April 28 Sermon and Announcements

 CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

April 28, 2024

GOD’S SEVEN WONDERS

Psalm 63:3-4, Revelation 3:20

Most of us have heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. A little quiz

as we get started. How many of you know what the seven wonders

are? These seven are all manmade, not natural wonders, just to make

sure we are talking about the same thing.

These are the seven most believe are worthy of the title:

1) Great Wall of China

2) Taj Mahal in India

3) Petra, Jordan. Some believe this town was built where Moses

struck the rock and water came forth.

4) The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

5) Chichén Itzá in Mexico - Mayan

6) Machu Picchu – Peru – Incas

7) The Great Pyramid – Egypt

How many of you got all of them? I will admit I only remembered one

before I saw the list. What we are going to spend a few minutes this

morning looking at is God’s Seven Wonders. To give credit where it is

due, the devotional book of Billy Graham is where this list came from.

Last week in our devotional what we read about and the Lord led me to

really think about was the amazing way God has dealt with us, his

creation.

These seven wonders remind us of what God has done and continues

to do in the lives of those who seek him. I am going to give you the list

Billy Graham came up with and then we will look a little closer at them.

GOD’S SEVEN WONDERS

1) The wonder of God’s love.

2) The wonder of God coming to live among us.

3) The wonder of the cross.

4) The wonder of conversion.

5) The wonder of peace and joy given to us through Jesus Christ.

6) The wonder of God’s plan for the future.

7) The wonder of your own commitment to Jesus Christ.

Let’s go over them one more time. So, what do you think? Do they

make sense to you? Would you have different ones? As you think about

that, let us briefly look at each one of these seven a little closer.

1) The wonder of God’s love. We may not fully be able to

understand it, but the creator of the universe loves each and

every one that he has created. God’s desire for each and every

one of us is to have the best life we can and that is only possible if

we recognize who God is and what he has made available.

2) The wonder of God coming to live among us. The wonder that

God came to earth in a human body and lived and breathed just

like we do. One of the reasons God did this was to experience first

hand what we go through while we are here on this earth. Jesus

felt pain and sorrow. Jesus was tempted and Jesus felt joy as well.

Because of that, God can relate to us in ways he would not have

been able to do otherwise.

3) The wonder of the cross. Not only did Jesus come to live among

us and experience many of the ups and downs we all go through,

Jesus also came to this earth to pay the price for our sin. In

Romans 3:23, we are reminded, “For all have sinned and fallen

short of the glory of God.” Try as we might, we do sin, but God

loved us enough to come to this earth and be the perfect sacrifice

for our sin. The verse we all know found in John 3:16, “For God so

loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that

whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting

life.”

4) The wonder of conversion. The word conversion means to

change, to turn. We cannot convert ourselves. We all need God’s

help. God has also given us the Holy Spirit that helps us to more

consistently say no to sin. When that happens, we are given a new

life, a new focus.

5) The wonder of peace and joy given to us through Jesus Christ.

When we come to realize we are forgiven by God, we understand

how much God loves us and cares about us, we begin to develop

peace and joy that just was not really possible before. In

Philippians 4:7, we are told of the peace that passes all

understanding that will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus our Lord.

6) The wonder of God’s plan for the future. God has made several

promises about the future. For the here and now for His people,

he says in Jeremiah 28:11, “I know the plans I have for you, plans

to give you hope and a future.” Also, God’s future plan for us is

that when our time on this earth is over, we will spend eternity

with him. And also, in the future Jesus will return for His church.

7) The wonder of your own commitment to Jesus Christ. God’s

seventh wonder has to do with you and me - our own

commitment to Jesus. Jesus came to this earth to save all who will

receive God’s gift of love. However, God will not force anyone to

receive it. That decision cannot be made by anyone but you and

me. When you and I make that decision, what a miracle and

wonder it is. It does not mean there will never be any more

problems in our lives. What it does mean is the creator of the

universe now is able to step in and help us through the tough

times and rejoice with us in the good times.

So, what do you think? Does this list accurately describe the wonders of

God? May we truly live in awe of the wonder of God. He loves you and

me in ways we may never fully realize, but we should never stop trying.

As we close out our time together, let us look one more time at the

verses we started off with.

Psalm 6:3-4

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live.

Revelation 3:20

Here I am; I stand at the door and knock. If anyone

hears my voice and open the door, I will come I and eat

with him, and he with me.

These scriptures directly relate to God’s seven wonders and God’s

commitment to you and me as well as our love and commitment to

Him.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

Sunday School 9:00

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

Today 3:00 here Traughber Pie Party

May 1 12:15 Books Between Bites with Ruth Siburt at the Decatur Public Library

--deadline for newsletter submissions

May 2 7:00 Board meeting (commissions & board)

May 5 directory information/changes due

May 19 Council Meeting after worship

Camp Emmanuel registration is open. Schedule is on the

bulletin board.

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

Donation Box for April: Camp Emmanuel

First Sundays: Food Bank donations

Keep in Your Prayers

Martha Wood; Shirley Clarkson; Mike Roach; Dave White; Louis &

Carol Sulwer; Ava; Nora Hanaver; Larry Traxler; Randy and Michelle

West; Mike Gentry; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Doug Larrick; Ron &

Kathleen Petersen; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm;

Mike and Carol Seidenstricker; Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Mayo &

Darlene Hanaver; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken

requests; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the

Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Israel, Iran, the

Palestinians; Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Springfield congregation and the

ministries of CROP, SERRV, and Heifer International, all started by

the Church of the Brethren.

