Greetings Family,
It is a rainy day, typical March, and i sit in the office, contemplating what to write. How can i honor God with words? What words will empower and enable you all to grab hold of the life that God wants us to have. And as i sit here, i have had some powerful revelations come to me. I want to begin with those, before i dive into my thoughts on Sunday's message.
First: If we are to be a church that reaches out so that others will know the love of Christ, we must be whole and healthy within. Just as any mother knows that giving birth to a healthy child happens only when the mother is also healthy. If we are to co-create, with God, powerful ministries that impact our community, we, as a church, must be healthy first and foremost. God will not bring anyone or use us in anyway, if we are not healthy. I sense we are on the fringe of finding that healing and wholeness, but i also sense some hesitation. What is holding us back? I dont know.
Second: In order for us to be healthy, there are some requirements, some prerequisites. I took many advanced classes in college and seminary that demanded i have a previous class, a beginner's class, so that i would and could have some foundational understanding before jumping into a more advanced, more challenging study. And so it is with a church being healthy. There are some prerequisites needed, and i have come up with a list, just a short list, of some things i feel are necessary and vital to church health.
1. Honesty and integrity on all parts of the church family. We must have transparency
and open communication in order for us to be whole. I have dropped the ball in the
communication realm, not because of some diabolical plan, but because i didn't know any
better, and i was and am still learning how information is shared in a church community.
2. We must do the hard work of loving each other, which will push us to bear each other's
loads and carry each other's burdens. But it also requires all of us, each person who claims
this church family as their church family, it requires us to get out and minister to others
within this flock. For too long it was believed and practiced that all visits and all ministry
must flow from the pastor. That is erroneous. True, life changing, life impacting ministry
comes from the body, as a unit. When that begins to happen, and we quit relying on the
few to do the work of the whole, we will begin to feel healthy again.
3. We must stop gossip and cliques from forming. Our time together must be intentional and
worshipful. When we meet away from the church building, in small groups, discipleship
classes, or support groups, we do so in worship, with the purpose of growing closer to
Christ and each other. Social hour is ok, but it has its place. We need real groups, doing
the real work of teaching, learning, and maturing in our faith, so that we can become
radical disciples with radical faith. This can't happen if we get together and complain,
gossip, or take sides. The health of the church, honoring God, comes first.
We must never forsake the Kingdom of God to protect our "relationship." Some times
we have to sever old ties, so God can create something new and more beautiful.
4. And we have to give up our need to own the church. First of all, it is not our church, it is
God's. We are simply borrowing the space. When we lay claim and ownership of
something, we are more apt and prone to fight to defend it, even if it is God we are fighting.
It is more godly and more faithful to remember that this is God's church. We are here to
do God's will, even if it doesn't mesh with what we want. Many times, in Scripture,
God called people out to do great things, and many of them had better plans. But they
chose obedience. And because they surrendered to God and God's will, God worked
miracles through them. God can and will do the same for us, but we must give up our
perceived rights to ownership and surrender our will to God's. If we want to be healthy,
God demands His will be done.
These are just a basic list that came to me as a i pondered the text for Sunday. I realize that Sunday's text has to do with using a lamp to light up a darkened room, so that all that is hidden can be revealed, and it may make us wonder how that works for writing about church health. I feel it serves that purpose well.
A lamp is used to lighten up a room encased in darkness so that any strangers in the midst can see what might go bump in the night. We need a light, i sense, in our church family, so that God can illuminate what needs to be taken care of, so that HE can bring healing and wholeness. But too often, we choose to hide our anger in silent protest, or we gossip, or we destroy, because we need to feel better, and instead of seeking healing, true healing, we chase after lies. Those lies do more damage than good. We need a lamp.
But in the parable from Mark, and we can find this teaching/parable in Matthew 5, after the Beautitudes and in Luke 8: 16-18, the lamp has many purposes. Jesus could be considered the Lamp, which means He has come to shed light on the world. He has come to light the world, many have called Jesus: Great Light of the World. This works. Too much darkness and hopelessness exist in our society, we need a Great Light, to chase away the darkness. Jesus be our lamp.
And yet, the parable could also be about God's Kingdom in general. It is breaking into a dark world, slowly, almost mysteriously, behind small acts of love. Mother Teresa taught that we could change the world, make it a better place for all, not through one gigantic, world shattering event, but through small acts of love and faith. Through the small acts, through the minute ministries, a snowball is formed that changes the landscape of the world around us. And this is, as one could read into the parable, how the Kingdom of God breaks into the darkness. As a spark, then a small flame, a growing flame that lights the circle, and finally a roaring flame that can be seen for miles.
There is mystery in the parable, as there always is, when Jesus teaches, so it could be, possibly, that the light, the latern, is really the parable itself, and it is understood only by those who have the ears to hear and the hearts to understand: Namely those who beleive in Jesus. But i sense it is more than that, because i know many people who claim the name of Jesus, but i feel they can't hear Him. Maybe, like i have been at many times in my life, they are mired in sin, and that sin overwhelms them. Maybe, as i have been, they are too busy. Or maybe, they, as i have been, are too proud to admit they need Jesus. All of these and many more, become ear muffs that dilute the message of Jesus and keep us from hearing the Truth of his teaching.
What are your thoughts? How do you read this text? This parable? Did Jesus reveal something else to you? Perhaps you had a story come to mind, a song? "This Little Light of Mine," came to Norman, what do you hear when you read this text?
