Dan is Sales Director for Chemalloy, a private company producing metallurgical products for various uses. He has been with them for 40 years after starting his career as a metallurgical engineer at a Pittsburgh steel company.

 

God's Word reveals many gifts that He has placed in the hearts and minds of believers. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 tells us that in the Spirit there are varieties of gifts, varieties of service and varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

 

        Being an Elder has allowed me to witness first-hand how men with different gifts, educations and life experiences are called by God to lead, teach and serve His body of believers. To meet with them, to pray with them, and to put the mission of our church body at the forefront of our energies, has been a rewarding experience.

        One of the gifts I have enjoyed the Holy Spirit nurturing in me is the gift of "helps." In my role as an usher captain, I have had the pleasure of leading a group of men who sacrifice time and energy to serve the body. Working with these faithful men, whom I might not otherwise have occasion to know, has become simply a joy for me. Amazing how God gives us the gifts... and then allows us to receive joy for using the gifts for His glory.

        I have been blessed over the past few months to serve as an Elder liaison to the Deacon Board. These servant men and women are the feet and hands of Christ reaching out to our members in need. Being with them, and supporting their desires in Christ, has touched my heart.

        I'm also an encourager! If you want to experience real fellowship here at COS, start serving. The first time volunteering or saying yes when asked to serve the church is always the most difficult. Yet our church cannot fulfill its mission if only a few step forward. But those who do are rewarded by our loving God when they do. I pray that those who are reading this now will allow themselves to say yes to the Holy Spirit's prompting when opportunities to serve are presented. Start small; start by saying yes; and feel the joy God brings to you.

        My job requires air travel many times throughout the year. I look for opportunities to share the Gospel, with sensitivity, with fellow passengers. Romans 1:16 has been an inspiration for this: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."

        Amen!

John Ensor has written a deeply affecting book, The Great Work of the Gospel, centered around core Biblical tenets and the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He opens with the forgiveness of sins in light of God's mercy, and explores hope, conscience and obeisance with perception and understanding. Here is a book of ten chapters that reflect on the Bible with emotion and specificity, highlighting passages of Scripture and providing group study questions. One cannot help but be moved by its real-life stories, sensitively placed within the context of Christian life. Ensor's awareness is nothing less than direct, as when he writes about a clean conscience: "The very question of self-forgiveness may reflect a resistance to glory in God's mercy and a preference to grind our teeth for failing to be as good as our pride always assured us that we were."

 The Creation may well be Franz Joseph Haydn's single greatest achievement, completed at age 66. The composer worked on it for a year and a half with the kind of intensity and spirit that is likely unique in his long career. He had by then achieved worldwide recognition and success with his keyboard sonatas, symphonies and quartets, but this oratorio presented an entirely new challenge. He became inspired by H�ndel's great choral works such as Messiah and Israel in Egypt, which were generally performed with hundreds of instrumentalists and singers. This masterpiece, which became an international cultural phenomenon, celebrates the creation of the world as relayed in the book of Genesis. When composing it, Haydn was on his knees praying each day, asking God to bless the effort. And in his own words, "When I think of God, my heart is so filled with joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle." Listen to the work before or after Pastor Pruitt's present sermons on Genesis, and experience its palpable musical glory to God.

 
Abundant opportunities await for personal growth and giving back. From the Children's Ministry and Community Life to Global Missions, from the Women's and Marriage Ministries to Tech Arts, COS has a welcoming place for you!
  

For me, JOY in the Evening has been a catalyst for renewed vision. Recently we completed a Tim Keller study, "Gospel in Life," which taught us to preach the Gospel daily to ourselves, and then through word and deed to actively bring God's redemption to our communities. I have served in the Elementary Children's Ministry for years, but suddenly I caught a glimpse of how I am a vehicle of redemption for our young lambs. At the same time, I began to see the women of JOY in the Evening with new eyes, too. I saw opportunities (more akin to need) to forge deeper and more meaningful relationships with women, to be personally discipled and held accountable, and to grow in godliness and wisdom. I have a renewed desire to serve this body of women, and in faith have stepped out of my comfort zone. I have volunteered to assist in Community Life; my first task will be to assist as coordinator/admistrator for future COS women retreats.  Stay tuned! 

--Cathy Reed