I'm off to spend a couple of days at our Annual Conference. United Methodists are good a getting together for meetings. We will be at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, until Saturday afternoon.
In 1784 there were a few preachers and other people getting together to begin the Methodist Episcopal church in order to spread scriptural holiness across the land. We have lost our touch and our emphasis and our vitality. It's very hard to keep such vigor for so long. But we shouldn't give up.
We are going to look a lot at vital churches to see if we can learn from them and copy them. We are going to be encouraged to become a vital church ourselves. That's a tough trick, can you change your personality? Not easily anyway. But by conversion to a new perspective of what God can do and what we are willing to do with God's help and God's direction, vitality can grow.
Say a prayer for us as we gather. May we sense a movement of the Spirit above and beyond our own understanding, so that we become those who make a difference and bring a blessing from God to others.
PS. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. May you take time to thank God for the sacrifices that men and women have made so that we can pursue what God calls us to do with such freedom.
Pastor Jeff (PJ)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Ending of the World
I got up early today, I didn't want to miss any time I have left today. Well not exactly! I was thinking some of you may be wondering about this last day or Judgement Day as Rev. Harold Camping has declared. I apologize in advance if this post seems a little cynical.
In Matthew 25, Jesus was asked about the end of time. His answer was that he did not know, no one would know, only the Father in heaven would know. If Jesus himself doesn't know, that's pretty good for me. We don't know.
The Bible is full of ideas about what would bring the end of the earth, and we have several of those going on now, to make it look like it could be the end of the world. Wars, famine, earthquakes, floods, and lots of other troubles are all mentioned, so we could be paying special attention.
We should be paying attention. None of us know the end of the world. And more importantly, the end of our own lives. That's more important, that we are ready for our life to end, perhaps in a surprise, so that we are prepared to meet Jesus. That preparation is very simple, and a gift from God because God loves us so much. None of us qualify for heaven on our own. All have fallen short, according to St. Paul. But out of God's love and Grace, we are given a gift, to accept or not, of forgiveness which comes with eternal life in heaven. Jesus took care of the penalty for our sins with his death on the cross. We have been forgiven. The resurrection was God's way of saying all is forgiven, and it really was what Jesus said would happen. The resurrection was God's stamp of approval on Jesus and his work on the cross, and to help draw attention to Jesus, who really is God's Son.
So our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to ask Jesus to cover our missing the target. To thank Jesus specifically for that gift, and to live from this moment on, in that forgiven and grateful state. Our actions, should they be our last, should reflect our gratitude and our determination to live as a follower of Jesus. Then no matter what happens to us, or the world, we are going to Heaven.
The second coming for most of us, is when we die. For some it will be suddenly and without warning. I was driving to church early Sunday morning this week and had to be detoured. Rt. 108 was closed for a traffic accident investigation. A car ran off the road hit a telephone poll and then a tree, killing three out of the five in the car. They were 18 and in their twenties. No one knows when the time comes, we all need to be ready.
We can spend a lot of time wondering about the hints to when the whole world will end, or we can spend a lot of time, trying to make the world a better place. We need divine guidance for that challenge, and that only comes with prayer, devotion, study of Scripture to know what to do, and time with other friends in worship, service, support through a body/group/church of other believers. We can make a difference for someone else's second coming if we are constant, and authentic, in showing God's love to others, and encouraging them to find the same love and hope we have.
I am confident, that I will see you tomorrow at church. I'm sure that we will have a lot to talk about too.
Blessings on your pilgrimage, your journey of faith, your challenges in finding the way God is leading you, so that you won't be left behind. We can all be ready!
I remember the advice doctor's give expectant mothers. The baby will come when the baby will come. The due date/judgment day is just an educated guess. Plan something fun for your day, just in case nothing happens. Let's party and celebrate that God's love is always with us.
Pastor Jeff
In Matthew 25, Jesus was asked about the end of time. His answer was that he did not know, no one would know, only the Father in heaven would know. If Jesus himself doesn't know, that's pretty good for me. We don't know.