I know we can and will hear God speaking to us and through us, empowering us to not only bring the Great Light into a darkened room, but God will enable us to be lights as well. God's Kingdom is built in many ways, but i think He has two primary construction workers: the Holy Spirit, which builds through supernatural means, and the Body of Christ, the church, which builds through the blood, sweat, and tears of serious labor. God's work is not done, so neither is ours. Grab a latern, there are plenty of rooms to illuminate, and many people still fear what goes bump in the night. Amen.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday's Message
Family,
We are three weeks into Lent, and it seems we are flying through this season of repentance and transformation. I can only speak for myself, but i have had several moments of revelation and insight, and i thank God for that. I thank God that at times, He must and is hard on me, so that i can see what is true. More than that, so that i can see how my choices, actions, or even inactions ripple out and have eternal affects. But also, when i choose love over hate, peace over war, forgiveness over revenge, and serving others over serving myself, i/we create the same tidal wave of ripples that create a world where God's Kingom breaks through in Living Color.
We have talked about the need for emotional healing, so that we can love God with our hearts. From there we journeyed into the dark, mysterious areas of our brain, hoping to discern how we can love God with our minds. And last Sunday, and last week in our Lenten adventure, we discovered how our bodies need to be physically fit and well kept, in order for us to love God with all our strength as well. We have covered the main pieces of the Shema, or Jewish prayer found in Deuteronomy. Is there more we can and must do to love God wholly?
Our Scripture focus for Sunday is James 2: 14-26. I invite you all to read it. Pray over it. Discuss it with your friends and family. And then add your thoughts to this blog. We are a community, folks, and in order for God to work, honestly and effectively, we must do all things together. We must create the message, together. We must worship our Creator, together. We must seek peace, together. We must love, together. I anxiously wait to read your added thoughts to your understanding of James 2: 14-26.
This is a famous text, in fact, most Brethren attach themselves to this text as being the foundational chapter in our identity as a people. The Church of the Brethren has often seen itself as several things: peace church, community oriented church, no creed but the New Testament church, and a service-oriented church. It is this last marker that has pushed many Brethren to believe that James makes it clear that we should live our faith.
We must make it clear who we are and who we follow. Not by speaking loudly, but by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and housing the homeless. But also by visiting the sick, caring for the widow and orphan, and ensuring the aging members in our society have dignity and respect as they retire and find themselves unable to care for themselves. That is our reality. It is why we have retirement communities. It is why ministries like "Heifer Project International" was started in the Church of the Brethren. It is why the international organization, "SERRV," or "A Greater Gift" was started in the C.o.B. It is why the C.o.B., even with its low membership, is one of the first on the scene after a natural disaster, helping with recovery and child care through our Disaster Relief. It is why we have ministries to care for God's Creation. We are connected and deeply rooted in Christian Peacemaking Team through our own group: On Earth Peace Assembly. We have a plethora of ministries/missions established, all with the purpose of living our faith, and we cannot forget or look past one of those ministries, which President Kennedy used as a model for Peace Corp: Brethren Volunteer Service.
We have always been, and i hope we will always be, a people of living faith. Which is what James is talking about. It seems, according to the homileticsonline commentary, that James is dealing socio-economic prejudice. One group, the group with the money, status, and social clout is judging and looking down on those without. As so often is the case in our culture the haves make it a habit of defining the have nots as lazy or maybe even parasites on society. Many times, the haves believe they are entitled to a certain level of service, respect, and identity, while the have nots are simply left to carve out some sense of identity in a world that grows more and more militant against them. This is no different today as it was 2000 years ago.
This is one of the things James addresses. If we are to be called Christians, than James, echoing Paul's sentiment in Corinthians, argues we must act differently. We must love our brothers and sisters, regardless of their status in society. In God's eyes, whether one is poor or rich, a president or a pauper, divorcee or happily married for 60 years, or not sure about your faith versus someone who has stood strong for all of their lives, in God's eyes, we are all the same: His children. And yet we are so much more to God than "children." We, each of us, are His beloved.
That's what James begins with, making it clear we are one, equal, the same in God's eyes. But James doesn't stop there, and many feel this is where James addresses some misnomers about the Christian faith. In Romans, Paul writes that grace through faith is how we are saved, not by works, so that we can't brag about our good deeds. James, on the other hand, seems to make a direct confrontation of Paul by saying you show me your faith in Jesus, and i will praise Jesus with you, but, James argued, but i will show you my faith by what i do. How much am i doing to feed people, house people, clothe people, or visit people?
This becomes an argument about the role and purpose of faith. If faith is real, alive, and relevant, than there should be lives changed. If faith is dead, stagnant, and irrelevant, than nothing of significance seems to happen. And that is our challenge, not for just this next week, but for each day of our lives. We must distance ourselves from the "pagan" culture and begin to mark ourselves as followers of Jesus. How we do that is wide open. We can feed people, and we are through the Love Cupboard. We can clothe people, and we have through the Community Closet, and we have helped rebuild homes through our trips to Lousiana and the high school rebuilding project with Oakland C.o.B.: Extreme Home MakeOver: Oakland C.o. B. style.
But is that all we can do? Should we rest on our obvious successes? Or might we find more peace in areas that have yet to be discovered? I don't know. All i know is that a faith without deeds is dead, and both James and Paul believed this, and just like the soldier from Monty Python: Im not quite dead. Nor is our faith. Amen.
