tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310367272024-03-07T04:15:36.018-05:00RantNRev1 Corinthians 1:20 says it all: "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" Therefore, I feel safe posting my thoughts here.Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-31898453514949273082018-08-31T12:13:00.003-04:002018-08-31T12:13:29.107-04:00Volunteer, It's Good For You!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The ancient philosopher, Aristotle, once said,
“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” And, the ancient
prophet, Isaiah said, “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your
light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as
bright as noon.” (<strong><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 58:10) </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">That
is why we volunteer, isn’t it? To do good. To push back the darkness of this
world in order to make it a little better. To get out beyond the self and gain
broader perspective and deeper understanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I want
people to know that volunteering is good for you. Volunteering is an activity
that someone chooses to do without being paid. It can be formal or informal.
Informal volunteering includes helping friends and family with things like
babysitting, home repairs or caring for someone who is recovering from illness
or injury. Formal volunteering usually takes place through a charity or other
not-for-profit or community organization. Volunteering makes an immeasurable
difference in the lives of others. But did you know how much you help yourself
by giving back? From lowering stress to boosting self-confidence, volunteering
offers many health benefits. I Googled it, and I found that there are over 19
million articles on how doing good helps people lead better, healthier lives.
Here are a few of the benefits enumerated in several of the articles I found:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Volunteering with and
for others increases social interaction and helps build a support system based
on common commitment and interests—both of which have been shown to decrease
depression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Volunteering gives you
a sense of purpose and fulfillment, and increases your self-confidence while
you’re at it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Volunteering helps you
stay physically and mentally active. </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.futurity.org/brain-benefit-for-seniors-who-volunteer/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">A study released</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> by Johns Hopkins University in 2009
revealed that volunteers actually increased their brain functioning. Volunteer
activities get you moving and thinking at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Volunteering will reduce
stress levels. By savoring your time spent in service to others, you’ll feel a
sense of meaning and appreciation—both given and received—which can be calming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you volunteer,
you experience “The Happiness Effect.” You know that feel-good sense you get
after a vigorous workout? It comes from a release of dopamine in the brain.
Helping others has that exact same effect—so the more you volunteer, the
happier you become!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Volunteering can open
up opportunities to go abroad, as many organizations and programs put on “<a href="http://www.createthegood.org/articles/destination" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">voluntourism</span></a>” trips across the globe. Traveling
spurs physical activity and mental planning while providing you different
perspectives—literally and figuratively—on life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Therefore,
get on the Volunteerism train. It will do you and the world around you a lot of
good. Someone once said, “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.
You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day
about the kind of community you want to live in.” I don’t know about y’all, but
I vote for community filled with selfless servants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-44854423123839354272018-08-31T12:10:00.002-04:002018-08-31T12:10:55.300-04:00The Blessing of a Fresh Coat of Paint<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On Friday, April 20, 2018, I went with
a few of my Soldiers to volunteer with the Augusta Parks and Recreation
Department at the Magnolia Cemetery. We were tasked with repainting some park benches
and sign posts. As I slowly moved from sign post to sign post I began to see
that there was a lessons to be learned through this experience—the blessing of
a fresh coat of paint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The signposts I painted were in dire
need of a fresh coat of paint. It was obvious that many years, decades maybe,
had passed since they had been painted. They were a faded gray color mixed with
rust that made them blend in with the surrounding trees so well they almost
disappeared. They were ugly, and looked almost hopeless. After I cleaned one,
and applied a fresh coat of glossy black paint, it looked brand new. One of the
easiest, least expensive, renovations that can be done is to apply a fresh coat
of paint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I continued painting and
reflecting, I realized that the blessing of a fresh coat of paint applies to us
as well (metaphorically speaking, please don’t put actual paint on yourself).
There I was on a beautiful April morning in a cemetery surrounded by grave
markers, trees, and quiet except for the sounds of birds singing, and I am
struck by the juxtaposition of life and death; of beauty and sorrow. As I looked
at the grave markers some very elaborate, and some merely a stone with a name,
date of birth, date of death, and the dash in between, and as I watched how
much of difference a simple coat of glossy black paint made on those old,
faded, rusty sign posts, I learned the blessing of a fresh coat of paint—what
seems like a disaster may be easier to refresh and renew than we think. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">We humans are great at making things more
difficult than necessary, especially when it comes to the life of faith.
Receiving and living the abundant life God offers in and through Jesus is not
easy, but it is simple. We simply need to say yes to Jesus, and no to self. We
don’t need to “get our act together,” we need Jesus. The Old Hymn by Robert
Lowry asks and answers the question, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but
the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of
Jesus.” Eugene Peterson paraphrased 2 Corinthians 5:17 this way, “What we see
is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The
old life is gone; a new life burgeons!” The blood of Jesus shed on the cross is
all that is necessary for us to be made whole, and it is better than any paint
job because it doesn’t just cover the past; in Christ we are made new. No
matter how ugly, faded, and worn out we may feel, we can be renewed. “For in [Christ]
all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased
to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making
peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile
in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through
death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him”
(Colossians 1:19-21. NRSV). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-71397630724914650602017-08-19T15:20:00.000-04:002017-08-19T15:20:20.348-04:00Speak Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Speak Love</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Matthew
15:10-20</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Bicentennial
Chapel, Ft. Gordon, GA. 20 August 2017</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">I am deeply troubled by the events in
Charlottesville last week.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will not
wax political, but I cannot ignore what happened.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A young woman, Heather Heyer, died and
several people were injured. This is a tragedy. MS Heyer was with a group
protesting a group who were protesting the removal of a statue of General
Robert E. Lee.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Those in the group
against the removal of the statue had a permit to gather at that park for the
purpose of protesting the removal of the statue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Some in that group used the occasion instead
to promote their White Supremacist agenda.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>That is what the counter-protesters were protesting—the White
Supremacist agenda.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Racism is a sin. White-Supremacy is evil.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">It is not illegal to have racist
beliefs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is not illegal to speak about
racist beliefs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>However, just because
something is legal does not necessarily mean it is ethical, moral, or
Godly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I heard a speech given by MS
Heyer’s mother the other day. She said, “I’d rather have my child, but if I
have to give her up, then by golly we’re going to make it count.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If the Church, the body of Christ, will
refuse to participate in hate, and speak love instead; then we can be a part of
making that dream come true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Racism is not a new problem, and it
is not only an American problem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Racism
has been around for a long time.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
tragedy at Charlottesville is just the latest exposure of the truth—left to our
own sinful selfishness we human beings tend to focus inward and seek the
comfort of gathering with people very much like us without regard for those who
may look, sound, think, or worship differently. We can do better. We can be
better. We must speak love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">This week, I have seen this famous
quote from Martin Niemöller several times:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">First they came for the Socialists, and
I did not speak out—<br />
Because I was not a Socialist.</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I did not speak out—</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"> <br />
<i>Because I was not a Trade Unionist.</i> </span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Then they came for the Jews, and I did
not speak out—</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"> <br />
<i>Because I was not a Jew.</i> </span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Then they came for me—and there was no
one left to speak for me.</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">This is a very
eloquent way of saying, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if you’re not
part of the solution, you’re part of the problem</i>. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The problem is racism, the solution is love.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Christians
must speak love. This is the third week of our focus on love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Chaplain Hudgins talked about loving one
another, CH Sprecher talked about loving our enemies, and today I say “Speak
Love.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Have you heard the old axiom, “sticks
and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well, that is a lie.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A well-intentioned lie to help people get
past the hurtful things others say, but a lie nonetheless.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Words do hurt. They can do lasting
damage.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus’ brother James said it
best in his letter, “no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly
poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who
are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
In our reading from Matthew 15 this morning Jesus teaches how important it is
to be mindful of what we say. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">In
verses 1-9 of Mtt 15, Jesus is in Gennesaret, and encounters some Pharisees and
Scribes from Jerusalem—some fired up religious leaders from the center of the
Jewish Universe. These folks are experts in the laws and traditions of Judaism,
and it has come to their attention that Jesus’ Disciples have not been paying
attention to detail when it comes to the traditional ways of ensuring one is
ritually clean before eating. Jesus responds by pointing out their
inconsistencies and condemns them by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “‘This people
honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they
worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Jesus is not advocating for eating with dirty hands, that
is gross! Jesus takes this as an opportunity to teach a deep truth that they
had missed. Somehow, sometime way back, God’s chosen people got off track a
little and now instead of following God, they were wrapped around the axel
about following rules. Jesus turns the confrontation with the Pharisees into a
teaching opportunity for His disciples. He emphasizes the priority of the heart
over external matters, such as handwashing and ritual purity. Jesus' parable
raises questions about the understanding of where the boundaries of God's
mercies are to be located. Traditional ways of locating what is unclean or
outside are called into question as Jesus calls for a new understanding and a
new heart as the origin and center of God's ways among us. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Yesterday’s
lunch is gone forever. Jesus asks, “Do you not see that whatever goes into the
mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?”<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> It is a crude image. The
sewer has carried away any mistakes we may have made by putting into our body
things that the dietary laws call unclean. However, the careless words, the
evil, the lies, and the fornication continue to be harmful. Our words and
actions have the power to defile and hurt, and the pain of those choices is not
washed down the sewer like yesterday’s lunch.<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> For Jesus, harmful actions
toward others express one’s character and are defiling. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Matthew is continuing the theme laid out in
“The Sermon on the Mount,” where Jesus began his powerful challenge of
tradition. Jesus points out that outward tradition and ritual are empty without
an inward transformation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is
asking “do you want to know what is truly motivating someone?”, “pay attention
to the message they are proclaiming through their words, actions, and inaction.”
I see a call to introspection here. What conclusions can be drawn from my
words, actions, and inaction in the face of the evil, injustice, hurt, and loss
of this world? And a call to action: Speak love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">What is the greatest
commandment? (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and
strength…and love your neighbor as yourself<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>). We need to be oriented
toward God. If the Bible has a Big Dipper, this is it: "For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but has eternal life." But there's more to the Christian life
than just believing. Just as the Big Dipper points us to true north, John 3:16
points us to the much less commonly recited 1 John 3:16: "This is how we
know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay
down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” The journey of awakening is the
Spirit empowered, hard fought movement of John 3:16 to 1 John 3:16.<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="color: red; margin: 0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">God is love. Therefore,
we are called, we are commissioned, we are commanded to reflect God’s nature
back to God, and out into the world around us. Church, we must speak love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not hate. Not evil intentions. Not murder.
Not adultery. Not fornication. Not theft. Not false witness. Not slander. Have
you watched the news and been on social media in the last week?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Think through the things Jesus listed, have
we not heard or seen most of those things. People I love and respect have added
to the hate recently. As a society, we have frayed nerves. We need healing, and
we, Church, are called to be instruments of that healing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are called to speak love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">If racists wish to spew
their own brand of degrading nonsense, that is a price we pay for life in a
relatively free society. Christians, however, should speak up in opposition
when they encounter ideas inconsistent with the value that God has assigned to
human beings–all human beings. We must speak love. We must challenge these
ideas. We must drag them into the court of public opinion and make our best
case that there is a more excellent way. We must find our voices, unashamed of
the truth of the Gospel. And we must do so with dignity, integrity, and
intellectual rigor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Society is very caught up
in tribal language—in labeling people. Republican, Democrat, Conservative,
Evangelical, Liberal, Traditional, Progressive…, but to be honest, those designations
are not very important to me. I don’t care about being conservative,
evangelical, Republican, or anything else like that. My identity is in Christ.
I want to follow Jesus, and I want to have the courage to go wherever that
takes me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">In light of all the divisiveness
of late, James 4:17 “Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it
commits sin” is weighing on me. We must speak love. It is important that people
speak up to articulate clearly that the views of racist groups do not reflect
our values as Americans nor as Christians. Our nation's founding documents note
that “all [people] are created equal,” and the Bible is clear that all humanity
are children of God, and, as we learned as children, “red and yellow, black and
white, they are precious in his sight.” It is particularly important to those
who are in the majority population – to those who are Anglo – that we speak up
when someone in a minority population is being harassed or threatened, whether
by torches and marches, or inappropriate jokes or other comments. Scripture
calls us to “speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.” That
includes those in minority populations when faced with bigotry or activities
meant to instill fear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">We need to speak love
with our words and actions. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. articulated six
principles of non-violence that were pivotal in bringing about change in our
country. Here they are as found in the article on non-violence in the King
Encyclopedia hosted by Stanford University:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">First, one can resist evil without
resorting to violence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Second, nonviolence seeks to win the
‘‘friendship and understanding’’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him (King,
Stride, 84). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Third, evil itself, not the people
committing evil acts, should be opposed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Fourth, those committed to nonviolence
must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be
redemptive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids
‘‘external physical violence’’ and ‘‘internal violence of spirit’’ as well:
‘‘The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also
refuses to hate him’’ (King, Stride, 85). The resister should be motivated by
love in the sense of the Greek word agape, which means ‘‘understanding,’’ or
‘‘redeeming good will for all men’’ (King, Stride, 86). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">The sixth principle is that the nonviolent
resister must have a ‘‘deep faith in the future,’’ stemming from the conviction
that ‘‘the universe is on the side of justice’’ (King, Stride, 88)</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">The problem is sin, the solution is
love.</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Racism is sin. </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Purity and faithfulness are shown
ultimately by how we, the Church—the Body of Christ, speak and live out the
radical hospitality and love of Christ<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
in order to stand against the evil of our sin-sick world. God is love. Therefore,
we are called, we are commissioned, we are commanded to reflect God’s nature
back to God, and out into the world around us. Church, we must speak love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not hate. Not evil intentions. Not murder.
Not adultery. Not fornication. Not theft. Not false witness. Not slander. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Our world is sick with sin like
racism, but..</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #0a3f64; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole,<br />
there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.<br />
2 If you can't preach like Peter, if you can't pray like Paul,<br />
just tell the love of Jesus, and say He died for all. [Refrain]</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">We must speak love in word and deed. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Christians<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Must <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Speak
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Love.
Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
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<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">
James 3:9-10. NRSV</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">
Isaiah 29:13</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">
Matthew 15:17 NRSV</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;"> Bartlett,
David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3:
Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word:
Year A volume) (Kindle Locations 12086-12090). Presbyterian Publishing
Corporation. Kindle Edition.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">
Matthew 22:36-40</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;"> JD
Walt www.seedbed.org</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/revke/Desktop/Chapel/Speak%20Love%20Matthew%2015.docx" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;"> Bartlett,
David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3:
Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word:
Year A volume) (Kindle Locations 12016-12017). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.
