What to Do When I Don’t Know What to Do
Acts 1:12-15
“The apostles returned to Jerusalem (and) went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present:
Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James).
14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. 15 During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place." Acts 1:12-15
Pastor's Blog
What do you do after a mountaintop experience? Life didn’t get any better than that, but now what. It’s over. The high has subsided, the honeymoon is over, and now you’ve got nothing left.
Jesus’ followers, not knowing what else to do, met together and prayed.
Do you do that? Do you have a group of people you can call up, invite over to your home, explain your situation and ask them to pray for you? This is maybe the most important gift of the Christian life. Other believers who will come along side you.
I did that a week or so ago. I was stuck with a dilemma I couldn’t solve so I asked a bunch of believers to meet with me, listen to my situation, and pray. And I asked them to keep praying. No bolts of lightning, not even any definitive solutions, but there in the community of believers is Jesus, ruler of the universe who works through people, through community.
That not only feels good, but it is also the conduit to results.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
September 29, 2010
Don’t Just Stand There
Acts 1:10-11
10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Pastor’s Blog
So which is it? Do I wait for God’s “go ahead” or “get busy” and get about my God given purpose in life?
Americans are people of action, not contemplation. We value go getters, hard workers, achievers, people who show up on time, put in extra time, climb the ladder and achieve. Americans love today’s verse. We see it as a call to action.
But what kind of action?
In Monday’s reflection, I emphasized the importance of acting only upon receiving direction and power from God through the Holy Spirit. This is typically done by praying a prayer based around the attiutde, “God your will be done, not mine”
In today’s verse, we see the messengers telling the disciples that Jesus will return. Not only will he come back, but somehow he’ll be the same.
Here we get vision, the big picture. We live in God’s world. God in Jesus had come to make us a new kind of people who live with each other in a new kind of way. He will come back one day and complete the project. We live in between.
What this does for me is give me a context for whatever decision I make. Is how I choose to think and act and decide in line with the world that Jesus is creating? This would mean accepting a whole lot of “not yet” in my life, accepting a whole lot of delayed gratification, pain, and temporarily unfulfilled dreams.
Because the world the Jesus is about creating and will have created when he returns isn’t about my immediate pleasures. It’s about an eternal life submitted to God and to others.
Acts 1:10-11
10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Pastor’s Blog
So which is it? Do I wait for God’s “go ahead” or “get busy” and get about my God given purpose in life?
Americans are people of action, not contemplation. We value go getters, hard workers, achievers, people who show up on time, put in extra time, climb the ladder and achieve. Americans love today’s verse. We see it as a call to action.
But what kind of action?
In Monday’s reflection, I emphasized the importance of acting only upon receiving direction and power from God through the Holy Spirit. This is typically done by praying a prayer based around the attiutde, “God your will be done, not mine”
In today’s verse, we see the messengers telling the disciples that Jesus will return. Not only will he come back, but somehow he’ll be the same.
Here we get vision, the big picture. We live in God’s world. God in Jesus had come to make us a new kind of people who live with each other in a new kind of way. He will come back one day and complete the project. We live in between.
What this does for me is give me a context for whatever decision I make. Is how I choose to think and act and decide in line with the world that Jesus is creating? This would mean accepting a whole lot of “not yet” in my life, accepting a whole lot of delayed gratification, pain, and temporarily unfulfilled dreams.
Because the world the Jesus is about creating and will have created when he returns isn’t about my immediate pleasures. It’s about an eternal life submitted to God and to others.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
September 28, 2010
The Ascension
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
"After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him." Acts 1:8, 9 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
I used to find the ascension of Jesus really weird . It was really hard to imagine Jesus floating up into the sky. What did that mean anyway?
First, most Jews would have been familiar with Daniel 7 where “one like a son of man met the ancient of days on a cloud”. Clouds were a symbol of the presence of God. At the very least, Luke is telling us that Jesus disappeared into the presence of God, God’s space, heaven, the other dimension of our world.
Second, this “ascension” is hugely important because it is the proclamation that Jesus is now not only King, Lord and God of this tribal religion called Judaism, but He is now, Lord, King, Ruler of the planet. Roman emperors had been granted status as gods and when they died, their souls were believed to to ascend into “heaven”. Now Jesus has “one upped” them all. He ascended with his full body in tact and in doing so claims rulership over all nations.
The Romans were able to tolerate a tribal God of an insignificant tribe in Palestine. What they could not tolerate was a god who rivaled the authority of Caesar. They were right in their fears. Christians from the beginning gave their allegiance to Jesus first and, yes, then to Caeasar but only because their God, Jesus, told them to (Matthew 22;21 . . . Christianity’s first separation of Church and State “clause”)
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
"After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him." Acts 1:8, 9 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
I used to find the ascension of Jesus really weird . It was really hard to imagine Jesus floating up into the sky. What did that mean anyway?
First, most Jews would have been familiar with Daniel 7 where “one like a son of man met the ancient of days on a cloud”. Clouds were a symbol of the presence of God. At the very least, Luke is telling us that Jesus disappeared into the presence of God, God’s space, heaven, the other dimension of our world.
Second, this “ascension” is hugely important because it is the proclamation that Jesus is now not only King, Lord and God of this tribal religion called Judaism, but He is now, Lord, King, Ruler of the planet. Roman emperors had been granted status as gods and when they died, their souls were believed to to ascend into “heaven”. Now Jesus has “one upped” them all. He ascended with his full body in tact and in doing so claims rulership over all nations.
The Romans were able to tolerate a tribal God of an insignificant tribe in Palestine. What they could not tolerate was a god who rivaled the authority of Caesar. They were right in their fears. Christians from the beginning gave their allegiance to Jesus first and, yes, then to Caeasar but only because their God, Jesus, told them to (Matthew 22;21 . . . Christianity’s first separation of Church and State “clause”)
Monday, September 27, 2010
September 27, 2010
Don't Just Do Something, Stand There
Wait
"I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Luke 24:49 (NLT)
"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Do you ever speed ahead with your life, perhaps even asking God to bless your plans, only to discover in retrospect that an accurate rendering of your prayer was probably, "God bless my mess?"