We are three weeks into Lent, and it seems we are flying through this season of repentance and transformation. I can only speak for myself, but i have had several moments of revelation and insight, and i thank God for that. I thank God that at times, He must and is hard on me, so that i can see what is true. More than that, so that i can see how my choices, actions, or even inactions ripple out and have eternal affects. But also, when i choose love over hate, peace over war, forgiveness over revenge, and serving others over serving myself, i/we create the same tidal wave of ripples that create a world where God's Kingom breaks through in Living Color.
We have talked about the need for emotional healing, so that we can love God with our hearts. From there we journeyed into the dark, mysterious areas of our brain, hoping to discern how we can love God with our minds. And last Sunday, and last week in our Lenten adventure, we discovered how our bodies need to be physically fit and well kept, in order for us to love God with all our strength as well. We have covered the main pieces of the Shema, or Jewish prayer found in Deuteronomy. Is there more we can and must do to love God wholly?
Our Scripture focus for Sunday is James 2: 14-26. I invite you all to read it. Pray over it. Discuss it with your friends and family. And then add your thoughts to this blog. We are a community, folks, and in order for God to work, honestly and effectively, we must do all things together. We must create the message, together. We must worship our Creator, together. We must seek peace, together. We must love, together. I anxiously wait to read your added thoughts to your understanding of James 2: 14-26.
This is a famous text, in fact, most Brethren attach themselves to this text as being the foundational chapter in our identity as a people. The Church of the Brethren has often seen itself as several things: peace church, community oriented church, no creed but the New Testament church, and a service-oriented church. It is this last marker that has pushed many Brethren to believe that James makes it clear that we should live our faith.
We must make it clear who we are and who we follow. Not by speaking loudly, but by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and housing the homeless. But also by visiting the sick, caring for the widow and orphan, and ensuring the aging members in our society have dignity and respect as they retire and find themselves unable to care for themselves. That is our reality. It is why we have retirement communities. It is why ministries like "Heifer Project International" was started in the Church of the Brethren. It is why the international organization, "SERRV," or "A Greater Gift" was started in the C.o.B. It is why the C.o.B., even with its low membership, is one of the first on the scene after a natural disaster, helping with recovery and child care through our Disaster Relief. It is why we have ministries to care for God's Creation. We are connected and deeply rooted in Christian Peacemaking Team through our own group: On Earth Peace Assembly. We have a plethora of ministries/missions established, all with the purpose of living our faith, and we cannot forget or look past one of those ministries, which President Kennedy used as a model for Peace Corp: Brethren Volunteer Service.
We have always been, and i hope we will always be, a people of living faith. Which is what James is talking about. It seems, according to the homileticsonline commentary, that James is dealing socio-economic prejudice. One group, the group with the money, status, and social clout is judging and looking down on those without. As so often is the case in our culture the haves make it a habit of defining the have nots as lazy or maybe even parasites on society. Many times, the haves believe they are entitled to a certain level of service, respect, and identity, while the have nots are simply left to carve out some sense of identity in a world that grows more and more militant against them. This is no different today as it was 2000 years ago.
This is one of the things James addresses. If we are to be called Christians, than James, echoing Paul's sentiment in Corinthians, argues we must act differently. We must love our brothers and sisters, regardless of their status in society. In God's eyes, whether one is poor or rich, a president or a pauper, divorcee or happily married for 60 years, or not sure about your faith versus someone who has stood strong for all of their lives, in God's eyes, we are all the same: His children. And yet we are so much more to God than "children." We, each of us, are His beloved.
That's what James begins with, making it clear we are one, equal, the same in God's eyes. But James doesn't stop there, and many feel this is where James addresses some misnomers about the Christian faith. In Romans, Paul writes that grace through faith is how we are saved, not by works, so that we can't brag about our good deeds. James, on the other hand, seems to make a direct confrontation of Paul by saying you show me your faith in Jesus, and i will praise Jesus with you, but, James argued, but i will show you my faith by what i do. How much am i doing to feed people, house people, clothe people, or visit people?
This becomes an argument about the role and purpose of faith. If faith is real, alive, and relevant, than there should be lives changed. If faith is dead, stagnant, and irrelevant, than nothing of significance seems to happen. And that is our challenge, not for just this next week, but for each day of our lives. We must distance ourselves from the "pagan" culture and begin to mark ourselves as followers of Jesus. How we do that is wide open. We can feed people, and we are through the Love Cupboard. We can clothe people, and we have through the Community Closet, and we have helped rebuild homes through our trips to Lousiana and the high school rebuilding project with Oakland C.o.B.: Extreme Home MakeOver: Oakland C.o. B. style.
But is that all we can do? Should we rest on our obvious successes? Or might we find more peace in areas that have yet to be discovered? I don't know. All i know is that a faith without deeds is dead, and both James and Paul believed this, and just like the soldier from Monty Python: Im not quite dead. Nor is our faith. Amen.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sunday's Worship: Leviticus 11: 1-8
Family,
As promised, though a day later, here is the Scripture focus for Sunday: Leviticus 11:1-8. It is in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, considered the foundational texts for the Torah/Law for the Jewish people. Moses has brought the people to the desert, and God is working on them, creating in them, a people that will honor God with their whole existence. They have made some mistakes--a golden calf comes to mind.
