July 22, 2010

We are receiving great feedback from our contingency of SBC kids and counselors who are at Hume Lake.  I thought it was a good idea to remind you of our privileged responsibility of praying for them. You might also want to pray for Pastor Mark & Evalyn who are at Hume Lake, as well.

If you would like to see pictures of our contingency you can go to www.humelake.org.

The whole group will come back Saturday so be praying for travel mercies.  Your prayers matter!!

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

July 15, 2010

I just met with a wonderful couple.  They came to see me in preparation for a graveside service I will be doing in Calaveras County.

Have you ever had a divine appointment?  This was one.  The Lord was so present in our conversation.  There were tears shed, they trusted me with information that no one else will ever know, and God gave me things to say and scripture to quote that found an urgent place in their life that brought comfort and peace.  This was a Divine Appointment.

I wonder if every appointment is a “Divine Appointment,” and if I listened more intently to the leading of God’s Spirit and treated the time as sacred, God might just use me more often?

How about you?

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

July 8, 2010

It’s good to be home! At the same time I treasure the time Linda & I enjoyed away.

My vacation began on a plane to Providence, Rhode Island, a car rental and a short trip to Massachusetts to do a Heaven Now Seminar at a Christian Reformed Church.  A roommate from college got word that I was coming and organized a class reunion for the Class of 1965.

What a terrific time!  Some folks I hadn’t seen in 45 years…some 30.  We laughed, shared stories and remembrances.  We hugged, prayed and thanked God for each other.  We promised to stay in touch.  We experienced God’s treasured gift of relationships.

The rest of the vacation included the Seminar, visiting relatives in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, flying to Texas for nine days with my children and grandchildren.  In the midst of it all I could not forget SBC.

On Sunday morning, Linda & I arrived at the church my son-in-law pastors and found a new person from Sonora, California.  My daughter had asked him where he was from and couldn’t believe he said Sonora.  She asked if he knew where Sierra bible Church was and he told her that it was his home church.  She asked him if he knew her Dad, Rick Larson, and he told her that was his Pastor.  Within minutes I was greeted by a man who greets me every Sunday morning named Gene Heston.  Talk about a small world!!!

Make sure in this “small world” you treasure your friendships and keep them as active as possible.  They are God’s gift to each of us.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

June 17, 2010

Pastor Rick and Linda are on a well-deserved vacation for the next few weeks.  I’m sure they would appreciate your prayers for safety, blessed fellowship, relaxation and rest.  Thanks!

June 10, 2010

As you are reading this, I am probably at 35,000 feet on my way to the East Coast.  I am heading there to do a marriage seminar at a Christian Reformed Church in Massachusetts.  I would appreciate your prayers.

I will be gone for the next two weeks doing the seminar, a college reunion (Class of ’65), singing one Sunday with the Barrington College Quartet of 45 years ago, a couple of days in Philadelphia  to visit my sister and her family, and then nine days in Texas with my two kids and grandkids.

As I have been anticipating this trip, it strikes me as all about relationships.  Relationships that go back 45 years ago, teaching on the relationship of marriage, celebrating and enjoying the relationships of family…it’s all about relationship.

I would challenge you, if there is a relationship in your life that’s not healthy, begin to bring that into priority and go to work to make it a healthy relationship.  I think of Romans 12:18, “ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Thank you for praying.

Peace to you,

Pastor Rick

June 3, 2010

Writing down the blessings God has given you is always good.   That list, over the last several weeks, has been unusually long.   It begins with two Sunday’s ago when Pastor Michael interviewed the Albrecht and Woodall families who so selflessly and beautifully opened their hearts to Michael Newman.  They gave him the gift of peace and purpose and love.  I can’t get away from the lifetime of sacrifice that turned into a lifetime of blessings.

This past Sunday, I was overwhelmed and thankful for the demonstration of “Faith in Action” by our congregation.   A whole ton of people did grunt work, which translated into blessing for the neighbor who can’t keep up with yard work, to the folks that live on Hatler Drive, to those who spent the day at Mother Lode Christian School and a myriad of others who worked until they were sore so that the jobs could get done and did it all in the name of Jesus.

