Empower: My One Word… My “Soul” Reading Plan

Stack of Books (Photo credit: Sam Howzit)

It took me a while to realize that one of my spiritual disciplines that has helped me grow in my faith has been reading. I do read for pleasure but I also read, and I have read, to feed my soul.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the things that I am planning for is a May 15th to August 15th reading plan of books that I have previously read which have feed my soul. I had quite of stack of books on my desk that I would take on and off one stack and move it to “the” stack which would be the ones I am reading.

 

 

 

A few days ago I began to look at the current stack of books and a reading pattern came to mind that has solidified my list and which I now make public in the order to be read:

AW Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy

Eugene Peterson A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

J. Keith Miller The Secret Life of the Soul

David Augsburger Dissident Discipleship

Lauren F. Winner Still:Notes on A Mid-Faith Crisis

Donald Joy Men Under Construction

Patrick Morley Second Wind for the Second Half of Life

Tozer, Peterson and Miller’s books are meaty theological books which deal with who God is, the importance of discipleship, and the reality and nature of sin and the inner life,. Augsburger and Winner’s books deal with the corporate and personal nature of discipleship and Lauren’s book is a helpful book to process the ‘middle’ of life and faith which does not, in my opinion, get too much press as we are concerned, and vitally so, about the beginnings of faith. But empowerment is also about the middle and the end of faith and life as well. Joy, who is a former seminary professor of mine and Morley’s books are about some practical application of empowerment as a man of faith.

I am looking forward to this reading plan as it will be an intentional plan to allow God to speak to me and help me be more empowered and thus help others to be empowered.  My goal is to post my thoughts and reflections once a week as part of this”My One Word” Series.

 

 

Sunday Sermon: Facing Our Worldliness

Scripture Passage – Matthew 6:19-21

Description – The Fourth sermon in the 2013 Lenten Series “Facing the Cross”

 

What would you do if you found out a Ferrari was buried in your back yard?

 

Well, as I considered our main passage for this morning: I thought, “You can’t take it with you!”

The story I discovered regarding this Ferrari begins with an also true story of the 1977 burial of a Texas oil man’s 37 year old widow in her 1964 Ferrari 330 America after her accidental death. She was buried in the car next to her husband.

 

But the mystery Prancing Stallion was not the 330 America but a 1974 Dino 246 GTS  found in February 1978. Some kids, as the story goes, were digging in a back yard of a LA neighborhood home when they struck what appeared to be the metal roof of a car. They flagged down local law enforcement that got a team together and dug up the mystery car. No driver though, in the driver’s seat.

 

Well the investigation began into whose car it was and how it ended up in this back yard. Turns out it was bought by a plumber for his wife. (Ferraris could be bought back then for around $20,000 to $30,000. Today they are sold at ten times that amount!) They had driven it to a restaurant to eat in 1974, almost four years earlier, and came out to find it gone and filed a stolen vehicle report never knowing what happened.

 

One of the things that were noticed as the car was exhumed was that it had been wrapped in plastic and the exhaust ports were plugged with towels. Apparently someone, authorities concluded, were planning to return to dig it up so they made sure it could start up and not be ruined by its underground location!

 

The insurance company wrote off the car as a ‘righteous theft’ and paid the bank which had the loan. Car enthusiasts began calling the insurance company inquiring as to the availability and condition of the mystery Dino. After an interesting period of bidding a mechanic bought the car, reportedly got it restored then disappeared with it, later it was discovered to have been registered in California with a unique plate  DUGUP. The car has not been seen or heard about since.

 

(For the full story go here: http://jalopnik.com/5872514/the-true-story-of-how-a-ferrari-ended-up-buried-in-someones-yard )

 

Well, maybe you CAN take it with you!

 

But Jesus didn’t think so. Our main text for this morning says:

 

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

We are just past half-way in this Lenten series which is calling us to face the cross. And so far we have faced our sins, temptations and fears as we have faced the cross.

 

Today we face our worldliness.

 

What on earth is worldliness Pastor Jim?

 

I used to hear sermons, and lectures, on being ‘worldly.’ Back then it meant, in my interpretation, flashy dressing – men or women, smoking, drinking alcohol, gambling, Sunday meals out, and such. That may seem very antiquated to our ears today and we kind of laugh, maybe smirk, at hearing it. Yet, are we living any better?

 

On the back of the bulletin insert which announced this series, there were some helpful description statements regarding each of its themes. The one for today says, “Accepting we are often all too dependent on worldly goods opens the door to seeing the value of everlasting blessings.”

 

Before we return to our main text I share another gospel text that gives us a very helpful thought regarding this issue of worldliness and our dependence on worldly goods to satisfy it. It is from the parable of the sower and I am reading from Matthew’s recording of it in Matthew 13:22

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

 Could this not be a good description of the results of worldliness?

But exactly what is “worldliness?” Well I found this definition of the word connected to the word ‘worldly’ “devoted to, directed toward, or connected with the affairs, interests, or pleasures of this world.” So perhaps we could say that worldliness is the attitude of being devoted to the affairs, interests, or pleasures of this world.

But I have all sorts of questions right now:

Does this mean that Christians should simply give up and move into the mountains somewhere all by themselves?

Does this mean that we shouldn’t care about our nation?

Does this mean we can’t have fun riding roller coasters at 92 MPH?

