Ministries:
Adult | Teens | Children

Pastor's Pen's:
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2005

Grace Church of Burlington April 3, 2005  “In 2055 I will be 95, if I’m still alive”             Young people in college today – our future neighbors, co-workers, and employees – are from a different world...or we are. For them God has never been a “He,” if they went to a mainline church. There has always been Diet Coke and warnings about second-hand smoke. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as the Civil War. There have always been VCR’s and they have no idea what a Beta is. They don’t remember the space shuttle blowing up and Tiananmen Square means nothing to them. Their lifetime has always included AIDS and they don’t remember the Cold War. They never heard “Where’s the beef,” “I’d walk a mile for a Camel,” or “de plane, de plane.” There has always been MTV and they don’t have a clue of how to use a typewriter. There has always been a hole in the ozone layer and one earring on a man indicates that he is probably pretty conservative. The world has, and more importantly, continues to drastically change.             But most of us resist change. Some of us even hate it. A lady was out hitting all the local garage sales when she came across an old needlepoint picture that read, “Prayer Changes Lives.” She bought it, took it home and began to look for just the right place to hang the new picture. Finally, she decided that it went well in the dining room over the dining room table. With great pride she admired her garage sale discovery and could hardly wait to show it to her husband. That evening when her husband arrived home from work, she showed the picture to him but he made no indication one way or another of his opinion of the new picture. The next day as the lady was cleaning the house, she discovered that the new picture was gone. As she continued to clean the house, she discovered the picture behind a bookcase. She thought, “That’s strange,” and rehung the picture in its original location. The next day, to her dismay, she discovers the picture gone again and again discovers it behind the bookcase. When her husband arrived home, she confronted him and asked him if he was displeased with the art of the needlepoint, to which he responded, “No, not at all, it is a great work of art.” She continued, “Is it the place? Do you not like the place it is hung?” Again, he says, “No, not at all, it is in a great location.” She concludes that it must be the message and asks him, “Is it the message that you don’t like.” He says, “No, not at all, the message is great.” Finally, exasperated she says, then what’s the problem? And he says, “I just don’t like change.” That story reveals more of a truth about most of us than we might be willing to admit. But the reality is, you cannot become or be a Christian without change. From the moment we accept Christ, we begin a process of change – we become new creatures in Christ. And the church of Jesus Christ must continually be changing. The church that is not in tune with cultural change will soon become irrelevant and ineffective.             On May 1st Grace Church will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary. It’s important that we remember and celebrate yesterday. At the same time, we need to plan for tomorrow and for the next fifty years. If we do not plan and prepare for the future, we are unfaithful and neglecting our mission. God in His sovereignty has placed us in this community to be a lighthouse rescuing those who are drowning in sin. We are called to be lifeguards and we are to disciple and train new lifeguards. But the sea of this world is continually changing. And we must continually adjust or Grace Church will become so impotent that our existence has zero purpose.             This morning we’re starting a new sermon series: “Remembering Yesterday, Reaching for Tomorrow – 1955-2055.” It is our Biblical responsibility to plan generationally and that means that we must learn to handle...no, more than handle, we must learn to thrive in change. For the next several weeks we will be talking about how our church can prepare for the future. Hopefully, it will not just help us as a church but will help you personally as you seek to serve the Lord in this changing world in your part of the mission field. If the Lord allows me to live, in 2055 I will be 95. By God’s grace I hope our church is having an impact on this community then beyond our greatest prayers and wildest dreams.