So here they are, in the middle of a desert, trying to figure out who they are, and God decides to give them guidelines. Now. It should be noted, in my understanding of Jewish Law and Jewish faith, the Law isn't some dogmatic structure that handicaps the lives of the Jewish faith, but rather, the Law is a standard to measure one's life by. Typically speaking, Americans do not like being told what they can and cannot do, and so we ignore the many dietary challenges in the Old Testament, claiming Jesus came to fulfill the Law, so the Law is no longer necessary.
Ironically, though, it seems that many people who spouse this understanding are more than willing to embrace war, because God did it in the Old Testament or they/we cling onto the Ten Commandments as though God ordained them only, but left out the other Levitical laws. I wonder, can we have it both ways? Can we really claim to follow the "Ten Commandments," which aren't reproduced in the New Testament, without adhering to the dietary and other laws as well? And how do we determine which laws to follow and which laws to ignore as being outdated? Which leads me to another question, if we can do that with the Old Testament, claiming some of the laws as antiquated and irrelevant, we do not make sick people yell unclean on the streets, than why don't we sift through the New Testament as well and determine which texts are "relevant," while leaving the others in the abyss of obscurity?
I dont know. I wrestle with the paradigm of the honesty and integrity of Scripture with the world we live in. How does the Word guide my life? And when do i determine which texts really do not speak to me, and i simply relegate the verses to a tome of beautiful writing? I struggle with these questions, especially as i stare at a text forming the dietary restrictions for a people, which still stand today.
And yet we, as Christians, eat a lot of pork, so there goes that law. I know of many Christians that eat catfish, goodbye to that no no. Rabbit, eaten a lot. Shrimp comes in so many styles, and it is devoured. I know. I had some the other day, and it was delicious. We don't follow the dietary laws, so why have them in our canon at all?
Or why would God care what we eat? Does God have some affinity for pigs? Rabbits? Catfish? I don't think so. Jesus casts out demons into a herd of pigs, illustrating Jesus' view of swine. I sense it is not because God favors these animals that they remain "unclean." So could there be other reasons?
As we journey into our week of Lent moving us into physical wholeness, i want us to ask tough questions about ourselves. Are we healthy? How does what we eat affect our thinking, our faith, our over all well being? What about exercise? Activity? The reality is our bodies are temples for God, and we should treat them as such, and yet, in America, 32% of adults are obese, which is a dangerous level of being overweight, and the overall percentage of American adults, who are overweight, is just over 50%. Half of all American adults, according to this study, are overweight.
What happens when we are overweight? We lose energy. Our thinking is clouded. More people suffer from depression. We have other healthy issues: diabetes, heart disease, back problems, intestinal issues, and even cancer. Are we treating our bodies as the temple God created them to be? Are we honoring God, loving God, with our bodies, if we do not care for them?
If we are what we eat, than most Americans are processed, fried food meataholics that need to take a step back and eat some fiber. We are always in a rush, so we, and i am as guilty as anyone, grab the quickest food source imaginable, not realizing that with each Big Mac or Taco Supreme, we add more layers of junk to our bodies.
What if you eat everything you are supposed to, but you sit at home, watching American Idol religiously? Again you are defiling the temple. God calls us to care for it, and exercise, in any form, getting your heart rate up, is a good way to good your blood flowing, which has numerous positive benefits. A. more blood to brain equal more O2 to your brain, which leads to greater brain function. B. Making your heart work, is like any other muscle, you will strengthen your heart and prepare it to last a long time, but you must continue to train your heart. Make it work. C. Cardiovascular work outs, that push your limits, can increase lung capacity, making life much more enjoyable. And finally D, when we eat right, exercise, and keep everything in balance that that affects our moods as well. Studies show exercise is a good way to counter some of the darkness that comes with depression. Get your body moving, get O2 to your brain, and get that blood flowing, and you will be feeling better before you know it.
And if our minds, our bodies, and our emotions are all working well, won't our spirit be soaring as well? Couldn't it be possible that if we are truly healthy, in a holistic sense: mind, body, and spirit, could it be possible that we might just experience God in ways we never could have imagined. However, i sense, the adverse is true, if we are not whole than we are missing out on God's beauty, in some way. We may not even know it, but i feel like something is missing if we are fully healthy.
Life is a beautiful gift from God, and our bodies are the temples of God. We must treat our bodies as truly a sacred space, because they are. But all too often we neglect this temple, while we focus our eyes on other, temporary temples that aren't the hosts for the Kingdom of God. So. On this tricky, difficult topic, what are your thoughts? Ring in with ideas and questions, so that, together, we can honor God as one healthy body of Christ. Amen.
As promised, though a day later, here is the Scripture focus for Sunday: Leviticus 11:1-8. It is in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, considered the foundational texts for the Torah/Law for the Jewish people. Moses has brought the people to the desert, and God is working on them, creating in them, a people that will honor God with their whole existence. They have made some mistakes--a golden calf comes to mind.
So here they are, in the middle of a desert, trying to figure out who they are, and God decides to give them guidelines. Now. It should be noted, in my understanding of Jewish Law and Jewish faith, the Law isn't some dogmatic structure that handicaps the lives of the Jewish faith, but rather, the Law is a standard to measure one's life by. Typically speaking, Americans do not like being told what they can and cannot do, and so we ignore the many dietary challenges in the Old Testament, claiming Jesus came to fulfill the Law, so the Law is no longer necessary.
