Pastor
Bill Segur
July
21, 2011
Dear
Friends and Family:
One day Jesus told
a story about a man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he
was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Two religious folk--let's call
one a pastor and the other a board member--came upon the man in need and
carefully passed by on the other side of the road. They knew enough to
avoid a problem when they saw one!
Later on, a fellow came along who had no real ties to the injured man.
They weren't from the same community; they were of different races and
even different religions. Yet this stranger did something the other gentlemen
had failed to do--he took compassion on the man in need. He was seeing
as God sees!
You realize that I'm referring to the story of the Good Samaritan. This
masterful little tale teaches us to look beyond the many things that can
separate us from others, especially those who are in need, and to see
them as God does, with eyes of compassion.
This Sunday I'll be challenging you to do just that as we explore a powerful
teaching of John the Baptist (see Luke 3:1-18). between now and then,
try this exercise. Call to mind the person or group of people whom you
know who are in need. Now ask yourself this question: when I think of
these folk, do I see a problem to be avoided or do I see precious souls
who Jesus loves?
When we can see the latter, we'll be seeing others as God sees them.
You are loved--
Pastor Bill Segur
June
22, 2011
I
just wanted to write briefly to thank you for the time you offered in
service while serving in the Ministry of Life Spring Community Church.
The Church becomes stronger as each person gets involved, remains faithful,
and serves with the same kind of attitude the Lord had when He knelt to
wash the feet of His disciples.
Servant Ministry is needed desperately in any church today that is going
to have a positive impact on the community God has placed them in. You
have truly been part of a Servant Ministry without consideration of earthly
reward or applause.
Archbishop Secker used to say, "God has three sorts of servants in
the world: some are slaves, and serve Him from fear; others are hirelings,
and serve for wages; and the last are sons, who serve because they love."
Thank you for serving your lord out of Love.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Bill Segur
February
3, 2011
A
New Kind of Satisfaction
Dear Friends:
John 6:38 says, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will
but to do the will of him who sent me."
The Bible tells us we can't always get what we want. And maybe, that's
the way it should be. For Jesus, obeying His Father's will meant dying
on a cross so that we could be saved. God will let us know what His plan
is for our lives. Read the Bible. Then pray and obey!
How can you be more obedient to God today. Has He been telling you something
recently that you need to listen to or act on?
As Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, before He died on
the cross and rose again, He would be going back to heaven. Jesus also
knew how the disciples would feel without Him, and He promised them the
gift of the Holy Spirit, who would live inside them and show them how
to live for God. When we become Christians, we also receive the Holy Spirit
as a gift to live inside of us to help guide us. God also gave us His
Word as a gift. The Bible is our guidebook and contains all we need for
living our lives and being in relationship with Him.
The Holy Spirit is Jesus inside of us. He is real and genuine. Continue
to grow closer to Him every day so that you might recognize Him and what
He has called you to do.
You are loved!
Pastor Bill Segur
January
15, 2011
Discovering
Generosity
Dear friends and family,
Each day God gives us blessings and opportunities to serve Him. He has
placed you in your family, your neighborhood, your group of friends, your
school, and your church for a purpose. Each group of people has its own
set of needs. When you look for little ways to please God, you are making
the most of every opportunity.
Ephesians 5:16 says "Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise,
but as wise, making the most of every opportunity..." Is there someone
or another family that you can help out with something, whether that would
be helping take an older neighbor to get groceries or shoveling snow or
just spending time with them? Through your generosity, someone else will
be blessed. Putting Jesus first means loving Him, believing He died for
your sins, asking Him to be your Lord and Savior, and doing all you can
to worship Him, learn about Him and serve Him. If you remember to put
Jesus first, others second, and yourself last; you will give joy to God,
joy to others, and have joy yourself.
Consider this prayer: Dear God, you have placed us exactly where you want
us to be. Please help us to be aware of people around us. Help us notice
the person or family who needs an act of kindness so we can give it to
them. Make us servants like you. Amen.
You are Loved!
Pastor Bill Segur
December
25, 2010
Are
You Grateful?
Titus 2:11-3:8
Do you ever tire
of hearing bad news and have a deep longing for good news? Nearly every
day we are updated on some global crisis, national emergency, or local
catastrophe. Aging parents lose their vitality, friends decide to divorce,
and teens make wrong decisions. If we think only of those things, we are
overcome with a sense of hopelessness.
Titus 2:11 says,
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people”.
Not some people, not select people, not lucky people–but to all people.
In the person of his only Son, Jesus Christ, God has come into our world
to be “with us.” That is good news!
It means that when
life is tough, God is with us! When people disappoint, God is with us!
When times are hard, God is with us!
Pastor Bill Segur
December
24, 2010
Are You Joyful?
Luke 2:4-20
The birth of Jesus
Christ, God’s only Son, is the greatest thing to happen in the history
of the world! Galatians 4:4 reminds us, “But when the time had fully
come, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” The time had indeed come.
Mary said “yes” to God. Joseph also said “yes” to
God. The months passed, and the time was right. Although there was no
room in the inn for these expecting parents, God provided a lowly cow
stall with a manger for the birth of Jesus. The parents were filled with
joy!
The unsuspecting
shepherds were also joyful beyond belief that God chose them to hear his
angelic announcement and bear witness to the Christ child born that night.
When Christ the Savior
is born in the manger of your heart, the cow stall of your life, then
you, too, know the unspeakable joy of his forgiving presence!
