Blissfield Emmanuel UMC

VBS is August 17-21. Click here for all the details!

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

-Deuteronomy 31:8

I found this verse quite comforting as I read it as part of a devotional a few weeks back. I was right smack in the middle of uprooting the life I had known and grown quite comfortable in. These words, which are attributed to Moses, talk about someone who left his “comfortable” life for something else entirely. He was directing his words at Joshua (as well as the rest of the people) who God had chosen as Moses’ successor in leading the nation of Israel, another individual who was being given an awesome responsibility. But one thing remained true    regardless of who was leading the people, God was with them. Isn’t it reassuring to know that the Lord is with us as we set out on any journey. We are also offered reassurance because we know that our God will not fail us or forsake us. While it isn’t always easy to push those fears of the unknown aside, we are told to do so because, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.”

I would also like to take just a moment to thank everyone here at Emmanuel for welcoming me and my family to Blissfield. We have appreciated the encouraging words and especially your prayers as we have relocated with our two little ones. We are very much looking forward to finally getting settled in to our new life and living, worshipping and serving with all of you.

God Bless,

Devin

Jeremiah 29:11-12

11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.

God is good!

The past 2+ years have done nothing but confirm this more and more.  For those of you who I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Devin Smith and it is my honor to be the new Pastor here at Emmanuel.  I have had the pleasure of working with two gentleman that you all know, Pastor Aaron Kesson and Pastor Zack Dunlap.  Both of them have had a large impact on my life and my faith.  It is a great honor to follow in their footsteps here at Emmanuel and to continue the work that God has called us all to.

While I have been involved with the Church in various capacities over the years I am very  excited for this next step in my call.  Just a few years ago I never imagined that I would find myself preparing to transition to full time ministry but God has a plan for each of us.  Often while we are busy making our grand plans God has something different in mind.  My        challenge for all of us at Emmanuel is to be open to God’s call on your life.  While it likely is not going to come from a burning bush or a heavenly chorus of angels take time to listen this day and you may find an exciting new plan waiting for you.

We truly serve an awesome God and I am excited about all that He has planned for us here at Emmanuel.

God Bless,

Pastor Devin

VBS is August 17-21. Click here for all the details!

Dearest friends,

Over the past 2 ½ years, I have come to know and love you.  It’s hard to believe that this is my last month at Emmanuel.  Together, we’ve seen growth in attendance, membership, and giving.  We’ve tackled building improvements and have seen God bring about transformation in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.  All I can say after these 2 ½ years is this – God is good!

God was at work here at Emmanuel long before I arrived on the scene, and God will    continue to be at work as I depart and Pastor Devin Smith arrives.  Please welcome Devin, Brittany, and their two children into this church and into your lives.  I know that pastoral transition is hard, but I also know that the Smiths are talented, loving, and      devoted to God.  Love them, and let them love you in return.

There is no limit to what God can bring about here – in this place and among these     people.  Remember, it’s not about you – it’s about loving God, loving others, and making disciples of Jesus Christ.  For this we labor, for this we strive, for this we pray.

God has great plans for Emmanuel.  And though God can certainly bring about the       miraculous on his own, God tends to work and act through people who humbly submit to his will and passionately fulfill their callings.

Mordecai famously told Esther in Esther 4:14, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Brothers and sisters, God will bring about his good, pleasing, and perfect purposes with or without us.  But by his grace, God invites us to be a part of the action.  Remember who you are.  Be faithful to the calling you’ve received.

May grace and peace abound in you and through you.

Until we meet again,

Pastor Zack

Hear the word of the Lord from First John 4:7-11 –

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

There you have it!  The gospel message summed up in a few sentences.  It’s all about love – the action that Christ has taken on our behalf and the action that we take in response.  Love is the distinguishing mark of a true follower of Christ.  In John’s words, “everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”  Do you know God?  If so, how’s your love life?

No, I don’t mean if you’ve found the perfect match on eHarmony.  Perfect love is found only in Christ, and in the life of love that we live in response to the experience of Christ’s love.  Do people know you are a Christian by the way you love others?  Are they    astounded by the care and compassion you show, not only to your brothers and sisters, but to the least, the lost, the forgotten?