Ironically, though, it seems that many people who spouse this understanding are more than willing to embrace war, because God did it in the Old Testament or they/we cling onto the Ten Commandments as though God ordained them only, but left out the other Levitical laws. I wonder, can we have it both ways? Can we really claim to follow the "Ten Commandments," which aren't reproduced in the New Testament, without adhering to the dietary and other laws as well? And how do we determine which laws to follow and which laws to ignore as being outdated? Which leads me to another question, if we can do that with the Old Testament, claiming some of the laws as antiquated and irrelevant, we do not make sick people yell unclean on the streets, than why don't we sift through the New Testament as well and determine which texts are "relevant," while leaving the others in the abyss of obscurity?
I dont know. I wrestle with the paradigm of the honesty and integrity of Scripture with the world we live in. How does the Word guide my life? And when do i determine which texts really do not speak to me, and i simply relegate the verses to a tome of beautiful writing? I struggle with these questions, especially as i stare at a text forming the dietary restrictions for a people, which still stand today.
And yet we, as Christians, eat a lot of pork, so there goes that law. I know of many Christians that eat catfish, goodbye to that no no. Rabbit, eaten a lot. Shrimp comes in so many styles, and it is devoured. I know. I had some the other day, and it was delicious. We don't follow the dietary laws, so why have them in our canon at all?
Or why would God care what we eat? Does God have some affinity for pigs? Rabbits? Catfish? I don't think so. Jesus casts out demons into a herd of pigs, illustrating Jesus' view of swine. I sense it is not because God favors these animals that they remain "unclean." So could there be other reasons?
As we journey into our week of Lent moving us into physical wholeness, i want us to ask tough questions about ourselves. Are we healthy? How does what we eat affect our thinking, our faith, our over all well being? What about exercise? Activity? The reality is our bodies are temples for God, and we should treat them as such, and yet, in America, 32% of adults are obese, which is a dangerous level of being overweight, and the overall percentage of American adults, who are overweight, is just over 50%. Half of all American adults, according to this study, are overweight.
What happens when we are overweight? We lose energy. Our thinking is clouded. More people suffer from depression. We have other healthy issues: diabetes, heart disease, back problems, intestinal issues, and even cancer. Are we treating our bodies as the temple God created them to be? Are we honoring God, loving God, with our bodies, if we do not care for them?
If we are what we eat, than most Americans are processed, fried food meataholics that need to take a step back and eat some fiber. We are always in a rush, so we, and i am as guilty as anyone, grab the quickest food source imaginable, not realizing that with each Big Mac or Taco Supreme, we add more layers of junk to our bodies.
What if you eat everything you are supposed to, but you sit at home, watching American Idol religiously? Again you are defiling the temple. God calls us to care for it, and exercise, in any form, getting your heart rate up, is a good way to good your blood flowing, which has numerous positive benefits. A. more blood to brain equal more O2 to your brain, which leads to greater brain function. B. Making your heart work, is like any other muscle, you will strengthen your heart and prepare it to last a long time, but you must continue to train your heart. Make it work. C. Cardiovascular work outs, that push your limits, can increase lung capacity, making life much more enjoyable. And finally D, when we eat right, exercise, and keep everything in balance that that affects our moods as well. Studies show exercise is a good way to counter some of the darkness that comes with depression. Get your body moving, get O2 to your brain, and get that blood flowing, and you will be feeling better before you know it.
And if our minds, our bodies, and our emotions are all working well, won't our spirit be soaring as well? Couldn't it be possible that if we are truly healthy, in a holistic sense: mind, body, and spirit, could it be possible that we might just experience God in ways we never could have imagined. However, i sense, the adverse is true, if we are not whole than we are missing out on God's beauty, in some way. We may not even know it, but i feel like something is missing if we are fully healthy.
Life is a beautiful gift from God, and our bodies are the temples of God. We must treat our bodies as truly a sacred space, because they are. But all too often we neglect this temple, while we focus our eyes on other, temporary temples that aren't the hosts for the Kingdom of God. So. On this tricky, difficult topic, what are your thoughts? Ring in with ideas and questions, so that, together, we can honor God as one healthy body of Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Books as well
Family,
I have thought long and hard about what we can do with our webpage, and i want it to be a fully interactive site. I want feedback. I want ideas. I want your pics uploaded and shared. It is my vision that we will use this site to tell our story to those outside the walls of our church, but also connect to each other when we are not gathered together on Sunday mornings to offer ourselves to God. And as part of my hope to see us become more connected to God and each other, i will include, in a separate blog/post a list of books that i highly recommend and why i recommend them.
And if any of you feel led to read these books, i invite, no i ask you to post a comment at the end of each post, so that others can read your thoughts. I have been negligent in ensuring that we go deeper in our faith, and i have dropped the ball, on many occasions, but i am doing my best to steer us all down the road to where Jesus meets us and overwhelms us with His promise of abundant life. More than that, i am also doing my best to steer our community into radical discipleship, so that each of us can and will begin living for other people.
It breaks my heart to know, and i am as guilty as anyone, that Christians make the faith about what we want. We want a certain kind of music during worship. We don't like the sermons or dramas. We want to be coddled and babied. And we absolutely do not want someone to step on our toes and make us examine our lives, because we should and do have the right, as "Americans" to live how we want to. And this, sisters and brothers, is one of the reasons, i feel, God is allowing the church to decline.
