Two weeks after Easter, Now What? the power of God changing everything should still shape us. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do, and I invite you to reflect on this with me.
I'm convinced that what we should be doing is helping each other on the spiritual journey to find out how we can become the people God shaped in our Mother's wombs. Psalm 139 tells us that's when it began. But like most children we can choose not to follow what was the basic plan. How can I discover and keep to my journey and help you keep to your journey.
I'm convinced that spiritual formation, the shaping of our journey in a spiritual realm, requires that we learn from God what our journey is. That will happen as we are exposed more and more to the work of God that we will learn from the Word, Jesus and the experiences of those who knew Jesus very well. We can find their story in the New Testament. So I'm going to read more of what Jesus did and said and what happened to the people that he touched and talked to to see what I can do to be a good student of Jesus and a follower of his example.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be blogging about what I'm discovering. I've been challenged by Leonard Sweet to focus clearly on Jesus who invited us to serve this present age. I'm going to try to serve it, give to it, direct it as best I can. You can help me and help you if you respond with questions and thoughts you might have about making a better spiritual life out of all of this. How do we pray, how do we practice the Jesus way. How do we overcome obstacles and let God's love shape us more clearly to be the people who bless and make a real difference in our own world and into the lives of others. I think that's a real challenge and I hope you pray for me as I pray for you.
Easter is all about overcoming the worst, death into new life. All of us can move from death and the old way, into the Abundant life Jesus invited us to experience, but we are going to have to get a little more frisky, a little more adventuresome if we are going on our own journey of faith. I'll report back in on my story, I hope I hear from you.
Let the games and the resurrection of life begin. Please come with me.
I'm convinced that the purpose of our church is to help make disciples who get it. Maybe we can help you get it too.
Blessings
Pastor Jeff
PS, if you go to www.facebook.com/LGUMC15225 you will see video of our work at Liberty Grove, our special events and sermons.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Our Ultimate Purpose
Just read an interesting survey about Americans. Half of us have stopped thinking about our ultimate purpose. Those who think about it tend to go to church to get help with their questions. Those who don't seem interested don't bother with those spiritual journey issues and pursue their own course, wherever it takes them. (Lifeway Researsh Dec. 2011)
No wonder we seem to be in such a mess.
How can we work on getting somewhere if we don't have a somewhere to go. To me, that would seem a horrible nightmare. Wandering without any direction sounds pretty scary to me. I am so glad God called me and gave me something to work on. I'm so glad that call comes with help along the way too. And that can be true for you as well.
I think there is some mystic connected to pastors, that somehow we have extra stuff no one else has.And besides that, that extra stuff comes to us in unusual or mystical ways.
I hate to break it to you, but unless I follow the directions that God gives me by reading the Bible, I'm not getting anything secretly.
Now I do hear from God very convincingly from other people speaking a word of the Lord to me. But it needs to match what I've already heard from God to be a good reinforcement. I haven't heard totally new words of God that aren't already spelled out in scripture. I may not have been paying attention to the Bible like I shoud have, sometimes, but God is very helpful in that he is consistent. God won't say one thing one time and something else another time. We may think so, we may hope so, but the Word of the Lord is dependable. As Psalm one reminds us, those who look to God are like trees planted by the water, we will have fruit in due season all the time.
So the challenge is getting myself near enough to the water to be nourished. Sometimes that means leaving the desert to move closer to water. The desert could be I'm getting so busy I don't have time for Bible reading. Or I'm too wrapped up in other things and have too little time for God. I can shrivel up pretty fast, that way.
I need to get closer to the living water more regularly. I need a map to keep me heading in the right direction for the living water. This year, I've downloaded the One Year Bible plan off of the internet and printed it out and folded it up and put in in my new Common English Bible. For about 15 minutes a day, I'll read again, the whole Bible, all of it, from cover to cover. There are other plans too. if you type in one year Bible in the search window, you will get dozens of them. Biblegateway.com has many reading plans too. You can sign up to have the readings emailed to you everyday if that would help you keep near the living water more regularly.
One or two questions to ask yourself when you read, might be helpful. I've found these questions very helpful. "Is there something here in this verse, or story, I need to avoid?" then start to avoid that. "Is there something here in this verse or story, I need to emulate, or copy or do myself?" then, start to copy or do.
St. Paul reminds us that we are to mature in the faith and grow up into the likeness of Jesus. So maybe the challenge for your spiritual journey is to read more about Jesus. One chapter a day of a Gospel, means you can cover all 90 chapters in three months. You will be amazed at how much that can help you to mature and grow and bear fruit in season.
There is help to find our what our destiny is. God does not leave us as orphans, but provides the Holy Spirit to interpret the Word. And you will be blessed. The blessings will far outweigh life without a purpose, because you thought you could do better on your own.
This is a sermon. I've learned it the hard way. I'm trying to keep you from falling into a ditch, which is no fun at all. Blessings
Pastor Jeff
No wonder we seem to be in such a mess.
How can we work on getting somewhere if we don't have a somewhere to go. To me, that would seem a horrible nightmare. Wandering without any direction sounds pretty scary to me. I am so glad God called me and gave me something to work on. I'm so glad that call comes with help along the way too. And that can be true for you as well.
I think there is some mystic connected to pastors, that somehow we have extra stuff no one else has.And besides that, that extra stuff comes to us in unusual or mystical ways.
I hate to break it to you, but unless I follow the directions that God gives me by reading the Bible, I'm not getting anything secretly.
Now I do hear from God very convincingly from other people speaking a word of the Lord to me. But it needs to match what I've already heard from God to be a good reinforcement. I haven't heard totally new words of God that aren't already spelled out in scripture. I may not have been paying attention to the Bible like I shoud have, sometimes, but God is very helpful in that he is consistent. God won't say one thing one time and something else another time. We may think so, we may hope so, but the Word of the Lord is dependable. As Psalm one reminds us, those who look to God are like trees planted by the water, we will have fruit in due season all the time.
So the challenge is getting myself near enough to the water to be nourished. Sometimes that means leaving the desert to move closer to water. The desert could be I'm getting so busy I don't have time for Bible reading. Or I'm too wrapped up in other things and have too little time for God. I can shrivel up pretty fast, that way.
I need to get closer to the living water more regularly. I need a map to keep me heading in the right direction for the living water. This year, I've downloaded the One Year Bible plan off of the internet and printed it out and folded it up and put in in my new Common English Bible. For about 15 minutes a day, I'll read again, the whole Bible, all of it, from cover to cover. There are other plans too. if you type in one year Bible in the search window, you will get dozens of them. Biblegateway.com has many reading plans too. You can sign up to have the readings emailed to you everyday if that would help you keep near the living water more regularly.
One or two questions to ask yourself when you read, might be helpful. I've found these questions very helpful. "Is there something here in this verse, or story, I need to avoid?" then start to avoid that. "Is there something here in this verse or story, I need to emulate, or copy or do myself?" then, start to copy or do.
St. Paul reminds us that we are to mature in the faith and grow up into the likeness of Jesus. So maybe the challenge for your spiritual journey is to read more about Jesus. One chapter a day of a Gospel, means you can cover all 90 chapters in three months. You will be amazed at how much that can help you to mature and grow and bear fruit in season.
There is help to find our what our destiny is. God does not leave us as orphans, but provides the Holy Spirit to interpret the Word. And you will be blessed. The blessings will far outweigh life without a purpose, because you thought you could do better on your own.
This is a sermon. I've learned it the hard way. I'm trying to keep you from falling into a ditch, which is no fun at all. Blessings
Pastor Jeff
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