In his book The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical, author Shane Claiborne talks about the reality that life as a Christian should not be safe, but rather that the Gospel calls us to live dangerously. Claiborne references such passages as John 15:18-20 and Matthew 24:9-13 when explaining that as a whole the church has become all too safe, and suggests that this fact might be because we aren't in fact followers of Jesus, but instead admirers of Christ. He points to several examples from his own life, where living out the Gospel has caused him to choose between safety and Jesus. Examples that led him to prison, persecution, and personal sacrifice.
As I read these words, and began to look at my own life, the way I live out my faith, I realized that I live entirely too safe. That is if I am to take Jesus seriously when he declared that it was a blessing to be persecuted on his behalf (Matthew 5:10-12). I can't remember a time that I was persecuted or even ridiculed for my faith, and I certainly don't think I've ever felt unsafe because I am a Christian. And yet as Christians we are not called to lead lives of comfort, leisure and luxury, but rather to lose our lives for Jesus' sake!
So my question to you is, how does your faith inform and influence your daily life? How does the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the man who lost his life on a cross, dare you to take risks? Do you live safe and comfortable? Are you simply an admirer of Jesus avoiding actually following him into danger and actual service?
I'm ashamed to admit I'm not so proud of my answers to these questions. I do think I live far too safely, and keep Jesus at a safe distance, unwilling to follow for fear of where he might lead me. Think of this, and let me know what your answers are...if you dare.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sermon Sampler (August 23rd) - Reincarnation
So what do you think happens when you die? Perhaps you believe in reincarnation (coming back as something/someone else). Maybe you believe you'll die and go straight to heaven/hell. Possibly you believe nothing happnes, or maybe you believe something entirely different. What I'm going to do today, is lay out for you what I believe happens to us when we die, based on my understanding of scripture.
I like to compare it to a true story from my youth. My father and I were up early, and we were on our way to the school, as I was off to compete in a sporting event. As we were driving along the road, we noticed something lying in the middle of the road. As we got closer we realized it was a cat, and he wasn't alive. As we got even closer yet, we saw that it was a large black and brown striped tiger cat. At this point my father and I turned to each other and said "Tigger"! Tigger was our large black and brown striped tiger cat.
To be more exact, Tigger was the cat that we had taken off the streets who had become my younger sister's cat. He was a street cat that despite my mother's best efforts to the contrary kept coming around our house. Finally we realized that at night my sister was feeding this cat and thus encouraging him to stick around. That was several years before, and we had since adopted him and grown quite fond of him.
Later that day my dad recounted the rest of the story to me. Having returned to the dead cat in the road, my father inspected it and determined that it was in fact Tigger. He lovingly picked up the body, took it to a special place, and gave the cat a fitting burial. Upon arriving home, my father sat down and tried to figure out how he was going to break the bad news to my mother and especially my sister, when he felt something rubbing up against his leg. Looking down he was shocked to see Tigger there purring and apparently alive and well!
Obviously my dad buried the wrong cat. Tigger had not been hit and killed by a car, but in a way this is similar to what the Bible refers to as resurrection. So now I'm sure you're asking yourself, "what is resurrection"? Well it's not like some terrible zombie movie, and it's not reincarnation, but it's also not your soul floating up to heaven. The apostle Paul compares resurrection to planting a seed in the ground and the change that takes place when that seed grows up into a plant (1 Corinthians 15:35-37). Obviously the seed/plant analogy Paul uses can only be taken so far, since when we talk about resurrection we aren't expecting to turn into plants or trees, or giant humans. When talking about resurrection we are limited because thus far there is only one example of resurrection, namely the resurrection of Jesus.
When we look at the various resurrection accounts containted in the four Gospels, we see two different emphases being presented. First, there is an emphasis on the real physical body being resurrected (eating food, crucifixion wounds, being touched). Second there is an emphasis regarding the different nature of that resurrected body (not being recognized, appearing in locked rooms, and mysteriously appearing). It seems clear that while the resurrection does involve our real physical bodies (as evidenced by the empty tomb) the result is not quite in line with what we would consider typical of a human body.