I feel like i have beaten this dead horse, to a pulp, but i can't seem to shake the eery feeling that we are missing the point of what it means to be the church. Or maybe i am just lost in la la land and i need to be returned to reality. I dont know. But part of the issue for me, what is sparking my renewed interest, is a book that i have picked up and have enjoyed, page after page.
The book is titled, "Emergent Worship," by Dan Kimball. And i highly recommend it. It illuminates the needs and desires of young adults who are searching for God, but they can't seem to find God anywhere, especially churches. So Kimball addresses worship as a means to help young adults experience the Divine. But Kimball argues that worship isn't something we come to; it is something we do, as a community, after spending a week doing small bits of worship.
Whether those activities include a Bible study. A service project. Coming together for a meal. Whatever the reason, all week becomes a map leading us to Sunday's worship, when we can all offer ourselves to God. Kimball believes, and i echo his ideas, that the church is not a Sunday event, but a continues journey of developing ministers and disciples. His ideas resonate with my understanding of what the purpose is for every church. We are here to mentor, develop, and mature believers into radical disciples and ministers who carry God's Word into the world.
I suggest "Emergent Worship," to any and all seeking, desiring, hoping to find a way to reach a generation of people that have left the traditional church behind, desiring to find the new wine that Jesus promised.
May God's face glow upon you, illuminating your very soul..
Amen.
I have thought long and hard about what we can do with our webpage, and i want it to be a fully interactive site. I want feedback. I want ideas. I want your pics uploaded and shared. It is my vision that we will use this site to tell our story to those outside the walls of our church, but also connect to each other when we are not gathered together on Sunday mornings to offer ourselves to God. And as part of my hope to see us become more connected to God and each other, i will include, in a separate blog/post a list of books that i highly recommend and why i recommend them.
And if any of you feel led to read these books, i invite, no i ask you to post a comment at the end of each post, so that others can read your thoughts. I have been negligent in ensuring that we go deeper in our faith, and i have dropped the ball, on many occasions, but i am doing my best to steer us all down the road to where Jesus meets us and overwhelms us with His promise of abundant life. More than that, i am also doing my best to steer our community into radical discipleship, so that each of us can and will begin living for other people.
It breaks my heart to know, and i am as guilty as anyone, that Christians make the faith about what we want. We want a certain kind of music during worship. We don't like the sermons or dramas. We want to be coddled and babied. And we absolutely do not want someone to step on our toes and make us examine our lives, because we should and do have the right, as "Americans" to live how we want to. And this, sisters and brothers, is one of the reasons, i feel, God is allowing the church to decline.
I feel like i have beaten this dead horse, to a pulp, but i can't seem to shake the eery feeling that we are missing the point of what it means to be the church. Or maybe i am just lost in la la land and i need to be returned to reality. I dont know. But part of the issue for me, what is sparking my renewed interest, is a book that i have picked up and have enjoyed, page after page.
The book is titled, "Emergent Worship," by Dan Kimball. And i highly recommend it. It illuminates the needs and desires of young adults who are searching for God, but they can't seem to find God anywhere, especially churches. So Kimball addresses worship as a means to help young adults experience the Divine. But Kimball argues that worship isn't something we come to; it is something we do, as a community, after spending a week doing small bits of worship.
Whether those activities include a Bible study. A service project. Coming together for a meal. Whatever the reason, all week becomes a map leading us to Sunday's worship, when we can all offer ourselves to God. Kimball believes, and i echo his ideas, that the church is not a Sunday event, but a continues journey of developing ministers and disciples. His ideas resonate with my understanding of what the purpose is for every church. We are here to mentor, develop, and mature believers into radical disciples and ministers who carry God's Word into the world.
I suggest "Emergent Worship," to any and all seeking, desiring, hoping to find a way to reach a generation of people that have left the traditional church behind, desiring to find the new wine that Jesus promised.
May God's face glow upon you, illuminating your very soul..
Amen.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunday's Worship: Luke 4:1-13
Greetings Family,
I have finally been able to reconnect to the blog, so i am posting an update. Many of you, if not most of you, know that i will be posting a weekly blog with Sunday's Scripture focus, so i can discern your thoughts and feelings and revelations about the text. I will post a few thoughts of my own, maybe some historic significance of the text, and then i am trusting and praying for God's Spirit to move us, so WE can create a message that flows from our community. The message, on Sunday, is all of ours to work with and form, so any and all thoughts are not only welcomed but encouraged and appreciated.
Let's talk temptation. This is our second Sunday of Lent, and our goal remains the same: holistic discipleship. We talked about the need for our emtional/soul to be whole, as we dealt with any and all dark sins that chain us and confine to a life that is void of joy, peace, and God's blessings, and now we want to talk about the necessity of our minds to be used to glorify God. In our culture, which is so visual, our minds are bombarded with images. Sex. Violence. Materialism. Power. Greed. And the list goes on and on and on. There is, seemingly, an endless supply of messages that distract us from what God wants from: our whole being.
But, i hear you thinking, what we see doesn't affect us. We are still able to work. We still come to church on Sunday. We come to the meetings, so what if we happen to run across a bunch of images throughout the week, right? Wrong. At least in my perspective. In my understanding, folks, we are at war, spiritually and mentally, against this world, and when we surrender to the god of image, we cannot give the God of creation our full attention. When we succomb to the god of lust, we cannot honor the God of love. And when we bow to the god of war, we cannot and will not be able to worship the God of peace. Jesus makes it clear: You cannot serve both God and money, or in more contemporary understanding. You can't serve God and the world; you are going to have to choose.
