Headphones

I was recently introduced to this song.  It's a song by Jars of Clay, and the linked video shows an interpretation of the song by youth group.

Headphones Drama

The song laments the hurt and pain in the world, and also points to a more and more prevalent coping mechanism used by people to avoid having to deal with the world.  If you've ever been on a city mass transit system (subway, bus, etc) you've almost certainly seen people in crowded public spaces with headphones on ignoring everything and everyone around them.  The headphones (with corresponding music) serve to block out the surrounding world.  

Whether you employ this particular strategy or not, I'm struck with the truth that in many ways we are all guilty of doing this.  We ignore the couple fighting at the gas station, pretending like we don't notice anything is going on.  We continue driving when we see a person stranded on the side of the road with their car broken down.  We put our money in the offering plate, give food to the Boy Scouts and figure we've done our part.   As for the those we don't have to see, the homeless, the sick, the dying, those whose lives are destroyed by war and oppression, we hardly give them a second thought!  We may or may not use headphones to block out the realities of this world, but we are all guilty of what this song points out. 

So what will you do about this?  Will you simply turn the volume up and continue to avoid, or will you remove your headphones and do something about it?

Sermon Sampler (September 12th) - Heavenly Parties

This past weekend marked the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and (thanks to the heroism of ordinary people) a field in Pennsylvania. These events which all occurred on the same day, have come to be known by simply the designation 9/11 (the date that day). On that one day the whole world seemed to change. I know personally I can never see an airplane flying low again without wondering if it isn't going to crash into a building. For many patriotism and pride in country became the immediate and resounding response to these attacks meant to engender fear and terror. At some point in time, a deep sense of anger came bursting forth from seemingly the entire country.

Nine years later, the world is still different. I still wonder when I see airplanes flying low and the anger is still very much present. We only need to look at news stories where people are protesting mosques being placed near ground zero, or clergy seeking to burn the sacred book of another religion's faith to see this deeply ingrained anger.

While caused by big things, like events such as 9/11, anger comes to the forefront for many people because of the little things to. We become angry when we are cut off in traffic, or when our waiter or waitress isn't kind enough, or when our computer doesn't work properly. Anger is a seemingly ever-present part of many of our lives. But what does the Bible have to say about it?

As I was pondering this problem of anger, and seeking out a text that adequately addressed the issue, I came accross the following passage from Luke's gospel (Luke 15:1-10).  Here Jesus is telling about how a person would react upon losing a sheep or a coin and making an analogy between that person and God.  The point is that God seeks out the lost, and then upon being found and brought back, there is rejoicing (literally a party) in Heaven!

Initially I struggled to see how this story connected with the problem of anger (especially anger when we feel like someone or something has wronged us).  But then I took my 3 year old daughter to her first day of pre-school and watched as several children were scared and cried.  Then I noticed one little boy who seemed to be making it his duty to destroy and disrupt everything he came in contact with.  I watched as his teachers continued to be patient and showed absolutely zero signs of frustration or anger, but rather compassion and understanding!  I wondered how this could be, and then the passage from Luke, about lost sheep came to mind.  I realized that this little boy was not a bad child, he too was scared and missing his parents.  He was truly a lost sheep.

This simple event unlocked this text and showed me what God was trying to tell me about anger.  It allowed me in the smallest of ways to glimpse others through the eyes of God, and to realize that the person who cut me off, the rude waiter and others who caused me anger were not bad people, but rather that they were lost sheep.  Now the next step I don't expect all to make, but for me I was able to see those men who flew airplanes into buildings, killing thousands of people also as lost sheep.  Their act was unspeakably terrible, even evil, but the men themselves were sincerely mistaken, and truly lost.

Another glance at the passage from Luke reveals not only insight into understanding those who cause us anger, but also direction for how to proceed after we gain that understanding.  For the shepherd and the woman did not simply realize that the sheep and coin (respectively) were lost, but they sought them out and found them.  God is that shepherd and that woman.  God is the one who seeks out all people and finds them where they are, then brings them back into the fold.  As I read and realized these things, and read Jesus emphasis on the rejoicing and celebrating that occurred every time one of these lost sheep is found and brought back, I felt convicted to do something.  I felt the Spirit urging me to be a part (even if only in a small way) of the process of finding and bringing back.

My question to you is who are the lost sheep in your life?  Who are those that God is nudging you to understand and see with new eyes?  Furthermore where is the Holy Spirit moving you to be a part of the finding and bringing back of one of those lost sheep?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (August 8th) - Lions and Little Things

Did you know that an average adult lion needs to eat 10-15 pounds of meat every single day?  In part to provide for their incredible food needs, lions live in groups (called prides) and hunt together in coordinated efforts that allow them to take on much larger prey.  It is not uncommon for a pride of lions to attack an kill a water buffalo and on rare occasions a lion pride has been known to kill adult elephants!

It is in the midst just such a ferocious group that the climax of the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6:10-23) takes place.  Daniel ended up in this predicament not because of some huge amazing act of faith, but rather for being faithful in the little things.  We are told that it was Daniel's habit to pray three times a day to God, and in fact the above passage begins with Daniel doing just that.  The problem was that those who wished to remove Daniel (permanently) had convinced the king to pass a law for one month that no one could pray to anyone or anything beside the king.  Despite this new law, and the promise of death by lions, Daniel remained faithful in the little things and prayed to God.  Daniel is caught doing this simple act, convicted and sentenced to death.  Upon entering the lion's den, Daniel prays to God, and an angel comes to protect him from those natural killing machines (also called lions).

Now I find myself wondering how I would react if I were in Daniel's shoes.  Would I even think to pray to God if I found myself in a lion's den, or would I be too busy screaming, yelling, and trying to get out of there? For many of us, the scene in the lion's den is the crucial moment.  It is after all the common namesake for the entire story and seemingly the moment of truth for Daniel's faith in God.  Or is it?  I would like to suggest to you that the true test of Daniel's faith (and analogously our own faith) comes not in the lion's den, but rather when he went upstairs and prayed.  Ask yourself this, if you were in Daniel's place, when the law prohibiting prayer to anyone or anything except the king was passed, what would you do?  The law was only in effect for a month.  The law didn't require prayer to the king, only kept people from praying to anyone or anything except the king.  Would you have just "taken a break" from praying?  Would you have simply prayed in secret?  I'm afraid I may have taken one of these "compromise" options.

The true test of our faith is not how we react in the lion's den, with the big things, but rather in the little things, with the every day opportunities.  Do you pray regularly?  Do you study/read your Bible?  Do you live your faith throughout your daily life?

