Tim Harlow

Happy ????? Halloween???

It’s a weird one isn’t it? Should Christians celebrate Halloween?

It started as a very pagan holiday there is no doubt about it. Then Christianity tried to turn it into All Saints day, or All Hallows Day. Which led to Hallow Eve…. And on to Halloween. You can read a lot of ideas from a lot of different people online about how we should deal with it.

I’ll just tell you what came up in my quiet time this morning and you can do what you want.

Psalm 97:10-12

¹⁰ Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. ¹¹ Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. ¹² Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.

I didn’t even remember that it was Halloween, honestly. That one just popped in there like it was God wanting to remind me (and you) of something.

Evil is why Jesus had to die.

My New Testament reading right now is one of the crucifixion accounts. You want a horror story? There you go. Watch the “Passion of the Christ” tonight if you want to be horrified. This scripture says that God guards the hearts of the faithful and delivers us. We get light and joy – “you who are righteous.”

I’ll admit to you that I’m just not a horror flick kind of guy. They always feel “dark.” I don’t like “dark” movies. I don’t like “dark.” I want a movie where the people fall in love and the good guys win (and the bad guys get blown up – I’m still a guy).

So here is my take on Halloween.

The dark stuff is bad. We are supposed to hate evil (which probably even means when the bad guys get blown up, but leave me alone). So the evil part of Halloween is something Christians should definitely “hate.” Those are God’s words.

BUT – I also don’t like it when Christians throw the baby out with the bathwater (and who made that expression up – did someone actually do that once?)

Halloween can be an opportunity for us to be “in the world and not of it.”

Who's Making Your Dinner Arrangements?

This really struck me in my reading this week. It’s funny how you can find new things in the passages you’ve read so many times.

¹³ So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” Mark 14:13-15 (NIV)

Jesus had everything prepared supernaturally for the last supper to happen. It’s not a new thought, really, as much as it is that we are usually focused differently when we read this.

What struck me about the passage is that this is the difference between having Jesus work out your plans – or you working out your own plans.

It reminded me that Jesus is able to do things that we can’t do. It’s not really a big deal either. It’s just a room with food.

But it’s another example of those ‘God-incidences” that are too amazing to be co-incidences.

Go – you will find a free room and dinner is waiting. He can make dinner reservations and have the food there and ready for free. I mean, he did it for 5,000+ with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

Giving It All

The part of last week’s sermon that people seem to keep coming back to me and telling me was most helpful (which of course was not mine) was the two word question that John Ortberg asked, “then what?” (That and the part about me being offered drugs in the Bahamas).

Then what? After you get that car or that house or that television set or that vacation or that retirement – then what?

As we’ve been thinking about our stewardship and the way we live, I do think that that contentment is a big part of the picture. Our life on this earth is such a brief speck in eternity. And then we get to live for the rest of forever.

That’s why Jesus told us:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)

In “Forever” we will understand the true meaning of everything. The true value of everything. And I’m pretty sure we’ll all be wishing we’d been better stewards of the things God has given us.

Giving All to Jesus

It was a great weekend honoring Denise’s parent’s 50th anniversary. It was fun to have almost everyone in the family there and get to see the church people and relatives and friends that they have made in 50 years of life together. They are an amazing couple and I’m very grateful to the example they have shown to all of their children in marriage and ministry.

Then we took them on a 4 night Caribbean Cruise and it was a fantastic trip. The weather was great, and the trip was really fun. You eat too much on those things, but it was a great time and they really enjoyed it.

And then Doug (Denise’ brother) and Patti are starting this weekend with a new church in St. Louis - Wildwood Christian Church. They had been in Mexico, Missouri for 14 years and felt God working things out for them to move to this area of St. Louis and fill God’s call for them there. Would you pray for them as they move and as Doug preaches for the first time this Sunday at this new church? Pray for God to bless the church and ministry like he has here. There are plenty of people who need Jesus, and Doug and Patti have great gifts to bring to this wonderful opportunity.

So I am preaching about “Jesus and the Dead Presidents” this weekend. That’s slang for money. It was interesting as I was reading the word for myself this morning that I found Jesus talking about money and giving.

Hopes and Dreams from Kenya...

I thought you all might enjoy the following update regarding the kids in Kenya that our church supports through Christian Missionary Fellowship.

I also wanted to remind you about the Super Saturday Bash this Saturday after the 5:00 service. We're going to be showing the family movie "Cars!" It will be a great opportunity to just hang out. Just bring a blanket and some snacks...we'll provide the drinks. Signup now!

Tim

Excerpted from a letter from Linda Brock, Assoc. in Urban Poor Ministries with CMF International

This summer, CMF added two US churches to their partnership program in Kenya (one of these being Parkview). There are now almost 1400 children from the slums of Nairobi that are being sponsored! They are ready to begin their last term of school for this year.

