"So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!" (2 Cor. 5:17)
Sermon 4/26/15 Since I wasn't able to do this this morning.
With 2 baptisms and 7 new members, I want to take the time to remind the church of the promises we make to the children, to nurture them, and for joining the congregation, making an effort to grow in faith along the lines of the compass.
In AD that we are watching, the moving of the Holy Spirit brings confrontation with the existing order, but it also brings healing and power to those who have been hurt or broken or out of the system. The beggar is healed and the Sanhedrin wants the disciples to shut down the ministry.
We live in a world that really wants to shut down the ministry too But some of our negativity and criticism and nastiness should be shut down. But our love from God and for one another needs to keep growing.
The church’s mission is to help people discover the living God. Our mission is what Jesus gave us, go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that he has commanded us, and to know that he is with us until the ends of time.
As a congregation, we should be creating those moments that help us grow. We ought to be inspiring people to connect with God by our worship and by our nourishing the soul. We ought to be creating a way to get to know our neighbor and to love them. We ought to share our resources so we can show God’s love is real and genuine. We ought to serve our community so we will be able to nurture and encourage a relationship to God because of what they see us do, and how they see us treat each other.
We grow in faith with attendance at worship, we grow in our faith by nourishing our souls, learning about the Bible, study, book reading, exploring the resources we try to make available to you to help your faith. We grow by getting to know one another, In Methodist history, everyone was in a small group to help them grow in faith. Each week they gathered together to ask how was it going with your soul? What joys and places were you seeing God at work in your life. What challenges and struggles were you having in your walk with God this week? Praying for one another and offering suggestions to grow in faith was what the group was all about. Then they shared and served with what they had for others.
God has welcomed us in as a baby, before we could do anything to merit God’s welcome and acceptance. This should generate gratitude that plays out in our daily lives, how we worship, how we nourish our souls, how we let the love of neighbors help us to grow.
We all promise to support the ministry of the church/local congregation, with our prayer, our presence, our gifts our service and our witness. We can all renew today our pledge to do that growing.
PRAY
PRESENCE
GIFTS
SERVICE
WITNESS
I challenge you to grow and feel encouraged to answer your call from God to be a person of his body on earth.
Pastor Jeff
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
A Parade to a Cross
We approach the most holy and special time of the Christian calendar this coming week, Holy Week as we call it. This is the greatest act of God to show us love than anything we can imagine.
I want to urge all of us to consider participating in the worship experiences of the whole week in order to get the story and to see how much love is being shown.
Jesus arrives in Jerusalem because it is where what is going to happen must happen. It's the holy city, the city of David, the high water mark of the relationship to God.
He is riding a donkey to show that he is coming in peace and not a warrior king. Jeremiah made that quite plain, but not everybody gets it.
Thursday night he participates in the Passover meal to connect to what happened to deliver the slaves while they were in Egypt.
He washed the disciples feet to show a new level of servanthood and to prepare them for what was coming in his life and in theirs.
He introduced the Lord's Supper so that we would have a special way to remember him and to recall what he was doing for us when he died on the cross.
He reminded them of the importance of love, on the help the Holy Spirit would give them, he introduced the rooms made in heaven for our comfort, he described what would be happening and he prayed for you and for me in his great priestly prayer in John 17.
He introduced the concept of constant connection as he walked to the garden of gethsemane passing those vineyards along the way.
He asked for prayer for himself to face the awesome challenge of dying for us.
He taught us to pray Not My Will, but Thy Will Be Done. This is the ultimate way to pray about everything.
St. Luke tells us he sweated blood that night, a medical sign of deep passion, stress, anxiety, as he wrestled with Satan one more time about whether to drink this cup of crucifixion or not.
He was encouraged and ministered to by angels as he affirmed his decision to meet his purpose at restoration with God.
He was betrayed by an insider, Judas led the soldiers to his hiding place for the arrest.
He was healing a servant's cut off ear, thanks to Peter's resistance, to continually show God's love and compassion even to an enemy. To live by the sword, will mean we die by the sword.
He was dragged to an unfair trial, he was abused during the night. And he had Peter deny even knowing him three times before the cock crow.
He was delivered to Pilate with trumped up charges about being the King of the Jews, so the romans would execute him, since it was currently illegal for the Sanhedrin to carry out a death sentence. The jews found him guilty of blasphemy, because he said he was the son of God.
Pilate had him beaten with a whip of sharp bones and lead to maximize the pain. He was mocked in a purple robe, crowned with a ring of thorns to cut into his head, and then dragged off to be crucified.
Crucifixion was a powerful and painful way of trying to discourage people from crossing or rebelling against the Romans.
Jesus forgave them even as he was being nailed to the cross. He connected his mother to John for safe keeping. He offered a companion on the cross a promise of paradise. He quoted Psalm 22 so that those who listened to him would know what he was going through and that he would come back. Go read Psalm 22 as a devotional.
He died to take away our sins. He died so that justice of the penalty for sin would be carried out, but on our behalf. It had to happen to him, because as God's son, the quality of the sacrifice was needed to cover all of our sins.
The temple curtain was torn in two, allowing for all to see God rather than obscured behind the curtain. This was another sign that Jesus' death on the cross was bringing us back to God.
He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb, he didn't own anything of his own, he was totally dependent on God.
But this is not the end of the story. Come back for the rest of the story...
