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From The Pastor

February 14, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

From the Pastor

Having Valentine’s Day occur this week, I thought I would share a story that I heard. One day a little boy named Chad told his mother, “Mom, I want to make a valentine for every member of my class at school.” Chad’s mom was crestfallen because she knew that her little boy was quiet and shy and didn’t have any friends in his class. Every day she would look out the window and see the kids leaving school. All the popular kids were up front, talking and laughing together. And always, she saw her boy walking alone behind. She thought, “Oh, son, you’re setting yourself up for such a disappointment.” But, Chad wanted to make the valentines. So she bought the construction paper, the glue, the glitter, the little red hearts, and for the next three weeks, Chad spent every night painstakingly clipping away and making a special valentine for each of the 35 members of his class at school. The big day came, and he got the valentines, put them in a sack under his arm, and bounded out the door to school. As soon as he left, Mom started working on damage control. She thought he would get very few, if any, valentines, so she decided to bake his favorite cookies and have them ready to come out of the oven to go with a big glass of milk as soon as he got home.

After school when she looked out the window, all the popular kids were together, laughing and talking as they walked down the street carrying their valentines. Right behind was Chad, walking by himself, hands empty. As he walked in the house, she was standing by the door, and she said, “Honey, I’ve got some cookies for you.” But he didn’t listen. He bounded right past her, and she heard him say, “Not even one. Not even one.” She got tears in her eyes. Then she heard the next thing he said. “I didn’t forget even one. I didn’t forget even one.”

This Sunday, we are looking at the third in my sermon series on the 7 Deadly Sins, — the sin of Anger. The answer to anger is the attitude of little Chad in the story. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as in Christ, God has forgiven you.” The answer to anger is Jesus Christ! It’s taking off the old, and putting on the new. It is knowing that even at our very worst, God has forgiven us, and now He commands us to loving, kind, compassionate, and forgiving to others as well.

Pastor John

Quote of the Week

“Do not say, ‘I cannot help having a bad temper.’ Friend, you must help it. Pray to God to help you overcome it at once, for either you must kill it, or it will kill you. You cannot carry a bad temper into heaven.” Charles Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day.