2012.05.28 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

Last Monday I wrote about loneliness in our American society.  Sixty million Americans are unhappy with their lives because of l.

Being alone is not necessarily being lonely.  We all need time to be alone.  Jesus often took time to be alone to refresh his spirit, to relax his body, before returning to engagement with people.

It is when we sever connections with others that loneliness grips us.  To move from being alone to connection with God and people is to overcome loneliness.

It is interesting that in the Genesis account of creation God said "It is good" after each act. (Read Genesis chapter 1)  It is after God created a man (Adam) that God for the time time said "it is not good"...it is not good that a person live without connection.

How can we overcome loneliness?  By being connected with people and causes that are important.  The by-product of connections is happiness and loneliness runs away.

Rabbi Gafni, in his book Soul Prints, reminds us that happiness cannot be pursued for its own sake.  We must pursue goals other than happiness and as a by-product of our pursuit, we will be happy and loneliness will dissolve.

How much time do you spend exchanging your deepest thoughts and aspirations with another person?  How much time do you give in sharing your talents with others?  

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

Church email: pilgrimpresby@sbcglobal.net

On Sunday, June 3 join us for a family meal following morning worship.    Ken Bailey will be our guest minister.  Ken is the brother of Bow Bailey.  He and his wife Jeannie will be here to share our meal. 

Red Morris is barbecuing pulled pork and the congregation is asked to bring salads and desserts.

2012.05.7 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

Last week I recommended a book, Soul Prints*(See note Below), by Rabbi Marc Gafni and quoted his word about happiness. Today, I share a story from Soul Prints*. I hope you'll feel "the tug" of its meaning for your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

"It was Timothy's twelfth birthday. He had saved up enough money to buy himself a present...a big red kite. The happiest kid in the world, he went out and began to fly his new kite.

"There were great winds that day, and he let out some string, and a little more string, and a little more, until the kite was so high and far away you couldn't even see it anymore. When you looked at the boy, all you could see was a happy kid running with a string in his hand.

"A very respectable and rational looking man in a business suit came upon the boy and stopped him. 'Son, what are you doing?' he asked.

"What do you mean, sir?" Timothy asked. "I'm flying a kite!"

"Flying a kite? What do you mean? I don't see a kite. You don't see a kite. How do you know there's a kite?"

Timothy looked at the man very gravely. "I know there's a kite, sir - because I can feel the tug."

Do you feel the tug of Christ?

With blessings and in friendship.

Richard

Next Sunday, May 13 is Mother's Day. We will celebrate all Mothers and the graduation of Madison Kroll and Caitlyn Spurgeon with cake and punch in the church kitchen. Craig Kilgour will be here to conduct the morning worship service. He is the pastor from New Zealand. Please plan to attend and help us celebrate.

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Notes:

* If you are interested in more information on this book, please follow the link below. It is the personal web site of Rabbi Marc Gafni. It has a lot of information on Self Development!

Also as an avid fan of audio books, I have included a link to the Audio Book of Soul Prints below as well. It is read by the author and includes some of the songs he sings. This is something you can't get from the print edition! Enjoy both!


-Brian

Link To Soul Prints Web Site of Marc Gafni

Soul Prints available at Audible

2012.04.30 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in Vinita, Oklahoma.

In the 1990's, my wife, Helen and I lived in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico, where I served as a "volunteer in mission" at an English speaking congregation, "The Little Chapel".

One Sunday morning I met a couple from North Carolina, snowbirds" as winter visitors were called.  Two weeks later I received a book from the couple, Soul Prints, by Rabbi Marc Gafney, an American living in Jerusalem.

I don't expect that I'll ever see this couple, but I'll be thankful as long as I live for their gracious gift.  

Soul Prints is a book which I highly recommend.

If, as I believe, most people do what they do in hope of finding happiness, in finding some sense of well being described by the word happiness.

Rabbi Gafney struck a deep chord in me when he wrote "happiness cannot be pursued...happiness is only achievable as a by-product of the pursuit of important goals - goals other than happiness itself."

Reading this, I remembered a line from Robert Burns that goes something like this:

"Believe me, happiness is shy,  And comes not aye when sought, man."

There are two pearls of wisdom for you to think about today.

If all we do is done for ourselves and our own, life becomes increasingly empty.

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

The Reverend Nancy Covington will be in the pulpit this Sunday, May 6.  Communion will be served.

Keith Cresap is Worship Assistant.    The following Sunday, May 13 we celebrate the high school graduations of Madison Kroll land Caitlyn Spurgeon.  Also, we celebrate Mother's Day.

2012.03.19 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

Today, I want to share with you an old Chinese story about a woman whose only son died.  In her grief, she went to a holy man and said:

"What prayers do you have for me?  I am filled with resentment.  I cannot accept this bereavement."

Instead of sending her away with pious words, or trying to reason with her, he gave her something to do.  He said:

"Fetch me a mustard seed from a house that has never known sorrow.  We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life."

The woman set off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a mansion, knocked at the door and said:

"I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow.  Is this such a place?  It is very important to me."

They told her, 

"You've certainly come to the wrong place..."

and they began to describe all the tragic things that had befallen them.

The woman said to herself, 

"Who is better to help these unfortunate people than I?"

She stayed to comfort them, then she went on her search for a home that had never known sorrow.  But wherever she turned, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune.

Ultimately, she became so involved in ministering to other people's grief that she forgot about the quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had in fact eased the sorrow of her life.

What do you make of this ancient story?

For me, Rabbi Marc Gafni in his book Soul Prints (which I highly recommend) is on target when he wrote:

"When we pursue happiness, it always runs away from us.  Instead, we must pursue goals other than happiness, and as a natural by product of that pursuit we will be happy."

Joy, Serenity are available when we actively seek something else - they are not the primary goals.

With blessings and in friendship.
Richard  

Jeff Francis will be in the pulpit on Sunday March 25.