Vacation Bible School

Last night was night 4 of this year's VBS at Nashwauk Alliance.
Our theme this year is "God's Big Backyard" - it is a community service based theme.

Most years we collect money that we send to different missions groups. This year we decided since it was all about serving those around you, that we would instead collect food items that we will be donating to the local food shelf.
At the end of the first 3 nights we had collected about 1/2 of a grocery cart.
I was so moved, when on Thursday night we had to send one of our youth members back to the local grocery store to borrow 2 more carts. We had so many food donations - that we now have 3 heaping carts to donate!! That is still with one night to go!!!!!
The kids really seem to be understanding that we need to help and serve those around us.

Every night a different community member comes and speaks to the kids about what they do to serve our community.
Monday - and Itasca County Sheriff spoke to the kids
Tuesday - we had a nice lady from the Red Cross come speak.
Wednesday - Nashwauk Fire and rescue crew come up with a firetruck, their rescue rig, and an ambulance.
Thursday - We had a retired US Airforce member visit us.
Friday - We are having a missionary come and speak to us.

This kids have enjoyed all of the speakers, and have taken away so much from these lessons!

The week overall seems to have gone quite quickly - so with just one night to go, we will soon begin the countdown to -- Vacation Bible School 2009

A Multi-church Picnic

Hey! This Sunday is going to be a blast! Join us after church up at the Balsam Park for a Church Picnic and Softball game! We'll be joining the Balsam Bible Chapel and the Cloverdale Mennonite Church for an afternoon of fun, food and fellowship.

The Balsam Park is just north of the Balsam Store and is behind the Balsam Community Center. From Nashwauk, take 65 north to County Road 8. Take 8 west to County Road 57 and turn left. Take 57 until it dead ends at Scenic Hwy 7 and turn right. Take 7 past the Balsam Store. The park is on your right. If you get to the Balsam Bible Chapel you went too far.

See you there!

The Wrath of God

"If there is a God, then why doesn't he do something about the evil in the world?" I've heard the question many times, particularly from people who scoff at the idea of God. It is hard to watch the inhumanity in the world. The murders, armed rebellions, drug dealing and sexual abuse can make us sick. Why doesn't he do something?

It's ironic that many of the same scoffers mock at the idea that God might actually do something about evil. There was incredible uproar when some preachers speculated that perhaps the destruction of New Orleans was a judgement of God. "God wouldn't do that...he is too loving." Apparently God isn't supposed to do the Sodom and Gomorrah thing anymore. He's supposed to be positive and uplifting all the time, and at the same time "do something" about the wickedness in the world.

I'm not sure whether the hurricane was one of those sad things that happens or if it was the judgement of God. I do know that we are going to learn a lot about God over the next weeks as we dust off the concept of "The Wrath of God" that is found in the next section of Romans (Chapter 1:18-32). Personally, I believe that as we do, we are going to be transfixed by the awesomeness of the God we serve.

Join us for this incredible study of God's character!

Pastor Karl

A Call to Prayer

Over the last several years we have seen God do some pretty incredible things. As I have ponder the "whys" of this, the conclusion that I have come to is that as a church we have really gotten serious about following His leading, regardless of where that takes us. An example of this is the literal weeks that we have spent in prayer.

Over the last months as we have been busy with the necessary work of construction, I have been sensing that we need to return to our "first work" of prayer. We have also seen a number of indications that the enemy has increased his attacks upon the leadership of the church. Key people have suffered a number of injuries and illnesses that are far beyond what might be explained via random chance. In addition, we are entering into a season of ministry and planning for ministry that will impact our church for some time. We need to seek God both alone and together so that we can make sure that we are in step with what the Lord wants us to be doing.

Therefore, we are going to having two special prayer events this month.

• An Evening of Prayer beginning at 7:00 this Friday, June 6. Join us for a time of seeking God together!
• A Week of Prayer - 24/7. We'll begin after our Dedication Service on June 22 and pray here at church around the clock for a week. Sign up sheets to pray are located in the entryway.

As we gather to pray, I am reminded of the words of Andrew Murray:

It is prayer that lies at the root of the spiritual life and power of the Church. The measure of continued believing prayer will be the measure of the Spirit's working in the Church.

-Pastor Karl

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Paul writes to the Romans that he is "not ashamed of the gospel." I've always been struck by that idea. Perhaps because my experience is that sometimes I am afraid of the ridicule that following Christ can entail. I feel it occassionally when I am in a social setting with people I've just met and they ask me what I do for a living. I wonder what their reaction will be. I hope that the relationship will continue. Maybe you've been there.

In this passage Paul helps us get over our fear by teaching us that:

• We will not be ashamed if we really understand what the gospel is.
• We will not be ashamed if we factor in the power of God.
• We will not be ashamed if we truly believe the gospel.

I beleive that God will really do an incredible work in our midst over the coming weeks. See you there!

Pastor Karl

First Service at the new building- May 18th, 2008

The first Sunday Worship service at our new location was help on Sunday, May 18th, 2008.

You could tell even before service started that everyone was so encouraged and excited to FINALLY be in the new facility. We had to set up all the extra folding chairs that we could find around the building so there would be enough seating for all of those that were there.

The worship team sounded even better than normal - coming through our new sound system.

Above is a picture to give you a little bit of an idea of what our new sanctuary looks like!

God is so good!

K.Olson

Playing in the Mud

One afternoon a few years ago I was trying to teach my elementary school basketball team the to be more aggressive when they went to rebound. "Jump up, yank the ball out of the air, and roar like a lion!" Corny, I know, but it worked! The players would grab the ball and let out a piercing roar. Such is the power of an image to change the way we see ourselves.

Jesus knew that. He was a master at using word pictures to describe life and our relationships with God and others. One of my favorites is found in John 7:37-38. Jesus said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Jesus speaks of a spiritually thirsty person finally coming to Christ. The result is that they will no longer be thirsty. In fact, they will be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. So much so that the Spirit will flow like water out of their lives, presumably watering others.

I was thinking of this image a few weeks ago when the snows were melting and I found myself outside in the driveway doing what I have done every spring for as long as I can remember: playing in the puddles. Actually, I consider it "work" rather than "play." I enjoy taking a stick and running it through the mud so that the water can drain out of the puddles faster. This year, I struck the mother lode when I discovered that Mike's plow and dumped a bunch of dirt near the small culvert on our driveway and an entire corner of our neighbor's yard was flooded. I worked with my stick, pulling away dirt, stones and leaves until finally the water could run down the ditch through the culvert and down into the lake. What fun! Um, I mean work!

I as I was hard at work, I starting wondering what things in life keep the streams of living water from flowing from within. What is the mud that causes puddles to form where there should be streams? While I am sure that there are more, two things came to my mind as I was thinking about this.

First, selfishness can cause me to want to keep my water all to myself. When I see the water as "mine" I will want to keep the blessings to myself. I will, in effect, build a dam to keep the water in rather than allowing it to flow through me.

Second, sinfulness will cause the Lord to close the spigot of water flowing into my life. It is one of the ways that he seeks to get my attention. If his blessing no longer seems to be on what I am doing, then something is wrong. Seriously wrong, and I need to find out what it is that is blocking the flow of the Spirit in my life.

I was excited to find that blocked culvert, but not just because it was fun see the water flowing again. I also knew that if that water sat there long enough, it would become a tremendous breeding ground for mosquitoes. In the same way, if the water stops flowing through us, we will become stagnant and actually become a nuisance to others rather than a blessing.

So, how is the water in your life? Is it flowing or do you have some work to do?

Pastor Karl