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Once Wednesday evening service is over I am out of here. That is not a statement against the church or anyone, it is a sign of relief. The past three summers we have had time away from the routine, but not in the form of a true vacation. The kids were graduating and so we used vacation days to attend those events. Nephews and nieces were getting married and more days were used for that. It was time away but you know how those things go. Your always around family and so you have to be on as a minister. Especially when some of the family are not Christian. You run in and out of homes and venues with little or no down time except to sleep a bit. It takes us two days to travel to any of the family’s homes, so there goes four days of your vacation time in the car. If we could just have gotten them to schedule graduation and weddings back to back and when we had open space on the church calendar, then I am sure we would have been able to have worked in some r&r.
Well this year we are going to head to the Southern Baptist pastor’s convention and then to the girl’s homes. We will be able to see our oldest, Rachel and Ben, and next Naarah and Kyle and of course our grandson. That is down time folks! We will also take in a day for mom and dad while in Southern Illinois. I have high hopes of doing some fishing with one of my good friends and if that does not work out, I will go by myself and rediscover what quiet is again.
I use to always think I could not leave the church for more than a week or ten days at a time. Well I am leaving town for over two weeks and if the Lord moves me I may stay away three weeks. I actually will be gone from the pulpit for three weeks in a row. That is a first for me since entering the ministry. My dear wife is at Children’s camp through Wednesday night and will come home and pack for the trip. Pray for her as she will be very worn out before we get started. If she gets to feeling to bad I will just mention that grandbaby and she will perk up. I look forward to the excellent preaching at the pastor’s convention when we are able to go. It has been several years since we have attended this event and I hope to see many friends there. Thank you church for allowing us to be away for this time of spiritual refreshing and relaxation. See you when we get back. Pastor Steve

Well I was able to play in my first game last night. In fact I played in both games last night. As many of you know I usually pitch one of the two games we have each week during the softball season. Well last night, due to the lack of players, I pitched both games. I can type today but if I had to run or even walk far today I would be in trouble. I had not touched a ball since our last game a year ago. I had not picked up a bat since that time. However, God is good to out of shape pastors and he really blessed me in both games. I was able to reach base all but one time while at bat. I caught a line drive, self defense reaction, and made a few other plays. All in all we had a great time and we ended up winning both games.
Team work was the key to our winning. It is the same way when we work together at church. No one was down on anyone else for missing a ball, and we all missed plenty. No one got mad when someone was thrown out, that would be me many times. No one seemed to care if we were a head or behind, we all just enjoyed the time together. Church league is fun when it happens like that. Likewise, working together in serving God is fulfilling when it works like that. Everyone does what God called them to do and God receives the glory. Perhaps this year, when we play our golf scramble this weekend, I can make it through nine holes with the same ball. That is my goal each year. So far it has not happened, but this could be the year. Pray for me I need all the help I can get. Loving being your pastor. Steve

Jesus was the one who said it first. “Open your eyes and look at the fields” Jn. 4:35 (NIV). We tend to move towards the next part of that verse to quickly sometimes. “They are ripe for harvest.” Lets look at the field for a moment before moving to the harvest. Jesus never says anything that has little or no meaning. In fact every word that our Lord spoke is living and has power in it. Jesus told the disciples to open their eyes. Now why did he say that? They were awake and had their eyes open. Well we know that it is a spiritual implication. Open your spiritual eyes and see the people as I see them, waiting, needing and ready to receive their God. The fields are full of lost folks all asking the same questions about spiritual matters. Is there a God who really cares for me? Can He, will He do something about my personal problems? You and I know the answer is yes He does care, He can help anyone, anywhere, anytime.
When I read these verses and process them in light of the up coming Harvest Crusade, I see the field. I see the months of prayer and preparation that has went into making things ready for the harvest. The 93 churches that have laid their theological differences aside to unite together in winning souls for the Kingdom. As discerning Christians we should be able to see a field that has been well plowed seeded and growing. “Open your eyes and look at the fields” the field has been prepared brothers and sisters. The Harvest is upon us. What are you prepared to do? Have you blocked out time to intentionally invite the lost to Christ? Are you going to intentionally, physically, make the effort to bring at least one family to the crusade one night? Every night?
Jesus finishes that verse by saying “they are ripe for harvest”. I was listening to a speaker recently tell of his experience while over in Israel. He stated that he was at the very spot where Jesus had spoke those words recorded in John’s gospel. While setting at Jacob’s well he looked up and to his surprise he saw a large group of Bedouins coming down the hill towards the well. He focused in on the group all wearing their white turbines and white regalia and these words came to him, “They are white already to harvest”.(KJV) Jesus looking up that day could see the people of Samaria coming towards him. Why were they coming to him? Because the woman had went back to town and sowed the seed and the seed never returns void. The field was ripe already for the harvest.
I am so proud of you as a church body. I have had to return to the harvest office two times in order to pick up extra invitations because we ran out. I was so blessed when the WEM team decided to make bees wax candles to hand out with the invitations. It could have been limited to a night of fun for the ladies and connecting with the children. As it turned out, the ladies had fun they connected with their children and the added blessings were they taught their children to do for others. They achieved a goal of helping sow towards the harvest. They built unity in the body as they saw the field in a new light.  I am truly humbled by the members of Calvary Baptist church, and the leadership of our teams because you have caught the vision for harvesting souls for God. I believe with all my heart that we are going to have a great part in the harvest. Why you ask? Because we opened our eyes, looked at the field, saw the opportunities for sowing and reaping the harvest. I am excited for what God is doing and for how honored His name will be. I am praying for you. Pastor Steve