Does this mean that Pastor Jim has to give up his puns?

Does this mean that everything that Jesus said about asking, seeking, and knocking does not really matter?

Let’s look at our main text again for a moment.

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

How do we know what our treasure is?

The word treasure in this passage means “the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up; a casket, coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables are kept; a treasury; storehouse, repository, magazine; the things laid up in a treasury, collected treasures.” Evidently someone thought a back yard in a LA suburb was a great treasure storing place.

I have a large Tupperware container of things that are treasures to me. I plan to pass them on to the boys later on. But eventually they will get old and crumble and get lost. Some of the stuff will eventually get thrown out by me because the meanings attached to them will no longer matter. That’s the way it is with things we call treasures here on earth.

Let me suggest this morning that our treasure can become our idol or idols. It is what we worship. Anything can be an idol. Power, money, position, family, anything can be an idol. And what did God required of the Israelites? “To have no other gods before me.”

I also think that it is important to remember that these words are part of what we have come to call the Sermon on the Mount and the contexts of these verses are important to consider. Read along with me as I read verses 22-24 which complete this segment of chapter 6:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy,your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

In this chapter Jesus is pointing out the barriers to living simply and with a single hearted focus on God. In this chapter He is telling the disciples about some goals and pitfalls they are to achieve and avoid. And primarily the goals and the pitfalls are concerned about not being hung up on the praise of people or the pursuit of wealth, status, and possessions which are the treasures of earth that decay and rot away but the goal of heavenly treasures that come from serving God sacrificially and without anxiety. These mentioned things were all things that Jesus saw in the religious authorities of that day – the praise, the power, the wealth – they were idols. And Jesus believed that such things had blinded these men from truly seeing Him for who He really was. The same thing holds true for us!

So then what does all of this mean for us for us this day and week? Well let’s ask ourselves this question:

What would I find hard to give up if God asked me to give it up?

Worldliness is an attitude, a perspective that is at cross purposes with God’s mission. To face the cross is to face our worldliness. It is to face the many idols that we worship.

What are you hanging on to too tightly these days? Is it God or is it something or someone else?

I conclude with a poem that I think gives us perspective on this issue of worldliness as we consider the end of our lives and the kind of influence are lives will have on others.

The poem was called “The Dash” and can be read here http://lindaellis.net/the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis/

My One Word: Empower

I had fully intended to write before today, two months into 2013, about my journey with my one word for 2013 – Empower. But having waited, I can look back with gratitude in my heart to the Lord for how this one word has already borne fruit not just in my life but in the lives of others.

I am currently taking time during an inter generational Sunday School class to empower people to discover their gifts, values, and team skills utilizing Paul R. Ford’s workbook Discovering Your Ministry Identity (published by Church Smart resources). To see adults and teens begin working through this resource that I highly recommend so that they can begin to discern how and where God is leading them to serve Him  is wonderful!

But I have also seen it happen as a musically talented teenager was able to write down the melody line for me from a video of a praise song that will be used in worship at some point.  I couldn’t do that be he could! And it has happened when someone asked to take on the caring ministry of sending a card for birthdays, anniversaries, sickness, and grief to those in the congregation!

But a major step of empowerment has been to officially through our church leadership empower our teens to lead our Vacation Bible School this summer. With adult support and encouragement, they have already picked the curriculum and will be organizing the week over the next several months!

So I am grateful for the opportunity to ‘let go’ of tasks that others can do better than me and then intentionally empower them to not just those tasks but the mission and ministry God has called them to do!

Sunday Sermon: Mountain Tops or Valleys?

Scripture Passage – Philippians 1

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; July, 2012

Description – The fifth and final sermon in the 2013 Series on Being Empowered by God

 

One of the things I learned this past summer during the trip to our International Youth Convention in Denver was that not everyone likes to drive up into the mountains and enjoy the view.

It’s just plain scary for some people. And that’s okay.

Now I supposed if I was not driving and had to sit in a van or car and drive up, down, and around the sides of mountains up to an elevation of 12,000 feet I would be slightly uncomfortable, too.

But as I drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park I enjoyed the views, the beauty, and the perspective such a view affords.

But there were no houses after a certain altitude, in part because it was a national park, but also in part because the tree line stops at around 11,400 feet and so houses would not be protected from lighting strikes and winter weather as well as weather fronts moving through. Which got me to asking, “What and where is the highest town in the US?”

So I did what any twenty-first century person would do to find out the answer to the question. I googled it! Then I wikipediaed it!

Two towns in Colorado are argued to be the two highest towns in the US – Winter Park, Colorado, west of Denver, is at 9,000 feet but because it annexed the local ski resort it now claims to be the highest town in the state and nation. The other town which exists at 10,578 feet is Alma located south of Winter Park and west of Denver.

In either case, these towns are probably the exception to the rule.

Which leads me to ask, “Why is it that one of the most beloved metaphors for the Christian life is “being on the mountain top?”

I am not trying to disillusion or make fun of anyone who finds this metaphor inspiring. But being on the mountain top is hard and one does not stay there for long because of the atmosphere, or lack thereof, not to mention that you can get a pretty good sunburn, on your tongue, while climbing Mt. Everest, if you don’t keep your mouth closed, because the thinner atmosphere does not protect your skin from the sun as it does in the lower elevations.