I urge you to worship on Palm Sunday and on Maundy Thursday, and on Good Friday so that Easter will be the fantastic and glorious morning it is supposed to be.
Blessings on your spiritual journey
Pastor Jeff
I want to urge all of us to consider participating in the worship experiences of the whole week in order to get the story and to see how much love is being shown.
Jesus arrives in Jerusalem because it is where what is going to happen must happen. It's the holy city, the city of David, the high water mark of the relationship to God.
He is riding a donkey to show that he is coming in peace and not a warrior king. Jeremiah made that quite plain, but not everybody gets it.
Thursday night he participates in the Passover meal to connect to what happened to deliver the slaves while they were in Egypt.
He washed the disciples feet to show a new level of servanthood and to prepare them for what was coming in his life and in theirs.
He introduced the Lord's Supper so that we would have a special way to remember him and to recall what he was doing for us when he died on the cross.
He reminded them of the importance of love, on the help the Holy Spirit would give them, he introduced the rooms made in heaven for our comfort, he described what would be happening and he prayed for you and for me in his great priestly prayer in John 17.
He introduced the concept of constant connection as he walked to the garden of gethsemane passing those vineyards along the way.
He asked for prayer for himself to face the awesome challenge of dying for us.
He taught us to pray Not My Will, but Thy Will Be Done. This is the ultimate way to pray about everything.
St. Luke tells us he sweated blood that night, a medical sign of deep passion, stress, anxiety, as he wrestled with Satan one more time about whether to drink this cup of crucifixion or not.
He was encouraged and ministered to by angels as he affirmed his decision to meet his purpose at restoration with God.
He was betrayed by an insider, Judas led the soldiers to his hiding place for the arrest.
He was healing a servant's cut off ear, thanks to Peter's resistance, to continually show God's love and compassion even to an enemy. To live by the sword, will mean we die by the sword.
He was dragged to an unfair trial, he was abused during the night. And he had Peter deny even knowing him three times before the cock crow.
He was delivered to Pilate with trumped up charges about being the King of the Jews, so the romans would execute him, since it was currently illegal for the Sanhedrin to carry out a death sentence. The jews found him guilty of blasphemy, because he said he was the son of God.
Pilate had him beaten with a whip of sharp bones and lead to maximize the pain. He was mocked in a purple robe, crowned with a ring of thorns to cut into his head, and then dragged off to be crucified.
Crucifixion was a powerful and painful way of trying to discourage people from crossing or rebelling against the Romans.
Jesus forgave them even as he was being nailed to the cross. He connected his mother to John for safe keeping. He offered a companion on the cross a promise of paradise. He quoted Psalm 22 so that those who listened to him would know what he was going through and that he would come back. Go read Psalm 22 as a devotional.
He died to take away our sins. He died so that justice of the penalty for sin would be carried out, but on our behalf. It had to happen to him, because as God's son, the quality of the sacrifice was needed to cover all of our sins.
The temple curtain was torn in two, allowing for all to see God rather than obscured behind the curtain. This was another sign that Jesus' death on the cross was bringing us back to God.
He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb, he didn't own anything of his own, he was totally dependent on God.
But this is not the end of the story. Come back for the rest of the story...
I urge you to worship on Palm Sunday and on Maundy Thursday, and on Good Friday so that Easter will be the fantastic and glorious morning it is supposed to be.
Blessings on your spiritual journey
Pastor Jeff
Monday, March 16, 2015
March Madness
Hello Pilgrims on a Spiritual Journey, I've been working on our sign for out front of the church and came up with March Madness, from ashes to lilies. The Lenten journey is one that begins with the Ash Wednesday experience and moves toward the joy and gladness of an Easter celebration. I'm hoping you have been on a journey and growing in your faith this Lenten Season.
The current sign reads, Lent a time to fill in the potholes in your life. With all the car eating potholes on our streets, I hope some people can relate to the gift of God to fill in some of our potholes in our spiritual travels. God is in the repair and resurrection business.
Today is a collection of thoughts.
Sunday our choir presented their February music presentation, delayed not once but twice by the weather. The choir sang about the blessings and gifts that come to our worship experience, coming out of the slavery of African Americans. We learned between the songs where they came from and how they have blessed thousands over the course of time, and have continued to make a difference, even to us today. It was a real blessing to witness.
Something unusual happened in church yesterday. One of our new members, who usually sits up front in the sanctuary decided that they would like company up front. So with my permission, they made an announcement, that if people would move up and sit in the first five pews on either side and fill them up, for the next three weeks, they would give an extra $1,000. in the offering. That challenge was promptly matched, which totally surprised me. But then a large portion of the sanctuary folks, took them up on the offer and moved up front. It made for great singing and made the whole sanctuary appear filled, which makes this preacher happy. Now if only for the next two weeks, and then beyond people would be sitting closer to the front, that would be awesome. It didn't hurt them one bit either.
The choir appreciated the show of support. The children's expressions could be seen by those in the first few rows, as they participated in the children's message. It was a great moment.
We had a Birthday Party Pot Luck Lunch for everyone in the fellowship hall after that musical special. The Birthday party was postponed by weather as well. We set up the fellowship hall with 12 tables and decorated each one for a special month and then invited folks to sit at the table of their birthday month, not by families. It was so much fun to hear people say they got to meet people they had never talked to before by doing it this way. And of course the food was out of this world, we have the best cooks, sharing their food with us for this. We sang happy birthday, had cake and dessert and people hung around for a long time. It was so much fun.
