THE LAMPLIGHTER

             LEE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CHURCH PUBLICATION

                                          April, May, June 2009

              Associate

             

          Vikki Sorrells

JESUS PRAYER FOR UNITY

Scripture: John 17:12-19

Meditation: Do you know what your aim or mission in life is? Jesus' aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father. All he said and did gave glory to his Father. On the eve of his sacrifice and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: "Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one".

 Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples. Jesus' prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of Christ's body.

Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Father's will was his glory. Jesus kept his Father's word even when tempted to forgo the cross. His strength was not in himself but in his Father who kept him.

We, too, must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus whenever he may call us. He will give us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to live as his disciples

Do you trust in God and in his call for your life?

Introduction

1. One of the most encouraging experiences as a Christian is to be prayed for by someone else and not only prayed for but prayed with. When someone prays for you in your presence, something special happens in your heart: you feel warmed and encouraged. There is a sense of intimacy, both between you and the other person and between you and God. It’s like you are knocking on heaven’s doors together. It is one of the best ways to build relationships between Christians and one of the surest ways of ensuring unity in the church. It’s pretty hard for division to exist and take hold when people are praying together. Have you had that experience? While we do have to pray for one another, I believe firmly that we ought to pray with one another more.

Jesus prays for three things on our behalf: protection, holiness , and oneness.

Jesus first prayer for us is a prayer for protection.

Against what are we being protected? Jesus asks that we receive protection from the evil one, that we would be protected when faced with temptation, opposition, persecution, etc. He takes as inevitable that we will face such things.

Jesus second prayer for us is a prayer for sanctification. Sanctification here means to be made holy, and being made holy means being set apart. Jesus wants us to be consecrated for service. It has to do with being set apart for the purposes of God. Jesus is praying that we would be set apart by the truth of who he is for the purpose of being sent into the world. We are in the world, but we do not, as Jesus

says, belong to the world.

 

 

 

 

              UNITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Being holy and consecrated means that we belong to God and that He has set us apart for a purpose.

 

Jesus Prayer for Unity

1. Jesus third prayer for us is a prayer for unity. In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over Linus asks. These five fingers says Lucy. Individually they are nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold. Which channel do you want? asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, Why can’t you guys get organized like that?

 

2. What does it mean to have unity here? It doesn’t mean that we agree on every single point of doctrine. It doesn’t mean that there is only one denomination. But it does mean that we are united in confessing that Jesus is the Son of God. It means that we confess in a united way that the Father and the Son are one and that the Father sent the Son into the world and reveals who the Father is.

 

Let us hear his prayer in John 17:

 

I will remain in the world not longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are one. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:11, 20-21

 

 Unity takes on an interpersonal aspect. We recognize the value of diversity within the church. What if everyone here had the same interests, the same personality, the same talents, the same everything? We need to appreciate the differences that make us more versatile/multi-faceted. We can broaden ourselves by intentionally getting to know people who are different from us. The supreme spiritual challenge is to see God’s image in people who are not in our image. It’s important that we listen to people who express their Christian faith differently than us, and learn from their perspective.

 

Unity is more than agreement, or the sharing of common goals; it is similar to the oneness of a husband and wife. If we can agree on who Jesus is and what He accomplished, and the authority of the Scriptures, we can be tolerant on other issues. Unity does not require uniformity. The basis of our unity is our mutual membership in Christ.

 

The goal of unity is found in verse 21, That the world may believe that You have sent Me. When we stand together as one, the world takes notice. The Bible gives one example, only one of how the world will know we are followers of Jesus: by our love for each other. We don’t prove to the world that we love Jesus by how often we attend church or by how much money we give, what boards we sit on, or by how many hours we spend in prayer. We show our faith by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. Through our love, we help fulfill this prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

                     UNITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            SOFTBALL:

       SAVING SOULS

    AND HAVING FUN

         By Kim Mack

 

 

