Staff Corner

Staff Corner

PROTECTIVE PEACE

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
                    -Philippians 4:6-7


The following devotional message comes from the book Daily Wisdom for Women 2018 Devotional Collection.

Anxiety is a fierce opponent with which you may often wrestle, and sometimes you may find that it has pinned you to the mat. To loose yourself from anxiety’s hold – or avoid the battle all together – you need the Holy Coach’s help. That means, in every situation, you are to go to God in prayer, tell Him what’s happening and what you need, then thank Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do. Once you enlist His aid and leave the results in His hands, God will send an unfathomable peace to stand guard over your mind where your thoughts originate and over your heart where your emotions live. So when anxiety begins to push at your thoughts, when a problem is on the horizon, immediately run to God, then pray, petition, and thank Him. The situation may not be resolved as you had imagined, but you will know you received the result God was looking for – and be left with God’s shield of peace, a transcendent gift beyond all understanding.

I wanted to share this devotional with you because I am one of the thousands (millions) who suffer from anxiety disorder. The problem with this is that you never know when it’s going to show up but when it does, it can be debilitating. One day last week out of nowhere, the anxiety came over me like a “hurricane.” It’s so frightening. At that moment, I sat down at home and prayed. I asked God to take the anxiety and fear away from me because I could not do it on my own but I knew that He could. The anxiety left me and I had no more problems the rest of the day. That certainly is not to say that I am cured but because I prayed knowing, trusting, and believing that God would take it from me that day, he did what I had asked. We all have had so much anxiety this past week. But we also know that God tells us not to be anxious about anything…..not even storms, hurricanes or when the roof caves in.

God Bless You,

Gail

Staff Corner

The Least of These

Dear Friends,

Last weekend, we had an outstanding Lock-in in the Walter Flint Youth Center. I hope you will check out the pictures in this bulletin. On Wednesday during “The Move” (our weekly youth meeting), we showed a video to our young people about what it means to live out Matthew 25:40. The video is about what the Middle School Olivet Eagles football team from Olivet, MI did for one of their least talented players. His name is Keith Orr, and he wears #14.

Keith is a young man with learning disabilities, and even though Keith has no real athletic abilities, he is part of the team. Without telling their coach, team members decided to create a play close to the goal line and let Keith score a touchdown. The main running back ran a play and deliberately stopped on the 1 yard line. On the next play they handed the ball to Keith and pushed him in for a touchdown. When news reporters asked Keith about it, he said, “It was awesome!”

Matthew 25:40 says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ When the Olivet Eagles did something special for their least talented player, they were doing it for Christ. Every time we help someone who may be struggling, we are helping Christ and the church. We asked our young people to think of other kids in their schools who may need a little help, and then do something special for them. I hope you will do the same.

 

-Ben

Staff Corner

Follow The Leader

If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant will also be.
If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
-John 12:26


Did you ever enjoy playing the game follow the leader? Keeping up with the leader was fun! As a child, I would imitate the leader’s every move so I could become the new leader.

Jesus teaches us about serving Him. We serve best when we follow His example.

Jesus taught by being a servant Himself. Jesus didn’t mind serving when no one was around to notice.

We imitate Jesus when we serve others.

Serve others and honor Jesus!

-Cindy

Staff Corner

Pachabel;s “Canon in D Major”

Last Sunday my prelude for National Back to Church Sunday was the very familiar “Canon in D major” by the German composer Johann Pachelbel. Although not as well known as some composers, Pachelbel is still regarded as a fine composer. He lived in the latter part of the Renaissance period of music history (1500-1600) into the early part of the Baroque period (1600-1750) approximately one hundred years before the two giants of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel.

Several people commented to me after the service that they had heard this prelude on different occasions, but did not remember exactly when they had heard it. I told them and I want to share briefly with you when you most likely heard it. The “Canon in D major” is used quite extensively at weddings. Nationwide it is very commonly played for the procession of the bridal party which includes the bridal attendants and the groomsmen, and that is when I oftentimes play it for weddings here at Covenant. However, it can be used as the actual procession when the bride makes her entrance instead of the more traditionally used “Bridal Chorus” (oftentimes simply referred to as “Here Comes the Bride”) from the opera “Lohengrin” by another German composer, Richard Wagner. The bottom line as to what I play depends on the wishes of the bride, her family, and perhaps the groom. I always have a session with the bride prior to the wedding and go over the options that are available to her. It is interesting to note that a few brides know EXACTLY what they want and where in the ceremony they want it, and the complete order of their wedding ceremony. That is where the wedding director and I and perhaps the officiating minister try to be of help – to make their wedding an event that will be meaningful and something that they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.

