New Normal: Called to Be Witnesses

After all the rain on Monday, welcome to a “well-washed” Wednesday!  It’s a blessing to be together.

As we noted yesterday, this Sunday is Pentecost.  It’s the day we celebrate how God poured (as continues to pour) the Holy Spirit on and into the life of the Church.  The Holy Spirit brings us to life in Christ’s love and leads us into the mission of Christ’s service.  The Book of Acts narrates how that happened with the first disciples.  On Pentecost, we rejoice how it happens with us as well.

Our Scripture for this Sunday is Acts 1:1-9.  It’s a prologue. It recaps what has previously occurred and sets us up for what’s ahead. Today we look at this text to see how it readies us as readers to be “witnesses”. So make sure you have your Bible open and let’s review it together.

In verses 1 and 2 we see that Acts is a sequel. There was a “first book”, the Gospel of Luke. This is the follow-up – the “what happens next”.  It’s addressed to “Theophilus”, who could be an individual or any interested reader, for the name translates “friend of God”.  And as with all four Gospels, Luke narrated “all that Jesus did” in his life, death, and resurrection.

In verse 3 we begin to focus on the period between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven.  During that time the text says that Jesus showed the disciples that he was alive, without a doubt.  And he taught them about the Kingdom of God – what was to come.

Verses 4 and 5 get more specific.  Jesus instructs them not to leave Jerusalem, but to “wait”.  What are they waiting for?  The Father is about to fulfill the Promise of pouring out the Holy Spirit.

Verse 6 shows there was obviously some confusion about what was to take place.  Was the outpouring of the Spirit to be a rousing finale to the life of “this world” and an ushering in of the “world to come”?  Even as Jesus had spent this time teaching about the “Kingdom of God” was God about to make it happen?

In verses 7 and 8 Jesus brings forward a very different idea than what the disciples asked.  They didn’t need to worry about when God was going to usher in the End and New Creation.  They needed to redirect their attention to what God was going to do in them and through them now.   God was about to pour out the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit was God’s presence in their lives.  The Holy Spirit was God’s power for their lives.  The Holy Spirit was God’s call to love and to serve.  God was about to give power and purpose that was greater than themselves.  Focus there!

The disciples were to be “witnesses”.  Witnesses live out God’s love in the world.  Witnesses are living demonstrations of what great and gracious things Jesus Christ does in and through our lives. Witnesses share Jesus’ love in ways others are drawn into his saving grace.

Verse 8 concludes that the disciples are to live out that plan everywhere – “to the ends of the earth”.

And then in verse 9 Jesus leaves!  Those instructions to be his witnesses by the Holy Spirit are his last words to his followers, then and now.

In just 9 short verses Luke has set up not only what is about to unfold in this Book, but he also has outlined our purpose as Christians and as Christ’s Church.  To be witnesses to Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit is the “main thing”.  To live Christ’s love in the world by the power of the Holy Spirit in ways that the grace of God touches the hearts and lives of others and draws them to their Savior is the “main thing”.  To live by the power of the Holy Spirit in ways that this world sees signs of the “breaking in” of the Kingdom of God through justice, mercy, and peace in Jesus Christ is “the main thing”.   Jesus says that by the power of the Holy Spirit we are to be witnesses.

Today I invite you to go through the text again and see how that main message unfolds for you.  How do you find that Luke calls you into the purpose of being a witness for Jesus?  What exactly might that look like for you today?  Who is God giving you to love today into the Kingdom?

When it comes to being a “living witness” there are lots of great questions.  So I’ll let you get to work with the Scripture.

And as we all work with the Scripture my prayer is that it will go to work on us as well!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for giving us your power and your purpose. Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit and your call to be witnesses.  Even as you give, we pray that we receive in ways that we would live out Christ’s love to your Kingdom glory in the everyday moments of our lives.  In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

New Normal: Pentecost

Good morning! Greetings on Tuesday.   I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day.   I also hope you had time to remember and honor those who served and sacrificed so that we can have the liberties we possess and meet together in the pastor’s workshop!

This coming Sunday Is Pentecost.  On Pentecost we celebrate God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the power God gives to do the work of Jesus Christ in the world. Pentecost marks the "birth” of the Church, as God “breathes” life into the lives of those who come together in the name of Jesus.   Pentecost is a “Big Day” in Christendom!

The Scripture for this Sunday will be Acts 1:1-9.  These are the opening verses of a book that narrates the story of the followers of Jesus taking the good news of Jesus (the Gospel) into a world that needs to hear that story and receive the Savior.  Their story is our same story.  We continue with the same mission, to take the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that so needs to hear good news and receive a Savior.

As those first followers lived into the mission and as we live into the mission, there is one “essential element”.  We require the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the empowerment of God to engage the world with Jesus’ love.  The Risen Christ underlines the necessity for us to have the Spirit as he, “ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.” (verse 4). As the old commercial said, “Don’t leave home without it!”

So today I invite you to immerse yourself in the Scripture.  As always read and re-read, write and re-write, paraphrase, and take notes.  God has promised the Spirit in this process.   Take a moment. Pray a prayer.  Ask the Spirit to “show” you a word or phrase you hadn’t really noticed before.   Let the Holy Spirit lead you into a deeper light of truth on what we need to fulfill our mission and to be witnesses for Jesus.

I look forward to spending this week with you reflecting on God’s Holy Spirit.  I pray it will be productive.  I hope it will open our minds and hearts to the ways God moves and works in each of us (Yes, that’s God’s plan!)

In that prayer and blessing I’ll let you get to work.  And we’ll see each other tomorrow in the workshop!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for giving us what we need to be your people and to participate in your purposes.  Thank you for pouring out your Holy Spirit on us.  Through this Scripture open our minds more deeply to this truth.  Fill our hearts with your love in Jesus Christ that we might have the power to love You provide and be the witnesses to Your grace that others need.   This we pray in Jesus’ holy name.  Amen.

New Normal: Eternity

Greetings on a good Saturday!  I’m glad to be with you as we close out the week in the Workshop.

This week we’ve prepared our Memorial Day message.  Our theme is “Eternity”.  Our Scripture comes from II Corinthians 5:1-9.  Our focus verse is 5:1, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

As you know, on Saturday we “prepare with prayer”.  Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor build it in vain.”  Unless God is in the midst of our writing, our proclaiming, the listener’s hearing, and how we live the word in the world we are just going through the motions.  Prayer centers us on how the Spirit would be working in and through all we have done to advance Christ’s Kingdom.

So what are we praying for this Saturday?

My hope is that this message would be used by God to bring hope to hearts.  “Eternity” reminds us that those we memorialize this weekend, our own dear and departed ones and we ourselves have a “home in the heart of God”.  Our earthly body is temporary (an “earthly tent”) but our spiritual body is our permanent residence (a “building from God”). In heaven there is a “perfection” (a “house is not made with hands”).  There is a wholeness, freedom, a completion, a beauty that we don’t know on earth because of our limitations, afflictions, and conditions. This is a majesty and glory God gives.