I got in the mail a Church Kit to help connect our congregation to the NBC Easter and following airing of the first ten chapters of the book of Acts, called AD. It is produced by Roma Downey, and her husband Mark Burnett. They did the Bible episode in 2013 for 100 million viewers. Anyway, this is the first ten chapters of the book of Acts, the beginning of the church. It's a 12 week tv episode on Sunday nights at 9 pm on NBC. The Church Kit helps coordinate the message, educational opportunities and bulletin and worship resources to maximize the experience. It even suggests that we have some viewing parties around the congregation to watch and reflect on the episodes. We will find a way to have discussions here at church. The Monday and Thursday study for those 12 weeks will look into the show's message about the beginning of the church in those early days following the Resurrection of Jesus and the impact of Pentecost. Wow.. looking forward to that excitement.
I can't believe how fast a year goes by. It was a year ago in late March that the Bishop decided to move me to North Bethesda UMC. It was a year ago in late April that I went into the hospital for surgery. It just doesn't seem possible so much time has passed. And now Easter is upon us once more. The Easter message is all about restoration, recovery, new life, new opportunities in faith, new components of life, thanks be to God.
I pray that your Easter experience will bring new life to you, because with God all things are possible, as God continues to demonstrate them to me. May God's peace and grace be with you all.
Pastor Jeff
The current sign reads, Lent a time to fill in the potholes in your life. With all the car eating potholes on our streets, I hope some people can relate to the gift of God to fill in some of our potholes in our spiritual travels. God is in the repair and resurrection business.
Today is a collection of thoughts.
Sunday our choir presented their February music presentation, delayed not once but twice by the weather. The choir sang about the blessings and gifts that come to our worship experience, coming out of the slavery of African Americans. We learned between the songs where they came from and how they have blessed thousands over the course of time, and have continued to make a difference, even to us today. It was a real blessing to witness.
Something unusual happened in church yesterday. One of our new members, who usually sits up front in the sanctuary decided that they would like company up front. So with my permission, they made an announcement, that if people would move up and sit in the first five pews on either side and fill them up, for the next three weeks, they would give an extra $1,000. in the offering. That challenge was promptly matched, which totally surprised me. But then a large portion of the sanctuary folks, took them up on the offer and moved up front. It made for great singing and made the whole sanctuary appear filled, which makes this preacher happy. Now if only for the next two weeks, and then beyond people would be sitting closer to the front, that would be awesome. It didn't hurt them one bit either.
The choir appreciated the show of support. The children's expressions could be seen by those in the first few rows, as they participated in the children's message. It was a great moment.
We had a Birthday Party Pot Luck Lunch for everyone in the fellowship hall after that musical special. The Birthday party was postponed by weather as well. We set up the fellowship hall with 12 tables and decorated each one for a special month and then invited folks to sit at the table of their birthday month, not by families. It was so much fun to hear people say they got to meet people they had never talked to before by doing it this way. And of course the food was out of this world, we have the best cooks, sharing their food with us for this. We sang happy birthday, had cake and dessert and people hung around for a long time. It was so much fun.
I got in the mail a Church Kit to help connect our congregation to the NBC Easter and following airing of the first ten chapters of the book of Acts, called AD. It is produced by Roma Downey, and her husband Mark Burnett. They did the Bible episode in 2013 for 100 million viewers. Anyway, this is the first ten chapters of the book of Acts, the beginning of the church. It's a 12 week tv episode on Sunday nights at 9 pm on NBC. The Church Kit helps coordinate the message, educational opportunities and bulletin and worship resources to maximize the experience. It even suggests that we have some viewing parties around the congregation to watch and reflect on the episodes. We will find a way to have discussions here at church. The Monday and Thursday study for those 12 weeks will look into the show's message about the beginning of the church in those early days following the Resurrection of Jesus and the impact of Pentecost. Wow.. looking forward to that excitement.
I can't believe how fast a year goes by. It was a year ago in late March that the Bishop decided to move me to North Bethesda UMC. It was a year ago in late April that I went into the hospital for surgery. It just doesn't seem possible so much time has passed. And now Easter is upon us once more. The Easter message is all about restoration, recovery, new life, new opportunities in faith, new components of life, thanks be to God.
I pray that your Easter experience will bring new life to you, because with God all things are possible, as God continues to demonstrate them to me. May God's peace and grace be with you all.
Pastor Jeff
Monday, February 23, 2015
Snow Enough
Hello Spiritual Pilgrims
Here we are in the first full week of Lent and it has snowed for two weekends and on Ash Wednesday. What a way to start the Lenten journey. We are working on giving up Bad things for Lent, I'm ready to give up shoveling this snow. Please Stop, Whoever has the power to do that, cut it out.
Yesterday, Sunday Feb. 22, we decided to go ahead with worship at 11 am. The choir special on Gospel Music in Song was put aside because several key members of the choir were snowed in. We turned to the back of our hymnal and followed the Service for Morning Prayer and Praise. We sang some favorite hymns, we read from the Letter of James, encouraging us to pray and we prayed for our church and for people who were mentioned or written about on the prayer request forms.
