My grandson who is in kindergarten has been in trouble lately.  He missed recess a couple of days because of mischievous behavior.  Recently his teacher came up with a solution.  He now has a tally sheet and if he goes all day without breaking the rules he gets a sticker.  If he gets a sticker every day for a month he gets a prize.   David is excited because he’s the only one in class who has one of these “special” tally sheets.  So far it’s working.  He has four stickers.
            I’ve been working on a Bible study in the gospels recently and one of the things I’ve noticed about Jesus is that He seems to stay in trouble with the Pharisees and religious leaders.  He’s constantly breaking their rules.  It’s not that He is opposed to their rules or that He necessarily disagrees with them.  But Jesus is always more concerned about people than about following rules.  In His eyes, love always trumps law.  Extending grace always takes priority over enforcing the rules.
            In his book, “Not a Fan”, Kyle Idleman shares a story that illustrates the foolishness of blind rule keeping.
            A man named John, dressed in blue jeans, walked into a bank to finalize a business transaction.  The bank officer he needed to see wasn’t in, so the teller told him he’d need to come back the next day.  John said that would be fine and asked her to validate his parking ticket.  The teller informed him that, according to bank policy, she couldn’t validate his parking ticket because technically he hadn’t completed a financial transaction.  John asked for an exception since he had come into the bank intending to make a transaction, but the appropriate officer wasn’t in.  The teller wouldn’t budge.  She said, “I’m sorry; that’s our policy.   Rules are rules.”
            So John decided to make a business transaction.  He decided to close his account.  Turns out John’s last name was Akers, and he just happened to be the chairman of IBM.  The account he closed had a balance of one-and-a-half-million dollars.  The good news was that since this qualified as a valid financial transaction, the teller was able to validate his parking ticket.
            In Matthew 23 Jesus points out the precision of the Pharisees in keeping the Sabbath and tithing even the spices from their gardens.  But He tells them they have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness.  He calls them “blind guides” who “strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
            Are we ever guilty of letting our rules get in the way of ministry?  Do we judge people by our arbitrary list of standards, or do we look at their heart?  Let’s show a little grace.  Let’s give people the benefit of the doubt.  I’m even willing to break a couple of rules if it demonstrates the love of Christ.
 
 
                                                            Have a great week!
           
                                                            Pastor Barry
 
PS  - Keep promoting the Courageous movie!  This Saturday at 7:00 PM 

   Filmmaker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story’s pacing.  Ward Kimball, one of Disney’s animators for Snow White, tells about working 240 days on a four and a half minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process.  Disney thought it was funny, but eventually he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went.

   How do we prioritize our lives?  When the film of our life is shown will it be a blockbuster?  An academy award winner?  Or will it be a low-budget, poorly acted, B-class film that shows up on some cable channel at 2:00 AM.  A lot will depend on the choices we make.

   How do we make those right choices?  How do we decide what to eliminate and what to keep?  How do we avoid being disturbed by the myriad of options that confront us daily?  This is not a complete list, but I think we see several principles that help us as we look at the life of Jesus!

  (1) People and relationships mattered more than keeping a schedule.  Jesus had time for children.  He wasn’t upset by the hemorrhaging woman who touched the hem of his garment while he was on his way to heal Jarius’ daughter (see Luke 8:40-56) Lost people mattered to Jesus (See Luke 15).

  (2) The eternal was far more significant than the temporal.  Jesus once told His disciples who were encouraging him to eat, something, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”  He went on to say,  “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:34)  Sharing “living water” with a needy Samaritan woman was far more important than eating.  Most of the stuff that we spend our time pursuing and worrying about won’t matter 50 years from now.

  (3)  Faith always trumps good deeds.   Amazingly, according to Jesus, prostitutes, tax collectors, and even a thief on the cross will make it into the kingdom while many self-righteous Pharisees will miss it. In spite of their zealous attempts at keeping the commandments the Pharisees failed to impress Jesus.  Their outward good behavior failed to hide their rottenness on the inside.

  (4)  Finally, Love is the ultimate guide.  When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest he summed up the entire law with two simple rules. (Matthew 22:37-39)  37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   When we show love we are reflecting Christ.

   My prayer this week is that the Holy Spirit will help me to think and act like Jesus.  May I never be too busy, or distracted, or focused on myself that I miss out of the little things that are most important.

