Worry.

Greetings!  It’s good to be with you on this Thursday. I’m glad we can continue our work together in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Thursdays are a “highlight” in our week.  Today we review our notes, listen for God’s leadings, and draft a message to bring in worship.

This week in our series, “Prepare with Prayer”, we are exploring a very practical aspect of prayer.  How do we use prayer when we are “stressed out” to “center in” to God’s peace?   What does that mean?  What does that look like?

Our guiding text has been Philippians 4:6-7.  The Apostle says, “Don’t worry about anything.  In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God…”

So what might our message be for Sunday?  Here are my “talking points”.

Stress is a certainty in our lives.  It comes with the challenges and changes of life.

At one level, stress can be good.  It helps us to stay energized and engaged in whatever we’re doing.  Where we get into trouble is when we have too much stress for too long.  When we get “stressed out” that is detrimental for us and others.

So how do we know when we’re at a point of “too much stress for too long”?  We have an early warning indicator light on our personal dashboard of life.  Our warning light is “worry”.

“Worry” lets us know fear is creeping in as part of our reaction to stress. Worry alerts us to pay attention and to act upon our source of stress. 

When we don’t address our stress, fear doesn’t go away.  Instead fear grows and builds.  There is a path we walk if we don’t act.  The path progresses like this: worry, being anxious, living in anxiety, panic.

At times we all find ourselves on different points in this path.  We all have “walked it” to differing degrees.

As we walk this path we know it is “not good”.  It’s not good for our physical, mental, emotional or relation health.   It’s not good for others.

When we find ourselves “out there” (stressed out), how do we de-stress? 

Exercise, deep breathing, talking with others (friends or therapists) are all good ways.  But a particularly powerful way to lessen stress we have as a people of faith is Prayer!

In prayer we face into our fear with faith. We give our worry “wings”.  We turn our cares into prayers.

Prayer brings God into the picture (of our stress) as a partner. 

In prayer we experience God as a loving parent with whom we can share the specifics of our stress.  Sharing those specifics is called “supplication”.

Even as we share those specifics (engage in supplication) we do so, not as a recitation of all that is wrong, but with thanksgiving.  We couple each specific stressor with a corresponding “thank you” to God.

This process of praying with supplication and thanksgiving brings us into the “Peace of God”.  Even though this Peace “surpasses understanding” (verse 7), we experience it in lower blood pressure, calmed nerves, and collected thoughts. The very Lord who said “Be Still” to the sea is pronouncing that same blessing upon our soul.

Approaching daily life from that calm, collected center is powerful and positive.  As the Apostle says in verse 7 Christ keeps our “hearts” and “minds” in that peace.   In that center of God’s peace our emotions are steady and our decisions are healthier.

As we walk this path of prayer we will know the truth of this text:

“Don’t worry about anything.  But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

This is how the message is “shaping up” for me.  Of course on Sunday it will be expanded and enriched, but this is the basic plan.

What message is coming forward for you?  How is the Spirit speaking to your mind and heart out of this Scripture?  Make sure you take time to jot down a few of your own “talking points”.  They are ways God is guiding you through the Biblical word.

I’m glad to work with you today in crafting the message.  I look forward to Saturday when we “pray” over it and Sunday as we proclaim it. 

In anticipation of those future blessings, I’ll let you and God get to work today in your personal workshop!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the gift of today.  Thank you for your Biblical word which guides us into how we can live this day more fully and faithfully.  Thank you for the way you provide for us to “de-stress” and “center” in you through prayer.  Let this blessing not only be a message for Sunday but a practice for everyday.  This we pray in the the name of the One who is our Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Centered In

Welcome to Wednesday.  We’re half-way through the week in the Pastor’s Workshop!

As you know this week we’re looking into a very practical “blessing” of prayer.  How can we go from being “Stressed Out” to being “Centered In”?  Our Scripture, Philippians 4:6-7, holds the key. “Don’t worry about anything.  But In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”

On Wednesday we look at the context of the text.  Often we explore the historical or textual setting of the Scripture.  Today I’ve chosen to stay “experiential”.  Let’s think briefly about the opposite of being in prayer. Let’s talk about being in panic.

Actually, that’s a bit over dramatic.  But I do want to think about the path that leads to panic.  Since the Apostle begins saying, “Don’t Worry…”, I want to look into worry.

Worry often starts with stress.  Stress is a normal, natural part of life.  Stress comes with the challenges and changes of daily living.  Particularly in these days of the pandemic, we know about stress!

Some stress in life is good.  It keeps us engaged and energized in whatever we’re doing.  The problem comes when we have too much stress for too long.  When that happens we go from being “Stressed” to becoming “Stressed Out”.

There is a pathway, a progression we “walk” when we go from being “Stressed” to becoming “Stressed Out”. The first step in the path is worry.  Worry is an indicator.  Worry lets me know, “Fear is becoming part of my reaction to my stress.”  If I don’t pay attention to this “worry indicator” and address my stress then fear grows.  As fear builds the progression goes from Worry to Being Anxious, Being Anxious to Anxiety, Anxiety to Panic.  Of course this progression happens over time, often a long time.  But I think we all, at one point or another, have walked this path. 

We know being on this path is not good for our health.  It’s not good for our physical health – sleepless nights and heart palpitations aren’t good!  It’s not good for our mental health. We make rash decisions.  It’s not good for our emotional health.  We lash out at others.  It’s not good for our relational health.  When we’re not at a “good place” we’re hard to live with.  Others often bear the consequences.  Being “Stressed Out” is not good in any way, shape, fashion or form!

So when the Apostle says, “Don’t worry…”, his counsel is don’t start down this path.  Recognize the early warning signs of worry and do something about them.  Pray!  Instead of reacting in fear, respond in faith. Instead of becoming “Stressed Out” follow a path of “Centering In”. 

What great and timely advice!  What this Scripture lets us know is that “Worry” has been a problem for a long time --- at least 2,000 years.  But God has been around longer!  What worked then, will work today! Pray!

What are your thoughts about stress and worry, anxiety and fear?  As we think about these “contrasts” to the Scripture today, how have these realities been part of your life?  How did they start and where did they lead?  How do they highlight your need for God’s “answer”, your need for Prayer?

Jot down your thoughts.  Record your reflections.  Your experience will lead you into your need for prayer, and through its practice, into the peace God gives.

In that blessing, I’ll let you get to work and see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop!

Prayer:  Gracious God, we know stress is part of life.  In the midst of our stress be at work by Your Spirit.  Help us pay attention to the warning of “worry”.  Let us give our worry “wings” and turn our cares into prayers.  Strengthen our faith in the midst of our fear that we may follow You in the path of peace You provide.  This we pray in the name of One who is our Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Centering in God in our Stress

Good morning!  It’s great to be together on Tuesday in the Pastor’s Workshop.

This week we’re looking at one of the most practical aspects of practicing prayer.  In a world that’s full of stress how can the Holy Spirit be of help?  Our Scripture for Sunday is Philippians 4:6-7. 

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The title of our message is, “Prepare with Prayer: Spiritual Stress”.

On Tuesday we look at the structure of the text.  Is there a logic that leads us as we read this Scripture?  How is a main idea “emerging” through the Biblical word?

Like so much of the Apostle Paul’s writing, this text is very compact.  He puts so much into so few words.  “Unpacking” this Scripture can be done “word by word”.

