Thursday, May 31, 2012

5/31 E-News


Announcements

Pancake Breakfast!The men of the church are going to be cooking a pancake breakfast on Sunday, June 10 as a fundraiser for Living Waters for the World. Come between 9:15-10:30 to enjoy fresh pancakes. Suggested donation is $5/person.

Food Collection—Thank you for your generosity! We will continue to collect food for East Brainerd Elementary over the summer. Please remember to bring in individual size fruit cups & macaroni/chili individual size servings.


New Hope News

Sermon SeriesThis Sunday we'll begin a two month sermon series on what the New Testament has to say regarding different topics. This week we'll tackle parenting, and we'll move on to money, work, service, outsiders, salvation & being a good spouse. If there is a topic you'd like for a sermon to explore, let me know!

Sunday School—We'll explore Ezra this Sunday @ 9:45.

Sunday Evening Prayer ServiceCome check out a prayer service this Sundy evening @ 6:00 in the McMillan Building.

Pray for:

David Smith

Mandy Matthews

Links





Book Recommendation

I know I've heard from several people that Billy Graham's Nearing Home is a great read. If you're looking for a great biography of him, Marshall Frady wrote one that is pretty balanced and a great look into the man's life. It's simply titled Billy Graham.

Random Thoughts

Like a man with a new fisihing rod who looks for any excuse to hit the lake, Caleb is rolling over with reckless abandon. We have to keep a closer watch on him now (no more leaving him in the house by himself while Rachel and I go out to dinner), because he doesn't always stay where we set him down. Baby gates and further-terrified-cats are in our near future.

The church is somewhat like this—just when we think we understand it and are in control, things change. The world changes. Our understanding of what it means to be faithful is challenged in some new way, and we have to wrestle with what it means to be a faithful community. Sometimes we have to set new limits and boundaries, understanding that a new danger lurks just beyond. Often we have to dwell uncomfortably with a new thing, trying to figure out how to be church when our vision has changed.

In all of this, Jesus Christ is Lord. We are still called to give our hearts and minds and strength to him. We are still pushed beyond what we are willing to give, challenged to see the world through his eyes, called to love a world that may seem so foreign to us at times. Being a disciple is never easy, but Christ promises us that abundant life is possible only through him, despite what the advertising on television may say, despite the exotic lifestyles that are portrayed as the answer to our problems. Only Christ fills the void within us that sin creates.

So the world, our lives, may not always make total sense. We aren't in charge. Our job is to follow Christ, to love each individual made in the image of God, and to grow as disciples, loving God each and every day. May we see change as resting within the palm of God's sustaining hand, and let us be comforted that God is Alpha & Omega, beginning and end.


Text for Sunday, June 3

Luke 11:9-13

 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’




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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Memorial Day Sermon


I’d like to begin this sermon by taking a moment to recognize our veterans—would those of you please stand, or at least raise a hand? 
Thank you.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  Why do we have Memorial Day?  What purpose does it serve?