Daniel was able to have faith in the lion's den, precisely because he had faith to pray in his upper room.  Faith is grown and strengthened.  Think of a weightlifter.  The man who wants to lift a car, doesn't just go outside and try to pick up his car.  He first trains, lifting lighter weights and building his way up to the car.  The same is true with your faith.  If you want to have faith like Daniel in the lion's den, then you need to have faith like Daniel praying in the upper room.  Take a moment right now.  Pray to God, and ask what those "little things" are that you can begin to do to build and strengthen your faith, and then get at it!

Our faith needs to be grown and strengthened, so that when the lions do come, our faith will not falter, but will stand the test.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (June 27th) - Picking up the Mantle

If you don't know, I enjoy watching Track & Field competitions on television.  I know, lame right?  Well I'm that guy, and I do.  My favorite events are the relays (where four men or women run varying lengths and transport a baton around the track).  Relays are the only time in Track & Field that people actually utilize teamwork, and it's one of the few times that the fastest/strongest athletes don't necessarily win.  The past twenty (or so) years of the United States Men's 4x100 relay team illustrates this point perfectly.  In previous  competitions our men's team has been favored to win or at the very least medal almost always, and yet, often they have fallen quite short.  One year the baton was dropped during an exchange and the team was disqualified.  Another time the baton was handed off too late and the team was disqualified.  Once the hand off was done so poorly that it cost the team the victory.  Needless to say in relay events the exchange from one runner to the next is very important.

One of the best examples of a good "hand off" can be found in the Bible in the book of Kings (starting with 1 Kings 19:19-21 and moving into 2 Kings 2:6-14).  In these two passages we see the passing of the prophetic torch from Elijah to Elisha.  The first passage finds Elijah seeking out and calling Elisha to be his successor (while still in Elijah's prime) and Elisha responding by symbolically making a break with his past, in order to fully commit to the call.  The second passage finds Elijah nearing his end, and yet offering to further mentor Elisha by asking "Tell me, what can I do for you".  We also see Elisha affirming his commitment to the call to be Elijah's successor by remaining with Elijah every step of the way, and then picking up Elijah's mantle.  The key steps in the two passages can be summed up simply as follows: Elijah calls, Elisha responds, Elijah mentors, Elisha picks up the mantle.

In the church this calling, responding, mentoring, and succeeding process is vital.  The saying is true that the church is always only one generation from extinction, and all it takes is one generation (either those who have gone before or those who are coming) to drop "the ball" for things to fall apart in a hurry.  In the church, we don't often use Elijah and Elisha titles for these two groups, but rather descriptors like "the old guard" and "the new folks" suffice.  The old guard are those who have been there and done that.  They are the ones who are reliable and know how things are done.  The new folks are more often seen as being occassionally inconsistent, and needing to learn a thing or two.  But the so called "new folks" are uniquely gifted to lead the church into a changed and changing world.  Let me say this again, the Elisha's of the church are uniquely gifted to lead the church into a changed and changing world.

Having said all this, the questions for the old guard (the Elijah's) are Who's going to seek out and call the successors?  Furthermore, Who will mentor those successors and ask "what may I do for you?"

For the new folks (the Elisha's) the questions are Who's willing to burn their plow and break with their past?  Furthermore, Who will pick up the mantle and lead the church?

Regardless of who you are this final question needs to be asked: the church is filled with a decreasing number of Elijah's (old guard), while the world is full of uncalled and uncommitted Elisha's (new folks), What are you going to do about it?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Ordination (June 19th)

This past Saturday (June 19th) I was ordained in the first class of the Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church.  The conference was held in Syracuse and was filled with a day of meetings and legislation creating and confirming the newly created (but not newly conceived) conference.  The final act of the day was the ordination service and several made the trip to witness the historic event.  In case you missed it (and even if you didn't) here are a few photos. 

(If you'd like to see more, contact Rich Howard who was doing his best paparazzi impression.)

Sermon Sampler (June 13th) - Love Much?

You're a good person, right?  I mean, nobody's perfect, but you're not a terrible, awful person like some people, right?  Don't worry, I'm sure the answer is "yes".

Speaking of others, have you ever played horseshoes?  I learned not that long ago, and what a wonderful game!  Horseshoes is the game of close is good enough.  You're supposed to get the horseshoe around the stake, BUT if you get it even close, that's good enough too!  What a wonderful game.  Unfortunately the saying "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades" is more often than not true.  The reality is that too often in life, close is not good enough, and according to the law, close is still infinitely far away when it comes to God.

This point can be better understood by exploring the following scripture passage: Luke 7:36-50.  This passage finds Jesus attending a dinner at the invitation of a man named Simon, who was a Pharisee.  Among other things, Pharisees were known for their strict adherence to the law and their righteous lifestyles.  Also in attendance at this meal was a woman (no name given, only described as living a "sinful life").  This woman came to the meal upon hearing Jesus would be in attendance, and almost immediately she began weeping at Jesus' feet and wiping his feet with her hair.  Now as strange (and inappropriate) as this may sound to modern readers, it was even worse to those 1st century Jews in attendance!  For in their culture and time, for a woman to let her hair down was an act only appropriate in the bedroom with her husband, prior to having sex.  It was roughly the equivalent of a woman today taking her top off in public!

Simon, the righteous, legalistic, Pharisee comments on this inappropriate action, suggesting that if Jesus truly were a prophet he would not let this woman (widely speculated by later commentators to be a prostitute) touch him.  As was his way, Jesus turned the tables on Simon.  Jesus told a parable of two men forgiven debts.  One was forgiven roughly two months wages, while the other was forgiven two years income.  The question was then posed to Simon, which man would love the creditor more for forgiving his debt.  In answer Simon grudgingly stated that the one forgiven more would love more.  Jesus then points out that this woman who was a sinner had showed Jesus greater respect and hospitality than Simon the Pharisee had.  For while Simon didn't greet Jesus with a kiss (like a handshake in our culture), nor did he provide water for Jesus to wash his feet, this woman washed his feet with her tears and hadn't stopped kissing them.

Jesus concludes his teaching by pointing out that those who are forgiven much (implicitly the woman), love much, while those who are only forgiven a little (implicitly Simon) only love a little.  The truth is that both the person forgiven much and the one forgiven little are in fact the same.  Remember God isn't like horseshoes.  Close to the mark is still missing the mark, and the price paid to forgive the person who's close is the same price as the person who's way off.  Jesus died for both, so that both might be forgiven and both might be reconciled to God.

So my final question to you is whether or not you're a good person, whether you have much to be forgiven of or little, are you trusting in Jesus and loving much or are you still playing horseshoes?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (May 30th) - Holy Who?