I feel that one of the foundational means to stop the god of this world from destroying us, completely, is our minds. God gave us beautiful minds and powerful minds, so that we can fight off a multitude of attacks by the enemy. However, if we spend our days, engorged in the TV, our minds become mush. If we spend our hours gossiping and anguishing in our anger and resentment, our minds become resevoirs of hatred and rage that make it impossible for God to break through with his Light. And if and when we focus our minds on that person of the opposite sex, who keeps our eyes on her/him, well then our eyes, our minds, our thoughts, become cesspools of lust that steal time from God. Our minds are a powerful tool against the enemy. But on the other hand, our minds are a powerful weapon for the enemy.
Which brings us to Jesus. After his baptism, God sent Jesus to the desert for 40 days. No food. We do not know if Jesus had water, but we do know that He was without food. After Jesus' 40 day fast, God let Jesus be tempted. God left Jesus vulnerable. God left Jesus weak. And Satan sprung into action. Three times Satan tried to tempt Jesus, all weak points for most people, especially someone who hasn't eaten for 40 days, and Jesus repelled each temptation. But how? Did Jesus simply say, "Hey I'm cool with my life, i don't need what you are offering." No. Jesus used Scripture to ward off Satan's attacks. Scripture. Jesus knew the power of Scripture, and He knew that Satan could nothing against God's Word. Which raises a few questions for me.
If the Son of God needed and used Scripture, daily, why don't we? Why is it so hard for followers of Jesus to dive into the Word? It seems to be a struggle to get people to open their Bibles, daily, and yet we are somehow supposed to know how to live, how to listen, and how to honor God, without using His resource for our lives? Jesus stands as a testimony to how Scripture, when used correctly, can ward off the strongest attacks of the enemy. But how do we have that resource handy when we need it? Satan could attack at any moment, and we might not have a Bible handy when Satan attacks, so how do we use Scripture to ward off his attempts to destroy us?
We have to have a resource stored up in our minds. We have to meditate on Scripture. Memorize Scripture. Be so familiar with the Word that it's teachings become second nature to our lives. This was how Jesus lived. Paul too. Why not us? These are some thoughts i have for Sunday's text, what thoughts do you have?
To help spur your imagination and creativity, i am including some thoughts from the small group on Sunday, and i am hoping and praying I will have a deep pool of Godly ideas to weave a message that honors the Author of life.
*The Devil attacks Jesus when Jesus is most vulnerable and alone. That's how the Devil gets people, when they are tired, lonely, and vulnerable. It seems Satan left Jesus, only temporarily, and Satan will come back and tempt Jesus again, maybe when Jesus is more tired, and more alone.
*Do not put the LORD your God to the test, seems to come to mind while i read this Scripture. If Jesus was tempted, many times, we, as Christians, should expect to be tempted. More than that, we will be tempted. Life will not be easy. Jesus answered from memory, no second guessing. Jesus responded, second nature, to Satan's attempts to sway Jesus. Which leads me to think that i should ask God to give me the words/actions of what i should to against the tempter--without second guessing my response. Temptation is necessary for Jesus to be fully human. Jesus had to be tempted. And to illustrate the power of Satan.
*Christ had the answer for Satan, Christ always aligned Himself with the will of God. When would Satan attempt to tempt Jesus again? In the New Testament, Paul wrote about having answers to questions about faith.
*Seems unusual that Jesus would be killed by another member of the Trinity. Seems odd that Jesus, being without food for 40 days, was only "hungry." Another oddity is that Satan was given the kingdom to this world. And though it is a mystery, the temptation of Jesus was necessary.
*Satan's temptation of Jesus: prove who Jesus was/is. Wanting, in essence, to control Jesus. If Satan can get Jesus to reveal Jesus' true identity, Satan has all the power. Even over Jesus/God. Humans need more than food to nourish us. Food is not enough. We need God to fortify our bodies and souls. Jesus' temptation was necessary, so that Jesus knew the power of Satan, but also so Jesus could show the power to stop Satan.
*Satan wants Jesus to turn away from God. Jesus is demonstrating, for us, how to stop Satan's attacks, turning our backs against the temptations. Even if the offer seems/ feels good, we must be on our best "watch" to follow Jesus and not what "feels" right/good. We must be leary of the temptation the world offers, so that we can live lives that are godly/Christlike.
Those are some ideas and thoughts, what do you have to share? We are a community of believers, joined together, to worship our God. All of us have a responsibility to offer ourselves to God, this is our spiritual act of worship. So. Offer your ideas. Your thoughts. Your stories. And, with God's help, we will create a message, together. Amen..
I have finally been able to reconnect to the blog, so i am posting an update. Many of you, if not most of you, know that i will be posting a weekly blog with Sunday's Scripture focus, so i can discern your thoughts and feelings and revelations about the text. I will post a few thoughts of my own, maybe some historic significance of the text, and then i am trusting and praying for God's Spirit to move us, so WE can create a message that flows from our community. The message, on Sunday, is all of ours to work with and form, so any and all thoughts are not only welcomed but encouraged and appreciated.
Let's talk temptation. This is our second Sunday of Lent, and our goal remains the same: holistic discipleship. We talked about the need for our emtional/soul to be whole, as we dealt with any and all dark sins that chain us and confine to a life that is void of joy, peace, and God's blessings, and now we want to talk about the necessity of our minds to be used to glorify God. In our culture, which is so visual, our minds are bombarded with images. Sex. Violence. Materialism. Power. Greed. And the list goes on and on and on. There is, seemingly, an endless supply of messages that distract us from what God wants from: our whole being.
