In this month’s results comparisons on the Spiritual Commitment side of things, you will see that not all of those results increased, and a few even decreased. These have to do with how respondents feel connected to their spiritual side of their life. Even though the average score on two did decrease, we see spectacular growth when we compare these results to the results from 18 months ago. In both 2010 and 2011 the results were generally much higher than the national average, so the best we can compare to from that point on is to our own results in previous surveys.

The problem in all this, however, is if we look at results and feel satisfied. There is always an area to work on. These past 18 months a lot of focus has been made on spiritual growth, and as a result we say large increases in the survey results for questions in that area. Does that mean that we have reached a point where we can stop our quest for spiritual growth and a closer walk with Jesus Christ?  By no means!

The journey we are on needs constant striving, consistent seeking, and focused determination to be nearer to our Lord then we were the day before. It is only though recognizing that the journey never ends, that we can set our attitude to be one of searching for ways in which we can learn more about God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ.

Should we celebrate our results? Absolutely! We have done great things, but now the question we must ask each other is, what are the next great things that God is calling us to do?

In Him, Pastor Jon

Happy Day After Christmas!

Last month Lori and I were invited to go to a Matthew West Christmas concert. On his Christmas Album, he has a spectacular song called Day After Christmas. In this song Matthew writes about the letdown that can occur after Christmas, after the presents are opened, the family has gone, and Christmas Dinner has been eaten. In his song he reminds us that even though Christmas is over, the Light of the World is still here in our world.

As you begin this new year of 2012, remember that Good News and great Joy that Jesus Christ is born, and lived, and remains in this world. Just because Christmas Day is over, doesn’t mean Christ’s presence is any different on this world then it was on December 24^th. Just because your decorations are being put away does not mean we put the message of Christmas away until next winter. No, Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly, it is a yearlong gift, a gift that should guide us in all that we do as Christians who place their trust in the Lord.

Did you know that the Christian church calendar begins with the 1^st Sunday of Advent each year? This reminds us what our lives and our years are about. We begin our Church year, with the anticipation of the birth of a Messiah, and we move throughout the year anchored to that wonderful news. We are able to make it through the year, through the difficult times, through the joys, through the wonders, and through the fears, because we start our year with the birth of a child, a Messiah, who came that we might know love, and peace, and joy, and hope.

So even when Christmas is over, actually BECAUSE the birth of Christ occurred, the light of the world is still here. Let us join together this year celebrating the days the follow Christmas, all year long Let us celebrate together the change that the coming of our Lord has made in our lives.

In Him,

Pastor Jon

Take a deep breath this season, and remember why we celebrate it in the first place:  the Birth of our Lord, in Bethlehem, a place where there was literally no room for the Lord to be housed.  The people of the time had an excuse; they didn’t understand the significance of the baby being born that night.

But we do!

This is a season where we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.  Doesn’t it seem that if we are not feeling peace, due to the franticness of the season, that we might be missing an important part of it?

This is the season when we prepare ourselves for His coming, His presence with us here on earth.  If we are too busy to prepare, we might be missing something.

This is the season of hope, and joy, and  love, and peace.  By preparing our hearts and minds for the true reason behind the celebration, the birth of our Lord, we can hope to spread  hope, joy, love, and peace to the world, that they too might know the peace of Christ, the Joy of Salvation, the Love of God, and the Hope we have through our faith.  Help others this Christmas to know the true meaning of the season, and come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King!

In Him,

Pastor Jon

We have looked at five categories each month: Time, Talents, Treasures, Body, and Earth. Each of these areas represent resources that God has loaned to us in one way or another.  By practicing stewardship throughout the year we seek to recognize the gifts we have received from Him.

The month of November is typically the month when churches have Stewardship Sunday, a time when members are called to examine what they currently are doing in terms of the stewardship of God’s resources. Church members are called to regularly evaluate whether they will be increasing their commitment to support the church with their time, talents or treasures.

Unfortunately, the side effect of a November stewardship drive is that often churches don’t talk about stewardship during the rest of the year. However, we are always called to return thanks to God, to think about the blessings we have received, and to give a portion of those blessings back to the Lord in the form of tithes and offerings.

