Late last week, there was a fascinating interaction on Twitter that has stuck with me. So often on social media, the interactions are filled with anger, bitterness, or just plain unkindness. But this one was different. It occurred predominantly between Beth Moore (the famous conservative Bible teacher) and Anne Lamott, the best selling Christian author. One is known for being theologically conservative and the other for being a theological liberal. It follows below, slightly edited to make it easier to read:

Random Guy: Anne and Beth know each other!?!? That feels like 2 very different worlds colliding!

Anne Lamott: Here’s the thing about Christ: Beth and I are both Jesus freaks who try to live as servants. My friends are mostly progressives, which bothers Beth exactly zero. We would fly out to help each other today, sight unseen. So it is actually ONE world, with room for all.

Beth Moore: Sight unseen. 100%.

I love this interaction for two reasons. First, like the random guy, I love that Beth and Anne know one another. I have been a fan of Anne since reading Traveling Mercies 20 years ago and a fan of Beth since Rachel was in a women’s Bible study more than 15 years ago and even more since getting to know her on social media.

Secondly, and more importantly, Anne;’s reminder that it is about Christ. When you are both Jesus freaks, all the things the world thinks should divide you don’t matter very much. You can have different political views. Different views of vaccines. Different views on how best to respond to poverty, refugees, growing income and wealth gaps, terrorism, and more. And none of those things matter in comparison to the common bond you have because of your love for Jesus.

As Paul says in Ephesians 4:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

In Christ, we are one. There is amazing diversity in Christ’s body: from Spirit filled speaking tongues Pentecostals to very reserved United Reformed, from theologically conservative Southern Baptists to theologically liberal United Methodists, from economically conservative Evangelicals to social gospel Catholics, from black churches to immigrant churches to white suburban churches. God is at work among them all.

I love to see people so in love with Jesus, so mature in their faith, that the ways our world divides (and often the ways the church divides) cannot overcome their unity in Christ. Their love for each other gives witness to the reconciling power of the gospel and our ultimate hope in Jesus.

May God bless the Beths and Annes of our world and cause their numbers to increase.

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather in person at 9:30 am and online at 9:30 and 11 am. If you are joining us outside, you will want to bring chairs. The online service will be pre-recorded and abbreviated as we will not be live-streaming our outdoor services over the summer. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

As we conclude the message series “The Grudge,” we face maybe the hardest person to forgive: ourselves. As we consider Paul’s counsel to seek the godly sorrow that leads to repentance rather than the worldly sorrow that leads to death, we find some pointers to the grace we need through the experiences of the disciples Peter.

Grow in Community
Teresa Beute was admitted to the hospital on Monday afternoon with very high blood pressure. Her blood pressure has been brought under control and now they are determining the best course of action moving forward.

Weather permitting, our kids ministry will be outside all summer long. This is for kids ages 3 through going into 3rd grade. We’ll be meeting by the picnic tables to read Bible stories, pray together, do other outdoor crafts/games, and play on our church playground!

However, we need more volunteers for our summer kids ministry during church! We know that Zion church loves kids, and wants to support young families. If you’d be willing to help on a Sunday this summer, please contact Rachel Brower at 616-669-3412. Thanks!

The nursery is open again this summer. Nursery is for children ages 0-3. The nursery check-in will be inside at the nursery. Young children are also welcome in the main worship service. Thank you to all those serving in the nursery!

We are reading through the New Testament over the next year as a congregation. The reading schedule for this coming week is below:
7/12    Monday    Philippians 2
7/13    Tuesday    Philippians 3
7/14    Wednesday    Philippians 4
7/15    Thursday    Colossians 1
7/16    Friday    Colossians 2

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Serve the World
Threads is accepting donations of new and gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories for infants through adults. Also, donations of new socks and new underwear (for kids and adults) would be greatly appreciated.  Please place donations either in the Threads sheds located on Zion’s front steps or in the Threads wooden box in the narthex.  Thank you!

We received update from a couple of missionaries whom we support recently:
Albertha Kuiper, working with Wycliffe, is doing well “mostly”. She is co-authoring a commentary on the book of Matthew and hopes to finish her part by August.

Keith Krebs, who works in Bahrain at the RCA Mission hospital, reports today that Bahrain is slowing opening again after several weeks of lockdown due to a COVID-19 resurgence. He and Denise have an app on their cell phones showing a “green shield” to prove they are vaccinated. But masks are still required. Construction is continuing on-schedule for the new mission hospital. Keith ask that we pray for them as they recruit 300+ new staff members including doctors, nurses, technicians and all other personnel.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771.