We are now getting into what I consider one of the most beautiful seasons of the year—fall, with leaves beginning to change colors and of
course plenty of football which is my favorite sport. And those of you who know me at all will also know that I will be cheering as always
for my two favorite teams, (both 
with red and black colors) the Trojans from Lee County High and the Bulldogs from UGA. And although
we all are involved with many activities, the most 
important thing is to ALWAYS put a priority on being in your places every Sunday for
Sunday School and worship.

 

Have a wonderful week ahead, and may God Bless!
Love, Richard

Staff Corner

Demonstrating Love

Dear Friends,
The picture I’ve attached shows our grandson, Judson (7), and our granddaughter, Rylee (3), holding hands as they walk to the parking lot after one of Judson’s football games. Rylee loves her big brother, whom she calls, “My Bubba,” and Judson loves his little sister, whom he calls “Sister.” This picture is a visible symbol of the love of Christ within them.

In John 13:34, Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.” Galatians 5:14 reads, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 1 John 4:16 teaches, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” Though love makes the world go round, it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of (Dionne Warwick). God’s Word clearly tells us that love is the one thing that can make life meaningful and worthwhile for all of us

Our world is filled with harsh debates, endless conflicts, merciless criticisms, and angry tones. As Christ’s ambassadors, it is more important than ever for us to demonstrate his love through our kind words and loving acts of service. Find someone to love for the sake of Christ this week, and you will help make His Kingdom more visible and attractive.

Love to All,
Biff

Staff Corner

God-Given Desires (from Joyce Meyer Ministries)

This is one of my favorite devotions from Joyce Meyer Ministries. I hope it blesses you all as much as it has me!


God-Given Desires

“…For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit…”
-Romans 14:17 (NIV)

One of the ways God speaks to us is through the sanctified desires of our hearts. God places right desires in our hearts and then He gives us those desires.

I remember a time when I had a desire for homemade zucchini bread but had no talent or time to make it. I simply said, “Lord, I sure would like some fresh zucchini bread,” and did not think about it again. About a week later a lady who knew nothing of my desire handed me a box and when I opened it, I found homemade zucchini bread. God delights in doing small and large things for us and we should never fail to appreciate all of them.

We need to ask God to give us sanctified, or holy, desires. We usually have desire for natural things such as success, finances, nice homes, and good relationships, but we should also desire spiritual things. We should desire to know God in a deeper and more intimate way, to always display the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, to serve God in ways that glorify Him, to always be obedient to God, et cetera. Let us ask God to take away fleshly desire and give us sanctified desire.

God puts in us desires that will bring His righteousness, peace, and joy to our lives (see Romans 14:17), and they never disagree with His Word. Wrong desires torment us, and we are impatient about receiving them, but sanctified desire comes with a willingness to wait on God’s ways and timing. Place your desires before God, pray about them and trust God to give them to you if and when they are right for you.

Father, help me to want what You want. I lift up all my desires to You right now and ask for You to give me what’s best for my life—in Your way and in Your timing.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a great week!

-Gail Korpal
Administrative Assistant

Staff Corner

Labor Day Observations

Labor Day Observations

On this Labor Day weekend it seems appropriate to think for a minute about the word “labor”. You say that word to any mother and we all certainly have a clear understanding of what that means! But the reason we observe this day in our country is to celebrate the contributions of all the people -big and small- who have “labored” in the pursuit of making their lives and our country better and brighter.

In I Corinthians 15:58, Paul said:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm! Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Paul was saying to them, and to us, remember that Christ has already won the battle on this earth! Christ is in control of all the ultimate outcomes that we face. We are to stay committed to our faith in Jesus Christ and work hard on His behalf while we are here. But we aren’t in control of the outcome.

It’s easy to be discouraged when immediate results aren’t visible. But we should never let that keep us from working hard for the Lord. All of us have different gifts, but whatever your’s is, use it with your whole heart! If you can teach, teach; if you can sing, sing; if you can be an encouragement, encourage! We can all give and we can all pray. When we all do what we have been called to do, Christ’s church benefits from those gifts.

