Hello travelers, now it's my turn for this step in my journey. On July 1 I will be the pastor of North Bethesda UMC on Old Georgetown Rd. in North Bethesda between the Beltway and Rt. 270.
On the 22nd of June I preached my last sermon at Liberty Grove. It occurs to me and to some others who have suggested it, and it was on my mind as I prepared it, that it might be a good transition sermon, last sermon one church first sermon at the new church. I have some other things I want to say at the new church, but it could certainly be a part of this blog that I am hoping will be helpful to introduce me to my new congregation and church family.
My reference text is Ephesians 4:1-7, & 11-16 for which I will summarize here for your convenience. I suggest when you get a chance to look it up as well. "Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit just as God also called you to one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all, through all, and in all." Gifts are given.. "some pastors and teachers. His purpose was to equip God's people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God. God's goal is for us to become mature adults - to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ...let us grow in every way into Christ, who is the head." (Common English Bible)
The challenge for us and our mission for our spiritual journey is to recognize the differences in each of us as a part of the body of Christ and to love one another, in spite of the differences. This can be done with Christ's Spirit of love in us, not really possible without it. We remember we have one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. Thus we have many reasons to consider the connection and the unity within us. I pray for the church behind me and for the church in front of me, for the unity of the calling in Christ.
I spent a large amount time and will continue to do so on the pastor/teacher role that God has called me to, which includes helping each of us to grow in maturity and to reach the goal of Christ like ness. The goal St. Paul says is to reach maturity. Now there is a loaded challenge.
My role in the life of a congregation is to teach and help you discover God's calling upon your life to grow in faith. I can do that by encouraging you to pray, to worship, to love in the fellowship of others, to serve our neighbors, and to study Jesus so we can become mature in him. All that I do is to try to help you to reach the level of faith and practice, that God has in mind. You will discover that in my sermons, the Bible Studies and Sunday School classes that I teach, the articles I write, the books I recommend, my blog, the website resources and links, and new discoveries along the way.
The teachings of scripture encourage us to know, feel, understand, internalize, etc, that each of us have been given a gift, a task or ability, to help the body of Christ, be a witness to the love of God to our world. Each of us have something we need to do, given and determined by God, to show God's love to others. So I teach and preach and maybe even nag... that you grow in your faith in order to do your part in the work of the body. I believe with all my heart, that each of us are a vital component to a healthy body. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 describe the body and it's parts and work very clearly.
I can get in trouble, imagine that, by being firm on the idea, that you are an very important piece of the puzzle, we need your efforts to make this work. It is very easy, however, to think that it's my job, rather than to think, my job is to prepare you, teach you, lead you to full maturity in Christ, so you can do your job in the church. This may take some getting used to, and that's okay, I can be patient. Besides I am convinced that the spiritual life is more exciting for you when you are doing what God called you to do, when you discover for yourself that God really wants to use you in the grant plan of showing love to our neighbors. I can help with the teaching and preaching that leads to your maturity. It means everyday can be a blessing, a new adventure, a new discovery of what God has in mind for you. Come join in that adventure, I promise it will be a fulfilling one, plus hard work, but a real uplifting ride toward God.
My next few messages, both in preaching and on this blog, will reflect what I call an "Uncommon Lectionary". I borrow the idea of Tom Bandy who encourages us to hear the 52 most important lessons in the Bible to help shape us as we seek to become more faithful disciples. So our adventure on Sunday morning will be to hear those most important stories and lessons so that it might pour maturity into our hearts and minds.
This is going to be an adventure and journey, and I urge you to join us.
Blessings
Pastor Jeff
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Another Pentecost
On Sunday June 8 we will celebrate another Pentecost. The feast in ancient Israel that signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and followers of Jesus, counts as the real birth of the church. It was an awesome day. There where visitors in Jerusalem for this sacred feast from all over the Roman world, and they heard in their native languages the work of God coming alive. The gift of the Holy Spirit is still going on.
One of the gifts is the awareness that the promise of Jesus to send us his Spirit into us to help us be the disciples we are supposed to be has been fulfilled (see John 14:15-). We have the Spirit that was in Jesus available to us. The good news is that the Spirit is really powerful and really gentle. The Spirit can do all things, like creation and sweeping across dark waters, and chaos and bringing life and light. But the Spirit is also gentle and won't do anything until we invite the Spirit to be available for us and to be willing to let the Spirit guide us and bless us. SO, this Pentecost I urge you to be open to inviting the Holy Spirit of Jesus to become fully alive in your life, give the permission to direct you and lead you in the ways you should go. It is an awesome adventure.
The second gift is the personality of Jesus can become more dynamic and visible in your life with the fruits of the Spirit. That description is found in Gal. 5: 22-23, the fruits, the personality qualities that were in Jesus are all available to you. They include Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. You couldn't ask for a more fantastic blessing and tool box in your life. The secret to all that Love and Joy, start at the other end and develop your self-control. The Holy Spirit is made for such as this. And with self-control being developed, you will become more gentle. your faith grows with the influence into a greater faith, a greater faith will allow you to be able to do more good, doing good will be seen as kindness to all sorts of people in all kinds of circumstances. When your kindness towards others is developing you will learn how to be more patient, which is a really big challenge, especially today. But, that patience, will develop into a sense of peace in the midst of all the worries, anxieties and ordinary stuff, and then you will see that having peace in that chaos, will lighten up you life and you will sense joy. With a joy filled heart, you can love others because you will want them to know all that you have discovered. See, a great adventure!
