Monthly Archives: June 2020

God’s Presence in Times of Change

Posted on by
Reply

yoke pic

We can learn a lot about living faithfully by returning to the Jewish Exile.

The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land of Judah, destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem; and, most likely, ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be destroyed. Homes and crops were burned. People were dragged away in chains and yokes, and they were now living in a strange country with different customs. And people began to dream about being able to return to what once was as they continued to live in exile.

Many of the rabbis that I know are referring to the Jewish Exile these days.

We’re not able to go where we want to go and to live our lives in the way that we’d like to live them. Many faithful Christians are still watching worship services online and are far removed from the worship spaces where they’ve come to know God. Some people in our country (and all around the world) are trying to explain away safety measures that we’ve been asked to take while others are refusing to wear any sort of face covering to make a political statement. We are responding to this crisis in so many different ways!

The coronavirus has brought grief into many of our lives.

We usually associate grief with the death of a loved one, but grief is something that’s far more complex. I am grieving because I’m not able to visit my grandchildren. Many young people are grieving because they didn’t get to attend a prom or graduation ceremony. We see young children acting out because they miss playing with their friends. We’re sensing that things are different and that it may not be possible to just return to doing things that we once took for granted in the near future. And many people are still grieving the loss of their job or even of their home, aren’t they? Some are grieving because we know that things that we cherish are going to be different.

We often wish that we could just go back to what once was when we are grieving.

And that’s what we see in Jeremiah 28:1-9. The false prophet Hananiah has started to talk with people who were living in Exile about being able to go back to what once was. Hananiah speaks about bringing sacred vessels back into the Temple (which, remember, had been flattened like a pancake by the Babylonians) and returning to the place that the Jewish people had called their home for generations. It’s almost as if Hananiah doesn’t want to accept the fact that things have changed, and he’s trying to encourage people to believe that they can simply return to what once was and watch the storm just go away. Perhaps you’d like to be able to do that today? But Jeremiah wasn’t that optimistic.

One of the things that I’ve learned in life is that our lives are often lived in cycles.

Good times are almost always followed by bad times; and even the worst times in our lives can give way to much better times. Think about grief. We mourn over what we’ve lost and wish that we could have it once again, but life moves forward and we change as we adjust to our new reality. Christianity is built upon the death and the resurrection of Jesus: Life being lost in death and death giving way to new life. Our faith reminds us of the fact that God blesses us with new life even while we’re still caught in our grief.

Now, think about the Church.

We were knocked off-center when churches needed to close; and yet, in the midst of this pandemic, churches that had never done so in the past have incorporated electronics in their ministry. That’s new life! People who don’t normally attend worship services are listening to sermons and are participating in online worship services. That’s new life! We’ve had the chance to improve our methods of communicating with each other. That’s new life! The church that I am serving is even working with several other congregations to launch an online Vacation Bible School for children in the next few weeks. That’s new life! Leaders throughout the Church have been imagining new ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in more creative ways – realizing that, even as we grieve, Jesus moves us toward something new and exciting and life-filled. That’s new life! That’s resurrection!

Listen to Psalm 89:1 – “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations!”

This week, I’d like to encourage you to do three things:

  • Think about grief and about how grief might be affecting you, right now. It’s not easy to be told that you can’t do things that you like to do. And it’s very natural for people who are grieving to imagine what it would be like to just to back to what once was even though it’s not possible anymore.
  • Pray for the many people who need to make big decisions today and remember that they are trying to do the best that they can even when you disagree with what they think needs to be done.
  • Pray for patience and offer some of your time, energy, vision and creativity to those who are struggling to discover how we can best return from our Exile and proclaim the message of God’s love and the hope of the Resurrection in new and exiting ways as the people of God, today. You can be a part of the new life that Jesus is creating!

Click Here for This Week’s Message

Whoa! Jesus Said That?

Posted on by
Reply

jesus-cleanses-temple

What do you think Jesus was like?

I have a Nativity (Christmas) icon hanging in my office; and, just like in Christmas carols, Jesus is quietly sleeping in the hay, but dressed in a burial shroud. In the Christmas carol “What Child is This?” we see Jesus quietly sleeping in hay until we sing the words: “Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the Cross be borne for me, for you.” Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus standing outside a door without a door knob and quietly waiting for the person inside to answer His knock? Maybe you’ve seen pictures of Jesus with children surrounding Him as He teaches them about God? I would venture to say that almost all of us picture Jesus as a rather calm and gentle sort of man who will forgive us whenever we do things wrong and who will, ultimately, take us to Heaven when we die – no matter how far we drift off-course in our daily lives.