Sermon and Announcements April 14, 2024

 CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

April 14, 2024

DON’T STOP PRAYING!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We have looked at prayer before. I may have used some of the same verses in the past as I am sharing today, but today I want you to listen to a song that the Lord is using in my life. The Lord is saying to me that no matter what the outcome, don’t stop praying. Don’t quit, don’t give up, don’t stop believing and trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. Don’t quit trusting in my heavenly Father as well. God understands and sees what we, what I, am going through always. Always believe that.

Before I go any further, I want you to listen to this song that the Lord is using to refocus me on prayer. I may have had another song played by this artist before, maybe not. A little background for those of you who don’t know Matthew West, he graduated from Millikin, probably around 20 years ago. He is one of the top contemporary Christian artists and many of his songs the Lord has used to speak to me. The song title is, Don’t Stop Praying.

Before we look at some of the things said in this song, let us look again at what was said in 1 Thessalonians 5. First, be joyful ALWAYS! Of course, that is easy to do, isn’t it? While we trust in the Lord and hope and believe God is on our side, things happen that can steal that joy we are encouraged to have. Second, we are told to pray continually. We are not to simply one time offer up a prayer and then hope for the best. We are told to pray continually. In the parable of the persistent widow, we see an example of this. A widow keeps coming before a judge day after day, maybe week after week. It becomes obvious to the judge that she won’t stop until she gets just the result she is asking for. So finally, the judge gives in. This parable is found in Luke 18, verses 2-5.

Jesus then goes on to say to his disciples in verse 7, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you; He will see that they get justice and quickly.”

This song has so many honest feelings stated in it. It starts off asking, what’s your impossible? Your, I need a miracle? What’s got you barely hanging on by a single thread? Then the song asks, “What looks so hopeless now? What weighs down your heart with doubt? You beg for a breakthrough, but no sign of a breakthrough yet. When you’ve cried until your tears run dry. The answers won’t come and you don’t know why. And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time. 

I believe the Lord inspired these words to then be written.

Don’t stop praying.

Don’t stop calling on Jesus’ name.

Keep on pounding on Heaven’ s door and let your knees wear out the floor.

Don’t stop believing.

Cause mountains move with just a little faith.

And your Father’s heard every single word you're saying.

So don’t stop praying.

In the video of this song, he is printing off a variety of papers and things that say, Don’t Stop Praying. I am not sure what he meant by doing this, but it showed me that I need God’s constant reminder to stay strong and to keep praying for whatever the Lord has laid on my heart. Sometimes I admit I do better at this than others. To finish up on some of the things the Lord reminded me to be in prayer for in this song, there is quite a list.

Don’t stop praying for the prodigal,

Praying for the miracle,

Praying that addictions end,

Praying for deliverance.

Praying for sickness healed.

Praying for God’s power be revealed.

Praying for his kingdom come.

Praying that his will be done.

That list covers basically every category of problems and concerns every Christian will ever have. Are we promised we will always get the answer we want? No. Even Jesus prayed to God the Father for something that didn’t happen as he hoped for. In Luke 22:42, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.” Jesus didn’t pray this because he was afraid to die. Jesus prayed this because he wanted more time to teach His disciples and anyone else who would listen. Jesus didn’t get the answer he asked for on this occasion. God the Father understood more than Jesus was allowed to see at this time. That is also true of us as well. God understands things in ways we simply cannot. That doesn’t necessarily make it any easier for us when we are going through tough times. Jesus understood God the Father could see all things clearer than he could, that is why he ended the prayer with, “But not my will but yours be done.”

As difficult as it is at times, that must be the believer’s attitude until our prayers are answered one way or another, we must be willing to do what the Lord is encouraging us to do in this song.

Don’t stop praying.

Don’t stop calling on Jesus’ name.

Keep on pounding on Heaven’s door.

Let our knees wear out the floor.

Don’t stop believing.

Cause mountains move a little faith

And your Father hears every word you're saying.

SO DON’T STOP PRAYING!

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

Sunday School 9:00

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

April 20 1:00 Decatur Poets (including Ruth), Decatur library

April 21 Blanket Sunday

April 24, 26, 27 7:00 pm Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor

Dreamcoat, CGHS and 2:00 on the 27th

April 27 10:00 – 12:15 District Creation Care Event—virtual—2

workshop opportunities--more info to come

April 28 3:00 here Traughber Pie Party—bring a pie and enjoy

pie and fellowship. RSVP by April 21 to 217-855-4961

Camp Emmanuel registration is open. Schedule is on the

bulletin board. Work week begins April 20.

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

Donation Box for April: Camp Emmanuel

First Sundays: Food Bank donations

Keep in Your Prayers

Shirley Clarkson; Martha Wood; Mike Roach; Dave White; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Ava; Nora Hanaver; Larry Traxler; Randy and Michelle West; Mike Gentry; Eli Brunner;

Nancy Fansler; Doug Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Debbie

Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Mike and Carol

Seidenstricker; Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Mayo & Darlene

Hanaver; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests;

victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian

church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Israel, Iran, and the Palestinians

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the District Ministry Leadership

Development Team and for the clergy retreat this week.