The first word is “worry”.  As we face into the challenges and changes of life, it is always stressful.  The question is how will we handle the stress?  A normal reaction is “fear”, fear that expresses itself in worry.

Worry is an indicator that we are on a path we don’t want to follow.  We go from having stress (which is a normal part of life) to being “stressed out” (which is when stress becomes worry becomes anxiety). 

In our reaction of fear we can choose a response of faith.  Faith is when give our worry “wings”.  Faith is when we turn our cares into prayers.

Paul says “Pray”.  Prayer brings God into the picture.  It is no longer us handling our stress by ourselves.  The Spirit is now with us. 

Supplication is when we make Prayer specific.  It is when we detail the changes, the challenges, our fears, our frustrations --- when we lay it all out in ways that our worries are turned into a way of coming closer to God.

As we get specific with supplication, we don’t do it as a recitation of worry and care, of complaining and fear.  We lift our prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.  We are thankful for who God is as a caring God.  We are thankful for how God has helped us in the past.  We are thankful for how God is with us in this present moment leading us forward.  We are thankful.

This thankfulness bring us more fully into God’s presence.  How do we know we are in God’s presence?  By the peace we begin to experience.  It is a peace that has be with us all along, just as God has been with us all along. We just weren’t focused into the peace through our faith.  Now, with prayer, we are!

It is in that place of peace that Christ Jesus “guards” our hearts and minds.  As we respond to the challenges and changes of life from a “place of peace” we respond more positively, productively, more under control – self-control and God’s control.

Through following the counsel of this Scripture we have gone from Stressing Out about Stress to Centering in God in our Stress. We have “Spiritualized Stress”.

 That’s the logic I see in this Scripture.  What do you see?  What is the main idea that you find “unfolding”?  How do you follow it through?

I invite you to make your notes as you do your work today and get ready for tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for Your presence with us always.  Thank You especially for how You are with us in our times of stress.  Thank You for Your invitation to pray, which invites us to claim Your presence and practice Your peace.  We praise You for these blessings today through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen

Spiritual Stress

Good morning on this Monday.  Glad we can start out the week together in the Pastor’s Workshop.

We’re coming in the last week of our current series, “Prepare with Prayer”.  We began with “Save the Day” based on “This is the day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:24).  We talked about being ready to take on whatever the day holds.  We are “Battle Ready”, “strong in the Lord, in the strength of his might”, by “putting on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10, 11, 18).  Our third week focused on the prayer our Lord taught us to pray, the Lord’s Prayer.  As we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we know God is ready to answer that prayer through us and our witness. (Luke 11:2). Last Sunday we were comforted with the great prayer of David, “The Shepherd’s Prayer”, Psalm 23.  We learned three important prayers: “There is a greater glory that restores my soul”; “In the shadow, I have a Shepherd”; “I have a home in the heart of God forever!” 

This week we finish with a very timely and practical blessing of prayer.  In these troubled, stress filled days, how can prayer help?  Our title this week is “Spiritual Stress”.  Our Scripture is Philippians 4:6-7. 

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

On Mondays we “saturate” ourselves in the Scripture.  We read and re-read, write and rewrite the text from several translations.  We want the words of the Scripture sink in deep.

It is helpful in this process to read several translations or modern paraphrases of the same Scripture.  The way different scholars translate the original Greek language helps stir our thinking.  Just look at how this text is translated/paraphrased below.

 Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus. – JB Philips translation

7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. – The Message paraphrase

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. The New Living Translation

After reading the Scripture several times in several translations, try your own paraphrase.  This exercise will focus your faith on the message the Spirit is speaking to you.

I’m glad we can be in this Scripture this week.  Its practical advice about turning worry into prayer is something we all need to hear.

In that blessing I look forward to exploring this blessing with you more fully this week in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for your invitation to pray.  In Your love You invite us to lift up whatever is on our heart to your holy, loving heart.  You call us to turn our cares into prayers. Strengthen us in this faith as we go through this week.  In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Preparing for Sunday

Grace and Peace on this Saturday!  Hope you’re having a good weekend.  I also hope you’re getting ready for a good worship tomorrow.  In the Pastor’s Workshop, good worship makes for good weekends.

Today in the Workshop is a day of prayer.  We’ve finished writing the message, but the work is not done.  The message needs time to “marinate” in grace.  Having a day to pray allows that to happen. Saturday is when we “prepare with prayer” for Sunday.

This week we have been blessed by being together in Psalm 23.  As we read and worked with its six verses we were led through “green pastures and still waters”.  We traveled trails in mountain meadows, valley shadows, and to a king’s table.  Taking time with this psalm, praying this poem-prayer, “restored our souls”.

So what are your prayers as we head into tomorrow?  What are you praying for yourself, for others, and for our world because you’ve spent time with the “Good Shepherd” this week?

Here are a few of my prayers:

I pray we memorize Psalm 23.  It is a Scripture you want to “store up in your heart”

I pray we know deep in our hearts we have a Good Shepherd who is with us every day.  The Lord is our Shepherd!

I pray in the “valley of the shadow” we are not overcome with fear, for the Lord is with us.

I pray we remember and use the 3 prayers the Psalm teaches:

·       There is a beauty bigger than me and a glory greater than my own that restores my soul!

·       In the Shadow, I have a Shepherd.

·       I have a home in the heart of God forever!

Psalm 23 is an inspirational Scripture.  What has it stirred in you?  What are your prayers?

I believe God’s Spirit inspires prayers in us, so we will reach out to God.  And I believe the God who inspires prayers is already at work answering them. 

In that faith I give thanks we can prepare with prayer today and we can worship in joy tomorrow.  In that blessing I’ll see you tomorrow in the Master’s Workshop!

Prayer:  Gracious God, You are our Good Shepherd!  Thank You for leading and guiding, providing and protecting, comforting and consoling us. Your strength and care, Your goodness and mercy are with us all the days of our lives.  Even as You shepherd us, let us become better shepherds with those You entrust to our care. Lord, we give You thanks for the blessing of this week and for the ways You restore our souls always.  In Jesus’ holy name we pray.  Amen 

Wrapping Up the Week

Greetings on this Thursday.  It’s good to be with you as we head towards the end of another week in the Workshop!

What a blessing it has been to be together in Psalm 23.  This poem-prayer has such spiritual depth and power. To open ourselves to its witness “restores our soul”.

As you know, Thursday is a “moment of truth” in the creation of a message.  It’s a day when we review all our notes and mediations, pray, and “put it all together” on paper (or in our case on screen.)

So, as you have listened and learned, mused and meditated, what message has the Spirit given you from Psalm 23?

Here are my “talking points” as I get ready for Sunday:

Psalm 23 is a most beloved Scripture. It has been the inspiration for many hymns, books, poems, paintings and other expressions of faith through the ages.

It finds its power in the pictures it paints of ‘green pastures’ and ‘still waters’ and in the trails it travels from mountain meadows to valley shadows to a king’s table.  Above all it endears itself to all believers in the faith it proclaims: “The Lord is my Shepherd”.

The Psalm is a poem and a prayer.  As a prayer it teaches us three prayers – three prayers we can pray as we travel the trails of our lives.

