Read this form to see what the Pastoral Nominating Committee is focusing on as we seek a new pastor.
Wilderness
Sermon Series: 1/7/1999 - 2/7/1999
Have you ever been in wilderness training? If you have you will never forget it. Wildernesses come in different forms. There are wildernesses of place and wildernesses of the spirit. There are the wildernesses of loneliness, discouragement, depression, disease, disobedience, and preparation. I expect that you have been in wilderness training, even if it wasn't on an 'Outward Bound' type of adventure. We will enter six such wildernesses in this new winter series. We must remember this about our wilderness times: God is working in all of them. We must not limit our wildernesses to places like the Adirondacks or the Sahara. One may be in a wilderness in the middle of a city, on a bustling campus, in a crowded factory, in a sweaty gymnasium, or in a busy church. I was seated in the Palace Theatre last October 23rd listening to Michael Card sing. As well as enjoying his music, I found his comments between songs to be profound. It wasn't the usual filler stuff, but insightful comments into the nature of God and of life. One insight grabbed my soul. He said that his study of the Bible led him to see that one trait common to the people God used in the Bible is that they all went through a wilderness. I began thinking: Abraham and Sarah leaving their home to cross an unnamed wilderness, wondering where it would lead them; Moses and the Israelites spending 40 years in the wilderness between Egypt and Israel, wondering if ever it would end; Elijah experiencing the wilderness of loneliness and depression, wondering if he was the only faithful one left; Mary and Elizabeth in the wilderness of seclusion wondering how God would work in their unexpected pregnancies; Paul spending three years in the Arabian wilderness before going to Jerusalem to begin his apostolic ministry; and Jesus beginning his public ministry in a wilderness of severe testing. In the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible there are 139 uses of the phrase, \in the wilderness.\ The word \wilderness\ occurs 297 times. Wilderness is part of biblical reality. So grab your wilderness gear and journey with us, and with the Lord.