Pastor Bill Segur
December 17, 2010
Spirit
of Wisdom
Isaiah 11:1-9
Isaiah’s stunning
prophesy of the reign of Jesse’s offspring describes the Spirit of
the Lord that shall rest upon the Christ. The branch that grows shall
have a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge
and fear of the Lord.
The heavenly Father
provided Jesus with a wisdom and understanding which enabled Christ to
please God in every way. Jesus had a spirit upon him that knew how to
respond to those around him. Jesus knew what to say, how to say it, and
when.
King Solomon, as
a young man faced with the challenge of leading a nation, pleaded with
God for a wisdom that would enable him to make the right decisions in
the right way at the right time. God is pleased to give wisdom to the
seeking heart and mind.
Would you like a
spirit of wisdom for your life? Seek the Lord and ask him for wisdom.
He is pleased to give a spirit of wisdom to those that ask him.
Pastor Bill Segur
October 27, 2010
I'm
Too Sexy for My... Costume?
“What do you
want to be for Halloween?” Taylor whispers to her friend Kayla in
her 6th grade history class.
“A naughty nurse! What about you?”
“A racy referee!”
Whatever happened to good ol’ princess costumes? Anyone? How about
a clown?
Halloween costumes are becoming smaller, racier and sexier. These kinds
of provocative costumes have always been available for adults, but have
you noticed how frequently they are being marketed to our teens and tweens
in the last few years?
Kids love costumes, so they are quick to grab the “Party City”
costume insert in the paper each week during the month of October. Have
you seen these ads? Some of these might as well be in the Victoria Secret
catalogue. A friends daughter picked up this week’s little costume
insert and saw a picture of this girl in the little blue outfit highlighted
on the back of the ad. She laughed and asked her dad, “What’s
this costume supposed to be, girl in trampy blue dress?”
It’s funny. Many of the costumes don’t seem to have a point,
other than to be short and provocative. Sadly, parents are “lowering
the bar” and purchasing these kinds of costumes for their daughters.
This is yet another instance when parents should read the American Psychological
Association’s report, The Sexualization of Girls and consider the
consequences that go along with lowering our standards like this.
Jump on Party City’s costume website and look at the most popular
costumes they market to our teenager girls. Girls can choose from costumes
like the Teen Girls Racy Referee Costume. Or for those who want to pay
tribute to our soldiers, why not get your daughter a Teen Girls Sassy
Sailor Costume.
As a dad of a teenage girl, I can assure you… there is no way she
will leave my house wearing something like this! Sadly, many parents allow
this. You should have seen the average dress size at the prom ! Some of
those dresses would have made Katy Perry blush.
We need to stop lowering the bar.
Many teenage girls are not going to just consider costumes for teenagers
(they’ll let our tween girls do that—kids always dress up one
age group. They’re going to look at the costumes for adults. That
opens up a whole world of choices for young girls. Now they can dress
up as Mile High Captain or Dirty Cop.
Amazon.com offers a bunch of really crude and racy costumes as well, costumes
like "Gropin Granny." I guess we should not be surprised. This
costume is probably pretty accurate to what we’ve all become dressing
up our females like we do.
I wonder when the church will raise the standerd...seems funny when I
start talking about it in the church--we start thinking I am just making
rules...when I just see a better way to live by scripture without all
this yuck! Had a dad just the other day complaining about what his daughter
and other teens were wearing...well did you buy it? What are we thinking!
Okay I will get off this soap box now...see ya all soon!
Pastor Bill Segur
October 6, 2010
The
Almost Hero
Genesis 37:25-36
Hardly anyone remembers Rueben. People remember Joseph the dreamer and
his brothers who sold him into slavery. But Rueben’s little plan
to rescue Joseph is swallowed up by the larger story of betrayal and injustice.
Rueben was the almost-hero. He almost saved Joseph. His plan half-worked.
The brothers agreed to a lesser evil for the time being.
But what happened? Where did Rueben go? Was he off tending the sheep?
Why didn’t he challenge his brothers directly? Why did he wait to
help his little brother? We don’t know. All we know for sure is he
waited too long.
Most of us are almost-heroes. We have good intentions. When we see someone
in need, we want to help. But what happens? Maybe we get too busy. Maybe
we are afraid. Maybe we just procrastinate. For every day we wait, there
is a child being bullied . . . a single mom needing a baby-sitter . .
. a poor father trying to feed his family . . . a kid on the streets looking
for love . . . a Joseph being sold into slavery. Don’t be an almost-hero.
Act.
Pastor Bill Segur
SOMETHING
FOR YOUR HEART
"By faith Noah, when warned about things
not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith
he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes
by faith." (Hebrews 11:7)
I'm not surprised,
I guess, that some people have a hard time believing that the biblical
account of Noah and the ark is factually and literally true. Imagine how
hard it must have been to believe before it happened!
Imagine how hard
it would have been for him to accept the idea of a worldwide flood, of
an enormous shipload of animals adrift, of all the destruction and death.
His act of faith in building that vessel seems far greater than mine in
believing it happened.
The words "by
faith" show up three times in this verse. Noah's belief showed up
in what he did, in how he obeyed. Noah's faith saved his family -- and
revealed the faithlessness of everyone else who chose instead to do what
was right in their own eyes.
What hard thing is
God asking you to trust Him and do even though you can't yet see how it
will work out?
Ask God to help you
to have the kind of faith Noah had, the kind that obeys even if you don't
understand all the hows and why's.
Choose some specific
command of God to you from His Word to obey in your life today, maybe
something you've been putting off.
Pastor Bill Segur
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