Now I think you are thinking, “Where is he going with this illustration this morning?” I am getting there… hang with me at 10,000 plus feet (I really want to visit Alma, Colorado by the way!)

A mountain top experience is valuable though because it gives us perspective.  It can help us orient ourselves.

Life is lived in the valley and on the plain. It is where crops are planted and factories are built and schools exist and most homes stand.

As I conclude this initial series of 2013 “First Chapters for First Months” with an eye on the value and necessity of understanding, accepting, and living empowered by the Lord to serve Him where we are at in life, we come to Philippians 1 as translated in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible:

To read the passage in this version of the Bible go here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%201&version=NRSV

We began this series with Matthew 1 and that list of ‘begats.’ I suggested that being empowered by God means that no matter what our past – the good and the bad, can be used by the Lord to accomplish His plan and mission.  Think Jacob, King Hezekiah, and Jerubabbel.

Then we stopped at Deuteronomy 1 where Moses reminded the ancient Israelites that because of their fears and subsequent disobedience, their children and grandchildren would enter the Promise Land and they would not. I suggested that to live empowered for God is to live through one’s fear and not let it stop us from doing God’s work.

Then we moved on to Psalm 1 and the issue of character as we had The Grinch, Wily E. Coyote, Bugs, Homer, Bart, Fred and the like show up. I suggested that a key part of living empowered by the Lord for the Lord is a character that evidences the Fruit of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Last week we went to Revelation 1 and the beginnings of the vision that John had from the Lord that was to be shared with the seven churches. I suggested that to be empowered by God was to see people and circumstances differently, as God sees them, so that God’s mission and purposes thrive.

Today, we come to the opening chapter of one of the many letters St Paul wrote during his ministry that were for the encouragement and education of not just the church which bore the initial city’s name, but to us as well. And I am suggesting this morning that to live empowered is to serve and obey consistently for the Lord, day in, day out. In other words, to live faithfully in the valley and on the plain of life and not just for the mountain top.

Very specifically, I believe what Paul says in this chapter is that we live empowered by the Lord and for the Lord in the midst of the challenges and opportunities of life.

Here are some of the challenges Paul faced in his life and work that he mentions in this passage

…for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

The city of Philippi was a Greek city, which made it a part of the European continent and so Paul brought his ministry to Europe at Philippi. But when he wrote this book and these words, years later after that first visit, it is believed that he was in Rome probably under some kind of house arrest as we read in the latter half of the book of Acts when he was tipped off as to a murder attempt on his life and he used his status as a Roman citizen in his legal defense to appeal to Caesar and he was sent to Rome where he would eventually die.

But Paul did not look upon this time of restrictive movement as a negative thing. Paul saw this imprisonment as evidence that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was making an impact. He saw as validation of the power of the Christian faith to challenge the powers that be not just in Rome but in Philippi and other cities. And notice what he says about this situation in verse 14: “most of the brethren have been made confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment, and are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.” Empowerment through the Holy Spirit is taking place in the Christian church in spite of restrictive moments, prison cells, and harsh treatments. The believers are not letting the threat of punishment hold them back from boldly proclaiming the good news of Christ.

All of this takes place in the valleys and the plains of Pauls’ life where he rubbed shoulders with those who preached out of spite and jealousy (we read about this in verses 15-18) and when his movements were restricted by a jail cell. But it does not keep him from being empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Paul also speaks of some opportunities to be empowered as well amidst the rub of life and reality such as this one:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Well over a decade has passed since Paul first entered Philippi and the writing of this letter. Some believe that he wrote it early in his imprisonment in Rome. So the relationship Paul had with this church (and it is believed that he visited there twice more before his imprisonment) was a long one.

Their relationship was a source of empowerment and encouragement to him because they were committed to the common cause of the gospel and its power to change life.  There is strength in the community of faith. We need each other. Learning of their continued faithfulness in Philippi encouraged Paul all the way to Rome where his movements had become restricted. And in turn they were encouraged because of Paul’s boldness.

We live shoulder to shoulder with one another. We get in one another’s way. But God needs us to live in fellowship and harmony with one another for our good and as a witness to the power of the Gospel. To be empowered is to live and love and care in spite of the rub we experience living together as a faith community.

So then, what does all of this talk about empowerment the past five weeks mean for us this day and this week?

When we have confessed our sins and accepted the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ and become part of the Church, we are empowered, through the Holy Spirit who reveals both our need for repentance and enables us to be forgiven and to start serving the Lord day in and day out. What this then means is that we become, if you will, missionaries to our school, to our places of work, to our families, to this community.  It means that in the midst of challenges of daily life, there are also opportunities, to serve the Lord without going here, there, and yonder.

It also means we need to begin to discern and understand how to effectively do this. It also means that I am giving you permission to engage in acts of service and ministry wherever you are and go.

I am already seeing this beginning to happen and to assist you there are some learning opportunities that I am going to be offering starting next Sunday morning during Sunday School about how you can more clearly understand how the Lord has enabled you to do this. I will be talking to several of you this week about coming and participating without any strings attached (including having to speak in front of people.)

But for now, I simply conclude with “Go and serve the Lord where you live!” Amen

Sunday Sermon: You’re a Character Aren’t You?

