A Christmas Thought

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. What Word would that be? The Word that was, is, and will every be. The Word of love, holiness, peace, justice, and righteousness. The Word of hope, joy, and new life. The Word that says evil is not all powerful. The Word that says darkness will not triumph. This is the Word that enters into our world and changes the entire story.

Good Bye Cokesbury

I recieved word today that Cokesbury will be closing all of its brick and mortar stores.  No more physical stores where you can walk in and smell new books, touch stoles, try on robes, and shop for United Methodist souviners.  I'll miss the store.  I always enjoyed shopping there.  Friendly people and a good selection of merchandise. 

In response to the news I offer this poem:

Good Bye Bookstore

Good Bye vestemant shop

Good Bye parament merchant

Good Bye recipient of much of my Account Reimbursible fund

Good Bye Cokesbury

Clear off the shelves with going out of business sales

Hymnals buy one get on free

The Complete Works of Wesley half price

Going, going, gone

Goodbye Cokesbury. 

The thin place

Let us pause at this thin place where Heaven invades the earth.
Let us pause at this thin place and consider what is of eternal worth:
Quiet places and scared places,
Warm embraces and friendly faces,
Wisdom from saintly sages,
Bibles with worn pages,
And
Unnecessary hymn books because you know the words.
These are the rare holy thin places where we meet the Lord.

Untitled

When death comes and calls my name
And life in this realm ends
I pray my soul shall take flight
To a world where no shadow bend.
And in that world I hope to see
Many bright and familiar faces
As we sing and shout
Of God's amazing graces.

Some more Poems about Salem

I'm not a professional poet, but I try and trying counts for something.

 

The moon shines bright at the old camp ground tonight,
‘Tis summer, and Salem is here.
Come sing and shout as we spread God’s love about
The old camp ground tonight.
We will eat too much at the old camp ground tonight,
As the chicken fries in the pan.
Hear the old bell ring as we begin to sing,
Sweet, Sweet Spirit once again.
Watch the children play in the sawdust on the floor
All happy, merry, and bright,
The Love birds laugh as they sneak to the spring,
At the old camp ground tonight.
Friday is here and we all must say goodbye
At the old camp ground tonight.
But before we go let us sup with the Lord
Then bid Salem Campmeeting good night.

Sing and shout for joy
Oh sing and shout amen!
Let us sing and shout Sweet Spirit all about the old Camp ground again!

 

And the Second

Sitting on the front porch on big Sunday afternoon
Surrounded by your family and your friends
Laughing about memories from meetings in the past
As you pray this week would never end.

(Chorus/ Refrain)
At camp meeting life is good
Like a gentle summer breeze
At camp meeting life is good
Under the shade of the old oak trees.

Watch the children as the play out in the yard
running jumping and having lots of fun.
Mama’s in the kitchen cooking up the meal
As Daddy naps in his rocking chair.

Walking in the sawdust on the tabernacle floor
Ready for the service to begin.
But after sitting on those old hard church pews
You're wondering if the preaching will ever end.

 

 

In the shade of old oak trees

In the shade of the old oak trees,
I feel God moving in the breeze.
All is quiet and at peace
In the shade of the old oak trees.

When I quiet the noise inside,
I can hear the voice of God.
In that place he speaks to me,
In the shade of the old oak trees.

Life outside is turning fast
I get older with each day.
I need a place where I can pause
In the shade of the old oak trees.

Come now and go with me.
Let's escape this drudgery.
Let's go where life is good
In the shade of the old oak trees.

Guns and violence

Unless you are living under a rock, you've probably heard the news about tragic gun violence in the United States.  Gun violence is nothing new.  Violence is nothing new.  It goes back to the time of Cain and Abel. 

When Cain killed Abel he didn't use a gun.  We really don't what instrument Cain used to do the dirty deed.  In my imagination I see Cain hitting his brother in the head with a large stone or rock.  I see him crushing the life force out of his brother.  It was truly a sad moment in human history.

Violence in any form or fashion is a sad moment in human history.  But what are we to do?  Do we gather up all the weapons of violence?  Do we ask people to bring their guns to town?  Do we ban bullets?  Do we add waiting lists and background checks?

In my opinion I think those actions are the easy way.  It is easy to pass a law and issue an edict that says we will ban the weapons and instruments of violence.  At one point a legislative body outlawed war. 

We see how that has helped us.

I guess I should reveal this bit of important information...I own several guns.  I am taking up hunting as hobby and sport.  I like to go to the shooting range and target practice.  I am even licensed for concealed carry.  I own weapons.  I have an arsenal of instruments of violence.

As you read this, you might be wondering how can a gun owner be writing a blog about gun violence.  What valid point can he make about gun control and living in peace with others?

I can't answer that question.  However, I know we all weapons.  We all own an arsenal of hate and violence.  It is hidden in our heart. 

When I consider the gun violence of the past weeks, not just the stories that have enraptured us in the headlines, but the stories that are not known.  I think of stories like the kid who incidentally shot himself with a loaded and unsecured handgun, the liquor story robbery, the home invasion, and the list goes on.  When I consider the violence of the past weeks and past history, above all I see a failure of the heart. A failure to love.  A failure to choose the path that love would take. 

Love is hard work.  You can't legislate love.  You can't force others to love.  Love happens.  Love requires work.  I wonder if we spent more time loving and getting to know our neighbor if our world would look a little more like the Kingdom of God and less like a crime scene?

You might wonder what I plan to do with the guns I own.  I will keep them.  I will still hunt and go to the shooting range, but it just might be time for me to let the bullets stay in my underwear drawer. 

Camp Ground

There is a quiet place where I have raised an Ebenezer.
It is shaded by old oak trees who bear silent witness.
They do not speak of the miracles they've seen there.
But when the breeze blows you can hear a song of praise.

A thought

It is amazing how fast a day can come and go. Before you know it, the days become a week, then a month, and then a year. Tonight I am not thinking about this day and it's highs and lows. Instead I am thinking about each moment, for it is moments that make each day. So I am taking this moment to think and give thanks. Perhaps reading this will inspire you to take a moment too.

A Prayer for Interpution

O God,

who interrupted the darkness of timelessness with the words, "Let there be light,"

interput the darkness of our lives with your perfect light.

You who interrupted the silence of the space and time with the sounds of creation

interupt the silence of our lives with your new creation.

You who interrupted the course of human history with the mystery of incarnation

interupt our story with your incarnate presence.

You who interrupted the evil's destructive campaign by the power of atonement

interput the victory of evil in our life with the power of forgiveness.

You who will interrupt life with the new creation,

interupt our lives with the new heaven and new earth.

Amen. 

Kmart and the Church

Kmart and I have an unhealthy relationship.  We have the kind of dysfunctional relationship that makes interesting afternoon television on programs like Judge Judy and Dr. Phil.  There was a time when Kmart was good to me.  That time is a distant memory.  Things have changed.

As I child I loved going to Kmart.  Kmart was the only general merchandise store in our town.  We went to Wal-Mart on special once a month trips.  A trip to Wal-Mart required driving from Conyers to Covington, Georgia.  And let me clarify, this was an old school Wal-Mart not one of these mega, super, jumbo sized get all you need Wal-Marts. 

Looking back I remember the wonderful toy section at my childhood Kmart.  The shelves were full all my favorite toys: GI Joes, Transformers, MASK, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and LEGOS.  I remember well going to Kmart to spend my birthday and Christmas money on wonderful new additions to my toy chest.  When I was ten you could purchase four or five GI Joes for $20.00. 