I also pray that we take this hope to heart in ways that it would guide our daily living.  “Eternity” is not simply then, it is now.  The transcendent love of God would be transforming our life on earth in the present. God would be bringing a “little bit of heaven” through how we choose to serve and sacrifice in our days. We “walk by faith” today and follow our risen Christ!  Prayer opens and aligns us to this leading of God.

For our church family and friends I am praying that all would have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.  I hope that even in the midst of the “new normal” there would be some opportunity to connect with those you love.

This weekend I also am praying for folks in Michigan where the dams burst and in India and Bangladesh where the super cyclone hit.  They have experienced a “double dose”, with the virus and natural disaster.  May God strengthen them as they seek to rebuild their lives.

These are some of the prayers on my heart this Saturday.  What are yours?  The Bible invites us to “Cast your cares upon the Lord, for God cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7).   We are invited to trust that Scripture as we lift up our lives and our world in faith.

Have a blessed time of prayer today.  And I look forward to worshipping with you tomorrow.  I know as we gather via the web we are together in Christ.  I am grateful for that grace!

See you then!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the privilege of prayer.  We are grateful that in your love You open your Heart to our hearts.  In that gift in Christ we can open our lives to Your eternal life.  For that blessing and the hope it brings to our daily living we praise You, through Jesus Christ our Lord.   

New Normal: Remembering Our Heroes

Greetings on Thursday!  It’s good to be with you as we come to a highlight in our week and our work – “seeing how it all comes together”.

A quick recap – this Sunday marks Memorial Day.  Our New Normal focus is on “Eternity”.  Our Scripture text is II Corinthians 5:1-9.  Our guiding question: “What healthy choice/s can I make about “Eternity” and my life?”

On Thursday we compile all our notes: our “immersion observations” from Monday; our “structure study” from Tuesday; and, our “context and contrast” reflections from Wednesday.  As we put them all together we look for the “big picture”.  What “message” is emerging?

Here’s what I’m “seeing”:

In some ways this Memorial Day is very traditional.  And as part of our celebration we take time for solemn commemoration.  We remember and honor our military men and women who have served and sacrificed for our nation and our freedoms.

In some ways this Memorial Day is very different.  In this age of Corona Virus and “New Normal” there are new heroes.  These were highlighted on the front page of the Dallas Morning News last Sunday.  All our frontline health care workers and medical professionals are also stepping forward in sacrificial ways. As they fight an “invisible enemy” in the virus they are exposing themselves to danger and risking their own health for the health and well-being of others.  Some have given their own lives for the lives of those they serve.  This Memorial Day we also want to remember and honor them.

As we remember all our heroes there is a somberness and gravity to the commemoration. The Scripture speaks of a “groaning”.  We experience that in the grief and sorrow of family and friends of the deceased.  As we stand with them and salute their loved ones we are touched by the weight of their loss.  We are also deeply moved by the inner awareness that these young men and women who gave their lives did so on our behalf, for our benefit. 

One healthy choice in relation to “Eternity” is to never forget their service and sacrifice.  We would always remember and honor them.

As we remember we would recall the hope of the Scriptures.  Even as they gave their lives in service of a higher cause and calling, they now have received life with a Savior in a Higher Kingdom.  They rest in the eternal presence and peace of God.  As the Scripture says, they have been “swallowed up by life.”

The Apostle Paul, great evangelist and also tentmaker, describes the mystery like this --- our bodies are a “tent”.  Tents are temporary shelter. When our travels are done we pack up our tent and take up our permanent residence in a “building” that is sturdy and strong.  This is our true and eternal home.

This home is not only permanent, it is also “perfect”.  It is a “house not made with hands”, eternal and heavenly. 

All this is planned, purposed and “prepared” by God. Even though we can only imagine what it will be like, we know it will be glorious.  It’s all of God’s doing. We can live with confidence in this vision of hope!

Finally, the Apostle not only presents a compelling vision of the future, he also sharpens and focuses it to a call to action in the present.  Because we trust in eternity with God, in this world we walk by faith, not by sight.  We live in ways that the transcendent beauty and majesty of God would transform our lives now.  We seek to bring a bit of heaven into each day.

We do that by sharing in the “groaning” of our world.  We come alongside others to help them shoulder their burdens. In this service we sacrifice of our time, energy, finances, even personal purposes for the greater cause and higher good.

As we do that we profit from the witness of all whom we honor on Memorial Day. They served and sacrificed in ultimate ways.  We serve and sacrifice every day for the blessing of others and the glory of God.  As Hebrews says, “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses … so we run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”

This is a brief outline of how the message is “shaping up” for me.  By Sunday it will be expanded and enhanced. So I encourage you to tune in to our website worship available anytime on Sunday to experience the “final product”.

What is coming forward for you?  What message is the Spirit speaking to you? It won’t be the same as what I hear because God imparts truth to each in ways that are unique.  Listening, reflecting, and writing your “own message” can be a powerful “faith builder”.  I’d encourage you to invest time and energy in “your message”.

Now it’s time to let the message “percolate”.  On Friday the message continues to speak and emerge.  It takes on a fullness that the Spirit working over time provides.  Then Saturday is “prayer to prepare”.  And of course, Sunday comes!

I look forward to what God will continue to do as we head into the weekend and am excited to join with you for worship on Sunday morning!  Until then, Blessings!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the messages You would speak to our hearts and minds by your Spirit.  Even as they are your truth for us, let us listen closely, think carefully, and write clearly.  We pray that not only would we receive the message You bring through your Word, but we would live the message. Help us to be the blessing you would have us to be through Jesus Christ, our eternal Lord.  In his name we pray.  Amen.

New Normal: What Will Be

Welcome to Wednesday! It's a blessing to be together. I'm excited to explore God's word with you.

As we noted yesterday, this weekend is Memorial Day. As part of our service we will remember and honor those who have served and sacrificed for our freedoms. In our New Normal series we will focus on "Eternity."

Our text is II Corinthians 5:1-9. In midweek we consider the world into which this word was proclaimed. What was the setting for the Scripture? What was the darkness into which the Apostle sought to shine a light of Hope?

Paul wrote to a church where the reality of Resurrection was in debate. I Corinthians 15:12 questions, "How do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?"

He spoke into this controversy with confidence. Our text this week reflects his conviction.

The Scripture is full of contrasts. He speaks of our present body as a "tent," a temporary shelter. He witnesses to our eternal home as a "building," a permanent residence. Our current "housing" is "made with hands." We know frailties and afflictions. Our future home will be perfect and complete, eternal and heavenly. In the transition time, where we find ourselves today, we know the tension between what is and what will be. In this awareness there is a "groaning." And yet In the midst of the groaning, there is a growing grace. There is a confidence. In this confidence we walk by faith, not by sight. We live today in the light of what will be tomorrow. We live Eternity Now.