We are all right here, right now for a reason. It’s exciting to watch and see what God can do when we are willing to be part of His plan!

-Cheryl Coker
Interim Children’s Director

Staff Corner

Counting Our Blessings

This morning I received pictures from Eileen of our own Necdet taking the oath to become a citizen of the United States of America. I have to tell you how moving it was to see those pictures. Necdet put in a lot of hard work as did Eileen helping him with studying and preparing for the testing. We are all so proud of your desire and dedication to become a citizen of our wonderful country. It has it’s problems but is still the best country in the world in which to live.

Then my thoughts went down another path. It is sad to realize how much we take for granted in our everyday lives. When I awaken in the morning, I don’t give much thought to the fact that I have clean water in which to bathe or brush my teeth, OR to turn on the TV and be able to watch “fake” news, OR to go to the frig and know that the orange juice will be nice and cold, OR have bright lights to see how to brush my hair, OR to get in the car and have a comfortable way to get to the church, OR plenty of gas to get me there…..the list goes on and on.

Sure, we always say we are thankful for our many blessings and we are. But more often than not, we let ourselves lose sight of just how many blessings we have been given – including living in a country where we still have the right to worship our Lord and Savior without fear of being persecuted or killed.

We also take for granted what Necdet had to do to become a United States citizen. It came so easy for most all of us but the joy on Necdet’s face says what it means to him. Remember the hymn, Count Your Blessings?

“Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God hath done.”

It’s worth the time.

-Gail Korpal
Administrative Assistant

Staff Corner

A Special Staff Corner with Beth & Larry Tyrer

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) tells us:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

About a year ago, as part of a special prayer during worship, various bible verses were handed out for each person to silently repeat and pray over. This verse just happened to be on the card I drew. As someone who personally tends to obsess over details and worry, A LOT, I kept it and have it displayed near the desk area in the choir room to serve as a reminder.

Fast forward a few months, and my family was suddenly thrust into an unimaginable turmoil when my husband, Larry, was hospitalized with life-threatening pancreatitis. As the hospitalizations and procedures continued, with no clear answers and multiple “end-alls” coming and going without success, it admittedly became more and more difficult not to worry or be anxious; however, our prayers and petitions never ceased, and God surrounded us with so many answered prayers, many of which came through as acts of love from this very congregation.

There are no words sufficient to express how truly and humbly grateful we are to be a part of such a loving church family. Thank you, thank you, thank you all, for sharing the love of Christ and being God’s answer to our prayers!

-Beth Tyrer
Interim Music Director

Thank you for all the support, love, and prayers you have given to me and our family. These truly have been trying times, and I don’t think we could’ve made it without God’s grace or the graciousness of our church family. My illness has forced me to think about my life and what’s important to me. It has strengthened my love of family and has brought me closer to God.

I recall praying while hospitalized in Macon. I said, “Lord, I don’t know what you want me to do, but I want to do it.” I knew I would make it out, but I didn’t know why it happened to me. I think I’m better for it, and in some regard, thankful for it.

I am thankful that my family has found a larger family with all of you at Covenant Presbyterian, and look forward to the journey that yet lies ahead of us. Thank you and God bless you.

     -Larry Tyrer

Staff Corner

The Least of These

The Biblical foundation for our Whiz Kids Mission is from Matthew 25:40 which reads:

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.’”

This verse reminds us that we should go out of our way to care for, not just children and our Whiz Kids, but for all people who might be considered to be “the least of these.

One category of people that is often forgotten is found in Nursing Homes. There are many “shut ins” in Nursing Homes who need our love and care. Some of the people have loving families who regularly visit, but sadly others have no one. Going into a nursing home and having people in wheelchairs lift their arms for a hug or a handshake is both heart wrenching and heart warming. That may be the only human touch they receive that day.

Such a small gesture…

… such a powerful witness.

As Christians, we do carry one another’s burdens. Christ commands us to love one another and to demonstrate this love through action. Every time we love someone for Christ, we are fulfilling his command to do it for “the least of these.”

 

 

May the Blessings of Christ be with You,
-Linda Walters
Financial Secretary