National Day of Prayer

There is never a time when we don't need prayer. Sorry for the double negative, but it's true. We always need to lift up our burdens and those of our families, church, community, nation and world to God. Prayer unleashes God's power. Prayer makes a difference. Jesus prayed, so we pray.

Thursday, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer, a moment to ask for God's blessing and guidance on our nation and on those who lead and influence it. There is never a wrong time to pray, and this is most certainly a right time for prayer. Our economy is struggling to regain solid footing. The federal government is expanding to address financial and social needs. Cultural battles rage over same-sex marriage, abortion, privacy rights, freedom of expression and religious tolerance. American soldiers continue to face violence in Afghanistan and Iraq while new threats are mounting in Iran, North Korea and Pakistan. With all this turmoil, it is tempting to choose sides, draw lines and rely on human ingenuity to solve our problems. But this is a moment when we desperately need God.

When ancient Israel fell away from God and God prepared to cast them away from His holy presence, prophets like Isaiah were raised up to call people of faith to repentance and prayer. Through Isaiah, we are given a simple and powerful prayer:
O Lord, be gracious to us;
we long for You.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress. (Isaiah 33:2 NIV)

I hope you will join your ECC family and others from churches throughout the Pioneer Valley on Thursday, May 7th at 7 p.m. on the steps of Springfield City Hall as we pray for our nation. If you would like to carpool, be at ECC at 6:15 p.m.

Pray for our Missionaries

Please pray for our short-term mission team in Mexico this week. They are working on construction projects and sharing the message of Jesus with the people of Chihuahua. Pray for their work, their witness and their protection. As you have probably heard on the news, Mexico is the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak, and the US State Department is strongly discouraging travel to and from Mexico.

We trust that God will watch over these men and women and bless their efforts in Jesus' name. And we trust He will bring them safely back to us at the end of the week.

Updated from Wednesday, April 29th: We received a good report from the mission team. They are safe and getting a lot done!

Upcoming Messages

I hope you will join us Sunday mornings at 10:30 for worship.
Here's my preaching schedule for the next few weeks. If you can't make it to church, messages are posted on www.ecovs.org, usually by Monday afternoon:

Building Your Family God's Way
5/3........Song of Songs 8:6-7......Building Your Marriage God's Way
5/10......Exodus 2:1-10...............Parenting God's Way
5/17......Deuteronomy 5:16........Being a Child God's Way

Living as the Church
5/24.....Acts 1:1-11.....................Living as a Witness
5/31.....Acts 2:1-21.....................Living on Fire
6/7.......Acts 2:42-47...................Living Together
6/14.....Acts 5:17-42...................Living without Fear
6/21.....Acts 7...............................Living to Die
6/28.....Acts 9:1-19......................Living with New Purpose

Welcome to Overflow

Welcome to the first Overflow blog! I hope this site becomes a blessing for the people of ECC and everyone else who reads it. My plan is to write regularly about how the world looks through Biblical eyes, to share my perspective on things great and small as a follower of Jesus, a pastor, and a real person living in our real world. We'll think about ministry in the church, Bible passages, current events, even personal experiences.

God calls us to be transformed, made anew (Romans 12:1-2). That's a spiritual concept, but it's supposed to be realized in how we think and behave. Our minds are renewed as we learn to see the world through God's eyes, to understand His will, and to read the world through the words and images of scripture.

So, that's our agenda. I hope you enjoy it!