These are memories of the Kmart I used to know.  That Kmart has changed.  I don’t know what happened, but something significant happened.  The changes were subtle, but some weren’t so subtle.  Kmart got rid of the Blue Light Special and lay away.  The product lines changed.  Layaway became a Christmas only program.  The sports department stopped selling guns and ammo. 

Then the day of awakening came.  I went to Kmart and realized this store wasn’t the place for me to shop any more.  A super Wal-Mart moved into our town and I became a Wal-Mart shopper.  When I felt worthy enough, I would shop at Target. It seems that I wasn’t alone in that decision.

The Kmart near me is closing.  The store couldn’t turn a profit, so to keep the larger retail chain alive corporate leaders decided to shut it down.  I knew this would happen a long time ago, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw the store closing announcement in the local paper.

This Kmart has problems.  It is dysfunctional.  They never had in stock what I was looking for.  If they happened to have the product it was significantly more expensive than other retailers.  Customer service was never to be found.  Whenever I would go shop at Kmart I would leave asking, “Why do I ever come back here?” 

So the other day I went to the going out of business sale at my local Kmart.  Everything was on sale, but there was a problem, everything was much more expensive.  20% percent off an item that was 30% more expensive than the same item elsewhere is no deal.  Once again I left Kmart asking “Why do I ever come back here?”

Then sadly it dawned on me.  I wonder how many folks raise the same question when they visit the local church.  Has the church lost the connection and the influence it once had?  Or as in the case of Kmart, has the church lost marketshare?  Has the church changed so much to keep up with society that it has lost what made the church the church?  Or maybe this is the most important question, “Is the church using price tags when everyone else has gone digital?” 

I only ask these questions and now I ask you to answer them. 

Salem 2012

Salem 2012 is over. The final bell has rung and the meeting of friends and families at this historic holy place will be a memory. Each year is different to each who attends and doesn't. For some this will be a year that you struggle to recall anything that happened. For others this will be the year that they will never forget.
The two preachers offered many opportunities for meaningful spiritual memories to be made. I am grateful. Salem is special to me. It gives me a place to belong and challenges me to become less of who I am now and more of who God desires and expects me to be. I am fearful for the rest. I am grateful for new friends. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit at work in my life despite my own faults and failures.
I hope to stay connected with the young people I have mentored this week. I pray For God to do great things. I pray that I too will be open to God's grace at work in my life. Amen.
If this rambles please notice I am writing this in an IPhone at 2:30 am.

A poem for my dog

I look for you from time to time in the places you should be
Sleeping on the couch
Running down the hall
Or reclining in your chair.
I listen for you from time to time in the sounds you should make
A scratch on the door
A beagles bay
A jingle of a collar.
Then I remember you are gone and must recall the memories of sight and sound.
But I will still look for you not where you have been
But where I know where you will be found.

The Day I Said Good Bye To My Dog

On Friday morning I slept in.  Friday is my day off so I didn't feel bad waking up at 6 AM and going back to bed.  I wanted to enjoy that nice spring coolness that comes when your bedroom windows are opened to the April morning.  It was really nice to have the dog jump in the bed and cuddle with me.  Really nice.

Then so suddenly the day changed.  In less than an hour I would be saying good bye to my dog Dallas.  How quickly life can change for the two-legged and four-legged alike.

Dallas was pure Beagle.  If he could get loose and chase a scent he would and on Friday morning he did.  He chased freedom until he ran right up to St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

I am just glad that I was there to tell him good bye.  As a chaplain with the Fire Department there were several times when I was called to help families who stumbled upon a loved one who died alone.  It was rough.  Lord if possible don't let me die alone.  Again, I am just glad I was there to tell Dallas thank you and good bye.

Dallas entered into my life on News Year 2010.  I was deciding what to buy myself for Christmas.  The options that year were a new HD television, a sofa, or a dog.  Because I moving to a new church in June was very likely I opted for a dog.  I had always wanted a dog.  I thought a dog would be a good addition to my lonely life in a rural parsonage.  Little did I know what a blessing my dog would be.

Some people ask how I came across Dallas.  Let me briefly share that story.  When I decided to get a dog, I began taking only questionaries that would help you find the perfect dog breed.  One selector that I used was connected with a local animal shelters.  They really suggested that you recsue a dog.  This selector connected me with the Dalton, Georgia Humane Society.

The Dalton Humane Society had two dogs that were top on my match list.  One dog was a little Jack Russel named J.R.  The other dog was a two year old beagle named Dallas.  I took this as a divine sign, for at that time I was watching my way through the entire television series Dallas.  Of all the dogs there were two with names connected to my favorite tv show at that time. 

When I arrived at the humane society I was told JR, my first choice, had been adopted a few days before.  They suggested I give Dallas a chance.  I remember well our first meeting.  He came up, put his paws on my knees and licked my hand and face.  He liked me.  I gave it a chance and decided to adopt him.

After I had filled out all the adoption papers and paid the adoption fee, I discovered Dallas' story.  He was a true rescue dog.  The Whitfiled County Animal Control had found him walking the streets.  When I told that news to Billy Dycus, trustee at the church I was serving, he said, "Preacher done brought a streetwalker home!"  The Humane Society resuced him from being put down.

Three different families had adopted Dallas, but each family had returned him before the end of a week.  Dallas has escaped from one family and ran off to a local grocery store.  This family gave Dallas away to a man who found him in the parking lot.  The Humane society rescued Dallas from a life limited to being chained on a tree.  He needed a good home. 

As we drove off, I wondered if I would be returning this little beagle by the end of the week.  I gave him a chance and I am glad I did.  They first few months were hard, but I learned and he adjusted.  We had good times together.  A few weeks into ownership Dallas escaped and was hit by a car.  He wasn't severly injured, just bruised.  However, I was always fearful that the next time wouldn't turn out so good.

In June, Dallas and I moved to Madison County, Georgia.  We adapted well to life in Comer and Colbert.  Dallas and I walked to the Post Office and the Bank.  I would often tie him to the Post Office Flag Pole, so I could go inside and get the mail.  He went with me to visit shut-ins.  He really enjoyed visits to the nursing home.  He was a good at pastoral care. 

Dallas was a real escape artist.  He would often get out of his maximum security pen.  I even had three locks on it.  Over the past few months Dallas had earned the privledge of staying inside.  He was doing really well. 

I wish I could have spent many more years with Dallas, but I am grateful for the time we did share.  He was a good dog and a good companion.  I think he even helped me become a better pastor.  My four legged friend taught me much about love, compassion, and patience.  He taught me about responsibility and what it means to have others depend on you.  I am forever grateful for his lessons. 

I am glad I was there when the time came for him to leave this world and go onto the next.  I told him thank you for being a good dog and friend because he was. 

Some people wonder if Dogs go to Heaven.  A lot of people think they do, I am one.  As a pastor I believe and yearn for the day when God will bring a new Heaven and a new Earth.  I believe animals will be part of God's redemptive work.  If you disagree think about this...

In Genesis, we find two creation accounts.  Both stories describe how God deliberately made the animals of the earth.  If animals were a vital part of the first Creation, then why would they not be part of the second or new Creation?

When God decided to flood the earth and start things all over, he commanded Noah to build an Ark and rescue animals from the impending disaster.  If God resuced the animals in the Ark why won't God rescue animals in the new Creation?

