This past Sunday, the theme of the message centered on the word “test.” I said people will “test before they trust.” This means Christ who lives in us will often be tested before He is ever trusted. Jesus knew this and included this encouragement in His Sermon on the Mount:

10"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

I used one of our old chairs to illustrate this. Everyone who has ever sat in one of those old chairs knows the first thing that has to be done is to inspect the legs for signs of warping and then to sit down very gently lest the chair collapses. Curiously, just a few minutes later at the Sunday School teacher recognition someone was “pinched” by one of those chairs.

It is time to get new chairs!!!

We are pricing new chairs, and the costs aren’t that enormous. Because our Church has so many other budget obligations, and these are tight times for all of our ministries, there has been a reluctance to start a campaign to get new chairs. I sure do understand that!

However, the fact remains that every time someone sits in one of those chairs their faith is put to the test in ways that it shouldn’t have to be.

Now, I have found that the members of Ivy do very well when they are made aware of the needs of their Church and are given an opportunity to meet those needs. So, that is what I am doing here.

It would really be something to be able to name a chair after each family that buys one, but I think the process of naming a chair would cost more than the chair itself. We will just have to content ourselves with the knowledge that our chairs are being used by the Lord for the work of the ministry and wait for our reward in heaven. Maybe if you buy a chair for Ivy, you will be given a chair in heaven so you won’t have to stand for all eternity. Now, that’s funny.

PJ