Kindle Edition.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-59798822995500266422011-11-13T09:52:00.001-05:002011-11-13T09:58:59.614-05:00Thorns, Stakes and Roadside Bombs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 <i>It is necessary to brag, not that it does any good. I’ll move on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. I don’t know whether it was in the body or out of the body. God knows. I know that this man was caught up into paradise and that he heard unspeakable words that were things no one is allowed to repeat. I don’t know whether it was in the body or apart from the body. God knows. I’ll brag about this man, but I won’t brag about myself, except to brag about my weaknesses.</i><br />
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<span class="s1"><i> <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If I did want to brag, I wouldn’t make a fool of myself because I’d tell the truth. I’m holding back from bragging so that no one will give me any more credit than what anyone sees or hears about me. I was given a thorn in my body because of the outstanding revelations I’ve received so that I wouldn’t be conceited. It’s a messenger from Satan sent to torment me so that I wouldn’t be conceited.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i> <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me alone. He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.</i></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Good morning! It is my great honor and privilege to be bringing the Word and celebrating our great God in worship with y’all this morning. Friday was Veterans’ Day. It was an emotional day for me. I have always been patriotic, but since I just returned from Iraq, Veteran’s Day took on added significance this year. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Veterans’ Day began as “Armistice Day.” World War I ended on November 11, 1918, with the signing of the Armistice by the Allies and Germany. In the first Armistice Day proclamation in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson called for the nation to remember those who had died in their country’s service and to make the day an opportunity for America to "show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation."</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Armistice Day became Veterans' Day by an act of Congress in 1954, changing its purpose and scope. President Eisenhower called on the nation to remember the sacrifices of those who fought in all our nation's wars, to celebrate the contributions of all veterans of military service, and to rededicate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace. It is Eisenhower's call that remains the three-fold purpose of Veterans' Day: remembering those who fought and died, celebrating all veterans, and promoting an enduring peace. I like that, don’t y’all.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Especially that last part--promoting an enduring peace. As Christians, as disciples, as apprentices of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace it is important for us to promote peace. I believe it was Jesus who said something like “Blessed are the peacemakers...” On this Veterans’ Day weekend I am also reminded of what Jesus said in John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends.” Shortly after Jesus said that, He proved it by going through the shame, humiliation and pain of the cross for all who call on His Holy Name. What a friend we have in Jesus! Amen! But that’s not all! On the 3rd day, Jesus rose in victory over sin and death and spent 40 days with His friends. He was in a new, resurrected body, but he still bore the scars of the battle. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In our text from 2 Corinthians 12 this morning the Apostle Paul speaks of his on-going problem. His “thorn in the flesh.” The battle between the Kingdom of God and Satan’s defeated kingdom of this world and the flesh left Paul scarred. Throughout human history warfare has left its mark on service members and their families. As the cliche says, “All gave some. Some gave all.” I do not bear any visible scars from my experience in Iraq, but I assure you being in a combat zone, even in the relative safety of our Forward Operating Bases & never going “outside the wire,” makes a profound impact. I am still discovering the depth of the scars from my time Iraq.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>One person who bears visible scars from war is J.R. Martinez. J.R. is an Iraq war veteran, motivational speaker, an actor on ABC's All My Children, and a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. In April 2003, at 19 years old, he was serving as a Humvee driver for the U.S. Army in Iraq when his left front tire hit a land-mine. He suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>J.R. was immediately evacuated and sent to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio where he spent 34 months in recovery. Since his injury, he has undergone 33 different surgeries, including skin grafts and cosmetic surgery. During his recovery time, J.R. found a new purpose in life. He has traveled the country since 2004, spreading his message of resilience and optimism. Today he is a sought-after motivational speaker and has shared the stage with many notable individuals. His scars are still visible. His pain is real, but God redeemed the situation. God’s grace is more powerful than land-mines!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><i>The Washington Post</i> (November 26, 2005) ran a story of another Iraq War hero, Army staff sergeant Hilbert Caesar. He was in charge of a long-range 155mm howitzer — a self-propelled gun that resembles a tank. He was out on patrol in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded. When the smoke cleared, Caesar looked down and saw that his right leg was severed in three places, flipped backward, just dangling by the skin. He tried to give his machine gun to a fellow soldier, but discovered it was bent. Then he yelled for the howitzer hatches to be closed, and thought to himself, “Oh man. This is it. My life is over.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But he didn’t die. The insurgents responsible for the attack disappeared, and Caesar was transported to safety. At Walter Reed Hospital, his missing limb was replaced with an artificial leg of plastic and steel. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Still, he felt despair about his future. He was in pain, and was worried that he’d never be able to run again, or be attractive to women. He received word that eight men from his platoon had been killed by a car bomb in Baghdad, including one of his role models. The news was devastating.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But little by little he began to shift focus. Caesar met other injured soldiers and heard them talk about their recoveries. He began to look for the best, and realized that he was fortunate to make it back from battle with just one missing limb. “I’m grateful for that,” he told <i>The Washington Post</i>. “I’m thankful for just being here.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Caesar now completes marathons in racing wheelchairs, and has found a job with the V.A. He sees the loss of his leg as a minor setback, and believes that he has come out of the war with more wisdom, compassion and appreciation for life. --Hilbert Caesar has experienced “post-traumatic growth.” God’s grace is more powerful than roadside bombs.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>A number of psychiatrists and psychologists are beginning to see that not all soldiers return from war with shattered spirits. A number are emerging from the experience feeling enhanced. Now this is not to say that war is heaven — rather than that other place. It’s not desirable or healthy or good. But it can lead to personal growth.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The same thing happened to the apostle Paul after he was stabbed with a “thorn” in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). We don’t know exactly what this thorn was, although biblical scholars have suggested that it could have been anything from epilepsy to stuttering, depression to eye problems. What’s important is that Paul considered this affliction to be a painful trap or torture designed to take him out of the spiritual battle plan. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Back in the first century, sharpened wooden stakes were often placed in pits, with the hope that enemy soldiers would fall on them and be impaled. These stakes were also used as a method of torture. Sharpened stakes were the roadside bombs of the ancient world, and they were described in Greek by the word <i>skolops</i> — the exact same word that Paul uses for his thorn in the flesh.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>So Paul was stabbed — by a messenger of Satan, he says — “to torment me, to keep me from being too conceited” (v. 7). He could have given up, assuming that his life as an apostle was over. But instead, he discovered that it was just beginning.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Three times he pleaded with the Lord to remove the <i>skolops</i>, but God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). God’s grace is more powerful than a thorn in the flesh.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Power is made perfect in weakness. As amputee Hilbert Caesar says, “It makes me appreciate life a whole lot more.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Power is made perfect in weakness. As Adam Replogle, a tank gunner who lost his left hand in Iraq, says, “Sometimes it takes people a lifetime to realize what [life is] all about … you go through something like this and it grows you up a little bit.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Power is made perfect in weakness. As Tom McNish, a former Air Force pilot who was a prisoner in North Vietnam, reflects: “There is no question in my mind that the experience I had in Vietnam has had an overall very positive effect on my life.” Not that McNish recommends it for anyone else. Or that he would want to do it again. It was truly a time of suffering, after all. But you can’t have post-traumatic growth without trauma.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Think of a time when you have experienced spiritual growth. A shift in priorities. An increase in personal strength. A renewed appreciation for life. A deepening of personal relationships. Have these improvements been the result of smooth sailing and easy living?</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Hardly. These kinds of growth come from stress, struggle and suffering. My year in Iraq provided me opportunity to suffer a little and to grow a lot. Despite the training we received before arriving in Iraq, I still wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, and that was stressful. Even though I never went outside of a military base in Iraq, I did travel to bases all over the country visiting my soldiers--that was a little scary at times. Throughout the time there, rocket and mortar attacks were very common. Usually, casualties from these attacks did not happen or were minimal, but not every time. One time when a rocket attack was lethal, I volunteered to go to the base where the attack happened just hours after we lost 5 heroes and dozens were injured severely. I experienced the presence of God working through me to provide comfort and hope to many of the soldiers who lived through that horrific morning. It was very demanding physically, emotionally & spiritually, but God’s grace was more than sufficient for me that week. Living through that confirmed God’s calling on and presence in my life. My faith is still growing as a result. God’s grace is more powerful than grief and fear.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The longer we live, the more stories we have to tell. The proof of God’s activity in my life, in Paul’s life, and in the lives of the Corinthian and all Christians, is ultimately not magnificent spiritual visions or miraculous physical healings. The proof of God’s activity is the grace that sustains us even in our weakness, for it is in those moments that we recognize the power is not our own but must come from God. Boasting in our own power is foolishness and accomplishes nothing; boasting in our weakness may just remind us that “the power of Christ” also resides within us. The thorns, stakes and roadside bombs of life are unfortunate, but if we let Him, God can redeem those situations and we learn some powerful life lessons... First, <i>trauma moves us from isolation to community, </i>second, <i>trauma shifts us from self-reliance to God-reliance</i> and <i>third, often God will give us deliverance and victory in the midst of the pain!</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Through trauma we often move from isolation to community. Looking back on his experience in battle, Hilbert Caesar says, “The guys I served with were awesome guys.” Shared suffering creates a bond that sometimes is even stronger than our biological family. Times of pain and suffering can force us to turn to each other, rely on each other, and serve each other — sometimes in sacrificial ways. SSG Caesar insists, “I would go through it again — for the guys I served with. Yes. Absolutely. I wouldn’t change it for the world.” </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>We are created in the image of God. Our God is relational--One God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, to truly live into the divine image in which we were created, we need to be in healthy relationships. Trauma can be the catalyst that moves us from isolation to community.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>That reminds me of a story...A fellow slid his truck off a road and ended up in a ditch. A farmhouse was nearby so the motorist asked the owner if he had a tractor he could borrow to get his truck back on the road.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“Nope, but I got my mule, Blue,” said the farmer.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“I doubt a mule is strong enough to pull my truck out.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“You don’t know Blue,” said the mule’s proud owner.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">So Blue was hitched to the truck. “Pull, Blue!” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The truck didn’t move. And the farmer then called out, “Pull, Elmer!” </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The truck moved a little. Then the farmer yelled, “Pull, Biscuit,” and the truck was free.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>“Thank you so much,” said the truck owner. “But I have a question. You called your mule by three different names. How is that?”</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>“Simple,” said the farmer. “Blue is blind. And if he thought he was the only one pulling, your truck would still be in the ditch!” As long as Blue didn’t think he was doing it all himself, he was able to do the job!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>We are not alone. Jesus promised to be with us always. The greatest way through which we experience the presence of our Risen Lord is in the gathered body of believers, the <i>ecclesia, </i>the Church. In the life of the church, it is typically trauma that moves us from isolation to community. Sure, festivities can be fun, but their effect is usually superficial. What binds us together as members of the Body of Christ are illness, grief, struggle, adversity, confusion and crisis. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Share a meal with a neighbor at a potluck, and you’ve got contact. Carry a meal to a neighbor after a death in the family, and you’ve got <i>community</i>.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Soldiers find that they gain strength and inspiration from each other as they talk about their injuries and their recoveries. They become more resilient as they offer encouragement and support. Helping others in shared suffering is the greatest path to recovery. The same is true as we gather in the church to talk honestly about our struggles, and to share insights we’ve gained from our successes and failures. Whether the challenge is raising teenagers, overcoming addictions, managing money, or adjusting to the loss of a loved one, there is a tremendous benefit in moving from isolation to community. When we gather together, we discover that power truly is made perfect in weakness. God’s grace is more powerful than thorns, stakes, roadside bombs or anything else life throws at us.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The second benefit of trauma is that it shifts us from self-reliance to God-reliance. It’s clear from Scripture that this was a major move for the apostle Paul, a superstar of the early church who described his qualifications by saying, “If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews … as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6). Today, Paul might say: Yale University, Rhodes Scholar, Harvard Law, Wall Street, the White House. But Paul tosses all these credentials away, pitches them into the garbage, because he has discovered the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. For Paul, a connection to Christ is what saves him from sin and makes him right with God, and he values this relationship above all else. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Because of Jesus, Paul moves from self-reliance to God-reliance.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">But this is not the end of his story. Paul encounters suffering. A roadside mine is triggered, a bomb explodes. This <i>skolops</i>, this sharpened stake, this roadside bomb, this personal trauma, has the effect of mediating God’s grace to him. Paul knows that even good revelations can shift his focus away from God and toward himself, and so the thorn comes. Satan tries to discourage Paul, but instead the effect is to keep him connected to Christ.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>“Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,” admits Paul, “but [God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness’” (vv. 8-9). Paul begs that the thorn will be removed, just as veterans of war plead that their pain will end, and their bodies will be restored. But the message Paul gets is that God’s grace is sufficient, in any trauma, in any time, in any situation. God’s grace is more powerful than thorns, stakes and roadside bombs.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Here’s the deal: Sometimes deliverance and victory come by removal of the source of pain. That’s not how it worked in Paul’s case. The lesson he learned is that often God will give us deliverance and <i>victory in the midst of the pain!</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This is what the men cited above came to learn — even if they might not express it that way. God’s grace is sufficient. God’s gift of himself, his gift of Jesus, is enough — enough to overcome any obstacle. God’s grace is more powerful than thorns, stakes and roadside bombs.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This is what Paul learns in his time of post-traumatic growth: God’s grace is sufficient. God’s grace is powerful. This is a lesson that we can learn as well, as we discover the power of God’s grace in our communities of faith, and in our increasing reliance on the Lord. In fact, we may even follow Paul in actually boasting of our weaknesses, because when we do this the power of Christ will dwell in us. “<i>I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ,</i>” says Paul to the Corinthians; “<i>because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.</i>” (v. 10).</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Reliance on God moves us from weakness to strength, from agony to ecstasy, from cross to resurrection. It’s a perfect power. On the other side of pain. Our God is an awesome God and His grace is the most powerful thing in the universe! Amen.</span></div>