The Bible is full of many descriptions of God's love, some of the most common are those of a Shepherd.  Shepherd take care of sheep.  Jesus speaks of God being mindful of birds in the air.  These are just a few examples that tell me that God has a fondness for animals. 

On Friday I said good by to my dog.  I said "Good bye Dallas."  However, deep in my heart I know he waits for me with a lot of other four legged friends and critters in the eternal care of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all that is seen and unseen.  So really "Good bye" is actually what I told Dallas before I would to work or run errands in town, "I love you Dallas, I will be back home soon.  Be a good boy."

Pastoral Prayer for April 8, 2012

Almighty God on this Easter Sunday we raise thankful hearts to you. We join in creation’s celebration and adoration of our Risen Lord. Almighty God we give thanks that by the life, death, and resurrection of your precious Son you have opened the flood gates of grace and mercy and begun the work of your new creation!
God we ask that you would help us to live in the promise of this good news.  Help us to be Easter people.
Help us to be Easter people: people who can truly live only because Your Son lives.
Help us to be Easter people: people who can truly love only because Your Son lives.
Help us to be Easter people: people who can show mercy only because Your Son lives.
Help us to be Easter people: people who can face the uncertainty of today and tomorrow because Your Son lives.
God we lift up to you the cares and concerns we have spoken and those that have remained unspoken.  We lift up to you the sick, the suffering, the troubled, and those in need.  As Easter people may we minister to their needs with the grace and mercy you have richly given us. 
We lift up to you the concerns of this world, the war-torn, the impoverished, and the oppressed.  As Easter people may we minister to their needs with the hope you have richly given us.
We lift up to you the concerns of your church.  Help us be the people you have called us to be.  Help us to witnesses of your resurrection.  Help us to share the good news of this day to the ends of the earth until your kingdom comes and your will is made full.

Almighty God as Easter people we now lift up the prayer your Son and our Risen Lord gave us as we pray...
Our Father...

The Way of The Cross

This week I finished an autobiography of the late Bishop Arthur J. Moore.  It was good book.  For a man that did so much in his life, Bishop Moore really didn’t share much.  It was a short book, just shy of 150 pages.  Even though the Bishop didn’t pen an epic autobiography I was impressed by what he did say, and though the book was over forty years old it was still timely.
    I wonder if Bishop Moore was trying to follow the example of the Apostle Paul.  In Philippians 2:5-11, the Apostle Paul summaries the life of Christ in just a few words.  In the New International english translation of the Bible, it comes out to 38 words.  Thirty-eight words retell the thirty-three years Christ lived on earth.  That is just over one word per year.
    If such word limits were placed on you.  What would your autobiography say?  I am thirty-one years old and I would probably be disappointed about what could be said of my life with just thirty-one years.
    Listen again to thirty-eight words Paul uses to retell the life of Christ.

He made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

With these thirty-eight words, Paul pulls together some of the greatest ideas that humanity has ever known. 
    The God who has made all that we can see with our eyes and what we cannot see with our eyes left the glory of heaven and became human.  Just four words-”He made himself nothing.”  In the prolog to his Gospel, John uses ten words, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
    Paul then summarizes the life, ministry, and passion of Christ with the remaining thirty-four words:
    By taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
    These few words retell what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John share in pages of the four Gospels.  These few words summarize the work of God on Earth through Jesus Christ.
    This week I read two books.  I finished J.B. Phillips books “Your God is Too Small.”  It too was a good book.  “Your God it too Small” is also a short book, just over a 100 pages; however, Phillips had a lot to say.  It too, though over sixty years old was still timely.
    I’d like to share with you something Phillips penned in one of the later chapters of his book.  In the later chapters of his book, Philips attempts to show how having a “small God” won’t change your life. Even though Paul uses a few words to describe the life of Christ, it is no small matter.  Listen to what he wrote:
    "To assent mentally to the suggestion that "Jesus died for me" is unhappily only     too easy for certain types of mind.  But really to believe that God Himself cut the     knot of man’s entanglement by a personal and unbelievably costly act is a     much    deeper affair.  The bigger the concept of God the more the mind staggers     at the     thought, but once it is accepted as true it is not too much to say that the     whole     personality is reorientated." p 107.
   
    Today begins Holy Week.  During Holy Week we focus our attention on the last of Paul’s words “By becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!”  Holy Week is more than “Jesus died for me.”  Holy Week is to believe “God Himself cut the deeper affair.” 
    This week I spent some time wondering where the small idea of “Jesus died for me” came from.  How could well meaning Christians have such a small idea?  I thought and thought about it.  While mowing the grass, I came up with a possible idea. 
    Today and on Easter we will have good attendance at worship.  These are big days.  People like Palm Sunday and most good Christian people believe they have to be at church on Easter.  These days are high days.  These are celebration days.  We wave Palms and cheer with the crowd today.  On Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  If you just come to Church on Palm Sunday and Easter you miss Holy Week.  You miss the passion.  You miss “the way of the cross.”
    Maundy Thursday and Good Friday retell “the way of the cross.”  Maundy Thursday and Good Friday paint a bigger picture of what God has done for us.  Maundy Thursday and Good Friday help us realize that there is much more to all of this than “Jesus died for me.”
    This morning I want to help us turn the corner.  I want us to move from Palm Sunday to the “Way of the Cross.”  The way of the cross paints a grand portrait of Christ’s obedience and his humility.  So what is the way of the Cross?
   
We find it in Mark 14-15.

The “Way of the Cross” begins with the scheming and betrayal of the religious elite. 

  Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

The “Way of the Cross” is knowing about the suffering that awaits you as a forgiven sinner prepares your body for death while you are yet living.

  While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
  Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
    “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

The “Way of the Cross” is being betrayed by your friends, the people you trust.

  Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The “Way of the Cross” is living for today despite the trial that awaits tomorrow.

  On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
  So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
  The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

The “Way of the Cross” is welcoming those you will abandon and betraying you to the table and breaking bread with them.

  When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
  They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
    “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
  While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
    “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The “Way of the Cross” is knowing that you will be all alone in your time of need.

    “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
   “‘I will strike the shepherd, 
   and the sheep will be scattered.’
    But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
  Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
    “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”
  But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

The “Way of the Cross” is wrestling with the will and ways of God as you ultimately submit to “Thy will be done.”

  They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
  Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
  Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
  Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

The “Way of the Cross” is being kissed by the one who sold you out.

  Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
  Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
    “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.
  A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

The “Way of the Cross” is having everything you have ever said twisted, turned, and used against you.

  They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
  Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
  Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

The “Way of the Cross” is being called a blasphemer for speaking the truth of God.

   Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
    “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
  The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

The “Way of the Cross” is being mocked and spit on.

   They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

The “Way of the Cross” is hearing the rooster crow as your prophecy is fulfilled.

  While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
   “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
  But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.
  When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” Again he denied it.
   After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
  He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
  Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

The “Way of the Cross” is being carted around from court to court as your accusers seek “justice.”

  Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
  “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
  The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

The “Way of the Cross” is hearing the crowd beg for a murderer and terrorist to be freed instead of you.

  Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

The “Way of the Cross” is hearing the crowd yell “Crucify!”

  “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
  “Crucify him!” they shouted.
  “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The “Way of the Cross” is watching your killers mock you.

  The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The “Way of the Cross” is watching a stranger being forced to carry your burden.
  A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him.