So what does this mean for us? Why should any of us care anything about resurrection, or whether or not that is our ultimate goal? For some this belief in resurrection has implications for their ability to be organ donors and to be cremated. The reasoning goes that if a part of the body is missing (organ donation) or the entire body is destroyed (cremation) then there will be an incomplete body or no body to be resurrected. My answer to these fears is simple. God created Adam from dust (Genesis 2:7), God created Eve from one rib (Genesis 2:22), and finally God created everything from nothing. Surely God can figure out how to put us back together in the resurrection.
More importantly, as pointed out by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:12-20), without resurrection, then Jesus was not who he said he was and we are all waisting our time! Resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith. Without Christ's resurrection then Jesus was just a popular teacher and healer, who was killed for being a false messiah. No, what set Jesus apart was the resurrection, and his promise that because of him those who would be his followers may also have hope and take part in the resurrection at his return.
You may or may not agree with what I've laid out above. You may never have heard of this before. You might now be even more confused and frightened about death. But you need not be. Resurrection is joyful and hopefilled. To believe in resurrection is to believe that you live with a real physical body (only better than your current body) forever! Take another look at your Bible. Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and take a close look at Jesus teachings about death and what happens when we die. Finally realize that everywhere the word "resurrection" is used it is describing what I've laid out above.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
I like to compare it to a true story from my youth. My father and I were up early, and we were on our way to the school, as I was off to compete in a sporting event. As we were driving along the road, we noticed something lying in the middle of the road. As we got closer we realized it was a cat, and he wasn't alive. As we got even closer yet, we saw that it was a large black and brown striped tiger cat. At this point my father and I turned to each other and said "Tigger"! Tigger was our large black and brown striped tiger cat.
To be more exact, Tigger was the cat that we had taken off the streets who had become my younger sister's cat. He was a street cat that despite my mother's best efforts to the contrary kept coming around our house. Finally we realized that at night my sister was feeding this cat and thus encouraging him to stick around. That was several years before, and we had since adopted him and grown quite fond of him.
Later that day my dad recounted the rest of the story to me. Having returned to the dead cat in the road, my father inspected it and determined that it was in fact Tigger. He lovingly picked up the body, took it to a special place, and gave the cat a fitting burial. Upon arriving home, my father sat down and tried to figure out how he was going to break the bad news to my mother and especially my sister, when he felt something rubbing up against his leg. Looking down he was shocked to see Tigger there purring and apparently alive and well!
Obviously my dad buried the wrong cat. Tigger had not been hit and killed by a car, but in a way this is similar to what the Bible refers to as resurrection. So now I'm sure you're asking yourself, "what is resurrection"? Well it's not like some terrible zombie movie, and it's not reincarnation, but it's also not your soul floating up to heaven. The apostle Paul compares resurrection to planting a seed in the ground and the change that takes place when that seed grows up into a plant (1 Corinthians 15:35-37). Obviously the seed/plant analogy Paul uses can only be taken so far, since when we talk about resurrection we aren't expecting to turn into plants or trees, or giant humans. When talking about resurrection we are limited because thus far there is only one example of resurrection, namely the resurrection of Jesus.
When we look at the various resurrection accounts containted in the four Gospels, we see two different emphases being presented. First, there is an emphasis on the real physical body being resurrected (eating food, crucifixion wounds, being touched). Second there is an emphasis regarding the different nature of that resurrected body (not being recognized, appearing in locked rooms, and mysteriously appearing). It seems clear that while the resurrection does involve our real physical bodies (as evidenced by the empty tomb) the result is not quite in line with what we would consider typical of a human body.
So what does this mean for us? Why should any of us care anything about resurrection, or whether or not that is our ultimate goal? For some this belief in resurrection has implications for their ability to be organ donors and to be cremated. The reasoning goes that if a part of the body is missing (organ donation) or the entire body is destroyed (cremation) then there will be an incomplete body or no body to be resurrected. My answer to these fears is simple. God created Adam from dust (Genesis 2:7), God created Eve from one rib (Genesis 2:22), and finally God created everything from nothing. Surely God can figure out how to put us back together in the resurrection.
