For three days now I have been stuck in the parsonage. I haven't spent this much time in the house since the week I was stuck at home with the swine flu. When I had the swine flu I slept most of the day. Sleep is a good time killer.
Before the snow arrived, I went to the store and picked up necessary supplies. You can't go through a blizzard without bread, eggs, milk, soda, water, and pizza. I also picked up a 1000 piece puzzle.
I bought the puzzle in case the power went out and I found myself stuck at home without television, internet, and Netflix. Praise the Lord the power has yet to go out. However, that didn't keep me from trying to put the puzzle together.
It takes a long time to put 1000 puzzle pieces together. The puzzle really helped me pass the time away.
While putting the puzzle together I started thinking about faith and spirituality. In many ways our lives are like puzzles. We are composition of several fragmented pieces. When we put the pieces together we realize who we are.
If you have ever put a puzzle together you know it isn't easy. The puzzle I bought was collection of various Saturday Evening Post covers painted by Norman Rockwell. I started the endeavor by finding all the straight edge and corner pieces. I always begin a puzzle with the frame.
Next I sorted out the colors. This puzzle had a large blue image. I sorted out all the blue pieces and started putting the pieces together. I was able to get most of the image pieced together. There were a few pieces I couldn't find.
These blank pieces are what got me thinking about life and spirituality. Most of our lives have missing pieces. We are not a complete image. We need something to fill in the blanks.
That is where Jesus comes into the picture. In Christ we become fully human. I guess you could say Christ provides the pieces to fill in the blanks of our lives. However, I think Christ does a bit more.
Have you ever tried to put a puzzle together without looking at the picture on the box? I wouldn't even try to put a puzzle together without an image to work with.
Jesus is our image. Jesus not only fills in the missing pieces of our lives, but when we look at him we see what our lives are supposed to look like.
So how is the puzzle of your life looking? Are the pieces coming together? Do you have missing pieces? Do you have a bunch of random colored pieces that you are trying to sort through? If you are having problems, then maybe you need to get some help and look at the cover of the puzzle box.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Discipleship plans and Cadilacs.
The church's mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Lately I've been thinking a lot about our mission. I just finished reading the book Simple Church. I'm also working on my responses for the ordination exam. Between the two discipleship has been on my mind lately.
The other night at a church board meeting we started talking about discipleship and what a disciple looks like and how do we make disciples. The issue brings forth a conversation that takes more than one board meeting to complete. This will be and should be an ongoing dialoge.
My mind got working. I started thinking about cars, pretty cars. In my opinion a classic Cadilac is a thing of beauty. But a Cadilac wasn't always beautiful. It began as scrap metal. The factory transforms the metal into something beautiful. I'm thinking the church is God's factory. The people of the church work the line. We all play a part in changing metal into beauty.
I'm now wondering how effective the factory is working and if we need some retooling?
The other night at a church board meeting we started talking about discipleship and what a disciple looks like and how do we make disciples. The issue brings forth a conversation that takes more than one board meeting to complete. This will be and should be an ongoing dialoge.
My mind got working. I started thinking about cars, pretty cars. In my opinion a classic Cadilac is a thing of beauty. But a Cadilac wasn't always beautiful. It began as scrap metal. The factory transforms the metal into something beautiful. I'm thinking the church is God's factory. The people of the church work the line. We all play a part in changing metal into beauty.
I'm now wondering how effective the factory is working and if we need some retooling?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Three Gifts for the King
Today's sermon tied in with the celebration of Epiphany. I entitled the sermon "Three Gifts for the King." The Wise Men brought three gifts to Jesus. These gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The early church saw great symbolism in these three gifts. Gold represented the kingly role of Christ. Frankincense represented the priestly role of Christ. Myrrh represented the prophetic role of Christ.
This morning I encouraged my congregations to offer three gifts to Christ in 2011. I did not ask them to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh but to offer Christ their worship, relationships, and service.
In regards to worship I encouraged the church to be at church. If it is a Sunday morning and they are able to come to church, I want to see their smiling faces. If they are unable to come to church on Sunday or if it is another day of the week, I want them to spend time with God. I encouraged them to sing spiritual songs, pray, read their Bible, or read a devotion.
In regards to relationships I encouraged the church to come to Sunday School or be part of a small group. I also wanted them to invest in the lives of others. I shared some of the following ideas: take your spouse on a date, turn the tv off and eat dinner as a family at the table, and schedule a play date with their kids.
In regards to service I encouraged the church to be a blessing to others. God has given us the gift of life to share with others. Each day we should do at least one good deed.
I believe if we spend more time in worship, relationships, and service in 2011 than we did in 2010 we will notice a great change in our lives. Are you up to the challenge? Will you offer these three gifts to Jesus?
This morning I encouraged my congregations to offer three gifts to Christ in 2011. I did not ask them to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh but to offer Christ their worship, relationships, and service.
In regards to worship I encouraged the church to be at church. If it is a Sunday morning and they are able to come to church, I want to see their smiling faces. If they are unable to come to church on Sunday or if it is another day of the week, I want them to spend time with God. I encouraged them to sing spiritual songs, pray, read their Bible, or read a devotion.
In regards to relationships I encouraged the church to come to Sunday School or be part of a small group. I also wanted them to invest in the lives of others. I shared some of the following ideas: take your spouse on a date, turn the tv off and eat dinner as a family at the table, and schedule a play date with their kids.
In regards to service I encouraged the church to be a blessing to others. God has given us the gift of life to share with others. Each day we should do at least one good deed.
I believe if we spend more time in worship, relationships, and service in 2011 than we did in 2010 we will notice a great change in our lives. Are you up to the challenge? Will you offer these three gifts to Jesus?
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