Visits to a nursing home, the Victory Garden, a free car wash, handmade bookmarks, clothing for the Philippines, and giving blood were all done last Sunday.  It blessed me to see Sierra Bible folks warring against the enemy of selfishness and embracing the call to selflessness so as to be used in ministry to Christ.

I cannot get rid of the myriad of pictures in my brain, pictures that humble me and pull me out of my selfish living.   May we all cause this to be a lifestyle, not an event.  Might we exchange our selfishness for the smile of Christ.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

May 20, 2010

Be a Good Samaritan…support the Quito, Ecuador, Yard Sale Fundraiser and come by the church on Friday (7am-7pm) or Saturday (7am to noon)!

Pastor Rick

May 13, 2010

I got up yesterday morning and put my uniform on.  What uniform you may ask.

I am privileged to be a Chaplain for the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department.  Yesterday was the “Fallen Officers Memorial” service held at noon in front of the Court House.  I had arranged for Mike Remmel, the CHP Officer that was severely injured when he was hit by a car while investigating an accident four year ago, to speak.

Mike is an amazing man.  I had visited him in Doctor’s Medical Center after the accident.  He was heavily sedated as both legs were severely damaged and, ultimately, portions of both legs had to be amputated.  When I visited him, he was very positive about returning to law enforcement.  I personally thought he didn’t realize the seriousness of his injuries.

I have never seen a man work as hard as Mike did to recover mobility, and do so to the degree that he could pass the CHP fitness test and continue as an officer.  I have huge respect and admiration for Mike and his wife Roberta, who, with God’s help, has turned impossibility into a miracle.

He shared his journey with uniformed officers from the Sheriff’s Office, Sonora City Police, California Department of Corrections, and the National Forest Service.  He let these “jewels of law enforcement” know that what they do is worth it, no matter what!

I thought of my life, and the riskiest thing I’ve done is stand up in front of a loving church and run the risk of a sermon less than mediocre.  Pray for law enforcement.  Pray for me as I get to minister to these brave men and women.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

April 22, 2010

If you’re looking for me on Thursday nights, you will need to come to Celebrate Recovery because that is where I’ll be.  For the past 6 weeks, I have been joining together with a goodly number of folks (last week 40) who come together to worship, to be challenged and encouraged, to acknowledge and work on their hurts, habits and hang-ups.  But they gather, most importantly, to find strength and truth from their Higher Power who is, unashamedly, Jesus Christ.

It is a wonderful accumulation of soft-hearted, gifted and honest people who are finding great joy and victory in their walk with Jesus.  This ministry started 6 years ago.  We called it “The Journey” and then after a year of preparation, a group of 8 or 9 folks began a planning and learning process so as to become a recognized Celebration Recovery site.

Through the last number of years, literally hundreds of people have found focus, strength, and courage to do life in partnership with Christ.  On Thursday nights, as the Spirit prompts you, I would encourage you to pray for the Celebrate Recovery meeting and all who attend.  If you are not busy and would like to be blessed, come on by the Family Life Center.  Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., the Program at 7:00 p.m., and Small Groups begin at 8:00 p.m.  Come to encourage others, and you just might find there are plenty of others who will encourage you.

A thankful participant in Celebrate Recovery,

Pastor Rick

April 15, 2010

After my challenge on Sunday morning for the congregation to actually read “The Pastor’s Corner”, I now have a sense of pressure to write something that’s worth reading – Oh well, here goes!

I have just come out of a meeting with our Community Needs Network Volunteers.  In the midst of sharing the blessings of praying with and helping people, they also shared a certain heaviness that follows them after 3 hours of serving.

If you remember the sermon from Sunday and “what are the odds of that”, the first point was…Open up your eyes to the poor.

And the second was…Open up your heart to the poor.

Our Volunteers have opened their eyes, and now their hearts are being affected.  They are beginning to care for these people.  They think about them after they have gone.  They carry the weightiness of a family with multiple problems, and the help they provide is small in comparison.

The third point of the sermon was…Get to know the people who are hurting.

There is not necessarily great joy in knowing the hardships of others.  The downside of getting to know them is that we feel their pain.  This team of volunteers has been doing that since October, 2009.  It doesn’t get any easier!  The enemy would want us to quit.  God wants us to continue to care in spite of the pain.

Are your eyes open?  Is your heart softening?  Are you making some new friends?  God will be pleased.  Keep it up, even if it hurts.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

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