Pastor’s Page | May 7th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read Ezekeil 2)
Years ago, a man bought one of those fancy GPS systems for his car. He loved it because the voice was so calm and polite. One day he missed his turn, and the GPS gently said, ‘Recalculating.’ This upset the man. He knew where he was going. How dare this contraption tell him anything else. So, he turned up his radio.
He missed the next turn too. Again: ‘Recalculating.’ Then he ignored a roadblock sign because he thought he knew better. The GPS calmly repeated, ‘Recalculating.’ The man shouted at the GPS, “you think you know everything, don’t you! You think you are so smart. You are just a dumb computer. Siri is so much nicer than you.” He turned the radio up even louder and turned down the volume to his GPS. Finally, after driving twenty minutes in the wrong direction, he ended up at a dead-end boat ramp staring at a lake. Frustrated, he yelled at the GPS, “Why didn’t you tell me I was going the wrong way!”
That’s how people often treat the truth. We don’t mind advice as long as it agrees with us. But when truth tells us to turn around, suddenly we get defensive, distracted, or offended. Ezekiel knew exactly what that was like. He knew what it was like to speak truth to people who didn’t want to hear it. Sometimes speaking the truth feels like being a GPS in a car full of stubborn people: ‘Turn around… turn around…’ while everybody else says, ‘We’re fine!’
And people can get mean with it also. Let me give you another example. I was watching the NBA game between the Spurs and the Timberwolves last night. I realized that the referee has a difficult job. He has to tell players who are 7 ft tall that what they are doing is wrong. He even has to penalize them. Now this may shock you, but some of the players don’t agree with what the referee says. They tend to get upset. Last night, one of the players took exception to a call and decided he would get in the referee’s face. Now the referee has a few options: He can be intimidated and back down and let the guy get away with it. He could also throw his hands up and say, “This isn’t worth it. You guys want to break the rules…have at it. I don’t care!” and he walks off the court. He could also get back in the player’s face and tell him what a terrible job his mom did in raising him and that his game is so bad that not even the WNBA wants him. Or, the best option, to be able to speak the truth in love (for the player and the game) and not allow the barking of the player to cheapen his standards.
As you read this passage this week, think about what it means to speak the truth to people who don’t want to hear it. God calls them obstinate, stubborn, and refers to them as scorpions. Notice also in the passage how many times God tells Ezekiel not to be afraid of the people’s words. This is not just about physical violence, but also the way people talk and gossip about you when you don’t give them their way. Prophets have feelings too! But God says for him to be faithful to speak the truth, no matter the consequences.
Also, notice that Ezekiel’s task is not to get people to change. His duty is simply to lay the truth out there. What difference does this make in how we proclaim the truth to people? How does this lift a burden off of us? Finally, try to connect the power of the images of chapter one with the task given in chapter 2. Why is it important that chapter 1 comes first?
March Sermon Series
“Crazy Times and a Steady God”
05/10 - Preaching to the Scorpions - Ezekiel 2
05/17 - Preaching to a Decaying Culture - Ezekiel 3
05/24 - Preaching Vividly - Ezekiel 4-5
05/31 - Preaching through Calamity - Ezekiel 6-7
Devotional Daily Reading Plan
Updates, Thoughts and More
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. This Sunday we will be celebrating all the women in our lives who have played significant mothering roles in our lives. We will be laying 3 symbolic flowers on the altar as a way to honor these women. Moms, invite your children and grandchildren to come and worship with you on Sunday. If you have to use guilt to get them to come with you, so be it.
Our Upwards awards banquet will be on May 19 th at 5:30 pm in the CLC. This has been a great year for our Upward kids and it is hard to believe that it is already coming to a close. The last games will be on May 16 th . If you haven’t come and watched these kids play, please come and watch them, especially the kindergarten and first graders. You will get a kick out of watching them play.
VBS has been scheduled for June 15-18. Registration is now open. We will be having a volunteer meeting within the next few weeks. Please keep your eyes and ears open for more details.
I know that most people don’t keep up with the NBA, but the playoffs this year have had some great games. Personally, I am hoping for the Spurs and Thunder to end up in the Western Conference finals. These are the two best teams in the league, and they are fun to watch. In the east, I am hoping for the Knicks to make it to the finals. I have no particular reason for this other than I just feel sorry for their fanbase because they have stunk for so long.
What’s Going On This Week
Saturday (05/09)
Upward Basketball Games — 9am-3pm
Mother’s Day Luncheon — 11am
Sunday (05/10) — MOTHER’S DAY… Don’t Forget It!
Worship — 9am & 10:30am
Monday (05/11)
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Upward Practice — 4:00-7:00pm
Tuesday (05/12)
Men’s Prayer Breakfast — 7:30am
Bible Study — 10:00am
Upward Practice — 4:00-8:00pm
Wednesday (05/13)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Youth & Kids — 5:00pm
Choir — 7:00pm
Thursday (05/14)
Upward Practice — 5:00pm-7:00pm
Civic Chorus Concert — 7:00pm
Saturday (05/16)
Upward Basketball Games — 9am-3pm
Joke of the Week
A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The man below says: “Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude.”
“You must be an engineer” says the balloonist.
“I am” replies the man. “How did you know?”
“Well” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.”
The man below says “You must be a manager.”
“I am” replies the balloonist, “but how did you know?”
“Well”, says the man, “you don’t know where you are, or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault.”
Memory Verse of the Week
“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.”
~Ezekiel 2:6 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“If responsiveness is to be the measure of success, Ezekiel’s mission is declared a failure before it even begins. But Ezekiel’s mission will be judged by another standard, for even though the people will not listen to his words, yet “they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
~Duguid, Iain M.
