Yesterday, one of the Elders was making some calls and said to me, “I can’t connect with Mrs. H. Her line is busy every time I call.”
Since it was busy for an extended time, I called one of her friends and asked if she’d talked to Mrs. H. She hadn’t, but when she learned that her phone had been busy all day, she offered to go check on her.
Within a few minutes, we knew she was fine.
Looking after widows and orphans.
This is church.
How are you spending your time these days?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some small groups at Curwensville Alliance will be using Zoom Conferencing. This will enable us to talk together.
If your small group is using Zoom, your group leader will initiate the conference and send you a link. Be sure he or she knows where to send the link – to your phone or email address, depending on how you intend to participate.
If you’re using a phone, you’ll need to install the app. It is here:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zoom.videomeetings
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id546505307
If you’re using a web browser, you’ll not need to install anything ahead of time. When you accept your invite, the system will make your browser ready.
You will receive message with a link in it for you to click. When you click the link, it will get you started. The message may have more than one link in it; click the one that matches your device.
The first time we meet we will work out the bugs of navigating the system. Then, in the groups I will lead, we’ll share prayer requests and pray.
In later meetings, we may try to cover more ground.
Group meetings are limited to 40 minutes.
If you have any questions, contact me or Josh and we will help you.
I encourage you to install the software in advance, if you are using a portable device.
Tonight, Josh invited the Tuesday Night Men’s Group to get together for prayer. We tried Google Hangouts, but it wasn’t working as well as we’d hoped. Then Ed suggested we move to Zoom. It’s free for limited use – and that was just what we needed.
Zoom works through your web browser or through an app for your smartphone. It’s cross-platform, so Androids and Apples can use it.
Josh sent the invite, and soon we were rolling.
The only tricky part was unmuting the sound so I could hear the other guys. But clicking the speaker icon on my phone did the job.
The software worked great on my phone (despite being two stars) and it worked well on the PCs that Josh and Ed were using.
Sessions are limited to 40 minutes, so we shared our prayer requests and then prayed for one another.
I would encourage small group leaders to give consideration to using this tool.
If you need some assistance, contact Josh.
Over the past couple of decades, I’ve come to see how much the thinking of our society has invaded the church. I remember when one long-timer at Curwensville, someone who is no longer with us, talked about ghosts being in her home. Ghosts? OK — I enjoy a ghost story as much as the next guy, but I also enjoy stories about Santa Claus. That doesn’t mean I believe there’s a guy in a red suit being dragged through the sky on a sled by flying reindeer. And I don’t believe in ghosts.
My perspective on ghosts is not a denial of the supernatural. I believe in the supernatural. I’ve experienced supernatural events. So how can I say I don’t believe in ghosts? Because the God I believe in tells me what happens when we die — and haunting the living isn’t part of the program.
“The God I believe in…” Is that one of the goofiest things we could ever say or what? Yet whenever you hear someone say something that is in opposition to the teaching of Scripture, that’s what they are saying. They are saying that their version of god is different than the Bible’s version of God. And, make no mistake about it, they are saying that the god they believe in is superior to the God of the Bible. Wow — Is that arrogance or folly? Maybe both.
You don’t pick and choose what God says or does. He’s a person, distinct from you and me. We can’t tell him who he is any more than we can tell gravity how to behave. I addressed this on Sunday in the sermon: Real God. If you haven’t listened to it, it’s online at the church website. It’s an important concept. In fact, if you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.
Did you read that last sentence? If you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.
If you have questions about ghosts, then check what the God of the Bible says about them. Maybe I’ll do a Halloween sermon in late October to “lay that issue to rest”. But for now, let’s agree on this: The place we go for a clear understanding of God has to be the Bible. And when the god I believe in contradicts the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible wins.