I was blessed by the fellowship and the casual nature of our worship. I had not planned a sermon since the choir was singing. So we worked on the prayer list I had prepared for the congregation to begin this Lenten season. I had a two column page with the names of all our church leaders by day of the month. I asked for prayers for our staff. I asked for prayers for the fruitfulness of our congregation. And I asked for prayers for me during the week, that I might hear clearly from God to be able to lead this dynamic fellowship.
We were blessed with several visitors from other congregations that had called off worship. We found a couple of people who were looking for a church home that came because we were open and doing worship. They even stayed for our Coffee Hour, so that they got to know us a little better, and we got to know them. It was a real blessing.
We had 48 people all together and they were willing to sit in the front half of the sanctuary, it was nice and cozy and very spirit filled time together. We had several children among the visitors, so I did an impromptu children's message. Fortunately I had a baseball and a coach's hat in my office and we talked about the similarity of Lent and Spring Training. It's time to get ready to be able to play, and for us as followers of Jesus, we are working on doing a better job of following and living the Christian life. Giving up something bad for lent, is like getting ready for a full season.
I now ask each of you to pray for the coming of Spring. The week long forecast is calling for snow on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I say enough of that. Let's pray it waits until we are past the worship time.
The Lenten season is always special for me. Over the years it has changed, but still calls me to deepen my walk with God. In college I discovered Godspel and Jesus Christ, Superstar musicals, I would play those albums over and over to give me a wider and deeper appreciation for all that God was doing. When I served in Baltimore city, the pastors of the other denominational churches would study together during Lent, and we would offer a three hour Good Friday service based on the last words of Jesus from the Cross, or some Good Friday witness, like seven characters around the cross. It was always very meaningful.
I dig out old devotional books during this time, and try to do more prayer and meditation time, because I know my busy schedule takes that away from me. So let's pray we all get a season of preparation to be faithful followers of Jesus.
Blessings on all you do
Pastor Jeff
Here we are in the first full week of Lent and it has snowed for two weekends and on Ash Wednesday. What a way to start the Lenten journey. We are working on giving up Bad things for Lent, I'm ready to give up shoveling this snow. Please Stop, Whoever has the power to do that, cut it out.
Yesterday, Sunday Feb. 22, we decided to go ahead with worship at 11 am. The choir special on Gospel Music in Song was put aside because several key members of the choir were snowed in. We turned to the back of our hymnal and followed the Service for Morning Prayer and Praise. We sang some favorite hymns, we read from the Letter of James, encouraging us to pray and we prayed for our church and for people who were mentioned or written about on the prayer request forms.
I was blessed by the fellowship and the casual nature of our worship. I had not planned a sermon since the choir was singing. So we worked on the prayer list I had prepared for the congregation to begin this Lenten season. I had a two column page with the names of all our church leaders by day of the month. I asked for prayers for our staff. I asked for prayers for the fruitfulness of our congregation. And I asked for prayers for me during the week, that I might hear clearly from God to be able to lead this dynamic fellowship.
We were blessed with several visitors from other congregations that had called off worship. We found a couple of people who were looking for a church home that came because we were open and doing worship. They even stayed for our Coffee Hour, so that they got to know us a little better, and we got to know them. It was a real blessing.
We had 48 people all together and they were willing to sit in the front half of the sanctuary, it was nice and cozy and very spirit filled time together. We had several children among the visitors, so I did an impromptu children's message. Fortunately I had a baseball and a coach's hat in my office and we talked about the similarity of Lent and Spring Training. It's time to get ready to be able to play, and for us as followers of Jesus, we are working on doing a better job of following and living the Christian life. Giving up something bad for lent, is like getting ready for a full season.
I now ask each of you to pray for the coming of Spring. The week long forecast is calling for snow on Saturday night or Sunday morning. I say enough of that. Let's pray it waits until we are past the worship time.
The Lenten season is always special for me. Over the years it has changed, but still calls me to deepen my walk with God. In college I discovered Godspel and Jesus Christ, Superstar musicals, I would play those albums over and over to give me a wider and deeper appreciation for all that God was doing. When I served in Baltimore city, the pastors of the other denominational churches would study together during Lent, and we would offer a three hour Good Friday service based on the last words of Jesus from the Cross, or some Good Friday witness, like seven characters around the cross. It was always very meaningful.
I dig out old devotional books during this time, and try to do more prayer and meditation time, because I know my busy schedule takes that away from me. So let's pray we all get a season of preparation to be faithful followers of Jesus.
Blessings on all you do
Pastor Jeff
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Beginning of February
Hello Fellow Spiritual Travelers,
Well the Super Bowl is over now, the game was close, you can still argue about what happened and why, but I won't. The Commercials had a friendly, be kind to one another flavor to many of them, which is good. There were no costume malfunctions to worry about this year during the half time show, and there are people going to Disney World.
This is a transition month, we might be enduring more winter, or we might be getting closer to Spring. I like Spring, so that would be fine with me if the groundhogs were wrong this year. But what do they know? And one of the mayors got bit on the ear trying to listen to the groundhog give his prediction, there has to be a lesson learned in there somewhere. I don't think they were meant to be weather experts anyway. But we always look for an angle don't we?
Lent begins this month too. Ash Wednesday is on Feb. 18th, coming up much quicker than we realize. So we find ourselves wondering how do we make a spiritual commitment to grow this year? I found a devotional we will use at North Bethesda, written by a United Methodist Pastor, James Moore, about giving up something bad for lent. I like his premiss, why not get rid of bad things in your life during Lent, than suffer putting off eating dessert or something that you like. He suggests that we work on improving our spiritual life with good things, by working on giving up the bad things at this time. We will have a study on Monday nights, Wed mornings and Thursday afternoons if you are interested in joining us.