Scripture Passage – Psalm 1

Description – The Third in the 2013 series on Being Empowered by God

When I say ‘Saturday morning’ what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Okay, a few of you said, ‘cartoons’ and for some of us here memories of Saturday morning are sitting with a bowl of cereal in milk in front of the TV with our jammies on.

Now when it comes to cartoons, lots of people disagree as to the most favorite or top ten most loved cartoon characters. Some say this character should be on that list and other say that character should be on the list. What do you think?

Take 60 seconds to write down your top 10 cartoon characters.

Okay, here is about.com’s list of the top ten from their top 50 cartoon characters of all time

(source: http://animatedtv.about.com/od/showsaz/tp/top50chrctrs.04.htm)

So, did your list match up against this list?

“Now Pastor Jim what in the world do this animated characters have to do with today’s sermon?”

I’m glad you asked!

In the continuation of our series on “First Chapters for the First Months” in which we are walking through selected first chapters of five different books from the Bible, we turn today to Psalm 1 and the issue of character. The major theme for this series regards the very important issue of empowerment. In other words, being empowered by God to help us accomplish His ministry and mission through us.  Next Sunday we will travel to the end of the Scripture with a look at Revelation 1 and then conclude in two weeks with a stop at Philippians 1.

Two weeks ago we started with a stop at Matthew 1 and I suggested to you that our past can be used by the Lord to help us live empowered now and in the future for His mission and purposes. We spent time looking at some familiar, and unfamiliar, names in that long list of “begats” in Matthew 1 as we were reminded that no matter what we have done or gone through or faced, God can use our life experiences to help us live empowered.

Last week we visited Deuteronomy 1 where Moses reminded the people of ancient Israel that they had let their fear cause them to lose out on God’s future for them in the Promised Land because that fear kept them from going in to take what had already been promised them! To live empowered is to live through fear with the help and power of the Holy Spirit.

And today we stop at Psalm 1, the shortest of the chapters in this series and we read it from the New International Version of the Bible

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Character matters.

In spite of all the sophistication of today, character matters. Just ask a well known athlete who recently admitted to doping. He now faces lawsuits from sponsors to get their money back. Just ask four-star generals, who resign from key roles of leadership because of relationships outside the bonds of their marriage.

Character matters.

 This past week this interesting tidbit from the pen of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came into my email inbox

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The Nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Quite frankly, to hear the word extremists today unnerves us because of the world we have lived in since September 11, 2001. But Dr King has a point because this quote, from his letter of April 16, 1963 now referred to as “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” also has him saying in the same vein:

(5a) “Will we be extremists for hate or for love?… Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

I think, from a different angle Dr King was also talking about character, something that he would famously include in a speech he would give a few months later when he dreamed that one day his children, and other children of color would be judged on “the content of their character.”

What kind of character are you? I am not talking about personality, I am talking about character. “Why is this important when it comes to the issue of empowerment?” you might be asking.

A key part of being empowered by God to be on mission with Him is that the Christian faith, is ultimately about the transformation of our character. In other words, after we come to faith in Christ, are saved, or our born again, we have to start changing. And that change is a life time process which includes a change in our character.

And habits and loyalties and commitments are both reflective of as well as indicative of our character. The psalmist addresses this in this first Psalm:

Blessed is the one

Who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

Here the Psalmist gives us a word picture about groups of people who are a drag on a ‘blessed’ person’s character. (The idea of blessed here means happy.)He does not name names or get very specific with who they are just that there are certain groups of people that a person, a blessed person, of character avoids joining in with.

 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night

There is a choice here, a choice of two ways. Some suggest that the three groups indicate an increasing distance away from God’s way with the ‘company of mockers’ as being the farthest away from God. Or, there is the choice to delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it. Delighting and meditation are intentional choices of action that shape our character in the direction that God would have us take and they are empowering choices as well.

The rest of this Psalm is a contrast and comparison of the two choices we all have to make, daily, regarding who we are going to identify with and how we are going to live. It’s a character issue.

And if we are going to live empowered for God it is the second way we must choose to take.

 Notice the comparisons used to contrast the two ways:

A tree planted by streams of water, verses chaff that the wind blows away

yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers verses the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Character is vital to our faith. Jesus said by “their fruits you will know them” and in His final moments with the twelve He reminded them of their place on the vine and the importance of the fruit they were to bear. He was talking about character.

And I simply want to remind us that character matters. It is part of our Christian witness and testimony every day we are in the classroom or at work or at home or at Wal-Mart!

And when it comes to our character as followers of Christ I can think of no better set of qualities to aspire to than these:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

To me I can think of no better evidence of living an empowered life of service for God than these wonderful traits. They are traits of a growing faith and of spiritual maturity. They reflect how we treat others, our emotional state and, I think, our mental state.

They are called the Fruit of the Spirit – they are evidences that we are surrendering to and cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They are signs of a life being changed, day in and day out, by the Holy Spirit. To cultivate such a character is a life-long pursuit.

So what does all of this mean for us this day and this week?

Two things:

Thing One: Write these qualities, these fruits down and daily review them. These are, in my opinion, the main evidence of growing faith in Christ. They are evidence of an empowered life because the empowerment of which I speak occurs when we surrender ourselves to the infilling of the Holy Spirit and these are indicators that we are so filled and empowered.

Thing Two: Which one of these do you need to work on cultivating? Remember that they occur as we surrender ourselves to the Lord, allow His will to be done in and through us, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. We cannot cultivate them in our own strength.

