March 2005
Bulletin
YOU CAN FLY
In Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson tells
how he saw a family of birds teaching their young to fly. Three young swallows were perched on a dead
branch that stretched out over a lake.
"One adult swallow got alongside the chicks and started shoving
them out toward the end of the branch--pushing, pushing, pushing. The end one fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water
four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was off on his
own, then the second one.
"The third was not to be bullied. At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again with bulldog tenacity. The parent was without sympathy. He pecked at the desperately clinging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying. The grip was released, and the inexperienced wings began pumping. The mature swallow knew what the chick did not--that it would fly--that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.
"Birds have feet and can walk. Birds have talons and can grasp a branch
securely. They can walk; they can cling.
But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are
they living at their best, gracefully and beautifully.
"Giving is what we do best. It is the air into which we were born. It is the action that was designed into us before
our birth. ... Some of us try desperately to hold on to ourselves, to live for
ourselves. We look so bedraggled and
pathetic doing it, hanging on to the dead branch of a bank account for dear
life, afraid to risk ourselves on the untried wings of giving. We don't think we can live generously,
because we have never tried. But the
sooner we start, the better, for we are going to have to give up our lives
finally, and the longer we wait, the less time we have for the soaring and
swooping life of grace." (David B.
Jackson)
THE GREATEST
CHARACTERISTIC OF LOVE IS GIVING!! This
is a life lesson taught to us by God Himself:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In our pursuit of our goal to retire our mortgage in 10
years, we encourage every friend and family member of our church to express
their love for the work of God by contributing to The Church "Vision
Fund." We are trusting God for $9,000 per week beginning March
6th. Please join us and become an
integral part of a great gift to God!
Pastor
H.L. Sheppard