The Bible is full of ideas about what would bring the end of the earth, and we have several of those going on now, to make it look like it could be the end of the world. Wars, famine, earthquakes, floods, and lots of other troubles are all mentioned, so we could be paying special attention.
We should be paying attention. None of us know the end of the world. And more importantly, the end of our own lives. That's more important, that we are ready for our life to end, perhaps in a surprise, so that we are prepared to meet Jesus. That preparation is very simple, and a gift from God because God loves us so much. None of us qualify for heaven on our own. All have fallen short, according to St. Paul. But out of God's love and Grace, we are given a gift, to accept or not, of forgiveness which comes with eternal life in heaven. Jesus took care of the penalty for our sins with his death on the cross. We have been forgiven. The resurrection was God's way of saying all is forgiven, and it really was what Jesus said would happen. The resurrection was God's stamp of approval on Jesus and his work on the cross, and to help draw attention to Jesus, who really is God's Son.
So our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to ask Jesus to cover our missing the target. To thank Jesus specifically for that gift, and to live from this moment on, in that forgiven and grateful state. Our actions, should they be our last, should reflect our gratitude and our determination to live as a follower of Jesus. Then no matter what happens to us, or the world, we are going to Heaven.
The second coming for most of us, is when we die. For some it will be suddenly and without warning. I was driving to church early Sunday morning this week and had to be detoured. Rt. 108 was closed for a traffic accident investigation. A car ran off the road hit a telephone poll and then a tree, killing three out of the five in the car. They were 18 and in their twenties. No one knows when the time comes, we all need to be ready.
We can spend a lot of time wondering about the hints to when the whole world will end, or we can spend a lot of time, trying to make the world a better place. We need divine guidance for that challenge, and that only comes with prayer, devotion, study of Scripture to know what to do, and time with other friends in worship, service, support through a body/group/church of other believers. We can make a difference for someone else's second coming if we are constant, and authentic, in showing God's love to others, and encouraging them to find the same love and hope we have.
I am confident, that I will see you tomorrow at church. I'm sure that we will have a lot to talk about too.
Blessings on your pilgrimage, your journey of faith, your challenges in finding the way God is leading you, so that you won't be left behind. We can all be ready!
I remember the advice doctor's give expectant mothers. The baby will come when the baby will come. The due date/judgment day is just an educated guess. Plan something fun for your day, just in case nothing happens. Let's party and celebrate that God's love is always with us.
Pastor Jeff
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Final Episode of Smallville
I always wanted to be Superman. I remember taking my allowance and walking the couple of blocks to downtown Silver Spring to buy the latest Superman comic. I would dream I could fly, and how handy that would be for me today. I wanted to have the strength and tools he had so much.
When they first started out ten years ago with Smallville, I loved the show, because it developed his growing sense of discovery about his abilities. He didn't know he had all those gifts until he discovered them by accident or something happened that led him to see he could do certain things in super ways, or super speed, or super strength. It was fun watching him discover what he could do and how that eventually led him to do what he does to "Save the World!" I'm really sorry it is finally going off the air. Fortunately over the years I've collected the DVD sets so I can watch them again.
What I love about being a pastor is helping followers of Jesus discover their gifts and abilities to find abundant life and share the love of Jesus. Trying to create opportunities for people to grow in their faith, to help them see that coming from the kingdom of God and living in the world under the SON of God we have abilities and gifts that will make a difference in this life and beyond. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would enable us to do incredible things, even more than he could do in the short time he was on earth. Imagine the way we could change our world if we could recognize the gifts we have and develop them so we could use them to help others.
There are a lot of connections between Smallville and our Christian life and I invite you to take seriously the development of your gifts for service and love in a community of faith. Clark learned, in the final episode, that he needed both his heritage and history, as well as an ability to lean into the unknown future. It is a combination that leads to being a hero. We too, need to know we must keep track of our heritage, we need to know the Bible, we need to know some church history, in order to see how we can help the world we live in become a better more God like place.
