2012.04.16 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

Holy Week, the most significant week of the Christian calendar, is a drama that portrays life in three acts.

Jesus endured the stress of his arrest and trial, and then was hoisted to a cross to hang in excruciating  pain.  To be sure he was dead, soldiers, with a spear, pierced his side.  Then he was laid in a borrowed tomb, sealed by a large boulder.

The world of his disciples, and those earliest followers of Jesus, collapsed.  When the women went to the tomb on Easter morning to annoint his dead body they found the tomb was empty.  They discovered that Jesus was alive, their Lord and Master was free.

When the disciples got this report, they dismissed it as an idle tale.  But after the report of the women was confirmed, they came alive again!  Jesus was risen from the dead.  Jesus was free!  With that good news, the spirit of the disciples was restored.

How often are you really down?  When everything seems to go wrong, when you are disappointed, when you are in the pits,  Jesus comes with a helpful word or a kind act and you are inspired again.

Let Easter be your year round experience.  Through us, Jesus wants to work to help people, to free people, to cheer the lonely and to heal the afflicted, and to guide the lost.

God needs each of us and we can be joined in a partnership with God, through the living Christ.  Let's not run away from the important part we have in God's plan.

With blessings and fond regards,

Richard

******************

Bingo at Burroughs Manor Sat. April 21 - 2:00 - 3:00

Helpers are needed

The Reverend Craig Gibson will be in the pulpit this Sunday April 22

(we refer to him as the one who brings his kids)

Please plan to attend.

Attendance April 1 -- 31

April 8 (Easter) -- 79

April 15 -- 32

　

2012.02.06 Monday Morning Message

　
Greetings and best wishes from all of us at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Vinita, Oklahoma.  

It may be a sign of old age, but I know that life's arithmetic means that for every new year we celebrate, we can subtract a year from our life.


That sounds pessimistic, but what I mean to say is don't wait too long to do what you want to do.


In too many simple things we wait too long to do them.

• Don't wait too long to show kindness.
• Don't wait too long to speak or write a word of encouragement.
• Don't wait too long to express your love and thanks to elderly relatives.
• Don't wait too long to love and enjoy your children and grandchildren.
• Don't wait too long to read the books and listen to the music that enlarges your mind.
• And of course, don't wait too long to practice a daily quiet time when you strengthen your inner spirits.

Life goes by quickly.   Don't wait too long to do the things you want to do!


With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

"The PAST is where you

learned the lesson

The FUTURE is where you

apply the lesson.

Don't give up the Middle!"

2012.01.23 Monday Morning Message

Message from the archives of Richard Evans:

2009.06.22 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
It's strange to me how intelligent people can believe our every moment is predestined by God. Such fatalism ought be wiped from the mind. God has established laws within creation, and one is the law of cause and effect. An airplane crash, in which more than 200 people are killed, is not the purposeful will of God.

We need only reread the book of Job, who asked: "Shall we receive good at the hand of God and bless him for that good...and then turn around and blame God for the bad things that come upon us?"

Job, who at times prospered and was blessed with a loving wife and children, at other times suffered more than anyone ought to endure, was prepared to live with unanswered questions.

There was one thing Job could affirm and that is that nothing can separate all creation, and that includes you and me, from the love of God.

Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.


Richard

 

2011.12.12 Monday Morning

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma, at America's crossroads, on historic Route 66.

 

My Christmas message is simple and direct:  your life in Christ, and Christ's life in you, will change your very being for the better!

 

It is this affirmation that Dickens, in A Christmas Carol, wrote a classic story that is a favorite around the world.  It is beloved because it is a story of hope.

 

You may remember that Ebenezer Scrooge is pictured as a wealthy man who employs his nephew, Fred, at pitiful poor wages, supported a joyful, closely bonded family, including a handicapped son.

 

By every reasonable standard Scrooge should have been on top of the world.  He wasn't!  And, the clerk's family should have been miserable.  They were not!

 

Dickens implied that faith makes the difference.  Faith has its own ability to change a person for the better.  In this dramatic story, Scrooge was confronted with two facts:

1. The fact of Christmas - the fact that God has come to dwell with us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth;
   
2. and the fact of his own selfishness. 

Scrooge had to choose which of those two facts he was going to embrace.  After intense struggle, Ebenezer scrooge consciously chose to embrace the fact of Christmas - God with us.  The result of that choice was a remarkable, dramatic change in his life.

 

Jesus - God with us - does change lives.  What are some of the enduring changes we cherish as Christians?

The power of compassion, the healing of forgiveness, the transforming power of love, the energizing power of prayer and the sustaining power of faith.

 

With fond regards and all good wishes for a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Richard

2011.12.05 Monday Morning

Pilgrim Presbyterians in Vinita, Oklahoma send greetings and best wishes as you make your Advent journey to the Cradle of the Christ child.