Rev. Moore suggests we work on giving up something bad for Lent. He recommends that we give up harsh condemning judgments for instance. Just stop doing that. He suggests that we give up enemies for Lent. He encourages us to give up our bad habits, and you know we all have them, for Lent. He goes on to suggest that we give up pettiness for Lent. All that time we spend on nitpicking and complaining could be developed into positive encouragement. I like that.
"It is my genuine hope and prayer that as we go through the pages of this Lenten Study and the accompanying Scripture lessons for each chapter together, we will be inspired and encouraged this year as never before to give up something bad for Lent and then be better prepared to wrap our arms around the good news of Easter." James Moore, from the Introduction to the study. I agree completely and would hope that would happen.
This coming Sunday Feb. 8 we will celebrate Scout Sunday. I am proud to say that the United Methodist Church has been a major sponsor for the scouting movement. When we first got to Africa as missionaries, one of the young students at our mission school asked my Dad to start a scout troop. He had not been a scout, but read the scouting manual in French and translated it to Swahili for the unit. He had to turn young men away who wanted to become scouts because they had not had the opportunity to be involved when they were younger. I was a scout for a while, then we moved and I didn't reconnect to a troop. But I wished I had, years later of course.
Both of my sons were scouts. I was active in the Cub Scout program and served as Chair of the Committee for many years. When they moved up to Scouts, I would go on the summer camp trips as a dad, when many other fathers could not take that much time away from work. I couldn't go on the weekend trips because of my preaching duties, so it worked out well. God has a great sense of humor. The troop was 95% Roman Catholic, and I got to be the chaplain for the troop during the summer camp trips. What fun. We had great fun going to Michigan, New York, Maine, Wyoming, and Tennessee. My oldest son is an Eagle Scout. The Bishop moved me just before my younger son could complete his advancement and didn't hook up with the new troop to finish his.
A Scout is Reverent, acknowledging God and appreciating the many ways scouts can connect their variety of faiths with the basic training the scouting movement can give them. So thank the leaders of the programs that have such a blessing and influence on so many young lives, both girls and boys.
I'll wear my uniform one more time, and encourage those who can to do so this Sunday.
Blessings on your spiritual journey, wherever the influences come from to help you pursue the dream to be the kind of person God wants you to be.
Pastor Jeff
Well the Super Bowl is over now, the game was close, you can still argue about what happened and why, but I won't. The Commercials had a friendly, be kind to one another flavor to many of them, which is good. There were no costume malfunctions to worry about this year during the half time show, and there are people going to Disney World.
This is a transition month, we might be enduring more winter, or we might be getting closer to Spring. I like Spring, so that would be fine with me if the groundhogs were wrong this year. But what do they know? And one of the mayors got bit on the ear trying to listen to the groundhog give his prediction, there has to be a lesson learned in there somewhere. I don't think they were meant to be weather experts anyway. But we always look for an angle don't we?
Lent begins this month too. Ash Wednesday is on Feb. 18th, coming up much quicker than we realize. So we find ourselves wondering how do we make a spiritual commitment to grow this year? I found a devotional we will use at North Bethesda, written by a United Methodist Pastor, James Moore, about giving up something bad for lent. I like his premiss, why not get rid of bad things in your life during Lent, than suffer putting off eating dessert or something that you like. He suggests that we work on improving our spiritual life with good things, by working on giving up the bad things at this time. We will have a study on Monday nights, Wed mornings and Thursday afternoons if you are interested in joining us.
Rev. Moore suggests we work on giving up something bad for Lent. He recommends that we give up harsh condemning judgments for instance. Just stop doing that. He suggests that we give up enemies for Lent. He encourages us to give up our bad habits, and you know we all have them, for Lent. He goes on to suggest that we give up pettiness for Lent. All that time we spend on nitpicking and complaining could be developed into positive encouragement. I like that.
"It is my genuine hope and prayer that as we go through the pages of this Lenten Study and the accompanying Scripture lessons for each chapter together, we will be inspired and encouraged this year as never before to give up something bad for Lent and then be better prepared to wrap our arms around the good news of Easter." James Moore, from the Introduction to the study. I agree completely and would hope that would happen.
This coming Sunday Feb. 8 we will celebrate Scout Sunday. I am proud to say that the United Methodist Church has been a major sponsor for the scouting movement. When we first got to Africa as missionaries, one of the young students at our mission school asked my Dad to start a scout troop. He had not been a scout, but read the scouting manual in French and translated it to Swahili for the unit. He had to turn young men away who wanted to become scouts because they had not had the opportunity to be involved when they were younger. I was a scout for a while, then we moved and I didn't reconnect to a troop. But I wished I had, years later of course.
Both of my sons were scouts. I was active in the Cub Scout program and served as Chair of the Committee for many years. When they moved up to Scouts, I would go on the summer camp trips as a dad, when many other fathers could not take that much time away from work. I couldn't go on the weekend trips because of my preaching duties, so it worked out well. God has a great sense of humor. The troop was 95% Roman Catholic, and I got to be the chaplain for the troop during the summer camp trips. What fun. We had great fun going to Michigan, New York, Maine, Wyoming, and Tennessee. My oldest son is an Eagle Scout. The Bishop moved me just before my younger son could complete his advancement and didn't hook up with the new troop to finish his.