This Sunday we will have a visit from St. Paul, as he describes his final days and his efforts to share the love and knowledge of Jesus in his world. He couldn't break chains like Superman could, but he could use his chains to further the gospel with letter writing and encouragement and teaching others. Maybe you have some chains that keep you from doing some things, but I'll bet that there are ways God can use you even in your chains. Join us at Liberty Grove UMC in Burtonsville, MD on May 15 if you can.
May God continue to help you discover your gifts for ministry and service as you continue to stay in a pilgrimage journey of faith. Welcome to the travel.
Pastor Jeff
When they first started out ten years ago with Smallville, I loved the show, because it developed his growing sense of discovery about his abilities. He didn't know he had all those gifts until he discovered them by accident or something happened that led him to see he could do certain things in super ways, or super speed, or super strength. It was fun watching him discover what he could do and how that eventually led him to do what he does to "Save the World!" I'm really sorry it is finally going off the air. Fortunately over the years I've collected the DVD sets so I can watch them again.
What I love about being a pastor is helping followers of Jesus discover their gifts and abilities to find abundant life and share the love of Jesus. Trying to create opportunities for people to grow in their faith, to help them see that coming from the kingdom of God and living in the world under the SON of God we have abilities and gifts that will make a difference in this life and beyond. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would enable us to do incredible things, even more than he could do in the short time he was on earth. Imagine the way we could change our world if we could recognize the gifts we have and develop them so we could use them to help others.
There are a lot of connections between Smallville and our Christian life and I invite you to take seriously the development of your gifts for service and love in a community of faith. Clark learned, in the final episode, that he needed both his heritage and history, as well as an ability to lean into the unknown future. It is a combination that leads to being a hero. We too, need to know we must keep track of our heritage, we need to know the Bible, we need to know some church history, in order to see how we can help the world we live in become a better more God like place.
This Sunday we will have a visit from St. Paul, as he describes his final days and his efforts to share the love and knowledge of Jesus in his world. He couldn't break chains like Superman could, but he could use his chains to further the gospel with letter writing and encouragement and teaching others. Maybe you have some chains that keep you from doing some things, but I'll bet that there are ways God can use you even in your chains. Join us at Liberty Grove UMC in Burtonsville, MD on May 15 if you can.
May God continue to help you discover your gifts for ministry and service as you continue to stay in a pilgrimage journey of faith. Welcome to the travel.
Pastor Jeff
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Weekend That Was
I am challenged by the events of this past weekend. I'll try to sort through my thoughts and feelings as a way to help us consider all that is going on. The first one is easy, the Wedding, the death of Osama bin Laden is another topic altogether.
The wedding of William and Kate, just shows us how much we still love good ceremony and large gatherings and still want the best for one another. It was fun to watch some of it and it was replayed many times. Since I use the United Methodist Book of Worship for weddings, which John Wesley adopted from his Anglican church roots, the wedding ceremony sounded very familiar. It was fun knowing what was coming next.
I am a firm believer in the Jesus Creed which says Love God & Love Neighbors. With that simple declaration we should be able to cover all that life has to offer us. It was easy to celebrate love neighbors watching the wedding because that was a huge celebration of love.
The death of Osama is a different story. I truthfully have mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, I am glad that one who brought so much terror to our world cannot do that any more. What does bother me is that it doesn't seem like that will end anything. Retaliation and the fear of something coming back to us as a result of this doesn't solve anything.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a german Christian theologian and major teacher of the Jesus Creed, found himself in a huge dilemma with Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II. After much prayer and struggle and Bible Study he determined that if he could stop the evil destruction of lives, that he would break his oath of pacifism, and he participated in the plot to have Hitler killed. The Bomb exploded, but the oak table it was under was too thick to kill Hitler. Bonhoeffer was arrested along with the others who plotted the assassination, and he was hanged three days before the war ended. He was in prison long enough to be able to share his struggles with us about that action of assisting in the killing by some one who was so committed to the love of Jesus. He said because he had connections and opportunity to end the mass destruction in the hands of Hitler, one life might be worth taking. It was a very hard decision for him, but he took it.