As the psalm begins it reminds me of one of the most beautiful moments of my life.  I was on a hike with my family in the Rockies.  We ascended to the top of a ridge where the view was “breath taking”.  In that moment, as I beheld that beauty, there came an awareness that we were being held by a “bigger beauty”.  This experience of majesty renewed and restored my soul.  Maybe you have had one of those “majesty moments”.  The psalm awakens us to how the Lord leads us into these times and invites us into this prayer of wonder and worship: “Lord, thank you for beauty bigger than myself and glory greater than my own that restores my soul.”

It’s important to treasure those majestic moments.  The trails of life can quickly change.  In this psalm the shift happens in three words.  We go from “green pastures and still waters” to the “valley of shadows”. 

Our Sunday message shares of one experience of my walking through that valley. You have had those experiences as well.  Those are the times in life when the bottom seemed to “drop out” of your life and you know, “I am in the valley of the shadow”. 

What’s important to know in that valley, what our faith reminds us of, “in the shadow we have a shepherd”.   That faith makes all the difference! 

There is an episode from King David’s life, the namesake of this Psalm, which highlights this difference of deliverance.  Knowing “the Good Shepherd is with us” offers strength to stand and sustaining support to keep going.  The prayer the Psalm teaches for this valley is succinct: “Lord, In the Shadow you are my Shepherd.”

Psalm 23 is one of 39 psalms that are called “Psalms of David”.  Some think that’s because David wrote them.  In his youth, as a shepherd, he was an accomplished minstrel.  Others think these psalms received this designation because they were commissioned by David when he was king.

Whatever view you hold, Psalm 23 reflects both the faith of a shepherd and a king.  In verses 1-4 we find a shepherd who knows he has a Good Shepherd.  In verses 5 and 6 we find a king who knows what it means to be hosted at a royal banquet.

I don’t have the experience of feasting at a “kings table”.  But I do know what it means to be hosted royally with utmost hospitality.  The finery of a holiday gathering with my family is a “meal fit for a king” for sure.

The truth is, you don’t need “finery” to feast lavishly.  Anytime, anywhere anyone opens up their home and heart and invites you to “pull up a chair” and make yourself to home, there a goodness and mercy that witnesses to the “goodness and mercy of God”. This “goodness and mercy” follows us in the days of our lives.  More than that, acts of gracious hospitality remind us of God’s great graciousness. The Lord opens his heart to be our home forever.  This leads to the third prayer of Psalm 23 – “Lord, your heart is my forever home!”

As we travel the trails of life we are invited to pray the Psalm and to pray the prayers the Psalm teaches us.  As we do that we will be blessed with this great gift of faith: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall the want.  The Lord is my Host, my soul shall be satisfied.”

These are talking points for this Sunday.  As always the points will be expanded upon providing fuller clarity.

That’s the message I received. What did you hear?  What will you write?  I was greatly blessed by Shea’s Children’s Message this week.  She rephrased the Psalm in her own words and then drew pictures that “preached” this great prayer.  You’ll want to see that! 

Again, it has been a blessing to be with you in this wonderful witness of God’s word this week.  I look forward to Saturday, when we can “pray together” and then Sunday, when we can join in worship.

In that anticipation, I’ll be with you again soon in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for Psalm 23.  Thank you for its inspiring witness that awakens us to Your truth, You are our Good Shepherd. Thank You for how this Psalm leads us on the trails of our lives in ways we know “You are with us”.  Help us to pray this Psalm and to pray the prayers the Psalm teaches in ways our souls will be restored each and every day.  In the name of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray.  Amen

The Blessing of Psalm 23

Welcome to Wednesday!  It’s a blessing to be with you in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As you know, we’re focused on Psalm 23.  This beautiful poetic prayer has been an inspiration for hymns, books, and paintings throughout the centuries.  This week it will be the inspiration for our message.

On Wednesday we look into the context of the text.  As we find out a bit more of the background of Biblical scripture we broaden our understanding of its meaning.

The Book of Psalms is commonly called the “Hymn Book” of the Bible.  Many of the psalms are songs sung by the faithful in ancient Judaism.  They reflect a highly developed corporate worship.  These hymns reflect a full range of human emotion, from highest joy to deepest sorrow. 

They also witness to a profound faith In God.  It was in that faith the worshippers could open themselves and offer to God whatever was happening in their lives.  It was in the faithfulness of God, the worshippers could then be strengthened in their faith as they were reminded of God’s deliverance and were assured of God’s salvation.

Psalm 23 is from a group of psalms called “A Psalm of David”. These start at Psalm 3 and go through Psalm 41.  Some hold to a traditional belief that David was the writer of these psalms. Scripturally David as a shepherd boy was pictured In I Samuel as quite a musician.  Others believe that David commissioned these hymns when he was king.  Still others hypothesize these psalms were dedicated to David as their source of inspiration.

Whatever view you hold, this Psalm reflects the faith of David both as shepherd boy and as conquering king.  The opening verse starts out, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The next three verses (verses 2-4) use imagery developing the relationship of a shepherd to the sheep and of the Good Shepherd to us as his sheep.  In verse five the image shifts to a royal table.  We are seated at a kingly banquet with the Lord as our host.  In God’s hospitality there is an anointing with favor, an overflowing of “goodness and mercy”, and a graciousness that reminds us we have a home in the heart of God forever.

Some have speculated that the shift in the psalm may reflect a “second verse” in the song. Just as with our hymns, the guiding metaphors can change between verses.  Others theorize that for the psalmist to portray the fullness of faith they wanted to proclaim, they needed to picture God as Good Shepherd, who provided and protected, and as Royal Host, who welcomed and blessed.

Whatever your interpretation, this Psalm witnesses to the deep faithfulness of God to us which we need to sustain, strengthen and enrich our faith in God.  Praying this psalm on a regular basis, whether you’re in “green pastures”, in “the valley of the shadow” or at the “king’s table”, will minister a blessing we all need.

In that gift of grace, I invite you to read and recite the Psalm today.  Let it become a song of your heart now and always!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for the blessing of Psalm 23.  Thank You for how it ministers Your faithfulness to us.  Thank You for how it reminds us that in the shadows we have a shepherd and in the bounty we are blessed by Your grace. Let Your faithfulness to us inspire our faith in You. This we ask in the name of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Walking with the Good Shepherd

Great to be together on a Tuesday!  I hope you’re ready for a blessed day. It’s good to start with you in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

This week we’re working with one of the most well-loved prayers and psalms of all time.  We’re “walking with the Good Shepherd” in Psalm 23. The title of our message is “Valley Trails”.

Yesterday we “immersed” ourselves in the psalm.  We read and re-read.  We listened closely not only to what the Psalm said, but also to what our hearts and minds had to say.  We jotted down our impressions and our meditations.

Today we take a more “objective” look at the text.  What is the structure?  How does it advance the main thought?

The first guiding metaphor is a shepherd with his sheep.  The original listeners would have had a deeper sense of that relationship than most of us do today.  Most of us don’t have first-hand experience of shepherds and sheep. What we can imagine is how the shepherd protects and provides for the sheep and how the sheep depend totally upon the shepherd. 

In the care and guidance of the shepherd, the psalmist invites us to travel the trails of life.   

There are beautiful and lovely paths, beside “green pastures” and “still waters”.  This “path” guides us into right things of God.  The images evoke a deep sense of God’s beauty. To follow this trail is to “restore our souls”.

