Sonlight Wesleyan Church

SoulShift

Pastor Lyle — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:19:23 +0000

Have you ever imagined a better you? God has a dream for you! It’s you restored to his original plan. He’s already at work restoring your future. For the next eight weeks, we’ll take a look at these very important SoulShifts. Each Sunday morning, we will unpack what SoulShifts are with practical, biblical suggestions for life.

Plan now to join us in worship each Sunday morning through this series as we explore a new SoulShift every week.

Special Announcement !!

Pastor Lyle — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:04:29 +0000

         There is an old traditional Christmas Carol titled “The 12 Days of Christmas”. As I write this blog it is December 13th which means that those 12 days would start tomorrow so that they would end on Christmas morning. It does not seem possible that we are down to the last 12 days before Christmas morning but we are.
         I know for many that your days have been filled with shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, Christmas parties and if you have children you probably have even had a Christmas program at school. On top of all that throw in the events that may be taking place at church, your job and regular duties that you do every day of the year; no wonder you’re tired.
         I shared this following story with our congregation on Sunday morning and I felt that I should share it with you who read this blog who do not attend Sonlight.

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk North Carolina. The flight lasted 59 seconds and traveled 850 feet. Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message home – WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 59 SECONDS – WE WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Upon receiving the telegram, their sister Katherine went to the newspaper office, told the editor of her brother’s new flying machine, and informed him they would be home for Christmas, if he would like to set up an interview. He told her that was nice, and he would be sure to put something in the paper regarding the boys. On December 19, the local paper placed the following headline on the 6th page of the paper: “WRIGHT BROTHERS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS”. The most important story of the year – man’s first flight – and the editor missed it!

In 12 days we will celebrate Christmas and all the festivities that are associated with it. In the city of Bethlehem over 2,000 year ago an announcement was made that the Messiah had been born. I pray for all of us that we not miss the importance of that announcement. Jesus came to the manger to bring us life eternal. We may celebrate Christmas on the 25th but I would encourage all of us to celebrate the gift that Jesus brought to us every day. Merry Christmas, may you and your family enjoy a very Blessed Year. Now, where did I put that “Partridge in a Pear Tree”?

Therefore Stand In Awe

Pastor Lyle — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:01:43 +0000

A few years ago the movie “Bucket List” was released. It was a movie about some older men who decided that before they died they wanted to experience certain things that they had not yet done. I never saw the movie and honestly have never thought seriously about making a “bucket list”, but if I were going to make a list, one of those items would have gotten erased on October 29th.
       I grew up in Plymouth Indiana which is about 20 miles south of South Bend and the home of Notre Dame University. I grew up a huge Notre Dame fan and watched their football games on television growing up and I always wanted to attend a game in person. In September of this year I turned 55 and had never been to a game or stepped foot in the stadium. Our youngest daughter happened to be offered the opportunity to buy 4 tickets to the Notre Dame vs. Navy game and she called wanting to know if I would like to go. It did not take long for me to answer and on October 29th our family drove 3 ½ hours from Bluffton to Notre Dame for the football game. I will admit that for me the days leading up to the game was like being a little kid at Christmas. I was really excited that I was finally going to be able to attend a game at the stadium in person. I have had the opportunity to attend other college games and have always had a wonderful time but it was not an ND game.
       We arrived at the stadium about an hour before the gates opened so we had the opportunity to walk around the stadium and watch as the team entered the stadium led by the Irish guard. Finally, the gates opened and we made our way through the gates and headed towards the tunnel that would take us to the bleachers, and as we got to the mouth of the tunnel I was able to see out into the stadium for the first time and I stood there in awe. I heard Pat tell someone later that it was worth the cost of the tickets and trip to see my face light up as we walked through that tunnel and into the stadium. Our seats for the game were 17 rows from the field in the south end zone and the Irish won the game big that day. I remember saying as we walked from the stadium that evening “well I guess I can mark that off my bucket list”. I don’t know if I will ever get to experience another game inside the stadium but at least I was able to experience one.
       In the days and weeks since that time I have had the opportunity to reflect upon that day. I could say that I was very lucky to get those tickets but I know that is not true. I believe it was a blessing to receive those tickets. I could also say that it was fortunate that there were four tickets so my wife and our two daughters got to go to the game, but I also know that was not fortune but another blessing. I am not saying that God is a Notre Dame fan but I do believe that the blessings in life come from Him and for those blessings I am thankful.
      During those times of reflection God reminded me how excited I was to go to the game and how in my own words “stood in awe as I looked out the tunnel onto the field”. I thought of that and wondered how many times in life we get so excited about lots of things but when was the last time that we stood in awe and wonder of God? When was the last time that we stood outside the doors of the church or gazed into the sanctuary in awe of what we were about to experience? In Ecclesiastes 5:7 it says; “Therefore stand in awe of God”. I will always be grateful for the blessing of going to the game but I am even more grateful for a loving God who loves and cares for me. During this Thanksgiving holiday I encourage you to stop and stand in awe of the God who loves and blesses you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Be Thankful

Pastor Lyle — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:10:42 +0000

When did it happen? How did it happen? It seems like it was only two days ago that May 1^st arrived and I was looking forward to spending time outside doing yard work, sitting by the pool and enjoying the summer ahead. This morning I looked at my calendar and it said November 1^st. I want to know where the summer went.

