February 16, 2025
Stone Creek Church in Urbana has three Sunday morning
services from which to choose. The early one began with a talented,
multi-ethnic worship team of eight. Beautiful voices singing praise. Clearly
things are happening in this place. The auditorium has no stained glass and rather than a US flag up front, one wall is filled with flags of nations.
Today’s speaker said he’d been up through the night with a
sick child and was running on three hours of sleep and two cups of coffee. In
spite of that, he spoke easily without notes except for a quotation
at the beginning.
George Washington Carver was an impressive scientist and man
of God, who did wonders for post-civil-war blacks and the struggling agriculture
of the South as the boll weevil struck cotton crops. Carver’s habit was to walk
with God in nature early every morning asking for help with the issues that
faced him. His journal says he asked why God created the universe and God
replied, “Ask something more in proportion to that little mind of yours.” So
Carver asked the purpose of God’s making the earth, and then man, and then
plants, receiving the same response each time. Finally he asked meekly about
the peanut. And God replied, “Yes, for your modest proportions I will grant you
the mystery of the peanut.” And God did. In January of 1921 Carver spoke to the
House Ways and Means Committee sharing some of his hundreds of uses for the
peanut. His discoveries are credited with transforming the post-war South.
This year Stone Creek will focus on faith. Don’t let misuse
of the word in teachings of
the word of faith movement scare you away from
this significant concept, we were advised
. Indeed, “Faith won’t always give you what you
want, but it will help you obtain everything God wants you to
have.” Using Isaiah 41 as text, the pastor pointed out the fourteen “I will”
statements God gives in response to the people’s fears. He lingered on verse
19 where God promises to plant trees in the desert, not just any trees but seven
specific kinds, each having its own significance. The location of God’s activity is
in the desert. Ah. God can predict the future because he writes the future.
When you get there you will see. “Come on.”
As the worship team came up the pastor revealed his bounded set point of view saying he was always speaking
to two groups of people in the room, “those who have yet to be in Christ” and those
who are “already in Christ.” All are invited to worship in their own words. But he did guide us through a closing
prayer, "watering seeds" of the seven trees, as we followed his easy direction in case some are just learning to pray. In closing another man took the stage to lead ministry time.
Only later did I realize there had been no church bulletin, no visitor card, and no collection plate. They did offer coffee and tea. This being a fairly big congregation, I came in and went out unnoticed except for the friendly doorway greeters. One of them told me the message had been given by Pastor Ricky. In the busy parking lot, several men directed traffic which was helpful. Nice place.