Summer was a time of visitors and work teams for the Hope Partnership ministries in Nairobi. One of them was Doug Germann, CMF Director of Finance, who just returned from Kenya. He was able to make a stop in the slums and visit some of the children. He saw firsthand the hope that these children have. He asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up. Some of the answers he got were pilot, brain surgeon, teacher, and one child even said he wanted to be President of Kenya. They have a future to dream about now that was not there a few years ago. Your gifts and love have made a difference to them.

Happy Saturday!!

I hope it’s as beautiful where you are as it is here.

I’m down in God’s country – beautiful southern Missouri – to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bond between Denise’s parents. We have her family all here and people from Oklahoma and all over coming in. My parents came down with us (because the weird thing is they knew each other before Denise and I did). Rachel is in and almost all the cousins.

Please pray for Haydn as he finishes up the “Why” series with “Why the Bible?” He had a concussion a few weeks ago in a car wreck and he needs our prayers. That just means that right now he’s only 5 times smarter than me, instead of the normal 10. Pray for him – the service and the sermon are awesome. I’ve had the previews. Don’t avoid the weekend because I’m not there. That ticks me off!

I’m just reflecting today. 50 years is amazing. In this day and age, 50 is amazing. Don and Carol were both part of a legacy of Christian Faith that was passed down to them. Then they started their own. I know that children all have free will and some of them make unfortunate choices (like Satan did for example), but the legacy here is pretty remarkable. All three of their children have not only been faithful in starting their own legacies, but they are all still in full time ministry. All nine of the grandchildren are in, or moving towards some kind of ministry.

Refreshment From Above

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. 8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. 9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

It’s just a beautiful Psalm for the end of your week. It’s not about the physical place where God is, it’s just about being close to God. It’s a great song we sing from this scripture – “Better is one day in your house.” He says “I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of MY God, than hang out with the homies.”

He’s actually jealous of the sparrows that get to nest at the house of God, because they are always in His presence.

But the interesting part of this one for me was the whole pilgrimage thing.

This Weekend...Why Jesus?

“How do you follow up that weekend?” is the question I’ve heard a million times this week. It was one of the most amazing services ever! People told me they left “tired” because of the sensory overload. There were amazing elements to make last week work. Nick did a great job of showing us God through adversity (See video.) The “Hands In Praise” group showed us how to allow God to use whatever gifts we have available to use. And I know that we sponsored many children in the Deaf ministry in Jamaica.

Beautifully, we also had the largest non-holiday crowd ever – by 500 or something like that (4700+), and I say “beautifully” because it was a great service for so many to hear AND we got everyone in!

We had 600 extra people come on Saturday night. And if that hadn’t happened, we would have been in trouble. So thank you to those of you who came on Saturday and those who shuttled because you made room for a bunch of extra people. Please do it again! Tivo the Cubs game and come out – maybe they will win if you have the right kind of devotion :-)

How do we follow it up? With another amazing service answering the most important question – “Why Jesus?” Trust me when I say this – you do not want to miss this weekend either! It’s the most important question.

It’s crazy what God is doing here. Outreach Magazine just came out with their list of largest and fastest growing churches in America. According to their measurements, Parkview is the 86th fastest growing church in the country! (See Corrected List .)

There are many ways of looking at that statistic. If our first goal is to “Reach people for Jesus,’ then as long as most of those people aren’t jumping ship from another church – this is good news.

But growth can bring problems, too, and we realize that “larger isn’t always better.” There is a large number of Packer fans, and that doesn’t make it right.

We Aren't the Only Christians

Wow, last weeks service was amazing. Many people said it was one of the best–

But that was last week – and you can’t believe how amazing “Why Jesus” is going to be this week.

I wish it was happening right now.

Please invite every person who still has a breath to be here to understand WHY WE NEED JESUS!

I’ve been at a set of meetings in Cincinnati to plan the North American Christian Convention. I’m on the executive committee for this year which means we plan the events for this convention which happens in early July. It’s always a fun time to be with these guys. They are my peers and friends. The meetings are… meetings, so I don’t always sit through them all well.

The convention is an interesting story. We are a non-denominational church but we are a part of a group of churches. Actually a “movement.” Which is to say that we’re tied together with about 5,000 churches in the United States and with churches and missions organizations all over the world. We are completely autonomous but we do have a common heritage and common bond with other “Christian Churches” around the globe.

This convention has served to kind of keep us bonded for the last many years. But it’s not going well. It’s gotten expensive and the attendance has been less than stellar. Some poor planning, some tough locations, and the fact that people have a lot of options have put us in the place where we all are wondering if it’s going to make it. It’s a shame. I’ve been to this convention 42 times out of the 46 years I’ve been alive. My mom was carrying me in the womb the year before I joined the planet. We went as a family every year, and we still do. It’s why I missed the 4th of July parade last year (and probably will this year – speaking of poor planning). It’s a chance to see old friends and classmates and a time to be encouraged in ministry. I will miss it if it doesn’t make it. It was a real key part of keeping me in ministry in the tough early years. And I wonder what will happen to our connection with our sister churches.