The shepherd and sheep travel not only lovely trails. They also know what it means to walk through dark times, when “shadows” fall and when death seems near.  These are times when if the sheep were alone, they would be afraid.  And yet, as the psalm highlights, they are not afraid.  Panic doesn’t overcome them, because they know the shepherd is with them.  They are under the shepherd’s protection.  The shepherd’s “rod” and “staff”, “strength” and “sovereignty in the situation”, are their courage.

In verse 5 the guiding metaphor shifts from sheep with a shepherd to guests at a king’s banquet. There is a wide range of speculation about why this change was made. One theory posits that to capture the fullness of the relationship God shares with the faithful this transition was necessary. 

In this new metaphor the guests are seated at a royal banquet table.  Even the presence of enemies cannot dampen the outpouring of favor and the overflow of goodness. The joy of the king’s feast is supreme.

And the Psalmist concludes with this thought: this favor, goodness, and joy in the presence of the Lord are not temporary or passing.   The richness of the relationship the faithful share with God is eternal.  The abundance of grace we know today witnesses to an abiding fullness of grace forever. 

The Psalm is so rich in its imagery that to meditate on its message is lengthy.  Yet, you don’t want to rush through this poem-prayer.  This psalm is like a work of “fine art”.  The more time you spend with it, the more it will speak to your heart. 

I invite you to “walk” through this Psalm again.  Travel it as a sheep with a shepherd.  Pull up a chair at the banquet of a king who serves up “goodness and mercy”.  Take time to be blessed by Psalm 23.

Enjoy the blessing.  I’ll join you again tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the richness of the relationship we share with You.  Thank you for Psalm 23 and how it invites us into that blessing of traveling the trails of life with You.  Thank you for how You host us at the banquet of grace as Your guest.  Through our faith open our hearts more fully to the gift of life with You as expressed through this beautiful poem –prayer.  This we would pray in the name of our Shepherd King, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Psalm 23

Good Monday morning!  Glad to start out the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

As you know, our current series is “Prepare with Prayer”.  Our hope for this series is that prayer would be a powerful tool you can use more effectively to integrate your faith more fully into your daily living. 

Last week we looked at one of the most famous prayers in all the Scripture, the Lord’s Prayer.  We focused on the phrase, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  

This week we’re going to explore another of the Scripture’s most famous prayers, Psalm 23. We’ll focus on the phrase, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.”  The title of our message this week is “Valley Trails”.

Here is our text in the New King James Version:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

On Mondays we spend “quality time” with the Scripture.  We read and re-read, write and re-write from multiple translations.  I like to use the New Revised Standard Version (our pew bible), the New King James Version (a more traditional translation), the Message (a modern paraphrase), the Living Bible (another modern paraphrase), and the Common English Bible.  They are all available for free on biblegateway.com.   Towards the end of your study time rephrase the Scripture in your own words, the (your name) Version. 

One of the reasons this Scripture is a favorite are the beautiful and powerful images it invokes.  One of the ways to immerse yourself in Psalm 23 is to form a series of pictures in your mind: green pastures, still waters, valley of the shadow, a table set, a cup overflowing, a home to dwell in. As you work through your preparation today let this imaging stir your “holy imagination”. 

Even as we study Psalm 23, there are certain Scriptures really worth committing to memory.  This is one of them.  Investing your time and energy in “planting” this psalm in your mind and heart will reap rich rewards in your life of faith. 

I’m glad to begin this week with you in this great Psalm.  I trust that as we study it together God will “lead us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”.

In that blessing I’ll let you get to work.  I’ll see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for the blessing of a brand new week.  Thank You we can enter into it studying Your Word.  Help us to know that in our study You would lead us in Your “paths of righteousness”, opening up our minds and hearts to your life-giving truths.  As we take the time to be in Psalm 23 help us know more deeply that “You are our Shepherd” and we do “dwell” with You forever.  In that blessing we enter this week and lift up this prayer, in the name of our great Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayers for Sunday

Grace and peace on this Saturday! I’m glad to finish out this week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Our Saturday summary looks like this:

This week in our “Prepare with Prayer” series we looked into one of the most famous prayers in all the Scripture, the Lord’s Prayer.  We worked with Luke’s version of the prayer, Luke 11:1-13 (Matthew also has a version in Matthew 6).  We focused on the “core phrase”, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done”. We discovered how one of our “privileges in prayer” is to give our voice to praying this prayer of Jesus’ heart for our lives and for our world. 

As you know, Saturday is a Sabbath in the workshop.  It’s a day in which we take our work of the week and lift it to God in prayer.  We ask God to bless all we’ve done. We pray God will take our work and use it in God’s Kingdom work.  We ask that “the words of our mouths and meditations of our hearts” would be acceptable in God’s sight.  And more than acceptable, that they would be used by God in ways that we can be “used by God” to be more effective witnesses for God’s Kingdom. 

So what are your prayers on this Saturday?  What are you asking for, with your “ask” being guided by this Scripture and God’s Spirit?

Here are a few of my requests:

• I pray that I may see the Lord’s Prayer as the great gift of God’s grace that it is.  

• I pray that I may be saved from “Saying” the Lord’s Prayer, and that I would be conscious of “Praying” the Lord’s Prayer.

• I pray that I might always pause on the phrase, “Thy Kingdom Come and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.  I ask that I would think and pray about what that phrase means in my life: in my home and marriage, with my family and friends, in my job and leisure, in our community and country.

• I pray that I always believe God loves to answer this prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.  I ask that I am ready to discover and live into God’s answer each day.  

• I pray that when I say the final “Amen” on the Lord’s Prayer I know that the Prayer is not over, but the answer is just beginning in the day ahead.

These are some of my prayers.  What are yours?  Again and always, write them down in your notebook.  

As you record your prayers, you can look back on them later.  You can see how your prayers reflect your journey of faith.  You can see how God answered Your prayers.  You can see how you have grown in your “walk with Jesus”, your “life in Christ”. 

Since it’s Saturday, I hope you can have some Sabbath time today. I hope today will hold a “change of pace” from your regular week.  I hope there will be some rest and relaxation at some point.  

And I hope that this time of prayer will help prepare you for worship tomorrow.  I hope Saturday’s R and R (Rest and Relaxation) will lead into Sunday’s R and R (Renewal and Restoration).  If you have a weekend like that you’ll be ready for what’s ahead in the coming week!

In that blessing, I pray you have a “productive” prayer time today and I look forward to worshipping with you tomorrow!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You for the week past.  Thank You for Sunday and for worship tomorrow.  Thank You for how you would fill each day with Your love and grace in Jesus.  Thank You for how prayer awakens us to that possibility and strengthens us to live into that potential. Lord, let Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done in our living.  Let our praying Your prayer bring us into that blessing.  This we pray in the name of the One who taught us to pray the Prayer, Jesus our Lord.  Amen

God wants to answer prayers.

Greetings on this Thursday!  I’m glad to be with you as we come to a highlight of our week in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Our current series is “Prepare with Prayer”.  This week we’ve been focused on one of the most famous prayers in all the Scripture.  It’s the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray.  It’s the Lord’s Prayer.

Not only have we looked at the prayer, but also the surrounding verses – the prelude and postscript.  They provide an important context, informing our practice (our praying) of the Lord’s Prayer. 