But Jesus was very complex.

The same Jesus who called us to love each other is the same Jesus who said, “I didn’t come into the world to bring peace, but a sword.” The same Jesus who taught us the Golden Rule said, “I have come to set a son against his father and a daughter against her mother, and people’s enemies will be those in their own homes.” Or, how about these famous words of Jesus: “Do not fear those who kill the body but who cannot kill the soul. Rather fear the God who can throw both your body and your soul into hell.”

Whoa! Jesus said that?

As much as we want to picture Jesus as a kind and gentle man, we must never forget that Jesus is also the Lord of the Cross. The Cross is the ultimate sign of love and self-sacrifice; but the Cross is also a place of alienation and separation from other people. The Cross was the place of God’s battle with the devil; but it was also a place where troublemakers who dared to speak against the status quo were put to death by those who wanted power more than anything else. The Cross (do you wear around your neck?) isn’t just a piece of gold or silver jewelry that tells other people that we’re Christians. The Cross was a place where people who publicly spoke uncomfortable truths were thrust high into the air to die a horrible death, so that those who watched it happening would be reminded that the best thing that you can do is live your life keeping your mouth shut….

Do you know that there’s a Cross waiting for you?

Many people in the Church (even pastors) are afraid to speak the truth because they’re afraid of what might happen to them if they speak their minds too openly. Have you ever laughed at a racist joke because you wanted to be one of the crowd? Have you ever watched in silence as somebody bullied someone in front of you (remember that adults bully each other as much as teenagers do). Have you ever quietly listened to somebody tell lies about somebody else because you were afraid that you would be the next target if you dared to speak up?

We all want to be liked by other people and especially by God; and yet, Jesus has a way of calling us to move beyond where we are right now and to live in a very different way.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth,” Jesus says. “Take up your cross and follow me!” Believe in something. Be passionate about something. Find something in life that you really care about. Don’t live your entire life in a pool of lukewarm water and die wondering what God could have done with you. Do something that matters. Be a part of helping our world to become a better place. That’s what it means to be alive!

But the challenge of Jesus is also accompanied by a promise.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny; and yet, not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Don’t be afraid, for you are much more valuable than many sparrows.” Take up your cross. Live a life marked by love and self-sacrifice. Stand up for what you believe; because, when you do that, you may discover the “true life” that God wants you to have and not the type of life that slips between your fingers like sand!

Jesus was a kind and gentle man, but He was also complex.

And today, I want to challenge you to think about the images of Jesus that you embrace. Jesus loves you dearly, but He was also killed because He refused to keep his mouth shut. Jesus continues to call you to step out of the lukewarm pools of life where you’ve learned to feel comfortable. And, even though all of that might seem frightening to you, Jesus has also assured you that as you continue to live into God’s plan for your life and your future, Jesus walk right beside you every step of the way to both strengthen and embolden you.

Click Here for This Week’s Message

God is Working Through You!

Posted on by
Reply

June 14 blog pic

Charles Dickens began his famous novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” with these words:

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was the season of light. It was the season of darkness. It was the spring of hope. It was the winter of despair.”

We are living in times just like what Charles Dickens described.

In the last few months, we’ve been hearing stories about food banks providing meals for hungry families and we’ve watched a police officer kill an innocent man before our eyes. Last week, I read about a local congregation that has prepared and given away nearly 40,000 hot meals in the last few months, and I also read about a man who broke a store employee’s arm after being asked to put on a mask. Many people have been living well and have been working with each other during these very unusual times; and yet, just last week, I saw a picture of an automobile with the words, “Remember that your health is not as important to me as my liberties” painted on the back window.

And we need to make sense of all of this as people of faith.

You’re probably feeling a bit frazzled these days and you may be finding that it’s hard to be patient with other people. You probably believe that you’re a good person who’s living each day in a way that pleases God; but, you probably can think of some relationships in your life that are in need of repair. I have been reminded many times, as both a husband and as a parent, that we’re ALL made out of clay; and that, sometimes, what we need are people who can continue to love us even when we’re “cracked pots.” As we have moved through this pandemic together, you have probably seen the best in yourself and you’ve probably also seen the worst. We all have.

It’s easy for us to become discouraged.

