The Spirituality of Puzzles

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.

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?

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?

All Saints and Oats

You might wonder what All Saints and Oats have in common. I do too, but let me share my thoughts on the subject with you.

A few years ago, I was doing what most bachelors dread doing; I went grocery shopping. While pushing my cart down the isle and checking off items on my short and badly hand written grocery list, I stopped to buy some grits. In the south grits are groceries. Other days this would have been a quick purchase, but today something on the bottom shelf of the isle caught my eye. Down there with the generic grits and oatmeal boxes and bags was a container of Quaker Crystal Wedding Oats.

Some of you might remember Wedding Oats. They are the oats that have a free plastic pastel colored glass inside the box. These are the oats my Nanny bought. She liked the free glass. It made her think she was getting a good deal. I guess a free glass is the adult version of a prize in the bottom of a cereal box.

I stood there looking at the oats. They weren't on my list, but they brought Nanny to my mind. I had stood at her graveside three years earlier. And now in the cereal isle I felt like she was standing there with me. Crystal Wedding Oats weren't on my list, but they made it the cart and went home with me that day.

All Saints is celebrated on November First or on the First Sunday in November. On this day we remember and give thanks to God for the friends and loved ones who are in God's care now. All Saints is also a time when we remember that those loved ones aren't really gone from our presence either. We have said good bye to them, but in the mystery of faith they are still with us. The faithful are Saints now. They are witnesses.

These witnesses are present with God. And from time to time God reminds us that when God is present with us, the Saints in God's care come along for the ride too. We are not alone.

When we celebrate Holy Communion we come into the presence of God. But we also come in the presence of those who are present with God now in eternity. We have a reunion, but chicken isn't on the menu. This meal is one of bread and shared cup.

But communion isn't the only time we come into God's presence or into the presence of the Saints. Sometimes God reminds us of God's care and the love of those who are in God's care now over a warm bowel of oatmeal and cold orange juice in a plastic pastel tumbler. Amen.

From my bookshelf

I am still continuing the process of unpacking from my move in July. Since my arrival, organizing my pastoral library has been an ongoing task. While putting books on the self this morning, I came across a gem, "Outlines and Illustrations for Preachers and Teachers" by J. Ellis.
I don't know where I got the book. I conducted some brief research online and it appears that this book was written in 1898. It is old, but the following advice is timeless.
Sunday School
Teacher, Qualifications of a Good (Acrostic)
Truthful
Earnest
Affectionate
Cheerful
Homely
Early
Regular

Sermons

Sermons should be short and pointed, as a rule. Nothing can justify a long sermon, says Lamont. If it a good one it need not be long, if a bad one it ought not to be long.

Dr. Thorold's Hints
To be listened to is the first thing, therefore be interesting.
To be understood is the second thing, so be clear.
To be useful is the third thing, so be practical.
To be obeyed is the fourth thing, therefore speak as the oracles of God.

Arabian Proverb
He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool--shun him.
He that knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple--teach him.
He that knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep--wake him.
he that knows, and knows that he knows, is wise--follow him.

"An Illinois genius has been enriching himself lately by advertising an infallible cure for drunkenness for one dollar, and sending a reply, "Drink nothing but water."

I think I will keep this gem of a book handy. It might be old, but I think it has a timeless appeal.

The Gift of a Red Balloon

This past week I attended my first session of the Madison County Fair. Fair emcee BW Coile calls it "Three Flags Over Comer." The fair was a great expression of small town and rural pride for America. First of all, the fair was organized and sponsored by the Comer Lion's club. Second, the fair involved the community. Churches, volunteer fire departments, the local woman's club, politicians, veterans, and schools all had booths. Some of the groups sold fair fare (good play on words there).
Comer United Methodist Church participated in the fair this year as well. We had a booth. But we didn't sell anything at this booth. We did something that is actually a bit uncommon at a fair. We gave something away. Over the course of the fair we gave away nearly 1000 red helium balloons. Each balloon had an invitation printed on the side of it that welcomed everyone to join us at our Sunday Morning worship service.
It was so fun giving out these balloons to tots, children, youth, and a few adults. Some folks came every night to get a free balloon.
There were a few people who came up to ask how much we were charging for a balloon. There were a bit surprised when we said "The balloons are free. They are gifts from our Church to you."
The word "free" has a strange power to it, particularly when you hear it at a county fair. "Free" has the power to bring a smile to a face and cause a hand to reach out in gratitude.
Nearly 1000 red helium balloons decorated the fair last week. Each red balloon was an expression of a gift. I might even say it was an expression of grace.
Grace is free, but it isn't cheap or without cost. God's gift of grace was quite costly. The price was paid on the Cross of Calvary. But each Sunday, and every day in between, we have an opportunity to receive that grace and share it with others. Go share a balloon.

School Days

On Friday morning the school bell went "ring, ring" and officially sounded the end of summer for the children of Madison county, Georgia. The days of summer are over and now it is time for kids to hit the books and get back to learning. With the end of summer it is important to remember that not all learning takes places in the classroom.
As a matter of fact, I learned a lot of good life lessons during the days of summer.
For example here are a few lessons from the pool.
1. Bring your towel, and be sure it is large enough to dry you off.
2. Keep an eye on your towel because somebody who didn't bring one might want to use yours.
3. Wear your sunscreen. A day of fun in the sun can quickly turn to a week of no fun without sunscreen.
4. Don't hang on the pool rope. Lifeguards don't like it when you do that.
5. Don't jump in the deep end if you can't swim. Lifeguards don't like it when you do that either.

I think these lessons from the pool teach us the following life lessons: "Be prepared and keep an eye out for people who aren't prepared," and "No what you are capable of doing." And looking back at my school days, I don't know if the teacher ever taught these lessons in the classroom.