Thursday is a “creative climax” of our week.  Today we review our work.  We “put all the pieces” together.  We craft and draft a message that we pray “gives voice” to a “Word” we have heard from the Scripture by the Spirit.

As I gather my notes and collect my thoughts here are talking points for my message this week. 

I believe God loves to answer prayers.  More importantly, I believe Jesus believed God loves to answer prayers.

How else can you explain the two teachings at the end of our text today? “Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened to you.” Then there is also Jesus’ second lesson: “Who among you, if their child asks for a fish will give them a snake or asks for an egg will give them a scorpion?  If you know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give good…”  These teachings are invitations to prayer and assurances of answers.

There are those who have taken these two teachings and stretched them beyond their bounds. The “Prosperity Gospel” has encouraged a preaching and praying of these verses where they have become a pandering to our wants rather than prayer for God’s will.  When people have come up empty in their prayer, they wonder, “What’s up?”

Here’s what I think is “up”.  God does love to answer prayers, and particularly prayers that are in harmony with Jesus’ prayer, “Our Father, Thy Kingdom come and Thy Will be done.”

Prayer is the expression of what’s on our soul.  Prayer gives voice to the hurts and hopes of our lives.  I believe that God, in God’s love, hears and answers these cries of our hearts. 

I believe that Jesus, as our Lord of love, has a heart for us and our world.  Jesus, as our Lord of love, has desires and hopes for us and our world.  One of the greatest privileges we have in prayer is to offer our human voice to lift up Jesus’ desires and hopes for us and our world.  One of the greatest gifts of prayer God gives is to pray our Lord’s Prayer.  I believe God loves to answer that prayer. 

We see how God loved to answer our Lord’s Prayer in the life and ministry of Jesus.  It is clear from the Scriptures that Jesus loved to pray.  In fact in the text today, Jesus was just finishing up his prayer time.  As he did this, his disciples began to make a connection: Jesus prays and then goes into the day and performs mighty works, teaches inspiring truth, exudes a love for people that draws them in droves.  The disciples saw the connection between prayer and practice.  So they made the request, “Lord, teach us how to pray”.  Teach us how to pray so we can have similar results and make that same powerful connection with God. 

Incredibly, Jesus honored their ask. In just six short phrases he summed up essentials of what was on his heart for his disciples to lift up. Jesus gave his disciples “his prayer” to pray.  

He gives his prayer to us as well… To Pray! Notice I said, “Pray” not “Say”.  Have you heard the expression, “Say the Lord’s Prayer”?  Saying the Lord’s Prayer can be a mindless repetition of phrases we know by heart. With thoughtless recitation this powerful prayer becomes a pile of empty words.   To “Pray” the Lord’s prayer asks us to: Pause and Focus on the Prayer as a gift of Jesus to us; Put our heart, soul, and mind into the Prayer; and to Personalize the Prayer by asking not simply God’s Kingdom come and Will be done on “earth”, but more specifically God’s Kingdom come and Will be done in our homes, with our families and friends, our schools and jobs, our community and nation.

As we pray the Lord’s Prayer God will bring God’s answers through our lives and our witness.  I’ve included a favorite story of how God honored and answered the Lord’s Prayer through the life of a good friend of mine.

Lastly, God does want to answer Jesus’ prayer, the “Lord’s Prayer”, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy Will be done”, in and through your life as well. The three postscripts to the Prayer: The Friend at Midnight, “Ask, Seek, and Knock”, and the “How Much More of Goodness” encourage us in that assurance. 

So pray the Lord’s Prayer.  And know that when you say,”Amen” the prayer is not over.  The answer is just beginning!

That’s a brief overview of what will be expanded on for Sunday.  These are my thoughts and reflections.  Make sure you also take time to review your notes and to summarize your meditations.  They are “the message” God has been giving you through the Scripture by the Spirit this week.  Your “sermon” is important to record.

I hope you’ll tune in to worship, not only to hear more about the “Lord’s Prayer”, but also to be blessed by some great music and encouraged through time of prayer. 

In that prayer I look forward to being with you on Saturday for some final preparation and then on Sunday for some uplifting worship.   I think that’s all part of God’s Will being done as we share in Christ’s life together at Spring Valley. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of a beautiful day.  Thank you for how we can follow Jesus’s example and begin the day with prayer.  Thank you for providing a prayer we can use to start this and every day – Jesus’ prayer. Thank you for how you love to answer our Lord’s prayer.  Help us to be open and participating in Your answer by the working of your Holy Spirit in and through us.  We lift this prayer in the name of the One who shows the power of answered prayer, Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

The Lord's Prayer

Welcome to Wednesday!  Hope you’re ready for a good day in God’s grace.

As you remember our message for this week is entitled “Game On”.  It comes from Luke 11:1-13.

Yesterday we examined this text.  We saw how an understanding of this Scripture can be organized around the guiding thought, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. This principle can be used to unify the entire passage in ways that each verse advances us in praying Jesus’ prayer.

Today we look at the context of the text.  We seek to find out more about the world in which the word was first spoken.  We expand our understanding of a Scripture by considering it’s historical and Biblical settings so we know more of its power in our present day. 

Dr. David Clark has commented that in first century Palestine, the historical setting for the Scripture, “many Jews were looking for a more personal encounter with their God.  They believed that the glory of the Lord was not confined to the Temple in Jerusalem, and that in the ‘temples’ of their homes and synagogues they would be like priests.  They would offer sacrifices, not of animals, but of prayer.”  With this understanding, Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer became a source of great empowerment for people of faith.  

The Lord’s Prayer is found in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.  In Matthew Jesus teaches the crowds his Prayer early on in his ministry.  The setting for the Prayer is the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6).  This teaching is surrounded by a great many other truths on a variety of topics.  In this setting the Lord’s Prayer is contrasted with the hypocrites’ prayer. The hypocrites pray to be glorified by others.  The Lord instructs that we should pray to glorify God.  The hypocrites pray in public to be noticed.  Jesus says we should pray in privacy, as an act of intimate fellowship with God.  The hypocrites pray by piling up holy phrases. The Lord prays in a way that gets to the point.  You can see the tension sighted by Dr. Clark in Matthew’s contrast of the hypocrites and the Lord.

In Luke Jesus teaches the prayer to his disciples in the midst of his ministry.  He has already done many miracles, taught many Kingdom truths, drawn many crowds, commissioned and sent his followers to proclaim the Kingdom. The disciples have seen how prayer is a cornerstone to his ministry.  They have witnessed prayer’s results in power and effective practice and so they request, “Teach us to pray even as John taught his disciples to pray.”

As we join these two settings of the Lord’s Prayer, they bring an important word of caution.  Too often we “say the Lord’s Prayer” rather than “pray the Lord’s Prayer”.  Since we know it so well and say it so regularly it becomes easy to repeat it by rote.  It can quickly become a matter of piling up phrases.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we take time to see it as an intimate moment with “Our Father”.  We pray that through this time of prayer we participate in how God’s Kingdom comes and the Lord’s will of love is done in our world as it is in Heaven. We pray for those things that make this possible for us (daily provision, daily forgiveness from God and for others, daily deliverance from temptation and evil).   As we “Prepare with Prayer” we discover, as those first disciples did, that “praying” the Lord’s Prayer brings power to our prayer life and vitality to the daily practice of our faith.  