A Scout is Reverent, acknowledging God and appreciating the many ways scouts can connect their variety of faiths with the basic training the scouting movement can give them. So thank the leaders of the programs that have such a blessing and influence on so many young lives, both girls and boys.
I'll wear my uniform one more time, and encourage those who can to do so this Sunday.
Blessings on your spiritual journey, wherever the influences come from to help you pursue the dream to be the kind of person God wants you to be.
Pastor Jeff
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
a New STAR Trek, part 2
Come and join our pilgrimage, our spiritual journey to become the kind of people the original designer had in mind. The last blog we started this adventure with the Magi and the word STAR, to help remember the Studied, Traveled, Adored, Redirected, STAR, experience of the Magi. So here is the next installment.
I chose the second word to be T Traveled, because after the Magi discovered the phenomena in the sky, they Traveled to further discover what this was all about. So often we get stuck at one place and never quite move beyond where we are. New Year's resolutions to lose weight for instance often require that we travel to the gym, and that seems a bigger obstacle than we first realized. So we stay stuck.
This adventure was different because the Magi were willing to travel. They arranged for a journey to find the King of the Jews who was to be born according to the great star/light in the sky. They went looking for the baby. It meant they left behind the familiar and went looking for the new discovery. We ought to be so inclined as we encounter Jesus, we ought to leave behind the past and the ways our faith didn't work, and find a new relationship and encounter with Jesus.
Some travel might not be too far. It's getting out of bed on a Sunday morning and going to church. I know that this is harder and harder to do for more people. Attendance at worship services continues to decline, people come less often per month and still feel like they go all the time. Some of this may be our fault for not making the services and encounters with God that Passionate and exciting. Pray for us as we move into new ways to worship so that it will be Passionate and encouraging and uplifting and help you make a connection to the Creator.
Some travel might include a missions trip somewhere to make a difference for someone else. Go on a Volunteers in Mission trip to rehab broken down houses, or hurricane restorations. Or go dig a well, or teach people how to do better with nutrition or education. There are thousands of opportunities for you to take a week of you time and invest it in some worthwhile project. It will be life changing. I've been to Africa University in Zimbabwe to help build faculty housing. I've been to Rochester NY to rehab run down houses with our youth group. I've been to Red Bird Mission to bring water into to homes that did not have it. I've been to Denver CO to refurbish a run down apartment complex that was being renovated to be a second chance for single moms. I've been to our camps to put in new screens in the windows, paint walls, etc. You can travel somewhere and make a difference to others and ultimately for you.
Some travel may not be external but internal. You may have to figure out a way not to react to somethings people say, because you are thinking more what would Jesus say in response. Some travel may be to find a different response to people who are nasty at work. Maybe there is something going on in their lives that needs fixing, and until it is, they will always be nasty. Maybe it's traveling across the hall, or down to the coffee pot and staying there for a time to see what you might do to make a difference in some one else's life. Caring goes a long way.
Some travel may be interior as you explore what is the most meaningful thing you can do with your talents, abilities, and skills. You may find you are in the wrong place and might want to explore where God might have you work instead. That can be scary and it will change a lot of things. Hopefully for the best. The travel should be the result of wanting to be the person God created you to be, to be the person that Jesus role modeled for you to follow.
Jesus often ended his conversations with people he met, with come follow me. See traveling again. It meant to be willing to hang out with Jesus long enough to get what was important in life. It meant discovering how we might love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and how might we love our neighbor the way Jesus loves us. It might mean to follow a class to learn what the difference that Jesus makes can be all about.
This new year, I hope you can travel for your faith, so that in six months or so, you can look back and see that you have changed and made a difference in your own life and in the lives of others. Looking back and seeing lives you've touched will be an awesome story to tell.
Come join us, travel with Jesus.
Next issue will be on the Adored part. How do we bow down and worship God and not some idol we have created that get's all of our attention.
Until then
God Bless Us Everyone
Pastor Jeff
I chose the second word to be T Traveled, because after the Magi discovered the phenomena in the sky, they Traveled to further discover what this was all about. So often we get stuck at one place and never quite move beyond where we are. New Year's resolutions to lose weight for instance often require that we travel to the gym, and that seems a bigger obstacle than we first realized. So we stay stuck.
This adventure was different because the Magi were willing to travel. They arranged for a journey to find the King of the Jews who was to be born according to the great star/light in the sky. They went looking for the baby. It meant they left behind the familiar and went looking for the new discovery. We ought to be so inclined as we encounter Jesus, we ought to leave behind the past and the ways our faith didn't work, and find a new relationship and encounter with Jesus.
Some travel might not be too far. It's getting out of bed on a Sunday morning and going to church. I know that this is harder and harder to do for more people. Attendance at worship services continues to decline, people come less often per month and still feel like they go all the time. Some of this may be our fault for not making the services and encounters with God that Passionate and exciting. Pray for us as we move into new ways to worship so that it will be Passionate and encouraging and uplifting and help you make a connection to the Creator.
