Suffering for Christ – 1 Peter 3:13-17 – Sermon Podcast – 05.20.2012
May 20th, 2012
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As we celebrate Mother’s Day I am reminded of how God has graciously put a host of great moms in my life.
First and foremost, my wife Kathy. She has been and is a super mom to our children. She is the one who has built communication into our family. She loves unconditionally, is tender-hearted about the family and is loyal to family members. She continues great communication and support to our kids even now as they are adults. She has been a faithful prayer warrior for them. When they hurt, we hurt and Kathy experiences it in a dimension that probably only other moms would understand. She has and continues to model a positive ministry life-style to our family. She does not just put up with ministry…she loves ministry and practices it well.
My own mom has been in heaven for 12 years now. She was a great “homemaker”. I am grateful that for most of my school days she was a stay-at-home mom. The food was good (most of the time…squash excluded). Looking back, I realize things that I either did not know or didn’t appreciate at the time. That includes the great love and communication she had with her own mom, sister and aunt. OFTEN she would be on the phone with one of them…not for long, but it was constant communication. I appreciate her heart for spiritual matters. Our church was a high priority to her. She worked in a children’s ministry for so many years…up until she just could not do it anymore physically. Naturally, my grandmother, aunt and great-aunt were influential as well. They were ALL great cooks and my grandmother did not make me eat anything I didn’t want – it was only when my mom was along that I had to eat (or hide) the parts of the meal that I didn’t like. My great-aunt was a wonderful intercessor in prayer for me…I felt that loss when she passed away. My aunt was a great fan…if I ever would have decided to run for any kind of office she would have been an intricate part of the campaign committee.
And then I think of Angela, Heidi and Kristen. I respect and love them and appreciate their parenting of our wonderful grandchildren. All 8 of the grandchildren have their own respective personalities, temperaments, and even idiosyncrasies. I enjoy watching them deal with those individual personalities! (Yes, I must admit there have been times when I have heard them share exasperation about a strong will, or obsessive-compulsive traits and inside I think “Yea, I know…just like you! Serves you right!” I don’t verbalize it…but must confess it is there at times.
Although my mother-in-law has been in heaven for about 38 years, I still look back and appreciate her spot in my life as well. Certainly, she did NOT fit the stereo-type of a difficult mother-in-law. One thing I remember is she was one of my loyal supporters – even sometimes choosing to side with me, instead of Kathy!!! (Those were the days…)
I am also reminded of many women in my home church who, without doubt had a profound spiritual influence on me. The names won’t mean anything to most people, but I thank God for women like Blanche Davis, Pearl Mohr, Mary Tyler, Maxine Bechtel and a host of others who effectively taught the Word of God and cared for us as children. And only heaven will reveal the influence of Louise Scholes (and her wonderful husband) who was a great influence upon me beginning in my days as a pastoral staff intern. Mrs. Scholes continued to be a great prayer warrior for me and one who communicated with me at least a couple of times a year even into her late 90′s, up until just last year when God called her home. I talked with her on the phone the day before she passed away and with a very weak and frail voice she told me to stay spiritually strong and always hold to the Word of God.
So, Happy Mother’s Day to all. I am truly grateful for the moms in my life!

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I have recently been thinking about the number of people involved in ministry here at Bethel. The more I have thought about it, the more I realize there are MANY involved in a ministry that is often unseen and they are certainly unsung heroes.
We are just completing the second weekend of our spring drama. I certainly see and even verbalize thanks to most…cast, director, production manager, music director, technical crew and stage crew. But then I thought – what about the people who work in the kitchen and make refreshments for everyone and also make and serve meals to the cast and others involved? Then there are those who make sure the tables are all in order before each performance and clean up after each performance. The people who have handled all the details of tickets and an individual who made sure the grass was cut, trimmed, sidewalks edged, etc. so the property looked good for the guests who came…they are also playing a critical role in the whole production. Then I remember the people who made the cast look good (a tough assignment!)…quality costumes, make-up, hair re-done or authentic wigs. There were also many who worked long hours on building and painting the set and obtaining and overseeing the many props that are used in a production of this magnitude.
But, it is not just this one ministry. I thought through the following (certainly not complete…):
To all of these (you) AND those I may have missed…THANK YOU! I do not take you for granted – I appreciate you!

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We just returned from a long weekend trip to Des Moines, Iowa. This was my home since birth until we moved to New Jersey in 1999. We went back to one of the two churches in Des Moines where we had served before. They were celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Christian school that was born as a part of that church’s ministry. Forty years ago, I was on the task force investigating the possibility. I was a staff intern at the time, so I don’t think I said one thing in all those meetings! I do remember being present as great, godly people discussed the pro’s and con’s and as the pastor with whom I served (Dr. Harold Scholes) shared his vision and passion to see the school started. The leaders and congregation took a step of faith and the school was started. I viewed with gratitude the present ministry of the school. A beautiful facility, including state of the art science labs and a great soccer/football field for the expanding sports program. The facility is very well maintained and well groomed. We met with the teachers on Friday afternoon. The room was filled with people who have a heart for God and students AND who are sacrificing financially to serve in this ministry. The Saturday night banquet (complete with electrical outages due to the storms) was exciting. Great testimonies and a media presentation of the 40 years culminated with my brief challenge to believe in the cause and give. The final tally is not done, but they think they will come close to $50,000 that was raised that evening.
And…we drove around a lot looking at places where we used to live, where different family members and friends lived. We saw schools I used to attend, visited the cemetery where my parents and other family members are buried, and spent time eating and sharing with friends from the past.
Sunday morning I taught my former adult SS class and preached in their morning service. All in all, it was a great time of remembrance, but we were both anxious to get back to Cherry Hill and to Bethel. God has been full of mercy and grace with His blessing upon this ministry. It is a privilege to serve together with the great church family at Bethel. This is really home for us!
We are thankful for the chance to revisit the past and renew relationships with so many wonderful people, but also filled with gratefulness for the fact that we do not have to look backwards to see God’s hand of blessing. We can look at the present and the future and see His favor – praise God!

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