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</div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-21684354869752436212011-10-16T09:46:00.000-04:002011-10-16T09:46:32.090-04:00Blessed Bivouac<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I preached this sermon on 16 October 2011 at Bethel UMC in Weatherford, TX...</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">EXODUS 33:12-23</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b> </b><i>Moses said to the LORD, “Look, you’ve been telling me, ‘Lead these people forward.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. Yet you’ve assured me, ‘I know you by name and think highly of you.’ Now if you do think highly of me, show me your ways so that I may know you and so that you may really approve of me. Remember too that this nation is your people.”</i></span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> The LORD replied, “I’ll go myself, and I’ll help you.” Moses replied, “If you won’t go yourself, don’t make us leave here. Because how will anyone know that we have your special approval, both I and your people, unless you go with us? Only that distinguishes us, me and your people, from every other people on the earth.” The LORD said to Moses, “I’ll do exactly what you’ve asked because you have my special approval, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glorious presence.” The LORD said, “I’ll make all my goodness pass in front of you, and I’ll proclaim before you the name, ‘The LORD.’ I will be kind to whomever I wish to be kind, and I will have compassion to whomever I wish to be compassionate. But,” the LORD said, “you can’t see my face because no one can see me and live.” The LORD said, “Here is a place near me where you will stand beside the rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I’ll set you in a gap in the rock, and I’ll cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by. Then I’ll take away my hand, and you will see my back, but my face won’t be visible.”</span></i></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anybody here this morning like to go camping (or are all the campers gone this weekend because of the great weather we’re having)? What kind of “campers” are y’all? I have learned that there are different degrees of ‘roughing it” from the hardcore survivalist who only takes a light pack with the bare necessities to those fancy camper people who basically drive or tow an RV that is really just a luxury apartment on wheels and everything in between. The goal in camping is to commune with nature and each other in ways we cannot at home. The Israelites in our text this morning were not on a weekend camping trip, they were traveling through the wilderness for 40 years on their way to the Promised Land. They traveled from one campsite to the next as God lead them. I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t want to spend 40 years “camping,” even if I had a top of the line RV!</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My sermon this morning is titled “Blessed Bivouac.” A bivouac is a temporary encampment. As a verb it means to set up and use a temporary encampment. As a soldier, I have spent a little time in a bivouac, but never more than a couple weeks. During the past year of deployment in Iraq we had more permanent living arrangements called CHUs--containerized housing units. At the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, however, our service members did bivouac until more permanent housing was made available.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In Exodus, the Israelites are bivouacking across the wilderness because of their lack of faith and discipline. God through Moses delivered them from slavery in Egypt with many miraculous signs including the parting of the Red Sea. God’s glorious presence, the shekinah, is with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They are provided with food on a daily basis: manna (God’s MRE) and quail. God provided water from rock. God is with them & yet they grumble, they complain, they don’t trust, they disobey and they disrespect. Just prior to the event we read about a moment ago is the story of theGolden Calf. While Moses is up on the mountain with God receiving instruction, the Israelites get impatient and convince Moses’ brother, Aaron, to make a “god” for them to worship. So Aaron collects some gold jewelry from everyone and fashions it into a golden calf. Total disregard and disrespect for the One true God is the setup for the episode in Exodus 33. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is upset, and rightfully so, one of God’s top 10 rules is “no idols!” However, God is also merciful and completely faithful. Centuries prior to this event God promised Abraham and his descendants he would make them a great nation and give them a land of abundance--the “Promised Land” that flows with milk and honey. Therefore, in 33:1 “The Lord said to Moses, “Go up from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised...” God promises to send an angel ahead of them to drive out the pagan inhabitants, “But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way. When the people heard this troubling word they mourned.” Moses sought assurance from God that God would support the people of Israel in spite of their sins of idolatry when they had worshiped the golden calf. God told Moses to tell the people to continue their journey toward the land that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God promised that an angel would go with them and that obstacles would be removed from their path. However, God said to Moses: "I will not go among you because I might destroy you on the way, for you are a rebellious people." God tells the people He can’t go because if He did His presence would be too much for them--they would be destroyed. God is holy and sin cannot exist in the presence, in the shekinah glory, of God. </span></span></div><div style="color: #232323; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I like Moses because </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">he had the habit of speaking very frankly with God. He didn't worry about being charged with insubordination or about suffering retaliation from God. Furthermore, he had some questions he wanted God to answer.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moses indicated to God that he understood God's instructions. Moses knew that he was to lead the people to the Promised Land. He wanted to know whom God would send if God did not plan to accompany him. God assured Moses that God’s presence, the shekinah glory, would definitely be with him. Moses did not hear God clearly, so he questioned God again: "If you don’t go with us, we aren’t movin’!" Moses was having difficulty understanding God's purpose. He was wondering whether God was planning to forsake the people of Israel.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moses insisted that he needed assurances of God's intent. He wanted God's presence, God's protection, and God's continued leadership of the people of Israel. God responded to Moses' concern very favorably, saying: "The very thing that I have spoken to you I will do; do not worry. You and the people of Israel have again found favor with me."</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moses was delighted with God's reassurance. Then Moses said that he wanted to see the character of God revealed in its fullness. Moses wanted full disclosure from God. God was very patient with Moses and granted his request. God decided to let Moses see God's goodness as an additional way of reassuring him. God had forgiven Israel because of Moses' intercession, and God decided to affirm this through self-revelation. This self-revelation was given as a sign of God's grace and mercy. God wanted to confirm to Moses and the people of Israel that God was merciful as well as righteous.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>However, God warned Moses, "My presence is too much for you to see. No one can see God's face and live." </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does anyone remember the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark?” The archeologist/adventurer, Indiana Jones, goes on an expedition to find the Ark of the Covenant first described in Exodus. He is in a race with Nazis who believe that this ancient artifact will give them ultimate power. At the end of the movie, the Nazi’s have taken the Ark from Indie and one of them opens it. Of course Hollywood took a lot of liberties with the Truth, but that scene helps illustrate what God is talking about in Exodus 33. When the Ark is opened there is a glorious presence released. Unfortunately for the Nazis this presence destroys evil. As the presence sweeps through the valley all the bad guys are reduced to dust. Without the loving grace of God, this is what can happen to sinful people who find themselves in God’s glorious presence. God is awesome. Encountering God’s manifest presence, God’s shekinah glory, is overwhelming. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is what Moses asks to experience when he says, “Show me your glory.” God’s reply is loving and merciful. God agrees to give Moses a peek, but only after the glory has passed by. Moses knew that despite the danger, in God’s presence is the place to be. Yes God is Holy and awesome, but God is also loving and merciful. Moses knew that entering into the presence of God properly brings transformation, not destruction. Entering into the shekinah of God rightly brings healing, wholeness, peace and joy. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In our text this morning God has assured Moses that He knows him by name, which means God knows Moses on a deep, personal level. The people have listened to the reproach for their idolatry and have repented. They even took off the rest of their jewelry. Moses intercedes on their behalf and pleads with God to stay with them as they continue their journey. Moses argues that it is God’s choosing to encamp with them wherever they go that makes them distinctive among the nations. God’s blessed bivouac is what gives them the confidence to continue. Moses says, “If you won’t go yourself, don’t make us leave here. Because how will anyone know that we have your special approval, both I and your people, unless you go with us? Only that distinguishes us, me and your people, from every other people on the earth” (Exodus 33:16). As you read on you will discover that God does indeed go on with his people. As a matter of fact, the point of God’s story is that God desires to commune with His people always.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not only does God bivouac with them, God gave Moses the design for a blessed bivouac called the Tabernacle, and God gifted people with the skills and with the Holy Spirit’s inspiration in order to make the design a reality. The Tabernacle is a huge and elaborate blessed bivouac that God’s chosen people took with them and in which God’s shekinah glory was revealed for a very long time. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This mobile worship center, this blessed bivouac, was a precursor to what God really desires. Take a look at the Gospel of John chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made his home among us. <br />
We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (vss.1 & 14). There it is in verse 14, <i>the Word became flesh and made his home among us...</i>the literal translation of the Greek word translated as “made his home among us” is <i>tabernacled</i>!” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh is a continuation of God’s mission to be with us in blessed bivouac until we can be with God in eternity. “Christ has appeared as the high priest of the good things that have happened. He passed through the greater and more perfect meeting tent, which isn’t made by human hands (that is, it’s not a part of this world). He entered the holy of holies once for all by his own blood, not by the blood of goats or calves, securing our deliverance for all time” (Hebrews 9:12). Jesus marked the end of the season when God’s shekinah glory manifested in a building; first in the blessed bivouac known as the Tabernacle and then the more permanent Temple which was designed like the Tabernacle. Now God is tabernacling with humanity in the person of Jesus. No longer is there a huge structure, whether the tent or the Temple where God’s shekinah only manifested once in a great while. For the 30+ years of Jesus’ earthly life the glory and presence of God was available 24/7/365 wherever Jesus chose to be.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And God doesn’t stop there! As Jesus was preparing to end His ministry on earth, in John chapters 14-16 Jesus tells the disciples about the Cross, the Resurrection and Ascension and the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit! God in Christ in you, the Hope of Glory! (Colossians 1:27). When we are baptized, immediately following the imposition of the the water, the pastor places her or his hands on the person’s head and says something like “The Holy Spirit work within you, that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ” signifying the giving of the Holy Spirit (United Methodist Hymnal. 37.). God, in Jesus showed us how to be blessed bivouacs and then sent His Spirit to make it happen. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul is calling on Christians to live holy and righteous lives when he says, “Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Don’t you know that you have the Holy Spirit from God, and you don’t belong to yourselves? You have been bought and paid for, so honor God with your body.” Individually and corporately our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now the shekinah glory, the full presence of God that used to manifest in the holy of holies in the Tabernacle and Temple and then in the person of Jesus the Christ is in each and every follower of Jesus 24/7/365 wherever we are and there are over a billion of us alive today!</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Devil thought he won on that Friday over 2000 years ago, but he was so wrong! Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for sin once and for all! The sin that made it impossible for people to safely enter into the fullness of God’s presence, the sin that separated us from God, the sin that broke the Holy and intimate relationship with God and each other for which we created was wiped away, cleansed by the blood lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ. Not only did Jesus pay the price for us by His death, he gave us hope in His resurrection. All that our enemy, the devil tried to do to keep humanity from experiencing the joy, peace and power found in God’s glory was made nothing in those great 3 days,Hallelujah! We are reconciled. We are blessed bivouacs, and as the Body of Christ, the Church, we are <i>the </i>Blessed Bivouac. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We can be assured of God’s presence, we can catch glimpses of the shekinah glory today. We can grab our pack and go on an adventure with God. Yes, God is everywhere, but sometimes he is more present, or a better way to think of it is that we have times where we are more aware of our omnipresent God. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Think about your last Bible study, youth group, worship service, or staff meeting. Did you earnestly pray for God to show up or did you just take for granted that he’d be there? (“He’s God. He’s everywhere!”) Sometimes it takes determination to move beyond the idea of the omnipresence of God so we can experience his special presence [God’s blessed bivouac]. It’s the point where we go from casually inviting God to be with us to being desperate for him to show up” (Shane Raynor. <a href="http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/blog/entry/1880/degrees-of-gods-presence"><span style="color: #0225a3; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/blog/entry/1880/degrees-of-gods-presence</span></a> ).</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Every day seek God’s glorious presence. Strive to bivouac with God. As we do so, we prepare ourselves for an even greater awakening to God’s glorious presence when we gather together with other blessed bivouackers, which will make our gatherings attractive to the lost wanderers among us. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 18.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0Weatherford, TX, USA32.7592955 -97.79725439999998632.708495 -97.888516399999986 32.810096 -97.705992399999985tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-48252801217816283852010-10-03T15:33:00.000-04:002010-10-03T15:33:05.194-04:00When God Shows Up His People Reach Up:True Christian WorshipI was gone for a week recently for a class. When I came home, I didn't even make it in the door before my kids were greeting me with hugs & kisses. Our youngest, Gabriel, is not quite 2 yet and when I opened the door he yelled, "Daddy!" as loud as he could as he ran to me with his arms reaching up for me to pick him up so he could give me a hug. That is an awesome feeling. That is the kind of response God deserves and desires. That is True Christian Worship, and Worship is what we are created to do. When God shows up His people reach up.<br />
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I am so blessed to gather with you and to have the privilege of sharing the message with you this evening. We are diving into some treacherous waters…When God Shows Up His People Reach Up. Tonight, I am teaching on True Christian Worship, and if I told you I wasn't a little nervous about broaching this topic I would be lying. So, I asked some friends, "What is True Christian Worship?" And I got a lot of safe answers, what I call "Sunday School answers." Maybe you are wondering what the big deal is, why is the chaplain so afraid of the topic of worship? Have you ever heard the term, worship wars? People leave churches over the topic, churches split over the topic. I have been told by very sincere people that if I allow drums in the sanctuary, they won't be back. I have also been told that if I require a gathering to participate in a responsive reading, or if I write out my prayers, then I am blocking the Holy Spirit. When I was in seminary we devoted a week of chapel services to the topic of traditional versus contemporary worship. This is a big deal. It should be a big deal. We are talking about rendering worship to the One, True God. <br />
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John chapter 4 records a worship debate between Jesus and a woman of questionable morals. First, the back-story; Jesus & His disciples are traveling & have turned back toward Galilee. The shortest route is through Samaria, which just happens to be full of Samaritans who are kinda like second cousins to the Jews. Jews & Samaritans don't like each other. As Jesus & the disciples are passing through a Samaritan town, the disciples go on ahead to find some food, while Jesus waits beside Jacob's Well where He has this encounter with the woman and tells her her life story. So let's pick up the story at John 4:19-26…[NEXT SLIDE] So, as you can see, debating about the details involved with True Christian Worship is not a new phenomenon. So, what is worship?<br />
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I hate to be negative, but sometimes when we try and define concepts as elusive as worship, it is helpful to start by listing some of the things it is not…<br />
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True Christian Worship is not:<br />
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• MUSIC: traditional "hymns" and/or contemporary worship songs are only 2 examples of using music. The Book of Psalms is the original praise and worship collection. What about the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Handle just to name a few? I read somewhere that all music is worship music, the problem is too much music focuses on subjects less than worthy of praise.<br />
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• STYLE: Closely related to music is the style of the worship service- the old traditional vs. contemporary debate. There are other "styles" as well—the Friends Gathering where the worshippers gather in near silence prayerfully waiting for the Holy Spirit to prompt some of them to share, an Orthodox vespers gathering on Saturday night to prayerfully prepare one's heart to celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday morning, a mega-church praise gathering with a professional band video clips theatre lighting and even fog machines, a house church gathering with one guitar to help accompany singing, a non-instrumental Church of Christ gathering, a charismatic service where many worshippers are manifesting some of the gifts of the Spirit like speaking in Tongues, Prophesy & healing. I could go on and on and on, but you get the picture. In the debate during chapel service at ATS, Dr. Demaray was chosen to speak on behalf of "traditional" worship. Long story short, he had nothing negative to say about either contemporary or traditional worship, but remarked that both words described style of worship, not worship. That both styles are merely different approaches to the same God. In response to the charge that traditional liturgy is just vain repetition; Dr. Demeray replied that if a liturgy seems dead the problem is not with the liturgy, but with the heart of the liturgist.<br />
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• A PLACE: This is what the woman at the well tried to debate with Jesus—we worship on this mountain, but you Jews worship in Jerusalem… The ancient Celts spoke about "thin places" where the boundary between the material & spiritual worlds are easier to pass through. Thousands of people go to the Holy Land each year and have profound spiritual experiences. Some places have spiritual significance for us, but we give them that significance. Remember, "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof…" I heard UM missionary to Israel, Alex Awad (a Palestinian) speak @ TWU about the tension in Jerusalem. He said we fight over dirt, but the Kingdom of God is not made of dirt, it is built in the heart of believers.<br />
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• A PERFORMANCE FOR THE CONGREGATION: Worship is not a spectator sport. Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish theologian in the nineteenth century. He identified the problem with worship in his time and in our time as well. He indicated that in a worship service, we (humans) tend to consider that we are the audience, (2) God is the Prompter, and the worship leaders are the actors. Kierkegaard suggested that the true experience of worship is this: God is the Audience; the people in the congregation are the “actors,” who are responsible for engaging in the act of worship; and the worship leaders are the prompters. <br />
