Ministries:
Adult | Teens | Children

Pastor's Pen's:
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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 2006

Grace Church of Burlington June 11, 2006 "When the world says, ‘Give up,' Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time'"             Yesterday our family celebrated a major milestone, our son Ben’s graduation. It’s very rare that I use my “pulpit” to talk about a family member. Ben, though, is a wonderful example of perseverance.  I am not only proud of him but believe his determination and persistence to finish the job is an example to us all.             Ben’s graduation was a day that our family has been working toward and praying for, for years. It was because of both God’s grace and Ben’s stewardship of that grace that he graduated.             Most of you know that Ben has epilepsy. On top of that he has Learning Disabilities. As a result, Ben frequently studies and works two or three times harder than our other two children...often with less results. Then, for the past two years while going to school, Ben has also held down a job at McDonald’s. It’s not unusual for Ben to go to bed just before midnight because he has been working on his school assignments. His free time and fun time has been very limited.             It would have been very easy for Ben to have dropped out or to have decided to just become a behavior issue. Many of the young people with his type of obstacles get in serious trouble. They’re looking for a crowd that will accept them and for something that they can be successful at, so they decide to be successful at getting into trouble. But not Ben...he loves the Lord and has a heart for God. We often find Ben in his room with his Bible open taking time with the Lord. And pardon a father for “bragging,” but Ben is one of the kindest, most thoughtful young men that I’ve ever met. He hardly has a mean bone in his body. To me, Ben is a wonderful example of someone who has used the abilities and worked around the handicaps that God gave him to the best of his ability.             But there’s another side to this story that I believe also is very important. Ben is not just an example of perseverance, he’s also an example of the benefits of being an encourager to someone who struggles.             While our public school is not perfect, for the most part, Ben’s teachers did everything that they could to help him and encourage him. Over the years Jane and I have been so pleased and impressed with their commitment and dedication. Many of them take extra time with Ben and are truly his friends.  They have been so kind to our son.             Yet the credit of Ben’s success does not just belong to a good school and dedicated faculty, in many ways Ben is the child of nearly everyone in our church. It’s hard to believe that I am just a few months away from completing eighteen years of ministry at Grace. As a result, Ben grew up in this church. You have all been so kind to our children! You allowed them to be “kids,” and didn’t hold them to a different standard just because they happened to be the “pastor’s kids.” And over the years through the various hospitalizations and emergency room runs, you have been there for Ben and us again and again and again! And we are so very thankful!             So many of you have gone out of your way to encourage Ben, to help him out, to watch out for him. And not just adults. Many of our teenagers have looked out for Ben. As I was thinking over a mental list, I considered mentioning a few by name, however, I quickly determined that I’d blow it because I’d miss so many!             Dale Carnegie once said, “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” He was right. Ben will never forget, and I know that we will never forget, how kind you have been to our son. And most importantly, your kindness to a young man who had some difficulty in life, was noticed by our Heavenly Father, the God of grace and mercy, Who so tenderly cares for those who struggle and have difficulty.