More importantly, as pointed out by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:12-20), without resurrection, then Jesus was not who he said he was and we are all waisting our time! Resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith. Without Christ's resurrection then Jesus was just a popular teacher and healer, who was killed for being a false messiah. No, what set Jesus apart was the resurrection, and his promise that because of him those who would be his followers may also have hope and take part in the resurrection at his return.
You may or may not agree with what I've laid out above. You may never have heard of this before. You might now be even more confused and frightened about death. But you need not be. Resurrection is joyful and hopefilled. To believe in resurrection is to believe that you live with a real physical body (only better than your current body) forever! Take another look at your Bible. Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and take a close look at Jesus teachings about death and what happens when we die. Finally realize that everywhere the word "resurrection" is used it is describing what I've laid out above.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Wednesday's Thoughts
So you may have noticed that I've added a few new things to the blog, including a list of books I'm currently reading. I'm hoping to put up new Sermon Samplers every Monday, and on Wednesday's post some reflections based on my readings. This will hopefully prove to not only allow me an outlet to reflect upon my reading, but will also provide some thought provoking reading for you as well. Either way fell free to let me know what you think.
This week I'm going to reflect on some of my reading from "The Shack". In case you're unfamiliar with the story, it's a fictional story about a man who loses his young daughter, and then spends a weekend in a shack with God. I'm about half way through the book, and have so far found it to be a pretty good read. As a matter of fact, we'll be offering a book study of it this fall (probably Octoberish), so keep your eye out for that!
What I'd like to discuss specifically today though is how each of us thinks of God. In the book, the three persons of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) appear to the main character as a large African American woman (God the Father), an olive skinned "plain" looking man (God the Son), and an Asian woman who can't quite be seen clearly (God the Holy Spirit).
What do you think of this? Is God a woman? Can we think of two persons of the Trinity as being women? What about the notion that God is NOT white? What do you make of that?
Likely for many of us, the description of Jesus isn't too problematic, but the descriptions of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit may be more difficult. I must admit that I have always thought of God as a male (that does seem to be the most prevalent description of God in the Bible), but I wonder if that's necessarily the only way we have to or even should think about God? After all in Genesis 1:27 it does say that God created men and women in God's image. Of course at this point some are almost certainly interjecting that God is Spirit, and therefore neither male nor female. Some might argue that maleness or femaleness are qualities that we as male and female human beings impose upon God in the hopes of better understanding the qualities and characteristics of God.
So what do you think? Is God a man? Is God a woman? Is God neither? Is God White, African, Middle Eastern, Asian, or something wholly other? Allow these questions to sit a while. Maybe this is the first time you've ever thought about some of these things, maybe not. Either way, think. Maybe even read your Bible a little and decide for yourself. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
This week I'm going to reflect on some of my reading from "The Shack". In case you're unfamiliar with the story, it's a fictional story about a man who loses his young daughter, and then spends a weekend in a shack with God. I'm about half way through the book, and have so far found it to be a pretty good read. As a matter of fact, we'll be offering a book study of it this fall (probably Octoberish), so keep your eye out for that!
What I'd like to discuss specifically today though is how each of us thinks of God. In the book, the three persons of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) appear to the main character as a large African American woman (God the Father), an olive skinned "plain" looking man (God the Son), and an Asian woman who can't quite be seen clearly (God the Holy Spirit).
What do you think of this? Is God a woman? Can we think of two persons of the Trinity as being women? What about the notion that God is NOT white? What do you make of that?
Likely for many of us, the description of Jesus isn't too problematic, but the descriptions of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit may be more difficult. I must admit that I have always thought of God as a male (that does seem to be the most prevalent description of God in the Bible), but I wonder if that's necessarily the only way we have to or even should think about God? After all in Genesis 1:27 it does say that God created men and women in God's image. Of course at this point some are almost certainly interjecting that God is Spirit, and therefore neither male nor female. Some might argue that maleness or femaleness are qualities that we as male and female human beings impose upon God in the hopes of better understanding the qualities and characteristics of God.