 

Announcing the birth of Jesus, an angel said "I bring you good tidings of great joy"  (Luke 2:10).  Today, the good tidings are communicated by you, and people like you, who are aglow in faith, strong in hope, love and kindness.

 

Often the good tidings are communicated by people who see themselves as co-workers with God in our secular world.  Do you remember Pogo, or Peanuts, or Mr. Rogers?  They were full of good tidings.

 

I remember once when Charlie Brown and Lucy were leaning against a tree, and Lucy asked, "What do you think security is, Chuck?"

 

He replied, "Security is sleeping in the back seat of the car when you're a little kid and you've been somewhere with your Mom and Dad, and it's night.  You're riding and you can sleep without worrying about anything.  Your Mom and Dad are in the front seat, and they've done all the worrying.  They take care of everything."

 

Lucy smiled and said, "That's really neat!"  But a serious look came over Charlie's face and he said:  "But it doesn't always last.  Suddenly you've grown up, and it can never be that way again.  Suddenly it's over and you'll never go to sleep in the back seat.  Never!"

 

Lucy got a scared look and said, "Never?"  And Charlie who got scared himself with a terrible truth said "Never!"

 

In the last picture Lucy, aware of the real world, reaches over to Charlie and said, "Hold my hand, Chuck.  Hold my hand."

 

The good tidings - the gospel of Jesus Christ - tells us that we can hold one another's hand in the midst of discomfort - with love and support, for Christ has come to dwell in us and we are his co-workers in life's adventure.

 

With blessings and in friendship,

 

Richard

2011.9.19 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

In tennis "love" stands for zero, no score. According to ASK OXFORD, the use of the word "love" originated from the phrase "love of the game."  Win or lose, tennis is played for the love of it.

In his definitive love chapter (1 Corinthians 13), Paul writes "love keeps no score of wrongs."  Isn't that wonderful? Love is not a system of book keeping.  Too many people keep a list of wrongs, imagined or real, and in a fit of anger unload the whole list on an unsuspecting spouse, family member or friend, none of whom realize that their words and actions were being documented.

Tension is part of every relationship, but tension can be good if it moves people into dialogue with one thoughts break open boundaries we may have placed on love.

We are not required to like everyone.  We may disagree with one another, but genuine love keeps no score of wrongs.   Play for the love of the game and live for the love of life.

Cheers and best wishes,

Richard

-

2011.8.15 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

After retiring from a full time pastorate, I served Grace Presbyterian Church, Grove, Oklahoma, as a part time temporary pastor.  One summer, Bruce Lietzke, son of a beloved member of Grace Church, won the U. S. Open Golf Tournament for Seniors.  The entire community was excited and proud.  Bruce is a pro, and one of the best golfers in the country.

 

I have a lot of good friends, whom I like a lot, but they must be among the worst golfers on the planet.  Still they go back to the links time and time again.  WHY?

 

I think I've found the answer:

Even the best golfer can once in awhile play a shot that Bruce Lietske, or even Tiger Woods, would be proud to make.  And so, it seems to me, that even the poorest golfers are upheld by the hope of being NOT what they are at their worst, but what they are at their best.  Isn't that true of life, too?

 

Here is a suggestion to help you grasp the moment when you are at your best. Begin each day, even before popping out of bed, by saying this little prayer: 

LORD, HELP ME TO BE TODAY WHAT I AM AT MY BEST.

 

Don't be satisfied with yourself or with things the way they are.  Aim to be at your best and you'll never lose hope that you can be better.  When you strive to be your best, you'll be an effective instrument of God's love and a source of encouragement to others.

 

Never lose Hope!

Cheers,

Richard

 

   

2011.4.18 Monday Morning

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
If you were on vacation in July or August and went to a nearby church on Sunday morning you might be surprised to hear the congregation singing "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today."
 
Yet, if we believe that Jesus Christ is risen and living then every Sunday commemorates the Resurrection of our Lord, and all of our life is lived in his presence.  That's Easter faith!
 
Easter faith is living in close companionship with Jesus. It is a faith of action more than words, of deeds rather than doctrines.  It is not restricted to one Sunday a year.
 
For me, at least, there are two high-water marks in the Bible that sum up an authentic Easter faith!
 
   First, Micah 6:8.  The prophet asks

"What does God require?"

Answering his own question, he says:

"to be just...to love kindness...to walk humbly with God."

   
    Second, Mark 12:28-34:  Jesus said

"You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

    We may not like all our 'neighbors', but we are to love even those whom
    we dislike - we are to do them no harm.
 
Peace and goodwill,
Richard
 

 

2011.4.11 Monday Morning

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
Early in the morning of April 5, 2011, Helen, my wife and best friend for more than 60 years, died peacefully in her sleep.  Today, I share with you a poem and words from St. Paul (Romans 8:38-39).
 