This is one reason that the staff has written up stewardship tips, to help us have a weekly and monthly emphasis on various ways we can improve our stewardship of our time, talents, treasures, bodies, and the earth. The hope is that through these attempts we have helped to keep an emphasis on all we have received from God at the very forefront of our minds.

It is my prayer that as we approach Stewardship Sunday this year you will prayerfully consider what God is calling you to do in response to the blessings you have received from him.

In Him,
Pastor Jon

I am writing this in Mid-September and we already hit a cold evening last night when the lows hit the upper 40’s.  In the middle of September!  We already are starting to see summer in the rear view mirror and need to think about getting ready for the Autumn and Winter months.

We also have seasonal changes in our lives and the life of the church.  Over the course of this week we have seen:

• Several church members who have been called home to be with their Lord
• I have been setting up premarital counseling plans with members who will be getting married.
• Last night we started up our Wednesday Night Downtown ministry after taking a break over the summer and we were stunned by how many came to join us!
• David and I have been visiting three members who are healing following surgical procedures.
• The Pantry distribution time has changed to better address the needs of those who use it
• Our Church fielded a large corps of volunteers to hand out flags at the 9/11 concert at Turner Park

It seems Heraclitus of Ephesus almost had it right when he said, “The only constant in life is change.” We of course know that this Greek Philosopher didn’t have the benefit of knowing of another constant, regardless of the season of our lives that we find ourselves in: The love that God has for his church and the people of the church.  That is how we know we can turn to God in times of sadness and grief, in times of needed healing, in times of starting new life together, in times of service to the people around us.  God loves each of us, and the minute we call on him as seasons change in our lives, he will be there, just as he always is, to join you in whatever you are facing or celebrating in life.

In Him, Pastor Jon

On August 21^st, a number of friends and members of First Presbyterian Church participated with other churches in Omaha, joining them in the “Step Out and Serve”event.  Following the Presbyterian Women Mission Luncheon, the group split up and headed to three different mission sites, working at a Habitat for Humanity House, fixing up the location of  the new Park Avenue Community Center (at 29^th and Leavenworth), and preparing bags in our own Pantry preparing for our weekly distribution on Thursdays from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.

These were great opportunities for us to get out on Sunday afternoon and serve the community in a variety of ways, but this was just one day.  We have a mission to serve in all of our capacity, each day of our lives.  This one day was a great start, but shouldn’t we be looking at ways we can step out and serve each and every day of our lives?

What are some programs, or missions that you can participate in to share the love of Christ to the world?  These should be things you are already interested in.  If you like gardening, there are many places that would love to have you help them look more beautiful.  If you love cooking, several programs feed people and need people to cook for them.  If your talent is in relationships, there are many ministries which would love people to come and spend time with their members.  Regardless of what strengths and talents God has created you to have, there are ministries which would love to have someone exactly like you to work with, exactly as you are!

God created us with unique gifts and abilities, each day we can be seeking to use those God-given gifts to share the gospel with the world though our mission outreach, where will you serve today?

In Him,
Pastor Jon

This month First Presbyterian Church of Omaha will be joining churches across the city as we Step Out and Serve after worship and the PW Mission Lunch on August 21st. Throughout the month of August, leading up to the 21st, we will be asking people to sign up to take part in one of the service projects we are participating in, so that we can get T-Shirts ordered, and brown bag lunches for the people who are unable to be seated at the PW Lunch due to overflow conditions.

We will have several mission sites here in Omaha that will hopefully allow anyone to serve in some capacity on that Sunday. We have some ideas we are still finalizing, but one of the options will certainly be working in our own pantry, for those of you who cannot be out in the warm late summer sun.

It is less important where we are serving, as opposed to THAT we are serving. We are called in Matthew 25 to reach out to all who have need, as if it were Jesus Christ himself who we are working with. This is a commission that we must take seriously, a commission to be the hands and feet of Christ in a world that all too often has only seen the hands and feet of a disinterested society.

Come and join us as we serve our neighbors and our city in sharing the joyous faith that each of us has come to know makes a huge difference in our lives. Step out and Serve on August 21st, and on many other days as well, and be the physical way that Christ shows his love to a people that desperately need to know that ‘someone’ out there cares about them.

In Him,

This month we will be celebrating Independence Day on Monday, July 4^th.  While most of Omaha is going to be lighting up the grill, having people over, and probably lighting off a lot of fireworks, we should take pause to think about who we should recognize that we still are dependent upon, and what our independence allows us to do.