Some travel might include a missions trip somewhere to make a difference for someone else. Go on a Volunteers in Mission trip to rehab broken down houses, or hurricane restorations. Or go dig a well, or teach people how to do better with nutrition or education. There are thousands of opportunities for you to take a week of you time and invest it in some worthwhile project. It will be life changing. I've been to Africa University in Zimbabwe to help build faculty housing. I've been to Rochester NY to rehab run down houses with our youth group. I've been to Red Bird Mission to bring water into to homes that did not have it. I've been to Denver CO to refurbish a run down apartment complex that was being renovated to be a second chance for single moms. I've been to our camps to put in new screens in the windows, paint walls, etc. You can travel somewhere and make a difference to others and ultimately for you.
Some travel may not be external but internal. You may have to figure out a way not to react to somethings people say, because you are thinking more what would Jesus say in response. Some travel may be to find a different response to people who are nasty at work. Maybe there is something going on in their lives that needs fixing, and until it is, they will always be nasty. Maybe it's traveling across the hall, or down to the coffee pot and staying there for a time to see what you might do to make a difference in some one else's life. Caring goes a long way.
Some travel may be interior as you explore what is the most meaningful thing you can do with your talents, abilities, and skills. You may find you are in the wrong place and might want to explore where God might have you work instead. That can be scary and it will change a lot of things. Hopefully for the best. The travel should be the result of wanting to be the person God created you to be, to be the person that Jesus role modeled for you to follow.
Jesus often ended his conversations with people he met, with come follow me. See traveling again. It meant to be willing to hang out with Jesus long enough to get what was important in life. It meant discovering how we might love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and how might we love our neighbor the way Jesus loves us. It might mean to follow a class to learn what the difference that Jesus makes can be all about.
This new year, I hope you can travel for your faith, so that in six months or so, you can look back and see that you have changed and made a difference in your own life and in the lives of others. Looking back and seeing lives you've touched will be an awesome story to tell.
Come join us, travel with Jesus.
Next issue will be on the Adored part. How do we bow down and worship God and not some idol we have created that get's all of our attention.
Until then
God Bless Us Everyone
Pastor Jeff
Monday, January 5, 2015
A New Star Trek
Hello Spiritual Trekkers, going on the adventure following the sign from God is a good thing. I've come up with a formula to share the story of Matthew 2: 1-12 and it relates to a STAR. Imagine that.
What I am planning on doing is preparing four sections to this blog, one a day, to share the insights and wonders of the sign from God that we find in Matt. 2: 1-12. I hope you come back in a day or two to pick up the other pieces. This started out as research for my sermon on Jan. 4, which is Epiphany Sunday in some church world circles. It has been celebrated by Christians from very early in our history, sometime before Christmas became a big deal, to commemorate the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. It was a good way to say to non-jews who were becoming Christians as the message and the Good News spread, that there were other gentiles who were noticing what God was doing with the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
I've chosen the word STAR, because it helps me to keep my thoughts together. S stands for Studied, both the Magi and the experts of the law studied and had parts of the answer to the quest for the baby who would be born King of Jews. We need that component still.
I've chosen the second letter T to stand for Traveled, the Magi left behind their study halls and went looking for this great result of the sign from God. This is a clue to the need for us to get up and follow where God is leading us. More to come on this letter in another day's blog.
I've chosen the third letter A to stand for Adored, the Magi adored, worshipped, bowed down, respected the Boy Jesus for who they knew him to be, the King of the Jews. In a world where we feel so important, or think we are, Adoring the child of God, the one whom God sent to connect with us so that we might know God is with us, it is important to Adore, to worship, to give value and recognition to the Creator of us all. We lose so much when we don't have an" other " to worship.
I've chosen the fourth letter to be R to stand for Redirected. The Magi were warned in a dream to head home in a different way than the one they came in. It was in part to stay away from Herod, but it's also a great symbol for, coming to encounter the Love of God should make us different people as a result. We should go away from the encounter with the Creative force of the Universe, who knows us and wants a relationship with us, a different person that before the encounter. We should be Redirected in our goals and purposes in life because we have met the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
So back to Day one thoughts...
The Magi knew something extraordinary was happening in the sky, because they knew the sky. Part of their ability to resource and equip Kings and Emperors and Caesars, was their deep knowledge of important things. They Studied, they knew history and Astronomy, and Astrology, and science and could bring the wisdom of the ages together to advise those who sought their wisdom for help. They discovered something was going to happen because of what they saw, what they studied. We don't know exactly what they did see. There have been many blogs and papers written and argued about what the phenomena was that they witnessed, but I'm not going there. It was enough to get them excited that something was about to happen.
The connection to modern day seekers is the value of Study. We need to read and learn about what God is doing, and the best place for that is Scripture. Now I know that's a tall order, but it's one that has been truly helpful for centuries. The struggle is that we have to become familiar enough with the book, a library actually, to make sure it's helpful. It's a collection of the experiences of many people who encountered God and wanted us to learn from their experience, to guide our experience. When Herod was so upset about a rival King of the Jews, he turned to the scholars around him. They knew their Bible well enough to know that the answer was the promise of Micah, that the child would be born in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem, the town of David the King who wrote all those Psalms. The David who was able to have faith enough to take on Goliath. The David who was King and who brought the nation of 12 scattered tribes into a powerful force. The David who was able to bring worship and government and lifestyle together for the people. A new King of the Jews, a ruler for all our lives, should be born in a place like that. The meaning and connections to all those qualities are worth seeing to understand the power of Jesus in our lives.