The poem, "Closing Prayer", was written by Jean W. Wood, a member of the Jermain Memorial Presbyterian Church, Watervliet, N. Y., where I served as pastor in the 1960's.
 
Closing Prayer
 
Consummate quietude
Unadorned silence
Soft Darkness
Tranquil light
Serenity
Stillness
Simplicity
Solitude
Soul-soothing peace -
my prayer
my gift
for you
for me
for all of us.
    Amen
 
And, from St. Paul these words of Easter faith:
                    "Nothing will be able to separate us
                      from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
 
With fond regards and in friendship,
 
Richard
 
www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com
 

2011.3.28 Monday Morning!

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

In the last three months our family has mourned the sudden deaths of two dear friends.  Both friends gave their hearts to Jesus Christ.  By their kind, gracious lives they declared and demonstrated Christ as a living power.

Their wholly unexpected deaths remind me of the impermanence of life.  As pilgrims on a journey, none of us is assured of tomorrow.  We live to the rhythm of life and death, of sorrow and joy.

The Tulsa World, a daily newspaper, devotes a page which is called "Our Lives."  On that page notices of birth and deaths, marriages and divorces are reported.  Behind each notice their is a case of human sorrow and human joy.

No one can escape from this rhythm of life.  Know that we are not permanent residents on earth, but pilgrims of eternity.

Know, too, that Christ is with us on our pilgrimage.  Christ gives us his life, his spirit, his love, joy and peace.

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

2011.2.14 Monday Morning!

Valentine greetings!  Thank you for visiting our Pilgrim Presbyterian BLOG.  While buried in snow in Vinita, Oklahoma, our Valentine wishes for you are warm and sincere.

 

A young friend was quite upset when I saw her at a card shop in a Tulsa mall.  She didn't like the idea of having to buy a Valentine for her boss to send to his wife.

 

That is hardly a picture of the true meaning of this lovely, sentimental day.  I think it is important for children and adults to know and understand that love is something to count on within families and close circles of friends.  There is something amiss when one has to "farm out" genuine sentiment and love.

 

To forget to share, to communicate, individual love is a failure to express the deepest feelings of one's life.

 

It's Valentine's Day!  I hope you'll receive and give a true expression of individual love.

 

Richard

 

A PEARL OF VALUE

 

While we have loved ones, we ought

to tell them of our love and gratitude.

 

2011.1.10 Monday Morning!

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

A good friend in the congregation gave me a story called "Grandpa's Hands." It begins with Grandpa, some ninety plus years, staring quietly at his hands. His grand-daughter said: "I don't mean to disturb you, but you are just sitting here staring at your hands and I want to make sure you are ok."

"Have you ever looked at your hands?", Grandpa asked. The grand-daughter slowly looked at her hands and said, "No, I guess I've never really looked at them," trying to make out the point he was making.

"Stop and think for a moment about your hands and how they serve you," Grandpa said. Then he added: "My hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life." The story continues with Grandpa explaining the many, many ways his hands identified him and helped to serve God and others.

We often take for granted what we have until we lose them.

Look at what you have, not what you don't have, and give thanks.

Cheers,

Richard


A Pearl for the Week:

The Serenity Prayer

"O God, give me the serenity to accept

what cannot be changed, courage to change

what should be changed, and wisdom to

distinguish the one from the other."

2010.12.06 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

Do me a favor this week?  Will you read a story found in Matthew 25:1-13?  You may think it is an odd request for this Advent season, but, like all Bible stories it is a guide from which we can receive ancient wisdom into our life.

 

Five of the maidens discovered they could not borrow oil for their flickering lamps.  There are things in life we cannot borrow, and faith is one of them.  We can't live off the spiritual capital of someone else.

 

The birth of Jesus is an opportunity to rekindle connection to "God with us", and to the responsibilities those three little words place upon us.

 

God needs our services.  By our little and big acts at this season - by writing cards and notes to friends from the past, by visiting a shut-in, by phoning a lonely person, we affirm our contact to "God with us."  We become God's instruments of love and friendship.

 

Share the depth of your spiritual capital.

 

Cheers,

Richard

 

2010.10.04 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
Some of you reading this Monday Morning Message know little or nothing about our Church. Did a mutual friend invite you to visit our blog? A big thanks to whoever that might be! I hope you'll return next week and that you'll invite someone else to be a part of our off-site/on-line outreach.

Our 128 year-old Church is a welcoming, healthy congregation. We know that no one lives by bread alone. From as long as we can go in history, human beings have exhibited a need for religion. Cave drawings indicate that ancients worshiped one kind of deity or another.

For Christians, the development of religion reached its climax in Jesus of Nazareth. Revolting against hardened ritual and pious self-righteousness, Jesus showed us how to live in relation to God and toward one another. (Try reading John, chapter 15). Love is complex. For me, at least, its opposite is not hate but indifference. It's a lifetime task to ward off indifference!

