2024 May

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May 2024

May 23, 2024

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, Guest Services, HCC, Jesus, Outreach, Serve Teams

by Brendon

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An Ode to Volunteer

” …. But that misses out the vital middles stage – that those who are declared to be in the right, to be God’s people, are the renewed humans, the people God had in mind when creating his image-bearing creatures in the first place, the people who now, in the present age have a decisive role to play in the coming to birth of the new creation….”

– NT Wright, Into the Heart of Romans pg. 16

” All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. THEREFORE, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Paul, 2 Corinthians 5: 18-20

Serving is hard. Serving is counterintuitive. Serving is putting others before ourselves. Serving is thinking differently than we typically would. Serving is not always the hot thing to do. Serving doesn’t always lead to a sexy outcome. Serving doesn’t also bring about all the accolades that we might be searching for.

However, serving may not be the things listed above, it is something that we are called to do. Even if we are not serving in a role or on a serve team or at an event. Serving is what we are called to do always.

Rich Villodas, a pastor in New York, said this about Jesus ” Jesus went towards all….”. He was making reference to how Jesus continually found himself around people serving them however was needed. Whether it was teaching, clearing out a temple, healing, relieving from a demon, recovering the sick, waking the dead or drowning a herd of pigs after putting demons in them. Jesus was always serving, wherever he was with whoever was around.

Every week, we have the chance to serve others when we open the doors for worship services on Sunday’s. I know, serving does not only have to happen on Sundays, but there is a lot of opportunity on Sundays to serve others. Some that do are consistent and others not so much. But whether you are there every Sunday or once a month, you are an ambassador of Jesus to those you are serving. You cannot change that fact.

For those that serve, we thank you! For those that will serve, we thank you! For those that have not yet served…..think about it.

Here is one guests story about their encounter on a Sunday morning:

From:
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 1:29 PM
To: Lead Pastor <leadpastor@harvester.cc>
Subject: Recent Visit

Nikomas Perez,

I was happy to attend Harvester this past Sunday with my son on the way to his hockey game. My interest

was piqued at your invite to the Living Room. I enjoyed meeting you and wanted to share how I came about

coming to Harvester. My home church is Oak Bridge but when I cannot attend I love to seek out other similar

Christian Churches just enjoy the service and see how well they welcome visitors.

I had been to Harvester for an event but not a service when I decided to attend on a cold snowy

day in January. It would have been easy to stay in bed, the roads were bad and I wasn’t even sure the

church would be open since some churches were canceling due to the weather. I had to make the trip

to Wentzville anyway so if being early was the only negative I decided to forge ahead. The Harvester

Facilities team had cleared the lot and salted the steps, kudos to them for a job well done. I walked

in as a familiar looking gentleman held the door open and greeted me with a smile. Wearing a hat with

a jacket I didn’t get a great look at who it was but once inside I had to turn back and see who the

familiar face was. Sure enough I recognized Kim Forney! Kim had attended Oak Bridge and knowing

he had chosen Harvester as his home church I knew I had picked the right church to attend.

Everyone from the parking lot to my seat was cheerful, friendly, and willing to provide any information

that I needed. Knowing a little about the operation of a church, I had to send a note of praise to your

team and all the wonderful volunteers at Harvester. As I mentioned earlier, I brought my son with me

on Sunday and holding open the same door and greeting me with a smile was Kim. Please double his

salary!

Thank you Harvester for reflecting Jesus in such an excellent and authentic way!

Sincerely,

Again, serving is not always the easiest thing to do. But when you do, you make a difference in other people’s lives.

If you need help, let us know. We would love to help get you plugged in to a serve team!

May 21, 2024

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, HCC, Jesus

by Brendon

0 Comments

Dwelling.

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Brendon

“ I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt….” – Leviticus 26:11-13a

In today’s world, the thought of who you are with is becoming more and more apparent and judged.

Oh you hang out with that crowd….

Oh, I didn’t expect you to be hanging out with that kind of person…

Oh you believe the same thing as them??

It’s almost like the people we hang out with or dwell with will determine what everyone will think of us.

It’s like the question, what high school did you go to? The answer will determine everything someone needs to think and know

about you.

However, what if we start to think about the people we dwell with. The people that we do life with. The people that influence us the most. The people that can determine what your outcome in life could be like.

God makes this statement over all of the Bible.

