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From The Pastor

January 24, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

From the Pastor

“With A Little Help from My Friends”

In the old TV show, “The Wonder Years,” the theme song begins with Joe Cocker singing, “What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song, I will try not to sing out of key. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. All I need is my buddies . . . I’m gonna to try with a little help from my friends.”

In Mark 2 (which we will be talking about this Sunday in worship), Four men plan to drag their paralyzed friend on his mat to a house where Jesus is teaching. They can scarcely recall how long their friend has been confined to that mat, unable to work or walk. They have helped him, as they were able, and when they were able, but never satisfied that they had done enough, and always wishing that they could do more. But Jesus can! They had heard what he had done before. They knew he had the power to heal. And knowing that Jesus was back in their town, they gather and make a plan.

Such is the nature of the Church. We do for others what they cannot do for themselves. And when we reach our limits we look to Jesus, trusting him to do what only he can do. To belong to a community of faith is a powerful experience, because it means that there are others who believe even when our own faith is weak and wavering. People pray for us when we can barely utter a prayer ourselves, or we simply don’t how to pray or what to pray for. They take us to Jesus when we can’t seem to get to him on our own.

As I think about the church, a good question to ask is, what is its purpose? What is it for? Why do we need it? One answer, and it’s a very compelling answer, — is that a church exists to bring people to Jesus Christ. This might mean bringing an outsider into the community. It might mean helping a friend to find the wholeness they cannot find alone. It might be coming along side someone who is lonely, and just being with them in their time of need. I believe that Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church can be that for you, and I pray that Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church will be that for you.

Pastor John

Quote of the Week

“The voice of sin is loud, but the voice of forgiveness is louder.” Dwight Moody

Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 22, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with the Holiness Movement, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts (now Northfield Mount Hermon School), Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publisher s