In that blessing I give thanks for this teaching of our Lord.  And I look forward to being with you again tomorrow In the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of this day.  We praise you for the gift of your prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.  Help us to learn how to use it more fully and pray it more faithfully.  Save us from “rote repetition” of your Prayer or any prayer we lift to you.  Let our time of prayer be a joining of hearts, our heart with your eternal heart, in ways that You minister healing and hope to our lives.  Let our moments of prayer lead us into moments of serving others with joy.  This we ask and pray in the name of the One who taught us to pray “Our Father”, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Teach Us to Pray

Glad to be with you on this Tuesday.  It’s a blessing to be together in God’s word! 

This week we’re continuing our series, “Prepare with Prayer”.  The Scripture for this week is Luke 11:1-13.  Our message is entitled, “Game On”.  

On Tuesday we look closely at the text.  We seek to identify individual ideas within a passage.  We also try to discern, “Is there an underlying theme that guides this Scripture?  Is there a core thought the text is developing? How does this main idea condition other supporting verses?”

Luke 11 begins with Jesus wrapping up his morning prayer time. The disciples notice how important prayer is to him and to his ministry. The pattern is: Jesus prays in the morning and then goes into the day to teach inspired truth, perform miracles bringing healing or deliverance, or love on folks in ways he draws them into his good news in droves.  

As the disciples witness this pattern and power they ask Jesus, “Teach us to pray”.  Teach us to pray so we can have results like that.  Teach us to pray so we can rise from prayer and go into the world and participate in how God’s Kingdom is coming into the world with truth, power and love.  Teach us to pray. 

And so, Jesus does.  He teaches them (and us) the most famous of all prayers, the prayer we pray every time we worship, “The Lord’s Prayer”.  

As you look at the Lord’s Prayer, you can see it as six separate thoughts.  God, You are our Father.  Let Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done.  Give us the provision we need for today.  Forgive us our sin and help us forgive others.  Deliver us from temptation and evil.  God, Yours is the forever Kingdom. Amen. 

Another way to look at the Lord’s Prayer, and the perspective of our message this week, is to organize the Lord’s Prayer around the main idea, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Our sermon this week assumes this desire is at the “heart” of Jesus’ prayer.

If you organize the Lord’s Prayer around this core thought, the prayer unfolds like this: God, You are our great and mighty, loving and holy Father.  God, we want your Will and Way of Love, being done in Heaven, to be done right here on earth in our lives today.  Provide what we need to participate in Your Kingdom coming and Your Will being done.  Reconcile and restore us to Yourself and to others (forgive us our sins and strengthen us to forgive others), because we know the coming of your Kingdom doesn’t happen by ourselves.  Coming into harmony with one another is part of Your Kingdom coming. And deliver us from self-absorption, lesser loves, petty prayers, and anything else that draws us away from Your kingdom coming and Your will being done today.  And as You’re doing that God, save us from any deeper evil that lies beneath our temptations.   We desire Your Kingdom and Will today because Yours is the true and forever kingdom, the power and the glory, today and forever.  Let’s get on with it! Amen! Game On!

It’s a different take on the Lord’s Prayer for sure! 

And then the three following teachings: “The Friend at Midnight (a lesson on perseverance)”, “Ask, Seek and Knock (a lesson on assertiveness)”, and a “Parent’s Goodness  (a lesson on God’s generosity in answering this prayer)” are not three random teachings.  They are supportive teachings on the main theme, “Lord, let Your Kingdom come and your Will be done.”  

These three teachings connect like this:  When you aren’t sure what God’s Kingdom will is or how it is to be done today in your living, don’t let that stop you from praying the prayer – persevere!  Continue to “Ask” and “Seek” and “Knock”. You will come to know and find. The ways of God’s Kingdom working will be opened to you. God in goodness and generosity will answer and provide, just as a parent provides good things for their child.  God will be at work with the Holy Spirit to enable and empower the Kingdom to come and God’s Will to be done in and through you.  

As you see, when you connect the entire passage with the core thought, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy Will be done”, that desire conditions how you read each of the verses.  This normative thought shapes how the passage unfolds and the meaning it holds. 

This is just one approach to this Scripture.  There are many others.  And you have your own.  As you meditate on this Scripture make sure you write down your reflections.  They are how God is leading you into deeper faith through this text and the truth it holds.

This passage includes lots of thoughts. So I’ll let you get to work! And I look forward to being with you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for this Scripture.  Thank You for Your love for Your world, as Your love is revealed in Jesus.  Thank you for how Jesus teaches us to pray Your Love for our lives and for our world – Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done. Lead us forward in this prayer today as we seek to live into this truth.  This we ask in the name of the One who taught and lived this prayer, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Game On

Good Monday morning!  Hope you had a wonderful fourth. Glad we can start the week together in the Pastor's Workshop.

This week we'll continue with our series, "Prepare with Prayer".  Our hope is that prayer would become a more powerful tool you can use more effectively to integrate your faith more fully into your daily living.

The Scripture this week comes from the Gospel of Luke, Luke 11:1-13. Of all the Gospels, Luke is the book that emphasizes the power of prayer and the working of the Holy Spirit.

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"

5 Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.'  7 And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 

13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

As you see, this Scripture covers "a lot of ground."  It begins with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray, the Lord's Prayer, and then three of Jesus' teachings on prayer. What we'll be doing in this week's message is seeing how all these elements fit together in an overarching truth.  The title for our message is "Game On."

As always on Monday we immerse ourselves in the text of the week.  So read and re-read, copy and re-copy, listen carefully.  What are  the ideas and images that "speak" to you?  Make sure you jot these down in your notebook.

Tomorrow we'll look more closely at each of the sections of the Scripture.  We'll identify key elements. We'll see how they interact to advance our core message.

So, I'll let you get to work.  And I look forward to being with you tomorrow!

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for this day and this new week. Thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you for the ways prayer gives expression to the hope of our hearts. Thank you for the hope You have for us and the ways Jesus leads us to pray into that hope. In that blessing, we lift our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

In Christ,

Paul

Prayers for Sunday

Happy July 4th.  Here’s to having a great Independence Day!  

I’m grateful we can celebrate in a free nation.  I’m thankful we have a Lord whose love frees us to live fully.  As Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed!”

As we come to Saturday, you know it’s a Sabbath time in the Pastor’s Workshop.  It’s a day when we take all we have prepared and hold it up to the Lord in prayer.  We ask God to bless and use our work, helping us grow in grace in Christ Jesus. 

So as we come to this time of prayer today, what are you lifting up?  Particularly as you think about Ephesians 6:10-18 and being “Battle Ready”, how would you pray?

Here are some of my prayers.

We do fight “spiritual” battles.  There is spiritual warfare that happens in our hearts.  I pray as we experience those struggles we know we can find our “strength in the Lord and the power of his might.”

I pray the Prayer Guide of “Putting on the full armor of God” would be useful and helpful for us.  To picture our prayer as seeking God’s truth, desiring God’s righteousness, walking in God’s peace, relying on God’s faithfulness, giving God the glory and following God’s word is a powerful way to pray and live. 

I pray we would be alert for those opportunities to grow in and give out God’s grace, present with us each day.

I pray we would always pray for one another.  I ask that as we stay in “supplication for all the saints” God would draw us closer together and build up our fellowship in Christ.