The Trinity is a very, very, VERY difficult topic to really understand.  Let me repeat that, the theological concept of the Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons, one God) is not easily understood.  As a matter of fact in his sermon "On The Trinity", John Wesley suggests that it is not necessary to understand the Trinity, but only that the fact of Trinity is believed.  The assertion that Wesley is making about the Trinity is similar to my daughter's understanding (or lack thereof) of escalators.  Neither of them really know how an escalator works, but in truth they only need to know that the escalator will deliver them from one point to another.  In other words the escalator's effectiveness is not dependent upon their understanding of it.  The same is true for the Trinity.

One thing we do know about the Trinity is that because God exists in this way, God is fundamentally a relational being.  This means that even if nothing else ever existed (think people, angels, fish, rocks, trees, etc) God would still be in relationship with Godself.  Furthermore, since we as humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) then we to have as a fundamental aspect of our very being the propensity for relationship.  This means that as much as you might like to some days, you have been created (and even need) relationships with others.  As people we have been made to exist within community!

Having said all of this I would like to spend a moment trying to better understand the third person of the Trinity, namely The Holy Spirit.  Just like when trying to describe a person to those who don't know him or her, we are apt to describe specific actions of that person, so to can we come to better know the Holy Spirit by taking into account some actions of the Spirit. 

One action in particular, found in John 16:12-15, is the Holy Spirit as the bringer of truth.  This truth is not simply truth vs. lie, but rather the bringing of a complete and total truth.  This would be truth vs. half truth.  In the context of the John passage, the Holy Spirit is going to complete the message about Jesus and his true identity.  Specifically the Spirit brings the truth of Jesus' oneness with God and diety.  Furthermore the Spirit inspires the completion of Scripture, what we as Christians refer to as The New Testament.  Finally the truth that the Holy Spirit brings does not end with God and Jesus, but also includes humanity.  The passage immediately before the one linked above (John 16:5-11) finds Jesus explaining that the Spirit will reveal the reality of sin's pervasiveness throughout all humanity and therefore the universal need for divine grace.  In other words, the Holy Spirit convinces (or convicts) us all of our sinfullness and need for forgiveness from God.

So now you know that the Trinity is tough stuff, that you don't need to fully understand it, but rather accept what has been revealed, that the Trinity (and therefore people) fundamentally exist in relationship, and that the Holy Spirit (3rd person of the Trinity) brings truth.  What are you going to do with this knowledge?

Maybe you'll remember the understanding part, realize that understanding is not always as necessary as we make it out to be and not be so tough on yourself and others when understanding in other areas isn't completely there.  Maybe you'll latch onto the relational aspect of God and yourself and make more of an effort to foster positive relationships with those around you.  Maybe you'll seek the truth of the Holy Spirit for your life and seek to mirror that truth in your words and actions.  Or maybe you'll just say "interesting" and move on.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (May 22nd) - Super Heroes

Growing up I enjoyed reading comic books.  I especially enjoyed reading about the super heroes and their super powers!  I often would pretend that I was one of those super heroes.  I would dress up in my camouflage shirt and pants, my black baseball cap and my "top secret" backpack.  I filled my backpack with all sorts of special "top secret" tools, like rope, a tape measure, a phillips head screwdriver, etc.  I would even go on "top secret" missions!  The only problem was that when I finished my mission and changed out of my "super hero" clothes I was still just a normal little boy.

The event at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2:1-21, describes the permanent empowerment of the followers of Jesus, transforming them from a group of individuals into the body of Christ.  Whereas before they would try to be like their leader, and masquerade as those having true power, after Pentecost they were like him and they did have that power.  Peter who had before denied knowing Jesus (Matthew 26:69-76) is now found bravely proclaiming Jesus as the son of God and savior of all humanity.  James and John who had previously tried making themselves lords over the others (Mark 10:35-45) are now found to be proclaiming alongside the others the good news of Jesus.  No longer can Jesus' followers be described as pretending to be like Jesus or masquerading as those with power and authority.  Now they truly are like their leader and they truly do have power and authority from God.

The arrival of the Holy Spirit changes everything.  God's Spirit comes bestowing the gift of tongues upon the disciples at Pentecost in order to equip them to proclaim the good news of the gospel to people from the many nations who had gathered at Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast.  Later it's made clear that God's Spirit doesn't just bring the gift of tongues to believers but a whole host of other gifts that enable those gifted, to further build up the growing church (1 Corinthians 12:4-12). 

The question then for you is, are you still dressing up as a super hero, masquerading as a person with power and authority or have you encountered the living Spirit of God and been permanently transformed into a person with power and authority?

Sermon Sampler (April 25th) - Get Up!

Growing up within a stone's throw from the train tracks has had one beneficial side effect...it has made me a great sleeper!  Once asleep nearly nothing can wake me up.  This served me well in college when my roommate brought the habit of snoring to new heights, but hasn't been so beneficial during the early years of fatherhood.

When our children awake in the middle of night (which seems to happen often) my wife is frequently left alone to deal with a crying child/baby.  It's not that I'm unwilling to help out, but that more often than not I'm completely unaware that anything is happening.  It is normal for me to wake up in the morning commenting on how well everyone must have slept the night before, only to find that my wife and this child or that one slept terribly and were up more than not!

Throughout my life virtually nothing has been able to wake me from my sleep, that is except for the sound of dogs barking.  From my early teens onward, it was my responsibility to care for our dogs.  I came to know the sounds of their whines, barks, and yips so well that I could tell which dog was making the noise even before crawling out of bed.  Because I was responsible to care for them, and because I knew each one (we had three) so well, even in the midst of the soundest sleep I would awake nearly instantly in response to a noise from the dogs.

In our Gospel lesson this week (John 10:22-30), Jesus is being asked by a group of Jews if he is the Messiah or not.  They have had enough of his tendency to not necessarily be forthcoming with direct answers and are attempting to compel him to directly answer them.  In typical Jesus fashion, he refuses to be cornered and instead directs the conversation away from himself and toward them.  Jesus points out that he has answered their question, through his teaching and his deeds, and that their lack of belief and uncertainty over his identity reveals their exclusion from his "flock".  Jesus is suggesting that he in fact is the Messiah, and more than that, that he is one with God.  He is also, not so subtly, pointing out that by even asking him if he is the Messiah, they are showing how unfamiliar with him (and with God) they truly are!

These words are pretty challenging, and not just for some Jews in the first century, but also for many 21st century Christians.  When asked about God's involvement in our lives, many of us have to confess that God is not only not all that active in our day-to-day lives, but that we don't even look for him to be there.  This is true not just of casual observers of Christianity, but is also descriptive of Sunday regulars.  The unfortunate truth is that although Jesus proclaimed that his sheep would recognize his voice and follow him, many of us haven't a clue what the voice of God sounds like, let alone where we're being led!

