Blog

“Zelensky and his men are risking their lives today for their wives and their children. And right now, all around me, there are men slandering and sacrificing their wives and their children - their
precious ones they are assigned to preserve and rescue - to pursue selfish lusts, and grope for life.”

A few months ago, I had cause to go to Las Vegas for a couple of days. Knowing that I was headed to Sin City, I found myself praying ahead of time.“Lord, I don’t want to just labor under the constant temptations of lust. I don’t want to just try to bear up under the heavy burden of trying ‘not to look’, or ‘not to notice’. I so want and need your grace, my Lord. Would you help me to know Your presence and Your joyous, life-giving grace?”

In Vegas - like in many places, but especially there - the visual onslaught can be constant. Combined with the headlong rush after money, materialism, and appearance, the result is a dark and oppressive cloud in the air, hanging over all, threatening to infect all.

But the Lord is there.

On Saturday morning, I made my way down to the hotel lobby and found a deli and coffee shop. After procuring some breakfast, I sat and opened my Bible. It was a rich time with the Lord. Among other life-giving truths, my regular course of reading brought me to Proverbs 10:22 and 23:

It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich,
and He adds no sorrow to it.
Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool,
and so is wisdom to a man of understanding.

As the myriad lights and bells cascaded through the cavernous auditorium, many applications and connections exploded in my soul. As I lingered over these verses, I observed the couples and individual revelers who ambled past my little table. In this juxtaposition, the Lord was renewing me. I was lost in the viewpoint of eternity. Amidst the darkness that threatened to overwhelm, I found myself awash in light.

I was also taken back to a video that I had seen just hours before.

The video was of Ukrainian President Zelensky, where he recorded himself and key members of his cabinet, on the street in Kyiv (*see note) They stated “we are all here”, in defiance of the Russian invasion of their country, and demonstrating their will to stand for their nation, their people, and
their loved ones.

It was then that I recorded in my journal the words written at the top of this page.

The Lord was answering my prayers, and through His Word and other means, showering me with the grace of His eternal perspective. It was so clearly not from me. He had chosen to speak. In mercy, He had chosen to draw me near to His Son.

Such a good Father.

And He wasn’t finished yet.

To be continued.....

* I am grateful to Mark Sanders for this thought about Ukraine, Zelensky, manhood, lust, and cowardice. You can read more here.

Making Waves!
What a week it has been! Each day, there were 100+ kids jumping, singing, dancing, and learning about how God created us in his image, that He has a purpose for each of us and has given us talents and skills
to use in loving one another.

Children also learned that Jesus invites us to follow Him, and that Jesus rose again after death, as a sacrifice for us. Lastly, they learned that we are to ‘love one another’, and spent time considering how best to do just that; they also figured out that their actions can have far reaching impacts, just like waves made on a pond.

Some highlights from this week:

• 130 kids registered, with a daily average of 104
• 78 incredible volunteers, flexibly serving in all kinds of capacities
• Sebastian Knapp, Micah Johnson, and Steve Searfoss lead the daily Bible stories
• 25 beachballs, 8 of which popped
• Kids educated about the missions supported by MCC, and raised over $400 for Food for the Hungry in Bolivia.
• 1 week-long example of God’s provision for His program and His people. As folks were unable to attend for whatever reason, other volunteers arrived or signed up.
• Volunteers were challenged and grew. We had enough; enough people, enough food, enough kids, and too much fun!
• About half of the kids/families are from outside of MCC.
• Kids were encouraged and uplifted by the positive, fun atmosphere and the fact that they were created by God for a purpose! They know they are loved.
• Between 4 and 11 parents attended the Parent’s Corner daily.
• Only Charlotte Radigan and Micaiah Malizzo were on a screen during VBS as our Tech Team.

It has been an AWESOME week; much thanks to all who participated and supported VBS. We have one last event this Sunday, as we invite the VBS families to join us for an Outdoor service, followed by a potluck Brunch. Join us as we welcome and minister to them. Bring food, and stay for a while, sharing
in fellowship, learning about and loving folks in our community.

Hope to see you there!
Paul

 Something wonderful happens during Missions Class at VBS each year! The kids settle into the knowledge that we serve a God who is big enough to reach the whole world AND that we get to be a part of His mission. How refreshing it is to see the children’s response -  pure enthusiasm! 

 I often need reminders to live life “on mission,” with pure enthusiasm. As I teach the children in the VBS Missions Class, they teach me just as much. Similarly, as we go outside our “box” to share Christ with the world, we grow and learn in the process. I love how MCC’s missions logo captures this God-designed process.

 This year VBS kids will focus on the idea that we can support missionaries in their work. We don’t need to feel limited by money or our ability to travel. We will:

• Pray for missionaries by name. 
• Pack a box for Operation Christmas Child. 
• Share encouraging scriptures.
• Send greeting cards. 
• Create friendship banners.
• Pool our small donations to make a big impact.

 The children will contribute toward a water project that will be life-changing for the Serrudos Family of Bolivia. You can read about them in the FH update below:

RUNNING AND SAFE WATER FOR THE SERRUDOS IN VILLA MARGARITA

 Two years ago, Juana and Romulo rented a room to live with their children Esteban, Denis and Nayely. They could not get anything bigger because during the quarantine their incomes were too low. This situation forced them to build a room and a kitchen in a land lot that they bought before. 