Jesus wants us to be patient and learn the discipline of waiting for the direction of God through the Holy Spirit. One saint in our church family, whose prayers have been foundational for our church for four decades, says she prays before doing anything. Sound extreme? Jesus' teaching is that if we try to live the Christian life on our own we will end up frustrated.
It is interesting to me how this instruction from Jesus dovetails with the importance He gives to obedience. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the leadership of Jesus are essentially one in the same. In John 14, Jesus had taught that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. In John 15, he taught that we are his friends if we obey him. He also said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything he said and did.
But the Holy Spirit offers more than directions and commands to obey. Something gets triggered when we choose to obey. When we wait for the Spirit's leading and then obey it as well as we can then the power of God is activated.
Is there a more important discipline for believers to cultivate?
Wait
"I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Luke 24:49 (NLT)
"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Do you ever speed ahead with your life, perhaps even asking God to bless your plans, only to discover in retrospect that an accurate rendering of your prayer was probably, "God bless my mess?"
Jesus wants us to be patient and learn the discipline of waiting for the direction of God through the Holy Spirit. One saint in our church family, whose prayers have been foundational for our church for four decades, says she prays before doing anything. Sound extreme? Jesus' teaching is that if we try to live the Christian life on our own we will end up frustrated.
It is interesting to me how this instruction from Jesus dovetails with the importance He gives to obedience. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the leadership of Jesus are essentially one in the same. In John 14, Jesus had taught that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. In John 15, he taught that we are his friends if we obey him. He also said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything he said and did.
But the Holy Spirit offers more than directions and commands to obey. Something gets triggered when we choose to obey. When we wait for the Spirit's leading and then obey it as well as we can then the power of God is activated.
Is there a more important discipline for believers to cultivate?
Friday, September 24, 2010
September 24, 2010
Breaking News
Acts 1:7-8 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Jesus told his followers that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to announce to anyone who would listen that there was a new King on the throne.
When I watch CNN or Fox News or MSNBC (I know this must reveal some flaw in me) there is often a news "ticker" announcing breaking news running across the bottom of the screen. Kind of like what you see in Times Square way up high on one of the news buildings.
Jesus is telling the disciples to be the news "ticker". In ancient Rome, every time a new emperor was enthroned (Nero or Tiberius for example), the new king would send out "heralds" all over Europe and North Africa announcing the ascension of the new King.
As you will see in chapter two and thereafter, this is exactly what Peter and the rest of the disciples did. They announced that Israel and therefore the world now has a new King, a new Lord, one which rules over all other rulers (no wonder Christians keep getting in trouble with controlling governments!)
Therefore. . .part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers is to lead us to believe that Jesus now rules the cosmos and then to tell this fact to others. It's not that we want to "help" Jesus someday become the ruler of the world that he one day will be, rather it is that He already is Lord of the Universe, right now ruling over it.
Being a witness is not making a plea to allow Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of another's life, rather it is the announcement that, like it or not, He already is.
Therefore there is not a person on earth who does not live right now by His grace and forbearance. And there is not a person on earth who will not one day have to come to grips with whether or not he or she will submit His Lordship.
Acts 1:7-8 (NLT)
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:7-8 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Jesus told his followers that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to announce to anyone who would listen that there was a new King on the throne.
When I watch CNN or Fox News or MSNBC (I know this must reveal some flaw in me) there is often a news "ticker" announcing breaking news running across the bottom of the screen. Kind of like what you see in Times Square way up high on one of the news buildings.
Jesus is telling the disciples to be the news "ticker". In ancient Rome, every time a new emperor was enthroned (Nero or Tiberius for example), the new king would send out "heralds" all over Europe and North Africa announcing the ascension of the new King.
As you will see in chapter two and thereafter, this is exactly what Peter and the rest of the disciples did. They announced that Israel and therefore the world now has a new King, a new Lord, one which rules over all other rulers (no wonder Christians keep getting in trouble with controlling governments!)
Therefore. . .part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers is to lead us to believe that Jesus now rules the cosmos and then to tell this fact to others. It's not that we want to "help" Jesus someday become the ruler of the world that he one day will be, rather it is that He already is Lord of the Universe, right now ruling over it.
Being a witness is not making a plea to allow Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of another's life, rather it is the announcement that, like it or not, He already is.
Therefore there is not a person on earth who does not live right now by His grace and forbearance. And there is not a person on earth who will not one day have to come to grips with whether or not he or she will submit His Lordship.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
September 23, 2010
2012?
Acts 1:6-7 (NLT)
"When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?' He replied, 'The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.' " Acts 1:6-7 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Is Jesus coming back in 2012?
As your pastor, I can definitively say "I don't know". Actually Jesus said in a number of places, that He didn't know either. Actually. . . . . .he said asking this question is completely missing the point.
The disciples had in mind the centuries-old Jewish question, "when will God finally restore Israel to rightful place of power and leadership in the world?"
Back in vs 3 Luke tells us that Jesus had been teaching them about the Kingdom of God. It was very difficult for these devout Jewish followers of Jesus to understand that the "Kingdom" was something far bigger than they thought it was.
I think that we, too, need a much expanded view of the Kingdom of God as well. Do you recall how Jesus taught his followers to pray?
"This, then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV)
It will be a very glorious day when heaven will have come "down" to earth and merged with it and in the merging have created a new heaven and a new earth on which a renewed creation and humanity will live in a way than perhaps even exceeds Eden.
That is the sure hope and the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2012? Who knows? Someday? For sure.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on "comments" below)
Acts 1:6-7 (NLT)
"When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?' He replied, 'The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.' " Acts 1:6-7 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Is Jesus coming back in 2012?