The “Way of the Cross” is watching your killers cast dice for all your earthly possessions.

Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
  It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

The “Way of the Cross” is being put on public display totally naked and humiliated for the crimes of others.

  They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The “Way of the Cross” is believing you have been totally abandoned by God.

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
  When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
  Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
  With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The “Way of the Cross” is having people recognize you were right, after you have died.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
  Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

The “Way of the Cross” is being buried in a borrowed tomb as your grieving friends cry for all hope is lost.

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

The “Way of the Cross” leads us to this table where we recognize that all hope is not lost, for “Sunday’s coming!”

Why I like not so new books II

In an earlier post I pleged to post some good quotes and thoughts from Bishop Arthur J. Moore's autobiography Bishop To All Peoples.

Though a short book, just shy of 150 pages, and a "not so new book", published in 1973, Bishop Moore raised several interesting and timely points.

"Methodism must be flexible enough to speak the language and address itself to the problems peculiar to a particular area and at the same time promote the worldwide task of the church" p 127.

"The command to preach the gospel was not intended for a single age, but for the ages.  The church can live and expand only when world vision is constantly before its eyes and when its minsiters and people are heroic adventurers and brave pioneers, ready to follow their Lord in the dangerous way of the Cross.  A Formal, faint-hearted, self-indulgent churc cannot hope to succeed in the time of such a revolution." p 98.

I wonder what advice and insight Bihop Moore would offer The United Methoidist Church as we gather for General Conference.

Why I like not so new books

Tonight I finished reading J.B. Phillips classic work Your God is Too Small. I really enjoyed the book.  Glad I read it.  I wish I had read it earlier in my ministry, but at least I have read it once.  I just want to share a few quotes from the later chapters of the book.

Pardon the masculine exclusive language.  This book was written before inclusive language become common.

From Christ and the Question of Sin

"If God Himself is both Truth and Love it would be logical to suppose that a deliberate refusal to recognize or harbour truth and love would result in an attitude that makes reconciliation with God impossible." p 105.

From Statisfactory Reconciliation

"To assent mentally to the suggestion that "Jesus died for me" is unhappily only too easy for certain types of mind.  But really to believe that God Himself cut the know of man's entanglement by a personal and unbelievably costly act is a much deeper affair.  The bigger the concept of God the more the mind staggers at the thought, but once it is accepted as true it is not too much to say that the whole personality is reorientated." p 107.

From The Abolition of Death

""Heaven" is not, so to speak, the reward for "being a good boy" (though many people seem to think so), but it is the continuation and expansion of a quality of life which begins when a man's central confidence is transerred from himself to God-become-man." p 115. 

"Whosover liveth and believeth on Me shall never die" (John 11:26).  It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the meaning that Christ intended to convey was that death was a completely neglibgle experience to the man who had already begun to live life of the eternal quality. p 115.

From the final chapter

Those who respond to the Truth have always been a minority, and when God visited the earth in Person the response, even to Him, was not very large. p 122.

But if real Christianity fails, it fails for the same reasons the Christ failed--and any condemnation rightly falls on the world which rejects both Him and it." p 124.

 

In a few days I will finish Bishop Arthur J. Moore's book Bishop To All Peoples.  I will have several good quotes from the Bishop.

Living The Questions

This is my sermon manuscript from Sunday March 25, 2012

    Today we come to the last sermon in our series about the Three Simple Questions.  I pray this series has helped you grow in your faith.  I know it has challenged me think how I can be more like Jesus.  I do think these Three Simple Questions have helped me know the Go of love, hope, and purpose.
    We’ve repeated them before, but I think they are worth repeating again.  Do you all remember the Three Simple Questions?  They are:
“Who is God?”
“Who am I?”
“Who are we together?”
    These are timeless and universal questions.  People across the world and across the ages have been pondering and seeking meaningful answers to these questions.  In his book, “Three Simple Questions,” Bishop Rueben Job has helped us find those meaningful answers people have long sought after.  Bishop Job has helped us find those answers in the Bible.
    Do you all remember the answers the Bible offers to these questions?
    “Who is God?”  The Bible tells us that God is the creator and sustainer of all that is seen and unseen.  If we want to see God, the Bible tells us all we need to do is to look at Jesus Christ.
    “Who am I?”  The Bible tells us that we are God’s children.  Jesus Christ offers us God’s gracious love. 
    “Who are we together?”  The Bible tells us that we are all connected in the human family.  The Bible also tells us that living well together is difficult.  We can only live well together by loving others and ourselves.  The only way we can love others and ourselves is by first loving God.  If we want to know what that love looks like, then all we need to do is to look at Jesus Christ.
    Last week we considered the role prayer plays in helping us connect to the God of the Three Simple Questions.  Prayer helps us know God, know ourselves, and know how we are to live with others.  I we want to live a life of love, hope, and purpose we need prayer-filled lives. 
    Today we come to the end of this series and I want to use this sermon to address what it means and looks like to “live the questions.”  So I ask, “What does it mean to live the questions?”
    Let me offer this story.
    This past week I spent a good bit of time walking around and pondering the thought, “Living the questions.”  While walking and pondering, I got to thinking about third grade math.  Do you all remember third grade?  When I was kid, third grade math was all about multiplication and division.  The first half of the year you spent all day remembering the times tables.  The second half of the year you spent all day learning about division.  Looking back on third grade it was a time of building up and taking down.
    I hate to tax your brain, but let’s do some math. 2 x 2 = 4, 2 x 3=6, 5 x 8 = 40, 10 x 10 = 100, 12 x 12 = 144.  I see some steam coming out of some of your ears. 
    I don’t know how you learned the multiplication table, but Mrs. Cowley, my third grade teacher, taught us by repetition.  We went over the multiplication table over and over again, kind of like how we’ve been repeating The Three Simple Questions and their answers over and over again. 
    At the beginning of the year our class struggled a bit, we had to do the math, then after a few weeks we began to remember, and then after a month or so Mrs. Cowley would ask random questions and we would answer almost before she finished the question.  Over time the multiplication table became natural.  You might say it became part of who we are.  As a grown up we use the time tables without thinking.
    In celebration of this spring weather you decide to have a cook out.  You go to the grocery and pick up a pack of hotdogs.  There are ten dogs in a pack.  You get two packs.  You go to the bread aisle to get some buns.  I’ve never understood why you get dogs in packs of ten but buns come in packs of eight.  Without sitting down with pen and paper, you pick up three bags of buns.  And if you got kids, you can use the four extra hot dog buns and subject them to the most embarrassing sandwich at the cafeteria table-a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a hot dog bun.
    Friends, this is what I think it means to live the questions.  We know the questions: “Who is God?” “Who am I?” and “Who are we together?”  We know the answers.  We are connecting through prayer and spiritual growth to the God of love, hope, and purpose who answers these questions.  And when we are faced with the questions we live the answers.
    A few weeks ago tornados swept through the mid west.  These huge storms destroyed towns and families.  News reporters ran to the scene to tell us the story.  They interviewed people whose earthly positions were picked up by the wind and thrown into a million pieces and places. Though, it was never directly asked, you heard people asking and answering the first question.
    “God sent the storms to teach us a lesson.”
    “God was mad at us.”
    “God is judging us.”
    “God is....you can finish the rest of the sentence.”
“Who is God?” wasn’t asked, but it was answered.
    You go to the mailbox.  There is a letter waiting for you.  It’s got your address, but not your name.  It is addressed to “Resident.”  Though, it was never directly asked, you have an answer to the second question.
    “You are a resident.”
    “You are a zip code, a street number, a street name.”
    “You are a citizen of a certain state.”
    “You are a citizen of a certain nation.”
“Who am I?” wasn’t asked, but it was answered.
    You go to town.  You see a man on the side of the street.  He looks like he hasn’t had a bath in several weeks.  He looks hungry.  The light turns green.  You move with the flow of traffic.  Though, it was never directly asked, you’ve answered the third question.
    “He’s just a drunk.”
    “If he only tried to find a job.”
    “He would only use my money to buy booze.”
    “I can’t do anything to help him.”
“Who are we together?” wasn’t asked, but it was answered. 
    Friends, this is what it looks like to live the questions. 
    In the closing paragraph of his book “Three Simple Questions,” Bishop Job has this to say about living the questions.  He writes:
We know we cannot do everything to change the world, but we can, by God’s grace, each do our part.  We can, each one of us, live what we are--a creature of the God who is Creator of all that is, a beloved child of God, a responsible member of God’s global family, and a follower of Jesus Christ as part of God’s faithful family.  Every day that we live as Jesus lived, we change the world. (74)