Courage for today in your determination to overcome indifference!


Richard

2010.09.13 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma. It will be a good day if you put a smile on your face. Smiles rejuvenate tired spirits and lost happiness.

A happy life is God's will for you! William Barclay, a beloved New Testament professor at Trinity College, Glasgow, Scotland, wrote "For a happy life three things are necessary: Something to hope for. Something to do. Someone to love."

He then went on to write a timely message for today:

"Something to hope for: The beginning of the end of life is when we live in memory rather than in hope; when our memories are an escape from prison rather than a stimulus for further living.

"Something to do: Anyone who can look to days of unemployment or a time of enforced inactivity, when the hours seem slow and empty, knows that work is not a curse but a blessing.

"Someone to love: When love enters life there comes a new thrill, a new awareness of possibilities undreamed of. When love is born, life and the world are renewed."

Give thanks for the influence of those who have blessed your life, and then live usefully, with hope and love.


Richard

2010.06.07 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
One of the best known teachings of Jesus is the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In the preface to the story (verse 27) we read these familiar words "You shall love the Lord your God...and your neighbor as yourself."
 
How much in you is loveable?  Take a good look into your soul.  What do you find loveable about yourself?  What do you find that's not so loveable?
 
Now, take this little quiz:
1.Do you love being treated justly, fairly?
2.Do you love being treated with kindness?
3.Do you walk humbly with God, or do you have a "know it all" attitude?
 
No one can like everyone.  But if we love justice, if we strive to be kind, and if we walk in humility before God, we will learn to love others, and not throw obstacles in the way of even those people we don't like.
 
Let's try to act on those three requirements - justice, kindness and humility - and not react to the annoying words which come from people we don't like.
 
 
Richard
 
 
PS:  To those participating in To Know My Bible - 101"study:
1.We've entered in our notebooks our favorite verses and passages.  I've shared mine with you.  Please send me your list!
2.Our second exercise is to list Bible stories and characters.  I've suggested readings from Genesis.  Soon we'll begin to list stories from Exodus, the era of Moses.  Go for it!

2010.05.24 Monday Morning!

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

George Bernard Shaw wrote that "the true joy in life is being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one." What lies nearest to your heart?

There is no mistaking what was nearest to the hearts of an early group of 120 followers of Jesus. They recognized their mighty purpose was to tell the story of the gospel to the world. Their passionate commitment to that MESSAGE resulted in a new MOVEMENT, the Christian Church.

The MESSAGE and the MOVEMENT go hand in hand. As Christians, our function is to be a finger, an arm, a signpost pointing to the MESSAGE of God and God's redemptive love.

Inward renewal and outgoing concern are decisive for the effectiveness of the MOVEMENT. The MESSAGE created the MOVEMENT, which confirms the MESSAGE and goes on to demonstrate that caring matters. We live to tell the story and to show how much God cares: "for God so loved the world that he gave..."

Do you remember "tell and show" days in school? Don't abandon those days in your adult life.


Cheers,

Richard

Mother's Day Announcement

2010.04.05 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

"The Lord takes pleasure in his people" - Psalm 149:4. That God delights in us is a neglected Bible insight. Whatever our gifts, great or small, when we exercise them to the full, God delights in us.

Sometimes we think our gifts are too little to be responsible for great things. Not true! in our personal lives little things play a greater role than we realize.

I have known single mothers who cared for their children, year after year, with inexhaustible love. I knew a delightful lady in my parish near Albany, NY who was stricken with polio. For years she had the 24/7 care and love of her husband and two teenage sons.

You know busy people with the capacity to bring cheer to the lonely and, who without being asked, reach out to help those in need.

Our little gifts give us an opportunity to do great things.

Cheers to you who are doing little things well. God delights in you!

Richard

2009.11.09 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

November 1, 2009 was All Saints Day. Half way through our worship in the sanctuary, we carpooled and went to Pheasant Hill Cemetery, about seven miles out of town.. There, in a beautiful site where founders of our Church are buried, we celebrated the Lord's Supper.

Those early pioneer Presbyterian missionaries, who had to know loneliness, privations, illness and discouragement, persevered in their work and gathered a congregation for worship in 1882.

My question to the present Pilgrim congregation is why did those missionaries - there were four of them - continue their work? Certainly they recognized the strategic importance of this territory, proving their foresight and wisdom. But that was not all. I suggested in a brief Communion meditation that the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 5:14) may be the key to the essence of their labor:

"For the love of Christ compels us..."

Christ's love is forceful, compelling. It is discovered when one lives and moves under the Banner of the Cross. May that love free you from dragging lethargy, from indifference, from drowsiness of spirit as you journey in this speedy world.

For the love of Christ, what are you compelled to do?


Fond regards,
Richard