As your pastor, I can definitively say "I don't know". Actually Jesus said in a number of places, that He didn't know either. Actually. . . . . .he said asking this question is completely missing the point.
The disciples had in mind the centuries-old Jewish question, "when will God finally restore Israel to rightful place of power and leadership in the world?"
Back in vs 3 Luke tells us that Jesus had been teaching them about the Kingdom of God. It was very difficult for these devout Jewish followers of Jesus to understand that the "Kingdom" was something far bigger than they thought it was.
I think that we, too, need a much expanded view of the Kingdom of God as well. Do you recall how Jesus taught his followers to pray?
"This, then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV)
It will be a very glorious day when heaven will have come "down" to earth and merged with it and in the merging have created a new heaven and a new earth on which a renewed creation and humanity will live in a way than perhaps even exceeds Eden.
That is the sure hope and the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2012? Who knows? Someday? For sure.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on "comments" below)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
September 22, 2010
Don't Try This On Your Own
Acts 1:4-5 (NLT)
"Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptised with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Pastor's Blog
Are you able to say these words. . . . ."I need help". . . .?
In one of Jesus' last teachings to his disciples as recorded in the first of Luke's two part volume, Luke - Acts, Jesus told them,
"I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."
Luke 24:49 (NLT)
Another of the basic teachings of Christianity is that it is impossible to live the Christian life by your own efforts. Impossible. To repeat, it is impossible.
God knows this, of course, and that's why He sent help. That help is available in the person of the Holy Spirit.
So, how do I get this help? Here are some tips:
- Ask God for the Holy Spirit's help.
- Ask yourself if you are submitted enough to let Him help you or direct you where you might not want to go.
- Read all about the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14, 15 and 16.
- I also like Romans 8:15-17 a whole, whole lot!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
September 21, 2010
What God Did For Jesus He Is Now Doing For The Entire World
Acts 1:3 (NLT)
"During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God." Acts 1:3 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
The foundation of Christianity is the bodily, physical, material resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus was dead, came alive, and then he "hung out" with hundreds of people in his new physical (he was not a ghost) resurrected body.
Believing this is hard. Science tells us that dead people stay dead. Yet Christianity claims that Jesus was actually dead and then came to life. In fact Christianity goes so far as to claim that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christians are completely wasting their time believing the rest of it. why is this so? Can't we learn how to live well and know God without a dying and resurrected God?
This is why. The entirety of the biblical story, from beginning to end, can be summed up as follows,
"What God did for Jesus (raising him from death to new life with a brand new body) is what God is now doing for every element of this broken cosmos, including you and me. God is healing and will have healed the world. God will one day have put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We do not die and then go somewhere off in space to some heaven far away. Rather, as God came to earth, lived here and healed Jesus here, so the Kingdom of the heavens, of God, will one day come to earth, restore it, renew it, resurrect it and all that is in it. What God did in Jesus, He is doing for the world."
Nothing short of this is the good news of the Gospel. Of course, it's good news for you and me too, unless of course we choose to reject for ourselves what God is up to in the world.
Are you allowing God to work his restoring, resurrecting power in you?
Acts 1:3 (NLT)
"During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God." Acts 1:3 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
The foundation of Christianity is the bodily, physical, material resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus was dead, came alive, and then he "hung out" with hundreds of people in his new physical (he was not a ghost) resurrected body.
Believing this is hard. Science tells us that dead people stay dead. Yet Christianity claims that Jesus was actually dead and then came to life. In fact Christianity goes so far as to claim that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christians are completely wasting their time believing the rest of it. why is this so? Can't we learn how to live well and know God without a dying and resurrected God?
This is why. The entirety of the biblical story, from beginning to end, can be summed up as follows,
"What God did for Jesus (raising him from death to new life with a brand new body) is what God is now doing for every element of this broken cosmos, including you and me. God is healing and will have healed the world. God will one day have put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We do not die and then go somewhere off in space to some heaven far away. Rather, as God came to earth, lived here and healed Jesus here, so the Kingdom of the heavens, of God, will one day come to earth, restore it, renew it, resurrect it and all that is in it. What God did in Jesus, He is doing for the world."
Nothing short of this is the good news of the Gospel. Of course, it's good news for you and me too, unless of course we choose to reject for ourselves what God is up to in the world.
Are you allowing God to work his restoring, resurrecting power in you?
September 20, 2010
The Sequel To The Gospels
"In my first book I told you, Thelphilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:1-2 (NLT)
Pastor's Blog
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are 4 different accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and each ends with various post-resurrection accounts of Jesus Christ having come back from the dead.
The way these accounts end begs the question, "what now?" Jesus had risen from the dead, so now what do we do? Acts, the sequel, tells us.
Acts, the fifth "book" of the New Testament, is an historical account of everything that Jesus continued to do on earth through the Holy Spirit. Notice that Luke, the physician/author writing to a man named Theophilus, states that this "book of Acts" is the sequel to his account of Jesus' life, death, resurrection and subsequent post resurrection appearances.
By "Acts", Luke is referring to the actions of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, in and through the apostles and many others.
The book of Acts tells us how God and jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit began a new phase in the healing of this broken world. Acts has only 28 chapters and chapter 28 ends unfinished. It is almost as if this is intentional because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have not yet completed the salvation and restoration of the world. they are still at it, however now not through the apostles, but through you and me if we believe.
Friday, September 17, 2010
September 17, 2010
Living It
Wednesdays beginning October 6
Acts 2:42-47 (MSG)
“That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!
And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved." Acts 2:41-47 (MSG)
Pastor’s Blog
Acts 2:42-47 describes a brand new kind of life together that resulted from the powerful “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit into Jesus followers. These newly empowered believers invited and included hundreds and even thousands of others into this new community of the Holy Spirit.
Beginning October 6 we will host “Life Café”. Its goal will be to approximate in a way that is contextual to our community the living out of this new kind of community that began at Pentecost with the release of the Holy Spirit.