    Listen to that last line again, “Every day that we live as Jesus lived, we change the world.”  Living like Jesus?  Isn’t that a novel idea?  Haven’t we heard that before?  Wasn’t that something Paul said in scripture we heard this morning?

    Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. Live your life with love,     following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a     sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God. Ephesians 5:1-2.

    In this scripture, Paul was telling Christians long ago and Christians today, to live like Christ.  Look at the word he uses in verse 1.  He writes, “imitate God.”  I’m sure many of you all have heard the old adage, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  I suggest “imitation is also the sincerest form of worship.” 
    In this passage, Paul is speaking to people who were familiar with the ancient art of public speaking.  If you wanted to become a great public speaker you would find a great public speaker and ask to be their student.  As a student you would then learn to imitate the teacher.  If the teacher raised his hands when he spoke, you would learn to raise your hands when you spoke.  If the teacher tried to make a point with a soft spoken voice, then you would learn to make a point with a soft spoken voice.
    As Christians, we are called to imitate our teacher.  Our teacher is Jesus Christ.  Living the questions means to live like Jesus would. 
    What does that look like?
A few weeks ago tornados swept through the mid west.  These huge storms destroyed towns and families.  News reporters ran to the scene to tell us the story.  They interviewed people whose earthly positions were picked up by the wind and thrown into a million pieces and places.  You hear the following explanations:
    “God sent the storms to teach us a lesson.”
    “God was mad at us.”
    “God is judging us.”
    “God is....you can finish the rest of the sentence.”
    Because you are trying to live the questions, the explanations sound like this, “2 x 2 =5, 4 x 5 =15, 3 x 9 = 10.”  You know they mean well, but the answers are wrong.  God is loving creator and sustainer.  Let’s don’t rush to say God sent storms.  How about we live in a world were evil takes many forms and fashions and storms are example of a fallen creation.  Instead of blaming God, you look for ways to help these victims rebuild their lives.  You do something God would do, you work for restoration, re-creation, and redemption.

    You go to the mailbox.  There is a letter waiting for you.  It’s got your address, but not your name.  It is addressed to “Resident.”  You ask? “Am I just a resident, a zip code, a street number, a street name.”  No.  “I am something more, something greater, I am a beloved Child of God.”  You are living the questions.
    You go to town.  You see a man on the side of the street.  He looks like he hasn’t had a bath in several weeks.  He looks hungry. Before you started to spend more time in prayer, Bible study, devotion, worship, and serving others you would have sat in the car and said to yourself, “He’s just a drunk,” “He would only use my money to buy booze,” or “I can’t do anything to help him.”  Because you are living the questions, when the light turns green you go to the next gas station or fast food place and get the man something to drink or eat.  Friends that is what it means to live the questions. 
    Living the Questions means we imitate Christ.  We cannot imitate what we do not know.  So we can’t imitate Christ if we don’t know Christ.  We can’t live the questions if we don’t know the answers to the questions.  We can’t answer the questions if we don’t know the God of the questions.  We can’t know the God of the questions without know Jesus Christ. 
    Friends over the next two weeks we will celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter.  We will journey through the Passion of Holy Week.  We will focus our attention on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We will remember what The God of love, hope, and purpose has done for us so we might be able to fully love and live.  I pray that you see these days as a divine invitation to draw closer to God.  I hope you see these days and actually every day, as a divine invitation to know love and grow in love.  For in drawing near to the God of love we truly find hope in this world and discover our purpose for living. 
    Now I understand living the questions might sound difficult.  Living like Christ is a high standard.  Jesus is perhaps the most difficult person to imitate.  Why?  Not because  what he asks us to do in so difficult, but because it is inherently and radically difficult from the way we are used to living.  But Christ is gracious.  If we draw near to God, God will draw near to us and help as we grow and over time and as we grow in grace-living the questions and being like Christ will be as natural as “2 x 2 = 4, 5 x 3 = 15, 4 x 6 = 24.” Amen. 

Good Article

There is no such thing as a “perfect” church. Honestly, there will never be a perfect church because the people who occupy the church are imperfect.

The only thing perfect in church is the message and purity of the Gospel. Though there is no perfect church, there are healthy and unhealthy churches. I have been in church literally my entire life, so I have seen the great, the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

After witnessing and having endless discussions about the church culture, I have compiled a list of 5 signs that signal you are a part of an unhealthy church.

1. Leadership Does Not Have A Clear Vision

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” A church whose leadership has not explained or formed a vision that states: “this is who we are, this is where we’re going and this is how we’re going to get there” is unhealthy in the highest form.

How can a church or any organization function or truly exist without vision? Jesus was the ultimate vision-caster. He stated his vision for not only what the church should look like but ultimately, what the role of the church is and its purpose.

Unfortunately, I have seen churches that had no mission and absolutely no vision and scripture is 100% correct, the people did perish. If you don’t know what the mission and vision is of your church, chances are you are in an unhealthy church.

Additionally, if your church has a mission and vision statement but you don’t see the mission and vision being executed within the church’s set up and organizational structure, programs and/or ministries that are offered, you are probably in an unhealthy church.

Read Sign # 2 >>

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Marielle is a Jesus Follower. Blogger. Writer. Music Business Enthusiast. Lover of Chocolate. Addicted to books, movies and music. Desperately chasing God’s will. Determined to help others be everything that God has created them to be. Lastly, She is the creator of the Christian entertainment news site, The 416 Project.

More from Marielle Thomas or visit Marielle at iammariellet.com/

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Who are we together?

I wrote a manuscript for the third sermon in this series; however, I didn't feel like it was what needed to be preached from the pulpit.  Instead, I used a simple outline to answer the question "Who are we together?"

The third of the Three Simple Questions is a question about community and relationship.  It calls us to ponder our relationship with God and our relationship with each other.  They way we answer this question shapes how we form and function in community. 

BIshop Rueben Job addresses this relationship in his book Three Simple Questions.  Bishop Job offers this insight:

"Our destiny is to live in confidence and loving and trust in loving relationship with this God and with our neighbors--with all God’s children--who are just like you and me.  When we begin to live this way, we begin to love as God loves; we begin to love our neighbors as ourselves.  This is the way of love.  This is what it means to live in community."