We conclude this morning with a hymn that gets at the need of how we can live empowered. A closer walk with God. May we sing as evidence of a fresh commitment to and obedience with God.

Amen.

Saying “No” In Order to Say “Yes”

A writer whose writing has been a source of inspiration and help to me (and even a few sermon quotes as well!) has been Bonnie Grey over at

Final Version (English) (Photo credit: eliazar)

faithbarista.com

She recently started posting to her website again after a period away for health reasons. She is back, thank the Lord, and has invited interested persons to link their thoughts once a week to a weekly prompt. This week’s prompt is about dealing with inner clutter and making space for God.

Here’s my story.

This time four years ago I had began a journey that took me about two more years to complete before it was done.

I was deeply involved in various roles in my community, which is a small town in Indiana. But, after I gave a series of sermons on Saying ‘No’ so You Can Say ‘Yes’ to God and spoken of the need for margin in one’s life, I began to seek out that margin.

It took me three years to finally get there.

Little by little I resigned from or gave up leadership roles and involvement in various events and programs. Some were ones in which I had sole leadership and others were part of a team. Some involved working with adults and some involved teaching middle school students some valuable lessons about careers and financial literacy.

By the middle of 2011, they were all done.

The result was a re-focusing on my congregation and my family. That has resulted in my embracing the One Word movement which for me this year is “empowerment.”

And I am beginning to see the results of that re-focus in some wonderful ways.

In part because I de-cluttered my life and began to listen to God more and more.

Bonnie, welcome back and God bless you!

 

 

Sunday Sermon: Your Past Has a Future !

Scripture Passage – Matthew 1

Hands Passing Baton at Sporting Event (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Description – First of 2013 series on Being Empowered by God

I begin this morning with a word that you will frequently hear over the next four weeks and throughout the year.

Empower.

To empower something is to equip, supply, and/or enable that something or that someone to accomplish something.

Now we can empower something or someone for good reasons and for bad reasons. We can enable people to fail or succeed, remain addicted or get in recovery from something, or to decline or grow.

A local church can be equipped, supplied, and enabled to succeed or fail; grow or decline; be effective or be ineffective.

God wants the local church, including our church, and Christians, including us, to be equipped, supplied, and enabled to grow. He does not want us to fail. (Amen? Amen!)

He wants to empower us so that His good work is done in our lives and in the lives of those we reach out to on a daily basis. Our mission field is outside the door of this church.

As such I believe that God has given us the following things to help us live and be empowered to serve Him:

Our salvation through His saving grace

Scripture

The Holy Spirit and the Spiritual gifts which come from Him

Our skills and abilities.

The question becomes, “Do we/Do I choose to live empowered or not?”

This is the first month of 2013 and as I prayed about what I was to share with you in the opening weeks of this year, the theme of “First Chapters for First Months” came to my mind. As I pondered this theme I took time to go through the Bible and scan all 66 first chapters.

Then I prayed some more and I pondered some more and thought (some more) about this word empower (which is my focus word for this year – kinda like a new year’s resolution) and re-reviewed the chapters again.

And these five chapters made the cut because, I believe, they speak to both barriers and opportunities to live empowered.

Matthew 1

Deuteronomy 1

Psalm 1

Revelation 1

Philippians 1

So this morning I begin with a chapter, the first chapter of the New Testament and one of ‘those’ chapters – the ‘begats.’ However, I want us to read and hear this chapter from this perspective this morning:

God can, and does, use anyone to accomplish His mission and purpose. Our past, with its failures, its victories, its joys and its pains, and our future with its potential and purpose has a place and future in God’s hands and for God’s purposes.

Here is Matthew 1 from the New Living Translation:
(To read the passage, click on this link http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201&version=NLT

The latter fourth of this chapter, verses 18-25, are the ones we most often hear and read. But first three fourths also has something to say to us as well.

To read verses 1 through 17 is to get an over view of Old Testament history in a very compact way and I think that if one was to spend time studying each of these persons listed, a clearer understanding of it would occur. Some of these people are described in great detail in the Old Testament. They have had many sermons and even books written about them and their faith journey. Their success and failures with following God are well documented.

Others of them have been presented as models of faithfulness in the midst of tough times. And yet another group represented in this passage are basically unknown to us.

One of the ways that we can study this passage is by using the generational groupings as defined in verse 17. There are three of them and they reflect three different and important Old Testament historical periods.

The first group contains a group of people who are familiar to us because much is written about them or they are involved in some important moments. This is the group of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, and King David. But let us not forget Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth as well! This makes up the patriarchal period followed by the time of the judges and then into the early years of the ancient Israelite monarchy.

I have selected three persons, one from each group to illustrate the point of God using our pasts as part of His current and future purposes.

 The first person is Jacob.

A twin who talked his famished older twin brother, Easu into giving him his birthright and then, with his mother’s assistance and direction, deceived his father into thinking that he was Easu and received the all important blessing. The result was chaos, bitterness, rage, that required Jacob to leave home. At least fourteen years passed before he came face to face with his brother and they were reconciled but not before he came face to face with God and was no longer Jacob the Deceiver but Israel, God fighter, because “you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

Jacob was a stinker.

He was a trickster.

He was mamma’s favorite!