We celebrate this July 4th because we are recognizing the independence we have of a country ruling over us, taxing us, and making decisions that affect us without seeking our representative comments.  Another significant aspect of what we celebrate on Independence Day is independence from the Church of England.  We are free to worship God in our own method, without oversight from a particular church or country.

Over the years, this eventually became what we know as freedom of religion, the ability to worship the God in a way that is meaningful to us.  To some this means choosing not to worship or believe in an Almighty maker, but that really is quite a departure from the original idea of independence regarding HOW we worship God, not even broaching the question of IF we worship God.

We, as Americans, love the fact that we are independent of a ruler or set of laws telling us how to worship, but we must continue to accept the basic understanding of the level of dependence we have on God as our creator, Jesus Christ our redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as our sustainer.  It is through God that we exist, through God that we survive, and through God that we can seek to change the world for the better.  Join me this month, and every month as we celebrate the dependence we have upon God as our creator, our provider, our nurturer, our helper, our comforter, our champion, and our sustainer!

In Him,  Pastor Jon

Some of you who have linked up with me on Facebook may be aware that a few days ago I was in a vehicle accident near Clarkson Hospital. I wasn’t just in an accident; I was stopped, at a red light, and rear-ended. Now, I wasn’t just rear-ended, but I was rear-ended by a driver who was likely texting while driving. Not only was the driver texting while driving, the driver also didn’t have insurance. On top of all this, the driver was hysterical while we were waiting for the police to come (I’ll give this one to them, they had an excellent reason to be nervous while waiting for our police department, due to their definite responsibility for causing the accident).

As you can imagine, I had many things I wanted to say to this driver, and I had a specific tone of voice I would have used. In my head, I was justifiably angry that such a self-centered act of driving without insurance, and of texting while driving, was going to result in a monetary and time inconvenience for me.

Here is the kicker……

I had the opportunity to witness to these people (and all the onlookers) how a Christian is called to treat people… you see, I was wearing a lightblue polo shirt that said “First Presbyterian Church, Omaha” on the front of it. Let me tell you, when you are wearing a shirt that proclaims your affiliation with a ministry of Jesus Christ, it affects the way you act and re-act to what is happening.

That is one of the reasons we have our Logo on shirts for people to wear, for the witnessing opportunities. Normally we think of these as witness possibilities when we talk to people and help them, but they also provide an enormous possibility to witness to people when we are reacting to the ugly things in life. I have to tell you, regardless of how I felt about the accident, I am so glad I was wearing that polo shirt!
In Him,
Pastor Jon

Spring Is Here!

This past Saturday I spent some time cleaning up my lawn.  Before I got too far into it though, I sharpened my lawn mower blades, checked the oil, added fresh gasoline, and put air in the tires of the mower.  Had I not done these things, obviously the lawn mower would not have worked the way it was intended.  In fact, I could do more damage to the lawn!

The same is true of our faith, if we are not constantly maintaining our tools and sharpening our understandings, we risk being ineffective, or even damaging to our faith.  How can we sharpen those tools?

Worship – We are called as Christians to be together and worship.  If we are not regularly gathering to praise our Savior, then we risk not fully acknowledging where our blessings come from, and where our help is to be found in a time of crisis.
Study – We also know that we learn when we can bounce ideas around and talk about them as a group.  Are you part of a study group?  If not you are missing out on a valuable learning opportunity in which you can be a part of a group that talks about the meaning of our faith, and what it means to be faithful in today’s world.
Prayer – As Christians, we are called to be in an attitude of prayer all the time.  Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing.  Are you maintaining an attitude of prayer in all that you do?  It is difficult!
Service – The Christian life is more than just thinking like a Christian, it involves our body as well.  How are you serving, to spread the message of Christ’s love to the world?
Fellowship – Christian fellowship is also a part of building up the body of Christ.  We have many wonderful fellowship opportunities at the church:  Mariners, mission projects, youth groups, studies, committee membership, as well as many other activities in the church exist to help build fellowship, and in some cases combine Worship, Study, Prayer or Service with a Fellowship activity.

Focusing on these five categories of living your faith can help you to maintain a sharp faith that is effective and healthy as you live your life for the Lord!

In Him,
Pastor Jon