In our day we know how easy it is to loose sight of Eternity. The demands of the moment can easily eclipse our vision. When that happens our days can be filled with moaning and groaning. Skepticism can rob us of our confidence of an eternal home. When that happens the future grows dim.

Into that darkness the Scripture witnesses this light of truth. God has purposed and planned a great and gracious gift of life. Eternal life with God is God's intention in Christ. His resurrection is the breakthrough and his Spirit is the guarantee. As he says in verse 4, when we leave this world our lives are "swallowed up by life.". In God's love our lives are always with the Lord, so whether in this world or in heaven we are always with the Lord.

On this Memorial Day weekend as we remember and honor those who have served and sacrificed and as recall the lives of our own dear and departed ones we do so in light of this hope in Christ. In him their reality is Resurrection. In that conviction we find our peace. In that confidence we discover our purpose to live Christ's transcendent love in ways that would transform our world today.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for your Holy Spirit, always reminding us that even as your love is forever, our life in you is eternal. Strengthen us in that grace that we may walk by faith and witness in service. This we pray through the one who is the eternal Way, Truth and Life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Christ,

Paul

New Normal: Our Heavenly Dwelling

Grace and Peace on a sunshine filled Tuesday.  Great to be with you in the Workshop!

This week we’re continuing our New Normal series with a focus on “eternity”.  It seems like an appropriate choice since next Monday is Memorial Day.

The text we’re using is II Corinthians 5:1-9.  In these verses Paul celebrates how when we leave this world we are “swallowed up by life”.  

On Tuesdays we look at the structure of the Scripture.   We get a sense of the logic of the verses.  As the writer brings forward the message, how does he present his vision?

Here’s how I experience this passage:

The Apostle starts with a strong and guiding statement: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

This opening contrasts “tent”, which is temporary housing, with “building” which is a permanent residence.  From his viewpoint the life we know in this world is transitory. What is to come is our forever home.  He describes it like this: our spiritual bodies will be perfect, “not made with hands” and eternal “in the heavens”. His vision is of a glory awaiting.

Since he has faith in this future, he says while we’re here we “groan”. He uses the word twice, in verse 2 and 4. “ 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— 3 if indeed, when we have taken it off[a] we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

“Groaning” is one aspect of our current condition.  It results from the dynamic tension between our human limitations, frailties, and struggles and the promised completeness and wholeness, freedom and fullness that is to come.

He then makes a statement that brings great assurance.  The Apostle proclaims this is all of God’s planning and purpose.  “5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God.”

He also asserts that God would be continually encouraging us in this faith.  God “has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”  

Paul then moves on from “groaning” into a second aspect of our current condition, “confidence”. 

Again, he uses this word twice, in verses 6 and 8. “6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

It’s not simply that we feel the “burden” of our human limitations.  We also are lifted by the “blessing” ahead.  That vision of life with God becomes a guiding light, as we “walk by faith, not by sight”.

The Apostle closes in a way he does with so many of his teachings. He redirects his vision of the future into action in the present. “9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” Whether we’re in heaven with God (at home) or in this world (away), in either dimension of our lives (human or heavenly) the “aim” is the same – to live pleasing to God.  We are to bring a bit of heaven into our world today as we live in serving love and reconciling faithfulness with those around us. We are to live “Eternity Now”.

This is a beautiful text that proclaims hope and at the same time provides direction.

As you look at the logic – what do you see?  How does the vision of the Apostle “unfold” for you?  As always – have your notebook handy!

Today is “text”. Tomorrow is “context”.  I look forward to being with you then!

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for beautiful visions of faith that bring comfort to our hearts and reassurance to our souls. Thank you that this heavenly vision calls us to worldly action as we would live by faith, not by sight and aim to please God .  Let your Spirit embrace us with this peace and strengthen us in this purpose. This we pray in the name of the One who opened the way, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

New Normal: Reflecting on Eternity

Good morning on this beautiful, blue sky Monday!  It’s great to start the week out with you as we read the Scriptures and receive a fresh Word.

This coming Sunday is part of Memorial Day weekend.  As with most things this year, this Memorial Day is a bit different. 

As always we will be remembering and honoring our military men and women who have served courageously and sacrificed completely.  Through their unwavering commitment and selfless sacrifice, they have paid the price of our freedom.

This year as we commemorate Memorial Day we will also be remembering our health care workers and other essential frontline service personnel.  They are fighting a different kind of war, against an unseen enemy. Through their dedication, they have battled for the health and well-being of 1.52 million Americans who have contracted Covid 19.  As of April 15, 9,200 health care workers had contracted the virus themselves and 27 deaths have been reported.  Through their service and sacrifice, they are paying a price for our health and safety.

In light of the service and sacrifice on all fronts, it seems only fitting we reflect on “eternity” this Memorial Day weekend.

Our Scripture for exploring “eternity” will be from II Corinthians 5:1-9.  What makes this text, and so much of the Apostle Paul’s thinking on “eternity” challenging and also comforting, not only does he write about the eternal from an earthly point of view, he also considers the earthly from an eternal perspective.

As always on Monday I invite you to read and re-read the text, silently and aloud.  Copy it from several translations. Paraphrase it in your own words.  Both Ezekiel and Revelation refer to “eating the scroll” and digesting the word of God.   That may be a bit intense, but you get the idea… how much can you internalize what is being proclaimed in the Scripture?

As always make sure you have your notebook handy and jot down your ideas and observations.   When thoughts come your way, you don’t want to let them get away! 

I look forward to thinking about “eternity” with you this week. What “healthy choices” we can make in relation to this sacred dimension of life?  With that question I’ll stop so you can get started!

Have a great day!

Prayer:  Gracious God, we thank you as we reflect upon Scriptural words about “eternity” they witness to the sacred depth of life where Your majesty and glory are fully present.  We know there is no way we can imagine or conceive what this must be like.  And yet as Ecclesiastes says, you have put “eternity” in our minds and hearts to continually reassure us and give us hope.  Lord as we study this week, let us grow more fully into this blessing through our risen Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen  

New Normal: Praying for Sunday

Finally, it’s Saturday!  So glad to be with you today.  We’re almost to Sunday and to sharing the message in worship.  

Even as we’ve labored long in the writing, we know the work is not done.  Our work is part of God’s larger working. We may write and preach, but for the word to become an “implanted word”, which inspires minds with truth and renews hearts in hope, that’s all by God’s Spirit.

On Saturday we pray God will bless all we have done. We ask our message would be the gift of grace we hope it would be.  Our efforts are presented as an offering.  As with any offering we bring it humbly, asking God receive it, bless it, and use it to accomplish Christ’s will and work. I lift that prayer for the message.

