Monthly Archives: May 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 22, 2015
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Slip Slidding Away — Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 22, 2015

“When Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but (Jesus) he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” The he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:23 – 26

“Hold fast to the rudder of faith, that you may not be shaken by the heavy storms of this world. The sea, indeed, is vast and deep, but do not fear for “He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waves.” …the Church of the Lord amid all the seas of the world stands immovable, built, as it were, upon the apostolic rock. The waves pour over it, but it is not shaken.” Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (333 – 397) “For All The Saints”, Volume III (p. 1257)

I was watching the news the other day, and I saw a story about a cruise ship that was caught in a storm with waves towering 30 feet or more – tossing the ship and its contents to and fro. They showed a video link of people on one of the decks of the ship who were trying to get to one place or another, only to have the ship suddenly tilt and the people were tossed or sent sliding in the opposite direction. A piano was sliding back and forth, knocking anything and everything out of its way. A poor woman, sliding from one side of the room to another narrowly missed the piano but slid headfirst into a pole.

My friends, there are going to be days where we feel as if we have been run over by a piano, or slammed our heads into a pole. But Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us. Jesus is the one who picks us up and says “Do not be afraid” – these storms are going to happen but they teach us more about ourselves and our faith than all the calm seas of our lives. Calm seas give us a false hope that life will always be sunshine and smooth water. Our faith in Jesus prepares us for the storms, and reminds us that Jesus is there before the storm, during the storm, and after the storm to pick us up with the promise of life now, and eternal life.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 21, 2015
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And Then There Was “Z” — Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 21, 2015 – “Z” is for Zerubbabel

“Now these were the people of the province who came from those captive exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own towns. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.” Ezra 2:1 – 2 “Zerubbabel (Hebrew: זְרֻבָּבֶל, Modern Zrubbavel, Tiberian Zərubbāḇél; Greek: Ζοροβαβέλ, Zorovavel; Latin: Zorobabel) was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah (Haggai 1:1) and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia (Ezra). The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC. Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after.

In all of the accounts in the Hebrew Bible that mention Zerubbabel, he is always associated with the high priest who returned with him, Joshua (Jeshua) son of Jozadak (Jehozadak). Together, these two men led the first wave of Jewish returnees from exile and began to rebuild the Temple (Ezra). John Kessler describes the region of Judah as a small province that contained land moving 25 km from Jerusalem and was independently ruled prior to the Persian rule. Zerubbabel was the governor of this province. King Darius I of Persia appointed Zerubbabel governor of the Province. It was after this appointment that Zerubbabel began to rebuild the Temple. Elias Bickerman speculates that one of the reasons that Zerubbabel was able to rebuild the Temple was because of “the widespread revolts at the beginning of the reign of Darius I in 522 BC, which preoccupied him to such a degree that Zerubbabel felt he could initiate the rebuilding of the temple without repercussions”.” (Wikipedia)

It is difficult going through the “ABC’s” of the faith and of the bible, since for some letters there are so many choices, and for others there are so few. However, there are many ways that we can attack the idea of learning more about our faith. I have gone through this exercise to show you just one way that may be different from others you may have tried in the past. The idea is to find ways to engage the bible and your own particular faith life that keeps it interesting and fresh. Keep on reading and learning and studying – for it will only increase your knowledge, and increase your faith understanding.

Pastor Dave