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This was the week before “the week.” Next week being Solanco Fair will be a busy one for community engagement. This week I was more focused on the Lord’s work at Mechanic Grove. Our commissions and church board met Monday evening. I met with our worship planning team on Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening our deacons met. We have much to celebrate at Mechanic Grove and an exciting fall and then Advent season is just beginning.

Your continued prayers are needed for Josh Auker. He did have surgery earlier in the week after being stepped on by a bull last weekend. He is home recovering but in a great deal pain and discomfort. Mary Poe was transferred to Ware Presbyterian in Oxford to continue to rehab from her surgically repaired broken hip. Vince Becker was in the hospital briefly last Sunday but is back home. In addition, Pastor Rita continues to recover albeit slowly from her accident. It was great to see Rita and Glenn at our Deacons Meeting this week. Continued prayers for these individuals as well as our homebound members are appreciated.

I was saddened to hear of the senseless shooting of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. Yesterday of course was 9/11 as we remembered that horrific day 24 years ago. And we are just a few weeks beyond the shooting at the Catholic school in Minneapolis. Scripture says that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?” That verse from Jeremiah 17:9 came to mind with the news on Wednesday. With each shocking news story of our inhumanity and total disregard for human life, Jeremiah 17:9 seems oh so true. The answer to the deceitful, desperately wicked heart of course is Jesus and having a heart like His. That will be our focus as we kick off a new preaching series this Sunday entitled “Just Like Jesus.”

We were blessed last Sunday to dedicate Ilalynn Ruby Krantz, daughter of Deidra and Jared Krantz. Janae and I attempted to share how important family ministry is at Mechanic Grove and we recognized our grandparents on grandparents day as well. If you are a grandparent and didn’t get a bookmark, I apologize. There are far more of you than we thought. We hope though that you realize that just like our children, grandparents too are special gifts of God.

The signup for helping in the milk shake stand on Wednesday is filling up. Things will slow down immensely at the church next week with so many of us involved with the fair. Be sure and look for the Mechanic Grove Journey to the Nativity float in the parade on Wednesday. I look forward to this great community event, dipping ice cream with some of you on Wednesday, and simply letting my light shine as I participate in this year’s Solanco Fair. Thankfully I don’t have to milk a cow this year!!

Last Saturday’s Next Man Up event was a success with an attendance of about 50. We hope to build on that event as we seek to mobilize a more robust ministry to the men of our church and community. Next Saturday, September 20th, the Men’s Saturday morning Bible study will resume at 7:00 am in Room 14. We would love to see more come and be a part of this ministry as we engage God’s word together as men.

This Sunday we will be in Matthew 8:1-4 as we focus on the compassionate heart of Jesus. As we begin this seven-week series on the heart of Jesus, I hope we will be challenged to become more like Jesus and to have a heart that is not deceitful and desperately wicked, but rather a heart like Jesus—full of compassion and abounding in love. Looking forward to this journey with you as we endeavor to become more and more just like Jesus.

Have a blessed weekend, enjoy the early days of autumn. And before a busy week next week, let’s have another amazing Sunday as His Church—the Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren. We have much to celebrate. It is Friday…but Sunday’s coming!

 Pastor Kevin