Larry Gleason
On March 1 the Men’s Christian Fellowship heard an inspiring message from Hal Merwald about Living in Christ. Hal is a PebbleCreek resident and chair of the Board of Elders in the PebbleCreek Community Church. Hal cited a personal experience when, as a young man, his fiancé was hit by a train. They had planned to marry in four weeks and then go to Africa as missionaries. Hal was in the back of the ambulance with his fiancé when he was informed she would not live. Her death was a life-changing event for Hal as he realized how short and fragile life is and the only thing that really matters is one’s relationship with God and our friends. Hal challenged Fellowship attendees to stop and think what life really is about. He shared an interesting quote from a book written by Glen Evans, “I will never amount to anything for Christ until I attend my own funeral.” Hal explained the quote starting with what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians Chapter 2 “We are dead in our own trespasses and sins” and also Romans Chapter 6 where Paul said “We are dead to our sins but alive in Christ.” As an example of what Paul was saying Hal shared that all persons at one time in their lives “swim” in a “pool of sin.” Some stay afloat, some go down to damnation and some are thrown a rope (Christ) and all they need to do is grab the rope and Christ will pull them out of the pool of sin. For those that are pulled out of the pool, they are alive in Christ and no longer attracted to the sin in the pool. Thus they are dead to their former sinful lifestyle and therefore in need of the funeral mentioned in Glen Evans’ book. Hal stressed that it is important how we live our lives in Christ in all that we do (church, work, organizations and even our recreational pursuits).
President Tom Chapman closed the meeting noting that many PebbleCreek persons have enjoyed the good life of worldly things and some are near life’s end. He reminded Fellowship members, referencing Romans 12, as Christians we are to represent Jesus in today’s world and to carry on His work. It is important to take whatever opportunities He offers us to share with others, using whatever our individual gifts are that He has provided us.
The next Men’s Christian Fellowship activity will be an outreach project on April 11 when Fellowship members will go to the Phoenix Rescue Mission to serve lunch to the needy. Attendees will carpool at 10:00 a.m. from the PebbleCreek Fire Station parking lot and subsequently serve lunch at the Mission from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All men residing in PebbleCreek are invited to participate in this outreach project. For information or to sign up, contact Jeffrey Fischer at 623-935-2325 or email [email protected]. Sign-up deadline is April 4. Note: This event will take the place of the Fellowship’s regular April 5 monthly meeting.