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• A SERMON: I believe that proclaiming God's Word through a sermon is very important (if I didn't, I wouldn't be in this line of work!), but a sermon is not the sum total of worship.<br />
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• RITUAL AND LITURGY: Ritual and liturgy apart from the Holy Spirit are useless at best and idolatry at worst. Like my professor said, the power of liturgy lies in the hearts of liturgists. I appreciate both liturgical & non-liturgical forms of worship. When I am leading or participating in liturgical worship, I imagine all the other worshippers around the world and throughout the history of the Church who use the same liturgy and I feel connected. Whenever we say "Jesus is Lord!" we are reciting the very first creed. <br />
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Richard Foster in his book Streams of Living Water says; "All of us are liturgical. That is to say, we all use material and human 'forms' to express our worship of God...We all have a choice of liturgy, but we do not have a choice of whether to use liturgy. As long as we are finite human beings, we must use liturgy; we must express ourselves through forms of worship. Liturgy, liturgia, simply means 'the people's work.' Our task in liturgy is to glorify God in the various aspects of our worship life. We are to let the reality of God shine through the human or physical forms. This is true whether we are singing hymns or burning candles, dancing in ecstatic praise or bowing in speechless adoration." <br />
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Regardless of our personal worship style, our goal needs to be magnifying God with all our heart.<br />
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• EMOTIONALISM: There are times when the result of true Christian worship is powerful and emotional. There are times when we come to the well of worship completely dry and God fills us to overflowing. However, whether or not you have an emotional response is not the measure of worship authenticity. God is no less active when we don't "feel" it. When we experience these times it is good to ask why. Perhaps it is a time of growth. If so, praise God that He not only trusts you to survive this "dry time," but wants to help you thrive because of it.<br />
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• RAISING YOUR HANDS: There is no one, correct posture for worship. As long as we focus on exalting God whether our hands are raised or we lie flat on the floor or anywhere in between is the correct posture if it is where the Spirit is leading you. I am guilty of feeling prompted by the Holy Spirit to lift my hands and choosing not to because I didn't want to be embarrassed. We must guard against trying to prescribe one particular posture for worship as the posture because God doesn't work that way. The posture is not what is important, it is the worship. It is the inclination of your heart reaching up to God. We must also guard against worrying what other people think, because most of the time… they aren't…<br />
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• ABOUT YOU: Everything else I just said is an attempt to make this point abundantly clear.<br />
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All of these are means to the end of True Christian Worship. True Christian worship means we ascribe ultimate value to God and behave accordingly. God, and only God, is worthy of our worship. After fasting for 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus is tempted by Satan. Jesus met each temptation with God's Holy Word. On the third & final attempt, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms on the earth if Jesus will only bow down & worship Satan. Jesus replies, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'" (Matthew 4:10).<br />
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Someone once said, "Corporate worship is meaningless if not powerless unless proceeded by six days of private worship." I have to confess, I am tired of hearing how this or that worship service didn't feed somebody. I know it happens, but as I said before, if you don't get anything out of a worship service, you should ask why. I already mentioned God trusting you to grow in the midst of His perceived absence, but there are other possibilities. Using their metaphor against them I want to ask, "when was the last time you ate?" If we consistently go for six days without food and water, one meal every seventh day cannot provide all the nutrients our bodies need. The same is true for soul nourishment. Perhaps we don't feel fed because we are so spiritually mal-nourished. We need to take time daily with God, period. But we also need to gather with other Christians for complete spiritual fitness. The what's in it for me, consumerist attitude that is more concerned with what the individual gets out of a worship service is disappointing, but it is a reality. Those of us who have been at this Christian thing for a while should be prepared to worship when we gather. This is not always possible because life happens, but that is the ideal we strive for—being spiritually prepared to render authentic worship to God because worship is our lifestyle. As we become more and more successful at this. As we arrive at our gatherings full of the blessings of God instead of spiritually starved, those just outside the faith who visit our worship gatherings will have better opportunity to experience the risen Christ in and through us. Hebrews 10:19-25 describes the importance of gathering for worship; [NEXT SLIDE] Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. <br />
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Worship is a heart matter, which is what the praise song, "The Heart of Worship" is all about. The pastor of the church where the song writer, Matt Redmund, lead worship realized that they had become prideful about their worship music program, so he said no Matt Redmund & no praise band until we get back to the heart of worship—Jesus.<br />
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Jesus promised in Matthew 18:20—Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Reaching up means focusing all we have & all we are on glorifying & blessing the God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…God showed up 2000 years ago in Jesus, God is present in Jesus now whenever Christians gather in His name. God is here. Reach up and bless His Holy Name. Amen.Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-29596733869345195642010-08-20T08:12:00.002-04:002010-08-20T08:12:53.589-04:00Check Out Small Group.com's New DigizineIf you lead a small group, Bible study or Sunday School class this is a gold mine!<br />
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<a href="http://christianitytoday.imirus.com/Mpowered/imirus.jsp?volume=smgr10&issue=1&page=1">http://christianitytoday.imirus.com/Mpowered/imirus.jsp?volume=smgr10&issue=1&page=1</a>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-61955581875475212102009-12-10T13:00:00.000-05:002009-12-10T13:00:14.403-05:00A Letter From Jesus<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9WpKagY3Vj9H3HSUZ0tsH9hQ3n3PSqsIDm-dLOeh3JmcI_nGOirBMfLZvYrP4_MjfZPKh-z56sIBw4C8UV4woupULj9XP4-GZo5aJUf0wfxBV0xoSI48LVqdeDhx3hYAH6W-/s1600-h/JesusHug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9WpKagY3Vj9H3HSUZ0tsH9hQ3n3PSqsIDm-dLOeh3JmcI_nGOirBMfLZvYrP4_MjfZPKh-z56sIBw4C8UV4woupULj9XP4-GZo5aJUf0wfxBV0xoSI48LVqdeDhx3hYAH6W-/s200/JesusHug.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>A friend sent this to me in an email. It is one of the best Jesus SPAMS I have ever received!<br />
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It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.<br />
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Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.<br />
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Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.<br />
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If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:<br />
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1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home...They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.<br />
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2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them. <br />
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3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.<br />
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4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.<br />
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5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her. <br />
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6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference. <br />
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7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families. <br />
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8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name. <br />
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9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.<br />
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10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine. <br />
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Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember.<br />
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I LOVE YOU,<br />
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JESUS<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB-_U6AG_c-lDLV_i75OWlIu28wZ2kCzQX35omJ7jjL9jZtW05qEBN238OSwoo2C3rzJn1mBVLbGDDFyhRtD3g_qe8SWGmO_e2odJ8OHLumjJU6OfzNYFHd0wkGd7-XVUpDlB/s1600-h/JesusNeedsYou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB-_U6AG_c-lDLV_i75OWlIu28wZ2kCzQX35omJ7jjL9jZtW05qEBN238OSwoo2C3rzJn1mBVLbGDDFyhRtD3g_qe8SWGmO_e2odJ8OHLumjJU6OfzNYFHd0wkGd7-XVUpDlB/s200/JesusNeedsYou.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-88462573684797671312009-10-10T12:06:00.001-04:002009-10-10T13:48:02.842-04:00Are You Walking?<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXh7cU5w7mKtL6ORrdOnVQ4Z6It_UrTg95BM6mSIEVTsd3VZ9PJgLELGpSNxTgiAI2Zp64k484UdEJNJrHgVi3SOH1hkpZK-ZD-7tuh8Lne6QtvcqPMgX32qKw6ISzHvyvKC9/s1600-h/eagle_3979c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXh7cU5w7mKtL6ORrdOnVQ4Z6It_UrTg95BM6mSIEVTsd3VZ9PJgLELGpSNxTgiAI2Zp64k484UdEJNJrHgVi3SOH1hkpZK-ZD-7tuh8Lne6QtvcqPMgX32qKw6ISzHvyvKC9/s320/eagle_3979c.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Do you have confidence that God’s story can change lives? How many of you believe that the message in the Bible about Jesus' birth, life, death & resurrection is good news? Some say it is the "Greatest Story Ever Told!" Unfortunately, for most Christians it has become the greatest story never told! <br />
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Last week we wrapped up a 4-week focus on evangelism with our Just Walk Across the Room campaign. I am encouraged by the before/after (Holy Spirit transformation) stories that I have received from some of you. If you are still struggling to get a story in 100 words or less, then keep trying. This is a very important practice. Not only will it provide you with a clear and concise way to tell your with-God story, but it is always encouraging to reflect on the great things God has done for you.<br />
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Here's my story in 44 words...I was a self-centered, angry, insecure little boy in a grown-up body. I would blow up at the slightest provocation and got in fights all the time. Then, I rededicated my life to Jesus and He filled my life with love, acceptance and peace.<br />
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O.K. you have practiced God's story & your with-God story, now you need some "Walk Across the Room" opportunities. Here are some suggestions...<br />
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1. Come hang out during rec. basketball having “walking across the room” conversations with the parents who are waiting for the children. Offer bottled water? Etc.<br />
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2. Sponsor a simple dinner (take out pizza?) for the parents of the Kid’s Choir before the performance on December 12th with the intentional focus of mixing with the parents, learning their stories, etc. The dinner needs to be simple because the room will be set up for the performance and little room for tables, and we don't want to be tied up making and serving the food—we want to eat with them.<br />
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3. Come to Grandma's Kitchen and intentionally sit with people who are not members of HUMC in order to learn their stories.<br />
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4. Sponsor a clubhouse Family Dinner and/or game night—inviting Clubhouse kids and parents for an afternoon of fun, food, games.<br />
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5. Be a part of UnPlugg at the Brickhouse the first 3 Tuesday evenings in November & December. Help me make the people who come feel welcome and loved.<br />
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I am sure there are many more opportunities, but these are a few opportunities to enter the Zone of the Unknown and introduce people to the extravant love of God.<br />
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Blessings & Hope,<br />
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RevKevRev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-42884506712334689632009-07-07T13:21:00.004-04:002009-07-07T14:06:51.343-04:00Keep Making Right Turns<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgluqa1f6XClgHRDPm6jg7ThLnI_pypJkg6FFAxVQ5GBK8DVjxBU4NfrWCGl1gioYY5d9O6Z_3M2ABF27ySVQeWN6SLDmfYbkHwMwhPzOp-tvvvKZpmHRVPoK2-4yHbyDsvXP/s1600-h/Slide1.GIF"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 159px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355781226182793778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgluqa1f6XClgHRDPm6jg7ThLnI_pypJkg6FFAxVQ5GBK8DVjxBU4NfrWCGl1gioYY5d9O6Z_3M2ABF27ySVQeWN6SLDmfYbkHwMwhPzOp-tvvvKZpmHRVPoK2-4yHbyDsvXP/s320/Slide1.GIF" /></a><br /><div>I overslept today, but I knew I couldn't skip my run because next week I will be at the United States Army Chaplain Center & School on Ft. Jackson, SC. I do not want to be away from my family nor my church family for 6 weeks, but this is part of God's call on my life. I am so blessed to have a family that loves & supports me, and a church family that supports me in this ministry with the men and women of our Ohio Army National Guard.<br /><br />It may not seem ideal to share your pastor with soldiers, but I believe we are in a win-win situation. God called me to be a United Methodist pastor and a chaplain in the Army National Guard. I have many opportunities through the Army for continuing education, and being with my soldiers helps me overcome my shyness. Besides, when we run away from God's call, things tend to get messy--just ask Jonah! I tried to run from the call to be a chaplain for almost 10 years, but God made it clear that this ministry is part of His dream for me in addition to serving as your pastor. Therefore, if I were not a chaplain, I would not be fulfilling all of God's call and as I have already said--running from God tends to get messy.<br /><br />I was thinking about all this as I was running at about 9 am (instead of 6:30 am as I had planned--it is much warmer at 0900 verses 0630!). I was deep in thought as I ran and I didn't pay too much attention to where I was going. Long story short, I found myself on a road I have never been on. I had a general idea where I was so I kept going and when the opportunity presented itself, I turned right. Because of my late start the sun was wearing me down a bit and there were times I was running uphill, but there were also times when there was plenty of shade, a cool breeze and the path even led downhill! Eventually, after a couple more right turns I had come full circle, I made it home.<br /><br />In our life with God sometimes for whatever reason, we get going in a direction that takes us away from God & God's dream & purpose for us. When that happens, things tend to get messy, the heat can be oppressive, we may feel like we are trying to run up a very steep hill. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and<strong> turn</strong> from their wicked ways (A.K.A. <em>repent</em>), I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." Thankfully, just like my run this morning, when we find ourselves "off track," God only asks that we make "right turns" to get back into His presence where there is blessing, healing, joy & peace. Sometimes it will be difficult, sometimes God will raise us up on eagle's wings, all the time we need to keep pressing on! Keep making "right turns" and experience the joy of the abundant life in Jesus Christ.</div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-32421880735897858962008-12-24T13:15:00.005-05:002008-12-26T12:01:43.828-05:00Merry Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zCKx4O15CnkmUGd0f8hif_bZbFWkz8uUcZVFxfxsjaN6U7s6L2Web4dlGeCfJJz_j1QJgrMivvidICfdEAlReJk6syQzbWN_CHDjCD5OW54H8EfdLafNifUPQU5ijUA2crAo/s1600-h/A-Christmas-Story-movie-01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283422716799489458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zCKx4O15CnkmUGd0f8hif_bZbFWkz8uUcZVFxfxsjaN6U7s6L2Web4dlGeCfJJz_j1QJgrMivvidICfdEAlReJk6syQzbWN_CHDjCD5OW54H8EfdLafNifUPQU5ijUA2crAo/s320/A-Christmas-Story-movie-01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Today is December 24 2008. I am sitting on the couch at my mom's house--the house I grew up in. We are so blessed to be home for Christmas this year. I wish the circumstances that allowed us to be here were better, but we are here nonetheless. 2008 was a rough year, but it is almost over! Even better, tonight we will gather at Light of the World United Methodist Church to celebrate Emmanuel--God with Us. It is important to be with family on Christmas, when possible. It is good to give gifts, when possible. But there is more and I am sorry if this seems kind of "bah-humbuggy," I am discouraged by what I see. Being with family & giving & receiving gifts are ways to celebrate because they can bring joy. However, what I notice more often than not, is that these traditions bring stress and the burden of debt and disappointment.<br /><br />Okay, enough of that, sorry. As I said above, there is more, so much more. Christmas is a time to celebrate the Kenosis (emptying of self) of the Second Person of the Trinity that the Apostle Paul described in chapter 2 of his letter to the church at Philipi:<br /><br /><em>1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.<br />5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:<br />6Who, being in very nature[a] God,<br />did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,<br />7but made himself nothing,<br />taking the very nature[b] of a servant,<br />being made in human likeness.<br />8And being found in appearance as a man,<br />he humbled himself<br />and became obedient to death—<br />even death on a cross!<br />9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place<br />and gave him the name that is above every name,<br />10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,<br />in heaven and on earth and under the earth,<br />11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,<br />to the glory of God the Father.</em><br /><br />**Christmas is about giving, but not a Red Rider BB Gun or Nintendo Wii, it's about giving of me. God Bless! RevKev <{{{><Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-77706826216036397582008-11-03T08:48:00.003-05:002008-11-03T08:56:45.895-05:00Hope Is A House Not Built With Hands<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dGkAHBQ8gyjCdrIZPldHppPyq6I4FJXofdF5T5oM9EE1DUbzvA4vwpbAWxfMtMZ9zg4W7KszZ1bNF9hYrMB9LklZeDXDJj5SS8h3gJEiriAKySEBYjkmfK5hXs_b-K3b22zN/s1600-h/hope_1764c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dGkAHBQ8gyjCdrIZPldHppPyq6I4FJXofdF5T5oM9EE1DUbzvA4vwpbAWxfMtMZ9zg4W7KszZ1bNF9hYrMB9LklZeDXDJj5SS8h3gJEiriAKySEBYjkmfK5hXs_b-K3b22zN/s320/hope_1764c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264429583861259458" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CGORDON%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h1 {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:1; font-size:24.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:center 3.0in right 6.0in; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} pre {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.5in .5in .5in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><b><span style=";font-size:16;color:black;" > </span></b><span style=";font-size:14;color:black;" >Rev 7:9-17; 2 Cor 5:1-7<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>Today is All Saints Sunday. All Saints Day is the day after Halloween, and it is a day on which Christ's people remember those who have gone before them in the faith and who now have found happiness in the eternal kingdom promised to us by God.
