02 Feb

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts One comment

It’s all about Him

With the gathering of our own church family, friends from nearby and our immediate family from across the state, Center Hill Community Church was a packed house on January 23rd. We had come together not simply to ordain the Pastor unto the ministry but to glorify God. My greatest fear for the day was that it would become about the person being ordained, me, and not about the God who had called and enabled me. Center Hill didn’t confuse the issues. Even though kind things were said about me (kinder than I deserved) and the examination of my call completed, the over arching message was that God was center and it was His ministry that was to be furthered. From the board and congregation’s examination, the preparation of the meal, the planning and presentation of music, the preaching of the Word by Rocky Hammond and Jeff Burkett, and the moderation of the services by Jim Titler, the people of Center Hill came to a deeper understanding of “Soli Deo Gloria”, God’s glory only. If I used this space to thank each and everyone who had a part in the success of the day, I would surely leave someone out and worse yet deflect the glory of the day from our Lord. In recent months as I had prepared for the ordination, I came across a recurring theme in the Word of God, humility. I can’t remember who said, ‘if a man claims to be humble in the slightest, it is a sure sign he is not’ but it has stayed with me. I am not claiming to be humble but instead say that I was humbled by the day. Micah 6:8 has been more and more impressed upon my heart that what is required of me is ‘to walk humbly with my God’. I am humbled to think that God being so sovereignly in control of the very dust motes floating in the air of my study and each snow flake falling outside the window has at the same time called me to His ministry. I trust I never lose the weightiness of that thought. Thank you Center Hill for honoring our Lord and allowing the moment to reflect His glory. soli deo gloria

14 Jan

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

“Set apart for me…”

Center Hill Community Church is about to ordain, ‘set apart’, their Pastor unto the ministry of our Lord. The church in the New Testament followed the example set in the Old Testament of ‘setting apart’ their sacrifices, ‘setting apart’ their priests, and ‘setting apart’ there leaders unto the specific use and administration of God. Examples of this in the New Testament are found in Acts 6 in which the church ‘set apart’ the seven for specific ministry and in Acts 13 when Barnabas and Saul are called by God and ‘set apart’ by the church to God’s work. I am most intrigued and humbled by the words of the Holy Spirit in Acts 13 ‘set apart for Me, Barnabas and Saul…’ Wow, to think that God had chosen specifically these two men for a specific task He had for them. The God of creation, the great I AM had, for His pleasure and glory, chose two humble servants to minister in His name. What an awesome, overwhelming responsibility and privilege. So it is for those God has called into the ministry of His word today. We call them Pastors, Elders, Deacons, Missionaries, Evangelists, etc. Nevertheless, the responsibility and privilege is the same as it was for the first century church leaders and servants. They …we… have been set apart for “Jehovah’s” purposes. It’s not because we’re special in some way, holier, wiser, or possess more redeeming qualities than others. No, God for His pleasure and glory has set apart certain of His servants for reasons known only to Him. But when I consider this from a personal perspective, what a humbling proposition this becomes. With Christ as the standard, I am not blameless, I am not a lover of good, I am not hospitable and to a degree I am violent and greedy. All of which would preclude me from being ‘set apart for God’ to the ministry. As I stated, it is a humbling proposition. What then makes a man worthy of ‘the call’? Grace, pure and simple. It is by God’s grace I have been saved and it is by God’s grace I live. And it is by grace that I have been called and enabled in the ministry. It must become my commitment to the church which sets me apart and to My Lord who calls me to serve each moment at the point of God’s grace, humbly submitted to His enabling power and the standard of Christ likeness. It then is not my ability to minister, my ability to preach and teach or my ability to live blamelessly but Christ who lives through me. Pray for us and join our congregation on January 23rd as we exercise our God given privilege and responsibility to set apart one for His service. Pray for me, that I submit to our Lord’s teaching and His Spirit’s conviction in matters of leadership and personal holiness. It’s all about grace, it’s all about Him. soli deo gloria

03 Jan

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts One comment

Dance, even when others won’t

08 Nov

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts One comment

Awesome video

“> Turn up your volume!! “On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” at Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ – the world’s largest pipe organ – the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers.”

26 Aug

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

AWANA is coming, AWANA is coming!

Get ready for another year of AWANA! Wednesday, September 15 will be our registration dinner. Parents and children are both welcome on the 15th has we update everyone on what can be expected this year. A few changes and a few new leaders to be introduced. We’re excited about this new year and hope that you entrust us with your kids, to make little disciples of Christ. soli deo gloria

12 Aug

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

Steve and Cathy Voke

We are excited to have Steve and Cathy Voke, supporting missionaries from France, with us this week for our morning worship and then for our Sunday School hour to follow. Please plan on visiting with us this week as we welcome the Voke’s. You can check out their new Update Letter on our Announcement Page, to see the exciting progress that has occurred in Esbly, France, especially in the “Carpenter’s Shop”. He’s advancing His kingdom! soli deo gloria

09 Aug

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts One comment

VBS 2010!