The third great gift of the Holy Spirit is that God has given each of us a role to play, a gift to share, a piece of the puzzle, a part of the body of Christ (see Romans 12 or I Corinthians 12), for the building up of the church, born at Pentecost and equipped by Spirit filled followers of Jesus. You have been given a special gift and maybe more than one, for the work of being the body of Christ in our world today. You have a very important and necessary part to play and I hope you have given the Holy Spirit permission to make that gift or gifts come alive for you to share with your body of Christ. It's not about you, but God's help in you, to make a difference in our world. It's an awesome feeling to know you are playing a major part in making this a better world, filled with the blessings that God intends to share. (see God's call to Abraham back in Genesis 12, blessed to be a blessing)
Now for me, The Holy Spirit makes it possible for me to be a pastor. What I do, has been a gift from God, not something that I can claim. I'm not perfect and enjoy the glow of appreciation when people see the gifts, but I'm telling you, it's because the Holy Spirit is within me and has directed and encouraged the sharing of those gifts to others. You too can be a part of all of this. I let the Holy Spirit have more room to run my life, way back on Mother's Day in 1970. It's like God gave a new birth to my faith and walk with God and I am so truly grateful for that.
Now before you wonder about that too much, the Pentecostal gift was to be understandable to those gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the way we should all pay attention to, because by God's Grace, he took away the sins of the world. He took down the barrier that separated us and made sure we would be children of God. I try always to be understandable and relevant, just like the gift of the Holy Spirit is to all of us.
Come join the adventure. Welcome the Holy Spirit, let the fruit grow in you. And if you have any questions, especially for the North Bethesda Church folks, let me know.
Blessings
Pastor Jeff
One of the gifts is the awareness that the promise of Jesus to send us his Spirit into us to help us be the disciples we are supposed to be has been fulfilled (see John 14:15-). We have the Spirit that was in Jesus available to us. The good news is that the Spirit is really powerful and really gentle. The Spirit can do all things, like creation and sweeping across dark waters, and chaos and bringing life and light. But the Spirit is also gentle and won't do anything until we invite the Spirit to be available for us and to be willing to let the Spirit guide us and bless us. SO, this Pentecost I urge you to be open to inviting the Holy Spirit of Jesus to become fully alive in your life, give the permission to direct you and lead you in the ways you should go. It is an awesome adventure.
The second gift is the personality of Jesus can become more dynamic and visible in your life with the fruits of the Spirit. That description is found in Gal. 5: 22-23, the fruits, the personality qualities that were in Jesus are all available to you. They include Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. You couldn't ask for a more fantastic blessing and tool box in your life. The secret to all that Love and Joy, start at the other end and develop your self-control. The Holy Spirit is made for such as this. And with self-control being developed, you will become more gentle. your faith grows with the influence into a greater faith, a greater faith will allow you to be able to do more good, doing good will be seen as kindness to all sorts of people in all kinds of circumstances. When your kindness towards others is developing you will learn how to be more patient, which is a really big challenge, especially today. But, that patience, will develop into a sense of peace in the midst of all the worries, anxieties and ordinary stuff, and then you will see that having peace in that chaos, will lighten up you life and you will sense joy. With a joy filled heart, you can love others because you will want them to know all that you have discovered. See, a great adventure!
The third great gift of the Holy Spirit is that God has given each of us a role to play, a gift to share, a piece of the puzzle, a part of the body of Christ (see Romans 12 or I Corinthians 12), for the building up of the church, born at Pentecost and equipped by Spirit filled followers of Jesus. You have been given a special gift and maybe more than one, for the work of being the body of Christ in our world today. You have a very important and necessary part to play and I hope you have given the Holy Spirit permission to make that gift or gifts come alive for you to share with your body of Christ. It's not about you, but God's help in you, to make a difference in our world. It's an awesome feeling to know you are playing a major part in making this a better world, filled with the blessings that God intends to share. (see God's call to Abraham back in Genesis 12, blessed to be a blessing)
Now for me, The Holy Spirit makes it possible for me to be a pastor. What I do, has been a gift from God, not something that I can claim. I'm not perfect and enjoy the glow of appreciation when people see the gifts, but I'm telling you, it's because the Holy Spirit is within me and has directed and encouraged the sharing of those gifts to others. You too can be a part of all of this. I let the Holy Spirit have more room to run my life, way back on Mother's Day in 1970. It's like God gave a new birth to my faith and walk with God and I am so truly grateful for that.
Now before you wonder about that too much, the Pentecostal gift was to be understandable to those gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the way we should all pay attention to, because by God's Grace, he took away the sins of the world. He took down the barrier that separated us and made sure we would be children of God. I try always to be understandable and relevant, just like the gift of the Holy Spirit is to all of us.
Come join the adventure. Welcome the Holy Spirit, let the fruit grow in you. And if you have any questions, especially for the North Bethesda Church folks, let me know.
Blessings
Pastor Jeff
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