Now the standard answers to rectify this deficiency are to attend church more regularly, read our Bibles more faithfully, and pray more diligently.  Of course I'm not going to give you a standard answer.  It turns out that God wants to be the Lord of our lives, not just the Lord of that one hour on Sunday.  God wants us to look to him and seek his guidance in all areas of our lives, not just some things.

Think about it this way, many of us when facing tragedy (lost job, ill loved one, destruction, etc) will turn to God and ask God to make whatever is bad or wrong, better.  Some of us, when unexpectedly blessed may think to thank God for the blessing we have received.  But how many of us appeal to God when we're looking for advice.  How many ask God for direction regarding a job change, a home purchase, a car purchase, a dinner destination/choice, or a wardrobe selection?  It may seem silly to ask God whether we should wear the blue shirt or the purple shirt, but is it any sillier than asking a three year old who may or may not know the difference between the two colors?  It might seem trivial to ask God if you should eat chicken or steak, but then again is asking the waitress at the restaurant so much wiser?

The benefit in appealing to God's guidance and wisdom in all you do may not necessarily be in the responses you receive but in the fact that you are actually turning to God, seeking God's direction, and expecting God to respond.  The truth is that many of us don't know/hear God not because God doesn't speak, but because we don't expect God to be speaking and therefore don't listen.  So go out this week seeking God, listening for God, and expecting to hear God's voice.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool Winners

Below you will find a picture of the winners for our NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool from the past three years.

Names & Dates: 2008 Gerry LeClar, 2009 Emily Martin, 2010 Crystal Martin

Sermon Sampler (April 18th) - Co-Laborers with Christ

I was young, foolish, and completely convinced I was doing what God had called me to do.  This sentence perfectly describes me the first time I picked up a hitch hiker.  He was standing alongside the road, wearing a long black trench coat, with his thumb up.  I quickly decided that my car (12 year old Plymouth Sundance) wasn't worth stealing, and that I was tough enough to fight off any attacker (I did have a Varsity Jacket on, so that alone was proof that I was a tough guy...right?). 

His name was Davey, and very quickly I began to wonder if I had made a mistake.  It wasn't when he lit up his first cigarette, or when he mentioned breaking out of the group home, or even when he told me he was John Lennon, but when he began to tell me how he was my god...that's when I started to doubt the wisdom of my decision!  I found myself furvently praying that God (the real God) would protect me from this clearly unstable character and just get him out of my car soon!

I survived that first experience, and upon telling people about it later that day, they tried to strongly impress upon me that picking up hitch hikers was unsafe, and definitely not what God was calling me to do.  Young, foolish, and still convinced that God was calling me to do this, I picked up Harold on my way home.  He was an older gentleman on his way home from work, who just needed a ride.  He didn't say anything scary, crazy or unstable, but rather spoke of how happy his wife would be when he got home early, thanks to my assistance.

I still to this day pick up hitch hikers, and have found far more like Harold, than like Davey.  Sometimes I feel like I've been a real blessing, but more often than not, I just feel very blessed myself.  I pick up hitch hikers, no longer because I'm young and foolish, but because I'm certain that God has called me to in this small way be a co-laborer with Christ.

When the apostle Paul had his conversion (Acts 9:1-20) another person became convinced that God was calling him to be a co-laborer with Christ.  Ananias was called to go to Paul (then called Saul) and pray for him.  Even though he knew the man he was being called to pray for to be an enemy of Christians, and desiring to kill them, Ananias was faithful and obeyed God's calling.  It's possible that if not for Ananias' faithfulness and willingness to work alongside Christ, that Paul's story would be completely different.

These two stories illustrate an important point.  Often when people think of doing "the Lord's work" or of being "co-laborers with Christ" they think of missionaries, pastors, and the like.  Rarely do people think of things like picking up hitch hikers, praying for others, or such simple things.  The reality is that while the big opportunities exist and will certainly come your way, the smaller opportunities are almost always present.  You can work alongside Christ by simply holding a door, giving a smile, or helping a friend, co-worker, or stranger in need.

The question is not if God is calling you, or if Christ needs you to be a co-laborer with him, but rather to what is God calling you, and how Christ needs you to be a co-laborer.  I pray that you'll listen, hear and then follow God's leading in your life, so that you too can be a co-laborer with Christ.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (March 28th) - Why so Happy?

Have you ever observed a tradition and not known quite why?  This might be a family tradition, a personal habit, or a church related ritual.  You know something fits this category when someone new observes it, asks why you do it that way, and you respond with an answer like "that's the way we always have done it" or "that's the way my parents did it" or even "that's the right way to do it."  All of those answers should immediately alert you to the fact that what you're doing is a ritual, tradition, or habit that you do without much understanding of why you do it.

Possibly even worse than observing some practice, ritual, or habit without understanding is finding out the reason behind the particular tradition only to discover the reason is a poor one.  For example, my wife grew up singing the song "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" (Lyrics with Music), with a certain set of motions.  The origin of those motions, it turns out, came in part out of teens mocking and ridiculing others (if you would like the full story, ask her about it).  Needless to say once she found out this fact, it kinda ruined the song for her.

I suspect that for many of us, Sunday mornings are filled with many of these rituals, habits, traditions, etc. that we have no real understanding of.  Hopefully these practices aren't like the above song motions, but rather have good reasons behind them.  One such practice is the observance of Palm Sunday.  Luke's account of the event (Luke 19:28-40) contains the Mount of Olives, a donkey, palm branches, cloaks, and stones.  Many Christians would be hard pressed to explain what significance all, some, or any of these things have.  To help answer those questions the below list briefly explains the purpose/meaning behind each of the above:
  Mount of Olives - Zechariah 14:4 says that the Messiah would come from the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem.
  Donkey - Zechariah 9:9 says that the Messiah would come riding a donkey.
  Palm Branches - these were common to the area, and they symbolized victory.
  Cloaks - 2 Kings 9:13 says that the people laid their cloaks down on the ground before King Jehu.
  Stones - symbolic of creation and creation's affirmation of Jesus as Messiah.

It's the last symbol, the stones that symbolize creation, that I would like to focus on.  The stones are unique to Luke's account of Palm Sunday, they carry an important message for us.  The stones represent creation's steadfast witness to Jesus as Messiah.  The whole point of the Palm Sunday story is that Jesus is in fact the Messiah, the one who would come to bring salvation and redemption for all humanity.  The problem for the people of that first Palm Sunday, who stood in the crowd shouting and proclaiming this fact, was that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted him to be.  They wanted a king who would be victorious in battle, and set up an earthly kingdom.  What they got was a suffering servant who died on a cross to set up an everlasting kingdom.

