I am not sure that a stone and I have much in common, but we do. In I Peter 2:5, Peter tells us that we are like living stones being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. As I read Peter's words, I would dream of being a diamond if I were going to have to be a stone or a stone of pure gold, but that is not what he has in mind. Peter’s idea is that of a common stone, which would make a wall, fence, or foundation that helps hold up a house. There is nothing spectacular or unusual about those types of stones. The only thing that makes those stones special is that they have been chosen for a grand purpose and the same thing could be said of us. Peter goes on to explain himself in verse 6, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." There are some really cool ideas going on in these verses.
We are chosen. If you have accepted God's salvation through Jesus, it means you have been chosen by God. Your salvation did not come about by some accident or coincidence; rather it came about because God hand-picked you to be one of His children. In our Arminian circles, we sometimes forget or downplay this in the name of free will, but the reality can't be escaped. However you came about discovering God’s forgiveness is secondary. The primary is that God your Father chose you and adopted you to be His child. I need to be reminded of that from time to time. I did not work my way into God's forgiveness. I was a messed-up child when he found me (and still have some of those messed up traits going on inside of me), but HE chose ME! He chose to adopt me into his awesome family just as I am, and in that choice I became a precious or valued stone.
Not only did God adopt us to be His chosen people, but He has a purpose. He wants to make us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His special possession. The picture that comes to my mind is that while Peter says we are living stones being built into a spiritual house, the reality is we are just good hard solid rocks, like limestone, shale, granite, or maybe even sandstone. We are just common stones that could be grabbed and used. While we may be just common stones, because God has chosen us, we now have a special purpose and the very nature of our ordinary becomes extraordinary. It is not about us and what we have to offer, but it is in how God plans and will use us that we take on that extraordinary preciousness. Because I have been chosen to be this holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, I have in essence become a diamond. It is not about who I am or what I can offer, but it is all about how God will choose to use me so that I take on my true value.
The final thing I see in this verse is the description of my true value. We have been chosen: "...that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." Our specialness does not come from what we bring to the table, but rather it is our testimony. Peter then spells it out because it is not just any testimony- it is a specific testimony that we may declare praise to Him, who did what? Who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. Our job is to tell our story of how God saved us to all who will listen. We are precious because of what God has done for us in bringing salvation into our lives, which is why it is our job and our responsibility to share with others. During this Lent and Easter season, it is a great time to tell that story to others and to even invite them to church to hear more of that story of how they too can become precious stones.
I am just a rock, a common stone, that God has chosen and in that choosing I have become something precious. I hope that encourages your soul today that you are a precious stone being built up to bring God praise simply because of your story as to how He found, chose, and redeemed you!
From Pastor John's desk
The Fidget Quilt Ministry was started in 2018 with a hope and a prayer that we would be able to bring a smile to the face of recipients and caregivers through our fidget quilts. Our beginning was slow- we learned by trial and error what worked – and what didn’t. We thought many times that we had exhausted all the opportunities to provide quilts – and then God would open another door. Today, going into our 6th year, we have a waiting list of requests – from hospice, memory care units, libraries, schools and individuals and have given away approximately 900 quilts.
The Fidget Circle will continue to meet on the second Wednesday of every month at 10am at the church and welcomes anyone who wants to join us. No special skills required- just a desire to bring a little joy into someone’s life- to let them know they are loved. Contact Diane Phelps or Patty Yaroush for information.
Vince Anton and Charlie Bailey are starting a men’s study on March 7th Thursday evenings at the church at 6:00 PM. We will be studying a book by John Piper titled
Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy. The focus is on how to apply scriptural truths into our daily lives. All men are welcome.
Please join us on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. to watch the Chosen Season Two. We will begin on Wednesday, March 6 and run for 8 weeks. We also read relevant passages from the Bible and have discussion time after each episode. Please let Lauren know either on Facebook (Lifespring PEP page) or text 330-441-1351 so that I can print a packet for you.
Lucy Anton is collecting video stories of our congregation that we want to archive and share in various formats. We want to learn about how you came to faith, what mile stones have you had in your spiritual journey, what have you learned along the way? You really don’t need to prepare, just come in for a casual conversation with Lucy as she helps you tell your story. You can contact Lucy to set up a time by reaching her at: lucyaanton@yahoo.com
We are preparing an exciting worship of celebration for Palm Sunday. We will be hosting a baptism for anyone who would like to be baptized. You can let Pastor John know if you desire to be baptized or just show up on that day ready to be baptized. If anyone makes the decision for baptism on that day we will have dry clothes ready for them to use.
We are also hosting a baby dedication to celebrate new life with our young parents.
It is a day you will not want to miss and it is a great day to invite a friend to join with you in worship.
Pastor John is teaming up with Charlie Bailey to explore several major characters from the Bible during our worship times. This exploration is an exciting look at how God desires to use us despite and sometimes because of our pasts. Throughout history, God has used the most unlikely people to do incredible things and in this exploration, God may choose you to do something mighty for Him as well.
Could you join your LifeSpring Church family in some prayer requests:
- Pray that everyone who surrounds our church will have a hunger and thirst to pursue God.
- Pray that God enables us to pay our bills and expand our ministry as finances are tight right now.
- Pray for our Celebration Sunday and Easter Sunday
- Pray we will proclaim loudly the good news of salvation
- Pray that folks will attend to hear that awesome message
- Pray that hearts will be open to hearing and receiving that news
- Pray that God will supply our personnel needs
- We need a very techy person to help us with many tech projects and our online ministry
- We need an extra help to run our sound on Sunday and we want a person who has a passion to do so
- We need one or two more small group leaders to provide several new small group opportunities
- Pray that God will direct us as we work to solve several grounds and building issues (parking lot lights, new doors, painting, furnace repairs, grounds maintenance…)
Did you know if you are a regular attender, a financial supporter, or a member of our church you have access to our online database? It’s a great place to find contact information for other members of your LifeSpring Family, see your personalized giving report, send in prayer requests, or even set up online giving. Just jump to: https://lifespring.churchtrac.com
Two ways to connect to our live online worship service:
Facebook:: https://www.facebook.com/lifescc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lifespringchurchvalleycity
Buckeye Eclipse Jubilee on April 8th from noon until 4:00ish at the football field of Buckeye High School.
- 2 Food Trucks, Kono Ice, and an Ice Cream Truck
- Uncle Crunch freeze dried treats including eclipse themed ones
- Rocket launches
- Photo Booth
- BackYard Observatory Hydrogen Alpha Telescope, weather permitting700 free glasses available
- NASA Robot
- The library will share a book(s) on eclipses and song/rhyme/etc at 1:45; 2:15; 2:45, and have the kids activities throughout the day
- Felt-board modeling activity with the stages of an eclipse for kids to re-create how an eclipse works
- Physical activity of jumping from the earth to the moon and back and jumping from the earth to the sun and back with the jumps or feet representing the scaled number of miles between the Earth and the moon/sun.
- We're soliciting booster clubs and other organizations that would like to set up a table and sell things as a fundraiser or pass out material.
- Guest Speakers in front of the home bleachers
- 1:30 Dr. Daniel E. Raible, NASA Electronics Engineer, Optics and Photonics Branch. Daniel will share some history in solar observations and discuss the sun’s influence on Earth and its impacts on space exploration
- 2:00 John Burke, Medina County Treasurer, will talk about the 1806 solar eclipse which covered Ohio in darkness and became known as the Shawnee Tecumseh’s eclipse.
- 2:30 Madison Brass “Frogs, when day becomes night” Madison is currently a junior pre-vet biology student at the University of Central Florida. She has always had a passion for exotic animals.
