The Messenger June 2008

Click to read North Branch Reformed Church’s monthly newsletter:
The Messenger June 2008

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The Shepherd’s Kids and Young Adult News June 2008

Click to read the latest issue of North Branch Reformed Church’s monthly newsletter for children, teens and college students:
The Shepherd’s Kids and Young Adult News June 2008

Note: You need an Adobe PDF reader installed to read a PDF document. If you don’t have one installed, you can download a free PDF reader at www.adobe.com.

Event Calendar June 2008

Click here to see our scheduled events for June 2008.

NBRC Sermon 05/25/2008 - Resurrection of Lazarus

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Sermon by Rev. Sita Hofstra from Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. Sita and Pastor Todd Buurstra are participating in a pastoral exchange as part of their sabbaticals.

 

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NBRC Sermon 05/18/2008 - Historical Turning Points: Born in a Barn!

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HISTORICAL TURNING POINTS: Born in a Barn!
John 3:1-10

Ye must be born again! cried the barnstorming preacher in Abraham DuMont’s barn. It was 1821 and the preacher was conducting a revival. That night on the outskirts of North Branch it was estimated that 1000 souls were crammed into every nook and cranny of this barn. Men in farmer’s jeans and bonneted women in long dresses jammed the floor and hayloft. Around that time historians estimate that only 5% of the population went to church (85% less than today!). History says “morals were crude.” Does that mean a lot of cursing the horses? An extra finger on the scale at the store, and that things happened in the hayloft that polite society didn’t talk about? History says “education was low.” Our Surveyors had more education than that preacher.

He went on: Like Nicodemus who snuck off to investigate Jesus at night, tonight you’ve come to check out this revival preacher. While you test me it’s Jesus who is putting the candle up to your soul to see if you’re born again! And does he find that you whip your slaves and caress another man’s wife… Come to Jesus for forgiveness!

The usual Saturday night fiddler at the village square dances began one of those new-fangled songs, a mournful hymn, written during the Second Great Awakening… The evangelist paused to pray. He prayed that many would be reborn in this barn. That they would experience what the greatest revivalist preacher of that generation, Charles Finney, experienced as liquid love. So he commanded: Stand up if you want to receive Jesus. 100s stood: young and old, men and women, black and white, all born again.

From that meeting we know that God’s Spirit birthed three great things in NBRC:

1. A new church. In 1825 this land was deeded for $1 in Jun; in Sep the Refomed Dutch Church of North Branch was organized, and by Dec Rev. G. Fisher arrived.
2. A welcoming congregation. Even a quick look at the charter members of NBRC shows that the church’s arms stretched as wide as Christ’s by welcoming Dutch, French Hugenot, German, Irish, Scots, and English folk. All were received.
3. A church who cared about its community. We know that two great social move-ments came out of the Second Great Awakening: abolition of slavery and the temperance movement. To what degree our farmers were active in freeing slaves and throwing away the bottle, I don’t know, but I do know that Alberta DuMont, ancestor of Abraham, and great grandmother of Ricky was still anti-drink in 1980.

So how does being born in a barn effect NBRC today? I believe that it means that
the Holy Spirit is always making us new. Born again and again and again. We can say: Rebirth is our birthrite. (Birthrite means that we have a right from birth to be renewed by God daily.) Indeed that’s the way God is. Like spring grass the Holy Spirit always keeps things growing. Like the wind that we can feel, but not see, the Holy Spirit is always moving us. And so, if we’re not growing, not being moved, not changing; we’re dying. As with the whole congregation, Confirmation isn’t the end of growing in God through church school, worship and youth group; it’s the beginning because rebirth is…

Surveyors, if you’re a little bored with the sermon now note that a 5 year old asked the preacher why he always bowed his head before he started preaching. Pleased that she had noticed the preacher said, Honey, I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon. The little girl replied, How come He doesn’t answer it? You’re not alone.

How does the Spirit birth NBRC anew 183 years after the barn? In similar ways:

1. As the renewing Spirit started a church back then so is the Holy Spirit starting a church now. Ignite! meets in 3 cell groups of about 15-20 different people. Yet it seems that God is leading them to start worshiping together in June; maybe here, maybe at United Reformed, to provide one more entry point for folks. But mama NBRC is not done tying shoes and wiping noses: God is calling some of us to be more involved in helping that new worship as greeters, warm bodies, 6 month core group members, AND through contributing financially through the Special Gifts Fund. Don’t even need to be between 18-39, but you need to know: Rebirth is…
2. As the Holy Spirit welcomed Dutch and French into that first church so the Holy Spirit welcomes everyone today. I particularly felt this wind of the Spirit blowing when you guys did your youth service, and in your Credos today. Did you know that when Anna preached that she was the 10th generation from Abraham DuMont? Old Abe might have rolled over in his grave that his great- great- great-… granddaughter preached. Girls and guys, men and women, young and old, hymns and praise, Asians, Latinos, Africans are included because rebirth.
3. As the Holy Spirit renewed that first group to care about their community, so the Holy Spirit is renewing us to love our neighbors. This past Tuesday we had our first, official meeting to discern God’s will for the use of the Lawrence House property. I am inspired by the possibilities! A couple of the ideas that we’re researching are: home for young adults too old for the foster system… or a ministry center to house Christian professionals that might offer programs on parenting, or groups dealing with addictions, or finding your career calling… etc. Wow! New ways to win people to Christ in line with Kirkside, the Preschool, and Sunrise! All because we were born in a barn where rebirth is…

Folks, your heritage from Abraham on down to Ricky, Sara, Taylor, Max… is
that by God you are born again, and again, and again. For, let’s say it one last time,…

 

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NBRC Sermon 05/11/2008

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Pentecost
Mothers Day

Sermon by Pastor David Mojica, Ignite! Church.
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NBRC Sermon 05/04/2008 - Where Do We Find God’s Calm in Life’s Storm?