                                                                              Have a great week

                                                                              Pastor Barry

Don’t forget our Chili Cook-Off, this Saturday, January 28th at 6:00 PM

Spread the Word—Free movie “Courageous” Saturday, February 4th at 7:00 PM for more info go towww.parkwaywesleyanstaunton.org

   On the outskirts of Kelowna, British Columbia there is a road that features a 90 degree turn at the end of a long straight stretch of highway.  Because it’s flat and fairly wide, it’s a favorite of teens who like to drag race.  Only problem is if they’ve had too much to drink or they don’t slow down in time, they can’t make the curve and they end up in a swamp about a foot deep and they have to be towed out.

   One evening the police received a call that there was a car stranded in the swamp.  The officer arrived, put on his boots and waded out to the car expecting to find a couple of teenagers, but instead he found a rather embarrassed elderly couple.  When the officer asked them how this happened he got a rather unusual explanation.  It turns out the elderly gentleman had just gotten a new set of trifocals and he hadn’t adjusted to them very well yet.  The sun was in his eyes and there was some glare and he explained, “I couldn't really see where I was going so I just kept going in the same direction.”

   Isn’t that the problem many of us face in life.  We get stuck in a rut and we just keep going and going until we end up in a swamp.  Maybe we’re not sure how to change, so we stick with what’s familiar.  Perhaps we feel trapped in a pattern of behavior or enslaved by habits we can’t break free of.  But the good news of Scripture is that we can change!

   One of my favorite verses is Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

   Notice in this verse that transformation begins in our minds.  Yes, it involves stopping some unproductive habits.  Yes, it means we have to say No to the alluring call of the world.  Yet as we focus on the positive and fill our minds with positive thoughts transformation begins.  Let’s not forget that as believers we have an ally:  The Holy Spirit.  Listen to part of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Chapter three:  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through hisSpirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:16) or what about this promise in verse 20 ”Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at workwithin us,” (Ephesians 3:20)

   My point is you don’t have to keep going in the same old direction.  You don’t have to end up in the swamp, again!  Why not make this the day, the week, the year that you make some changes.  They may not happen overnight, but you can start. The car is a lot easier to turn once you get it moving.

                      

                                                            Have a great week

                                                                Pastor Barry

One of the things I enjoy about this time of year is getting a new calendar.  I know, some of you keep your schedule on your smart phone or your computer, but I’m old school.  I like holding it in my hand and seeing all those blank dates before me.  But as I look at those blank pages I always ask myself, “What are you going to do with these next twelve months?”

   I think there are probably three ways of looking at the challenge of a new year.  Some people approach the year negatively.  They say, “Wow! I sure hope 2012 is going to be better than 2011.”  They focus on all the bad things that happened to them.  They fall and broke their ankle, they had gall bladder surgery, the engine in their car blew up, or they lost their job.  They say, “2011 was a rough year!  I hope 2012 is better.”

  Then I think there are some who approach the new year with wishful thinking.  They say, “Maybe this is the year I win the Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes.  On Super Bowl Sunday the prize patrol is going to show up at my door with a check.  This is the year my ship is going to come-in.”  Or for those who are single, “This is the year I’m going to meet Mr. Right or Ms. Wonderful.  We’re going to fall madly in love and live happily ever after.”  Or “maybe this is the year I’ll get that big promotion at work.”  Or “maybe Hollywood will discover my hidden talents and I’ll become a movie star.”  Now I suppose there is nothing wrong with dreaming.  And the church could sure use the tithe from your Publisher’s Clearing House winnings.  But in reality, the wishful thinking approach rarely pans out.

  Perhaps the best way to approach the new year is as a blank page.  Each day is a new opportunity.  Each day will require a choice.  Ephesians 5:16 tells us to “Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  How will you choose to use the 365 days of 2012 (actually 366 - I think it’s leap year) that God has given you.  Here’s my resolution for 2012.

• I choose to love  - nothing justifies hatred and life’s too short to hold a grudge.
• I choose joy  - I refuse to be cynical and negative.
  
• I choose peace - I realize I have been forgiven, so I must forgive others.
  
• I choose patience - probably my hardest one (especially when driving).  I have to trust that God has a reason for making me wait.
  
• I choose kindness - I want to be more considerate of the poor, the wounded, the fearful, the needy and even the annoying.
  
• I choose goodness - I’d rather lose a dollar than make an enemy. I’d rather be overlooked than accused of  boasting.  I’d rather be maligned and insulted than to attack a brother or sister.  I choose goodness.
  
• I choose faithfulness - I choose to keep my promises, pay my debts, earn my wages and give my best effort.
  
• I choose gentleness - I choose to keep my voice down, make demands only of myself, and if I must confront someone to do it privately and as gently as possible.
  
• I choose self-control - I choose to let nothing have mastery over me, but Christ.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control (Galatians 5:22).  To these I commit the blank pages of my new calendar.  By God’s grace if I produce these fruits, 2012 will be a successful year.                                                                                   

Have a great week!