The way of love isn't an easy road to travel.  The Bible shows us how difficult it is to live well and to live well in community.  Story after story in the Bible retell how we are quick to focus on ourselves instead of living for others.  Thankfully the Bible isn't all bad news, for we do find a word of hope.  The Bible tells us how the God of Love wants to take up residence in our hearts through the endwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

It is only by Spirit-filled living that we can love God, know and love ourselves, and truly love others in community.  It is only by Spirit-filled living that we can live out the virtues of Godly community in Ephesians 4:1-4.

Are we willing to make it happen?  Do we want to grow in Christ?  Are we willing to put others first?  Do we want others to have know the love of God?  It wont just happen.  We must work for it and allow God to work in us.  Amen. 

Praying the Questions

    During the season of Lent we’ve been responding to what Bishop Rueben Job calls, “The Three Simple Questions.”  Do you all remember these timeless and universal questions?  They are: “Who is God?” “Who am I?” “Who are we together?”
    Over the past three weeks we have turned to scripture to see what answers the Bible offers to these three questions.  “Who is God?”  The Bible tells us that God is the creator of all that is seen and unseen and the one who holds all things together.  The Bible also tells us God became human in Jesus Christ. 
    “Who am I?”  The Bible tells us that when we call on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become Children of God.
    “Who are we together?”  The Bible tells us that we are all in need of God’s grace.  The Bible also tells us that living in community is difficult.  The only way we can love others as God has called us to love is by God’s presence indwelling in us by the Holy Spirit.
    It’s one thing to know the answers to the three simple questions.  It is entirely another thing to pray and to live in the questions.  Bishop Job was right when he said the “Three Simple Questions help us know the God of hope, love, and purpose.”  Today I want to spend some time pondering what would it look like to pray the questions and next week what does it mean to live the questions.
    What is prayer?  When I think about the question several answers come to mind.  First of all, I think of communication.  Prayer is communication with God.  Secondly, it is something that I desperately need more in my life and ministry.  Yes I said it.  I desperately need more prayer in my life and ministry.  Your preacher needs to spend more time with God.
    I bet I am not the only one here who feels like they need to spend more time with God.  How is your prayer life?  Do you pray?  Other than our prayer time in this service, when was the last time you prayed?  Did the prayer go something like this...”Lord we thank you for this food.  Amen.” 
    Don’t get me wrong saying grace before we eat is important, but we need more prayer than just “Lord bless the chicken.”  We need the kind of prayers Jesus taught his disciples.  We need the kind of prayer that connects us with the God who answers the “Three Simple Questions.”
     We need the kind of prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Luke 11:1-4.  I invite you to turn to Luke 11 so we can look at this prayer together.
    I think it is important to set the scene in which Jesus gives this prayer for it tells us much about the prayer life of Jesus.  Luke tells us that Jesus had gone off to a “certain place.”  When I was in region Galilee our tour group visited the place where tradition tells us Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.  On the side of this steep hill there is this little cave.  It’s more like a nook instead of a cave.  Just a small little indention in the side of the hill.  There is an old legend that says this little nook was the “certain place” where Jesus liked to go and pray.
    Luke tells us that Jesus is in this certain place praying when one of the disciples is watching.  This goes to show us that people watch what we do.  Jesus’s prayer life must have stirred something within this disciple.  Do note that we don’t know which disciple asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.  That is not important.  What is important is that the disciple wanted and desired a deeper prayer life! 
    The next few verses should be very familiar to us.  They form what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  We usually pray this prayer or something similar to it in our Sunday morning order of worship.  I could preach a sermon series on the prayer itself, but this morning I just want to do a survey of what Jesus teaches us in this model prayer.
    Recently I’ve begun trying to write the pastoral prayer I share in our Sunday morning worship.  Sometimes I turn to a passage of scripture such as one of the Psalms and use the scriptures as an outline to help me write my prayer.
    The Lord’s Prayer is a model prayer.  It isn’t the only way to pray.  With this prayer Jesus gives his disciples of long ago and his disciples today a pattern to follow.   
    Perhaps you could think of the Lord’s Prayer as a “paint by number” painting.  The Lord’s prayer gives us an outline of the painting and tells us where to put the different colors.  It is up to us to do the painting.  As we learn to pray we become more creative.  We know the basic shapes, pattern, and colors present in a beautiful prayer.  As we grow in prayer we discover we don’t need the little numbers to tell us where to put color.  After the a while we don’t even need the outline.  Before we know it we are praying beautiful, powerful, life changing prayers.
   
    What outline does the Lord’s prayer offer us?
    It begins by directing our attention and our hearts to God.  The prayer begins by drawing us to the first of the three simple questions “Who is God?”  The Lord’s prayer reminds us that God is our heavenly father.  It continues by reminding us what God is doing in the world--ushering forth God’s heavenly Kingdom and will.
    The Lord’s prayer then transitions us into the second question “Who am I?”  The Lord’s prayer helps us recognize our daily dependence upon God.  When the early church prayed the Lord’s prayer, they saw the petition, “Give us this day our daily bread” as a two fold request.  When early Christians raised this petition to God they were asking God to provide for their spiritual and earthly needs. 
    The Lord’s prayer then leads us into the third question “Who are we together?” When we pray “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us, and lead us not into temptation,” we recognize that life together is difficult.  The Lord’s prayer teaches us each time that we pray it, “We need forgiveness and we need to be people who give forgiveness to others.”
    You see the Lord’s Prayer connects us right into the Three Simple Questions.  This is the type of prayer we need.  I am not saying that we should simply pray the Lord’s Prayer every time we pray, but we need prayers that connect us with the God of all creation, reminds us who we really are, and what we need to do to love and live well with others. 
    Think again about the prayers you’ve been praying lately.  Do they connect you with the God of hope, love and purpose?  Do your prayers help you live out the answers to the questions “Who is God?” “Who am I?” “Who are we together?”
    At the beginning of this sermon, I mentioned how I earnestly need a deeper prayer life.  When I do an inventory of my spiritual conditions and needs, the need for more prayer is top on the list.  I don’t know about you all, but this passage of scripture has convicted and inspired me to spend more time in prayer.  To be honest with you, I really don’t know what this will look like in my life.
    If have a good friend who leads a contemporary worship service for young people.  She has introduced me to prayer stations.  The worship service she leads utilizes them.  A few months ago I went on a Pastor’s retreat where she set up some different prayer stations for us to use. 
    One station had little pieces of clay.  You were invited to take the clay and mold it and shape it in your hand while you prayed the Bible verse “You are the potter I am the clay.”  We were supposed to focus on what shape God wanted us to be.
    One station had pieces of paper.  You spent some time in prayer and then you wrote down sins that needed forgiveness, struggles, or needs in your life on this paper.  Then you took the paper and burned it with a candle.
    There was a prayer station at the alter where you could just kneel and pray. 
    I mention this because there is really no one right way to pray.  I don’t want you to think that spending more time in prayer means you got to spend more time kneeling at the alter or sitting in a chair.  However, if we aren’t kneeling at the alter in prayer it very well might be a good thing for us to start doing!
    In our book club, we are learning about different ways to pray.  Bishop Job has written an excellent book entitled, “Becoming a Praying Congregation.”  In our book club, we are looking at some of the different ways of praying that Bishop Job explains in that book.  We’ve learned about the prayer of silent listening.  That is where you simply sit in silence with a piece of paper and focus your thoughts on God.  You might repeat the verse “Speak for the servant is listening” or “Be still and know that I am the Lord your God.”  As you sit in silence you write down or draw what you feel God is saying to you.
    We’ve learned about the prayer of imagination.  In this way of praying you read scripture over and over and try to put yourself into the story.  What do you see?  What do you hear?  What do you smell?  And again you write down what you feel God is saying to you.
    There are many ways to pray.  I have another friend that is teaching her church to use prayer beads.  You simply hold the beads in your hand and focus on a different need as you touch each bead. 
    Yes there are many ways to pray and we should use a variety of these ways to connect with God.  But no matter how we pray I believe there are five things we need to remember.  These four things are not original to me, but come from William Barclay’s little book about the Lords Prayer.  Barclay says these four things should be part of every prayer:
Remember God is your Father and King.
Don’t hesitate to tell God your daily needs.
Don’t shrink from telling God our mistakes and failures.
Never forget to place the unknown future into God’s hands.
I would like to add one more thing
 Don’t forget to tell God thank you!