Fast forward to Good Friday, and only creation is willing to procclaim Jesus as Messiah.  We are told that as Jesus died there was an earthquake and that the curtain in the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:50-51).  During his final moments the crowd had scattered, his disciples only observed from a distance, and truly only creation was willing to proclaim Jesus as Messiah!

The question for you, now that you know some of the meaning behind the ritual, some of the method behind the madness, is will you remain with the crowd or will you join those stones in proclaiming Jesus as Messiah.  Will you scatter during Good Friday, avoiding the cross, or observing from a distance, or will you draw near and witness to a suffering servant, a crucified Messiah?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (March 21st) - You Might be a Christian If...

Faith

The final installment of our Lenten Series finds to no great suprise that the number one indicator that a person is a Christian would be his or her faith.  To quickly summarize, we simply defined "faith" with the word "trust".  Since the Greek word (pistis - translated "faith" in your Bibles) and the Latin word (fides - from which our English word "faith" comes from) both mean "trust" it seemed like a simple, appropriate, and easily understood definition.  Secondly we affirmed that faith necessarily implies action.  For example I can look at a chair and believe that it will hold my weight.  I can even tell others about said chair's potential ability to hold my weight.  But until I actually sit down on the chair I have yet to display my faith in it's ability to hold my weight.

So faith simply means trust, and necessarily implies some action upon that trust.  Furthermore we recognized that a person's faith (or lack of faith) can most clearly be seen during a time of crisis or hardship.  For example the man who loses his job but has faith in God, will procclaim God's care and future plan for his life (depsite losing said job).  A similar man without faith (or with a lack of faith) will not make such statements but rather focus on the lost job and the implications (no money, no food, no security, etc.).  Jesus understood this fact and uses it as a teaching point about the virtues of faith in the following passage Matthew 6:25-34.  In this passage Jesus suggests that to "worry" betrays a lack of faith.  He suggests that the person with strong faith will not worry about the little things (food and clothing) and instead be freed to focus on what's really important (The Kingdom of God).

Finally I remarked that faith is primarily about who your faith is in.  For Christians that "who" is Jesus.  But just like many things in life, faith in Christ is something you must find for yourself.  It's similar to finding a good doctor.  You can hear others tell you about how great their doctor is, but until you go and find out for yourself, you will never trust that doctor. 

I would like to close with a story about a tightrope walker.  The man was walking across Niagra Falls, and as he was preparing for his act, a huge crowd had gathered.  Upon walking across the falls on the tightrope, the man turned around and asked the people if they believed he could cross the falls.  Having just seen him perform the feat, the crowd enthusiastically cheered "Yes!"  Next the man walked across the falls pushing a wheelbarrow, and again asked the crowd if they believed he could cross pushing a wheelbarrow.  Having just seen him do that very thing, they again loudly proclaimed "Yes!"  Finally the tightrope walker crossed the falls pushing the wheelbarrow with his friend in it.  This time he asked if they believed he could cross the falls pushing a wheelbarrow with a person in it.  The crowd louder than ever shouted "YES!"  To which the man replied "Who's next?"

Jesus is that tightrope walker.  You and I are in the crowd.  We've seen him walk across the rope, and even seen him carry others across the falls.  The question is are you going to step out of the crowd and let him do the same for you, or will you remain in the crowd?

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (March 14th) - You Might be a Christian if...

Peace

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."  (John 14:27)

Jesus said these words to his disciples, mere hours before he was betrayed, arrested, beaten and killed.  They are a part of his parting words of advice to his followers.  But as I read them (as well as other passages in scripture) I find myself wondering how these words can really be applied to "real life".

For example, life is filled with stress and chaos.  There is family stress, community stress, job stress, and these are just to point to the "smaller" things in the world.  You can't turn on your television or look at a newspaper without hearing about another earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or conflict going on throughout the world.  It is in light of all of this stress, chaos, and despair that I often wonder how contemporary Christians are supposed to read such words proclaiming peace and not laugh (or cry) at such a suggestion.

But if we look at this word "peace" a little more it should be noted that the Hebrew and Greek foundations of this concept speak to an inward order in the face of outward chaos.  If we further remember the chaos that was surrounding Jesus' life at the time he said these words, we can see that he was not speaking within the context of some fairy tale, but rather was living in very real stress and chaos.  No, the peace offered in the above quote is a peace that is not dependent upon outward circumstances.  It is a peace that exists inspite of chaos and stress.  It is very truly a spiritual peace, that as the Apostle Paul says, "transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).

Now in case you are worried that you're not quite getting all of this, or if you fear that you don't experience a peace like this when life gets crazy/stressful/overwhelming, don't feel bad.  This isn't a hallmark of a beginning Christian, but rather is an indicator of a mature Christian.

Jesus begins this proclamation of peace by talking about the Holy Spirit, who will come in his absence and offer this comfort and peace (John 14:25-27).  The key to this whole conversation about peace is not necessarily the peace, but rather the relationship that yields this peace.  The key is the relationship in God that brings about this peace.  Therefore if you find that you don't experience this peace when life's storms are raging, or that you don't experience this peace near enough, then this is an indication that you'r relationship with God could stand to be strengthened.

In light of all this, I would leave you with Jesus' words of promise to his disciples, encouraging you to realize that the promise is the same for you...

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (March 7th) - You Might be a Christian if...

Kindness

It would seem that there are two different types of kindness in the world.  There's the "he's so kind, he wouldn't even hurt a fly" type of kindness and then there's the "he's so kind, he would give you the shirt off his back" type.  The first type is passive, in that the person who's kind is kind by not doing something mean.  The second type is active, in that the kind person goes out of his or her way to be kind to others. 

It is this latter type of kindness that I'm suggesting makes up the character of a Christian, and is indeed the kindness that Jesus presents in his parable the Good Samartian (Luke 10:25-37).  If you are unfamiliar with the story, it begins with a man (nothing else is told about him) on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (a particularly treacherous road) being robbed, stripped, and beaten half to death.  At this point, as luck would have it, a priest comes along.  Contrary to expectation though, the priest crosses to the other side of the road and continues on his way.  Next a Levite comes by, and again the result is disappointing as he too crosses to the other side of the path and passes by the dying man.  Now it's important to realize that both the priest and the Levite are the "good guys" of the culture and time.  They would be like a police officer and a fire fighter in our contemporary context.  They would be expected to help the man, but yet in Jesus' story they do not.  Finally a Samaritan comes by (these people were seen as at best unfavorable at the time, comparable to a hitch hiker for a motorist).  Contrary to expectation the Samaritan stops, bandages the man, takes him to safety and then pays for his room and board until he is able to be on his way again.