I will be teaching through the book of Acts from September through May. These scripture reflections will follow the teaching and Sunday Classes and many home groups will build on the book of Acts. However, we are adding a new component to this series . . . . . . "Life Café”. Its goal is to live what we learn.
Is it possible actually to live beyond our own personal immediate concerns? Is it possible to live by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to be led into the lives others, to experience God’s power in ways that are not only personal but also permeate the whole community? We hope “Life Café” will be one small step in that direction.
Wednesdays beginning October 6
Acts 2:42-47 (MSG)
“That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!
And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved." Acts 2:41-47 (MSG)
Pastor’s Blog
Acts 2:42-47 describes a brand new kind of life together that resulted from the powerful “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit into Jesus followers. These newly empowered believers invited and included hundreds and even thousands of others into this new community of the Holy Spirit.
Beginning October 6 we will host “Life Café”. Its goal will be to approximate in a way that is contextual to our community the living out of this new kind of community that began at Pentecost with the release of the Holy Spirit.
I will be teaching through the book of Acts from September through May. These scripture reflections will follow the teaching and Sunday Classes and many home groups will build on the book of Acts. However, we are adding a new component to this series . . . . . . "Life Café”. Its goal is to live what we learn.
Is it possible actually to live beyond our own personal immediate concerns? Is it possible to live by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to be led into the lives others, to experience God’s power in ways that are not only personal but also permeate the whole community? We hope “Life Café” will be one small step in that direction.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
September 16, 2010
“On Ramps into God’s New Community”
“Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:47 (NLT)
There are at least 5 “on ramps” that will lead you into experiencing God’s New Community, Life Together, the “hub”, where God is building a family where each flourishes and where all flourish together. And these on ramps are open to each of us any time we choose to use them .
On-ramp # 1 - Sunday Worship
Regular attendance will put you into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, into the community of God’s family, into the the teaching of the “Word” and offer you to the opportunity to live beyond yourself by being attentive to others and their lives.
On-ramp # 2 – Adult Classes
Each week you can attend a class at either worship hour which will review what was taught in worship service and will prepare you for the coming Sunday’s message.
On-ramp # 3 – Scripture reading and reflections
If you follow these 5 day a week scripture readings and reflections you will read the entire book of Acts, (what the Holy Spirit did after the resurrection) and this reading will work to shape you into God’s best version of you.
On-ramp # 4 – Life Groups
Christianity is a “contact sport”. Lone rangers do not grow, experience power and life, and often die on the vine. In community we grow. It is here where we “do” what we learn in worship, class and scripture. Doing life together is where is action is, where the fun begins.
On-ramp # 5 – Life Café
This will take place every Wednesday night beginning October 6.
6:15 - 7:00 Fellowship and food in the CLC lobby area
7:00 – 7:15 Video clip and Scripture
7:15 – 7:45 Group Discussions on the topic of the week
7:45 – 8:00 Sharing, requests, needs, and the Lord’s supper (informally but
meaningfully)
8:00 – 8:30 Hang out
“Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:47 (NLT)
There are at least 5 “on ramps” that will lead you into experiencing God’s New Community, Life Together, the “hub”, where God is building a family where each flourishes and where all flourish together. And these on ramps are open to each of us any time we choose to use them .
On-ramp # 1 - Sunday Worship
Regular attendance will put you into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, into the community of God’s family, into the the teaching of the “Word” and offer you to the opportunity to live beyond yourself by being attentive to others and their lives.
On-ramp # 2 – Adult Classes
Each week you can attend a class at either worship hour which will review what was taught in worship service and will prepare you for the coming Sunday’s message.
On-ramp # 3 – Scripture reading and reflections
If you follow these 5 day a week scripture readings and reflections you will read the entire book of Acts, (what the Holy Spirit did after the resurrection) and this reading will work to shape you into God’s best version of you.
On-ramp # 4 – Life Groups
Christianity is a “contact sport”. Lone rangers do not grow, experience power and life, and often die on the vine. In community we grow. It is here where we “do” what we learn in worship, class and scripture. Doing life together is where is action is, where the fun begins.
On-ramp # 5 – Life Café
This will take place every Wednesday night beginning October 6.
6:15 - 7:00 Fellowship and food in the CLC lobby area
7:00 – 7:15 Video clip and Scripture
7:15 – 7:45 Group Discussions on the topic of the week
7:45 – 8:00 Sharing, requests, needs, and the Lord’s supper (informally but
meaningfully)
8:00 – 8:30 Hang out
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
September 15, 2010
It Starts with the Hub
Acts 242,47
Pastor’s Blog
Can you “picture” the picture? Do you notice the wording, “sent into”, “built into”, “sent by”? The arial photo of the old New London Aiport now has a “Life Center” on it.
At an airport people come and go. The emphasis is on arrivals and departures. The hub is only for getting in and out of.
We have got to be different. For us the hub is everything. Airport hubs are impersonal and communication is all about efficiently getting to somewhere else.
At a Christian Life Center, however, the hub is all about life together. It is where I learn that other people are more important than me. It is where I learn that my ‘mission’ is the people I’m with, that where I am at the moment with the people I’m with at the moment matter. People are not simply tools to further my mission. They are brothers and sisters who shape me and with whom I grow into a bigger person than I could ever be on my own.
A Christian hub is one that is shaped by the life of Jesus, one that is formed around the biblical story which tells us who we are and what we’ve been created to be. A Christian hub is one where I discover my purpose in this life and am encouraged and empowered to embrace it.
A Christian hub, a church, is where God turns strangers into family who do life together with Jesus present. In this hub, people “land” because they want to join in. In this hub, people depart because they feel “sent” to tell others about this new life and invite them to join in. In this hub, it’s not about the physical building, rather it’s about what’s being built in the building, namely new creatures in Christ who find themselves “saved” in more ways than one.
Sent to community (the Christian hub, the church), built into community, and sent by community.
This then is picture of 2010 – 2011 and beyond at the CLC.