If there is one thing we can do to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ – in word and deed – it’s by showing radical love to the world around us.  Remember, friends, it’s not about our action.  It’s about the action that God is bringing about in and through us – in the power of his Spirit and in response to the radical self-sacrificing love of Christ.

Much love and many blessings,

Pastor Zack

Sisters, Brothers, Friends,

Christ is risen!  Not only do we rejoice in this historic event – but in all that his resurrection means for the world and for our lives.  No longer are we separated from God; the  curtain has been torn in two and in Christ we have direct access to the Father.  “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Not only has the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection brought us near to God, it has also reconciled us with one another.  “You who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has  destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:13-14).

Therefore, as resurrection people, let us draw near to God and encourage others to do the same.  Let us experience the fullness of God’s goodness and grant Him full authority over every area of our lives.  Let us serve with passion, dedication, and love.  And let us be about our Father’s business – the business of breaking downs walls of hostility and reconciling all things unto Himself.

Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Zack

Brothers, Sisters, Friends,

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about God’s faithfulness and the nature of our call.  All of us are called – we share the same primary calling, and each of us has various secondary callings.  You might be called to share the good news of    Jesus with a     particular friend or neighbor.  You might be called to be on the  Emmanuel prayer chain.  You might be called to teach children or adults, to repair cars, to collect canned goods for the food pantry, or to fix computers.

Maybe you’re in a place right now where you’re not doing what you feel “called” to do.  Perhaps life hasn’t turned out exactly how you pictured it going.  Don’t be discouraged; God still has a purpose and a plan.  And all of the various callings we have flow out of our first and foremost calling – the calling into          relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ.

When we are connected to God in Christ, the twists and turns of this life don’t have to be reason to lose heart.  Rather, they present opportunities for      ministry.  Maybe you’re confined to a room and you’re not able to get out and about like you used to – take this extra time to pray.  Maybe there’s too much month at the end of the money – plan, prepare, but also trust God and live generously.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful; by him you were called  into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  That’s it right there:  God is faithful.  You are called.  February is always a somewhat dreary and depressing month; don’t let it be so this year.  Live fully into the calling you have received, trusting in God’s faithfulness and looking for opportunities to be light and salt in a dark and icy month.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Pastor Zack

Members and Friends,

A new year is upon us – one more year to grow closer to God and to one another, one more year to reach out in love and concern to those around us, one more year to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do, and one more year to better understand the depth of God’s radical love and amazing grace.  I don’t know about you, but I’m excited!

Beginning January 4, we’re launching a new sermon series called “Who Cares?!”  Each week, we’ll explore a different topic such as care for creation, care for the body, and care for the soul.  Who cares?  God does.  And, therefore, so should we.  I hope that you’ll join us for this 5-6 week series, and that you’ll bring a friend to encounter God and experience life together at Emmanuel.

It’s hard to believe, but my family and I have officially been here two years and we feel so blessed to live and minister among such a loving and generous bunch of Christ-followers. It’s humbling to serve as your pastor.

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions; I never seem to keep them longer than a month or two.  But this year, rather than committing to do (or not do) x, y, or z, I hope that you  commit yourself to following Christ more closely.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Zack

Sisters, Brothers, Friends,

With the season of Advent beginning on Nov. 30^th, and EverDry beginning their work on the basement Dec. 1^st, I can’t help but thinking about the fact that the Church is a work in progress.  Just as our building is undergoing renovation, so we are undergoing renovation – renovation of the heart and mind as we prepare for the arrival of Christ.

In Advent, we focus on Christ’s first arrival in human form: the little babe born to a poor couple from a backwater town and laid in a feeding trough.  God with us.  At the same time, we await Christ’s second coming with anticipation – trusting that the day will come when all is accomplished and God’s Kingdom is finally established, once and for all, on earth as it is in heaven.

Don’t be concerned about renovation.  Know that when there’s dust and debris in our lives, it means that God is at work.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6 to be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God is at work – in this place and in our lives.  And what God has begun, he will continue to work on – honing us to be the men and women God has created us to be – until that great and glorious day when Christ comes back.

As we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christ this Advent season, don’t be afraid to let God work on you.  His plans are beyond our comprehension, his ways are good, and his love is eternal.

Grace and peace to you and yours,

Pastor Zack