 Even though they improved their situation and they did not need to pay rent any more, the Serrudos did not have access to water, as well as their neighbors. They had to walk about half an  hour to a small water source every time they needed it. Usually the water they get is dirty, but it is their only available source.

 The water that they have access to is not enough for all they need to do like washing laundry, take showers and cook. Even more now that the family have a 4-month-old new member. The water containers that they use now are not good to store water. The water tank that they have is not big enough to keep all the water they need in a week.  

In the end of June FH will start building a water system for the Serrudo’s neighborhood.  Thanks to your support this family would have access to safe water at home and better  housing with a laundry sink with running water for their daily needs.

Thanks a lot the the VBS children and their teachers at MCC!!

As Father’s day approaches I find myself reminiscing about my father and the man he was. He was not just funny but hilarious with a dry sense of humor, a passion for creationism (we went on many fossil hunts), a love for inventing contraptions, and a heart for Jesus. He taught me what a strong work ethic was by saying, “don’t wait to be told what to do but find something” or quoting his father’s advice, “I never really suffer except by my own fault.” To me, my father was a small town man, small town church deacon, and small business owner who loved his family. It wasn’t until his passing at age 47 from cancer that I understood he was not “just” those things. He was a man that walked in integrity and because of that, he had a tremendous impact on those he contacted. It was through losing my dad God taught me many great things through the heartache.

One being the truth of Matthew 5:13 where Jesus tells us to be salt, so that we may bring flavor to this dark world. It was so obvious to me when over 500 people showed up to dad’s funeral, a good part were not church goers but they showed up because they saw something different in my father, a genuine caring for them (salt). They showed up and they heard the gospel there they had the opportunity to understand why dad was the way he was. When dad’s constructions friends continued to trust me to do their projects purely because I was my father’s son. Proverbs 20:7 came to life for me, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” It was then that I realized how critical it is for us fathers to be men of integrity.

The last lesson I’ll share is exactly what Pastor Frank shared with us a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes when the plan goes awry that is the plan. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. When tragedy strikes, we can sometimes focus on the loss and miss out on the new thing God is doing. Losing dad was hard, but our family has been blessed in many different ways. I now have a wonderful step dad who also loves Jesus, and with him came three hilarious stepbrothers.

This Father’s day I challenge us fathers to show our children how to live a Godly life, to be the salt to those around us and live with a twinkle in our eye up until our final days because we know we have a better home to go to. By doing this we will never know how big of an impact we can make on this lost world, but God does. Whether you had an amazing father or not, does not limit your ability to become one or to experience the joy of having one. We are ALL given an opportunity to have a relationship with the perfect father, our Heavenly Father and as His children we experience what a perfect Father’s unconditional love is. Romans 8:15 makes clear that through our Faith in Jesus we are adopted as children to God and cry out, “Abba, Father.” Happy Father’s Day!

Two weeks ago, I preached about Community from the last chapter of Colossians.  That we need to live life together in community.  I encouraged folks to discover that community, if they didn’t already have it.  One method of developing community is to serve together.  Vacation Bible School is a great opportunity to serve the larger community (the children and families of the East Mountains) with a community of volunteers (from MCC).  Here are two examples of folks joining in VBS. 

“I had no idea.”

As I enter my ninth year leading VBS, that line is etched in the front of my mind.  Several years ago, it was uttered by a male volunteer following his first VBS experience.  His wife was heavily involved, his children had attended, and his church had hosted Vacation Bible School for many, many years. We made a point of recruiting and involving men who didn’t typically serve in VBS to volunteer for a morning and placed them in a teaching role.  Over the course of a morning, he taught the lesson to several large groups of children, about 100 kids in total. That was his first experience participating in the VBS community. He did a great job that morning, but the larger impact was on him. He enjoyed connecting with the children and the other volunteers; he enjoyed serving together. He sees the impact that VBS has on everyone involved.

“If you can use us…”

Many years ago, I made our yearly request for VBS volunteers/workers/decorators, and after service that morning, an older couple approached me.  They were willing to help, but didn’t have the energy to keep up with a bunch of kids.  “If you can use us…, somewhere, we would like to help.”  I don’t even remember where they served that year, but the kids loved them.  This couple was able to share their faith in Christ, able to enjoy the energy of the children, and were able to bundle their talents with the rest of the VBS community to build up the body of Christ.  They have found a place to serve, to share, to belong.  Each year, I am approached. “Can you use us?”  And the answer is always, “YES!”

Vacation Bible School is upon us!  It begins in just over 2 weeks.  And the VBS community is incomplete.  We need your help.  You can be a part of the kid groups, traveling through the activities during the mornings.  You can be a part of the Music/Dance team. (Imagine that for a minute:  How would kids respond to (insert a name here.  I usually think of Dan Cravens or Rob Powell) as a dancer in that group? With a grass skirt, sunglasses and a smile.) You can help with set up in the mornings, or snacks, or preschool.  You could support and encourage parents with coffee and donuts after they drop off their kids.  You could come for Wednesday workdays.  You can donate snacks or food or supplies.  You could be a greeter as families arrive.  There is a place in the VBS community of servers for you.

Join us to serve the East Mountain community, to share the Gospel, and to grow this community of believers.  Contact myself (pbrouse@hotmail.com ) or Nicole (nicolebarker1973@gmail.com)to find out where you can help, or sign up here ( www.mountainchristianchurch.org ).