Acts 242,47
Pastor’s Blog
Can you “picture” the picture? Do you notice the wording, “sent into”, “built into”, “sent by”? The arial photo of the old New London Aiport now has a “Life Center” on it.
At an airport people come and go. The emphasis is on arrivals and departures. The hub is only for getting in and out of.
We have got to be different. For us the hub is everything. Airport hubs are impersonal and communication is all about efficiently getting to somewhere else.
At a Christian Life Center, however, the hub is all about life together. It is where I learn that other people are more important than me. It is where I learn that my ‘mission’ is the people I’m with, that where I am at the moment with the people I’m with at the moment matter. People are not simply tools to further my mission. They are brothers and sisters who shape me and with whom I grow into a bigger person than I could ever be on my own.
A Christian hub is one that is shaped by the life of Jesus, one that is formed around the biblical story which tells us who we are and what we’ve been created to be. A Christian hub is one where I discover my purpose in this life and am encouraged and empowered to embrace it.
A Christian hub, a church, is where God turns strangers into family who do life together with Jesus present. In this hub, people “land” because they want to join in. In this hub, people depart because they feel “sent” to tell others about this new life and invite them to join in. In this hub, it’s not about the physical building, rather it’s about what’s being built in the building, namely new creatures in Christ who find themselves “saved” in more ways than one.
Sent to community (the Christian hub, the church), built into community, and sent by community.
This then is picture of 2010 – 2011 and beyond at the CLC.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 14, 2010
Do you know what this picture is?
“About three thousand people took Peter at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers” Acts 2:41-42 (MSG)
“In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off." Acts 13:3 (MSG)
Pastor’s Blog
A lot of people landed in the Christian faith in that first Christian century. Having landed, they did life together. Having done life together, they were sent out to others.
God has given us an airport. The picture above is a Google map of the old New London Airport.
On Sunday, we will dedicate the site on which the Christian Life Center was built, the former New London airport. For me this fact has become a metaphor for what I see God wanting to do with those who are part of the Christian Life Center family.
Here’s the wording of the plaque that we will dedicated on Sunday after the 10:30 worship service.
“ The New London Airport was built on this site in 1956 by Bill and Joyce Bohmier. It served the community for 4 decades, including as a transportation hub for many state and national dignitaries.
The airport was closed in 1999 and then purchased by the New London Presbyterian Church which was seeking to expand its ministry, Ironically years prior to the purchase, Mrs. Bohmier has a vision of a cross in the middle of the airport field with the love of Christ radiating out from it to the community.
Today the Christian Life Center uses the airport metaphor to describe its purpose.
‘We see ourselves much like an airport, where people are trained in their faith while ‘grounded’, but then depart only to connect with others who themselves will come to church , get grounded in their faith and then ‘take off’ to reach others.’
In a sense, the New London Airport still functions, no longer for transportation, but instead for life transformation in Jesus Christ”
I look forward to being “in the flow” of following Jesus in 2010 – 2011 and thereafter by pursuing this purpose for our lives together in and through the Christian Life Center.
Monday, September 13, 2010
September 13, 2010
Some Brief Reflections on 9/11, Koran Burning, Islam and Christianity
“But I say unto you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you”
Luke 6:27 (ASV)
Some Comments on 9 / 11 , Koran burning , Islam and Christianity.
1. It has been an almost unequivocal and unified voice from all of Christianity that it is wrong to burn the Koran. Jesus would never condone or teach such a thing. Christians always choose their attitudes and actions through the lens of what Jesus would do or through the lens of the probably better question, “what would Jesus have us do?”
2. One way to Look at both Islam and Christianity for understanding is to ask questions: One such question is how orthodox Christianity as a whole would react to a Bible burning episode by those from another faith. And also of Islam, how does orthodox Islam react to Koran burning. What actions does the Christian Bible, which implies reading it through the lens of Jesus, condone or encourage and what actions does the Koran condone and encourage. Answering these questions may help both discernment and understanding.
3. Answering the previous questions brings Christians to understand that we are not permitted to hate or disparage. We must thoughtfully do our best to discern truth and falsehood, good and evil. Muslims seek to do the same from their vantage point. Christians are commanded to do so and to act on their discernment non violently and without hate. We do not hate people and we are commanded to love those who choose to be our enemies.
4. Yes, most of Christianity has been willing to go to war at various times, but never with the attitude that we are fully in the right and therefore just, or because we think war is right. Christians recognize that war, innocent death and death of combatants, is all evil. Christians, when they choose to support the violence of war do so regretfully, “on their knees’, asking God’s forgiveness, recognizing that violence is an evil, albeit sometimes the lesser of two evils. Christians never take part in any variation of the slogan or radical Isalm “death to infidels”. When Christians hear any variation of that we do not respond in kind.
5. The Christian worldview has as its centerpiece the manger and the cross. Both are symbols depicting the humiliation of our God. We celebrate the humiliation and death and resurrection of our King. Yes, we celebrate His resurrection, but we also celebrate at every Lord’s Supper his humiliation and suffering for all people at all times in all places.
6. Neither Islam, nor any other religion celebrates its god or its leader that way. This put us in a fundamentally different position to those of other faiths. We must be good stewards of this hertage we’ve been given. We must therefore continually monitor our attitudes and speech so that they are shaped by Jesus and not by a militant patriotism with just a splattering of Christianity over it. Christians do not retaliate in kind to hatred toward us.
7. This is so much easier said than done. Christians at their best do not appease. Instead Christians at their best speak the truth as they’ve received the truth through Jesus. And Christians love. They speak the truth but always to the end that the other knows he is loved. This may be the toughest assignment any Christian is ever called to . Doing this often means being misunderstood, being considered weak by those on the right on the one hand or being considered unloving on the other hand by those on the left. In short Christians when they actually follow Jesus will always suffer because, at our best, we do not fit neatly into any one humanly constructed ideology. What else could we expect given the fact that God we worship died in humiliation on a cross.