In Genesis we see Adam and Eve had a very personal relationship with God. In Gen. 3 we see it noted that in the cool of the evening, God came to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden. But we see that because Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree they were not supposed to, they hid from God. ( Gen. 3:8-9 ).

In Leviticus, we see that already, God is wanting to dwell again with his people. God leads them out of Egypt and along the way they fall away from God over and over and will continue to do so. ( Lev. 26:11-12 )

In the prophet Ezekiel’s book, we see that after God brings a valley of dry bones back to life, God make mention to covenant of peace and that God’s dwelling will be with his creation. ( Eze. 37:27 )

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul makes this claim again that God desires to dwell among his people and they will know Him and know that he is their God. ( 2 Corin. 16c)

Then again in Revelation, the apostle John writes in Revelation 21, that behold, the dwelling place of God is with his his creation. That He will dwell with them and they will be his people. ( Rev. 21:3 )

We can see that God from the beginning of life, to the end of life, has one goal….to dwell or be with close contact with his people.

And in seasons of life it is incredibly hard to understand and really embrace this truth. The truth that God really does love you and desires a relationship with you.

In seasons of winning: when you have great health in your family or when you get the promotion you worked so hard for or when you move to a new location that brings new life to our heart or when you have a healthy baby come into the world or when you win the lottery!

In seasons of losing: when health is an issue, when you lose your job, when you don’t get that promotion, when you look at your bank account and it is not where you thought it would be, or when you look at your house and see all of the repairs that you are not able to make, or when you look at your relationship with your spouse and it is on the rocks or when you lose a loved one.

God still, desires to be with you.

Life is hard. Jesus tells us that in John 16:33.

Even when we fall away from God.

Even when we forget about the things he calls us too.

Even when we stop thinking about him.

Even when we don’t feel his presence because of what is going on in our life.

Even when……..

God desires to dwell with you.

Whatever season you might find yourself in today, rest in this peace, that God desires you.

With all of your shortcomings. With all of our mistakes. With all of our doubts and fears. With all of our thoughts that lead us away from Him.

God still and wants desires a relationship with you.

May 21, 2024

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, HCC

by Brendon

0 Comments

Words on a page or words of truth?

This thought has been one burning in my mind for a little while now, because it is a thought that is going to become super important with a middle school daughter. And to be honest this next season of life for her, I am excited for! She is smart and dedicated and strong and powerful. My prayer and thought for her, is what will she do with all of that in her life?

So as we begin this thought, I want to say that I believe the Bible, whether you believe it or not, can be boiled down to this:

” In the beginning God created……..” Genesis 1:1a

Those five words can dictate the way that we read the Bible, interact with the Bible and even allow the Bible to interact with our hearts, minds and souls.

” All scripture is God breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God, may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17

The graphic above, you probably have seen floating around your social media feeds over the last few months. It is a graph that shows in detail the cross references of the Bible in its entirety. Not just a few of them but all the references that are used in the bible. As one pastor put it, ” if this was the work on one man, we would think that he is the greatest composer of all time. But in reality, the scriptures were written by over 40 people and over 1500 years of history…” The graph shows that there are 63,779 cross references in scripture.

To be honest with you, this thought is one that over my entire life span I have never asked, is the Bible real or is it just a group of made up stories? I have never once asked myself, why do I believe what is written in these pages? Why do I continue to study these scriptures throughout my life?

The answer……because I believe the first five words of the Bible are true.

I believe that God created the earth and sky and space and heaven and stars and trees and oceans and waters and animals and birds and humans. I believe that when in the garden of eden when humans were left to their own choices, we made the wrong one which brought separation from God who created us to be with him in His creation. I believe that God then set humans, his creation, apart from the rest of creation to be the key piece to reconciling his creation back to Himself. I believe that God used fallen humans to be spokesman for Himself by giving the words of the Bible to men and woman to write down and be taught and remembered and passed down. I believe that God used his creation to send his Son Jesus down to earth to live a life that is worth of emulating and following because that is the way Grace was given to anyone who will listen and believe. I also believe that without the Bible, Christianity would not have a guide that is living and breathing and interacting with minds, bodies, hearts and society….even when society doesn’t know it.

The Bible is the story of God and God’s people. God’s people in the Old Testament being the nation of Israel and in the New Testament we learn that the people of God are not just limited to one group but to any and all that will listen and believe and turn back to God. God working through his creation, even though fallen and separated from Him due to sin, to bring his creation back to himself.