These are some of my prayers inspired by this Scripture.  What are you praying for?  Particularly as you pray this Scripture, how is God guiding you in your time of prayer?

Again, I’m glad we have this Sabbath time together today. I hope you have a very happy and healthy fourth.  I pray you know the freedom Christ gives to love, and the power the Spirit provides to live into that possibility. 

In that blessing, I look forward to being with you tomorrow – not in the Pastor’s workshop, but in the Master’s workshop as we join in worship!

 Prayer:  Gracious God, we praise you for the blessing of our nation and the gift of our freedom. We thank you for the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ.  We pray that we might use our freedom wisely and live in this grace fully.  Let our lives may be a witness to Your goodness and Your glory.  This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Strong in the Lord

Glad to be with you on this Thursday.  As we head towards the fourth I’m grateful we can be together in God’s grace!

Our message this week is called “Battle Ready”.  Our Scripture is Ephesians 6:10-18.

As you know Thursday is when we read and review all our work from the week.  We look for how our ideas fit together.  We listen for a message for Sunday. 

Here’s what I’ve “heard” and what’s coming forward for me:

Since this is July 4 weekend, I thought it fitting to open with an illustration from the Declaration of Independence.  In a sense, the Declaration of Independence was a declaration of war.  When the signers penned their names they knew the King of England, George III, would not be pleased.   They knew they better be battle ready. 

This scenario of how conflict commences is very often the case.  When you have a desire, make a decision, and state a declaration that you want to move forward in any area of life there are forces in play that want to maintain control and uphold the status quo.  They are willing to fight for it.  They are battle ready.

The Apostle Paul says this even applies to our faith.  Faith is a moving forward in life in Christ’s love.  When we want to become our best selves in God’s grace, bless others with God’s goodness, and advance God’s kingdom in our world we will face opposing forces.  There will be a struggle.  And it is a spiritual struggle.

We experience this struggle in many ways. We know these opposing forces by many names.  The undertow of temptation is always pulling at us. The bottom line is, there is “spiritual warfare” and we need to be battle ready. 

Not only does this Scripture speak of spiritual warfare, even our Baptismal Vows use this language.  The opening question of the vows sets the tone, “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world and repent of your sin?”

As we enter into this struggle we need to be strong.  Since this is a spiritual struggle we need to be strong in the Lord.   This is the opening encouragement of our passage today.

The symbol of strength held up by this Scripture was the Roman centurion.  He was the fiercest, most feared, formidable fighting man of his time.  His armor was the epitome of his power. 

When the Apostle said, “Put on the full armor” he was holding up this illustration of a centurion putting on his armor, piece by piece, as a prayer guide.

So how do we prepare with prayer for spiritual warfare? According to the Apostle it’s done through a “Wardrobe Check”.   

“Praying in the Spirit” is a suiting up in spiritual strength. As the Apostle details the centurion’s outfit we find ourselves outfitted with what we need.  The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faithfulness, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Word are all put on, piece by piece, in prayer. 

Being battle ready, we would always “keep alert”.  Not only do we want to avoid an ambush.  We want to see and seize the opportunities for love and life in Christ as they come. “Carpe Diem” for God’s Kingdom!

Even as we pray we want to support our fellow “soldiering saints”.  The Apostle says for us to persevere in prayer and continue in supplication for all the saints. 

This prayer support is particularly critical in these days.  As Covid has made its rebound, many have felt more embattled than ever.  Maybe you have too.  Forces of disappointment and despair rise up and would pull us down.  Yet we are battle ready.  We know how stay strong in the Lord.  We put on the full armor of God.  We prepare with prayer. 

 In that strength which God supplies and the progress in faith it makes possible, we not only survive our struggles we rise to victory in the love and life of Jesus Christ. 

These are talking points for Sunday.  Of course the message will be fuller as illustration and commentary are added.  

Besides the message, there will be some great music (as always), a short video celebrating VBS, and the observance of the sacrament of communion.  It will be a beautiful time of worship.  

In that faith which stays strong in the Lord as we prepare with prayer, I look forward to see you then! 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank You always for the blessing of worship.  Thank you for the ways worship strengthens us spiritually, so that we might be “strong in the Lord, in the strength of your power”.  Thank You for how that strength fortifies our faith, especially in the spiritual struggles of our lives.  For this gift of your grace and the ways we receive it with prayer, we give you our thanks and praise in Jesus’ holy name.  Amen

Spiritual Warfare Then and Now

Welcome to Wednesday.  It’s a blessing to be with you on this first day of July in the Pastor’s Workshop.

As we “Prepare with Prayer” for Sunday we’re getting “Battle Ready”.  The sermon comes from Ephesians 6:10-18.

On Wednesday we look at the context of the text.  What was the world like into which this word was first spoken?  How does this knowledge expand our understanding of what is being said in the passage?

We live in a “scientific” world.  Thinking about the cosmos was much different in the Roman world. When this Scripture was written the notion of the “spiritual” was much more pervasive.  It was also much more invasive.  The thought of gods actively and hostilely intruding into human life was widely accepted.

This text was penned in a “warring world”. Roman military campaigns were a regular occurrence.  Kings battling for turf was common.  Kingdoms in conflict were an accepted norm. The concept of “spiritual warfare” expanded on this experience.  

Dueling deities, where one god was warring with another, was typical in Roman mythology.  A primal battle of good and evil, personified in God and the devil, was conceivable to many. So when the Apostle wrote you are fighting “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers” the listener would have a greater sense of “spiritual warfare” than we do today. 

In this warring world the Roman centurion was the symbol of military strength.  He was the most formidable of all fighters.  His armor was elite equipment.  If you were going into combat equipped like a centurion you were ready for battle.  As the Apostle details putting on the “full armor”, with belt, breastplate and leggings, shield, helmet and sword the hearer would have a graphic vision of  impressive empowerment which happened in suiting up.

“Praying in the Spirit” envisions “putting on the full armor of God” for “spiritual warfare.  “Praying in the Spirit” was how the believer became battle ready.  “Praying the Spirit” was how they became “strong In the Lord and the strength of his might.”  This is the strength they would need to survive the struggle and win the victory. 

At times it’s difficult for us in the modern world to understand what our ancestors of the faith might have been thinking as we read a text.  More than that, to have a visceral sense of their struggle and empowerment is hard to imagine.  And yet I think it’s important for us to try as we seek to discern God’s truth for our day.

What does “spiritual warfare”, “being strong in the Lord”, “putting on the full armor of God”, and “praying in the spirit” mean for you?

I look forward to continuing our work with this passage.  As we come to tomorrow we’ll see how it all fits together and how this Scripture speaks a word for us today.   In that blessing I’ll join you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the faith of our ancestors.  Thank you for their witness to the depths of struggle in life and the heights of strength they found in You.  Thank you for their guidance on the gift of prayer.  Help us to learn more fully from their words of yesterday that we might live more faithfully in our world today.  This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  

The Armor of God

Glad to be together on this Tuesday!  It’s good to continue in our preparation in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Our current series is “Prepare with Prayer”.  The Scripture for this week is Ephesians 6:10-18.  Our title for Sunday is “Battle Ready”.

On Monday we immersed ourselves in the text.  Today we step back and look for a logic that ‘weaves’ through the Scripture.  How does the writer invite us into the subject and advance the thought?  How does the overall idea open up and draw us into deeper insight?