On Saturday I also pray for myself as the preacher.  I pray for clarity and conviction. I ask God would use me to be a communicator and conveyor of grace.

I pray for our church family and for all who have the opportunity to come.   I pray God’s Spirit would prompt all to join in the worship of our glorious God and receive a gift of grace God has for each. I ask God bless the gift they receive, so that as everyone lives into the week ahead, they could do so as witnesses of Christ’s love by how they love others.

Yes, on Saturday there’s always lots to pray for. I’m grateful to be able to do that with you. More than that, I’m thankful that in Jesus Christ we know God hears and answers our prayers to other’s good and God’s glory.

Have a terrific Saturday.  Enjoy your weekend.  And I’ll see you tomorrow as we move from the workshop into worship!

Prayer:  Gracious God, You give us the gift of prayer that we might center ourselves in Your Presence and Your Purpose.   We pray You bless the Sunday morning message, that it might be the implanted word, taking root in our hearts and bearing fruit in our daily living. Lord, thank You for pouring your Holy Spirit into our human spirits to refresh and renew us in the life we share with You.  In this grace we give You our thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

New Normals: Come to the Well

Happy Thursday!  Glad to be with you as we come to a weekly highlight in the Pastor’s Workshop – writing the message.

Our process has looked like this:

·       Monday- we read and re-read the Scripture.  We recorded our “random” observations and ideas.

·       Tuesday – our thinking got more “structured” as we studied the structure of the text.

·       Wednesday – we put the text in the context of its original setting and our current culture.

·       Thursday (today) – we review all of the above.  We see how our notes and ideas fit together and a “message” begins to emerge.

With all that being said, what about this week?  In our New Normal series, we’re focusing on healthy choices for your spirit.  We’re guided by John 4:3-15 and John 7:37-39.  What message is coming forward for you?

Here are my thoughts for Sunday’s message:

The last couple of months of living with Covid-19 have been a tough and tiring “journey”.

As with any tiring journey, we develop a thirst.  Covid-19 is no exception.  We have experienced a thirst for connection, for safety and security, for activity and productivity, and for normalcy.

If thirst persists for long enough, and surely this one has, an “inner” drought develops that has its own consequences.  The Bible says the ‘grass withers and the flower fades’.  Something within our own spirits begins to wither and fade.  We experience this spiritual drought as mild disorientation, low-grade depression, and a general sense of being adrift.

To satisfy this thirst and relieve this drought, we need medical breakthroughs and economic breakouts. But we need more!  We need refreshment and renewal of inner Vitality.  We need God’s Holy Spirit with our human spirits.  We need “living water”.  We need to “come to the well”.

The well is the centerpiece of this Scripture.  The well is where Jesus and the Samaritan woman meet.  What happens at the well is important.  In the conversation between her and Jesus, she moves from being downcast in her daily chores to running, renewed and refreshed, to witness to Christ.  What happened at the well?

As you look at the conversation in the Scripture you see that the “bottom line” for Jesus at the well is to bring the woman to the “Ask”.  “Sir, give me this water…” (John 4:15).   It indicates that she is ready to receive what Jesus is so ready to give – living water, God’s Spirit.

We have the same Christ, who is waiting for us to make the same “ask”. 

In the church, we traditionally make our “ask” for the Spirit through acts of faith.  These acts are healthy choices John Wesley called “means of grace”.  They are means of grace because they are channels for the “living water” of God’s grace to flow into our lives.

Wesley enumerated five.  And I’ll lift up five as well (four of Wesley’s and one of my own).  The five means of grace we’ll look at are Worship, Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowship, and Service.  Through each of these God can pour the Holy Spirit into our human spirits in ways that we know the revival of Vitality grace gives.

Jesus said, “the water I give will gush up within like a fountain of eternal life”.  That’s the promise we hold to as we make our healthy choices and “come to the well”.

That’s a brief outline of how Sunday’s message is shaping up for me. What about you?  How has the Spirit led you through these Scriptures? In what ways has God’s word spoken to you?  That’s the wonderful thing about the Word, God speaks specifically to our situation and needs as we listen in faith.   What is God saying to you about “living water” and “coming to the well”?

I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday.  It’s one of my favorite days and ways of “coming to the well”.  Moreover, I’m anticipating our time on Saturday, as we “prepare with prayer”.

In those blessings, I’ll see you then.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the way you speak a message through the Scriptures by Your Spirit. We pray your “living water” would refresh us so that we might not only know your truth but live it with joy through Jesus Christ our Lord.  In his name, we pray.  Amen.

New Normal: Thirst

Welcome to Wednesday!  It’s good to be together as we continue our work, as we “Come to the Well”.

This week our guiding Scriptures have been John 4:3-15 and John 7:37-39.  Jesus is offering the promise of “Living Water”.  He is witnessing the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit upon our human spirits in ways we receive deep refreshment, renewal, and restoration.

On Wednesdays, we look into the context of the text.  We think about the world into which the Word is spoken. We particularly note the contrasts to the truth being proclaimed.  This contrast adds perspective, depth, and meaning to the message.

Even as Jesus speaks of “Living Water”, the setting of the Scripture provides the contrast.  Jesus is on a tough, tiring journey from Judea to Galilee.  He passes through Samaria, a No Man’s Land, avoided by most Jews.  There is a sense of dryness and desolation in the moment.

In the journey, Jesus develops a thirst.  He seeks a place to rest, to be refreshed. So he comes to the well.

At the well, he meets a woman who comes with her own “thirsts”.  She has been cast out by social convention, she comes to the well alone.  She knows segregation, racial, and religious, where Jews do not speak with Samaritans. Something deep within her thirst for something more, “Lord, give me this water!” 

The contrast of “Thirst” and “Living Water” is present in the Scriptures and in our lives, particularly in these days of Covid 19.  We thirst for connection, for security, for activity, for productivity, and for normalcy.  As you think about your time over the last ten weeks what other “thirsts” you have experienced?  Jot these down.

“Thirst” draws us to the Well.  Thirst opens us to wondering, “How would God be pouring out the Holy Spirit upon and into our human spirits, especially now?”  Are there choices I can make, healthy spiritual choices, that would be channels of the Spirit?  Are there decisions I can make, positive decisions where I put myself more in a position to receive what Jesus is so ready to give?

These are good questions.  As you look at the texts and the contexts you may have others.  Every good “quest” gives rise to good questions. Make sure you write down the questions you have about the Holy Spirit, about the outpouring of “Living Water”. 

As we get a sense of the “deeper thirsts” of our days, we experience more fully the power and the promise of Jesus’ “’gusher of grace’ rising up unto eternal life” (John 4:14). 

In that blessing I look forward to our work today and our time tomorrow as the message comes together and we “Come to the Well”.