Does the Bible have some crazy stories inside the covers, absolutely! A man being swallowed by a fish and then being spat out in the exact place that he needs to be, or how about the story of a king that is transformed into a donkey because he makes some dumb decisions, or what about the stories of kings going to war for the soul purpose of covering up the fact he slept with the wrong person. The Bible is full of stories that are crazy to the reader, especially when you read in the book of Judges that a man took his concubine and cut her up and sent pieces of her to all over the world at the time.

But here is the key – In the beginning God Created.

There are lots of holy texts in the world, whether it is the Qur’an, the Dhammapada of Buddhism, The Tanahk of Judaism, The Rig Veda of Hinduism, the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible and even the book of Mormon.

Holy texts can be found in all religions across the world. The genuine question that comes back to any written scripture or literature for a religion is…..

Do you believe it?

Whatever the holy text is….that is always the baseline question.

For me, the Bible in all of the craziness and all of the cross references and even the things that I do not fully understand points me this:

A love God, that created everything so that his creation can be perfect with Him. And throughout the 2 canons of the bible, we read God’s story of constantly loving, forgiving, rebuking, teaching, drawing closer, grace-giving and in the end, defeating the power of Sin to give his creation the ability to come and reconcile their relationship with Him. For me, the first five words of the Bible are true. Which means everything else in the Bible, whether I understand them or not, I will wrestle and interact and allow God’s Spirit to work in my life through the study of the Bible and allow me to extend that love and grace that I learn to those around me as I become more like Jesus reaching out to introduce others to Jesus.

Might be the least amount of Bible usage to have a thought on the Bible, but scriptures are something that you have to interact with and come to your own conclusion on whether or not to believe it or whether or not you pick and chose and only believe what you want to believe.

The Bible is full of hard lessons and ideas to comprehend and demonstrations to follow, but that is also why this journey of following Jesus to be reconciled with God in the work of the Spirit is not one that comes to an end or a finish line. It is a journey that will be forever long and however you run the race, the Bible will never change, just like its heavenly author will never change and just like its main hero will never change and just like the love, grace and mercy that is free to anyone who will listen will never change.

The Bible is the written word of God, and God breathed the words into over 40 different people to write the story of how God wants to reconcile his creation to himself. The Bible is the lifeblood of the Christ follower and the authority in which we should live and direct our lives.

May 21, 2024

in DTOTD

by Brendon

0 Comments

Persuading…not coercing or manipulating

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Brendon

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others……Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ was reconciling us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” – 2 Cor. 5: 11a, 17-18

Have you ever been persuaded to do something? Or maybe to buy something? Or maybe even to sign up for something??

I started my credit history this way. I was on a mission trip to Boston, which was one of my favorite cities in the country, but at a Red Sox game at Fenway park, I was for sure overwhelmed with where I was and all that I was experiencing. I remember walking through the concourse of Fenway and just marveling at the history and the structure of the ball field. I also remember how cold I was. I had just purchased a new hoodie thinking that might be warm enough for the night…I was wrong. So as I was walking around, I heard the question “Would you like a blanket?”

I stopped and looked at a table with a bunch of fleece Red Sox blankets. I wanted one. So I listened to this dude talk to me about getting this blanket and I found myself filling out a form to open my first ever credit card, to get a blanket for free! Great deal!! I know, I was young and vulnerable and cold and gullible. However, as I read the passage above that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, I realized how easily I was persuaded to sign up for something that I didn’t want or need at the time, just for a blanket.

What if it was that easy to persuade someone to know and believe and follow Jesus?

We see it all the time in our worlds, people are persuaded to buy that item that is on sale for the next three and half minutes. We are persuaded to go to the place that has a deal on all of its meats in the market so we can get the best price for our favorite cut of beef. We are persuaded to believe someone is wrong to vote for someone else. We are persuaded to follow the crowd of whatever the new thing to ‘cancel’ is. We are persuaded by others to doubt ourself about what we believe. We are persuaded in all sorts of ways.

What if we were able to be persuaded by God every day of our lives?

Persuasion in this case is not making mention to someone tricking you into something, but really the complete opposite in persuading someone by the words you speak and the life you live to show Jesus’ love to those around you, to the point that those around you want to know who Jesus is because of the way you live your life.