Initially, the men’s softball team was organized because there was a shortage of women willing to play coed softball. All of the team’s players were members of Lee Heights or they attended regularly with their girlfriends or wives. The team served as an outlet for the guys and an outing for their wives or girlfriends, winning wasn’t important, fun, but not important. As young men graduated high school and college they joined the team too. Soon the “old heads" Robin Miller, Virgil Buford, Kenny Sims, and those like them stopped playing and began coaching the team until injuries, work and/or family life took them away. The lessons the younger guys learned from those before them were simple, play for fun and don’t take anything personally. For some those lessons were difficult at best and downright impossible for others. To not react to injustices was contrary to some of the new guys’ personas. There were times guys had to be held back, taken for a walk and/or restrained but eventually the lessons were learned and softball carried on.

The team then took on two changes, changing the league in which we played and an attempt to increase the church population via softball. We joined the Euclid Church League, a place where we thought the love of Christ would override the racism that had reared its ugly head in the Shaker leagues. We also allowed friends of the guys to join the team as long as they attended service at least once a month preferably twice. The new guys abided with little complaint. Some even joined. Things were going along nicely in this new league as long as we were in the basement of the league playing for the fun of it (because we didn’t win) things were fine. As soon as we began to win, rules changed without notice, bats were challenged, and fields were changed at the last moment. The guys persevered. With winning came the inner strife. Guys began question coaching decisions about playing time between members and non-members. Other guys quit because they weren’t playing with folks whose faith walk wasn’t as strong as theirs. Even though we had a successful season and won the Championship tournament; clearly the focus or mission of the team had been lost.

We restructured over the winter. Instead of returning to the Euclid Church League, we opted to join the Maple Heights League. We wanted to demonstrate that Christians could have fun too and save souls in the midst of it. No longer was our emphasis on bringing folks to Lee Heights, we decided it was more important to save a soul by bringing someone to Christ by doing God’s Kingdom work. We stopped saying you must come to Lee Heights instead we said find a church to fellowship with, there are many churches represented on this team and in the city…go where you get fed. It’s the relationship that’s most important. Now we have guys begging to join our team...just hanging out to be near us, reminding us to pray and to be included in our prayers. It’s an amazing thing to watch.

This past year has been a hard one, at least for Jeff and me. Three years ago we recruited a young man named Darrell to play for us, knowing he was a lost soul. Darrell was a drug dealer, not a major player not even a willing player. He did it to make his life easier. I knew he wanted a different life. We talked often of his kids and what he wanted for and from them but had no idea how to change. He came to Lee Hts. kicking a screaming at first but between playing softball and

hanging out with the guys Darrell saw there was another side to life. Christians weren’t the dry-boring people he had been convinced of via his friends. He got a real job and had begun making changes. He spent more time with his kids, they came to the games. Unfortunately, we will never know whether he accepted Christ… after telling his cousin he needed just a little more deal to leave the life; this decision turned out to be fatal. Darrell was killed during a drug raid. Though we have had many successes, Darrell weighs heavy on our minds. We find ourselves wondering was there something else we could have said or did to make a bigger impact.

We have had a few faithful fans who come out to watch us play as much as they could. They were truly appreciated. Some members of the church have commented that they no longer know the guys. Our answer to them has been come on out and talk with them. Lee Heights, how can you support this ministry? Simple, show up! Talk with the guys. Some need a listening ear. Others just need to hear that Christ will take them as they are no changes necessary at first, the change will come as their faith walk strengthens. The season generally starts at the end of April and ends with the Mennonite Tourney in Indiana. It would really be nice to see the Lee Heights family supporting the team but more importantly the mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Library Corner

By Rochele Beachy

We want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Gladys King for donating: A Journal For Jordan, A Story of Love and Honor, written by Dana Canedy. Charles Monroe King, who grew up in this church, was Dana’s devoted fiancé and the father of Jordan. Before his untimely death in Iraq, he wrote lovingly to his infant son about many subjects, including how to treat women, what it means to be a man, what things are important in life. This book is a wonderful legacy for the young man that Jordan will become. It also gives us insight into the dedication of Charles: to God, to his family, to his work and to his men. I was blessed by reading this wonderful book.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 R E M I N D E R