The S of STAR, is an invitation to you now to study what God is doing, so that you gain wisdom for your journey through life. Study, read a few chapters of the Bible through at a time. Get a One-Year Bible, in what ever translation or version you are comfortable with and read a section a day. Go online and sign up for a daily email study. Get an app that will provide a daily guide to reading like You Version, it can be a tremendous help. Study 5 Psalms a day to develop your prayer life, to help you know what and how to pray about anything, which can be big help for a whole bunch of other things you worry about. Discover BibleGateway.com for a wealth of study helps.
Study is also best with a group of friends. A Bible Study, a Sunday School class, some people gathered at a coffee shop or burger joint, who want to talk about the Bible can be a good idea. We can encourage and stimulate each other. John Wesley made small groups for learning a priority among Methodists, and as long as we made that a commitment, we were dynamic. We've lost our touch because we don't require everyone to do that anymore, we've lost our edge at changing people's lives for the better. But Study is important. Find a group to study, you'll be glad you did.
I'll come back tomorrow or the next day to talk about the T of STAR, for Traveled, making a significant difference in your life. Blessings on your STAR gazing....
Pastor Jeff
What I am planning on doing is preparing four sections to this blog, one a day, to share the insights and wonders of the sign from God that we find in Matt. 2: 1-12. I hope you come back in a day or two to pick up the other pieces. This started out as research for my sermon on Jan. 4, which is Epiphany Sunday in some church world circles. It has been celebrated by Christians from very early in our history, sometime before Christmas became a big deal, to commemorate the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. It was a good way to say to non-jews who were becoming Christians as the message and the Good News spread, that there were other gentiles who were noticing what God was doing with the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
I've chosen the word STAR, because it helps me to keep my thoughts together. S stands for Studied, both the Magi and the experts of the law studied and had parts of the answer to the quest for the baby who would be born King of Jews. We need that component still.
I've chosen the second letter T to stand for Traveled, the Magi left behind their study halls and went looking for this great result of the sign from God. This is a clue to the need for us to get up and follow where God is leading us. More to come on this letter in another day's blog.
I've chosen the third letter A to stand for Adored, the Magi adored, worshipped, bowed down, respected the Boy Jesus for who they knew him to be, the King of the Jews. In a world where we feel so important, or think we are, Adoring the child of God, the one whom God sent to connect with us so that we might know God is with us, it is important to Adore, to worship, to give value and recognition to the Creator of us all. We lose so much when we don't have an" other " to worship.
I've chosen the fourth letter to be R to stand for Redirected. The Magi were warned in a dream to head home in a different way than the one they came in. It was in part to stay away from Herod, but it's also a great symbol for, coming to encounter the Love of God should make us different people as a result. We should go away from the encounter with the Creative force of the Universe, who knows us and wants a relationship with us, a different person that before the encounter. We should be Redirected in our goals and purposes in life because we have met the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
So back to Day one thoughts...
The Magi knew something extraordinary was happening in the sky, because they knew the sky. Part of their ability to resource and equip Kings and Emperors and Caesars, was their deep knowledge of important things. They Studied, they knew history and Astronomy, and Astrology, and science and could bring the wisdom of the ages together to advise those who sought their wisdom for help. They discovered something was going to happen because of what they saw, what they studied. We don't know exactly what they did see. There have been many blogs and papers written and argued about what the phenomena was that they witnessed, but I'm not going there. It was enough to get them excited that something was about to happen.
The connection to modern day seekers is the value of Study. We need to read and learn about what God is doing, and the best place for that is Scripture. Now I know that's a tall order, but it's one that has been truly helpful for centuries. The struggle is that we have to become familiar enough with the book, a library actually, to make sure it's helpful. It's a collection of the experiences of many people who encountered God and wanted us to learn from their experience, to guide our experience. When Herod was so upset about a rival King of the Jews, he turned to the scholars around him. They knew their Bible well enough to know that the answer was the promise of Micah, that the child would be born in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem, the town of David the King who wrote all those Psalms. The David who was able to have faith enough to take on Goliath. The David who was King and who brought the nation of 12 scattered tribes into a powerful force. The David who was able to bring worship and government and lifestyle together for the people. A new King of the Jews, a ruler for all our lives, should be born in a place like that. The meaning and connections to all those qualities are worth seeing to understand the power of Jesus in our lives.
The S of STAR, is an invitation to you now to study what God is doing, so that you gain wisdom for your journey through life. Study, read a few chapters of the Bible through at a time. Get a One-Year Bible, in what ever translation or version you are comfortable with and read a section a day. Go online and sign up for a daily email study. Get an app that will provide a daily guide to reading like You Version, it can be a tremendous help. Study 5 Psalms a day to develop your prayer life, to help you know what and how to pray about anything, which can be big help for a whole bunch of other things you worry about. Discover BibleGateway.com for a wealth of study helps.
Study is also best with a group of friends. A Bible Study, a Sunday School class, some people gathered at a coffee shop or burger joint, who want to talk about the Bible can be a good idea. We can encourage and stimulate each other. John Wesley made small groups for learning a priority among Methodists, and as long as we made that a commitment, we were dynamic. We've lost our touch because we don't require everyone to do that anymore, we've lost our edge at changing people's lives for the better. But Study is important. Find a group to study, you'll be glad you did.
I'll come back tomorrow or the next day to talk about the T of STAR, for Traveled, making a significant difference in your life. Blessings on your STAR gazing....
Pastor Jeff
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