnering to help fund the plant. Jerod Walker is the lead church planter.

Our Missions Team is asking the congregation to give to an Easter offering toward the church plant. Offerings designated for this special offering can be given throughout the month of April.

Seder Potluck Supper at Mandrake Road Church of Christ

Mandrake Road Church of Christ, 4301 Mandrake Rd., Madison, is hosting a Seder Potluck Supper on April 18 at 6:00 PM and has invited Westwood people to attend. April 18 is the first night of Passover when Jews and Jewish Christians across the world will be celebrating as well.

They request that you keep with the Passover tradition of making food that contains no flour or leavening agents. (Though, since we are under the New Covenant, if someone brings, say, a chocolate cake, they are quite sure the blood of the Passover Lamb will cover such "sins" and many will happily enjoy it anyway!)

There will be ceremonial parts of the meal, following the haggadah (a booklet with readings that everyone will have a copy of), and eating the regular meal will happen midway through that. Children are welcome; there are even some parts of the seder meal that purposely involve children. They expect it will be over by 8pm.

If you would like to attend, please contact the Westwood office and let Chardel know by April 14 so that we can give Mandrake Road a head count.

Compassion International Giving Update

Thank you to everyone that has given over the past couple of months towards Compassion International. We just received some coins collected that totaled $42.88! In addition, someone else gave to bring the balance due to $0.00 right now. So we are current on our giving for Diocaris and Samuel through the month of April. (As a reminder, it's $38/month to sponsor each child, $76/month to sponsor both of them). Everyone's help is much appreciated to share God's love with these two children in the Dominican Republic.

God's Great Blessings to YOU!

Sandy Polcyn
c/o Compassion International

Sermon Series for April and May

Upcoming Dates at Westwood

April 10 Small Group Potluck at 5:00 PM
April 22 Good Friday Service at 6:00 PM
April 24 Easter Service at 9:30 AM

MAKING THE CROSS CENTRAL TO YOUR LIFE AND CHURCH

Imagine a stranger visiting your church some Sunday. The visitor knows next to nothing about Christianity, but is interested and wants to learn. As he drives up to your building, he notices the cross on the outside. As he enters the building, he sees crosses as part of the design on the main entry doors. Moving into the worship auditorium, he notices a cross prominently displayed at the front, one in the design of the pulpit and in the design of the table in the front. He sits down next to a couple and notices that the man has a cross pin on his label and the woman has a cross on her necklace. The opening song refers to the cross. When the part of the service where you have communion begins, the minister refers to communion being a remembrance of the death of Jesus on the cross, and the congregation sings “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

Such a visitor might go away impressed but puzzled by the frequent mention of the cross. It is notable how often the cross is referred to, but it also raises questions: Do Christians really give up everything for the cross? Can Christianity be accurately summed up as a faith of the cross?

The cross is difficult to grasp. We know it is central to Christianity, but even we sometimes are not aware of how often we mention the cross. We become accustomed to our references to it. Further, we must ask ourselves how we are to put the cross at the center of our lives and of our churches. The questions are appropriate as we near our annual focus on the death of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.

This is the issue that comes forward in the Gospel Matthew the first time Jesus introduces the idea of the cross to his disciples. Matthew 16 is a turning point in Matthew’s Gospel. The chapter contains Peter’s confession of faith, immediately after which Matthew writes, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” From that time on, Jesus makes teaching about and preparing for his death and resurrection central to his ministry.

When he introduces the topic in Matthew 16, we find that we have a choice to make regarding the centrality of the cross in our lives and in the church.

(1) We can stand in the way of the cross. The disciples could not understand the idea of the cross when Jesus introduced it, because they believed him to be a king who would deliver them from Rome. A king could die, but had to be protected, but Jesus explains to them that he must die. Peter, just after his confession of faith, says to Jesus, “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you.” Peter responded to the first mention of the cross by standing in the way.

Have you ever stood in the way of the cross? Does your church stand in the way of the cross? Are we too often comfortable taking the easy path in following Christ? Do we do things our way instead of God’s way? Does Jesus need to say to us as he did to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”?

(2) We can take up the cross. Jesus puts a hard teaching in front of us: If you are going to follow Jesus, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him wherever he leads. We are in the middle of the practice of Lent. Perhaps some of you have given up something for Lent. Such a practice reminds us that we are to give up ourselves to follow Christ, but we must be careful to remember that living by the cross is an ongoing commitment, not just a seasonal one. Indeed we must take up the cross, as Jesus told his disciples, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Are you practicing that kind of commitment in your life? Are you asking people in your church to practice that kind of commitment? As we go through this Good Friday and Easter, make the cross not just about words, but make the cross central to your life and the life of your church.

Thinking About Heaven

If you would like a perspective on heaven in light of the current evangelical discussion taking place about heaven and hell -- in light of Rob Bell's new book -- give Gordon MacDonald's new piece a read. I have read MacDonald for quite a few years in Leadership Journal where he is editor-at-large, after a long career in ministry: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/currenttrendscolumns/leadershipweekly/leavingpeace.html.