Jesus uses this story (which wildly flips the expected roles of the characters) to emphasize who a person's neighbor is and should be (the answer is everyone).  For our purposes this story also does a great job of illustrating what Christian kindness should look like. 

Now I realize that many of us have no problem being kind to those who are first kind to us, or at least those who aren't mean to us, but we struggle when it comes to being kind to our unkind (or even mean) "neighbors".  I'd like to offer some help with this particular dilemma.  I had an incident the other night where a person woke me up around 2:30-3:00ish.  This person then proceeded to scream and yell at me, and even hit and kicked me!  If this was not bad enough, the person also tried to bite me!  Now I'm sure you're wondering how I reacted.  How would you react to such rude, mean, and violent behavior?  Well I continued to hug this person, I sang him a song or two, I even tried to get him to go to sleep in my own bed!  Hopefully you're beginning to realize that this was my 8 month old son.  Of course you think I'm cheating now.  You're likely saying that that's different, that he's a baby.  But is it?

The next time someone is being especially un-loveable around you, just imagine him or her as a cute little baby (possibly throwing a bit of a temper tantrum).  Most people are able to easily love babies, and quickly will forgive and forget any wrongs that said baby may have done to them, but struggle to give an adult even the benefit of the doubt, let alone show them kindness.  Try and remember that we were all cute, adorable, loveable babies at one time.  Try to imagine that person once again as a baby, and remember that Jesus calls us to be kind and show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Christian Homework #3: Go out to eat this week, someplace where you'll be waited on.  Regardless of service (good, bad, indifferent) tip the waiter or waitress well.  Remember that as Christians we are called to show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm!  If you find yourself struggling to be kind to this person, just imagine them as a cute little baby! ;)

Sermon Sampler (February 28th) - You Might be a Christian if...

JOY

You can divide people up into many different categories or classifications (think male/female, young/old, rich/poor, etc) but I'm fairly certain that one grouping that most all people would readily identify with is cats/dogs.  Most people when asked will either say they are a "cat person" or a "dog person".  I would almost certainly identify with the latter. 

Dogs are loyal, you can train them, you can play games with them, and they are infinitely more open to human affection than cats.  Seriously, dogs are famous for being loyal, while cats are famous for at best being indifferent.  Dogs are commonly trained to do amazing things, while a person is lucky if they can train their cat to use the litter box.  If you throw an object a dog will instinctively go and fetch it, if do that with a cat they may or may not even look up to see what you're doing!

As I said, this is how I would typically identify myself, as a dog person, with one exception...Fonzy.  Not the character on Happy Days, although he was a cool guy for sure.  No, the Fonzy I'm talking about was my cat.  He was actually my replacement cat, because my first cat (who's name I don't even remember) ran out the front door and got hit by a car.  I got Fonzy when I was 2 and had him until I was 23! 

Now it might be because he was around for so long, or because he was basically raised by a dog (he came to us as a kitten), or maybe just because he was MY pet, but Fonzy was special.  He actually wanted to be around people.  He loved attention, and seemed to genuinely miss us when we were away.  He was incredibly tolerant of my sister and I, even when we tied string around his neck and took him for "walks".  Needless to say I loved him, and thought he was the greatest pet ever.  That's why it was so much worse when, at the age of 9, Fonzy vanished!

We put up flyers and placed ads in the paper.  We even offered a reward!  But the days turned into weeks, and soon our family had lost all hope.  My parents tried to comfort my sister and I, they even offered to get a new cat, but we knew no new cat would be Fonzy.  Then one day the phone rang.  The voice on the other end mentioned seeing our ad in the newspaper.  She had found a cat that matched the description.  He had been hit by a car, but she had nursed him back to health!  Fonzy was found and returned!

If you've ever lost something (a wallet, book, pet, etc.) and then found it later, you know the joy that I felt when we found Fonzy.  It's that same joy that in part describes the life of a Christian.  It's the joy that occurs when something lost has been restored.  Jesus speaks of this joy in relationship to Christians when he tells the parables of the "Lost Sheep" and the "Lost Coin" (Luke 15:1-10).  In these parables Jesus teaches about the reality that humanity has lost something and upon finding it should indeed be filled with joy.

As Christians we realize that what was lost was wholeness, relationship with our Creator, living life knowing we are forgiven and loved unconditionally.  Unfortunately most of the world doesn't even realize that they've lost anything, and therefore the joy that embodies the Christian life seems strange and foreign to the world.  Our joy stands out in stark contrast to a cold and hurting world.  Furthermore, this joy is not dependant upon a person's situation or circumstances since it is a joy that finds its roots in God's ever present love.  So it would be completely appropriate for a Christian in the midst of beatings and imprisonment to still be singing hymns of praise to God (here).

The joy connected to Christians in Scripture is not only a joy felt within but it is a joy that is inspired within others by Christians.  The Greek word for joy (chara) not only means "joy" but it also speaks to the "cause or occasion of one's joy".  In other words, when the Bible lists "joy" as one of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), it is also speaking of the reality that the joy within a Christian causes joy within others (including God)!

What does all of this mean?  It means that part of being a Christian is realizing that somewhere along the way we as humans have lost something, but that in Christ that something lost can be regained.  It means that fundamental to Christian life is a deep inner joy that shines through regardless of our circumstances because God's love for us is a constant and known reality.  Finally it means that this joy that comes from within is also the very real cause and inspiration for other's joy and that most of all our loving and redeeming God is filled with joy because of us.  So you might be a Christian if you have joy. 

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Lenten Homework #2 - Give up something you really enjoy this week (coffee, chocolate, tv, etc), then on Sunday have that thing again.  The pure JOY that you feel as you experience that thing after abstaining from it for a whole week is the joy that you should experience every day in your life as a Christian.

Sermon Sampler (February 21st) - You Might be a Christian if...

This week we being our Lenten Series entitled "You Might be a Christian if..." with number five on the list "Self-Control".  If you don't know, this sermon series was in some way inspired by jokes told by Jeff Foxsworthy that made light of "Red Necks".  Since I can't really tell any of those jokes here, below are a few "You Might be a United Methodist if..." jokes instead:

*You might be United Methodist if you think "Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego" is the name of a rap group from Detroit.

*You might be United Methodist if you ask who wrote the Lord's Prayer!
*You might be United Methodist if you think Gideon wrote the Bible.
*You might be United Methodist if you know that a quadrennium is not a plant.