We’re sometimes left shaking our heads when we watch the news. On a more personal level, we sometimes shake our heads at ourselves because we feel like we have been less than what we ought to be. We can find it difficult, as people of faith, to make sense of our ability the shine like the sun in one moment and to be left with nothing to say but “Oops! I am so sorry!” in the next one. But this is how we live, isn’t it? People sometimes judge us rather harshly and call us hypocrites even when we’re trying to do our best. But, today, I want you to think about what the Bible has to say about all of this, too.

Saint Paul once wrote: “For while we were still weak, at the right time, Jesus died for the ungodly…. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8) God works in our lives long before we are perfect. God is at work in us even when we feel that we’re less than what we ought to be. And, even more than that, God changes the world by empowering people who feel like “cracked pots” at times. Did you know that God can even change the world through YOU?

Jesus once told His disciples to go out and to proclaim the Good News. (Matthew 10:7)

And the Good News that Jesus told the disciples to proclaim is that the Reign of God is near to you. “The Reign of God is near to YOU!”  Just think about that….

In the best of times and in the worst of times, Jesus comes into the world and works in our lives. In an age of wisdom and in an age of foolishness, God continues to work in our lives (even when we feel that we’re far less than perfect) and calls forth the best that’s inside of us, and forgiving us when we make mistakes. In the season of light and in the season of darkness, Jesus walks with us and calls us to loudly proclaim that the light at the end of the tunnel has NOT been turned off! In the season of hope and in the winter of despair, the Reign of God breaks into our world and tears down bleak systems of poverty, injustice, bigotry and racism, and everything else that’s broken – working in the midst of OUR lives and calling US to be a part of creating something new (sometimes even kicking what has stopped us from doing what God’s calling us to do in the past out of our way).

God is working through YOU!

And this week, I want to challenge you to think about that.

  • What does it mean for you to call yourself a “person of faith” in times like these?
  • How is your faith helping you to make sense of what’s happening right now?
  • What do YOU hear when Jesus tells you that the Reign of God has come near?
  • And what will all of this mean to you this week as you live your life (perhaps a bit frazzled and edgy) knowing that Jesus is walking beside you and that the Reign of God is coming into the world through YOU?

Click Here for This Week’s Message

FaithBuilders

Posted on by
Reply

FaithBuilders Picture

Several months ago, I began a new ministry called FaithBuilders.

I have noticed (in my 32 years as a pastor) that many Christians either don’t know much about the Bible or that they feel overwhelmed when they try to apply what the Bible says to daily living. Sunday School teachers are doing their best to help children learn stories in the Bible; but, sometimes, the Sunday School curriculum that they use is built around so many unfamiliar stories that children remember only a few of them. We live in a time when more and more parents depend upon the Church to teach their children about God (while they, perhaps, go out for Sunday brunch?), and when other parents do not teach their children much about God or the Bible at all. And even some churches have shifted away from teaching basic stories from the Bible and have started teaching little children about compassion, kindness, gentleness and love – wonderful values and principles that are, sometimes, much too nebulous for little children to embrace and understand.

And I’ve asked myself, many times: “What is something that I could do to change that?”

I began to wonder if adults would find it far less intimidating to talk with their children about God if they were better equipped? What would happen, for example, if I created a list of 52 stories from the life of Jesus and asked people to focus on one story each week? Would adults take a few minutes at the end of each day to teach children a story from the Bible if I provided some easy-to-use tools? Would adults be willing to take a few minutes at the end of the day to read a story from the Bible and to talk with their children about it if I provided a few questions to get the conversation going? What about adults? Could an adult be encouraged to read stories from the Bible a few moments each day and to reflect upon questions that can help them to build a bridge between the stories in the Bible and daily living? What would it look like if I created a list of 52 stories from the life of Jesus to read during one year; and then, created a list of 52 well-known stories from the Bible to read throughout the course of another year? It seemed to be a win-win for everybody! Adults would be equipped. Adults could be encouraged to read the Bible and pray with their children. And the children, of course, would benefit from spending some time each day with their parent(s) or another adult(s) learning about God and building life-giving faith-links to the Bible that they could carry with them for the rest of their lives.

FaithBuilders is a ministry that’s been created to help you to build a bridge between where you are right now and where God wants to take you tomorrow. And, the best part about is that it’s easy, convenient, and life-changing! And, guess what? FaithBuilders can all be found right here on this blog! Just click the menu option above.

Why not visit FaithBuilders today? There is no better moment than right now to begin to explore the Bible in a new way, and there’s no better moment than right now to begin to introduce children to stories from the Bible that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Click Here to Visit FaithBuilders