Prayer:  Gracious God, you know our needs.  Jesus came to be with us, like us, so we are assured You know what it means to thirst.  Into our human spirits You would pour Your Holy Spirit.  So often you are more ready to give than we are to receive. You only wait for us to ask, “Lord, give me that living water.”  We ask that You turn our thirst upward into a prayer.  In that blessing of a faithful ask and the confidence of your faithful answer we give you our thanks this day.  In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

New Normal: Living Water

Greetings and it’s so good to be together on Tuesday!

This week in “New Normal” our focus is on our spirits.  As people we are “body, mind, and spirit”.  Just as there are healthy choices we can make for our bodies and minds, there are positive changes we can decide for our spirits. 

Our guiding texts are from the Gospel of John, John 4:3-15 and John 7:37-39.  The promise Jesus offers in these Scriptures is “living water”.  The invitation Jesus gives, “Come and drink”.

On Tuesday in the Pastor’s Workshop we briefly look at the literary structure of the texts.  We also  quickly review the cultural and historical background of the Scriptures.

John 4:3-15 is a personal encounter of Jesus and a Samaritan woman. 

Verses 3-6 set the stage.  Jesus is on a journey from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north.  His route passes through Samaria, which was a “no man’s land” for the Jews of his day.  He’s hot and tired and stops for a rest.  He’s thirsty and needs a drink.

A woman comes to the well and there is a dialogue that has three exchanges.

Verses 7-9 are Jesus’ initial request and the woman’s rebuff. Jesus asks for a drink.  We all know “thirst” and have made this “ask”.   The woman’s reply reflects cultural mores of the day. Jews don’t speak to Samaritans.  Men don’t address women.  This first exchange shows how Jesus is breaking through cultural barriers.  God’s invitation for “living water” goes out to all.

Verses 10-12 are Jesus’ invitation with a promise and the woman’s attention to the problems.  Jesus says, “If you knew the gift of God and who was asking you… you would have asked Him for a drink. And he would have given you living water”.  The woman replies you have no bucket and the well is deep. Where do you get “living water”? In this part of the exchange you sense her curiosity growing.

Verses 13-15 are Jesus’ assurance and the woman’s ask. Jesus says, “The water I shall give will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”  The woman finally requests, “Sir, give me this water.”

You see how the dialogue moves from a point of “refusal to engage” to a point of “requesting to receive”.  The Scripture invites us to make that same “spiritual journey” when it comes to “living water” and God’s Holy Spirit.

The second text, John 7:37-39 makes the association of “living water” and the Holy Spirit.  The setting is the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2).  The climax of the feast occurred in the “Water Gate” of Jerusalem.  The Water Gate was one of the eight gates into the city.  It was a gate that led to the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley, a source of fresh water for the people.  The Water Gate was also the setting in Nehemiah 8:16-18 where the Jews brought branches, built tabernacles (shelters) and were refreshed as a covenant people by the reading of the Law.

In this historic setting Jesus stands and addresses the crowd. “Come to me and drink” (verse 37).  “He who believes in Me … out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.  He spoke this concerning the Holy Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive” (verse 38-39). It’s a powerful invitation and promise.

“Living Water” is a theme in John.  These two texts invite us through private encounter and public proclamation to have our human spirits refreshed and renewed by God’s Holy Spirit.

In the hope of that blessing I invite you to study these Scriptures more closely. Make your notes.  Listen deeply for how they would speak to you of a spiritual gift that is yours in Christ. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the opportunity to spend time in the Scriptures, studying your Word .  Open our eyes that we might see visions of truth you have for us. In that light lead us forward that we might live more fully and faithfully in your grace.  In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen

New Normal: Our Spirits

Good morning!  Glad to be with you. Hope you’re ready for new work in a new week at the Pastor’s Workshop.

We entering our fourth week in our series, “New Normal”.  Our theme has been “training in godliness” from I Timothy 4:7.  Our guiding challenge: What’s one healthy choice for one positive change you can make that would work God’s best into your life?

Week one we focused on our bodies.  Is there a choice you could make relative to your diet, exercise, or sleep that would be a blessing for you?

Week two centered on our minds.  What are you going to “focus on”?   Do you need to “filter out” anything? Is there a new subject you want to start studying? How about spending more time in the Scripture?  Are there ways, particularly during this “shelter season”, you could apply what you know for the benefit of others?

Last week we considered our relationships.  The teacher in Ecclesiastes says “Two are better than one”. How are you keeping in contact? How could you claim an “in-between blessing” by how you choose to relate with those around you? Are there ways you could work together, encourage one another, support each other, forgive one another, cry with one another, rejoice with one another that would “weave Christ” into your relationships?

This week we look into our spirits.  As whole persons, who are “body, mind and spirit”, we know this is a key area for attention.

Our texts for this week come from the Gospel of John.  We’ll be studying John 4:3-15 and John 7:37-39.  Both of these Scriptures speak of “living water” and the Holy Spirit.

The blessing of the Holy Spirit with our human spirits is one we particularly need in this time.  Many have found the “journey” through this season of Covid-19 to be draining and tiring.  It’s wearing and wearying.  The promise of the Holy Spirit holds hope for refreshment, renewal, and revival.  These Scriptures hold a word from Jesus to “Come and Drink, Believe and Receive” the “living water” he gives.

As always we begin Monday with reading and re-reading the Scriptures, silently and aloud.  As you read today, put yourself in each of the scenes – at the well, in the Temple.  What would it be like to be there? What do you see, hear, smell, and feel?  If you were to hear Jesus in the conversation with the woman or in the call to the crowd – what would that have been like?  Turn your “holy imagination” loose.  As you do make sure you record what you notice, think and feel.  As always, these observations are “creative elements” you’ll be using later in the week.

Our first three weeks we looked into “tangibles” – our bodies, our thoughts, our relationships.   This week is “intangible”, yet just as real and just as essential. To make healthy choices with relation to our spirits is critical to our well-being. 

In that faith, I look forward to all that is ahead this week as we “Come to the Well”.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of our lives – body, mind and spirit.  Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit that would revive and refresh our human spirits.  Use this Scripture and this week to “deepen our thirst” and draw us more fully into the flow of your Spirit.  This we pray in Jesus’s holy name.  Amen

New Normal: Start with Prayer

Grace and Peace on this Saturday!  Hope you’re having a good day.

The best way I know to make this or any day “good” is start your day with prayer.  Prayer centers you in God’s grace.  It focuses your mind and heart on Christ’s presence.  It opens you to God’s working.  It invites you to “share your load” and walk with the Lord.  Nothing beats a day started with prayer!

Since we want not only today, but also tomorrow and worship to be a blessing, prayer is also what we do!  Through prayer we ready our hearts, open our minds, and prepare our wills to receive and respond to all God Is giving. 