As you can see, none of these jokes is particularly funny, and likely neither will this sermon series be very funny.  Just the same we are going to explore the top 5 signs that you or another person might be a Christian and this week we are talking about self-control.

First of all, I want to point out, that as Jesus warns in Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, self-control or "acts of righteousness" (ie doing good things) should not be the end goal, but rather a means to an end.  In other words while it's a good thing to sit quietly in worship and pay attention to the words, prayers, and songs, if that is your only goal, you'll be missing the whole point of being in WORSHIP!

Second it's important to remind everyone that self-control is a skill (like any other skill) and therefore requires practice in order to become succeful with controlling yourself (actions, behaviors, etc.).  It's just like driving a car.  When a person first learns to drive, he or she may be terrible!  They might drive too slow, take turns poorly, run through stop signs, and even hit buildings! (This is an allusion to this Sunday's sermon analogy.  If you missed it, you missed it.)  Given the proper amount of practice a person can eventually go from being a danger to everyone else on the road, to actually becoming a safe and responsible driver.  But only with practice.  The same is true with self-control.

Third it's good to know that the season of Lent (which we are in currently) is a great time to practice the all important skill of self-control.  Many Christians give up something or add something for the Lent.  Examples of giving up could include various types of food & drink, television, the computer, certain behaviors, or pactically anything else.  Examples of adding something might include increased church attendance, prayer, reading your bible, tithing, volunteering with a local charitable organization, or any number of other things.  The key with practicing self-control by giving up or adding throughout Lent is to remember that the end goal should not be that which is given up or added, but rather increased relationship with God.

Therefore while you're wishing you could have that piece of chocolate, or while you're toiling away at the local food pantry remember that you're trying to improve your relationship with God, and you might even ask God to help out!

Self-Control is only #5 on our list, and isn't always the best indicator of Christianity, but certainly is a good place to begin.  The next four should get us closer and closer to not only finding great ways to discern our own standing within Christianity, but also to describing the core of what it means to be a Christian.  As you work on your own self-control I would encourage you to examine the other Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and see what fruits you already produce and what ones you could stand to produce in greater abundance.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Lenten Homework #1 - Go to a local athletic competition or town/village/school meeting and just listen quietly.  Do not talk, do not cheer, do not interject, but merely sit and listen.  If you are a person who already prefers to be quiet, then do the opposite (talk, cheer, and share your opinion).  The urge you'll be fighting to either talk (if you're trying to be quiet) or be quiet (if you're trying to talk) will serve as a reminder that although we all have natural tendencies, preferences, and desires, it is we who are in control, not those tendencies, preferences, and desires.  You will be practicing SELF CONTROL!

Sermon Sampler (February 14th) - Love: Who and How

Valentine's day is one of those holidays beloved by some and despised by others.  Typically if you're in an exclusive relationship with another person valentine's day takes on a heightened meaning and signifigance in your life, and often times you're literally willing to move heaven and earth to make it special.  If you're not in a relationship with someone special, you're literally willing to move heaven and earth to avoid the day all together!

I began reflecting on this recently as my four year old daughter was preparing valentines for her pre-school Valentine's day party.  She just HAD to make her own, and each one HAD to be special.  This made for several long card making sessions for her and my wife, and a lot of work!  After completing the final card and sending our daughter to bed, I remarked to my wife that next year we were going to buy the pre-made cards.  I then proceeded to point out how much smarter we adults are in making Valentine's day only about one special person, instead of a whole class of special friends.

This whole conversation got me thinking about the main topic of Valentine's day, namely love, and if as I had assumed, we adults really had it all figured out.  I started in 1 Corinthians 13 , also known as the love chapter.  This particular chapter is quite famous and very popular, especially at weddings.  A closer examination will show that while the subject matter of the passage is describing what love should ideally look like, it is not in fact describing love shared between two lovers, but rather the love that should exist between members of a Christian community (a congregation of people).  I then turned to some of Jesus more prominent teaching about love, found in Luke 6:27-36, where Jesus asserts that love should not only be reserved for lovers or even just friends, but that we should love enemies as well!

All of a sudden my thinking that my four year old was so foolish for making all those cards, and that I was so wise for only worrying about my wife, was being turned on its head.  Maybe its those pre-schoolers who really have Valentine's Day and love all figured out, and it's the adults who are crazy?  My point is not that we should throw out Valentine's Day, or not celebrate those special people in our lives, but rather that we should also remember to show our love others as well.

"Love bears all things, beleives all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails"

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (February 7th) - What Does God Sound Like?

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person in the Bible hears from God, right away they know it's God speaking?  This made me wonder, what in the world does God sound like?  I mean, everyone in the Bible seems to know God's voice right away, yet in my experience most (if not all) Christians struggle to discern God's will and clearly hear God's voice.  What are we missing, that those folks in the Bible seemed to know right away?

Well, as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.  Of course when applied to my above observations of the Bible it seems plausible that when looking back on these stories they appear to be clearer than they might have been at the time.  For example the story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb (here) finds the prophet contending with prophets of the false god Baal.  In short Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal (and their god) to ignite a sacrifice with prayer alone.  When they fail, Elijah ups the stakes by dousing the wood with water (3 times!) and then prays that God (the true God) would light the fire.  Not only does the wood ignite, but the fire is so great that it consumes the wood, the sacrifice, and the prophets of Baal!  Immediately after this story we find Elijah running away in fear and doubt (here).  Even after such an amazing experience, and in spite of being a prophet of God, Elijah experienced doubt and uncertainty.

So what hope is there for us, just regular, ordinary people?  Well the good news is that listening to God's voice is a skill and like any skill it requires practice.  The more we listen for God's voice, the better we will get at hearing it.  Also there are a few techniques that Christians throughout the ages have found to be helpful:

1. The Bible - reading the Bible is the first and best way to hear God's voice.
2. Prayer - simply means communicating with God (both speaking and listening).
3. Listening to Others - often in scripture God uses other people to communicate His will.  The same is often true in our lives.
4. That "Still Small Voice" - Elijah heard God's voice as a "Still Small Voice" (here).  We too can hear that small inner voice, if we are quite and listen.

These four simple techniques, when practiced regularly will allow us to not only begin to listen for God's voice in our daily lives, but will help us to better recognize God's voice from all the other clutter and noice that fills our lives.  If you are serious about it, and you practice more than once in a while, you will find that that "Still Small Voice" will become clearer and clearer and grow until it is the loudest voice you hear...then the question will no longer be "What Does God Sound Like?" but rather "How could I have not known before!"