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Where Do We Find God’s Calm in Life’s Storm?
Mark 4:35-41

Mark chose his words very carefully when he wrote his gospel. We don’t exactly know his process, but we know that Mark didn’t take dictation, nor watch Jesus and write a biography. Mark probably never met Jesus. We think Mark heard many stories about Jesus from Peter, a fisherman who may not have been able to write. Then he looked at the fiddling Nero’s persecution and chose just the right words to give hope.

Here’s what Mark saw in Rome. Nero had Christians dressed in wild animal skins and torn to pieces by dogs, or they were set on a stand to be lit as human torches for his gardens. Nero instigated the public to call believers, according to Roman historian Tacitus, “notoriously depraved, Christians.” So Mark likened their waves of persecution to the lake’s storm. In what words could the persecuted find God’s calm in their storm?

In what words do we find God’s calm in our storms? There are personal storms related to money today. The perfect storm of the average American debt (George Will sets it at 141% of debt to earnings), plus the housing crisis is sending us into recession.

Or for some there may be a church crisis: with a search for a new Minister of Music will all the current choirs continue? Will a contemporary service be forced upon us? Yes and no. Yes, current choirs will continue; no, a contemporary service will not be rushed into once a new person is hired, but there will be a process to discern God’s will regarding how best to begin a contemporary service. Waves of change.

Or for others there may be national crisis: is it better to elect John McCain to maintain troop strength in Iraq, or is it better to elect Hillobama to draw down our troops?

Like the early Roman Christians we’re all in that boat, but Jesus is snoring:
What words best describe our storm to God and what words does Jesus use back?

Let’s take that in parts: what words best describe our storm to God? This implies a golden nugget of truth. Our usual response to life’s storms is to complain to others. The Bible everywhere condemns complaining to others. Partially because the process of moaning to friends gets our minds more deeply stuck in the post-storm mud. Instead the Spirit lifts up the idea of complaining to God. The most common types of Psalms, fully 1/3, or about 50, are laments. For there is something about whining to God that helps us see Jesus with us. LORD, do you care?! Jesus woke up. For us, we wake up to God

Mark is telling his lion-bait friends and us today to speak our fears to Jesus, and then what happens? Jesus stands up and speaks words of faith: Silence! Be still! And the winds and the waves obey. All through Scripture God teaches us that words have power: the whole world was created by words, Let there be… and there was… In the same way, after complaining to God, there’s great power to speak words of faith: Peace..!

The fire had destroyed millions of dollars worth of Marv’s factory in 1984. It was one of the worst days of his life. So he gathered his management team in the basement of a local Zeeland, MI restaurant with a grief counselor. The counselor helped them process their feelings, in essence, their complaints to God. But finally Marv had had enough of the crying over spilled milk. He stood up, took control, and said, Enough already. Now Smith I want you to call the insurance. Jones, you call our competitors to ask for factory space. Billings, you get a crew to… We’re gonna make it! And they did. So in your storm: speak your fears to God and your faith in God, and you’ll find peace, Amen.

Reverend Todd Buurstra
Pastor of Worship and Witness

 

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From the Pastor - May

I am not an evangelist. I am a pretty relational guy. Yet today’s church needs the evangelistic gift desperately, as more and more churches get stuck in old ways of doing and being while the culture zooms by the church at increasing speed. My career has been about trying to figure out how God can use my relational gifts to meet the need for evangelism.

I don’t think that I’ve become very good at evangelism, but I do think that I’ve become better. I’ve read books on it. I’ve prayed to get better at it. And most recently I’ve watched David Mojica and other church planters in my work with the Classis in multiplying new churches.

So I am in my office and an unchurched Preschool Dad walks in. This guy and I have formed a growing friendship over his years in our school. We started out talking about politics, but lately we’ve been talking about the Bible. He just finished a Lee Strobel book called, The Case for the Creator. So he stopped by today to tell me how much he liked it. I thanked him for his recommendation and promptly ordered it off of Amazon. Now he is reading the Bible for the first time, and is having trouble making sense out of it. So I give him a book off my shelf to help explain it. Will we see his family in our church someday? I don’t know, but I do know that he, along with everyone I see every day, is on a spiritual journey. How can I help them take one more step along that journey toward Christ?

So as you follow Jesus in his mission of restoring people to God, let me tell you three steps that I, as a non-evangelist-but-friendly-guy, am learning:
First pray to see opportunities to help people along their spiritual journeys;
secondly, seize opportunities to talk about how Jesus helps you progress along your
path; and,
thirdly, stick with those opportunities by continuing to walk alongside those seeking.

Hope that’s helpful. For whether you think of yourself this way or not, you are an evangel; that is, someone who has good news to bring others.

Peace and joy,
Pastor Todd Buurstra

The Messenger May 2008

Click to read North Branch Reformed Church’s monthly newsletter:
The Messenger May 2008

Note: You need an Adobe PDF reader installed to read a PDF document. If you don’t have one installed, you can download a free PDF reader at www.adobe.com.

The Shepherd’s Kids and Young Adult News May 2008

Click to read the latest issue of North Branch Reformed Church’s monthly newsletter for children, teens and college students:
The Shepherd’s Kids and Young Adult News May 2008

Note: You need an Adobe PDF reader installed to read a PDF document. If you don’t have one installed, you can download a free PDF reader at www.adobe.com.

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