Pastor Wrinkles: Chapter Charts Pt. 103

 

Psalm chapter 1 says, “Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

I want to be that man of righteousness! That is one of the reasons I practice charting. It helps me to keep the word of God ever before my eyes. That helps me stay strong in a world that is decidedly working towards my undoing.

Here is what I see in the word of God today:

Joshua chapter 12 sermon topics/titles:

1. Victory Means Possession! Josh 12: 6

2. The First Victories Are Foundational: Josh 12:1-6

3. Keeping a Win List: Josh 12: 7-24

Joshua chapter 13 sermon topics/titles:

1. What To Do When You Run Out Of Time: Josh 13:1-7

2. The Lord Himself Will Drive Them Out: Josh: 13:6

3. Just God: Josh. 13: 32,33

Now Tell me what you see in these chapters! 🙂

Pastor Wrinkles: What I Learned From Pictures

2011 was a year of many changes for me. It was also the first full year of learning how to put pictures on “Reinventing the We’ll.”  Let’s see what happened shall we?

In January I moved back to my childhood home.

You may remember my fight with the black berries at Muddy’s house. in the spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the building of the “Pseudo-Elizabethan” garden. I learned that reclaiming and rebuilding territory is not a quick process.

 

 

 

 

 

In June I was relieved of my duties as interim youth pastor by one of my students who was newly credentialed and married. I am so blessed to have Pastor Brad and his wife Cassie on board!

 I got a great gift out of the deal and a name that has served me well since! I learned God wastes nothing, not even a good joke.

 

All three kids came home for a brief visit this summer. They still call this home but more and more their lives seem to be elsewhere.

 

 

I got to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law at their home in Maine…my first alone vacation. Weird! Yet in the midst of all the changes I learned that  family will always be family.

 

 These lessons all came between the wild storms of course!

 

 

 

I have wondered often about the clouds this year. What do they speak about our future? I can only say that change is definitely in the wind!

 

That notion of course was totally borne out by the fact that Christmas came at Halloween both outside and in. We had to celebrate early! After all Duddy was moving to Amsterdam to begin her career as a missionary.

So lots of changes in 2011. Virtually nothing went untouched. Some of the changes I am barely ready to look at…others I have embraced and walked into; Most I am still on the fence about. Truthfully though how I feel about ’em doesn’t really matter. I can take the snapshot and freeze forever the memory of the moment but in the end the picture is not life. No… life is that thing that draws us on into the unknown. It’s the thing we haven’t seen or photographed yet. Life makes us stand on the precious resources of memory and experience so that we may reach the hopes and possibilities it holds out to us.

     As I look at the year in pictures I see a year I never could have predicted. I guess I have learned to better hold my breath because prophet that I am I have no idea what adventure lies around the next corner.

Pastor Wrinkles: The New Year’s Resolution

New Year’s 2012 is finally upon us. If we were Mayan we would probably be setting our affairs in order and strapping ourselves in for the end of the world; Seeing that we are not, most of us are on this day writing, or at least thinking, of all the great things we resolve to accomplish before Jan. 1, 2013.

    Since I gave a few tips on surviving the last holiday I thought I might just “pastorally” mention a few things about making resolutions for the New Year:

1. Involve God – The Psalmist says “unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1.

May I just gently suggest that if you are making the same resolution you have been making for the last twelve years and failing at, maybe it’s time to start asking God if or how you should go about accomplishing it.

2. Write It Down –  and put it somewhere  you will see it all the time. If it’s not important enough to write down it’s probably not resolution material.

3. Break It Down –  To say, “My New Years resolution is to get healthy” is a wonderful thing. Leaving the resolution in that form though almost assures you will fail at your attempt. First you have to define the goal’s end. What does “healthy” look like? Then break it down into monthly goals. Then break it down further into daily goals.

4. Schedule – The first step to reaching goals is to make them manageable and intentional. Get a planner and every week schedule according to your goals. Resolutions need to find their way into your routine.

5. Pray For success Ask God to direct you toward your goal everyday.

6. Don’t Give Up – Set backs are going to come this year. You still live on Earth and the place ain’t perfect. But don’t worry God is and He will give you the victory you need!