And he left a trail of conflict and bitterness behind him as he moved through life. But, God would use him, letting his mother know, in a prophetic moment prior to his birth, “your older son will serve your younger son.”  Eventually he came to grips with who he was, a deceiver, a gypster, and he had to finally face the truth about himself. But God used him. He was part of the human line through which Joseph, the man who served as Jesus’ earthly father. He serves an example to us that no matter how we have lived our life, God can still use us to accomplish his purpose – even though we may walk or live with a ‘limp’ because of our choices.

The second group, from King David through the Babylonian exile, is a list of kings, of a united Israel and then the two divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. They are an interesting group.

Some were wonderful rulers and others were awful and even downright evil. And some were a mixture of both.

 One who has always caught my attention was King Hezekiah. He ruled the Southern Kingdom (which were ruled by the descendents of King David) and we can read about him in 2 Kings 18 and 2 Chronicles 29.

Here is a portion of what was written about him:

“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.  He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them.” 

Hezekiah’s father was Ahaz who significantly altered the Temple to accommodate the practices of the pagan Assyrians’ who were next door by having a new altar made that was just like the pagan Assyrians. Ahaz also required one of his sons to walk between two fires which was a pagan worship practice as well.

The southern kingdom suffers under Ahaz until his death. Then his son Hezekiah becomes king. What is he going to do?

He did what was right and he restored the temple in Jerusalem to the way it was supposed to be and reinstituted worship of the one true God. I have a sense that there were a lot of nervous people when Hezekiah became king. He had a choice in how he was going to govern. He chose well.

But while king he faced some challenging circumstances. He faced invasion from the Assyrians who were now the dominate power in the region and desperately sought God to deliver the tiny nation which happened. Then he was faced with a serious life threatening illness to which he appealed to God for healing and was healed.

Hezekiah grew up in a family that would perhaps be labeled dysfunctional and even abusive today. He faced a leadership and a health crisis. But he kept on believing that the one true God of Israel would deliver him and God did. I think that he serves as example of one who chose to serve God in spite of his upbringing and the pressures he faced that he could have chosen to deal with in a way that would have taken him away from God.

Then there is Zerubbabel, mentioned in Matthew 1:13 and part of the group mentioned after the Babylonian exile.

There are several Zerubbabels mentioned in the Bible but this is the one referred to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and was believed to be the grandson of King Jehoiakim. In Ezra 2 we read “Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived. Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.”

       70 years have passed since the southern kingdom of Judah had been conquered and now Israel is about to be repatriated and Zerubbabel is among the leadership of the returning Israelites. And what Zerubabbel does when he returns is to help start the rebuilding of the Temple altar in Jerusalem so they again have a place of worship.

But as time passes Zerubabbel and the others are opposed by a group of people who did not wish to see the temple rebuilt. They basically get the equivalent of a court injunction to stop the work. But when the prophets Haggai and Zachariah show up in Jerusalem their prophetic words empower Zerubabbel to re-start the process. It is thought that twenty years went by before the work was complete

He too, encountered difficulties and challenges that probably stretched and tested his faith. But he gave of his skills and talents and was used by the Lord to help rebuild the Temple after 70 years of exile.

He serves as example of using his skills and abilities in difficult situations to serve God.

So what does all of this mean for us? How does this related to the issue of empowerment.

At ‘A’ certain point and in some instances certain points, these three men chose to obey the Lord and push forward. They serve as an example to us of faithfulness to the Lord through all kinds of situations and circumstances. As a result, they were empowered to serve the Lord in some difficult situations.

The image of the baton truly represents want it means to be empowered and this year I am handing off some batons to you. Each of us are empowered in some way and for some area of ministry and mission to my single goal for this year is to help you discover where you are empowered to serve and empower you to do so. Will you take your baton this year?

Amen.

My One Word, Follow: Adulthood and the Church

In late October, speaker and writer Margaret Feinburg posted a piece on her website with the very insightful and thought provoking title of “An Open Letter to Everyone Over 40 Who Has Left the Church” which you can read by clicking on this link http://margaretfeinberg.com/margarets-monday-musings-an-open-letter-to-everyone-over-40-who-has-left-the-church/

(By the way Margaret I thought that it was interesting that you posted it on what would have been my parent’s 57th wedding anniversary had my father lived. Talk about two people who stayed, and have stayed with, the church (my mom is 88 and still actively attends the church she and dad started attending 30 years ago!) and through thick and thin!

What struck me about this post were the responses. The post struck a chord with many readers both over and under 40. As I read them, and I contributed one myself, and as I thought about what had been said, I stepped back and reflected further on my life and involvement in a local church.

I wanted to write a post on this subject last month but the draft (which has been modified into this post) did not satisfy me and so I let it sit and allowed my thoughts to ripen and they did. As I pondered the title of this post I was drawn to the word ‘adulthood’ and something clicked! While I am very much committed to the truth and authority of scripture I am also a student of adult development which became of interest to me in my seminary days in the mid-80′s.

I used to think that adulthood was static and almost like a flatline! In other words, once you hit 21 then life setting into a predictable hum of, well, monotony. How wrong I have been!

I think that part of Christian discipleship, is to help Christians navigate the developmental tasks of adulthood in ways that are, to quote the late Erik Erikson, ‘generative’ and not ‘stagnation.’