Pastor Barry

History records an interesting even during the dark winter of 1864 just before Christmas.  At Petersburg, Virginia the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee faced the Union divisions of General Ulysses S. Grant.  The war was now three and half years old and was at a point of virtual stalemate.  Late one evening, one of Lee’s generals, Major General George Pickett, received word that his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy.  Up and down the line the Southerners began building huge bonfires in celebration of the event.  These fires did not go unnoticed in the Northern camps and soon a nervous Grant sent out a reconnaissance patrol to see what was going on.  The scouts returned with the message that Pickett had had a son and these were celebratory fires.  It so happened that Pickett and Grant had been contemporaries at West Point and knew one another well.  So to honor the occasion, Grant ordered that bonfires should be built on the Northern side too. 

             What a peculiar night it was.  For miles on both sides of the lines fires burned.  No shots were fired.  No yelling back and forth.  No war fought.  Only light, celebrating the birth of a child.  It didn’t last long.  Soon the fires burned down and once again the darkness of war enveloped our nation.  But for a brief moment a baby brought light. 

             I’d never really thought of it as a Christmas song until I heard Tim Hughes' “Here I Am To Worship” on a radio station playing all Christmas music.  But notice the first verse:

             Light of the world

             You stepped down into darkness.

             Opened my eyes, let me see.

             Beauty that made this heart adore You

             Hope of a life spent with You.

             Here I am to worship,

             Here I am to bow down,

             Here I am to say that You’re my God.

Jesus is indeed, the Light of the World (John 1:4-5).  The good news of Christmas is that  for those who will accept the light, darkness can never overtake them.  As Jesus says in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  I trust you experienced that light during this Christmas season. 

             It now becomes our job to share that light with those who are still in darkness.  As we approach this New Year, let’s be diligent to let our light shine as never before. 

                                                                 Have a Great Week!

                                                                 Pastor Barry

 I’ve decided to make my Tuesday on the Run e-mail this week a Christmas letter to my wonderful Parkway Wesleyan Family.  Rosemary and I would like to express our love and appreciation for each of you and wish you a blessed Christmas.  Your continued love and support make our job such a blessing.

   I am especially thankful for Pastor Dale and Pastor Pam and the huge impact they are having on our ministry.  Besides leading us in inspiring worship every week, Dale does a ton of stuff behind the scenes with technology, the website, communication and printing.  I don’t know how we managed without him.  And by the way, I’ve been in a lot of other churches recently and I would rank our worship ahead of anything I’ve seen.  Pastor Pam continues to impress me with her creativity and faithfulness to the children’s ministry.

   Along with Dale and Pam, we’d like to thank our faithful core of youth and children’s workers.  From Sunday School, to Children’s Church, to Nursery, to our Youth Ministry, we have a dedicated staff.  We could use a few more, but we are thankful for the faithful servants we have.

   We all owe a debt of gratitude to Bonnie, our church secretary, for her tireless efforts in the church office.  She doesn’t believe anyone ever reads the bulletin, but I know that you do.  Her ability to decipher my terrible handwriting is itself a spiritual gift.  Thanks, Bonnie for all you do.

   I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that we’ve got a great church full of wonderful servants.  God has been so good to us this past year.  We’ve added a lot of new faces to our congregation which is such a blessing.  It seems like we are on the verge of some amazing growth in the next few months.  I am so excited about what God is going to help us accomplish in 2012.

   Rosemary and I are so looking forward to worshipping together with our church family on Christmas Day.  It’s not often that we get this opportunity.  What a joy to be able to celebrate God’s wonderful gift with those we love.  Of all the gifts we may receive this Christmas none can compare to God’s amazing gift.  As Paul says in II Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!  Join us on Sunday and we’ll unwrap this gift and celebrate together.

                                                                 With love,

                                                                 Pastor Barry and Rosemary

One of America’s greatest poets is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The year 1860 found Longfellow happy in his life, enjoying a widening recognition, and elated over the election of Abraham Lincoln, which he believed signaled the triumph of freedom and redemption for the nation.

   The following year the Civil War began.  On July 9, ,1861 Longfellow’s wife, Fanny, was near an open window sealing locks of her daughter’s hair,

using hot sealing wax.  Suddenly her dress caught fire and engulfed her with flames.  Her husband, sleeping in the next room, was awakened by her screams.  As he desperately tried to put out the fire and save his wife, he was severely burned on his face and hands.