8. To summarize: Christians don’t burn Korans. Christians don’t respond in kind to violence. Christians tell the truth, insisting that the truth be spoken to the end that it is love that is communicated. Christians don’t appease, but they do listen, do love and do follow Jesus no matter what. Christians know violent acts solve nothing. And because of all this Christians absorb lots of abuse. But they never quit because they know that following Jesus, regardless of the cost , means following him not to the cross but through the cross, to resurrection and to the restoration and healing of the world.
“But I say unto you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you”
Luke 6:27 (ASV)
Some Comments on 9 / 11 , Koran burning , Islam and Christianity.
1. It has been an almost unequivocal and unified voice from all of Christianity that it is wrong to burn the Koran. Jesus would never condone or teach such a thing. Christians always choose their attitudes and actions through the lens of what Jesus would do or through the lens of the probably better question, “what would Jesus have us do?”
2. One way to Look at both Islam and Christianity for understanding is to ask questions: One such question is how orthodox Christianity as a whole would react to a Bible burning episode by those from another faith. And also of Islam, how does orthodox Islam react to Koran burning. What actions does the Christian Bible, which implies reading it through the lens of Jesus, condone or encourage and what actions does the Koran condone and encourage. Answering these questions may help both discernment and understanding.
3. Answering the previous questions brings Christians to understand that we are not permitted to hate or disparage. We must thoughtfully do our best to discern truth and falsehood, good and evil. Muslims seek to do the same from their vantage point. Christians are commanded to do so and to act on their discernment non violently and without hate. We do not hate people and we are commanded to love those who choose to be our enemies.
4. Yes, most of Christianity has been willing to go to war at various times, but never with the attitude that we are fully in the right and therefore just, or because we think war is right. Christians recognize that war, innocent death and death of combatants, is all evil. Christians, when they choose to support the violence of war do so regretfully, “on their knees’, asking God’s forgiveness, recognizing that violence is an evil, albeit sometimes the lesser of two evils. Christians never take part in any variation of the slogan or radical Isalm “death to infidels”. When Christians hear any variation of that we do not respond in kind.
5. The Christian worldview has as its centerpiece the manger and the cross. Both are symbols depicting the humiliation of our God. We celebrate the humiliation and death and resurrection of our King. Yes, we celebrate His resurrection, but we also celebrate at every Lord’s Supper his humiliation and suffering for all people at all times in all places.
6. Neither Islam, nor any other religion celebrates its god or its leader that way. This put us in a fundamentally different position to those of other faiths. We must be good stewards of this hertage we’ve been given. We must therefore continually monitor our attitudes and speech so that they are shaped by Jesus and not by a militant patriotism with just a splattering of Christianity over it. Christians do not retaliate in kind to hatred toward us.
7. This is so much easier said than done. Christians at their best do not appease. Instead Christians at their best speak the truth as they’ve received the truth through Jesus. And Christians love. They speak the truth but always to the end that the other knows he is loved. This may be the toughest assignment any Christian is ever called to . Doing this often means being misunderstood, being considered weak by those on the right on the one hand or being considered unloving on the other hand by those on the left. In short Christians when they actually follow Jesus will always suffer because, at our best, we do not fit neatly into any one humanly constructed ideology. What else could we expect given the fact that God we worship died in humiliation on a cross.
8. To summarize: Christians don’t burn Korans. Christians don’t respond in kind to violence. Christians tell the truth, insisting that the truth be spoken to the end that it is love that is communicated. Christians don’t appease, but they do listen, do love and do follow Jesus no matter what. Christians know violent acts solve nothing. And because of all this Christians absorb lots of abuse. But they never quit because they know that following Jesus, regardless of the cost , means following him not to the cross but through the cross, to resurrection and to the restoration and healing of the world.
Friday, September 10, 2010
September 10, 2010
Ask God for a Mountain
Joshua 14:7-9 (NIV)
“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' " Joshua 14:7-9 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
Sometimes the best thing we can do is to do something difficult. Life is not about comfort. It’s about saying, “God give me another mountain to climb.”
That’s what Joshua did at age 40. He with 11 other spies had completed a reconnaissance mission in the future land of Israel. The 12 had returned with both a majority report and a minority report. The former said, “it’s too tough”. The latter (Joshua and Caleb) said, “let’s go”. The majority won and an entire generation died in the desert.
Sometimes I wonder if our pursuit of pain avoidance isn’t the very thing that gives the most pain and misery of all.
Yet Joshua didn’t die in the desert. His next 40 years, though very difficult and frustrating, were not capitulation to being stuck in the desert forever. He still wanted the “mountain”. And he got it. He lived not only to see the day when Israel would enter the promised land, he lead the charge.
I think it’s never too late to ask God for a “mountain”, a difficult challenge to live out for His sake. This life is not the Promised Land. It is training for the Promised Land.
Joshua 14:7-9 (NIV)
“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' " Joshua 14:7-9 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
Sometimes the best thing we can do is to do something difficult. Life is not about comfort. It’s about saying, “God give me another mountain to climb.”
That’s what Joshua did at age 40. He with 11 other spies had completed a reconnaissance mission in the future land of Israel. The 12 had returned with both a majority report and a minority report. The former said, “it’s too tough”. The latter (Joshua and Caleb) said, “let’s go”. The majority won and an entire generation died in the desert.
Sometimes I wonder if our pursuit of pain avoidance isn’t the very thing that gives the most pain and misery of all.
Yet Joshua didn’t die in the desert. His next 40 years, though very difficult and frustrating, were not capitulation to being stuck in the desert forever. He still wanted the “mountain”. And he got it. He lived not only to see the day when Israel would enter the promised land, he lead the charge.
I think it’s never too late to ask God for a “mountain”, a difficult challenge to live out for His sake. This life is not the Promised Land. It is training for the Promised Land.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
September 9, 2010
You Have to Go Through the Desert Before You Can Climb the Mountain
Romans 5:2-5 (NIV)
“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Romans 5:2-5 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
God isn’t at work producing the circumstances you want. He is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants.