<br /><span style=""> </span>All Saints Day is a day on which we remember special people, people who now dwell with God in the “house not made with hands, people whom the scriptures and the church call saints.
<br /><span style=""> </span>Today is bittersweet. Today we honor those in our church family who are now celebrating the kind of worship John tried so hard to describe in the reading from Revelation chapter 7. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>In this glimpse of heaven there is a multitude that no one can count, a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language on earth, and this multitude stands before the throne of God and before the lamb, and loudly proclaims God's praise, saying: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (vs. 10).<span style=""> </span>And we also see clustered around the throne of God the elders and the angels and the four creatures of God, and they, like the multitude, praise God saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen" (vs. 12)
<br /><span style=""> </span>We see as well in this glimpse into heaven that the eternal life is not only a life of exuberant praise.<span style=""> </span>We see that there, next to God, there is neither hunger,
<br />or thirst, or scorching heat, or pain any more - and that God personally wipes the tears from the saint's eyes, the tears that they shed here in this life, and that while God soothes them, the Lamb - our Lord Jesus, leads them to the springs of living water, the springs of joy and goodness evermore.<span style=""> </span>In heaven there is no suffering, nor death, nor grief; all that has passed away, a new reality has come, a new life has come, a glorious life...It is a life in which there is peace, and joy and praise; a life in which there is ecstasy and excitement, love and tenderness, serenity and exhilaration.<span style=""> </span>It is a life lived in a setting that is often described as golden, as full of light and beauty, a setting which defies earthly imagination, and so is described in terms of wealth and abundance, in terms of jewels and fruit, and greenery, in terms of all the things that a person here on earth could ever want.<span style=""> </span>
<br /><span style=""> </span>We also learn from John that this life to which our faith points is for those who have tried to be faithful to God, those who have given of themselves in love, those who have named the name that is above every name.... <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" >My friends, no one, not even John, can really tell us just how wonderful heaven is, and certainly no one can tell us just where it is, and exactly what it feels like and looks like, but also my friends, no one can tell me, and no one should ever tell you, that it does not exist.<span style=""> </span>The saints are there, the saints we remember this day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>Today, as we remember those saints who have just entered Glory in the past year, it is hard.<span style=""> </span>It is especially hard for those closest to these dear members of our church family.<span style=""> </span>Those are the people I thought of as I prayed about what to share today.<span style=""> </span>All Saints Day is a high holy day on the Christian calendar.<span style=""> </span>It is good to acknowledge and honor these saints, but saying goodbye to loved ones is hard.<span style=""> </span>Even for us.<span style=""> </span>Even for Christians.<span style=""> </span>Sometimes when we grieve well-meaning people say some really goofy things.<span style=""> </span>Forgive them.<span style=""> </span>They love you, that’s why they say those things.<span style=""> </span>Things like “it’s ok,” and “don’t cry, he’s in a better place,” “ “God needed another flower for His garden…”<span style=""> </span>or “everything happens for a reason…”<span style=""> </span>Those things may be true, but does it really help to hear them when we are in the midst of the initial shock and grief of losing someone?<span style=""> </span>Usually not.<span style=""> </span>Everyone grieves.<span style=""> </span>Believers & non-believers alike—believers are different because there is hope in the midst of grief and pain and loss.<span style=""> </span>Hope is house not made with hands.<span style=""> </span>The psalmist says, <i style="">Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning</i> (Psalm 30:5).<span style=""> </span>But how do we get through this “dark night of the soul?”<span style=""> </span>As Christians we have resources the world does not.<span style=""> </span>We have hope and hope is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.<span style=""> </span>Jesus Christ is the source of hope.<span style=""> </span>Listen to what Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians: <i style="">But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.<span style=""> </span>For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.<span style=""> </span>For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.<span style=""> </span>For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.<span style=""> </span>Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words</i> (4:13-18).<span style=""> </span>What a glorious hope.<span style=""> </span>Our Lord, our Savior the same one who gave us the Holy Spirit as another comforter and teacher while we wait for the consummation of history, when we will feast at the heavenly banquet—the bridal feast of the King of Kings with His Bride the Church.<span style=""> </span>Every time we worship we get a glimpse of heavenly worship.<span style=""> </span>Every time we pray, we join the elders seated around the Throne of God offering up incense.<span style=""> </span>Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we get an opportunity to increase our appetite for the things of God.<span style=""> </span>True and lasting hope comes from having our burdens lifted, from knowing that no matter how dark things get Jesus the Light of the World is with us.<span style=""> </span>Do you have this knowledge?<span style=""> </span>Do you have this hope?<span style=""> </span>It comes from Jesus who said, <i style="">You are my friends if you do what I command you.<span style=""> </span>I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father </i>(John 15:14-15).<span style=""> </span>Friend…the Son of God, the 2<sup>nd</sup> person of the Trinity wants to be your friend!<span style=""> </span>The hymn writer, Joseph M. Scriven, wrote about what kind of friend we have in Jesus…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 1in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;font-size:16;color:black;" >1.<span style=""> </span>What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 1in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;font-size:16;color:black;" >2. Have we trials and temptations? <span style=""> </span>Is there trouble anywhere? <span style=""> </span>We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 1in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;font-size:16;color:black;" >Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? <span style=""> </span>Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 1in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;font-size:16;color:black;" >3. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? <span style=""> </span>Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer. <span style=""> </span>Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? <span style=""> </span>Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>When we are grieving, it seems devastating.<span style=""> </span>It seems like the whole world is upside-down.<span style=""> </span>The hymn writer reminds us to carry everything to our friend Jesus in prayer.<span style=""> </span>But how do we pray when life suddenly changes?<span style=""> </span>How can we pray when life doesn’t make sense?<span style=""> </span>Dr. Steven Harper of Asbury Theological Seminary wrote a book about it called <u>Talking in the Dark.</u><span style=""> </span>In it Dr. Harper shared some lessons he learned from a woman in his congregation named Joy who was dying of cancer.<span style=""> </span>He met Joy early in his ministry as a United Methodist Pastor.<span style=""> </span>She was a cancer survivor when he met her as the new pastor at her church, but before his first year was finished the cancer returned with a vengeance.<span style=""> </span>Through journeying with Joy he learned: 1) “we pray in response to stored up resources,” 2) if we are receptive to God’s presence in the midst of trials we will be able to “welcome fresh waves of grace into this new reality” of our lives, 3) spending time with God<span style=""> </span>gives us an “understanding of God’s comfort” that will enable us “to find blessings, and 4) prayer can take us “to the place where we are healed of the need to be healed.”<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>I want to expound on those 4 ideas quickly…First, “we pray in response to stored up resources” means that “we do not <i style="">get grace</i> so much as we live in grace over the long haul.”<span style=""> </span>God’s well of grace is deep.<span style=""> </span>Dr. Harper says, “Don’t wait for change to occur.<span style=""> </span>If you haven’t done so, begin now to dig the well that leads to God’s living water, so that when your change happens, your can draw from resources that are already present.”<span style=""> </span>“O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry <u>everything</u> to God in prayer.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>Second, being receptive to God’s presence in the midst of trials we will be able to “welcome fresh waves of grace.”<span style=""> </span>Julian of Norwich said: [God] did not say, ‘You will not be tempted, you will not be distressed.’<span style=""> </span>But [God] said: ‘You will not be overcome.’”<span style=""> </span>Access to God’s presence does not require a lot of effort—we don’t need to be pushy, just receptive.<span style=""> </span>With practice we learn to stop asking “why” in the midst of trials and start asking “how.”<span style=""> </span>Asking, “How is God going to carry me through this,” quietly emphasizes our trust in God even when life doesn’t make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>Third, spending time with God gives us an “understanding of God’s comfort” that will enable us “to find blessings.”<span style=""> </span>I think this is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).<span style=""> </span>God is not purposing our suffering, but if we will be receptive to God’s transforming presence in the midst of our suffering, God will redeem and transform the situation.<span style=""> </span>C.S. Lewis said: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”<span style=""> </span>Sometimes we don’t take time to listen to God’s still small voice until we suffer something heartbreaking.<span style=""> </span>Joy’s cancer was not her friend, but the disease brought her many visits and numerous cards, flowers, and phone calls that she cherished.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 1in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;font-size:16;color:black;" >Something happens when life changes suddenly.<span style=""> </span>Life looks different than it used to.<span style=""> </span>Values change; conversations change; perspectives shift.<span style=""> </span>We use our time differently.<span style=""> </span>People become more precious to us than possessions.<span style=""> </span>Ordinary moments become charged with significance and with the <b style="">energy of eternity</b>.<span style=""> </span>Prayer weaves its way into this tapestry, creating moments of reflection and gratitude.<span style=""> </span>Prayer becomes a spiritual Velcro to which other things stick.<span style=""> </span>What seems to be loss on one level gets transformed into gain on another level.<span style=""> </span>Prayer enables us to see every moment as a gift and as an occasion to cherish (pg. 84).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Finally, prayer can take us “to the place where we are healed of the need to be healed.”<span style=""> </span>We do not have to have health restored in order to have hope.<span style=""> </span>We do not have to cling desperately to life in this world when we see life in this world in relationship to the House not made with hands.<span style=""> </span>This life is not all there is.<span style=""> </span>More awaits us, and prayer makes it possible for us to catch a glimpse of eternal life.<span style=""> </span>Prayer becomes a means of grace that enables us to loosen our hold on time so that we can put our hands on eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>One of the most powerful forces in the universe is hope and hope is a house not made with hands.<span style=""> </span>Today we honor our loved ones who have gone on to glory.<span style=""> </span>My prayer is that as we worship together and celebrate the Lord’s supper we will be receptive to the grace and presence of God.<span style=""> </span>My prayer is that this will be more than routine, more than ritual.<span style=""> </span>My heart cries out to God for us to be aware of the worship going on in heaven and that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and with hope that we carry with us to a world that does not know how to find the hope we have.<span style=""> </span>What a friend we have in Jesus.<span style=""> </span>He built us a house called hope.<span style=""> </span>Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;color:black;" ><span style=""> </span>“When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.” Charles L. Allen<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <pre style="line-height: 200%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 200%;font-family:";font-size:16;color:black;" >BENEDICTION:<o:p></o:p></span></b></pre><pre><span style=";font-family:";font-size:16;color:black;" >Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. <o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="text-align: right;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:16;color:black;" >(Romans 12:12)<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-family:";font-size:16;color:black;" >
<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></span><span style="line-height: 200%;font-family:";font-size:16;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></pre> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%;font-size:16;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-67622918937329242762008-09-15T13:18:00.009-04:002008-09-15T15:39:48.212-04:00Gustav Victor<div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3owJHDqF0djX6DtpqcWmB8UiP3MIOB46VtfUeXxefaRY5tbEgc-CAdwI3yv3axvfCIDAetYJ5NIoC_5kTnz4roUbZYr7bxD7xWpqRxzz1zvPXTtewjf9aVrNxj4YTg1hyzfLd/s1600-h/DSC04251.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246304103415883954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3owJHDqF0djX6DtpqcWmB8UiP3MIOB46VtfUeXxefaRY5tbEgc-CAdwI3yv3axvfCIDAetYJ5NIoC_5kTnz4roUbZYr7bxD7xWpqRxzz1zvPXTtewjf9aVrNxj4YTg1hyzfLd/s320/DSC04251.JPG" width="298" height="201" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">I am writing from the Gymnasium at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, LA. I left Ohio Friday, September 5, 2008. I am here as the BN Chaplain for Task Force Bulldog, which consists of Engineer battalions, a transportation battalion, a maintenance company, a medical attachment, and me from the Ohio Army National Guard. We were mobilized to provide relief in the aftermath of hurricane Gustav. As of Saturday, September 13 we completed 33 missions, moved 3365 cubic yards of debris and cleared over 7 miles of road. Also, We had soldiers helping at food/water distribution stations. Our task force slept at Woodlawn HS and Scotlandville HS. I have counseled with many soldiers, did what I could to keep up morale (mostly by acting silly), and gave an inspirational thought for the day every evening in the commander's update briefing. Sunday evening I led a short worship service with almost 50 people in attendence. </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"> As I traveled from work site to work site to visit soldiers and pitch in where I could, people went out of their way to say "thank you" to us for being here. The biggest thank you we received was a dinner prepared by the men's group from Most Holy Sacrament Catholic Church. They made jambalaya, beans, and gator stew. There were lots of kids including a girl scout troop passing out desserts and drinks, and the girl scouts sang a song for us. </span></div><br /><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="left"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyXIrYi0zSnZeH_1lBhF5bDym-ENISvnpH2ALtYH9ach-D1ESpejKdfAcLcwEJXsl2JBEg-om3Y8fU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7sQPjzS0ZR-xCMw2fr_uSh5_fZ5y9IuH6jGh9ROsM1EHjtktO4tm6mBaIdx5RWKTKoArJVf0C_ORKI-L08-eOpzvREMug9LKEqSVKt2fj12_OiX7caQk_R-5TTJ6TLvjX96t/s1600-h/DSC04157.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246312295380095490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7sQPjzS0ZR-xCMw2fr_uSh5_fZ5y9IuH6jGh9ROsM1EHjtktO4tm6mBaIdx5RWKTKoArJVf0C_ORKI-L08-eOpzvREMug9LKEqSVKt2fj12_OiX7caQk_R-5TTJ6TLvjX96t/s320/DSC04157.JPG" width="254" height="199" /></a></p><br /><div><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">All in all this was a positive experience. I truly felt like a chaplain. I felt like I was fulfilling the call to minister to soldiers. I made some good friends, and learned alot about msylf, but Icant wait to get home</span>!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">Blessings & Peace,</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">RevKev </span></div></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-74748308336949733992008-02-13T23:18:00.003-05:002008-02-13T23:35:33.120-05:00Who Am I. or My Pastoral Identity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixB7K-kikcjKzPO_pha5XOcV0UfAn-8MgPWrSPgNtYXE16chts7mGkJqpVHnrO9RjkzNkKjF6fXiM-vpS_GQFBuEWFaDCNEsXUeMWkNMDD7sNFxiMOwNpWOPw1upzn42-aVHrZ/s1600-h/sermonsuprize.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166689705076936226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixB7K-kikcjKzPO_pha5XOcV0UfAn-8MgPWrSPgNtYXE16chts7mGkJqpVHnrO9RjkzNkKjF6fXiM-vpS_GQFBuEWFaDCNEsXUeMWkNMDD7sNFxiMOwNpWOPw1upzn42-aVHrZ/s320/sermonsuprize.