Center Hill’s vacation bible school began this past Monday night. This years theme is The Egypt File. Here’s an overview of the exciting week and nightly updated pictures! Our children are constantly bombarded with the message that they are nothing more than just another animal—a product of countless years of random processes. From movies to books, they are brainwashed with the idea that they are nothing special and there is no God to whom they are accountable for their actions. That’s where The Egypt File comes in! Children will learn that God made them in His very image—they are special and set apart from the animals! Our purpose in life is to love and serve Him. On Day 1 (File 001), they’ll uncover the truth that the “ape-men” they’ve heard so much about are actually nothing of the sort—they’re either ape or men, but not a combination of both. They’ll discover that the first two humans were lovingly made by the Creator God in the very beginning to fellowship with Him. File 002—Kids will decode the design of their bodies—design that shouts, “I’m made by God!” From the top of their head to the bottom of their feet, they are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator. God thought of everything when He created us! File 003—Kids will unlock the reason we’re separated from our God and why our bodies aren’t “very good” as they were in the beginning. They’ll be faced with the truth that we are sinners in need of a Savior and presented with the good news of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. File 004—Life is precious. Handle with care! Kids will search the Bible to find that we should treat all people—from the tiniest baby in his mommy’s tummy to the oldest living person—with care and respect. As God loves us, so we should love one another. File 005—To wrap up the week, your sleuths will unravel the mystery of working together as the body of Christ and will be challenged to use their lives to glorify the One who made them. They’ll learn that we’ve all been given gifts and talents which we can use together to further the kingdom of God and share with others about Christ has done for us. There’s no mystery about where we came from or where we’re going when we discover what the Bible teaches! Get ready to decode the mystery of life at The Egypt File! See you there! soli deo gloria

02 Aug

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

Celebration of Obedience

What a great day at Center Hill! On Sunday, we baptized 5 obedient followers of Jesus Christ. Our morning message was on the topic of baptism, followed by communion, followed by the outdoor baptism. A great day in the Lord, in His word, and in fellowship with His church. The testimonies given by those who were baptized, revealed a true understanding of biblical baptism and were quite moving. All referred to their personal conversion by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and their desire to be obedient to their Lord and Saviour in believer’s baptism. All understood that their salvation was not dependent on their baptism but was a step of obedience in following Christ’s command in the Great Commission to make disciples and to baptize them. As encouraging as it was to see these 5 identify publicly with their Lord, as pastor I was extremely encouraged that over 60 people were in attendance at the baptismal site to witness their obedience. Witnessing others being baptized allows each of us to reflect on our own baptism and what it represents. As we grow in the knowledge of our Lord and His scriptures we gain a deeper, more meaningful and greater appreciation of what actually occurred at our own conversions. Our baptisms are pictures of our own deaths, in Christ, as we were united spiritually with Him in His death and burial. Praise God that we are also united with Him in His subsequent resurrection and thereby our own resurrection to walk in a newness life. (Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.) Notice that Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father and that is the same power which enables us to walk in newness. New life, old life is dead. We walk in a new direction empowered by the glory of the Father. What an encouragement! Reflect often on your own baptism as you grow deeper in your faith. What a rich, deep understanding we gain of our salvation as the symbolism of our baptism grips us. Allow the truth of all that occurred at your own salvation to cause you to rejoice in Him, each time you witness the obedience of one in believer’s baptism. soli deo gloria (watch for pictures soon on Our People page)

07 Jul

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

For your encouragement

Sorry for the recent lack of a ‘blog update’. With the busyness of the holiday and our being on vacation, I haven’t had the chance to write anything profound or earth shattering lately! So instead, I wanted to provide you with a great song of encouragement that I just came across. Enjoy and be encouraged. K-LOVE – JJ Heller “Your Hands” LIVE from K-LOVE Radio on Vimeo. “> soli deo gloria

07 Jun

wfelmlee Posted in Blog Posts No comments

Missions in France

This update is for all to read but my truest intentions of writing this is that it be read by the members and friends of Center Hill. God has recently impressed on my heart the need for our church to continually be evaluating our emphasis on making disciples, both here in Jefferson County, Pa. and throughout the world. We pray for and support financially several different missionaries or boards. For that we rejoice. However, it is our intentions not to simply have ‘missions’ as an occasional afterthought or guest speaker every so often but truly to have a missions mindset in our ministry. Taking the truth of God’s word, thereby pointing people to Christ, to all who we come in contact with. Whether that be daily in vocation or leisure, family and friends, specific ministry outreach or support agencies. Mission mindedness should be something that we are at our very core, something we can’t help but display because we are so immersed in it. We need to show the love of Christ and share the ‘good news’ of His death and resurrection to all who will listen. We need to become excited about God’s working in His ministry and our presence. For that reason, I encourage you to read our most recent update letter from one of our missionaries, Steve Voke of Esbly, France. You will find it on Our Announcement page. It is exciting to see the completion of the Carpenter’s Workshop and the overwhelming response of those who attended their open celebration weekend. God is at work, He is always at work. Let’s be faithful in supporting that work both here at home and abroad. I will be featuring here on the website and in our services, God’s hand at work through supported ministries in the next couple of months. Pray that God burdens us for a deeper love for and commitment to missions. soli deo gloria