So what do you think? Is God a man? Is God a woman? Is God neither? Is God White, African, Middle Eastern, Asian, or something wholly other? Allow these questions to sit a while. Maybe this is the first time you've ever thought about some of these things, maybe not. Either way, think. Maybe even read your Bible a little and decide for yourself. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sermon Sampler (August 2nd) - U-Turns
If you've lived for any amount of time in New York State, you've certainly seen one of these signs in your travels. Likely you've even had the misfortune of seeing one just after you missed your exit. I always notice them when the next exit is 20-30 miles further down the road. It is at these times that such signs seem to taunt me and further rub in that now I'm stuck driving far out of my way to get back on track! It is because of my somewhat negative experience with "No U-Turn" signs, that I so loved my first visit to New Jersey. You see in New Jersey they have very similar signs with the exception that these allow U-Turns!
For the lost traveler, U-Turns offer a chance to get back on track, but in our lives, a U-Turn can be seen as an opportunity at reconciliation or even for avoiding further hardship. Our Epistle Lesson this week, 1 Corinthians 10:13, shared an important point about these opportunities we've labeled "U-Turns". Not only does God allow U-Turns, God even provides them for us throughout our lives and strongly encourages us to take advantage of them.
The reality of U-Turns provided by God can be seen in the story of David & Bathsheba as well as a story from my own youth. Both stories start out with two men being where they didn't belong. David's story starts out "In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war" David stayed home. He was where he wasn't supposed to be. It continues with David deciding to get some fresh air and walking up to his roof. Again where he wasn't supposed to be. My own story starts in the spring time, at a church conference late at night, when I was supposed to be in bed. Only I wasn't in bed. I was where I wasn't supposed to be, up with friends, breaking our curfew. My story continues with several of us deciding to get some fresh air and therefore sneaking out a second floor window. Again where I wasn't supposed to be.
Already several U-Turns have been made available. If only King David went off to war. If only I went off to bed. If only King David took a walk in his front yard, back yard, side yard, or court yard. If only I got some fresh air by opening a window and staying in doors.
Both stories continue with something that started so innocently turning bad. King David once upon his roof notices a "very beautiful" woman bathing (read naked). He finds out she's the wife of Uriah the Hittite, calls for her and ends up sleeping with the woman. It started out with a walk for fresh air and turned into adultery! My own story started out so innocently, just getting some air, but soon we found ourselves in a courtyard. From there we noticed all the benches were chained to the ground...except one! It was only a matter of moments before we were moving said bench into a road. It all started so innocently.
Again it doesn't take a master of perception to recognize the U-Turns made available in our two stories. If David looks, realizes what he's seeing and leaves his roof, or if he finds out she's married and it ends there, or even if he just calls her over to his place, but doesn't sleep with her. Likewise if only we didn't go into that courtyard, or if we didn't realize all but one bench were chained down, or even if we just left the unchained bench where it was.
Of course both stories go from bad to worse when the two men are confronted with the consequences of their actions. The first words David hears from Bathsheba after their encounter are "I'm pregnant". Immediately David decides to cover up what he has done. He calls for Bathsheba's husband, tries several ways to get him to sleep with his own wife, and when that fails, he has the poor guy killed. From bad to worse, from simply being an adulterer to now being a murderer and an adulterer! The first words I heard after moving the bench were "Stop right there!" The next words I heard were "Run. Cops!" I followed the second. I ran instead of staying. My friend who stayed got a stern talking to and then was sent back to bed. I ran away from the dorm instead of toward it. The friend who ran to the dorm went back to his room and to bed. No I was now not only running from campus security and Scranton Police, I was also lost in the middle of the city of Scranton!
If only David and I had paid attention to the U-Turns provided for us throughout these stories. If only we had taken one of them. So as not to leave you hanging, my story concluded with police on my left, police on my right, and pretty much cops all around me! I quickly confessed my crime, apologized profusely, and swore to never do such a thing again. It was funny, because the police believed me, took pity on a dumb kid, and sent me back to my dorm with all forgiven!