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong></strong></div><br /><div><strong>My Call </strong></div><br /><div>I first experienced a call to ministry the year I went through a class with our pastor much like confirmation (although we didn't call it that). At the end of our six-week study of the basic doctrine and history of the Christian faith in general and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in particular we were offered an opportunity to make a public profession of faith and become full members of the church. A few months later that year at summer camp I felt the first twinge of the call to ministry. I was 12 years old. Twelve years later I began the journey toward ordination in the United Methodist Church that has brought to the point where I am today. I am a probationary member (Elder) of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church working full-time as Associate Pastor at Belmont United Methodist Church in Dayton , and I am a fully endorsed chaplain serving in Army National Guard. The first experience of the call as mentioned above was an almost audible voice telling me I was to preach. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>After some time ignoring the call to ministry (and the call to Christian living for that matter), I turned my heart back toward the Lord, the faith and eventually the call. The next experience of call occurred after I auditioned for entrance into the Theatre program at Southern Methodist University. I nailed that audition, but through the interview afterward the Dean of the Theatre felt I wasn't suited for the program, but suggested I go visit Perkins School of Theology there on campus. I went home that evening feeling sorry for myself, but I decided to pray and the presence of God and the assurance of God's call for my life were powerful. I dropped to my knees next to my bed and surrendered my life to the call. I felt a freedom and release like nothing before or since. It felt almost like a physical weight was lifted from my shoulders. I knew my life would never be the same. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have many heroes of faith and ministry. I look up to the two men who pastored St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church when I was growing up. Pastor Loyce Estes was a giant; well at least to a child...Actually he was a large-framed man of over 6' with a huge booming voice that resonated from deep within his barrel chest. He had a shiny bald head, a grin that seemed to go on past his face, and hands big enough to palm a beach ball. He was a surrogate grandpa for me since my grandparents were in Ohio and I was in Texas. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Next was Pastor Larry Blakeburn. He was about 5'9" with a full head of hair and mustache. Pastor Larry is one of the greatest preachers I have ever heard to this day. He is also a gifted healer of congregations. Since he left St. Luke in 1990 he nursed several CP churches back to health after some very serious splits. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Another important hero of the faith was my dad. My dad fostered in me a desire to know and be known by the Word of God. Dad taught me that I should never let someone tell me what is true about faith, but to be like the Bereans and search the Scriptures to verify what was said to be true. Dad also modeled generosity. He opened our home to people in need that he came across. He even gave away a car without expecting anything in return to a friend who was going through a very difficult time. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Another hero of mine is John Wesley. He is a major influence in my life. When I first learned of Wesley after a visiting a United Methodist church for several weeks, I realized I had found someone who made sense to me like no other preacher ever had. The appeal of Wesley for me was insistence on a holistic approach to faith. Wesley asserted that there is no holiness without social holiness. Wesley affirmed that the Scriptures are the foundation of Christian faith and practice, and through the Scriptures; tradition, reason and experience help inform our becoming the people God is calling us to be. My heroes are people who live the faith. People who embody what St. Francis meant when he said something like go everywhere and preach the Gospel, and if you have to, use words.</div><br /><div><strong>My Image</strong></div><br /><div>I know the word pastor is synonymous with shepherd, and the image has some value, but I agree with Tex Sample who I once heard say that there is only one Shepherd. Tex goes on to say that instead he prefers to think of himself as one of the Good Shepherd's sheep dogs. I like that image. The idea that all the care and direction ultimately comes from the shepherd, but the sheep dogs do play an important role. Sheep dogs are trained by the Shepherd to keep the sheep heading in the right direction. They also warn the sheep of oncoming predators and will do their best to ward off predators until the shepherd can come and intervene. Sheep dogs love the Shepherd and the Shepherd loves them. Sheep dogs know how to have fun when the work day is done. I like being a sheep dog for the Good Shepherd. I know that the only way I can perform my duties is to stay close to my Master, listen to His voice and love the sheep as much as He does.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Another image that comes to mind is that of the moon. The moon gives us light by reflecting the light of the sun. A full moon has nothing blocking the light making it easier for us to see at night. A new moon gives almost no light because the earth is blocking most of the light of the sun, and in times of lunar eclipse the moon blocks the light of the sun instead of reflecting it. The same is true of pastors. When I am fully present to the presence of God, then I reflect the glory of God to all around me. Sometimes I let the world get in the way and, like a new moon; I don't "shine" very bright. Finally, there are those unfortunate times when pastors by commission or omission actually block people's view of the Son.In relation to pastoral care in particular both of the above images are helpful. The image of the moon reminds me that reflective listening is one of the pastoral counselor’s greatest assets. Sometimes reflecting is the most important thing I do. Through my representative role as pastor I reflect Christ and the Church to my care receiver. Through active listening and caring I reflect a truer image of my care receiver back to herself or himself. Furthermore, the sheep dog reminds me that my role is pastoral. At times I think it is appropriate to gently nudge someone back toward "the flock," and sometimes I am called to warn them of and protect them from danger. </div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-34214351109535791052007-10-09T19:46:00.000-04:002007-10-09T19:58:44.918-04:00OVERFLOW<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJJ9YxQ1qIPgf_HHi_UAt5muN7MKgd2YhwZ58lnci8DGHxyDm1tqxpookiE4iAHMYdbvdbG_4yd6XAI67XlTCY6d80L8HBXuEOcW-CJTy6GXfJTxjCBYg-F0U53Aa4x50hv8P/s1600-h/iStock_+glass+overflowing.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJJ9YxQ1qIPgf_HHi_UAt5muN7MKgd2YhwZ58lnci8DGHxyDm1tqxpookiE4iAHMYdbvdbG_4yd6XAI67XlTCY6d80L8HBXuEOcW-CJTy6GXfJTxjCBYg-F0U53Aa4x50hv8P/s200/iStock_+glass+overflowing.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119488185157915042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Why do I feel like crying?<br />Why do I feel so alone?<br />By myself in a crowd of people<br />When will I feel like I'm home?<br /><br />In my head, Lord, I know You're with me,<br />But my heart doesn't seem to know.<br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">In my head, Lord, I know You're with me,<br />But,today, I feel all alone.<br /><br />This lump in my throat keeps growing.<br />I wish I could cry, scream, or groan.<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In my head, Lord, I know You're with me,<br />But,today, I feel all alone.<br /><br />Lord of light, drive away my darkness.<br />Let the warmth of your love flood my soul.<br />Wellspring of living water<br />Fill me up, Lord, overflow.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:130%;">My child, stop what you're doing.<br />Be still...breathe...listen...know.<br />I am the Father, full of compassion.<br />Relax, let my love overflow!</span><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><br /></span></span></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-25957094401153974332007-06-23T08:16:00.000-04:002007-06-23T08:52:54.505-04:00Another Goodbye<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-Q22oTViVb_917mVMWR2lRqEjHkmehszzpylUCh6mDryDAWs2KO7qg065xztnQgyGFTMHVgGsDC5lgP5kz4Y4LvS_UKTSXdm6TCtPgSllij3-gt6imkalr0VOK8MOdQtXKui/s1600-h/famly63a_50.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079233054014722274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-Q22oTViVb_917mVMWR2lRqEjHkmehszzpylUCh6mDryDAWs2KO7qg065xztnQgyGFTMHVgGsDC5lgP5kz4Y4LvS_UKTSXdm6TCtPgSllij3-gt6imkalr0VOK8MOdQtXKui/s400/famly63a_50.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>I haven't written to this blog in way too long, sorry. I intend to get into a more regular rhythm of collecting my thoughts here soon. If I don't, you are welcome to remind me!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I am writing this morning because tomorrow (June 24, 2007) is our last Sunday as co-pastors of Sardinia, Brownstown, Mowrystown & Fayetteville United Methodist Churches. We are being moved to Belmont UMC where I will be the Associate Pastor and Steph will be the Director of Christian Education. This is a good opportunity for us. I have been aware of a need to develop my administrative and leadership skills for some time. I tried to seek out a mentor at nearby UMC's, but coordinating schedules, traveling to their churches, and serving in different contexts proved to be too great a divide to cross. I did learn a lot from the people I talked with, but not enough...not directly--I am constantly translating the wisdom from these pastors to my context. Now, I will be in the same context as the leader I am learning from! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>For Steph, her role will be much more focused and hopefully this will mean she can have more time and energy as she finishes seminary (3 semesters to go after this summer!). We will also have offices at the church, separate offices. We will each have a specific place to study away from family. I know this will help. We both have been known to make the 1/2-hour trip to Starbucks in order to get some work done. We will still escape to Starbucks from time to time, but it won't be such a long drive!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>However, not everything is sunshine & roses...we are leaving a familiar place. We are leaving the closest thing to a home we have in the state of Ohio. As a pastor/preacher I grew up in Sardinia. I would not be the man I am without our times here. I have learned so much from all 4 churches, and I have friends in all of them. This will not be easy, but God is good. We have to trust that God can and does work through the Bishop and cabinet. For all its faults, I believe in the Episcopacy & in itinerancy. This move is scary, exciting, bitter and sweet.</div><div align="right">May the power, peace, and presence of God uphold, sustain, direct, and keep you always.</div><div align="right">Amen.</div><div align="right">Blessings ,</div><div align="right">Rev.Kev</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079239389091483890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 65px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 47px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="80" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvQJcEP9F1llu75zaKZOuZsjF-w7PLJ6xqH2FNV6jmvVUuAihPNLl64Mbegk4zAFcSlkj2L5saVQiaBCfZIYwLIkasErt7anGVVmvHXEF0K-kds-GstfGLJfFZX9fVJ-jAvaQ/s200/eye_3717c.jpg" width="154" border="0" /></div></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-50451242215007789552007-04-04T09:02:00.000-04:002007-04-04T09:33:34.159-04:00Goodbye Pat, We'll miss you<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wxGeKfZca_RINR5bCqO0v1knp70vtUqusF2-PqoVAF3UJE2QGIiqnt8RTYZfJaCWiytq17H7_enWhm1zrb30U9DTbF-SY04-lfpXoTRx0yE7M5Lo29-Z65dcWgebd7EJoR3f/s1600-h/KTP.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049564233914721538" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 230px" height="259" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wxGeKfZca_RINR5bCqO0v1knp70vtUqusF2-PqoVAF3UJE2QGIiqnt8RTYZfJaCWiytq17H7_enWhm1zrb30U9DTbF-SY04-lfpXoTRx0yE7M5Lo29-Z65dcWgebd7EJoR3f/s400/KTP.jpg" width="346" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKothVA5Pv3-e8WJlkCT_OzwzG2NMRTggeTLTaz819QnGvC0Cd2yxZnyVK752rn3m_0QaKk4F3dIiiHQ-Z6za7z3Tqe5O1I4K25JXp0by5AC0W59SKjTtiiSKnDDgR0lDDKZvs/s1600-h/3Thomas_Pat_Kevin_in_Detroit.jpg"></a>Monday, April 2, 2007 a very special person passed away. My friend, Pat Wilkerson. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We were classmates at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Asbury</span> Theological Seminary, and in July of 2001 along with another friend, Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Muhomba</span>, we went to Zimbabwe, Africa together. Pat's joy and zeal for the Lord and for life were contagious. I wouldn't have passed Greek without him! I thought about calling him a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't. I got distracted by the day-to-day busy-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ness</span> that so easily distracts us when we let it. </div><div> </div><div>I confess, I haven't been a very good friend lately, I didn't even know that his wife, Jamie, passed away 6 months ago until I saw the post about Pat on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Asbury</span> Seminary Community site. </div><div> </div><div>My prayers go out to Pat's family & friends, especially his son Chance. Pat made a huge impact for the kingdom of God in his short life. I am better for knowing him, and I look forward to hearing his big Arkansas voice in glory. Goodbye, Pat, I miss you.</div><br /><div>Rev.Kev</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhE3Bh2VRz83Ib05pgo8hF_Vu4Ue528KxVt3BbFb0gXPnju6oaU8vBCH-Qnms4soXI6z3VjuZETmN5ig5Jwz7oyO6bY_6eLFF9DJdaDOgWvn_JWunqlrO62RBSMBf8lIqPH6_x/s1600-h/Pat+%26+Alice.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049562412848587970" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhE3Bh2VRz83Ib05pgo8hF_Vu4Ue528KxVt3BbFb0gXPnju6oaU8vBCH-Qnms4soXI6z3VjuZETmN5ig5Jwz7oyO6bY_6eLFF9DJdaDOgWvn_JWunqlrO62RBSMBf8lIqPH6_x/s320/Pat+%26+Alice.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-14062727498113382572007-02-23T22:45:00.000-05:002007-02-23T23:10:34.275-05:00Amazing Movie--We Need another Wilberforce<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZQj6KdMoJ-BAkuj-_buktlitirkatgvF2TfmnKV-72fIh8u11YAGcmb4ZaPBZDZg-Wsg7nWczC89GNj_7sgBges3s-J6uKDn89jmt6Su7tAlrr0Y8GG1R3U7O5vwQ5l5jTfQ/s1600-h/AGM_bannerC_160x600.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5034943151166399298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZQj6KdMoJ-BAkuj-_buktlitirkatgvF2TfmnKV-72fIh8u11YAGcmb4ZaPBZDZg-Wsg7nWczC89GNj_7sgBges3s-J6uKDn89jmt6Su7tAlrr0Y8GG1R3U7O5vwQ5l5jTfQ/s400/AGM_bannerC_160x600.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>My wife, Stephanie, and I just got home from seeing the new movie, "Amazing Grace." We both loved it. I am not going to give a review because a great one can be found at Dr. Ben Witherington III's blog: <a href="http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007/02/amazing-grace-story-of-william.html">http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007/02/amazing-grace-story-of-william.html</a></div><div>I will just say, please go see this film, it is worth it.</div><div> </div><div>I am writing tonight because for all the work of the abolitionists in the past, slavery is still a problem! There are 27 million slaves in the world today. Before Steph and I started looking into it I am ashamed to say I was not even aware that there were slaves. I thought slavery was something we took care of a long time ago. How ignorant I have been! "I once was blind, but now I see." Jesus proclaimed a jubilee, the year of the Lord's favor, and we "Christians" have yet to help it come to full fruition. When it comes to human trafficking, it may seem like there is not much one person can do, but together we can make a difference. This website <a href="http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx">http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx</a> has some suggestions. Also, the sex industry specifically pornography and prostitution make up a large section of the modern slave trade, so if you are involved with either of them, STOP!!! </div><div> </div><div>My big question after viewing this movie tonight is, "Who/where is our Wilberforce?"</div><div> </div><div>May God Have Mercy.</div><div>Rev.Kev</div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-17184043905537131852007-01-19T16:31:00.000-05:002007-01-19T16:44:56.971-05:00What do I do?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpub5exfBeEsyIQIM1ErUJqb996VMv1nScsBFyLM534vc0dxzIVlf1_B9y0ALgaxPabfPKak3rx5YEA6GMuAhHnwi8cAcNsPJZ2IxFQHmgdbScJs03t9iM65gfSmGTG9iS5J_/s1600-h/preacher.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021859696055752306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpub5exfBeEsyIQIM1ErUJqb996VMv1nScsBFyLM534vc0dxzIVlf1_B9y0ALgaxPabfPKak3rx5YEA6GMuAhHnwi8cAcNsPJZ2IxFQHmgdbScJs03t9iM65gfSmGTG9iS5J_/s200/preacher.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Sometimes I wonder just what my job as a United Methodist Minister is exactly. I know God called me to proclaim His Truth, but sometimes I wonder just what that looks like on a daily basis. My "go to" Scripture reference for when this question rises to the surface is Ephesians 4:11-13 where Paul says, <em>So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.</em><br /><br />I was reading a sermon by John Piper today and this is what he said: "My job is to glorify Jesus Christ by calling his people to be distinctively Christian in the way they live their lives." <strong>That <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">resonates</span> with me.</strong><br /><br />What do you think?