Zion E-News (5-30-2019)

On Sunday, I shared one of may all-time favorite devotionals, which comes from Chuck Swindoll’s devotional In the Seasons of Life. We had some technical difficulties with the video of Sunday’s service, so I share the devotional below for your personal reflection as well.

On a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little lifesaving station. Actually, the station was merely a hut with only one boat . . . but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the turbulent sea. With little thought for themselves, they would go out day and night tirelessly searching for those in danger as well as the lost. Many, many lives were saved by this brave band of men who faithfully worked as a team in and out of the lifesaving station. By and by, it became a famous place.

Some of those who had been saved as well as others along the seacoast wanted to become associated with this little station. They were willing to give their time and energy and money in support of its objectives. New boats were purchased. New crews were trained. The station that was once obscure and crude and virtually insignificant began to grow. Some of its members were unhappy that the hut was so unattractive and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided. Emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture. Rough, hand-made equipment was discarded and sophisticated, classy systems were installed. The hut, of course, had to be torn down to make room for all the additional equipment, furniture, systems, and appointments. By its completion, the life-saving station had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives had begun to shift. It was now used as sort of a clubhouse, an attractive building for public gatherings. Saving lives, feeding the hungry, strengthening the fearful, and calming the disturbed rarely occurred by now. 

Fewer members were now interested in braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional lifeboat crews to do this work. The original goal of the station wasn’t altogether forgotten, however. The lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the club’s decorations. In fact, there was a liturgical lifeboat preserved in the Room of Sweet Memories with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer of dust upon the once-used vessel. 

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast and the boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty, some terribly sick and lonely. Others were “different” from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy and cluttered. A special committee saw to it that a shower house was immediately built outside and away from the club so victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. 

At the next meeting there were strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the members. Most of the people wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities and all involvements with shipwreck victims . . . (“it’s too unpleasant, it’s a hindrance to our social life, it’s opening the door to folks who are not our kind”). As you’d expect, some still insisted upon saving lives, that this was their primary objective—that their only reason for existence was ministering to anyone needing help regardless of their club’s beauty or size or decorations. They were voted down and told if they wanted to save the lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast! They did. 

As years passed, the new station experienced the same old changes. It evolved into another club . . . and yet another lifesaving station was begun. History continued to repeat itself . . . and if you visit that coast today you’ll find a large number of exclusive, impressive clubs along the shoreline owned and operated by slick professionals who have lost all involvement with the saving of lives. 

Shipwrecks still occur in those waters, but now most of the victims are not saved. Every day they drown at sea, and so few seem to care . . . so very few.

Do you?

Connect to God

At a time when the first-century church had been invaded by false teachers, John knew Christians who are not sure of God’s truth could wander away, never to return. He wrote 1 John to help these early believers not only to know the real truth, but to be confident of it, and to rest upon it. If then, why not today? We all urgently need to hear and obey God’s loving message in 1 John and let God’s love shape how we live in this world as light in the darkness bringing hope to the hopeless. In the second chapter of 1 John, we consider the call to love like Jesus even in the midst of conflict and tension.

This Sunday, we celebrate the ordination and installation of Brandon Deiter and Steve Boersma as Elders and Robbi Boeve and Dan Sundberg as Deacons. During the service we will lay hands on them and pray for God’s spirit to fill and guide them in these roles and will renew our promises both to and with the Consistory God has given us as a congregation. We are thankful for all who serve and lead in our congregation and particularly for our Consistory as we ordain these newest members.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community

Our church recently signed up to give everyone access to RightNow Media. You may have received an invitation to RightNow in an e-mail this week and wondered if it was spam. It’s no spamt. But, it is free access to some great Bible study resources, leadership training, and Christian videos for children. Rachel and I have been using RightNow media to help us disciple our kids in our devotions together and in our personal growth as well. It is worth your time to check out, especially the Read Scripture series under Zion Reformed Church from the Bible Project.

As a member or regular attender of Zion you get free access to all these resources. RightNow media can be accessed through a computer, your smart phone or tablet, apple tv, Roku, Fire TV, and more. If you did not receive an invite, double check your spam folder and if you still can’t find the invite, send Pastor Gregan e-mail and he will send you a new invitation.

During the summer, we take a break from our regular children’s programming to allow our teachers have a break from prepping lessons each week. Instead, we show age appropriate Christian videos for kids ages 3 years old through 3rd grade. We are still looking for a few volunteers. Please consider volunteering to help over the summer! It’s a great way to get to know some of the awesome children in our church! You can sign up via the link below, or there’s a sign-up sheet outside of Room 205. Rachel Brower will meet with volunteers each Sunday before church so they know how to run the video. You must have gone through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check in order to volunteer. If not, Rachel can meet with you to go over our policy. You sign-up through the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044cafad2ca2ff2-summer1

We also have a more flexible schedule for our First Impressions Team (ushers, greeters, and others) who so graciously welcome us every week, If you would like to try serving on one of these teams over the summer, you can sign up through the link below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054AAEAE23A6FD0-summer

On Saturday, June 29, Grandville will hold its annual Visser Family YMCA Buck Creek Run. If you are interested in running with people from church, please contact Pastor Rick. For more information check out www.visserfamilybuckcreekrun.com.

Serve the World

Camp Zion is an amazing, fun-filled, summer time adventure.  Anyone is welcome to be a part of serving at camp, from teenagers to retirees. Camp runs for seven weeks: June 17 – Aug 1, Monday through Thursday each week, 9am-3pm each day. You can serve one day a week or every day or anything in between. In particular, we are always open to adults who are willing to drive students to and from lunch and field trips. If you would like to know more, please contact Rachel Verbrugge.

Administrative Details

There will be a Town Hall meeting on Sunday, June 2 following worship to share the reasons and rational behind Consistory’s decision to move Sunday School to during church beginning next fall. After the meeting a survey will be e-mailed to our congregation to which we encourage you to respond. Following the informational forum, a paper copy of the survey will be available for those who don’t have internet access. To ensure you receive the survey please include your email on the Connection Card or email Connie this week at cstegeman@zionreformed.org.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $565,510.40

Fiscal Year to date contributions: $548,801.12