Be deliberate and focused.  Take time and “be still”.  Find a quiet place. Claim a “peaceful space”. Let the Lord lead you “beside still waters to restore your soul”.  Psalm 23 is one of the best “centering Psalms”, guiding you into deeper time with God.

After we have readied ourselves with prayer, then we can shift our focus to tomorrow’s message.  We pray for the word we have discerned from the words of Scripture to be God’s Holy Word, guiding us into greater lives of love.

How would you pray for our worship tomorrow? Through what you have discerned, how would you ask God to be at work in your life and in the lives of others?

Our theme for the week has been our relationships.  As Ecclesiastes says, “Two are better than one.” 

That “in-between” blessing is predicated on God’s active grace in the space between you and another. One prayer might be that we be sensitive to the Spirit that “moves in the middle”. 

Another prayer may be that we would be more deliberate in “weaving Christ”, the “third strand”, into our conversations and our actions with others.  How can you be more attentive to “Listening, Learning, and Loving”? How would you ask God to help?

As you look at the message you discerned for the week, how does it call you to follow?  How would your prayer prepare you to faithfully respond to what God has revealed?

In some ways, Saturday is the most important day in the Pastor’s Workshop.  We can prepare our minds all week by studying and thinking, but Saturday takes what we learn and discern to a different level of faith and following.

In that blessing of prayer I’m glad to be with you today and look forward to worship with you tomorrow on Mother’s day.  It will all be good because “God is good!”

See you tomorrow!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the privilege of prayer.  Thank you for the opportunity you give us to center ourselves in You and Your saving love.  Thank you how You are at work in Your grace.  Thank You for how we are part of that work as we “weave Christ” into our relationships and find how “Three is better than two is better than one”.  In Christ’s precious name we pray.  Amen

New Normal: The Blessing of Two

Greetings! Glad to be with you today.  Being Thursday, we’re almost through in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’ve focused our “New Normal” on our relationships.  As we “train ourselves in godliness” (I Timothy 4:8) how are we making healthy choices to build God’s best into the life we share with others?

Our guiding Scripture in addressing this question has been Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.  Throughout the week we’ve been listening for what this word would say as a Word of truth for us. On Thursday we review our thoughts and discern a message the Spirit would be speaking.  For me as Pastor this will be central to what I say on Sunday.

Here’s how my message is shaping up. 

The two parts of this Scripture that engaged me were the first clause of verse 9 and the last phrase of verse 12.  “Two are better than one” (verse 9).  “A threefold cord”, or as some translations render it, “a cord of three strands”, “is not easily broken” (verse 12). 

“Two are better than One” is a relational principle which resonates powerfully in a time of sheltering, a time when so many of our normal opportunities for relationship are not available.   We miss not being “two-gether”.

“Two are better than One” is a basic statement about what’s possible in human relationships.  For me it witnesses to a spiritual reality existing between myself and everyone I encounter.  In that space “in between” is the presence of God.  God’s grace is there, waiting for me to recognize it and live into it. In every relationship there is an “in-between blessing” ready to come into being.  To have that understanding brings a richness to all relationships.

The teacher of Ecclesiastes recognizes that truth and celebrates it.  The teacher provides four practical examples of what those blessings might look like.

·       When we work together, there is shared reward (collegiality, synergy, mutual accountability, team accomplishment).

·       When one falls down (and certainly life holds lots of falls), another is there to pick them up.

·       When one is out in the cold, another is there to offer personal warmth, comfort, and consolation.

·       When feels vulnerable, another is there to stand alongside, to be with, to offer strength.

There are just a few of the blessings of “two”. As you and I review our relationships we can think of others. 

The “New Normal” challenge for this week: As you review your relationships, what is one way, in one of your relationships, you can claim and live into the “blessing of two”?   Can you work together, lift someone up, comfort someone, stand with and support someone, so you and they share in a blessing?  What are other ways you might claim and live into the “grace” in the “space” between you and another?

Even as we think on this, Ecclesiastes closes by expanding the challenge.  If “two are better than one”, than “three are better than two”.  A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

We think of personal relationships as “two”.  But this Scripture invites us to think of them as “three”, you, the other, and Jesus.    To “weave Christ” into our personal relationships is how we make them strong.

How can we “weave Christ” into personal relationships in a “practical way”? 

For me that answer involves another threesome – Listen, Learn, Love.

First, Listen. Before I fill the space in between me and another with my thoughts, feelings, wants, needs and words, invite the other into that space.  Listen to their thoughts and feelings, their wants and needs. What’s happening in their life? 

Second, Learn.  Beneath every thought or feeling is a reason, a good reason, why a person thinks a certain way or feels a particular emotion.  Learning goes to this “second level”.   This deeper understanding often clears up misunderstandings and builds deep connection.

Third, Love.  God is love.  Jesus is Love in Action. As you Listen and Learn, draw alongside.  What most people really need is a friend who will accept them for who they are and affirm them as a beloved child of God wherever they are in life. And even as you accept and affirm also envision and encourage.  People have hopes and God has purposes.  God’s Spirit would be leading every person into becoming the blessing God would have them to be, the new creation they can be in Christ. 

Your commitment to this cord of three strands, Listening, Learning, Loving, weaves Christ into the relationships you share with others.  This cord of three strands, you, the other, and Jesus Christ, is a strong and beautiful blessing!

That’s how my message is shaping up.  What do you discern? What are your thoughts?  What do you hear in this word from Ecclesiastes?  Again, God’s Spirit speaks uniquely to you, so make sure you listen for what the Lord would be teaching you about your relationships.

I look forward to being with you on Sunday.  It’s Mother’s Day, which is always special.  It’s an opportunity to join our hearts in worship.  It’s a chance to experience how good it is to be “two-gether”, even if it is on the web, and to “weave” the third strand of Jesus Christ into our relationships.

In that blessing, I’ll see you Sunday.  (and on Saturday too, as we prepare with prayer).

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for your grace that abides in the “space” between myself and others.  Thank you for how your Holy Spirit invites me to live into grace, so I and others would know the blessings You bring into the relationship we share.   For that gift, which is ever present with everyone, I give you thanks through Jesus Christ who is Friend of all.   In his name I pray.

Blood Drive

Every blood donation saves up to three lives! With an even more desperate need during the current pandemic, we are partnering with Carter BloodCare to host a blood drive on Sunday, May 31st from 10am-3pm here at the church. We have a chance to come together as a community to #GiveForLife.

Blood donation continues to be an essential service and you can still donate safely while practicing social distancing. Appointments will be appropriately spaced out and we welcome donors to wear face coverings and masks during their donation. All standard sanitation and cleaning protocols are in place and the use of PPE for blood exposure-prone tasks applies to every interaction and donation.

Please help us keep our community's blood supply at a healthy level during these uncertain times!

SIGN UP HERE: https://bit.ly/3cajz2F

New Normal: A Threefold Cord

Welcome to Wednesday! Good to be with you, midway to Sunday!