Administration
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 2021/22 Budget:  $89,682.169
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $48,331.48
Giving Last Week: $58,218.48
Bathroom Building Fund (total given): $2,474.00

Earlier this week, some of the kids and I watched the movie Black Widow. It was a great Marvel movie! One of the themes of the movie is the main character’s search for a family. She had a fake family as a child, a new sort of family in the Avengers, but now all those relationships are broken. What does it mean to be family? What does it mean to live in community with other people?

Families are often messy because we do not get to choose who is in our family. We choose our family, but not our siblings. They just are and often they can be very different from us. Loving family takes work.

I read recently in a book, article, or on social media somewhere that church should be the place where you learn to love people you would never be friends with outside of church. And, if we are honest, this is part of what has made church hard for many people this year. It is easier to go to a church where everyone agrees with us, where no one sees the world or Jesus differently, where all of our biases are confirmed as truth, than it is to live, worship, and serve with people who, honestly, drive us a little nuts sometimes. However, if we take the easier path of only worshipping with people just like us, we may end up worshipping a god made in our own image rather than God revealed in scripture. That emotionally easier path is the way to a consumer driven, me-centered faith and often away from a Jesus-centered faith.

One of the aspects of Zion I have always loved is that we do have diverse viewpoints on lots of different issues in our church. We do not all see current events, scripture, or even the mission of the church exactly the same. Even among our staff, we do not all agree on lots of different issues. When Rick or Jeremy preach I often am left with two thoughts: I would have emphasized this or that different or I would have made a different connection to our daily lives and I am so glad other voices than mine get heard in our church. We each catch different aspects of a text. We do not all see the world exactly the same, but we all long to follow Jesus and love one another. This is what it means to be the family of the church.

This has always been the way of church families. You only have to peruse the letters of Paul to see all the different opinions and tensions in the early church. They struggled to get along. A lot. And loudly. And yet, they struggled because they refused to abandon believers with whom they disagreed. The relationship and the common love for Christ mattered more than all that could have torn them apart.

May we have the courage to follow their example and live as the family of Jesus.

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather in person at 9:30 am and online at 9:30 and 11 am. If you are joining us outside, you will want to bring chairs. The online service will be pre-recorded and abbreviated as we will not be live-streaming our outdoor services over the summer. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

Last week  we launched a new message series called “The Grudge”. We’re talking all about forgiveness for the next few weeks. This Sunday we will be talking about the hard work of forgiving people who have hurt or betrayed us. How do we learn to forgive not just once, but even 7 times in a day, as Jesus commands us in the gospel of Luke.

We will also celebrate with Justin and Amanda Vasquez the baptism of their son Quinton and their daughter Isabelle  Grace .  As they celebrate their lives, we give thanks to God for the gift of new life he has made available to all who believe. We thank God as well for the covenant he has established all the way back with Abraham to include children in his family. We honor this faithful God as we welcome  these children into the covenant community at Zion.

Grow in Community
Pastor Rick is recovering at home following an emergency appendectomy.  He plans to return on Monday, July 19 but will have some lifting restrictions. If you would be willing to help with some custodial work over the next couple of weeks, please contact Pastor Greg.

Weather permitting, our kids ministry will be outside all summer long. This is for kids ages 3 through going into 3rd grade. We’ll be meeting by the picnic tables to read Bible stories, pray together, do other outdoor crafts/games, and play on our church playground!

The nursery is open again this summer. Nursery is for children ages 0-3. The nursery check-in will be inside at the nursery. Young children are also welcome in the main worship service. Thank you to all those serving in the nursery!

We are reading through the New Testament over the next year as a congregation. The reading schedule for this coming week is below:
7/12    Monday    Galatians 4
7/13    Tuesday    Galatians 5
7/14    Wednesday    Galatians 6
7/15    Thursday    Ephesians 1
7/16    Friday    Ephesians 2

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Serve the World
Threads is accepting donations of new and gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories for infants through adults. Also, donations of new socks and new underwear (for kids and adults) would be greatly appreciated.  Please place donations either in the Threads sheds located on Zion’s front steps or in the Threads wooden box in the narthex.  Thank you!

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771.

Administration
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 2021/22 Budget:  $67,261.62
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $40,533.48
Giving Last Week: $8,443.72
Bathroom Building Fund (total given): $2,434.00