The snow storm ended up canceling Palm Sunday services. As the prayer coordinator for the Harvest crusade I had sent a letter asking the pastors of the 400 plus churches in the area to call their church to 40 days of fasting and prayer. The timing was perfect since Palm Sunday fell 40 days prior to the Greg Laurie, Harvest Crusade. On day 40 we had already scheduled our final monthly prayer time at the First Assembly of God church next door. You will have many opportunities during the next 40 days to go deeper in your prayer time as you ask the Father to empower you and our church. The members of the National Day of Prayer team and Harvest Crusade prayer team have joined together for a 24 hour prayer vigil which will start on the National Day of Prayer May 7th at 6:30pm and run through the next evening 6:30pm. The prayer bookmarks you have been given is a great way to engage in prayer during the 40 days. We have built in prayer time around the alter every Sunday leading up to the Crusade. Now I want to add another dimension to expand your walk with God. Over the next 40 days I would ask that you consider fasting along with your prayer time. What follows is some of the notes I would have shared with you on Sunday if we could have had church services.
Many people do not realize what a fast is or how to go about participating in a fast. So look over what I have to say and above all follow what the Word says about it.

What I hope to do by calling for a time of fasting and prayer is to deepen the experience of joy and intimacy you will have when this kind of activity happens in your walk. When Adam first was separated from the presence of God, the Bible does not mention that Adam prayed to God any longer. Of course praying to God is talking with God. It is not until we read that Enosh was born to Seth that “men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26). From that time onward we see people calling on God to help them in life’s situations.
In the Old Testament, Abraham called upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:8). Elijah called upon the name of the Lord when he faced the false prophets of Baal, (1 Kings 18:24). Psalms 145:18 states that “ The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth”. Isaiah 55:6 tells us to “Call upon Him while He is near”.
In the New Testament we see the shift to calling on Jesus Christ, for He is God in the flesh. In 1Corinthians 1:2 Paul speaks about all “who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Peter states that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). All throughout the Bible, we see great men and women of faith calling on the Lord. Simply put, they prayed to God.
Not only do people of Christian faith pray, but it seems that most people regardless of their background will pray. In viewing one of the impact videos where people off the street were asked about prayer, most stated they prayed. Many did not acknowledge Christ as the one and only true God, however they stated they did pray to something. T. W. Hunt stated that “Prayer is as old as man, permeates all of history, and is common to all people”.
I am asking you to make sure that you spend quality time in prayer to Christ the next 40 days. The emphasis of prayer we have asked the church to participate in is called intercessory prayer. Jesus led us in this type of prayer when in the garden he prayed for all to believe in Him as savior (John 17:20). He intercedes for us now in heaven according to Heb. 7:25, and 9:24. I am asking you to intercede for the lost in our community. I am asking you to pray longer, harder, and with more depth than ever before over the next 40 days. To aid you in the deeper prayer life I am asking you to fast along with your prayer.
Allow me to give you some guidelines on fasting before you think this is not for you. First lets define fasting. Simply put, fasting is the voluntary withdrawing from food and/or drink, or other fleshly appetite, for a specified period of time. This is done so that the mind will not be cumbered with earthly matters. The fast is mentioned in both Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word is ‘sum’ to cover, and ‘mesteuo’ to abstain. The expression used in the law is ‘afflicting the soul’ or ‘deny yourself’ (Lev. 16:29-30 and 23:27). In fact this was a requirement for the Israelites with harsh penalties if they did not follow the law. (lev. 23:29-30). When the fast was for one day they abstained from every kind of food from evening to evening. After the Jewish nation had been taken captive, there were several fast that began to be observed. In Jesus’ time the Pharisees fasted regularly on the second and fifth day of every week because their tradition told that Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the second set of tablets on a Thursday and came down on a Monday (Matt. 9:14; Lk. 18:12). In this they took pride and were found to be hypocritical by Jesus (Matt. 6:16). As the early church evolved the Christians appointed Wednesday and Friday as days of fasting. Friday was especially important and they would eat no flesh in order to commemorate the passion and crucifixion of Christ. The Biblical bases for this practice is found in Matt. 9:15 “the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast”. I always wondered why Catholics only ate fish on Friday when I was growing up. So we see that fasting has always been with us and even required by God in some effect. Jesus stated when you fast, not if you fast. In the 6th and 8th centuries fasting was required. Now the protestant church has no obligation attached to fasting and so we are not requiring you to fast over the next 40 days. I am asking you to consider it as a matter of the heart.
Let me offer some of the ways you may choose to fast during the next 40 days. There are three basic types of fasting mentioned in the Bible.
A. The normal fast. This is a fast with no food only liquids like water and some have to have juice due to health considerations. It can last for a day, like the fast for the Day of Atonement. There can be a 3 day fast like the one the apostle Paul held after he was saved ( Acts 9:9). This can be of any length and is up to your judgment and health situation. (use common sense)
B. There is the partial fast where you eat only certain kinds of food. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all kept this kind of fast (Daniel 1:8-15). I would also mention one type of fast that Priscilla and I have agreed on when we are seeking the Lord in this way. It is found in 1 Corinthians 7:5 and it tells you to devote yourselves to prayer during this type of fast.
C. The absolute fast is one like Jesus participated in for 40 days (Lk. 4:2). Moses was with the Lord 40 days without food (Ex. 34:28). This is a very serious fast and should be done only under a doctor’s care or close supervision.
The bottom line is that you must be in agreement with your Lord and in the one case, with your spouse. It is a time for prayer to a degree that goes beyond what you may normally do. The fast is there so that you are in total focus on the things of God. I hope you experience joy, release, and power in Christ over the next 40 days. Pastor Steve