7. Remember Pastor Wrinkles is cheering you on! 🙂

 Tell me some of your New Year’s Resolutions!

Heaven Pt. 14

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” …Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”  Ge.22:1,2 10-12 NIV

      Here we see that Heaven is the place from which our trials originate and  it is the place that cancels them out when once they are through with us. Not one thing comes into our lives without God’s stamp of approval (that ought to spark some discussion).

     Most of us look at this story and think how unjust God was to require such a terrible price from his servant, Abraham. We look at Abraham and ask “What kind of man could have said yes to God?”

     I think he must have been a man who understood life and death and Heaven pretty well. He must have had a pretty clear view of the fact that it’s not what goes on down here that really matters. I think he grasped firmly that anything done here can be undone by one word from Him who sits on the throne of eternity. That’s why it says in Hebrews 11 “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”

     Because Abraham understood how the world worked and what really mattered He was able to stave off the despair we too often feel when faced by the trials of our faith ignited from the throne of Heaven.

     Here’s the thing; If we understand what Abraham did… if we keep the things of Heaven and Earth in their proper perspective, we too can remain free from despair.

Let’s pray:

Lord when fiery trials come into my life help me to remember they are just faith builders. Help me not to get bitter. Cause them to make me better…stronger. Help me to keep Heaven in view. Help me to keep You in view. Help me to remember it will be done away with one day by You. On that day help me hear “Well done good and faithful servant.” A-men

Pastor Wrinkles Chapter Charts Pt. 46

We are currently working through the Bible using a method called chapter charting. Just yesterday we finished out the Book of Exodus. Before we go on I want to take just a quick post to explain the method behind the madness of chapter charting.

    The Bible is a deep book. Every chapter is chock full of truth. There isn’t one of us in our limited understanding who can understand all the truth that is contained in the Book of Books. That’s why each time we read through the Word something new stands out to us.

    Chapter charting is a method in which we take a chapter of the Bible and come up with three truths that stand out to us at the moment. If you ask ten people  to chart the same chapter, you can possibly come up with thirty different truths. You should try it with your family and see what you come up with. It will probably make for some interesting discussion.

See you next week when we start charting Leviticus!

Heaven Pt. 13

“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.” Ge. 21:17 NIV

Too often we view Heaven as a place so far removed from our experience that no help could ever come from there.

We think, as God is in Heaven watching us “From a distance”( as the old song goes) He too is somehow helpless to reach out and touch us in the place of our infirmities.

I think this is one of the reasons we often try to solve things ourselves first and pray last if at all over a problem.  Yet the idea of Heaven being far away is a misconception.

Jesus preached “The kingdom of heaven is near.” Matt 4:7 NIV

For that reason he told His disciples they were to , “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Matt. 10:18 NIV

God is real and He is real close. He’s listening right now and I have it on good authority He wants to help you out. He’s just waiting for you to realize it and reach out.

Now would be a good time to pray:

God  I know your word says that you are close enough to hear my every cry. So I reach out to you today. Help me in my weakness. Heal me. Get involved in my situations and show me how you want things in my life to work. In Jesus name A-men!

Let me know what happens as a result of praying! 🙂

Heaven Pt. 12

“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;” Ge. 19:24

 I realized as I read this verse that Heaven isn’t a hopeful topic for everyone.  For some it’s just an expectation of fearful judgment.

I once heard an evangelist say “Everyone’s going to Heaven. But only a few are going to stay there.”

That’s so sad and so true. I do a lot of talking about the end times. For me it means that soon Jesus will come and set up His kingdom where I will be allowed to rule and reign with Him.

But for someone who doesn’t know Jesus….for someone who isn’t assured of Heaven the topic of the future according to the Bible, is just more death and destruction.

Listen Heaven doesn’t have to be a fearful topic. Assurance of eternal life is simple. The Bible says “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

It also says

“But to all who believed him and accepted him (Jesus), he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

Today can be the day you receive assurance of Heaven. All you must do is believe on Jesus and accept Him as your God and you will be given eternal life.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you are God’s one and only son. I believe you came to Earth and died on the cross for my sins. I believe that God has raised you from the dead. Today I accept your sacrifice for me. I accept I need it for I am a sinner. Thank you for forgiving me. I accept you right now into my life as my God. My life is yours from now on.