May 13, 2024

in Alleviation of Poverty, Child Welfare, Church, DTOTD, Global, Guest Services, HCC, Local, Natural Disaster Response, Outreach, packapack, School Outreach, Serve Teams, The Sharing Shed

by Brendon

0 Comments

Faith without works, is dead

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you say to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

– James 2:14-17

Serving others, out of a humble heart, is not an easy choice that not everyone will make.

In the church, we talk about serving all of the time. And to be honest, we have too. Serving is of vital importance to every church’s existence and operational ability. The church was not created to be a paid enterprise organization that is able to pay every single person that changes a diaper or leads a small group. As crazy as it sounds, the church was created to be a vessel of people that would pour into the people around them and inside the walls of the church building to be able to lead those to knowing and following Jesus.

There is one thing about learning about God from an academic stand point, but it is something completely different when it comes to following Jesus’ example of life here on earth.

When we see the disciples, which eventually become Apostles in the book of Acts, get called by Jesus, very early on we see the disciples both learning things and unlearning things. The disciples are learning from Jesus about what life could look like and unlearning what they have been taught since they were kids. Jesus also takes the moments to send his disciples out, very often, the disciples are sent out to serve and to preach the good news of Jesus.

You see when you begin to follow Jesus, and become his disciple, we find that serving is intertwined with your faith and your deepening understanding of who Jesus is for us and through us.

The problem we all face, is that serving has become somewhat of a ‘glamour’ seeking endeavor. Serving has been distorted to be into something that we can brag about. If you read Thought #8, you may be thinking, this sounds a whole lot like hospitality, well because serving and hospitality go hand in hand with our discipleship to Jesus.

You see as we get closer to Jesus, we see that Jesus had a natural rhythm to life that we can emulate. It may not be as deep or as perfect as Jesus’, which is no surprise, it can be lived out in a daily way.

” ………….But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:43-45

Serving is not about your ability to brag about where you serve or how many people you serve. Serving is about the love you have for Jesus overflowing out of our hearts towards others. It could look like this:

Having a meal with family friends that don’t know Jesus. (hospitality)

Planning a VBS while on a mission trip in Ethiopia. (serving)

Wiping the nose of an upset 3 year old at church in the middle of the summer. (serving)

Stopping to listen to a hurting friend or coworker. (hospitality)

Cleaning the bathrooms at a church that doesn’t have anyone to clean the church on a regular basis. (serving)

Reaching out to your neighbor about the doctors appointment they had. (hospitality)

Could it be hauling furniture from The Sharing Shed to a family in our community? (serving)

As our love for Jesus grows, our hearts for hospitality and serving increase.

There is a forward-facing part of serving and hospitality that is undeniable and very real.

When we serve someone or a group of people, there is a very real and undeniable focus put on you and the same goes for when you show hospitality to someone or a group. As Christians, we are called to go and make disciples of all nations, of anyone that will listen and accept the good news of Jesus and to lead them to following Jesus and his commands. Which means we will be looked at and unfortunately, potentially judged for our actions.

Jesus gave us a new command in John 13 by saying ” we must love one another, like I have loved you…..BY THIS, all people will know you are my DISCIPLES.” – John 13:34 & 35

Then again in John 17, Jesus says ” I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world…..I do not ask this for these only, but also for those who WILL believe in me through their word, that they may be one just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me….” – John 17:15-21

To James’ point, can we have faith with out works….yes but it doesn’t mean much. On the flip side of that, can we just serve others with out the faith behind it….sure but that also doesn’t mean much because there is nothing attached to the deed. Sure you could be looked at a good person, but in the discourse of salvation, serving to check a box on a to-do list, doesn’t lead to being a disciple of Jesus.

Serving should first and foremost always come from the outpour of love that Jesus has given you and now you attempt to give to others.

As much as bible study and worship and small groups and prayer and silence and solitude are important to your discipleship with Jesus, if we neglect to serve also, then we are missing the whole picture of being a disciple of Jesus.

The question then is, where will you serve to be able to breath the life and love of Jesus out to others?

If you are reading this and are not serving, here is a painted picture worth thinking about:

Here at Harvester Christian Church, there are hundreds of places you can serve…….hundreds really.

Recently I asked just some of the ministries around HCC, what kind of volunteer numbers could they use right now…….150…..Meaning, we could use 150 more people to come and serve the church and the guests that are coming to church each and every week and month.