   Fanny died the next day.  Longfellow’s severe burns would not even allow him to attend Fanny’s funeral.  His white beard, which is so identified with him, was one of the results of the tragedy—the burn scars on his face made shaving almost impossible.  In his diary for Christmas day 1861 he wrote, “How inexpressibly sad are the holidays.”  In 1862 the toll of war dead began to mount and in his diary for that year Longfellow wrote of Christmas.  “A merry Christmas say the children, but that is no more for me.”

   In 1863 his son who had run away to join the Union army was severely wounded and returned home in December.  There is no entry in Longfellow’s diary for that Christmas.  But on Christmas Day 1864—at age 57—Longfellow sat down to try to capture, if possible, the joy of the season.  He began:

                 I heard the bells on Christmas day.  Their old familiar carols play,

                 and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, good will to men.

   As he came to the third stanza, he was stopped by the thought of the condition of  his beloved country.  The Battle of Gettysburg was not long past.  Days looked dark, and he probably asked himself the question, “How can I write about peace on earth, good will to men in this war-torn country, where brother fights against brother and father against son?”  Longfellow wrote one of the most honest, depressing verses of poetry ever written.

                 “And in despair I bowed my head:  “There is no peace on earth”, I said,

                 for hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.”

   As we look around at our world this morning, we may be tempted to agree with this hopeless assessment.  There doesn’t seem to be much good news.  For many, Christmas is a lonely, depressing season, filled with gloom and despair.  But we have to remember the story is not over.  The last chapter is still to be written.  As believers, we can have hope even in the midst of life’s most troubling circumstance.  In Longfellow’s great poem, which has become the well known Christmas carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”, he turns his thoughts heavenward.  With faith he proclaims:

                 Then peeled the bells more loud and deep; “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep! 

                 The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.”

   I hope you know that peace this morning.  In John 14:27 Jesus makes us this amazing promise: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. May His peace fill your heart and take away your anxiety this Christmas.  [For an inspiring rendition of “I Heard the Bells” check out the You Tube version by Casting Crowns] 

                                                                                     Have a great week!

                                                                                     Pastor Barry

P.S.  Christmas Events

   December 18th, Sunday night 6:30 PM “Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen” -- our student ministries Christmas program

   December 21st, Wednesday 7:00 PM  Christmas Carol Sing

   December 25th, Sunday 10:45 AM Christmas Day Family Worship

   This past summer, Rosemary and I visited the Wright Brothers’ Museum in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
We read of the brother’s fascination with flight and their many failed attempts (it is a wonder they didn’t kill themselves).  We climbed the sand dune they used in some of their early attempts with gliders.  Finally, on December 17, 1903 first flight with a motorized, fixed wing aircraft  was achieved with Orville at the controls.  The “Flyer I” embarked on a 12 second flight.

   Wilber rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message home to Ohio--we have flown for 12 seconds—we will be home for Christmas.   Upon  receiving the telegram, their sister Katherine went to the Dayton Journal and told the editor of her brothers’ historic flight and informed him they would be home for Christmas if he wanted to schedule an interview.  He listened politely and told her he would put something about the boys in the paper.

   On December 19th on page 6 of the paper there was a small headline that said:  “WRIGHT BROTHERS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.”  The most important story of the year, man’s first flight, and the newspaper missed it!  It reminds me of that first Christmas, so long ago in Bethlehem.  The “good news of great joy,” the birth of our Savior was missed by most people.  The only recorded visitors were a few shepherds and some foreigners who followed a star and found the Christ child.  The busy merchants and inn keepers of Bethlehem didn’t know of His coming and could have cared less.  Herod is interested only because he wants to kill him and eliminate any threats to his throne.  Even the religious leaders, who know of the prophecies that predict the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, don’t take the time to go the short 5 miles to look.  They miss the miracle.

   Let’s make sure that we don’t do the same.  In all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and decorating, and eating, and celebrating let’s not forget the reason for the season.  Take time to focus on Jesus.  Reflect on the miracle of the incarnation and what it means for our lives.  Can I recommend some Christmas family activities?  Gather the family and watch the movie “The Nativity Story”.  If you like to read I’d recommend the following historical fictions:

                          “Two from Galilee” by Marjorie Holmes

                          “The Nativity Story” (same as movie) from Angela Hunt

                          The Little Books of Why? By Brock and Bodie Thoene

                          - “Why a Manger”

                          - “Why the Shepherds”

                          - “Why a Star”

   Or even better, go to the gospels themselves and reread the story of Jesus’ birth.  If you have children or grandchildren there are tons of children’s books about the birth of Jesus.  Max Lucado’s “The Crippled Lamb” is a good choice.