This Scripture begins with force – “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of God’s might!”

It progresses to “How” to be strong, “Put on the whole armor of God” and “Why” this strength is needed, to withstand the “wiles of the devil”.

It names the struggle being faced as a spiritual wrestling.  “Our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness…”  In that arena only the strength of the Lord will suffice. We need to “take up the full armor of God…so we can stand firm.”

The Apostle paints a picture of what it means to “Put on the full armor.” The illustration is of a Roman centurion, the most formidable fighter of the day, getting suited up.  After robing with his undergarments he: cinches up his belt, straps on his breastplate, buckles up his shoes, grabs his shield, dons his helmet and picks up his sword.   He is now “battle ready”.

The Apostle makes the spiritual analogy.  We are to cinch up the belt of truth, strap on the breastplate of righteousness, cover our feet with what makes for peace, grab the shield of faith, glory in the helmet of salvation and pick up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

We can envision how this armor equips us for our lives of faith.  We want to be guided by God’ truth, do what is right in God’s sight, walk in the ways of God’s peace, have our faith sustained by God’s faithfulness, glory in God’s salvation and have God’s word enable God’s will and way. 

Verse 18 sums up this “suiting up”.  “Pray in the Spirit at all times, in every prayer and supplication”.  We get “battle ready” by preparing with prayer.  Preparing with prayer “keeps us alert” to the possibilities of living in God’s grace.  

Not only do we pray for ourselves, we also pray for each other.  The Apostle says “persevere in supplication for all the saints.”  We all are involved in the same struggle and are preparing in the same way.  As we stand together in getting battle ready we will prevail.

This is how I discern the connections in this passage and trace the logic of the text.  What elements do you see?  How do they connect for you?  How do they lead you into a deeper walk with Jesus?

Tuesday is always an important day.  To sense the “flow” of the Scripture strengthens our own story of faithfulness.  I’m grateful for that gift of grace.

In that blessing I’ll let you get to work.  I look forward to being with you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for Your Word.  Thank you for the truth of life it reveals and the way of life it unveils.  Open our eyes and our minds more fully through our faith.  In the midst of our struggles help us to see that You would make us strong by the strength of Your might.  Make us ready for all that this day holds as we prepare with prayer.  Let it all be to Your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Congregational Letter

Dear Friends at Spring Valley, 

Grace and peace as we come to the end of June.  I hope this letter finds you safe and well. 

As you know, it has been three and a half months since we last gathered at church.  That’s a long time.  Many of us feel the loss of personal fellowship.  I look forward to when we can be together again. 

Two questions regularly arise, “When will we reopen?” and “What will that look like?”  Here is an update on those questions.

As you remember, in March the Bishop decided to close the churches of the North Texas Conference because of the threat of the COVID virus.  His priority was the safety and security of all.  He made it clear at that time he was monitoring the COVID caseload as a determining criterion of when we would reopen. 

Unfortunately, the COVID caseload continues to go up in Dallas County.  Compared to other areas of the state we are considered a relative “hot zone”.  Because of this rise in numbers and the increased risk, the Bishop has decided to postpone reopening the churches in the Metro District (Dallas County). Currently, this closure will remain in effect through the end of July.  The Bishop will be visiting with the pastors towards the end of that month for an update.  

I know this is disappointing news.  Yet it is understandable. 

I do want to remind us of ministries currently available and alert us to opportunities ahead.

• Sunday worship is available online at svumc.org beginning at 6:00 a.m. every Sunday.

• Many adult Sunday School classes are meeting regularly by Zoom or conference calls.

• A daily blog is posted on svumc.org and is also being emailed.  This pastor’s blog is a devotional guide that will enrich your Sunday worship.

• Children’s Sunday School lessons are being emailed each week.

• Youth are meeting via Zoom every Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

• Vacation Bible School was held via Zoom last week.  We celebrate this “first of a kind” VBS.

Additionally, two significant ministries are coming.

• Later in July Bert and John are planning an online concert.  I know it will be glorious.  You will want to watch the Behold and the website for details. 

• Youth ministry will have some special summer opportunities.  Our Youth families will be receiving more information about the upcoming ministry.

Lastly, even though our reopening is delayed, preparations for that step are ongoing.  A Reopening Task Force has been working hard, preparing an extensive plan for our reopening called, “A Reopening Covenant”.  They have completed their work and will be forwarding it to the Trustees and the Church Council for their review and approval. This Covenant couples the best practices of mutual safety and health with high-quality ministry needs and desires.  I am grateful for the efforts of our Task Force, Trustees, and Church Council as they continue to prepare us for our eventual reopening.

I know this has been a lengthy communication. I appreciate your patience in reading through it.  If you have any particular questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at pgould@svumc.org.  

I also appreciate your continued mutual ministry with one another as a church family.  None of us have ever experienced anything like what we are going through.  In the midst of these difficult days, I have heard wonderful stories of how you have kept in contact and cared for one another.  This mutual support has sustained our church.  It is an expression of the Holy Spirit working in our midst.  I praise God for this blessing.

As I said in my opening, I know how much we miss being with one another.  The gift of fellowship is something we will never again take for granted.  And I can’t wait until we reopen our doors and are together. 

With this hope and with faith in our gracious God, who leads us in these difficult days, I am grateful to continue forward in Christ’s ministry now and always with you at Spring Valley.

Blessings,

Pastor 

Battle Ready

Good morning on this fine Monday! I’m glad to begin the week with you in the Pastor’s Workshop. 

This week we’ll continue our series on prayer.  As you remember our title is “Prepare with Prayer”.   My hope is that prayer would become a more powerful tool for you, one you could use more effectively to integrate your faith more fully into your daily living.  

Yesterday we started with a message called “Save the Day!”  We explored how prayer helps us live into this possibility, “This is a day the Lord is making!”  (Psalm 118:24)  You can view the message (as well as the rest of worship at svumc.org).

This week we’ll continue with a message entitled “Battle Ready”.  Our text is from Ephesians 6:10-18

 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

As we read through this text we realize that to be our best, live lives of love, bless others with grace, and follow Jesus faithfully is not an easy path. Every day there are distractions, delays, and detours.  There are obstacles we need to overcome.  We need to “keep alert” and stay focused on our goal.  To live with “truth” and do “right”, to “proclaim peace” and choose “faithfulness”, to rejoice in God’s “salvation” and be wise in “God’s word”, to stay “strong in the Lord” and live in the “strength of his power”, we need to “Pray… at all times”.

Monday is a day of “immersion”.  Read and re-read, write and re-write.  Use several translations. Listen carefully and see what ideas and images capture your attention. Paraphrase the Biblical word in your own words.  Start to make this text your own, so its truth can make you its own. 

I know it’s a busy week ahead. So I’ll let you get to work.  

As you do, don’t forget to start with prayer. Ask God’s guidance as you move into the task before you.  Know that being in God’s word is pleasing to God.  It’s key to working God’s will today.

In that blessing let’s get to it and I’ll see you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the blessing of this day.  It’s a day You are making.  Let us not get distracted and delayed in the following You.  Keep us alert to Your loving purposes.  Let us be people of prayer so we might be “strong” in You and live in the “strength” of Your love.  This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our strong Savior and loving Lord.  Amen.