We continue our exploration of the "in-between" blessing we can have in our relationships. Our theme verse, Ecclesiastes 4:9, puts it like this, "Two are better than one."

On Wednesday we look at the context of the text. What is the world into which the Word is spoken? What are some contrasting points of view?

Ecclesiastes brings forward the contrast in verses that precede our Scripture. Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 says, " Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. "For whom am I toiling," they ask, "and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

In this Scripture, the teacher speaks of life as "vanity," emptiness, rather than blessing and fullness. He lifts up, "the case of solitary individuals." What isolates them is, they are "never satisfied with their riches." They question, "Why should I deprive myself of pleasure?" This makes living "an unhappy business."

What the teacher highlights is that we can make other choices about how we live than to be "in relationship as a blessing." If we emphasize the "one," ourselves, we won't get to "two is better than one." With that self-focus we forfeit the opportunity for "in-between" blessing.

In the examples the teacher lifts up, verses 9-12, there are also opportunities to think of contrasts. These serve as warnings. These are ways to rob relationships of the power they have to bless.

In verse 9 - we can work together, seeing others as colleagues, or be perpetually competitive, seeing others as opponents.

In verse 10 - we can lift others up or put others down.

In verse 11 - we can offer understanding and warmth or give the "cold shoulder."

In verse 12 - we can stand up for or tear down.

To claim the blessing of "two are better than one" we have to make healthy choices for positive changes in how we live with others.

The key to all lies in verse 12 - "a threefold cord," some translations say, "a cord of three strands." If two of the strands are you and the other, who is the third "strand?" For me, the image is an invitation to consciously "weave Christ" into our relationships. Jesus' presence is the decisive difference in "two being better than one."

Tomorrow we'll look into that further!

Until then, have a great day. And enjoy the relationships God is giving you!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for your words of truth. Thank you for how they highlight the truth about our lives. Thank you for how they can be a light that helps us see our lives more clearly. Thank you for how your Holy Spirit would guide us by Your word in the blessing that you would have our relationships to be. Two can be better than one as we weave You into each day. In that gift of grace, we give you thanks in Christ's name. Amen

In Christ,

Paul

New Normal: Two Are Better Than One

Good morning! It’s good to be together on this Tuesday.  I’m excited about continuing our exploration of a New Normal.

This week our focus is ‘relationships’.  Particularly during this time of the pandemic, are there healthy choices we can make to bring positive changes in this important area of our lives?

Our guiding text is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.  “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

What Word would God be whispering through these words, opening us to greater truth and fuller living in our relationships?

On Tuesdays we look at the structure of the text.  What is the style of the writing?  How is the Scripture constructed to highlight or advance a particular principle or point?

Ecclesiastes is one of the Wisdom books of the Bible.  Like Proverbs it is packed with practicality.  Basic principles for faithful living are stated.  Supporting evidence follows to clarify and strengthen the main idea.

The principle in this text: ‘Two are better than one’ (verse 9).  It’s a maxim about relationships.  It’s a generality that could apply to marriage, siblings, a friendship, a neighbor, a business associate, a co-worker, a classmate. 

The principle recognizes there is a possibility for a blessing that exists “between” you and another.  A relationship can hold a “between blessing”. 

The writer then provides examples, supporting evidence, of what that blessing might be. 

·       If you work together, there is a reward – maybe of collegiality, mutual accomplishment, shared pride, perhaps even joint profit.

·       If you fall down (and falling down can come in many forms), someone is there to pick you up.

·       If you find yourself ‘out in the cold’, someone is there offer warmth (which again comes in many forms).

·       If you find yourself isolated and ‘easy prey’, having two ‘betters your odds’ – there is someone who will stand with you.

These are all great and practical points about the ‘between blessing’ we can provide each other in relationship.  Are there others you can think of?  How would you add to the list?  Think about your own relationships. What are some of the blessings others give to you or you give to them?  List these.  These are how you are living into the biblical wisdom of ‘two are better than one’.

As we see, the text does not stop there.  The writer expands the principle with this ‘teaser’.  If two are good, three are better. “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” (verse 12)  What do you think that means? How does this observation advance the basic thought?  How is this an extension of the blessing that is found in relationships?

Lots of worthwhile questions to ponder.  As you reflect make sure you record your thoughts.   Your observations are how the Scripture is ‘true for you’.  Don’t want to miss that!

Enjoy the rest of your day and the ‘between blessings’ of your relationships today.  As you are ‘there’ for those you care for, you will discover the principle ‘two are better’ coming true.

See you again tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the gift of today.  Thank you for my relationships. By your Spirit help me to live into them that they might be the blessing you would have them to be for the other and for me. In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

New Normal: Our Relationships

Good to be with you at the beginning of a new week.   It’s a blessing to think about what God has ahead as we explore the Scripture together in the next seven days.

We’re continuing on in our series, ‘New Normal’.   The challenge each week has been, “What is one healthy choice you can make for one positive change that would build God’s best into your life?”

Our first week we focused on our bodies.  What is one healthy choice you could make in relation to your diet, exercise or sleep that would “glorify God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:19)?

Last week we centered on our minds.  Our theme verse was from Romans 12:2 – “Don’t be conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewal of your minds.”  What is one healthy choice you could make in relation to knowledge, wisdom or understanding (Proverbs 2:6)? Is there a subject you want to study that would broaden your understanding of the world or deepen your connection with others?  Could this be a time to do more Bible study and grow in your knowledge of the Scripture? Even as you are learning new things, what are you doing with what you know?  How you applying your knowledge to bless others and glorify God?  That’s wisdom. And thirdly, understanding --- Would this season of sheltering provide opportunity for deeper personal reflection and introspection?  As you review your thoughts and actions in light of your basic beliefs about God and God’s grace could this be a time to renew your mind and heart in the love of God in Christ?  There’s lots to think about when it comes to ‘renewing our minds’.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  It’s a great Sunday to think about the significant, nurturing relationships of our lives.  It’s an important opportunity to give thanks for those who have been and brought that blessing to us.  It’s a timely moment to consider how we might provide that same grace for others.

The Scripture for Sunday is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.  It’s a well-known text.  It advances the principal that ‘two are better than one’.  At the end it takes an additional jump. If two are good then three is even better!

This week we’ll be asking, “What does that relational advice mean?”  Even more, how can we apply it?  How can we weave a “cord of three strands” that is not easily broken?

As always on Monday we immerse ourselves in the Biblical text.  Read the Scripture two or three times silently.  Then read it two or three times aloud.  See what words, phrases, cadences, clauses stand out to you.  Write these down.  The Spirit is speaking to your mind and heart!

If you’ve got the time paraphrase the Scripture In your own words.  Writing the text as you would say it is a great exercise in opening up God’s truth from your perspective.