Memorial Day began during the Civil War, when women’s groups gathered to decorate the graves of those who had perished in that awful war.  As the years went by, the time to honor the dead grew more formal until 1868, when the first Memorial Day was officially proclaimed and flowers were placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery.  The observance of this day continued to grow through the years. 
There is also curious etiquette for how to fly our nation’s flag on Memorial Day.  We might think that it would be flown at half-staff all day out of respect for the memory of those who died.  But to do so would be to forget the reason they died—they died fighting to end a way, whichever one it was, in the hopes that there would no longer need to be war.  They gave their lives in the hope that what they were fighting for was something that would bring peace and security to the world.  And so the flag only flies at half-staff until noon, when it is raised to full-staff to honor the continuing struggle for peace and liberty and to express the hope that one day there will no longer be a need for individuals to lay down their lives for their country.  We give thanks for those who are still willing to do so, and we honor their willingness to serve, yet we do so with the hope that they will be home, safe and sound, and they can lay down their weapons and need not pick them up.  This is our hope as individuals and as a nation.  We remember the sacrifice for a reason—that it may teach us a lesson and help us strive for peace, that their sacrifice not be in vain.
Memorial Day stands in an in-between time—we look back in gratitude, and we look forward in hope. 
Doesn’t sound all that different than Christianity, does it?
The first passage I read today is one of the stranger Biblical sections.  In it, the prophet Ezekiel is whisked away to a valley that is filled with dried up bones.  It sounds like the beginning to a really terrible low-budget Halloween movie.  But God doesn’t do this just for the fright—while there, after giving Ezekiel a tour of the entire valley, in case he wanted to make sure that all that was present was bones, God asks Ezekiel if it’s possible for these bones to live.  Ezekiel’s answer, “O Lord God, you know,” is a basic admittance that he doesn’t know.  He has no idea if these bones can live—but he trusts that God knows.
Next thing you know, God has Ezekiel prophesying to the bones, and soon enough God has put flesh to these bones and brought them back to life.  But, just to make the Halloween scene a little scarier, they’re not living.  They’re just bodies now.  God then uses Ezekiel’s words to bring the bodies back to life.
This whole scene is meant to be symbolic.  The dead bones are meant to symbolize the faith of the nation of Israel.  Their faith is dead and their lives give no evidence of God’s presence, and it would appear as if there is no hope.  Only God’s power can bring the people back, and only the work of the Holy Spirit can reinvigorate the faith of these people.  The stories of all that God has done for them have faded away to the pages of history, never to be remembered, and in their times of trial they asked God where he has been lately, and in their impatience they worshipped what was easy, what was close, rather than God, who is always faithful.  They forgot God, and their faith died.  The prophet Ezekiel is meant to remind the people of God’s faithfulness so that they might allow God to re-awaken their faith. 
Their memories are also meant to change how they see the future.  Isaiah is the prophet who points us forward—he paints a scene of what the future will look like.  It will be a time of rejoicing, of worship, of peace. 
Friends, our faith works the same way that Memorial Day does.  We are called to remember—we are called to remember what God has done, to remember who God is, to remember God’s faithfulness.  Our faith is rooted in stories that are centuries old, stories of how God has acted dramatically in the past to show his love to the world.  We see this love in creation, in the redemption of Israel out of slavery, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
We need to remember these stories—for these stories teach us about God.  They teach us about the kind of God we worship.  They teach us that God is always faithful—and if God has always been faithful in the past, then we can look to the future with hope, because God will continue to be faithful.  Our memories of the past transform the way we see the present, the way we see the future—our memories allow us to see how today resembles days in the past, and because God was present in the past, God will be present today, and tomorrow, too.  The God who has always watched over his people and freely offered his grace will continue to offer his grace to us.  If you are in a desperate situation, the best thing to do is to open up the Bible and read about other desperate situations.  In the Bible, there is a story of three men who were literally thrown into a blazing hot furnace because of their faith, and God was there.  This story isn’t just to entertain us—it’s to give us hope, to allow us to look forward to the future that Isaiah paints for us and realize that we can hope for that, too.  It’s not just for perfect people—it’s for the people of God.
And we can look forward because our faith is not a work of our own.  All of those bones in the valley, they didn’t put flesh on themselves.  They didn’t bring life to themselves.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that.
In the same way, our faith is gift from God—we cannot earn it or secure it for ourselves.  We can only be grateful for it, and allow the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. 
So this day, and every day, let us look backwards and see all the ways God has worked in the past.  Not just in the Bible.  Let’s talk about the history of this church.  Let’s talk about the history of the people in this church.  Want to know a great way to learn something about the way God works in the world?  Go find someone who has been a Christian for over fifty years, and ask them what God has done in their life.  I guarantee you that you will pick up a lesson that will be useful to you—it may change the way you look at a situation in your own life, or perhaps will allow you to see a future trouble with hope.  To you who have been sitting in church pews for a long time and wonder what your mission may be—share your stories.  In your stories of how God has been at work in your life, there is hope for someone else.  You can assure the younger generation that God has always been faithful, and in that assurance, they can take hope that God will continue to be faithful.
Friends, we are a people with a long past, and the faithfulness of God that supports that past will support the future as well.  We go forward into God’s future, one in which God will be the judge, in which nations will not learn war anymore, and we do so with hope, trusting in God to provide, to protect, to uphold.
Let us pray

--

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Presbyterian Doctrine

  Someone recently asked me to email them Presbyterian Doctrine and the Scripture to support it.  I tried to resist the urge to write a small novella, but I might have been a bit wordy.  As I spent a large chunk of time working on it, I thought I'd post it here as well.  