Killing Bin Laden is kind of like that. I believe love should be the way we deal with every issue, but sometimes, the challenge of saving many lives causes us to compromise our faith. It's a lot like the decision Caiaphas the high priest made about Jesus after he raised Lazarus, it is better for one man to die, than to have all of Israel under attack by the Romans as a result of his revolution of love.
Sometimes the death of one causes so much more to happen than we expect. In our life time the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. caused many of us to reconsider our attitudes about those who are different from us. It certainly increased an awareness and openness to some important changes in our culture.
I am concerned/worried, that somewhere along the line following the retaliation of Osama bin Laden's death, we may regret the final outcome. This is where prayer for resolution comes in. Join me in praying the we find some peace in the midst of this struggle. I pray that this might help speed up our exit from Afghanistan somehow, saving the lives of our men and women in combat, so that we can work on peace and care of our neighbors.
There is no perfect solution to anything, because we live in a broken world. It causes me to want to try harder to love God and love Neighbors in the Jesus Creed fashion, in order to bring hope and goodness into a world that seems so bent out of shape from what God intended when he created it all. And it also reminds me I have only the sphere of influence where I am, the lives I touch to try to instill the Jesus Creed more completely.
Wont you join me in prayer for our Nation, our Leaders, our World, that we might find better ways to bring peace on earth and good will to men and women. AMEN.
The wedding of William and Kate, just shows us how much we still love good ceremony and large gatherings and still want the best for one another. It was fun to watch some of it and it was replayed many times. Since I use the United Methodist Book of Worship for weddings, which John Wesley adopted from his Anglican church roots, the wedding ceremony sounded very familiar. It was fun knowing what was coming next.
I am a firm believer in the Jesus Creed which says Love God & Love Neighbors. With that simple declaration we should be able to cover all that life has to offer us. It was easy to celebrate love neighbors watching the wedding because that was a huge celebration of love.
The death of Osama is a different story. I truthfully have mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, I am glad that one who brought so much terror to our world cannot do that any more. What does bother me is that it doesn't seem like that will end anything. Retaliation and the fear of something coming back to us as a result of this doesn't solve anything.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a german Christian theologian and major teacher of the Jesus Creed, found himself in a huge dilemma with Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II. After much prayer and struggle and Bible Study he determined that if he could stop the evil destruction of lives, that he would break his oath of pacifism, and he participated in the plot to have Hitler killed. The Bomb exploded, but the oak table it was under was too thick to kill Hitler. Bonhoeffer was arrested along with the others who plotted the assassination, and he was hanged three days before the war ended. He was in prison long enough to be able to share his struggles with us about that action of assisting in the killing by some one who was so committed to the love of Jesus. He said because he had connections and opportunity to end the mass destruction in the hands of Hitler, one life might be worth taking. It was a very hard decision for him, but he took it.
Killing Bin Laden is kind of like that. I believe love should be the way we deal with every issue, but sometimes, the challenge of saving many lives causes us to compromise our faith. It's a lot like the decision Caiaphas the high priest made about Jesus after he raised Lazarus, it is better for one man to die, than to have all of Israel under attack by the Romans as a result of his revolution of love.
Sometimes the death of one causes so much more to happen than we expect. In our life time the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. caused many of us to reconsider our attitudes about those who are different from us. It certainly increased an awareness and openness to some important changes in our culture.
I am concerned/worried, that somewhere along the line following the retaliation of Osama bin Laden's death, we may regret the final outcome. This is where prayer for resolution comes in. Join me in praying the we find some peace in the midst of this struggle. I pray that this might help speed up our exit from Afghanistan somehow, saving the lives of our men and women in combat, so that we can work on peace and care of our neighbors.
There is no perfect solution to anything, because we live in a broken world. It causes me to want to try harder to love God and love Neighbors in the Jesus Creed fashion, in order to bring hope and goodness into a world that seems so bent out of shape from what God intended when he created it all. And it also reminds me I have only the sphere of influence where I am, the lives I touch to try to instill the Jesus Creed more completely.
Wont you join me in prayer for our Nation, our Leaders, our World, that we might find better ways to bring peace on earth and good will to men and women. AMEN.
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