Today’s passage put the word “rejoice”, used twice, together with the words suffering and perseverance. We are supposed to choose an attitude of gratitude and general happiness when we face problems of all kinds.
God’s goal for us is the shaping our soul into the Christlikeness. God will stop at nothing the accomplish this in us. Therefore we must not be surprised that God is not a God of constant “bailouts” and “rescues”. In fact you can count on it that God will allow you to suffer. Suffering is one of God’ primary methods of maturing us.
God doesn’t send us to the desert, He sends us through the desert. The desert is always temporary, unless of course we choose to stay there. God can’t produce in us the person he wants to make of us unless we let him. Are you willing to cooperate with God in the desert, give Him your whole self in spite of your pain, say “thy will be done”? If so the other side of the desert is a life giving river of God.
God isn’t at work producing the circumstances you want. He is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Romans 5:2-5 (NIV)
“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Romans 5:2-5 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
God isn’t at work producing the circumstances you want. He is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants.
Today’s passage put the word “rejoice”, used twice, together with the words suffering and perseverance. We are supposed to choose an attitude of gratitude and general happiness when we face problems of all kinds.
God’s goal for us is the shaping our soul into the Christlikeness. God will stop at nothing the accomplish this in us. Therefore we must not be surprised that God is not a God of constant “bailouts” and “rescues”. In fact you can count on it that God will allow you to suffer. Suffering is one of God’ primary methods of maturing us.
God doesn’t send us to the desert, He sends us through the desert. The desert is always temporary, unless of course we choose to stay there. God can’t produce in us the person he wants to make of us unless we let him. Are you willing to cooperate with God in the desert, give Him your whole self in spite of your pain, say “thy will be done”? If so the other side of the desert is a life giving river of God.
God isn’t at work producing the circumstances you want. He is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
September 8, 2010
Make Work Part of Your Calling
Exodus 31:2-5 (NIV)
“I have chosen Bezalel . . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship” Exodus 31:2-5 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
This passage contains the very first example of person being filled with the Holy Spirit in the entire Bible. Did you notice what Bezalel was gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do? The Holy Spirit was given to Bezalel to make things, to create, to do manual labor.
You too, have been gifted by God in some way that “works” creation for the better. Some are gifted to lead, others are gifted artistically, others mechanically, others can run businesses. The ideal is to be able to earn a living in the area of you giftedness. But for most of us on the planet that is an unattainable dream. Rather most of us need to be happy just to be able to make a living. In a broken world that’s the reality.
This means that two things are required of us. God expects us to use our giftedness somehow in this life to serve Him. Secondly God expects us to be grateful that we can work at all. Are you grateful for your job? Do you ask God to empower you to work well, with integrity, honestly, putting in a full day’s work, working as unto the Lord?
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Exodus 31:2-5 (NIV)
“I have chosen Bezalel . . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship” Exodus 31:2-5 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
This passage contains the very first example of person being filled with the Holy Spirit in the entire Bible. Did you notice what Bezalel was gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do? The Holy Spirit was given to Bezalel to make things, to create, to do manual labor.
You too, have been gifted by God in some way that “works” creation for the better. Some are gifted to lead, others are gifted artistically, others mechanically, others can run businesses. The ideal is to be able to earn a living in the area of you giftedness. But for most of us on the planet that is an unattainable dream. Rather most of us need to be happy just to be able to make a living. In a broken world that’s the reality.
This means that two things are required of us. God expects us to use our giftedness somehow in this life to serve Him. Secondly God expects us to be grateful that we can work at all. Are you grateful for your job? Do you ask God to empower you to work well, with integrity, honestly, putting in a full day’s work, working as unto the Lord?
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
September 7, 2010
The Bible is a Book Written for Workers By Workers
Exodus 20:9-11
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work.. . . . . For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day” Exodus 20:9-11 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
We have all heard that we are supposed to keep this commandment, keep the Sabbath Holy. And sometimes we are made to feel guilty when we don’t. But the first part of this fourth commandment tells us to work for six days. Your work really does matter to God.
Work is good. In Genesis chapter 2 God gave human beings responsibility for “working”, responsibly ruling over creation. It’s part of what makes us human. We have the ability to assume responsibility and represent God as his stewards of earth.
Today’s scripture reveals that God “works”. We were not created for a life of “ease”, but for a life of productivity, creativity . . . . work. This scripture even tells us that we can expect to work 6 days a week. Presumably this requires of us more that a 40 work week. Sometimes I even wonder how retirement fits into God’s plans for us.
At the very least, scripture tells us that work matters and since we do it on God’s behalf we have a responsibility to do so with integrity and with the understanding that we really are representing God Himself wherever we work. One way to look at it is by asking this question, “Does how I work and interact at work make God look good to others?”
Remember though Genesis 3 teaches us that work itself was affected by the “fall”. Never expect even the “perfect job” to be done without great difficulty.
Exodus 20:9-11
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work.. . . . . For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day” Exodus 20:9-11 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
We have all heard that we are supposed to keep this commandment, keep the Sabbath Holy. And sometimes we are made to feel guilty when we don’t. But the first part of this fourth commandment tells us to work for six days. Your work really does matter to God.
Work is good. In Genesis chapter 2 God gave human beings responsibility for “working”, responsibly ruling over creation. It’s part of what makes us human. We have the ability to assume responsibility and represent God as his stewards of earth.
Today’s scripture reveals that God “works”. We were not created for a life of “ease”, but for a life of productivity, creativity . . . . work. This scripture even tells us that we can expect to work 6 days a week. Presumably this requires of us more that a 40 work week. Sometimes I even wonder how retirement fits into God’s plans for us.