    Can you just imagine what a difference would happen in our lives, in our church, and in our community if we began praying like this?   What would happen if we started groups that met throughout the week for no other purpose but prayer?  Do you think we could change the world?
    You might not believe this, but there was a church that began a prayer meeting.  This wasn’t a special church.  It was just an ordinary church.  It had its share of strife, bickering, and backsliding.  One day the church’s leader, Count Zinzendorf, said “Let’s have a prayer meeting.”  48 people responded to his call.  24 men and 24 women. 
    These 48 people committed to praying one hour a day.  So in this church there was always a man and a woman praying.  They could have been praying at home, at the church, or at work, or even on vacation.  These people committed to praying 1 hour a day.
    Anybody want to guess how long this prayer meeting lasted? 
    It began in 1727 and lasted over 100 years.  I think it lasted 127 years.  After 65 years of 24 hour prayer this church had sent out 300 missionaries to share the gospel across the world. 
    It just so happened that an Anglican priest headed on a missionary trip to Georgia ran into a group of these Moravian missionaries.  Do you know what they were doing when they met?  They were praying because their ship was getting ready to sink in the North Atlantic ocean.  The Anglican priest they met was a man by the name of John Wesley.  
    After seeing the witness of the Moravians in prayer, John Wesley began trying to answer the three simple questions-”Who is God?” “Who am I?” and “Who are we together?”  The witness of the Moravians helped John Wesley meet the God of love, hope and purpose.
    John Wesley, empowered and inspired by his Holy Spirit encounter at a Bible study at Aldersgate street in England, began a missionary movement that helped change the world.  We are here to today as United Methodist because of that movement.  A movement born out a a group of bickering, upset, and backsliding Christians that decided to pray.
    The Lord only knows what can happen if we decide to pray.

Pastoral Prayer

Gracious God we are humbled by your invitation to “Come and pray.”
We also apologize for all the times we have not responded to your gracious invitation to commune with you in prayer.
Forgive us for being selective in our response. 
God have mercy on us for all the times we have failed to pray simply because it did not fit into our so-called “busy schedules.”
God have mercy on us for all the times we have approached you in prayer, not as God, but as a wish granting genie.
God have mercy on us for all the times we’ve been so wrapped up in our own world that we’ve neglected to see the world outside of us and failed to pray for others. 
God have mercy on us for all the times we told our family, our friends, our church, and even the stranger that we would pray for them, but didn’t.
God have mercy on us for not being the students of prayer you have tried to teach us to be.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.  Please teach us and help us to be better students of prayer.
Lord teach us and help us to pray without ceasing.  Let our lives be living prayers.
Lord teach us and help us to approach you in awe and reverence of your holiness.
Lord teach us and help us to look outside of ourselves.  Help us to see the needs of others and to feel compassion for the needs of others.  Help us be faithful to our promises to pray for the needs of others.
Yes Lord help us to be true to our promises as you are faithful and true to the promises you’ve made to us.
Lord, again, our prayer is to be better disciples, better students of prayer, and better practitioners of this gracious gift.
We thank you for this gracious gift and thank you for teaching us to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven....

Amen. 

Who am I?

Today we come to the second Sunday of Lent and the second of three questions that we are pondering as we journey to the cross of Good Friday.  Last Sunday we began our journey by responding to the first question, “Who is God?”.  Today we come to the second question.  It, like the first, is a timeless question.  It, like the first, is a universal question, for all of us must answer it.  Today’s question is this, “Who am I?”

“Who am I?”
Perhaps you remember an election debate several from several years ago.  It was actually the 1992 vice-presidential debate.  On stage were Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and this strange white haired man who introduced himself in what many call is the most memorable opening statements in vice-president debate history.

This strange man was Admiral James Stockdale.  He was Ross Perot’s running mate.  Do you remember how Stockdale introduced himself?  Looking straight at the camera he said, “Who am I?  Why am I here?”

The crowd laughed.  The moment became history.  Saturday Night Live found a source for a bunch of funny jokes. 

But the question “Who am I?” really isn’t funny.  The way we understand and answer this question influences and shapes how we live, how we think of ourself, and how we treat others.

So who are you? If a stranger came up to you and asked “Who are you?” how would you respond?  I think most of us would just tell them our name.  Hello I am Hugh Hendrickson. 

But is that all we are?  Just a name? 

As I was getting ready to go on my trip to Israel, I had to get a current passport.  If I wanted to leave the country, enter into Israel, and get back into the United States I needed this (hold up my passport).  From what I was told, this little book proved my identity.  This little book proved my citizenship.  Whatever I did, I needed to make sure I never lost this little book. 

I don’t know if you have ever applied for a passport.  You don’t just go and get a passport, you have to apply for a passport and if the government sees fit you are given a passport.  Even though you pay for a passport you never own it because the passport is an official document of the United States government.

The passport application asks several different questions.  Name, age, current address, previous address, where you were born, proof of your birth and citizenship, and a current picture.  All these questions determine and prove who you are. 

But when it comes down to it does a passport or driver’s license really answer the question “Who am I?”

I would like to think that we are more than a name, age, current address, nationality and citizenship, and our current photo.  Are we more than data and facts?

In seminary we had to take all these personality profile tests.  They were part of this class that was supposed to help us understand who we are.  I took a Disc Test and a Meyers Briggs Test and a spiritual gifts test.

These tests asked all sorts of questions like:
Do you like crowds?
Would you rather sit in the middle of a room or against the wall?
Would you rather lead or follow?
Would you rather watch a movie or go to a concert?

The questions go on and on.  Like I said all these questions and tests were supposed to help us find out and understand who we are.  The Disc test told me I was a helper.  The Myers Briggs told me I was a bunch of letters, something like an infp or infj.  The Spiritual gifts test told me I was a teacher.  But are we more than tests?  Are we more than questions? 

“Who am I?” Sometimes we answer this question by listing off what we do. Many of us form our identity by our interests and our hobbies.  That is how people know us.   I’m a preacher, you’re a teacher, you’re retired, you like to read, you like to garden, you like Nascar, you like Georgia Football, you root for the Atlanta Braves.  And the list could go on.

But are we more than our hobbies, our interests, and our jobs?

I’ve mentioned all these different ways people answer and understand the question “Who am I?”  There is one place we haven’t looked.  Let’s take a moment to see how the Bible answers this question.

Today’s scripture gives us a good answer to this question.  Listen to it again...