That number gets even larger when asked what would a dream number of volunteers be….one ministry said 200, another said 270!!

Imagine the kingdom impact we could make as a church if we all took one opportunity to serve in some way….what would it look like, what would it feel like, how would you be used to impact someone else’s life?

Can I challenge you…..take a moment and think about where you would want to serve, just TWO TIMES…what ministry would be it, how would you be serving?

Could it be that you want to help guests find a parking spot with our parking team?

Could it be opening a door for one of our disabled guests that struggle to open the door themselves?

Could it be serving behind the cafe counter helping our guests with some donuts to make the environment of Sunday morning warm and welcoming?

Could it be holding a crying baby until they fall asleep in your arms so that the parents can go and worship?

Could it be leading a small group of 2nd graders to help them understand how much God loves them?

Could it be flipping switches on our tech team in that back where if we didn’t have people, our services wouldn’t happen?

Could it be having conversation with our online guests to welcome them and help them have the best online experience they can?

Could it be helping a new family walk from Guest Central to Kids Check in to help them feel calm and welcomed as they bring their kids to Harvester Kids?

There are so many opportunities for you to step out, in faith, and serve those coming to Harvester Christian Church.

The question is, will you?

If you are interested, let us know or join us for Discover Harvester on June 9th, here is a link – Discover Harvester –

May 3, 2024

in Alleviation of Poverty, GiveHope, Local, Outreach, The Sharing Shed

by cefiggins

0 Comments

The Reward of Seemingly Small Parts- Guest Blog Post by Lisa Rogers

A little over a year ago, I started searching for additional opportunities to serve through Harvester Christian Outreach. My husband and I have called Harvester, “our home”, for a while now, but being a large church, I wanted to meet new people and find new ways to serve. The perfect opportunity presented itself when I was introduced to the idea of volunteering at The Sharing Shed. I fell in love with this ministry on the first day I volunteered. They serve families in crisis, each with their own stories and struggles. The Sharing Shed provides furniture and household items to individuals and families coming out of homelessness, loss of home due to a fire or flood, displacement due to loss of a job, or individuals coming out of abusive home environments. Their stories and struggles are as diverse as their needs and The Sharing Shed provides a place of hope where they can begin a new story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on my first day volunteering

as I had never visited the location.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on my first day volunteering as I had never visited the location. It was immediately evident to me that great care and thought were used to create a space where clients could shop with dignity and respect. This is not just a warehouse full of items to poke through but is designed as a picturesque shop with an array of items like comforters, towels, dishes, small appliances, furniture, and everything in between. It is truly a wonderful space with an opportunity to serve in various roles. Our volunteers serve as Personal Shoppers, Processors for newly donated items, along with Pick-up and Delivery Crews.

It has been rewarding to play a small part in helping people

find solutions and items that fit their current needs.

It has been rewarding to play a small part in helping people find solutions and items that fit their current needs. This ministry has been a blessing to me in more ways than one. I always leave The Sharing Shed with a sense of fulfillment. I have been blessed by meeting new individuals and families, hearing their stories, and witnessing their renewed sense of hope and gratitude for what they have received. One of the first clients I helped was a military veteran who had been homeless for a good portion of his life. As we shopped for the items he needed to fill his new home, he requested that I pick them out. He said he didn’t care what they looked like or even if everything matched. He was simply thankful to have a home and the things needed to fill it…the everyday necessities that we often take for granted. I

Serving consistently at The Sharing Shed has left me with a renewed sense of gratitude for the blessings in my own life. The Sharing Shed has also gifted me the opportunity to meet new volunteers from Harvester. I am grateful for the team I work alongside and the connections and friendships formed. It truly feels like family.

Harvester Christians serve at The Sharing Shed every 3rd Saturday from 9 a.m.-11 a.m.

If you are interested in joining this team please email cfiggins@harvester.cc

Lisa Rogers Harvester Christian Sharing Shed Crew Member

On mission with the community to meet the needs of those in crisis together for the Glory of God. We are a furniture bank that provides household goods and furniture to families in need, in St Charles, Lincoln, and Warren county.

May 2024

An Ode to Volunteer

Dwelling.

Words on a page or words of truth?

Persuading…not coercing or manipulating

Faith without works, is dead

The Reward of Seemingly Small Parts- Guest Blog Post by Lisa Rogers

From the HCC Outreach Team: