I see something awesome happening!  Did you realize how much we are reaching out beyond the walls of our building these days?  On “Helping Hands Sunday” we serve our community. We recently have had two Pancake Breakfast Outreaches to the neighborhood around the church.  We just started a Grief Group intended for people around Mena who have lost loved ones. We offer goods to the “Acts of Love Food Pantry” and have members who serve in that ministry.   We will be providing food and humanpower for the Community Thanksgiving Celebration in November. We are helping the greater Mena community learn about autism; we will have another conference in the spring.  We will soon be inviting people back to the church for a bazaar and nativity display, and there is talk of even having a float in the Christmas Parade in December (let me know if you are interested in helping!).  Our own Pete Chambers will be the Grand Marshall of the parade!

Are you surprised that we are reaching out into the community so much?  I’m not, because I see the enthusiasm of so many of you, longing to be God’s hands and feet in the world!  I am proud to be your pastor!

Another way we are reaching out to the community: we are building a new website that will be absolutely spectacular!  It is nearing completion. For this newsletter, I wanted to share a segment that will be found on the website about our Church Mission Statement.  It is good for us all to be reminded about what we understand our mission to be as often as possible. By reading this, you are helping me edit what guests will see.  Please let me know if change is needed! Under the “Church Mission” link on the website, this is what guests will find:  

"The Mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Mena, Arkansas
is to make the Kingdom of God real 
for the hungry, thirsty, stranger, poor, sick and prisoner."

We realize that this mission statement requires explanation.  In 2016 we brought together a task force from among our membership to discern God’s purpose for our existence as a family of faith.  The task force led our congregation in a time of discernment and study of scripture. We rediscovered not only how compassionate and gracious Jesus is, but also how worthy He is of being the Lord of our lives!  

We also discovered how often Jesus talks about what He calls the “Kingdom of God” (AKA the “Kingdom of Heaven”).  We learned that He talks about the Kingdom of God more than any other topic and He always frames it as “good news.”  

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, 
preaching the good news of the kingdom (of God), 
and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
(Matthew 4:23)

Many of His parables seek to demonstrate what the Kingdom of God is like.  Matthew 13 alone holds seven of these parables. For example: 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast 
that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour 
until it worked all through the dough.” (vs. 33)

(Bread without yeast is dense, hard and tasteless.  

Bread with yeast “worked in” is light, airy and tasty!  Yum!

Just imagine how wonderfully desirable a person will be when the “yeast” – the Kingdom of God – grows in them!)

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
  When he found one of great value, 
he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”  (vs. 45-46)

(When we truly understand the beauty of the Kingdom of God, we will recognize that being a part of it is worth everything else!) 

The Kingdom of God is always valuable, always desirable, and it causes growth in the person who becomes a part of it.  

Probably the most important thing we learned is that we must fully understand how a “kingdom” functions. Every kingdom has a monarch (king and/or queen).  The monarch has supreme authority, of course. Having said that, in a fully functional kingdom the monarch will use their authority not to enhance him/herself, but to enhance the kingdom!  S/he will take care of, protect and build relationships among the citizens of the kingdom and call them to assist in the kingdom-enhancing effort. The monarch will even call ambassadors (II Cor. 5:20) to go to other kingdoms to speak the monarch’s message with his or her authority.

Who is the King in the “Kingdom of God?”  The triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit!  

Even so, Jesus came, in part, to give us a visual of God.  It is through the lens of Jesus that we see the character of God most clearly.  Isn’t it interesting that “sinners” actually wanted to be with Him?! And then, considering His willingness to sacrifice by going to the cross for us, it is easy to see that Jesus’ purpose is to enhance the Kingdom rather than self.  

As we recognize the goodness and self-sacrificial nature of our King, it makes us long to follow Him!  We recognize that His words shared in the Gospels should guide our every action. We are under Jesus’ authority, and are to be about following His marching orders.  We want to be His ambassadors and, indeed, make His Kingdom “real” for those around us! Again: 

The Mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Mena, Arkansas
is to make the Kingdom of God real 
for the hungry, thirsty, stranger, poor, sick and prisoner."

The last part of the mission statement is simply taken from Jesus’ amazing parable commonly called “The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.”  While many of the Bible texts we studied offered glimpses into Jesus’ will for our lives, this one stood out. Here is the first part: 

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.‘ (Matt 25:31-40, NIV)

When we do good for others, we do it for Jesus!  The idea is not to do for the “hungry, thirsty, stranger, poor, sick and prisoner” to be righteous, but simply to do it for Jesus, and to be like Jesus.  We reach out as His hands and feet to a world who needs Him so much!

A last thought:  we recognize that Jesus wasn’t trying to be comprehensive when He offered this parable.  We also long to “make the Kingdom of God real for the depressed, the persecuted, the exploited, the rejected, the basket-cases …” etc. 

Come join us in our mission! 

Again, let me know if something needs to change to reflect who we are to the world. 

Blessings to all! 

Pastor Bill