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

The Bible tells us that we are more than data, answers to personality profile questions, more than careers, hobbies, and interests.  We are more than all the things that can be used to label us and put us in a box.  We are more than this.  The Bible tells us that we are Children of God.

Whenever you have pondered the question “Who am I?” Did the idea that you are a child of God ever cross your mind?

It is an idea a truth worth considering. 

Listen to what Bishop Rueben P. Job has to say about identifying ourselves as a child of God.  This comes from his book Three Simple Questions.

When each of us claims our full inheritance as a child of God, we see clearly that we are given this wonderful world to end and to share as God’s family.  In the eyes of Jesus, we are not given a special place because of our birth, place of origin, wealth, gender, or occupation.  As children of God, all receive an identity and place as God’s beloved child.   (Job, 42).

The Bible also tells us how we become Children of God, how we receive and welcome the love of God.

In John 14:23 we read, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

When we respond to this love and choose to love by obeying God’s word we are then able to truly answer the question “Who am I?” and live as if we are children of God.  As Bishop Job writes, “With these truths deeply imbedded in our lives, we too, can decide to walk the way of love, justice, reconciliation, and peace because we want to walk in companionship with the One who is love and calls us to love God and neighbor.” (44).

This is important.  This is something we don’t need to forget.  We always need to remember we are children of the great big wonderful and all powerful God.  We are children of the God of amazing love, amazing grace, and mercy beyond all measure. 

The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are children of the God who demonstrated, proved, and showed his love for us, “While we were still sinners Christ, the son of God, died for us.”  We will remember this demonstration of love on Good Friday we when draw near to the cross of Calvary.  However, we can remember this act of love every time we draw near to the Lord’s Table in holy communion.

So let us draw near to the God of love, the God who calls all who love him his Children, the God who ultimately answers the question “Who am I?” in broken bread and shared cup.  Amen. 

Who Is God?

Introduction

    Today is the first Sunday of Lent.  As we continue our forty day preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I want us to spend these days pondering three questions.  These questions are not original to me for they are timeless questions.  In fact, these questions are pondered in Bishop Ruben Job’s new book Three Simple Questions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope, and Purpose.  The three simple questions are: “Who is God?”, “Who am I?”, and “Who are we together?”
    During Lent our book club will be meeting on Thursday afternoons at noon to discuss Three Simple Questions.  So if you would like to continue the conversation we begin on Sunday morning with my sermon, then you are all welcomed to do so at the book club.
    Today on this first Sunday of Lent, I want us to ponder the first question, “Who is God?”
    This is a timeless questions.  Folks have been trying to figure out the answer from the time folks began figuring.  Over the past two weeks on my trip to Israel, I saw historic evidence from 10,000 years ago where people were trying to answer the question “Who is God?”  Some of these sites went back to the bronze age.  They were places where people would sacrifice animals hoping to please and gain favor with their tribal gods.  Some of these sites went back to the Old Testament.  I stood on Mount Carmel and saw where the Prophet Elijah went to war against the Prophets of Baal.  Elijah was able to prove that his God was far more powerful and real than the false and impotent god Baal. 
    Last week I saw historic churches that dated back to the early days of Christianity.  For nearly 2000 years Christians and tourists have visited these churches as a way to connect with God. 
    I learned so much on my Holy Land trip, but this morning the one lesson that comes to mind is this--We all have a god in our life. 
    All of us have something in our life that serves as god.  Even the atheists who reject the idea of any supernatural deity have something that serves as god in their life.  Even the agnostic who doubts or believes we can’t really know if there is a supernatural deity have something that serves as god in their life.
    All of us have something in our life that serves as god.  It might be fame. It might be fortune.  It might be power.  Your god might look at you every morning in the mirror as you comb your hair and brush your teeth.  All of have something in our life that serves as god.
    When it comes down to it, what we think of god-that is how we answer the question “Who is God?”, shapes how we live. 
    This book is on my to read list, so I’ve yet to read it; however, I guess I can still agree with a man whose book I’ve yet to read.  But several years ago the late Christian scholar JB Phillips penned his famous book Your God is Too Small.  Like I said this Christian classic is on my to read list, but I bet some of you all have read this book or you’ve at least heard of it.  But I think JB Phillips was right because I know so many people whose god is too small.
    Let me share what Bishop Rueben Job has to say about this.  He writes:

    Far too often we are content with a god too small to be Creator of all that exists.      We are content with our own form of a “tribal god” that belongs to us rather than     a God who belongs to no one but who gives love, grace, and blessings to     everyone. (Three Simple Questions, page 17).

    Is your god small enough to fit in a box?  Is your god a god just large enough for you to limit and control?  Is your god a god who is just large enough to fit your agenda. 

    Or consider this:

    Far too often we are content with a god too tame and domesticated to shake us to the very roots of our being and send us out of worship trembling in aw and amazement, clearly headed in a radical and countercultural direction.

    Is your god tame enough to leave you comfortable?  Is your god sophisticated enough to enjoy garden parties and an active member of your favorite social club?  Is your god a good boy? (Job, 17).

    Or consider this:

    Far too often we are content with a god who offers a band-aid for our wounded souls rather than the God of radical mercy, justice, and love--who forgives our sins and wipes them away just as soon as we offer that same forgiveness to those who may have wronged us; who not only forgives our sins but also heals our wounded souls, mends our broken relationships, and sends us on our way full of hope, confidence, trust, and strength to transform the world by living in the kingdom of God already being formed “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Job, 17).
   
    Is your god simply a band-aid or an aspirin?  Is your god just a feel good friend?  Is your god too small?

    “Who is God?”  The way we answer this question shapes the way we live.  As Christians we have a unique understanding of God.  As Christians we have a unique answer to the question “Who is God?” 
    We find this answer in scripture, the inspired Word of God.  Listen again to the scripture we heard this morning from Hebrews chapter 1.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

    For Christians we can answer the question “Who is God?” by looking at Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews recalls how in the past God was revealed to us as word.  God spoke.  God was a revealed voice.  But for Christians we believe...:The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
    For Christians we can answer the question “Who is God?” by believing God is revealed unto us as Jesus Christ.  If we want to know who God is all we must do is look at Jesus. 
    The writer of Colossians has this to say about God:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
    These are some of my favorite verses of scripture.  These verses speak of grander, magnificence, and power.  These verses speak of a great, big, powerful God.  These verses speak of a god that isn’t too small.  These verses speak of a God that can’t be controlled, tamed, and manipulated to fit our personal needs and agendas.  These verses speak of a God of amazing love, hope, and purpose.

    The writer of Colossians continues:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

    Wait.  Let me read that last part again...”by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
   
    I think the question “Who is God?” is very appropriate as we begin Lent.  Lent is the season in which we prepare for Easter.  I also like to think of Lent as a season of journey.  During Lent we traverse from the Mount of Transfiguration, the great tall peak where God’s divine glory in Jesus Christ was revealed for just a moment to the disciples Peter, James, and John to a little hill known as Golgotha, skull hill, where God shed his blood on the cross.
    Yes I think “Who is God?” is very appropriate as we begin Lent.  Lent calls us to consider the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of God in Christ.  Lent reveals to us who God really is.  Lent reveals to us the God who showed his love to all creation in that he died for us while we were yet sinners.  It is the cross that ultimately tells us who God is.
    But Lent will also answer the questions “Who am I?” and “Who are we together?”

So this morning I want to conclude this sermon by asking...”Who is your god?”