But, i hear you thinking, what we see doesn't affect us. We are still able to work. We still come to church on Sunday. We come to the meetings, so what if we happen to run across a bunch of images throughout the week, right? Wrong. At least in my perspective. In my understanding, folks, we are at war, spiritually and mentally, against this world, and when we surrender to the god of image, we cannot give the God of creation our full attention. When we succomb to the god of lust, we cannot honor the God of love. And when we bow to the god of war, we cannot and will not be able to worship the God of peace. Jesus makes it clear: You cannot serve both God and money, or in more contemporary understanding. You can't serve God and the world; you are going to have to choose.
I feel that one of the foundational means to stop the god of this world from destroying us, completely, is our minds. God gave us beautiful minds and powerful minds, so that we can fight off a multitude of attacks by the enemy. However, if we spend our days, engorged in the TV, our minds become mush. If we spend our hours gossiping and anguishing in our anger and resentment, our minds become resevoirs of hatred and rage that make it impossible for God to break through with his Light. And if and when we focus our minds on that person of the opposite sex, who keeps our eyes on her/him, well then our eyes, our minds, our thoughts, become cesspools of lust that steal time from God. Our minds are a powerful tool against the enemy. But on the other hand, our minds are a powerful weapon for the enemy.
Which brings us to Jesus. After his baptism, God sent Jesus to the desert for 40 days. No food. We do not know if Jesus had water, but we do know that He was without food. After Jesus' 40 day fast, God let Jesus be tempted. God left Jesus vulnerable. God left Jesus weak. And Satan sprung into action. Three times Satan tried to tempt Jesus, all weak points for most people, especially someone who hasn't eaten for 40 days, and Jesus repelled each temptation. But how? Did Jesus simply say, "Hey I'm cool with my life, i don't need what you are offering." No. Jesus used Scripture to ward off Satan's attacks. Scripture. Jesus knew the power of Scripture, and He knew that Satan could nothing against God's Word. Which raises a few questions for me.
If the Son of God needed and used Scripture, daily, why don't we? Why is it so hard for followers of Jesus to dive into the Word? It seems to be a struggle to get people to open their Bibles, daily, and yet we are somehow supposed to know how to live, how to listen, and how to honor God, without using His resource for our lives? Jesus stands as a testimony to how Scripture, when used correctly, can ward off the strongest attacks of the enemy. But how do we have that resource handy when we need it? Satan could attack at any moment, and we might not have a Bible handy when Satan attacks, so how do we use Scripture to ward off his attempts to destroy us?
We have to have a resource stored up in our minds. We have to meditate on Scripture. Memorize Scripture. Be so familiar with the Word that it's teachings become second nature to our lives. This was how Jesus lived. Paul too. Why not us? These are some thoughts i have for Sunday's text, what thoughts do you have?
To help spur your imagination and creativity, i am including some thoughts from the small group on Sunday, and i am hoping and praying I will have a deep pool of Godly ideas to weave a message that honors the Author of life.
*The Devil attacks Jesus when Jesus is most vulnerable and alone. That's how the Devil gets people, when they are tired, lonely, and vulnerable. It seems Satan left Jesus, only temporarily, and Satan will come back and tempt Jesus again, maybe when Jesus is more tired, and more alone.
*Do not put the LORD your God to the test, seems to come to mind while i read this Scripture. If Jesus was tempted, many times, we, as Christians, should expect to be tempted. More than that, we will be tempted. Life will not be easy. Jesus answered from memory, no second guessing. Jesus responded, second nature, to Satan's attempts to sway Jesus. Which leads me to think that i should ask God to give me the words/actions of what i should to against the tempter--without second guessing my response. Temptation is necessary for Jesus to be fully human. Jesus had to be tempted. And to illustrate the power of Satan.
*Christ had the answer for Satan, Christ always aligned Himself with the will of God. When would Satan attempt to tempt Jesus again? In the New Testament, Paul wrote about having answers to questions about faith.
*Seems unusual that Jesus would be killed by another member of the Trinity. Seems odd that Jesus, being without food for 40 days, was only "hungry." Another oddity is that Satan was given the kingdom to this world. And though it is a mystery, the temptation of Jesus was necessary.
*Satan's temptation of Jesus: prove who Jesus was/is. Wanting, in essence, to control Jesus. If Satan can get Jesus to reveal Jesus' true identity, Satan has all the power. Even over Jesus/God. Humans need more than food to nourish us. Food is not enough. We need God to fortify our bodies and souls. Jesus' temptation was necessary, so that Jesus knew the power of Satan, but also so Jesus could show the power to stop Satan.
*Satan wants Jesus to turn away from God. Jesus is demonstrating, for us, how to stop Satan's attacks, turning our backs against the temptations. Even if the offer seems/ feels good, we must be on our best "watch" to follow Jesus and not what "feels" right/good. We must be leary of the temptation the world offers, so that we can live lives that are godly/Christlike.
Those are some ideas and thoughts, what do you have to share? We are a community of believers, joined together, to worship our God. All of us have a responsibility to offer ourselves to God, this is our spiritual act of worship. So. Offer your ideas. Your thoughts. Your stories. And, with God's help, we will create a message, together. Amen..