It seems from the comments (and I acknowledge that Feinburg writes only about the issue, and a very important issue, of the empty nest in her post) that for most people, adulthood goes flatline after child raising has been done! But there is life after parenthood!

And to me this is where local churches, and the church at large, needs to take discipleship further out on the time line. Much has been focused on the young adult and parenting aspects of living. Very important to address but there is more to adulthood and adult discipleship than being twenty or thirty and being a parent.

I am going to suggest here that perhaps one of the reason many people walk away from the church after the years of ‘active’ parenting are done is that there is no community in place for those people who are navigating and have navigated the turbulance of the empty nest period when, what is now beginning to be called “The Grey Divorce” (go to this Wall Street Journal article for more information http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203753704577255230471480276.html ) is on the rise.

In short, the local church needs to help those beyond the ‘active’ parenting years discern God’s direction for them because as life-spans increases Christ’s call to ‘follow me’ is still present. Maybe then, vibrant communities of post forty year olds will develop and truly become mentors and partners for the those under forty as Feinburg calls for in her post.

These are my Thursday Thoughts

Sunday Sermon: Creating a Team Like No Other; Entering a Arena Like No Other

Scripture Passage – Mark 1:16-28

Description – The third sermon in the series on the book of Mark

One of the things that sports, especially college and professional sports, is known for is hyperbole. And this hyperbole is frequently expressed in phrases such as ‘the game of the year,’ the game of the century, ‘the play of the day,’ ‘the greatest player of all time,’ and ‘the greatest team of all time.’ And if time were taken this morning to have you share which athlete and which team was the greatest to you we would have many different answers.

But, the team we are going to see being created as we read this morning’s passage is a team that I think deserves the title “The Greatest Team Ever.”  And the arena, if you will, they are about to enter is one that is not matched by any facility in existence today.

 Here is our text for this morning, Mark 1:16-28 let us hear and respond to the word of God this morning:

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

I remember being ‘picked’ when we chose up sides to play any sport in my neighborhood and being picked last usually meant that the worst player was picked, or perhaps it was because the team captains were mad at your for whatever reason and let you sweat! But as I read this passage several questions came flooding into my mind about Jesus picking these four men and these four men responding to that picking:

What was it about Jesus that made the men give up their jobs and follow Him?

What was it that Jesus saw in them which moved Him to pick them?

In this segment we are introduced to four disciples, Simon, who we know best as Peter and his brother Andrew and the ‘Sons of Zebedee, James and John.” Two sets of brothers are called to follow Jesus within a short distance of one another.

Notice that Jesus picks these first disciples not in Jerusalem or Bethlehem nor Nazareth but along the Sea of Galilee. Again I think that it is important to do some brief cross-referencing in the other gospel accounts to fill in some information about this drafting of this team of men.

John writes in John chapter 1:35-51 that Andrew apparently was standing with John the Baptist, the day after Jesus’ baptism, when he, and an unnamed disciple of John took an interest in Jesus and followed Jesus to where He was staying. The result is that Andrew goes and finds Peter and says “We have found the Messiah” and he takes Peter to Jesus and Jesus gives Him the name Cephas or ‘rock.’ Then John reports that Jesus moves on to Galilee where He calls Phillip and Nathaniel (who does not think highly of anybody from Galilee) to follow Him as well. So here are five members of the team appearing in John.

Matthew and Luke basically say the same thing as Mark and Luke adds in the story of Peter being told by Jesus to try and get some fish after a long time of fruitless fishing with the result a large catch is made and Peter pleads for Jesus to “get away from me for I am sinful man.” But Jesus calls Peter to follow Him anyway and Peter does.

But in our main text for today Jesus starts out with four fishermen. Why them?

I have done enough fishing in my life to understand what fishing, and the kind of fishing they did was hard work, requires of a person.

Patience – fishing is something that requires a person to be patient as they wet their lines and wait…and wait…..and wait

Resourcefulness – today there are as many different kinds of fish bait, rods and reels as there are fish! You have to know about how to fish well.

Tactics – You have to understand the time of day factor, water temperature, weather conditions and such to be effective in fishing

Business acumen – if you fish for a living then you have to be a wise business person when selling your fish!

But they were ordinary men. There was a ruggedness and a passion to them which Jesus saw and which He thought would make them good followers.

Now I want us to remember right now that the call to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and the rest of them was to follow Him. It is later, in Mark 3, that He picked out 12, including these four, to be His closest team members, His main group.

It would be easy to think that Jesus is playing favorites here by picking these twelve men out from the others but Jesus is being very strategic and He is going to deeply invest in them because as we shall see and hear His call to follow becomes more and more pointed and demanding as time goes on.

So what we have here in our main text so far is the beginning of the team. Jesus has begun His public ministry and now His developing a team of people, like you and me, to eventually carry out His mission.

And with these four men, Andrew, Peter, James, and John, Jesus does not waste time getting them initiated and ready for service.

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

Wouldn’t you loved to have seen the look on the four fishermen faces when Jesus told the unclean spirit to leave him?

This was the first of many such experiences for these four men and their eight compatriots and in next week’s message, where we will walk through the rest of this chapter, verses 29-45, we will see Jesus’ ministry take off with such confrontations as more and more common.

But this is the arena that these four men have joined Jesus in. It is the arena of the human heart and soul. It is the spiritual arena of human existence. It involves the body, heart, mind, and soul.