  As for Presbyterian doctrine, we are part of the Reformed tradition, which dates back to John Calvin in the 16th century.  The primary emphasis of the Reformed tradition is God's sovereignty over all of creation and human sinfulness.  We believe that God's overall mission is to gather all of the world to himself through God's Son, Jesus Christ.  (Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 1:1-4) We believe that Christ alone is the way to salvation.  (John 14:6)  As for forgiveness, we believe that God reaches out to us while we are sinners, offering us forgiveness, to which we are called to respond in gratitude and repentance.  (John 3:16-18, Romans 5:8)

  We focus strongly on how all of life is lived in response to God's initiating grace--from the very beginning, in Genesis 1, it is God who acted first in creation.  In the same way, Scripture gives witness time and time again, from Abraham (Gen. 12:1) to Moses (Exodus 3) to Samuel (1 Samuel 3) to Peter (Luke 5:1-11) to Paul (Acts 9:1-19), that God calls us, and our life, our discipleship is a response to God's call.  We believe that faith is a gift of God, not something that we ourselves can create.  (Romans 3:21-28)

  We believe that Scripture is an authoritative and unique witness, a guide that reveals to us how God has acted throughout the ages, and that continues to guide us today.  (2 Timothy 1:11-14)  We believe that our gratitude should compel us to live our discipleship in everything that we do, so that we share the Good News of the Gospel with the whole world.  (2 Corinthians 1:12, Matthew 28:18-20)  Our good works do not save us, but are evidence of the faith within us.  (Romans 3:21-26)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

5/17 E-News


Announcements

UTC BBQThe UTC campus ministry (808 Vine St, Chattanooga) is hosting a BBQ this Sunday from 11-4. Feel free to drop in and enjoy their hospitality.

Food Collection—Thank you for your generosity! We will continue to collect food for East Brainerd Elementary over the summer. Please remember to bring in individual size fruit cups during the month of May.


New Hope News

Kid's Musical—Sunday, May 20.

Sunday School—We'll explore 1 Chronicles this Sunday @ 9:45.

Sunday Evening Prayer ServiceCome check out a prayer service this Sundy evening @ 6:00 in the McMillan Building.

Pray for:

Danny MacDonald, Sean's father, who is undergoing very tough surgery this morning

David Smith

Madeline Sims, who's having a tough time of late


Links







Book Recommendation

I've been reading A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy in the evenings. It's a small book, but it's one to savor in small bites as Tozer discusses different attributes of God. It's a great way to wrap up a day.

Random Thoughts

It is fascinating to me to read the books of the Old Testament and think about the lives they were living. It's not like they lived in such a way because they knew their lives would be immortalized in the Bible someday. They lived their lives, and because they were part of God's people, the stories of their lives were added to the larger story, and that was eventually recorded, and now we read it today to discover what we can learn about them and, more importantly, what we can learn about God. The Bible records so many ways that God reaches out to his people, even in the midst of their sin.

Are our lives so different? The world has changed around us, but we are still a part of a larger congregation, and we are called to live faithfully now. If your life was going to be recorded in a book and studied two thousand years from now, would you live differently? What story does your life tell—does it testify to the reality of God reaching out to you, or does it tell a different story? Do we tell a story of joining in with God's mission of reaching out to the world, or is our discipleship too timid, too limited, too small?



Text for Sunday, May 27

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Valley of Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of theLord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’


 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.


 Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’ 






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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

5/16/2012


Reflection on 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:
  Lord, help me be content in your sufficient grace. You provide everything that I will ever need. Everything in my life that is not of you may meet a desire, but not a need. I can do without all of them, but I cannot for a moment do without you. You are perfect in every way, and you will never abandon or desert me. Your love will watch over me and provide for me, and my soul needs to learn to rest in you, to rest in your sufficient grace. You are love and mercy and wonder and praise, and I need to set down all the things that I am carrying that obscure my vision of your holy throne. I am unworthy, but you have the final word on that, and it is spoken on the cross, and it carries through three days of death into new life that springs forth from the empty tomb. 