A-men

Hey if you just prayed that prayer for the first time would you do me a favor and let me know by commenting?

Be Blessed!

Christmas Joy!

Our head elfette (lead pastor’s wife) sent this to our staff for Christmas.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/4OqcSdw725ZWDVve?cmpid=jj_fb_friend_holidays

Starring in order of appearance and from left to right:

Lead Pastor: Rev. Barry Risto

Church Administrator: Charlotte Dorais

Asst. Pastor: Rev. J. Lillie

Youth Pastor: Rev. Brad Hackett

Church Secretary: Wendy Brouillet

Merry Christmas All!

Pastor Wrinkles: The Perfect Christmas

Christmas 2011 is now upon us, dear reader. Therefore, I thought it appropriate to take a few moments to share some pastoral points about how to have the perfect Christmas tomorrow.

1. Give yourself grace: As a culture we put too much pressure on ourselves to get it right. We expect that we are going to be able to produce the Norman Rockwell Christmas that even Norman Rockwell couldn’t create. It’s time to realize, the “perfect” Christmas doesn’t exist. You can not create it; So relax and receive Christmas as it comes. It can be wonderful without being “perfect”.

2. Give others grace: If you can’t create the perfect Christmas neither can your spouse or your kids. Release them from impossible expectations and let them be themselves.

3. Thank God Tomorrow: By releasing unrealistic expectations you will be able to stop looking at what Christmas is not and praise God for what it is. So many of us are in less than perfect situations this year. That doesn’t mean there aren’t blessings to be found in the day. Take some time to thank God for every good thing in your life.

4. Make the day about Christ: We talk a lot about how commercialized Christmas has become. Let’s stop talking about it and do something about it. Take some time to make Christ the focus.

5. Take a Break: For God’s sake (and I really mean that) sit down sometime during the day. Take a load off. Shut up and rest!

6. Take Heart: In the end it is only one day…twenty four hours. Even if the sucker totally tanks anyone can make it through twenty-four hours! So rejoice the twenty-sixth is boxing day. You can bag up any bad memories and just return them to the store. Next year will be better.

7. Remember Pastor Wrinkles loves you. That alone should make for a perfect holiday 🙂

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

What To Give the Person Who Has Everything

If you are like me, then you  have at least one person in your life whom you have been totally unable to figure out a “wow” gift for this year.

Well my friend Deb from http://twominutesofgrace.wordpress.com  is really onto something with her post “Soup for the Soul.” Check it out:

http://twominutesofgrace.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/soup-for-the-soul/

I know it’s last-minute; But it is never too late to jump on the computer and make a donation in that special someone’s name. Consider giving the gift of giving this year. After all, the person you are thinking about probably already has everything he/she needs… right? That’s why you’re having such a hard time finding a gift.

Here are some giving  suggestions if you are at a loss:

1. Donate Bibles from the Gideons in your loved one’s name.

http://www.gideons.org/HowYouCanHelp/Give.aspx

2. Donate to voice of the martyrs, a missions agency dedicated to easing the suffering of persecuted Christians across the globe.

http://www.persecution.com/

3. Make a one time donation to your favorite missionary. These folks give their all year-round. Many of them are short or underfunded as churches in the U.S. cut budgets.

4. Speed-The-Light is one of my favorite missions outreach. This agency provides tools for missionaries to get their jobs done effectively. They provide cars, vans, buses, sound equipment,and anything else a missionary might need to “get’er done”.

https://secure1.ag.org/contributions/detail.cfm?LedgerID=dd67e63e-fd27-4b77-a50f-21f2684471eb

5. I know you probably gave in the little bucket outside your Wal-Mart but why not do a little bit more in the name of your loved one. Give to the Salvation Army.

https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/

6. Convoy of Hope  is an agency dedicated to disaster relief in partnership with the local church.

https://donate.convoyofhope.org/sslpage.aspx

7.  Health Care Ministries is a ministry dedicated to bringing  health care to communities in need across the globe.

http://healthcareministries.org/donate

I could go on all night; But seven is the number of completion; So I will end here hoping you were inspired to give the gift of giving to at least one of your hard- to- buy- for loved ones.

What are some of your favorite charities?