I was told by my Aunt June years ago that as you get older the time seems to go by faster. I didn’t believe her at the time she told me this, but her words were truly prophetic. With each passing year the days come and go faster and in the blink of an eye we went from May 1^st
to November 1^st and I’m not sure when, where or how it happened, but it did. So how do we deal with it? I think the answer is twofold, first, do not take any day for granted because we are not guaranteed tomorrow and second try to enjoy every day that God has blessed us with.

In 23 days we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving. If your household is anything like ours these next 23 days will go by at light speed and come November 25^th you will feel like the holiday passed you by and you never got to enjoy it, so let me offer you an alternative.

I have a friend who I attended college with who is posting each day until Thanksgiving a different reason to be thankful. I thought this was a wonderful way to be reminded of the blessings that each of us have in our life and what better way to not just relegate Thanksgiving to one day of the month. You don’t need to post these for public view, you can if you would like, but I would encourage you to write them on a piece of paper and post it so that you can see it daily. Wouldn’t it be a great encouragement to see 23 pieces of paper posted in your home or office reminding you of your many blessings?

I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I pray that the days leading up to it will be ones filled with thanksgiving as well as how God has blessed you, but someone still has some explaining to do on what happened to the days between May 1^stand November 1^st.

Choices

Pastor Lyle — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:14:15 +0000

Have you ever found yourself at a point in your life where you have asked yourself this question; “I have five things to do and I only have time for three, what do I leave out”? It seems like in our ever changing and hurried life that is a question that is being asked more and more by
individuals and families. There are many weeks during the year that I find myself asking the same thing, so I know the struggle that you are in. It seems like everything is important and valuable on our list of things to do but still there is a decision that needs to be made because you can’t do everything. I know, I’ve tried and it is not possible so you are faced with a decision and the answer usually always aligns with what is most important to us.

Over the years with so many choices available to us I have seen God and church included into the mix of choices. The thought that God and church is part of the mixture is disturbing, but what has become even more disturbing is that God and church seem to be the ones left out of the to-do list. It seems that when more and more people are being asked to choose what is important in their life, God and Church are being left out. It seems that God and Church are being lumped together with every other choice instead of being a priority in our life and that troubles me.

I was reminded this past week of the verse found in Hebrews 10:25 which says; Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as we see the Day approaching. The day that this verse speaks of is when the Lord returns or the day that we take our last breath here on earth. None of us know when that day will come but it is coming and my fear is that we will be so busy doing other things that we will not be prepared for the “Day”.

I know what it is like to be pulled in many different directions and I know what it is like to have so many wonderful choices to choose from. It can be very difficult to choose which event to do but allow me to encourage you as Hebrews 10:25 states. There is nothing more important in life than to be ready for God’s return and there is no better way to accomplish that than by making it a priority in your life to meet together with other believers in Church. I would encourage you to make God and church a non-negotiable item in your life. If you have a relationship with God and a church home then make them a priority in your life. If you do not have that type of relationship or a church that you call home I would invite you to come and visit us at Sonlight. We would love to have you join us. Until then, God Bless.

Celebrating Grandparents

Pastor Lyle — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:50:17 +0000

Welcome to the new Sonlight Wesleyan website, I pray that you come back and visit the site often as we have many new features included and we will be updating the site often. If you live in the Bluffton area and you do not have a home church we would love to have you visit us. I believe you will like what you experience and will make Sonlight your home.

I am at a time in my life where my parents and both sets of grandparents have passed away. Over the last year my three sisters, two brothers and myself have been preparing to settle my parent’s and grandparent’s estate. We have been going through boxes and boxes of items and in so doing we found a lot of items from the past; some of the items were from the 1800s. As we were going through all of this I realized that what I was sorting through was my family’s history and the legacy that had been left for me and my siblings. The more we unpacked the more I realized how blessed we were to have this legacy left behind for us.

On Sunday morning October 16 we will be celebrating Grandparents Day at Sonlight. I would like to invite you to come and be with us on this special day as we celebrate and thank those who are preparing a legacy for their families. We are serving Breakfast from 8:30 – 9:30 and having our worship service at 9:45. Many special events are planned for the day, so come celebrate with us!

Sonlight Cookbooks

Sonlight — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:56:59 +0000

Our new cookbooks are here! The cookbook has 500 recipes. It is in a beautiful, padded 3-ring binder. The cost is only $15. All proceeds go to support the Ladies Ministry here at Sonlight. To purchase your cookbook contact the church office at 260-824-0068.