   And don’t forget to worship.  The Lord deserves our praise!  “Joy to the World, The Lord Has Come, Let Earth Receive Her King.  Let every heart prepare him room, and have a nature sing.”  Is there room in your heart for Jesus?

                                                                              Have a great week!

                                                                              Pastor Barry

  My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving.  Not just because we get to eat turkey, stuffing and lots of dessert.  Not just because there are lots of football games.  But I think I like the fact that it’s the least commercialized holiday that we celebrate.

   Yes, I know it’s become preparation day for Black Friday and Cyber-Monday sales.  But at least for a while, it’s a time to slow down, spend time with family and be thankful.  Hopefully you took some time this past weekend to remember and give God thanks for His many blessings.   I am almost overwhelmed at times by God’s goodness.  As we spent the weekend spoiling our grandson and being with family, I just couldn't help but Praise the Lord for His goodness toward us.  I kept wondering what did I ever do to deserve God’s goodness?  Why should I be so blessed?  And even greater question is what should I do with all these blessings?

   Our Wesleyan Life magazine a year or so ago carried the story of a family that came up with a unique way of counting their blessings in a tangible way.  They were frustrated by the fact that they never seemed to have any extra funds to give when special needs would arise.  One day they discovered

I Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”

   After reading that verse the husband decided he would begin to count up God’s blessings for the previous week.  On Sunday afternoon he got out his legal pad and began thinking back over the past week.

   He remembered that they had gone out to dinner with some friends who unexpectedly picked up the tab for the meal.  He figured, OK, that would have cost me about $50, so he wrote it down.  Someone had given them a birthday gift of $25.  Then, they got a rebate on something they had purchased for another $25.  So in total God had blessed them with an extra $100 that week.  They set aside $10 (a tithe of that amount) and gave it to a missionary they were supporting.

   The next week they sat down again and counted up their blessings.  The wife remembered she had saved $40 on groceries due to a triple coupon day at the grocery store.  Their insurance company gave them a $20 reduction for going 3 years without an accident.  So there was another $6 for their BLESSING FUND.

   At the end of the year they discovered that God had given them over $3,000 in unnoticed blessings and they had been able to give over $300 to missions without ever sacrificing.

   I think all of us might be surprised if we took the time to count our blessings.  As we head into this Christmas season, let’s remember to thank God for His many blessings.  But let’s also remember to share those blessings with those around us who are in need.

                                       Have a great week!  It’s good to be back.

                                       Pastor Barry

P.S.  Don’t forget the special Veggie Tales movie on Friday night at 7:00 PM!  This is a great outreach for our church.  If you know of families with kids, invite them to come!

Dr. Alexander Whyte, the great Scottish preacher of the last century, is remembered especially for his pulpit prayers.  It seemed that no matter how dark the night or how bleak the circumstances he could always find something to be thankful for.  But on one cold, foggy, and rainy morning there was a rather meager attendance for morning worship.  They had been enduring the same kind of weather for about two weeks and everyone was sick of it.

   One of the parishioners said to another, “The preacher will have nothing to thank God for on a wretched morning like this.”  However, they underestimated Alexander Whyte.  The preacher began his prayer that morning with these words:  “O God, we thank Thee that it’s not always like this.”

   The point being there is always something to be thankful for.  Being thankful is a choice.  We can choose to express thankfulness or we can choose to complain.  The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:19-20 tells us to “sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

  Notice the words always and for everything. We’re not just to thank God when things are going well, we can even thank Him in the midst of trials.

   Did you realize that our Pilgrim forefathers faced a difficult decision when that first harvest rolled around.  That first winter of 1621 had been a difficult one.  Half of the original colony died.  There were bouts with malaria and influenza, freezing temperatures, snow storms and meager food supplies.  Hardest hit were the children.  Only a few of them survived.

   In the fall there was some disagreement over what kind of gathering they should have.  Some believed they should have a memorial service to grieve the deaths of those who had been taken from them.  Yet, the others wanted to thank God for the harvest and His mercy in sparing them and giving them a hope for the future.  Aren’t you glad the second group won out?

   I hope you can find many things to be thankful for this coming Thursday.  God is so good!  Even in the storms of life there is much to praise God for!

                                                                 Have a great Thanksgiving Day!

                                                                 Pastor Barry

P.S.  We are rejoicing over our great 90th Anniversary weekend.  We had a wonderful time with the Webb Family on Saturday night. (145 in attendance).  Then, what a great Sunday morning!  It was great to see so many old friends and acquaintances (193 present).  A special thanks to our Anniversary Committee and all who worked so hard to make it a success!