</div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-71840654769684613752007-01-15T16:08:00.000-05:002007-01-15T17:24:23.196-05:00No Restrictions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2G8C0yJjV1roKrLmq8gto7FY-OVnzl_9WHgAEV90tc-GjoyKEpZTI6Czg_6snbkyR_TnSRmQGPMPjgxDXqdI4RFkj9ZTGpubUC2RMelA1g28l9s5lXue_a33mkVf7kEWutuwQ/s1600-h/happy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020370313066649186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2G8C0yJjV1roKrLmq8gto7FY-OVnzl_9WHgAEV90tc-GjoyKEpZTI6Czg_6snbkyR_TnSRmQGPMPjgxDXqdI4RFkj9ZTGpubUC2RMelA1g28l9s5lXue_a33mkVf7kEWutuwQ/s200/happy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="right">Acts 8:26-40 Sunday, January 14, 2007</div><br /><div align="left"><br />Monday, January 8, 2007 one of the devotions I get in my email referenced the story of Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch that we just read from Acts chapter 8. The author, Rev. Tommy Hays, focused on verses 39-40, especially <em>the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away...Philip found himself at Azotus</em>… Then Rev. Hays prayed, "Philip was so yielded to You that Your Holy Spirit was able to literally snatch him away from one place of ministry and position him instantaneously in another. There are no restrictions of time and space to You. Help me become so yielded to You that there are no restrictions in me."<a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www2.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_edn1" name="_ednref1">[i]</a> As I read that prayer I had an epiphany—that is the goal of faith…No restrictions! I have often dreamed of being able to travel like Philip did in this text, especially when we are driving from OH to TX with 3 screaming children! As I reflected on this, of course my thoughts went to science-fiction. I couldn’t help thinking this was a divine version of the Molecular transport system they use in the Star Trek Universe. Beam me up, Jesus! </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> I found others in Scripture who travelled in unique ways:</div><div align="left">· In Genesis we read “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him away.” This comes in a genealogy list and all of the other ones say something like, “so-&-so gave birth to so-&-so junior. So-&-so Junior had many sons and then he died.” But something about Enoch’s departure was different. He walked with God and God took him—somehow Enoch got to leave without dying.<br />· Then in 2 Kings we read of Elisha walking along with his predecessor & mentor Elijah. And they are talking about the future and suddenly a Chariot of Fire comes and takes Elijah away and “he was no more.” (OK, that was more like getting to ride on the Starship Enterprise than it was like using the transporter…)<br />· In Ezekiel there are at least two times when Ezekiel is moved from one place to another by the Spirit of the Lord. “The Spirit of the Lord lifted me up” Ezekiel says.<br />· And then we read of Jesus in Luke 24 walking along the road to Emmaus with two disciples. They get to Emmaus, go into a house to eat, and Luke says, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.”</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">What does all this mean to you & me? Am I preaching that if we have enough faith we won’t need our cars anymore? No, sorry, I don’t think that I can honestly assert or deny that fact. What I can assert is that many of the obstacles and restrictions we experience in our relationship with God and our service in God’s kingdom are artificial. Too many Christians have been set free by Christ, but then go on acting like we are still slaves and prisoners!</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">As an apprentice of Jesus I feel it is important to come alongside others on the journey and share what we have found as we spend time in the presence of God individually and corporately. I don't honestly know about instantly travelling from one point to another, but I do know when I have given myself completely in worship and devotion to God I have experienced more unencumbered joy than at any other time. I am reminded of the song by the band Salvador that says, "When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart, I will dance like David danced!" That is the freedom our Lord Jesus Christ spoke in John 8:31-21, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">I want everyone I come in contact with to experience that freedom Jesus spoke of. The quote above from John 8 has been the subject of many sermons, yet sometimes I think we miss the point. Often it is quoted in reference to the printed Bible, specifically a particular English translation that <em>shall </em>remain nameless. As if the printed text has some innate power before it is ennacted in a human heart. What the text actually asserts is that being a disciple (apprentice, student) of Jesus takes disciplined obedience to the teachings of Jesus. I could entrust every single word of Scripture to memory, but if I don't act on those words they remain mere words. There is a little work to be done. The Truth is not the Truth that sets us free until we act on it. And when we do, oh boy! We cannot simply stand on the sidelines and watch other Christians. Christianity is not a spectator sport, it is a lifestyle. We can’t simply say, “Well I haven’t done anything to hurt anyone this week so I must be a good Christian.” No!!! There is more to it than that. Jesus teaches us to do something. Jesus teaches us to be different, look different, and act different than the rest of the world. Read the red-letter parables…read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew…Read where Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. Read where Jesus says to let your light shine so that others will see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). We have to work at being disciples!</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">In the Communion liturgy in the United Methodist Hymnal, the prayer of confession is: <em>Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. <strong>Free us for joyful obedience</strong>, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.</em> Free us for joyful obedience…we pray that every time we use that communion liturgy, and I know we have used it when I have been here. I bet something similar has been used many times. By virtue of being Christians we are called to be obedient to God. And yes I realize that this Christian life sounds tough, but the rewards are absolutely incredible. Yes, we are called to be a part of God’s plan, but Jesus already did the heavy lifting when he carried our sins to the cross. The life of faith is a rewarding life, not a dreary life.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Rev. James W. Moore’s book When You're a Christian... the Whole World Is from Missouri: Living the Life of Faith in a "Show Me" World, asserts that just having all the right answers is not enough. I agree. I believe that even after we are converted, we can still be shackled by sin, shame, & shyness. In this book Moore says that just having all the right answers is not enough. We know the right answers. We know the Sunday school answers, don’t we? We’ve got it all together in our minds, but somehow it doesn’t make it down to our hearts. Even after we are converted, we can still allow ourselves to be restricted. Christians in America have this very misguided and theologically incorrect idea that “being saved” solves all of our problems. Folks get mad at God when life doesn’t instantly become easier after they decide to give everything up to God. Which, honestly, very few people actually give everything up to God. There’s this idea that giving up drinkin’ and smokin’ is giving up everything. Giving up a vice is much different than actually giving everything to God. Some people will even end up rejecting God because the theology they’ve been taught is wrong. The fact of the matter is that the conversion moment is the beginning of a new life lived in the power of Christ. The relationship can begin…This is sanctifying grace…we’re growing. It’s a process. And some of you were so young when it happened that you don’t remember—you’ve simply always lived a Christian life! That is wonderful—I hope that’s the story my kids have. Conversion, no matter if it happened as a very young child or if it happened as an adult, doesn’t necessarily immediately make life better—the joy is that now we have hope! Hope because we know who is holding and guiding us. That is why we must stop merely having devotional times and start living devotional lives. That is what the gift of the Holy Spirit is for—freeing us from the sin that is keeping us from “Living the Life of Faith.” John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The only way we can live our Christian life with no restrictions is to be totally sold out to who God is and what God stands for. We must be willing to let God have control of our lives. We can’t be Sunday morning Christians. The person we are on Sunday morning at church and the person we are the rest of the week, even while driving in rush-hour traffic, must be the same Person. We must be 365/24/7 Christians. Our Christian faith must permeate every decision, every moment of our lives. Jesus said it himself, if you want the reward of no restrictions, of total freedom, then you have to live the life. </div><div align="left"><br />Let’s pray: Holy God, help us to live lives fully devoted to you and your mission so that we may live with no restrictions. Free us for joyful obedience. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.<br /><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www2.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_ednref1" name="_edn1">[i]</a> http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=ZB007BGA&GroupID=CB0071OB</div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-60061451845427560652006-12-24T14:59:00.000-05:002007-01-19T16:39:52.401-05:00<DIV TYPE=HEADER> <P STYLE=""> FUMC Page 1 12/24/2006 </P> </DIV> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> <SPAN LANG=en>We made it. Christmas day is tomorrow. After the two worship services today most of us will be enjoying family and recovering from the hustle and bustle of the season. Steph, the kids and I will be driving to Texas (yeehaw!). Whatever you may be doing on the 25th remember, the Church set aside this day to remember the Incarnation—God putting on flesh and becoming human. Christmas is the day to celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, the greatest gift ever given. </SPAN></FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=TEXT-INDENT:0.5in;LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>Emmanuel. God with us. That’s what Christmas is all about. And to speak the name should be enough. I should be able to simply stand up and say God is with us and that should be enough to move us on our way, longing to look out for one another, making us yearn to be connected to this creator of the universe who loved us so much that he gave up heaven to come to earth to <I>be with us</I>. God with us. Why even say more?</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> There’s a part of me that wants to say nothing else. If I stop now it’s a happy message—one that will make us all feel good; one that reminds us how much God loves each one of us, and one that helps us to grasp how important we are to God. But I will say more because it is important to do so. All week, Stephanie and I have struggled with writing a sermon about Emmanuel—God with us—as our hope, our peace, and our joy. We had this idea that we would write something uplifting so that everyone would leave feeling happy and joyous on Christmas Eve, and so that happy feeling would take us through Christmas Day. But then Thursday happened. Thursday was the day we passed out food baskets and gifts to needy families in Sardinia. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=TEXT-INDENT:0.5in;LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>On Thursday morning, Steph went to the store and bought all of the perishable items and then Linda, Marge, and Dennie came on Thursday afternoon and helped me get the boxes organized and ready. And then at five Steph went to the church to pass everything out. There is a part of me—that would like for things at that point to have gone something like this: the people walk in, tell me their names, take the food, and go. I know that sounds a bit harsh and I don’t mean to sound ugly, but if things would have worked that way, that would have been easy. Instead, a good number of people walked through the door and told their stories. One woman can’t work because of a bad accident a couple of years ago and so now all of her utilities will soon be turned off. One young couple with three small children struggles as the husband tries to go to college and can’t find a job that will work around his schedule. One woman just looked completely overwhelmed by the gifts. I mean completely overwhelmed. She’s struggling through a bad divorce and she’s trying to work and earn her GED and raise three kids all at the same time. And on top of all that, her car was stolen on Thanksgiving weekend. One woman has a seventeen year old daughter with a three year old child and another daughter who I think is a drug addict. One woman has three sons and I’m pretty confident that she’s an alcoholic. One woman’s husband is an alcoholic and his alcoholism is completely destroying their family life. Every family comes with a story, and some of those stories aren’t so great. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Later on in the evening Joy Polstra came and helped out for a while. She heard a few of the stories, too. And I heard some of Joy’s story—parts that I hadn’t heard before. And we had a good conversation about what was going on. Steph told her that the days where we buy food and give out meals are the worst and the best days. She asked why they were the worst. Steph told her that we don’t love doing the shopping and the organizing necessary to make a day like this happen. It takes a long time and a good amount of concentration. But then Steph was also really honest and told her that the pastoring part of being a pastor doesn’t come easy to her. (Isn’t that a great thing to hear one of your pastors say?) That is why she keeps doing the food pantry and the Thanksgiving and the Christmas meals. At this point in her life, this is the only thing that keeps her connected with the poor and the needy. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Thursday night Stephanie did something that she rarely does—she went to bed at 10:00. Part of the reason was because she was physically tired. But I think the bigger reason is because we were emotionally spent. Their stories don’t simply go away. Their stories are now forever a part of us. And we feel powerless.</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Steph and I sat down and we talked about all of this. And we talked about Emmanuel—God with us. The four Advent candles traditionally represent love, peace, joy, and hope. This is Emmanuel—God with us. Out of his great love, God sent Jesus to be our peace, our joy, and our hope. We call this act the incarnation. The word literally means “in the flesh.” God is with us. But, as Steph and I discussed all that had happened on Thursday, the question arose: how is God “Emmanuel” for the folks we met last Thursday? How is God love, and peace, and joy, and hope for those distressed faces that walked through the door? This is the question we must struggle to answer…</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Let me switch gears—our reading from Titus is quite interesting when taken in context. Titus is a short letter. It was written by Paul to Titus who was leading the church at Crete. Paul says to Titus in chapter one, “I left you in Crete so that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint leaders in every town.” Titus was supposed to be in the business of putting upstanding people in charge of what were most likely small house churches. Paul then reminds Titus that there was a group of Jews going around telling people that they had to be circumcised first in order to be a Christian. And no—this is not anti-Semitic literature—Paul was a Jew also. Paul wasn’t calling Jews troublesome—he was calling the “circumcision group” troublesome. So then Paul says to Titus—you’re job is to teach people what is appropriate to sound doctrine. And he gives a list to give to the people and the list is about behavior. Here’s how these certain groups of people should act so that “God our Savior will be attractive.” And that’s where our reading starts, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives…while we wait for our blessed hope.” </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> “The grace of God has appeared.” Here’s my brief interpretation:</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> “<FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>Act like you believe what you say you believe so that God will be attractive because God’s love and salvation is for everybody.”</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Generally when I read these types of passages I focus in on the “God’s love is for everybody” parts of it, but right now I’m focused in on the “Act like you believe what you say you believe” part. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> What is it that we believe? As Christians what do we believe about how we should act? One way to begin to find an answer is to go to the source. In Luke chapter four, we find Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown. This episode takes place very early in his ministry. He stands up and he takes the scroll of Isaiah and he says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." <SUP>20 </SUP>Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.” </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> The way Jesus, Emmanuel, the incarnate One, starts his ministry is our first clue. He makes very clear who his message is for and what he has come to do. As we keep reading through the gospels we find that Jesus over and over again goes to the poor, the helpless, and the outcasts. We find that Jesus loves and touches the unclean, the women, the forgotten, the Gentiles—all the people that he isn’t supposed to touch. And he proclaims the good news—that the kingdom of God is at hand. In other words, he tells the people that Emmanuel has come. Jesus is the good news! The incarnation—the fact that God has come in the flesh to be with us is the good news!</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Now, do we really believe that Jesus is our ultimate example? Do we really believe that in Jesus we find our hope, our joy, and our peace? Because our actions are based on our beliefs, aren’t they? This is what Titus is telling us. Say “no” to all of the stuff that keeps you from loving your neighbor. Say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions so that your life can make a difference for the kingdom of God. We are saved to do good so that others might want to be saved so that they will do good so that others might want to be saved. See how that works? The cycle keeps going, one person at a time, redeeming and reconciling a lost and hurting world. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Emmanuel. God with us. How is “God with us” for those people who walked through the door on Thursday evening or for the kids I see standing on the street corner? I don’t know all of the answers, but I hope that together we can figure some out. I open to suggestions for outreach to the schools. Let’s prayerfully consider what we can do in this community. