Lent - A Season of Letting Go

I hold on tight.

"A fighter always does."

So I have been told.

"Don't give up.  Show a little guts."

Many have urged.

I hold on tight.

To show courage.

Fight the good fight.

I cannot give up.

I am not WEAK.

I hold on tight.

Out of fear.

Frightened by that to which I cling.

If I don't hold tight,

I lose control.

I hold on tight.

My grip painful.

Hands tired; knuckles white.

I fear I cannot hold on.

I fear.

I hold on tight.

A new voice beckons,

"Let go."

I cannot.

"You must."

I hold on.

I must.

I can't...

let

go.

I let go.

Courage discovered

Life renewed

When I

let go.

Jesus says,

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."  Luke 9:24

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

Be strong and courageous...

May this season of Lent become a season when you...

Let go of the fear;

Let go of the anxiety;

Let go of the shame;

Let go of the failures of the past;

Let go...

Welcome Back

School has most likely begun or will begin for you shortly.
I am sure that a new year brings with it many new axieties as well as more than its fair share of excitement. 

Some new things for the new school year just for you.

• Some people suggested that some daily verses to read would be helpful.  To that end, you will find a new widget to the right that contains the daily lectionary texts for each day.  You will find Psalms, a First Testament text, a Gospel text, and a reading from one of the Epistles.  Click on the texts and it will take you to the reading.
• There will be a weekly devotional listed here on this page as well.  Hopefully you will find these to be encouraging and uplifting.
• There will also be suggestions for service and missions regularly including things that are going on at Second.
• Please take a few minutes to fill out our college information form here.  This will help us stay in contact with you throughout the school year.  If you have any suggestions as to how we might support you and keep in touch with you this year.

We want you to know that you are in our thoughts and our prayers as you start this new school year.  We want to support and encourage you as much as possible. 

God bless!

What's Next?

Life is a journey.  You currently find yourself in one of the seasons of life that is characterized by change at nearly every turn. There may be times when you ask, "What's next?"

What is next?  We obviously cannot know exactly.
How can we face the unknown "next" with confidence?

Let's chat!

Sunday, August 14, 7:30 at McAllister's Deli on east 86th St. near Kohls.

Sunday night at ZOE

We will meet this Sunday night at 7:45 p.m. at the Shivers' house.  This week's discussion will be on organized religion.  Some things to consider...
Is organized religion necessary?
If so, what purpose does it serve?
What are the pros and the cons of organized religion?

Acts 2:44-47 - All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Acts 6:1-6 -  Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word." What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Ephesians 4:11-16 - The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Looking forward to our conversation on Sunday night.