 | Pastor Dave grew up in northern New Jersey in a very diverse cultural area. He attended Central College in Pella, Iowa received a BA in sociology and psychology. He was an offensive guard for their NCAA Div III National Championship team in 1974. In speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he sensed a call to full time ministry. Meeting is future wife Sandy at Central, went to Michigan to finish her college while Dave started Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dave married Sandy in 77 and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 78. Pastor Dave’s first church was in Fort Lee, New Jersey, home of the George Washington Bridge. Their three children were born there and he also served as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the city. In February 1991, they came to Wichita to start Harvest Community Church. In 2006, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in St Louis. During that year he gained a daughter-in-law with now 2 grandsons of 3 years and 6 months old. Besides Pastoring at HCC for the past 20 years, he has been Director of the SCSD & WPD Police Chaplains for 11.
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Religion
2012-02-27 13:52:10
More to heaven than worship?
Q: The other day my friend and I were talking about Heaven and what it will be like. She said you praise and honor God all day. It’s difficult for me to understand how that’s all one will do, . . . and do it forever. I have an even harder time imagining my husband enjoying it. Although we both go to church regularly, it’s not something he looks forward to. Is there more to heaven than this, or will this be enough?
A: Praising and honoring God in heaven is going to be much more than the experience of sitting in church and singing for all eternity. That is so limited because heaven and our eternal existence will be praising and glorifying God but, in some of the very ways we should be living it now. As we live today we should be “glorifying God in all we do” {1 Corinthians 10:31} and that our eternal existence in heaven is a continuation of our existence as it is now but not hampered by the sin {Romans 1:28; 3:23; 7:14}, miseries {Revelations 21:4} and the brokenness {Romans 8:23} that holds us back and cripples on earth.
Yes there will be a great amount of celebration around the throne because of what we have been saved from and how grateful we are to Jesus Christ for securing our salvation along with the Love of God that generated it! There will be celebrating that will make our Super Bowl parties look like little kid parties. Banquets are referred to and why not? {Matthew 22:1-14} Heaven will be a social existence. We will be city dwellers who socially interact {Revelations 21:2}. It will be close relations as described in terms of home dwelling {John 14:1-2}. It will be close with our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as with our Lord in the most intimate encounter. {Rev. 21:3}
But we are also going to be very busy serving our Lord. It will be a conscious existence as Jesus describes it in Luke 16: 19-31. We will also have great responsibilities as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that includes even judging angels. All the things that hinder us from serving the Lord like tiredness, hunger, thirst, sickness, and bad attitudes will all be done away with and we will serve “day and night” with none of the restrictions of the past {Revelations 7:15-17}. We won’t be having any more of the problems working with each other that even the best of Christians can have on earth. Why? Because the curse of sin and our selfishness will be gone. No more misunderstandings that grow into bitter disputes. No more broken friendships or marriages or rebellious kids and the like. No more death and sorrow {Revelation 21:1-6}.
Think of all the fears and inadequacies that have held you back over the years from doing what you were made to do. Think of the circumstances that have stopped you or the expectations of others that hemmed you in or the physical limitations that hampered you. Maybe the time demands. All these are done away with and you will feel secure to do and live to your fullest potential in honor of God. Everything we have from abilities to gifts to talents will all be at His disposal to use to honor our God. Even for those who wish they could sing will be able to sing in perfect pitch. We will also be constantly growing and learning about our amazing God which is an endless pursuit but a great adventure of discovery and joy. Think of all your dreams, expectations and aspirations you have had for yourself that were never realized here on earth will now be realized in heaven. We see glimpses of it in the scriptural characters like the disciples who were enabled to speak many languages which they never could before {Acts 2:1-13} Even their fullest potential was never fully realized here on earth.
It will be a great opportunity for spending time in relationships. We will be able to visit with loved ones who have died before us. Paul wrote about this to comfort the Thessalonians that were fearful of not seeing their loved ones again who had died before Christ returned. He assures them they will reunite with them {1 Thessalonians 4:17}. There will be physical recognition of those who died as was the case at the transfiguration where Peter, James and John recognize Moses and Elijah who were dead for a long time and who they had never even seen before. (Matthew 17:3-4}. Think of all the great people of faith from the past who were in the scriptures and from history who we will be able to sit down with as Jesus tells us in Matthew 8:11.
We have no clue how great it is going to be. That is why I love the verse God inspired Paul to write that sums it up for me in 1 Corinthians 2:9 where it says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” Awed by Him, Pastor Dave