The same ending is available to all of us, for all of our stories. No matter how much you feel like you're trapped in the course you've gotten yourself stuck on. No matter how much you think you can't turn back now, with God, you always can! It's called Repentance, and it's the ultimate U-Turn. You simply need to admit what you've done, say you're sorry, really mean it, and try not to do it again. It's that simple. You're story can end as mine did, by getting back on the right track. Or your story could end much sooner, with much less drama, if you choose to take any one of the many U-Turns that God provides throughout the journey!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
For the lost traveler, U-Turns offer a chance to get back on track, but in our lives, a U-Turn can be seen as an opportunity at reconciliation or even for avoiding further hardship. Our Epistle Lesson this week, 1 Corinthians 10:13, shared an important point about these opportunities we've labeled "U-Turns". Not only does God allow U-Turns, God even provides them for us throughout our lives and strongly encourages us to take advantage of them.
The reality of U-Turns provided by God can be seen in the story of David & Bathsheba as well as a story from my own youth. Both stories start out with two men being where they didn't belong. David's story starts out "In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war" David stayed home. He was where he wasn't supposed to be. It continues with David deciding to get some fresh air and walking up to his roof. Again where he wasn't supposed to be. My own story starts in the spring time, at a church conference late at night, when I was supposed to be in bed. Only I wasn't in bed. I was where I wasn't supposed to be, up with friends, breaking our curfew. My story continues with several of us deciding to get some fresh air and therefore sneaking out a second floor window. Again where I wasn't supposed to be.
Already several U-Turns have been made available. If only King David went off to war. If only I went off to bed. If only King David took a walk in his front yard, back yard, side yard, or court yard. If only I got some fresh air by opening a window and staying in doors.
Both stories continue with something that started so innocently turning bad. King David once upon his roof notices a "very beautiful" woman bathing (read naked). He finds out she's the wife of Uriah the Hittite, calls for her and ends up sleeping with the woman. It started out with a walk for fresh air and turned into adultery! My own story started out so innocently, just getting some air, but soon we found ourselves in a courtyard. From there we noticed all the benches were chained to the ground...except one! It was only a matter of moments before we were moving said bench into a road. It all started so innocently.
Again it doesn't take a master of perception to recognize the U-Turns made available in our two stories. If David looks, realizes what he's seeing and leaves his roof, or if he finds out she's married and it ends there, or even if he just calls her over to his place, but doesn't sleep with her. Likewise if only we didn't go into that courtyard, or if we didn't realize all but one bench were chained down, or even if we just left the unchained bench where it was.
Of course both stories go from bad to worse when the two men are confronted with the consequences of their actions. The first words David hears from Bathsheba after their encounter are "I'm pregnant". Immediately David decides to cover up what he has done. He calls for Bathsheba's husband, tries several ways to get him to sleep with his own wife, and when that fails, he has the poor guy killed. From bad to worse, from simply being an adulterer to now being a murderer and an adulterer! The first words I heard after moving the bench were "Stop right there!" The next words I heard were "Run. Cops!" I followed the second. I ran instead of staying. My friend who stayed got a stern talking to and then was sent back to bed. I ran away from the dorm instead of toward it. The friend who ran to the dorm went back to his room and to bed. No I was now not only running from campus security and Scranton Police, I was also lost in the middle of the city of Scranton!
If only David and I had paid attention to the U-Turns provided for us throughout these stories. If only we had taken one of them. So as not to leave you hanging, my story concluded with police on my left, police on my right, and pretty much cops all around me! I quickly confessed my crime, apologized profusely, and swore to never do such a thing again. It was funny, because the police believed me, took pity on a dumb kid, and sent me back to my dorm with all forgiven!
The same ending is available to all of us, for all of our stories. No matter how much you feel like you're trapped in the course you've gotten yourself stuck on. No matter how much you think you can't turn back now, with God, you always can! It's called Repentance, and it's the ultimate U-Turn. You simply need to admit what you've done, say you're sorry, really mean it, and try not to do it again. It's that simple. You're story can end as mine did, by getting back on the right track. Or your story could end much sooner, with much less drama, if you choose to take any one of the many U-Turns that God provides throughout the journey!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Interesting Story about Hell
The below link will lead you to a USA Today story about Hell and the reality that many churches/pastors no longer talk about it at all. The story also hints at the necessity of holding true to church doctrines (beliefs) that may not necessarily be popular.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-08-01-hell-damnation_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-08-01-hell-damnation_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
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