Exceptional Volunteers

We have exceptional volunteers here at KCC! They continually go above and beyond what is expected of them in serving others.

John McColley has been volunteering at KCC for years, but recently he worked 3 straight weeks at the church building! 4 of those days (8 hours each) he spent removing ice from the church roof in temperatures hovoring in single digits!

John is on to another project now, but still laboring away for the Lord. Thanks John! I appreciate you and all you do for God's Kingdom!

Jesus Gives Life

Jesus gives man a new lease on life. He did it long ago, He does it today, and He'll do it in the future.

Well-known phrases:

"I was blind, but now I see."

"I was dead, but now I live."

"I was lost, but now am found."

"I was in chains, but now I am free!"

What has God done for you?!

Do you pray with your children at night?

Do you pray with your children at night before they go to sleep? We've practiced this discipline every since our children were born. We pray and sing every night without fail by their bedside. I'm sure most of you do the same.

Last night after I prayed and sang with my daughter, she startled me with a question. "Daddy," she said. "Why don't big people pray and sing?" Immediately I thought the message my daughters is getting is that praying and singing is just for kids and once she grows up she'll no longer practice it.

I told her I prayed in my mind before I went to sleep at night, but I prefered to listen to music rather than sing it. But I am making plans to pray with my wife before bedtime and even make sure my children are aware of it.

What about you? Do you pray and sing before bed each night? It might not be a bad idea. Especially if you have children.

Through Sorrow and Death

Wow! I just read John 11:1-16 where Lazarus dies with Jesus' full knowledge and ability to spare his passing. Jesus loved this family, but yet allowed this tragedy to befall them. He allowed them to go through the mourning and suffering before demonstrating the wonderful power of God.

How often do we see God in this way? Simply allowing sickness, or accident, or even death to disrupt our lives in such a devastating manner? There is something to going through the valley that prepares us to climb the mountain of victorious life.

I think of movies and how their plots develop. You can almost know there will be a crisis or tragedy that will occur within the film and then after that the resolve.

I believe God does this to develop in us a deeper faith. A depth that cannot be obtained any other way except through terrible circumstances beyond our control.

Class 101

KCC held Class 101 last night with 11 in attendance. This is the first time we've tried offering the class on a Sunday evening. It went very well. In the past we've stretched the class over a 5 week period during our Faith Training hour. The major problem with that is that people can't always attend 5 straight weeks in a row for one reason or another. We also had a wonderful chili dinner prepared by my wonderful wife, Anita.

Next Class 101 is slated for January.

Random Thoughts from Luke

"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John." Luke 16:16

It never occured to me Jesus was so clear on when the OT law ceased and the NT teachings of Jesus, or the new covenant, began!

"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." Luke 16:31

Face it. Some people aren't going to respond to the gospel message either. Let's spend our efforts on telling those who haven't heard.

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:14b

God isn't in the celebrity business; He's looking for those with humility to represent Him.

The Lost Coin

When I read the parable about the woman who lost a coin in Luke 15, I immediately think of the window's mite. I don't know why. Maybe it's just because these are two incidents in the New Testament where a woman and a coin are involved. The parable doesn't say this woman was a widow, but since there was no one to help her search the house for the coin, I guess I just assumed she was.

While the one story reminds me of the other, there is one significant difference between the two. The value of the coin.

In the story of the widow's mite the coin was worth about 2 cents. Most people no longer even take the time to pick a penny up these days. In fact, there is talk of discontinueing production of the penny because it costs more to make than it is worth!

In the parable of the lost coin, the woman lost a drachma, which the Bible says is a day's wage. Wikianswers.com says that today the average American makes $105.57 a day. So it's as if this woman lost a hundred dollar bill! I don't know about you, but I would hunt for it until I found it too!

The point here is that what was lost had great value. Yes, the woman, like our heavenly Father, never gives up. But we each have great value in God's sight. He loves us, believes in us, and values us more than we'll ever know. How cool is that?!