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (January 24th) - Call for Renewal

In my house we don't necessarily have assigned jobs.  That is to say that both my wife and I are willing to do just about any job that needs to be done around the house.  Having said this, there are certain jobs that I do, and certain jobs that she does most of the time.  One of those jobs is the laundry.

As a young man I learned to do the laundry from my father, and while in college I did all my own laundry, and so when I got married, I figured I would continue helping with/doing the laundry.  I would often put as much laundry into the washer as I could fit (I figured less loads was a good thing) and then since there were a lot of clothes in the wash I would fill the cup to the top with detergent.  After the washer had completed its cycle, I would move the clothes into the dryer, set it to its highest heat setting (because that dries so much faster), and let it do its thing.  Once the clothes were sufficiently dry I would remove them and go about the task of folding.  Many times I didn't quite know how to fold my wife's clothes, or where to put them, but I tried my best.  It went on this way, for nearly two years of marriage before my wife finally asked me (very nicely) NEVER to do the laundry again!

It turned out that she didn't appreciate my filled to capacity washer loads (along with way too much detergent), she wasn't a fan of the dryer shrinking and ruining her clothes because I dried them on the wrong setting, and she especially disliked the way I folded and then "hid" her clothes!  I remember apologizing many times for this miscommunication and exclaiming "if only I had known!"

"If only I had known!"  I'm sure you've said or thought this a time or two yourself.  The people of Israel were likely saying it as well while Ezra was reading the law to them (found in Nehemiah).  The book of Nehemiah, is primarily concerned with telling the story of how the people (returning from exile in Babylon) rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem and re-established the capital city as the home of God's people.  Having said this, the passage linked above speaks to not the physical renewal of the city of Jerusalem, but the spiritual renewal that also needed to take place within the lives of the people living in that city.

The people spent several (read 5-7) hours being read to from the law (the first five books in of the Bible).  Throughout that reading there were likely several places where the people realized they were not in accordance with God's law (Nehemiah 8:9 says that the people were moved to tears and were mourning).  If the story of Nehemiah is followed beyond the above passages, we can find that in chapter 9 the people are instructed to confess and repent of their sins.

This lesson is not merely a history lesson, or an interesting story, but truly is a lesson that can be applied for us today.  Instead of quoting hours worth of biblical laws, I would like to direct your attention to one in particular (Matthew 5:21-22).  This passage deals with Jesus' teaching regarding anger, and his assertion that simply being angry with another person makes us liable to judgment.

In the next few minutes, I would like you to ask God for spiritual renewal.  As you're asking for this renewal, realize that in order for renewal to really become a reality in your life, you need to remove the junk that's in the way.  Think of a person that you've been angry with in the past (could be recent or long ago), then ask God to forgive YOU for being angry with that person. 

Anger can take hold of our lives, and control us.  If we are to truly become new creations, and live as the people we are called to be, we must remove those obstacles and things that burden us.  I would invite you to start small, and ask God to forgive your past anger, and liberate you from that burden.  I no longer try to do the laundry in my house, becuase now I know that my "help" is not so helpful.  Hopefully now you've begun to realize that whether for a good reason, or not, anger is not only, not so helpful, but it can actually cause you harm.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (January 17th) - Is this a Good Time?

Have you ever gotten a phone call at just the wrong time?  Maybe just as you're sitting down to dinner, or just as your leaving the house?  Growing up in my home these calls always came from telemarketers.  You know people trying to sell us new windows, or offer us a deal too great to be turned down!  Now, as an adult, I still receive these calls, but often they are not from people trying to sell me something, but rather they are from people who need something from me.

One such call came a few years ago, just as my wife and I were planning on heading out for a romantic dinner.  The person on the other end of the line was a young man in need of food.  This particular young man had a pregnant girlfriend and two young children living with him, and the family had no transportation, no money, and no food.  Despite the call coming at a bad time, and even though I wasn't really sure what (if anything) I was supposed to do, my wife, our infant daughter, and I got into our car and went to the grocery store.  We bought roughly $50 worth of groceries, and headed out into the middle of nowhere to deliver this food to the young man and his family. 

The whole way there we were still unsure if this was the right decision, but upon reaching the home and delivering the food we were convinced we had made the right choice.  The house was a wreck, the children were poorly dressed, and the young man and his girlfriend were obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation.  The need was clear, and the looks, words, and tears that followed showed the gratitude was sincere.  It's hard to explain, but in that moment, as we were bringing groceries to a family that welcomed them like the best Christmas or Birthday presents ever, I knew that God was truly using us to offer some small portion of grace to this family!

The above story is one of bad timing, uncertainty and God's grace shining through it all. A similar story of poor timing and grace is told in John 2:1-11 (better known as the Miracle of Water to Wine or The Wedding at Cana).  In John 2:1-11 we are told that Jesus, his mother, and his followers are attending a wedding in Cana.  During the wedding celebration the wine runs out, and Jesus' mother comes to him with the problem.  Jesus' response is at best a mild protest, and at worste potentially disrespectful.  Basically he tells her it isn't really their problem, and that it's a bad time for him.  Interestingly Jesus' mother doesn't argue or complain, but rather turns to the servants at the wedding and tells them to do whatever Jesus tells them to do!

Jesus just gets done telling his mother that it's not his problem and that it's a bad time for him, and yet she replies by telling others to do whatever he tells them to do.  She is completely unfazed by his reply, and instead makes room for Jesus to address the situation however he sees fit.  Of course the story continues and Jesus has the servants fill up 6 large stone jars with water, and then he turns the water into wine (thus his first miracle).  But I would like to spend a moment or two longer on Jesus' statement about bad timing and his mother's response to that statement.

It is true that time is precious, and that many of us wish we had more of it, but time is also all about priorities and making time for what's really important.  Jesus points out that it's a bad time, and yet his mother allows him the space to provide none-the-less.  The same should be the case in our lives.  Often we feel like we don't have time for God, or that there's never really a good time for God.  The truth of the matter is that sometimes we need God in our lives precisely during those "bad" times.  Sometimes we need to stop what we're doing and ask God to get involved when we feel like we have no time or when we feel too busy to breathe!

It might just be possible that you miss out on being profoundly blessed by God (in one way or another) because your schedule is too full to fit God into it.  So the question really shouldn't be "is this a good time" but rather "how can I make time."  Make time for God, and you'll be amazed at how God responds!

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Oxford Children's Christmas Program

Here is a picture from the Oxford Children's Christmas Program.  The program was based on different ways that cultures around the world celebrate Christmas.  In this picture the younger kids are singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, while the older children hold up decorative stars they made.