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> Part of what we are called to do as Christians is to get together and figure out ways to act like Christians. I am starting a program in January that is designed to help us do just that. You’ll find information on the insert about the 1<SUP>st</SUP> meeting that will take place at the Sardinia church. All four churches are invited to come and learn about this program. The January 9<SUP>th</SUP> meeting will be an informational meeting. The whole point of program is to help us to study the Bible together, to pray together, to be in relationship together, to be accountable to one another, so that our individual lives will be enhanced and then our communal life will be enhanced and then we will make God attractive to those around us. The point is to teach us to live incarnationally. A reason that we celebrate Christmas is to remind ourselves of God’s great gift to us and also to remind us that we now represent God’s great gift. Living incarnationally means that we are fully aware of the fact that we represent Jesus to a lost and hurting world. The people who walked through the door on Thursday hopefully got a glimpse of what God with us looks like, but we all know that a meal and some gifts aren’t enough. We all know that the real answer is Jesus. I ran across a poem that I would like to share with you. This poem is about the importance of incarnational living. It was written by Tim Celek and Dieter Zander.</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=""> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that you represent<BR> Jesus to me?<BR> <BR> Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that when you<BR> treat me with gentleness,<BR> it raises the question in my mind<BR> that maybe he is gentle, too?<BR> Maybe he isn't someone<BR> who laughs when I am hurt.<BR> <BR> Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that when you listen to my questions<BR> and you don't laugh,<BR> I think,<BR> "What if Jesus is interested in me, too?"<BR> <BR> Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that when I hear you talk about arguments<BR> and conflict and scars from your past<BR> that I think, "Maybe I am just a regular person<BR> instead of a bad, no-good, little girl who deserves abuse?"<BR> <BR> If you care,<BR> I think maybe he cares --<BR> and then there's this flame of hope<BR> that burns inside of me,<BR> and for a while,<BR> I am afraid to breathe<BR> because it might go out.<BR> <BR> Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that your words are his words?<BR> Your face,<BR> his face<BR> to someone like me?<BR> <BR> Please be who you say you are.<BR> Please, God, don't let this be another trick.<BR> Please let this be real.<BR> Please.<BR> <BR> Do you know,<BR> do you understand<BR> that you represent<BR> Jesus to me?</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=""> <BR> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=""> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> This is Emmanuel.</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=""> <BR> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt> As you leave today and you go about the business of Christmas celebrations, leave feeling really, really good. God really loves you. Christmas proves how much God loves you. But I want you to also begin thinking about living incarnationally in a lost and hurting world. </FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <SPAN LANG=en><FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>I know I don’t say it enough, but we truly are blessed to be your pastoral family. May Emmanuel be born anew in your hearts and homes every day.</FONT></SPAN> </P> <P CLASS=western LANG=en STYLE=""> <BR> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>Amen.</FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt><B>Benediction:</B></FONT> </P> <P STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=4 STYLE=FONT-SIZE:16pt>Go in peace, love and care for one another in the name of Christ, and may the hope, the joy, the peace, and the love of God dwell richly within you; may God grant unto you a humble spirit and an a compassionate heart, and may his strength, his tenderness, his wisdom and his grace guide you and support you both now and forevermore. Amen</FONT></FONT> </P> <P CLASS=western STYLE=LINE-HEIGHT:200%> <BR> </P> <DIV TYPE=FOOTER> <P STYLE=""> <SPAN DIR=LTR STYLE=WIDTH:0.31in;HEIGHT:0.15in;BORDER:none;PADDING:0in;BACKGROUND:#ffffff> <P STYLE=""> 1 </P> </SPAN><BR> </P> </DIV>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-81108050712009439652006-12-12T16:05:00.000-05:002006-12-12T16:08:10.614-05:00Bumps in the Road<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRBaTMMDTme8HfEg5rkSBHdMLyCJa8Ib8KQLHuDCKbFoBvjICZjbm7YU29_q3pwpHRffn7VXyYDPaMeBRskXhRYIITezFerdKBlaq-KaUA8nVnbRfcRfdyiIdUfrNf9K5lU3UR/s1600-h/EmmanuelWindow.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007749806637096626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="208" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRBaTMMDTme8HfEg5rkSBHdMLyCJa8Ib8KQLHuDCKbFoBvjICZjbm7YU29_q3pwpHRffn7VXyYDPaMeBRskXhRYIITezFerdKBlaq-KaUA8nVnbRfcRfdyiIdUfrNf9K5lU3UR/s320/EmmanuelWindow.jpg" width="158" border="0" /></a> Luke 2:1-5 <em>In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went <strong>up</strong> from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.<br /></em><br />As we were reflecting on the Christmas story this year we were drawn to the journey that Mary & Joseph had to make. It seems that the journey was not at all smooth and easy. As a matter of fact the text even said they went “up!” (Do you remember those stories your daddy told about walking to school in the snow uphill both ways? J) There were many obstacles, not the least of which was the fact that Mary was very pregnant—not a good time to go on an 80-mile hike! There were rough spots on the road, it was dirty, and the days may have been hot and the nights were probably cold. They had to make the trip because the oppressive occupying force, Rome, wanted to count everyone and Joseph knew what that meant—higher taxes! To top it all off, when they finally arrived in Bethlehem there was nowhere for them to stay. In spite of all this frustration and hardship was the hope Mary carried in her womb, the little baby that had to be laid in a feeding trough—Jesus.<br /><br />We currently live in a world where folks all over are experiencing “bumps in the road.” Sadness and despair are all around us. But the hope Marry carried in her womb was born, lived, died, and, in victory, rose to life again. That hope is what Advent is all about. When you hit a bump in your road, cling to Hope. Know that God has done, is doing, and will do the seemingly impossible just because he loves us! And the incarnation (God coming to earth as Jesus) is proof of that incredible love. Remember that “Emmanuel” means “God is with us!” And if God is with us, who or what can be against us? Have a blessed Advent season and a wonderful Christmas time!<br /><br />In the love of Christ,<br />Pastors Kevin and Stephanie WhiteRev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-1163986807840102182006-11-19T20:27:00.000-05:002006-11-19T20:40:08.286-05:00The Porpoise Driven Life<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/1600/porpoise.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="189" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/320/porpoise.jpg" width="212" border="0" /></a><br />A few weeks ago I preached on the Sabbath rest. God wants us to enter His rest. The Israelites of Moses’ time experienced a foretaste of God’s rest in the Promised Land. Even though Christians will experience everlasting life on a new earth in the future, we can enjoy God’s rest now. We do not need to wait for the next life to enjoy God’s rest, peace, & joy; we may have it now—we should have it now! F.B. Meyer put it this way, “To all of us Christ offers ‘rest,’ not in the other life only, but in this. Rest from the weight of sin, from care & worry, from the load of daily anxiety and foreboding. The rest that arrives from handing all worries over to Christ and receiving from Christ all we need.” <br /><br />I knew I wanted us to examine what it means to rest in the Lord, but I couldn’t figure out how. Then I started thinking about porpoises. Mark Twain once said, “You talk about happy creatures--did you ever notice a porpoise?--well there ain't anything in heaven here superior to that happiness.”<a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_edn1" name="_ednref1">[i]</a> Then I realized what I had in mind was probably dolphins, not porpoises (they come from the same family but are totally different species of marine mammals), but Dolphin-Driven life didn’t seem as punny to me.<br /><br />That being said, we need to have a rhythm of devoted rest built into our lives. Many people say there just isn’t time. It simply is impossible—the demands of career & family are too great. The preacher in our text from Hebrews is warning us to make the time because not doing so has very serious consequences. We must pause & spend time with God. Therefore, I propose we look to the porpoise, or dolphin and see what we can learn from him.A porpoise/dolphin lives in 2 worlds. They are mammals who live in the sea—the domain of fish! They are great swimmers and can stay under water for a very long time, but eventually they must come up for air. Christians live a double life and need to come up for air as well. One translation of Exodus 31:17 reads, “On the seventh day God rested and drew breath.” As Christians we are called to be in the world, but not of it. We are Kingdom of God people living in the last days of this fallen world—Satan’s domain. In ANE literature the sea usually represents chaos. Therefore, the porpoise teaches us that we can swim through the chaos of this finite, fallen world, but eventually we must come up and breathe the air we were created to breathe.<br /><br />Up above the surface of the chaos, pain, loneliness, and death of this world is the glorious Son of God and the air we breathe is the Spirit of God. The Hebrew & Greek words for spirit, ruach & pneuma, can also be translated as wind or breath. The point is, we are not meant to stay submerged in the chaos of this fallen world. No! We must rise above the surface, breathe deep of the Spirit & bask in the Glory of the Son. We must gather to worship God, because when we do we are living the life God created us to live—we are breathing the air God created us to breathe. Furthermore, we need to be together. Dolphins & porpoises are always seen together racing, and jumping, and laughing, we should do the same. In Hebrews 10:24-25, the preacher says, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”<a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_edn1" name="_ednref1">[i]</a><br />I know the analogy breaks down pretty quick, but it comes out of my desire to proclaim and live the Good News in a way that is attractive. Dolphins & porpoises almost always look like they are having fun—their mouths even seem to be turned up in a perpetual smile and the noises they make sound like laughter. I want to make the same impression as a Christian and as a church. I want folks to wonder why we always seem to be having fun—“I thought you had to give up fun to go church!” Let’s swim through the chaos and lead people up above it to breathe in the Spirit & be warmed through & through by the Son.<br /><br />This past week I had set a goal to spend time in reading the Bible, meditating, and praying at least 4 out of the 7 days. I used <u>A Guide to Prayer</u> to stucture my time. I actually surpassed my goal. I have my accountability group to thank for this discipline--thanks guys! I don't think the sermon I preached this morning was anything special, but I felt a better connection with God and with the congregations than I have in a quite a while. <br /><br />It is good to come for air!<br />Blessings & Peace,<br />Rev.Kev<br /><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_ednref1" name="_edn1">[i]</a> New Living Translation<br /><a title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=31036727#_ednref1" name="_edn1">[i]</a> Notebooks & Journals, Vol. 2 (1877-1883), p. 275.Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-1161306637331639612006-10-19T20:59:00.000-04:002006-10-19T21:10:37.346-04:00The Problem with Infant Baptism<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/1600/baptism1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="219" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/320/baptism1.jpg" width="250" border="0" /></a><br />My wife, Stephanie, wrote this article--I think it is awesome! What do you think?<br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><strong>The Problem with Infant Baptism</strong></div><strong><div align="left"><br /></strong></div>Last week was an incredibly moving event. What a blessing it was to see and be a part of the baptisms of Rick, Martha, and Laura Holbrook. I hope that they will always remember the mystery and the sanctity of the moment.<br /><div align="left">For a lot of folks, this is the problem with infant baptism—that they won’t remember it and that those infants didn’t choose it. As far as choosing goes, I wish my parents would have made the choice for me. Perhaps the first 20 years would have been different. Besides, in the case of infant baptism, it isn't really complete until at a later point that person chooses to participate in the baptismal covenant (hopefully after confirmation). And as far as not remembering it goes, well, this is a problem with parents and church families. We too easily let our children forget that they are living the life of a baptized person. We let them forget that God is mysterious. We let them forget that in some incredible way they were claimed as babies. Parents, if your children were baptized as infants, do not let them forget. Sure, they may forget the actual moment, but don’t let them forget the significance, mystery, and honor that it brings. And don’t let them forget that the journey only began then and it goes on now.<br /></div><div align="left">After last week’s baptism, I was cleaning up and I used the baptismal water to make a sign of the cross on both Malachi and Zeke. (They are amazed by the symbol of water.) We talked how as little babies God swept down into the chaos of this life and claimed them in the water of baptism. Then we said a special prayer and poured the water into the grass. (Blessed water isn’t fit for a drain!) Folks, this is what it takes. We must be diligent and purposeful in the spiritual training of our children. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Be blessed.</div><div align="left">Pastor Stephanie </div>Rev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31036727.post-1159057260802054332006-09-23T20:14:00.000-04:002006-09-23T20:29:30.370-04:00Am I a Liberal?!!!Here's a picture of my daughter, Liberty Ann, when she was visiting our family back in TX this summer. It has nothing to do with this post, I just think she's the cutest! :-)<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/1600/HPIM0247.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" height="194" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5451/3341/320/HPIM0247.jpg" width="187" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I ran across a blog called "Connexions" today and read a post called "What is Liberal Theology?" by Joel. The blogger gave a list of the characteristics of "liberal theology" that gave me pause. Why did it give me pause? Because, I thought I was an orthodox, evangelical, conservative Christians (too many adjectives/labels). Here's the list...<br />Here is my understanding of some components of liberal theology:<br />1. View of the Bible as inspired and not inerrant.<br />2. An understanding that some passages in the Bible are metaphorical or “myth based.”<br />3. An emphasis on the need to apply human reason, experience and tradition in interpreting the Bible.<br />4. Application of insights from the social sciences (which are also not inerrant) is crucial to interpreting the Bible. As the social sciences are themselves God’s revelation of truth, they complement rather than compete with Scripture.<br />5. An emphasis on Biblical criticism and literary analysis.<br />6. Scripture must be viewed through the lens of time and culture.<br />7. Doctrines, church authority and Scripture cannot be divorced from subjective personal experience.<br />8. Community wholeness in relation to God is as important as a personal relationship to God through Christ. (“Shalom” creation.)<br />9. An understanding that the Bible contains “all things necessary for salvation” but not necessarily all things related to salvation.<br />10. A refusal to make creeds a test of faith.<br />11. Openness to “finding Christ in the culture.”<br />12. Doubt is not inherently the enemy of faith, but can be used by God to engage that very faith.<br />13. A strong commitment to social justice.<br />14. The idea that self-reflection is a necessary component of faith.<br />15. Acceptance that the Bible incorporates an intentional tension between “universal” and “exclusive” salvation. (To remind us that God alone judges?)<br />16. The possibility that not only may we acquire new understandings of God’s revelation but that it is possible that God is still revealing.<br />17. Humans, while tending toward depravity, are capable of responding to divine grace.<br />18. As “imitators” of Christ, we must engage the essential unity of faith and works.<br />19. That Christian existentialism is criticized but effectively practiced by the “orthodox” and fundamentalists but honestly admitted to by many liberals.<br />20. Rejection of an over-emphasis on a “personal relationship with Christ” that fails to adequately place faith in the context of community.<br />21. A strong emphasis on “corporate sin” as being as evil and destructive as personal sin.<br />22. That while miracles happen, God does not ordinarily suspend the laws of nature.<br />The entire thread can be found @ <a href="http://theconnexion.net/wp/?p=2420">http://theconnexion.net/wp/?p=2420</a><br /><br />I am in agreement with the underlying sentiment that I find resonating in this thread that labels are meaningless. My desire is to be part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for unity in His body. To that end I read all over the theological spectrum and, to quote Bruce Lee, “Absorb what is useful.”<br /><br />What do you think?<br />Grace & Peace,<br />Rev.KevRev.Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06044661958701778639noreply@blogger.com0