I look forward spending this week with you focused on relationships.  I’m grateful for how God will bless our time in the Word.  As we make healthy choices, I know the Holy Spirit will be strengthening us to become the nurturing servants God would have us to be in Christ.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for a new week and fresh beginnings. Thank You for the ways You’ll be at work in our minds and hearts by your Scripture and Spirit.   Use our time with You to bring a blessing into the lives of others through the relationships we share.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray.

New Normal: Prayer to Prepare

Grace and Peace to you on this beautiful Saturday.  I’m glad we spent the week together in the Pastor’s Workshop.  “Working” and “walking” through the Scripture together is always a blessing.

On Saturday we join in a ‘prayer to prepare’.  We know worship is more than the preacher talking and people listening.  Worship is about God working!  By the Spirit, God is growing up grace in our lives.  Through prayer we want to be ready to participate.

This week’s challenge is about making healthy choices for our minds. Our theme verse was Romans 12:2 – be transformed by the renewing of your minds.  When God redeems it’s not simply about our souls.  It’s also about our bodies and minds, so that we might live more fully today.

We looked at three areas for possible positive change: knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  These were drawn from Proverbs 2:6 (one of our focus Scripture verses).

·       With knowledge: How do you want to ‘grow in what you know’?  What do you want to ‘focus on’?  Is there anything you need to ‘filter out’?  Good, healthy information leads to positive, personal transformation.

·       With wisdom: How you can you use what you know to serve and bless others and also glorify God?  Your expertise can be a ministry with others.  You can share in a way that others experience God’s care. How might you use what you know?

·       With understanding: As you review your basic assumptions (beliefs) about life, God, yourself and others in light of God’s truth in Christ, how might that renew your mind in God’s transforming love?

When we start “renewing our minds” with God’s transforming truth there is a lot to think about (and to pray about)!

Even as you prepare with prayer, know that God hears and answers.  God is a God of grace.  It is God’s will to grow you and me up in that grace in Christ. God wants to equip and enable us to be the blessings we were created to be.  Renewing our minds in Christ, as our Way, Truth and Life is a gift God gives.

In that faith, I look forward to prayer today and worship tomorrow!

See you then!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the gift of our minds.  We praise you for the blessings you give: in how we can grow in what we know, be wise to live in your ways, and come to understand the depth of your Kingdom’ purpose in us. For your transforming truth that would refresh and renew our minds in you today and always, we bless you, through Jesus Christ our Light of Truth and Life.  Amen

New Normal: God's Transforming Truth

Welcome to the Workshop on this beautiful day.  It’s Thursday and we’re almost through!

As you know, Thursday is when we collect all our thoughts and notes.  We put them together and see how they fit with each other.  We seek to discern a ‘larger picture’.  We look for a message emerging.

I’ll share my thoughts about what I’m experiencing.  Even as I do that, I hope you’ll look at your own writings and reflections.  See the message the Spirit would be speaking to you.  The great thing about Scripture is that the Spirit will use it to speak a message unique to you and your needs for God’s grace today. 

Here’s the message coming forward for me.

Our focus phrases for the message come from Romans 12:2, “be transformed by the renewal of your minds” and Proverbs 2:6, “The Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

As we go through this season of sheltering in place, one of the challenges I have kidded about with family and friends is coming out of this time “without losing our minds”. Even though “sanity” is a great goal, I have higher hopes for this message. 

The text invites us to embrace this reality, God’s truth is a ‘transforming truth’.   God’s truth will change the way you look at life, the world, others, and yourself, if you give it a chance. Our focus verse calls us to renew and refresh our minds with that transforming truth of God.

Our challenge for this week (which is a similar to the one issued in last week’s message): “What is one healthy choice you could make that would be a positive change in any one of these three areas, knowledge, wisdom, or understanding (Proverbs 2:6) as a step to renew your mind with God’s transforming truth?”

We start off with ‘knowledge’.  How can we grow in what we know?  In our information age we are swamped with an availability of information. How can we not be overwhelmed?  Perhaps the four most important words for us to learn – “I have a choice!”  We have a choice of what we “focus on” and what we “filter out”.  We make that choice knowing “Good Healthy Information leads to Positive Personal Transformation”. 

So what is it you want to “focus on”, study, or learn, during time?  What would expand your understanding of the world or deepen your insights into others? Would this be a good time for you to spend extra time in the Scriptures?  Would a good study workbook, devotional guide or even the Bible itself bring a blessing that would renew your mind in the transforming truths of God? 

Or, could it be that a healthy step would be what you “filter out”?  Sometimes the healthy step is not what we include, but what we exclude.  Is there anything detrimental or distressing you need to “filter out” and refocus your energies to something more positive and productive? Could this be a time to grow in what you know?

Secondly, wisdom.  If knowledge is about “what” we know, wisdom is about “how” you use what you know.  If knowledge involves information, wisdom brings in application.  As Solomon asks for wisdom in II Chronicles 1, he’s requesting God enable him to use what he knows so he can provide leadership for the people of Israel.  He wants to use his knowledge to bless the nation with leadership and glorify God through his kingly rule.  As you seek Wisdom, how might you use what you know (in an area of your expertise or subject you have mastered) to be a blessing to others and bring glory to God?  Part of wisdom, when exercised, is knowing the struggles others are facing, the challenges they are seeking to overcome, and the concerns they have on their hearts.  As you are aware of their need you can bring your care compassionately and wisely!  Is there a way that you could grow in wisdom?

Lastly, understanding.  If knowledge is “what” and wisdom is “how” then understanding is “why”.  Understanding provides underlying insight. It offers deeper perspective on what influences our choices. Sometimes the best way to grow in understanding is to know that “To Renew your mind, you have to Review your beliefs”.   Sometimes the key to renewing our minds lies in reviewing our basic beliefs about life, God, Jesus, ourselves, and others in the light of God’s truth.

So far that’s how the message is moving forward for me.  As you can see, there’s lots to think about.  I guess that’s appropriate for a sermon entitled, “My Mind Matters”. 

What message is emerging for you?  What would you title your thoughts?   Sometimes coming up with a title can be a great challenge. It makes you crystalize your core message into 2 or 3 words.

Even as you’re thinking about your message, I’d also invite you to reflect on this week’s challenge, “What is one healthy choice you could make that would be a positive change in knowledge, wisdom or understanding, to renew and refresh your mind in God’s transforming truth?”  I pray your answer would be a blessing for you and for others.

In that transforming grace I look forward to being with you again on Saturday and on Sunday as we “renew our minds” together.

Prayer: Gracious Lord, we thank you that yours is a “transforming truth”.  As we live in light of your word and ways you change how we see and experience life.  We are grateful for this blessing of renewing our minds by your grace.  Lead us forward in this healthy choice and positive change by your Holy Spirit.  In the name of Jesus, the Way, Truth, and Life we pray. Amen