Recently my family and I attended the New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York. After spending ten hours at the Fair I came away with some observations….we enjoyed the exhibits, the children loved seeing the many animals, the horse show was outstanding, and of course there were many vendors trying to sell their product hoping to convince you it was the best.

However, I also noticed some things that disturbed me very much. I saw many people out of shape, weak and feeble looking sickly. Some could hardly get around while others were driving their rental “cars” because it would be too difficult to walk. My feelings became emotional at times as I observed people in their limited state.

There was also another important observation that I made was the focus on what we were going to eat. It was hard to make a decision because of the many choices and varied smells. We walked extensively looking and really seeking for that item that would really satisfy our taste buds. It’s amazing how much we go out of our way to feed ourselves. And then there was dessert! There were more choices than you could shake a stick at. Ice cream, cookies, fried dough, waffles dripping in syrup, candy apples and I can’t forget the huge tent of bulk candy.

Let’s look at this for a moment, and let me tell you what I ate. I had a steak sandwich with lettuce, tomato, peppers and onions, a piece of pizza, a candy caramel apple with sprinkles, a coffee and of course an apple fritter, a good amount of water, a pretzel and a couple of licks of my wife’s ice cream. So, was I satisfied with all this after it was all said and done?  Well, the steak was a little too rare in spots. The apple was soggy and I had to ditch most of it. The apple fritter was okay but it wasn’t where I normally purchase from, and the same went with the coffee. The pretzel was overcooked in some areas and undercooked and doughy in others. The ice cream was delicious and creamy.

So what did I conclude from this day of walking many miles, eating some food I searched for, listening to vendors making their “pitch,” and watching a sea of humanity pass by…?
One would think with the food I ate I would never purchase those items again. But my wife indicated to me that the reason the fair is only once a year is so our memory can fade and next year we will do the same thing over again! Putting this all in perspective many people are sick and feeble because they are not exercising and not eating the right foods. They are going to die prematurely unless something changes in their life.

In a spiritual sense this makes me think of the life beyond. Do we consider the next world and how to get there? I see when God created Adam in the Garden of Eden one of the first things He mentioned was to eat. Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God is in favor of eating but He wants us to eat the right foods. We all need to reevaluate our physical diet and how it relates to our health. Eating correctly will fuel our bodies better and will create longevity on this side of the river. Eating the correct spiritual food …God’s Word ….The Bible …will fuel our spiritual man and help us to get to the other side of the river which is eternity.

That brings me to my point. I thoroughly enjoyed being with some of my family…my son and daughter-in-law…my three grandchildren and of course my beautiful wife. I call this family “fellowship” and we do enjoy each other and function well together. How pleased and satisfied I was to be with my family and see the delight that going to a fair together could bring. Seeing my older grand-daughter share one of her purchases with me…watching the little girl sip her smoothie…and the little boy falling asleep on my shoulder as we watched the horse show were all priceless. To see my son and his wife together and me by the side of my wife made me think it doesn’t get any better than this. But then I got checked in my thinking because it does get better! If we follow Jesus we can all be together for eternity. Now that is a huge thought and concept. How can this be? Jesus provided the way by his death and resurrection. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Remember we all think about food a great deal. Too many instances we eat the wrong food that actually hinders our body like those greasy fries or those sugar-laden pastries. But there is a table spread by God where He invites us to partake. His food is love and it nourishes our heart and changes our attitude so we can spend eternity with Him. Hey, let’s meet at the river and cross over for family fellowship and food forever. The Bible begins with the mention of food and ends with an invitation to eat. Let’s eat of that table and cross that river so we can be together at that great fair in the sky that won’t come once a year but will be daily for eternity. Revelation 2:7 says, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Blessings, Pastor Colombo

Hello and greetings from Pastor Colombo! I am very excited to begin my first post about…food! For those of you who know my Italian roots, and my love for food, you will especially enjoy this post.