And the interesting thing here is that it takes place inside a synagogue! Do such things still happen today?

I remember reading the story of a well-known pastor here in America who was faced with a couple who at first were supportive of him and his ministry but as time went on began to say things like, “People are not happy with your preaching. People are not getting fed. We think that it is time for you to leave. You are losing support of your congregation and church leadership.”

This pastor and his wife, from what I can remember, prayed earnestly for this situation and what they should do. As they did, they began to discover a sinister presence in their midst.

Eventually they confronted this couple and began to question them about their statements and they began, and again I am a bit hazy here as I no longer have their book that tells the story, to question their motives. The result was they told them to leave their church and never come back.

The response of this couple was the equivalent of a shriek in which they begged to stay. But this pastoral couple said no, and stood their ground. The couple left and the church began to thrive again and move forward.

My point is this: the arena where Jesus calls us to go – the human heart and soul – is everywhere, including inside the church, and the spiritual battle within each of us is the battle we must be properly equipped to fight and win, in Jesus’ name.

Also, this is not the only time we will encounter Capernaum. There will be two other situations that are recorded in Mark as well as the other gospel accounts. I spent time this week doing some research on Capernaum and found that it was a town on a road that linked the cities of Damascus and Jerusalem. So it was a city through which international traffic passed and a contingent of Roman soldiers were stationed.

Of note to me in my research is that Capernaum becomes Jesus’ base of operations instead of Nazareth, his hometown. Perhaps this is due to the fact that His message was rejected in Nazareth and perhaps also because Nazareth’s geographic location made it hard to reach as it was in a mountainous region.

 So what does all of this mean for us this morning and this week? Why is it important to understand the calling of these first four disciples and the ministry environment and location where they are first located?

1. We need to identify our arena of ministry.

Each of us has an arena of ministry. Actually we have multiple arenas – home, work, school, and neighborhood.

2. We need to understand the dynamics of our arenas of ministry.

Some of us work and live in different places. We may work in the same kinds of fields such as manufacturing or health care, but we have unique arenas, environments within those fields that we need to understand.

      3.  To be part of God’s people, the church, is to get involved in doing what God directs us to do.

While the twelve main disciples of Christ are yet to be named as such, Jesus is showing them the work, the ministry that they will be tasked to do. Each of them would go their separate ways, and proclaim the good news in far flung places of the world. The Lord expects of us the same thing.

4. The call to follow Jesus is a call to follow Him internally as well as externally.

I think that Peter’s recognition of himself as a sinful man was the internal part. His obedient response to Jesus’ call to follow Him was the external part.

5.  Whom God calls, God equips.

Though the disciples, did not ‘get it’ at times, God kept equipping them through His teaching and the joint life together. The same holds true for us.

Where do you see yourself in this story today? How might be God be speaking to you this morning? Listen to Him and respond to Him as you need to this morning.

The chorus we are singing in conclusion is one that I think we can sing and must sing as a response to the message today. ‘Make me a servant’ is familiar to us and what it says to us is vital to our following Jesus.

As we sing, let us do so with a renewed or perhaps new commitment to follow Jesus as He calls us and directs us in the days ahead. Amen.

My One Word: Follow… Warts and all

The August 30, 2012 daily thought from Emergent Village featured this quote from E. Kent Rogers and his book 12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth

The goal is not perfection. The goal is love … It is not  necessary to be perfect to be loving. On the contrary, were it not for
our own imperfections and the imperfections of those around us, love would be impossible … When we continue to give to others despite their warts and flaws, then love is becoming something real.

“Hi, I’m Jim and I am a recovering perfectionist!”

I often say that to my congregation in a sermon or to someone in conversation. I often laugh after I say it because I say it half-jesting and half-serious. (Sometimes more serious than jesting.)

In this post, I am all serious. I AM a recovering perfectionist.

Perfectionism I have discovered is a joy killer in my following Christ. It also kills the ability to truly love well and that is what caught my attention in Rogers’ quote.

‘But Jim, Jesus said be perfect as I am perfect.’

You are right, but that word can also be translated as mature and, without getting preachy here (something that I do not like to do) when we read what Jesus has just said about our relationships with people, I think that a case can be made for Jesus say to His originial audience- ‘grow up!’

Perfectionism keeps us from growing up. It causes us to raise the bar on the wrong metric – that of performance. The right metric is motivational or attitudinal (re-read Matthew 5 again from the perspective of motivation and attitude and not performance). Perfectionism is fear-based not love-based. Perfectionism and shame go hand-in-hand.

As I think then about the following of Jesus by the twelve, the warts became clear. Peter with his implusiveness. Judas with his betrayal. Their ‘not getting it’ at times. And if Jesus expected perfection out of them He was, I am sure sorely disappointed.

But He didn’t, did He? He made clear in His final words before His arrest and cruxificion that love was the greatest sign of obedience to Him and NOT perfection.

I am a ‘recovering’ perfectionist. I still judge, very unfairly at times, others and how they do or not do things. I expect my kids to NOT fail. They do. Sometimes disgust is more rampant within me than patience (a great sign of love, by the way.)

But, I have been reminded by a wise person that love is the goal and not perfection… warts and all.

I can aim at that…warts and all…

These are my Thursday thoughts