At the very least, scripture tells us that work matters and since we do it on God’s behalf we have a responsibility to do so with integrity and with the understanding that we really are representing God Himself wherever we work. One way to look at it is by asking this question, “Does how I work and interact at work make God look good to others?”
Remember though Genesis 3 teaches us that work itself was affected by the “fall”. Never expect even the “perfect job” to be done without great difficulty.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
On Sunday the Lord’s Supper Will Be Served
Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT)
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
At the last meal of Jesus’ life he told his friends to do something to remember him and his life mission. He told them to eat bread and drink wine. He said breaking off pieces of bread would cause them to remember his broken body on the cross and he said the wine would cause them to remember his blood shed on the cross.
Early Jewish and Roman authorities persecuted early Christians for having cannibalism parties.
Far from that, the early Christians were recalling that following Jesus required far more than simple obedience to a bunch of commandments, rather they need in themselves the life that He had within himself. In eating the bread and drinking the wine they were taking the power, mission, love and life of Jesus into themselves.
Christians have continued this practice for 2,000 years.
The apostle Paul added one more thing. Don’t do this practice without preparing for it. Make sure you know what you are doing. How? Simply ask yourself, “am I willing to let Him lead, regardless of where he leads?”
It wrong to say that for Jesus it lead to the cross. It is right to say that his willingness lead him through the cross to the resurrection, where “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, mind has not conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT)
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
At the last meal of Jesus’ life he told his friends to do something to remember him and his life mission. He told them to eat bread and drink wine. He said breaking off pieces of bread would cause them to remember his broken body on the cross and he said the wine would cause them to remember his blood shed on the cross.
Early Jewish and Roman authorities persecuted early Christians for having cannibalism parties.
Far from that, the early Christians were recalling that following Jesus required far more than simple obedience to a bunch of commandments, rather they need in themselves the life that He had within himself. In eating the bread and drinking the wine they were taking the power, mission, love and life of Jesus into themselves.
Christians have continued this practice for 2,000 years.
The apostle Paul added one more thing. Don’t do this practice without preparing for it. Make sure you know what you are doing. How? Simply ask yourself, “am I willing to let Him lead, regardless of where he leads?”
It wrong to say that for Jesus it lead to the cross. It is right to say that his willingness lead him through the cross to the resurrection, where “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, mind has not conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
There is no way for a human being to come to God
that does not involve surrender
Matthew 26:39
Jesus threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not my will but your will be done." Matthew 26:39
Pastor’s Blog
Of all prayers in scripture or printed devotionals, of all prayers ever prayed, this prayer is the one, if meant when prayed, cannot fail to put back into the flow of God.
This is the prayer that Jesus prayed after asking God to save Him from the cross. God did not save him from the cross.
God will not promise to save us from pain and suffering either. Sometimes he expects us to suffer as Jesus did. What God does promise is resurrection for those who are willing to surrender.
Kathy and I took dance lessons. Our class jokingly asked the instructor, “who leads?”. Both the men and women cheerfully said “The man”. However it was quite a different story when the instructor would approach a specific couple and ask the same question. The man cheerfully gave the same answer. The woman not so much. Kathy choked out the words, “he does, but . . . .”
On Sunday the Lord’s Supper will be served. As you are served the bread and grape juice and Jesus asks you, “who leads?” will your answer include a “but?”
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
that does not involve surrender
Matthew 26:39
Jesus threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not my will but your will be done." Matthew 26:39
Pastor’s Blog
Of all prayers in scripture or printed devotionals, of all prayers ever prayed, this prayer is the one, if meant when prayed, cannot fail to put back into the flow of God.
This is the prayer that Jesus prayed after asking God to save Him from the cross. God did not save him from the cross.
God will not promise to save us from pain and suffering either. Sometimes he expects us to suffer as Jesus did. What God does promise is resurrection for those who are willing to surrender.
Kathy and I took dance lessons. Our class jokingly asked the instructor, “who leads?”. Both the men and women cheerfully said “The man”. However it was quite a different story when the instructor would approach a specific couple and ask the same question. The man cheerfully gave the same answer. The woman not so much. Kathy choked out the words, “he does, but . . . .”
On Sunday the Lord’s Supper will be served. As you are served the bread and grape juice and Jesus asks you, “who leads?” will your answer include a “but?”
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Your Signature Sin and Your Signature Gifting -
Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
Each of us is gifted. Humility demands that we accept this fact, that we are gifted, and that gifting is gift we have nothing to do with. There is nothing to be proud of in that. However, every gifting has is corresponding downside. The pattern of your sin is related to the pattern of your gifts. It’s an important spiritual practice to ask God to reveal all of what our hearts hold.
Greek mythology spoke of the nemesis, your mortal enemy. Your nemesis is like you in almost every way except that he is ruined version of you. Servers love to be needed. Yet they can slip into helping out of their own neediness which can cause their serving to be kind of taking. Thinkers like to be in the know – about everything! But knowledge can puff up and they can end up loving being right more than they love people.
Spend some time asking God to reveal to you your “nemesis”. Self awareness is both a way to open yourself to God and also a way to make yourself less likely to be manipulated by Satan.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
Pastor’s Blog
Each of us is gifted. Humility demands that we accept this fact, that we are gifted, and that gifting is gift we have nothing to do with. There is nothing to be proud of in that. However, every gifting has is corresponding downside. The pattern of your sin is related to the pattern of your gifts. It’s an important spiritual practice to ask God to reveal all of what our hearts hold.
Greek mythology spoke of the nemesis, your mortal enemy. Your nemesis is like you in almost every way except that he is ruined version of you. Servers love to be needed. Yet they can slip into helping out of their own neediness which can cause their serving to be kind of taking. Thinkers like to be in the know – about everything! But knowledge can puff up and they can end up loving being right more than they love people.
Spend some time asking God to reveal to you your “nemesis”. Self awareness is both a way to open yourself to God and also a way to make yourself less likely to be manipulated by Satan.
(to post your thoughts, anonymously if you wish, simply click on “comments” below)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)