This past Saturday our church did our annual fundraiser, a chicken barbecue. We have been doing this for over fifteen years, and people have expressed it’s the best they ever tasted. We always get the question, “When will the next chicken barbecue be?” We have even had people try and figure out our secret recipe!

So why a blog about chicken? Please follow along. In order for this event to be successful you must start off with the best chicken. We always purchase our chicken from a country store named Ed and Jeans. Their chicken is the best, and comes at a great price too. We should not cheat people by giving them something inferior. God gave His best to us by giving us Jesus.

The men of the church cooked our chicken, as they have for so many years, starting with an early wake-up call to get the fire going. As Christians we need to seek God early and show our dedication to Jesus. The fire on the hot coals reminds us of the fellowship Jesus had with His disciples after His resurrection on the shore. Our men fellowship outside while our ladies do the same inside waiting for eager people to come and get their meals.

The men know the Pastor’s rule for cooking chicken, and the ladies of the church make their recipe barbecue sauce for the chickens to be basted. Now some people just dip their chickens once and cook them (this is not the Italian way). The Pastor’s rule is continual basting of the chicken as they are being cooked. Like the chicken, we must continually allow God to baste us in His Holy Spirit so that we become completely saturated with the Holy Oil from heaven. If we don’t allow God to do this, then we will become stagnant in our walk with God and not be appealing to others. Not only do we continually baste the chicken, we turn and flip it on the grill. We too must continually turn to God and show Him we love Him and desire Him more and more each day. As we turn to Him God will turn His face toward us and give us His best. We will hear His voice and feel His Spirit upon us.

What delight when people pick up their order. Some stay and eat in our fellowship hall and by their vocal and facial expressions you can tell it’s the best chicken in town. That is how the Lord wants us to feel about church on Sunday morning – it’s the best “meal” we had all week. Let’s face it, we all love food but does anything “taste” better than sitting down at Our Father’s Table and breaking bread and fellowshipping with Him? Finding a good meal and a good restaurant is nice, but finding a good church alive with Jesus is something else!

God Bless you!

Pastor Frederick Colombo

My name is Kimberly, and I have been attending church at the Throop Church of God for 27 years (I am the Pastor’s daughter). My Mom and Dad brought me to church for the first time when I was two weeks old and simply put, this church became my home. My parents have been in the ministry for the last 38 years! They have dedicated their whole lives to the church and God’s ministry, and I could not have had better role models for Christ.

About two years ago I approached my Dad about building a website. I had very little schooling in the subject, but I knew it was a vision that God laid on my heart. My motivation behind this website was to get my parent’s message (God’s message) out to a broader spectrum of people. My Father has spoken truth behind the pulpit for the last 38 years, and honest preaching like his is hard to come by these days. I pray those who listen to these sermons are blessed by God’s message. However, this website was not the original, and I am proud to be rolling out this updated version. This has been a group effort all the way, with input and ideas from many people (thank you to all who have made this possible).

A little about who we are. Our church is more than a church, it is a family unit. We are a small group of people who are dedicated to the Lord. I believe the value of a church like ours will be magnified in the years to come. Life is hard enough right? We all have struggles, imperfections, and trials. We need brothers and sisters in Christ to pull us through to the other side.

So, why start this blog? You will be hearing from the Pastor (Fred), his wife Peggy, myself, and other church members from time to time. This blog is an outlet for those on the outside to get to know who we are, for active church members to discuss topics and sermons, and to get the message of God across. Our blogs will cover a variety of topics ranging from sermons, events, marriage tips, addiction help, general information, and even a recipe from time to time (we have a lot of great cooks in our church).

We hope you come back in the future to check out the latest news and get updated about what is happening in our world. Feel free to leave comments or go to our contact page for questions and feedback. You can also sign up to be on our subscriber list to have news directly sent your email. Just fill out the form to your right. Any feedback would be appreciated. Looking forward to future interactions.

Blessings in Christ,

Kimberly