  In you, there is life, but it only comes from you—I cannot provide it, secure it or even define it outside of you. I often am caught trying to secure it on my own, believing in my foolish pride that such a thing is possible, or perhaps it is merely my weak faith that believes that I must do what you might not, as though I might stumble and fall unless I provide for myself a way forward. I am a foolish sinner, Lord, and in the depths of my heart I know that life alone comes from you, that my own stupid attempts to grasp the reins of life from you will ultimately fail. All that surrounds me gives testimony to this—my life has been in ruins when I lived with no knowledge of you.

  Like the Judges, I did what was right in my own eyes. Also, like the Judges, you allowed me to suffer the consequences of my stupid & selfish decisions. Now, though, I see clearly, or at least less obscured, and recognize the sin at the root of so many of my decisions. I want to be independent, to be recognized for my own wisdom and pride, and I don't rest in your sufficient grace. I work, I work, I work, I work and I work some more, believing that the harder I work the more you will love me, the more you will approve of me, the higher I will rise in your kingdom. All of this is selfish, Lord, and you and I both know that. The difference is you want to destroy it, while I secretly want to hold onto it, thinking that the world will reward me with riches and honor for what you have given me. I want that, Lord, and I don't know how to let it go. I don't really want to let it go, if we're going to be honest, and honesty is probably the best policy with you, since you know the secret thoughts of my heart. I may as well pour it out before you, Lord—you are the Almighty God, and every single fiber of my being wants to serve you.

  I just have no idea how. I don't know how to serve you, how to love you, how to let my light shine in the world so that others might glorify you. I am ignorant in these ways, and for decades I have stumbled in the darkness, looking for answers (when I bother looking at all) in every place but your Holy Word. I have neglected my study, instead seeking what is easy, what is immediately gratifying. Forgive this foolish sinner, Lord, and help set my feet on high places, on places that you dwell, and help me ignore the lures with which the world has been so successful in capturing my heart. I chase after the shiny and alluring things of this world, only realizing too late that they are drawing me away from you. May ALL of me be focused on you, on your grace, which is sufficient. I long to rest in that grace, and to be restored, to know life and grace and wonder and joy. I long to be content, Lord, and to let my contentment flow through me, that others may see it and wonder about the source of it, so that the Holy Spirit might put words in my mouth to bring others to know you. 

  My heart beats for you, Lord, and I want to put the sinful things of this world away, to cease chasing them in an endless and reckless pursuit that ultimately will not capture joy for this man. Only you provide true joy. Only you, Lord, can lead me to life, beside those still waters the Psalmist speaks of. My prayer is that I learn what contentment in your sufficient grace is like, and that it establishes a pattern in my life, that all I do might draw me nearer to you, so that I can glorify you in my words and my works.  

  Amen

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Sermon on Matthew 5:11-16


Matthew 5:11-16

11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.




How many of you have ever been up to Tellico? It's not to far from here, and it's beautiful country—especially in the fall, when God paints the hillsides with colors that never fail to catch my breath. If you've been to Tellico, you know that it's not exactly filled with four lane highways. Most of it is pretty rural.
A few years back, my mom rented a cabin out in the mountains with some friends who had come down for a weekend photography shoot. It's important to note here that this was before I bought my new-ish car, and the car I was driving was less than entirely dependable. I drove up to spend the day with them, and then we had dinner, and pretty soon the entire day had slipped by. I went to leave, and only then did I realize that it was really dark out there. They don't bother to put a lot of streetlights out on backcountry roads in Tellico. I doubt they do that anywhere, but at that moment I wasn't too concerned with everywhere else. I had driven out here exactly once, and suddenly my confidence was waning. I wasn't entirely sure that I'd be able to find my way home.
As I set out on the one-lane roads that winded their way from the cabin back to any road worthy of the name, I was intimidated by just how dark it was. My car's headlights fought a losing battle, failing to illuminate much of the road and all of the surrounding environment. I kept hoping that I'd make the right turns, because the realization struck me at one point that if I got lost and drove into a ravine, they wouldn't find my body for weeks, if I was lucky. What had been a scenic drive in the day was turned into a frightful experience in the dark.

The world is filled with places like that. There are places like that here in Chattanooga—places that you would approach with great fear, if at all, during the evening or night. I once had to go to Memorial Hospital at 2 in the morning to pick up Bess Jones, and I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out the best way to get there that would avoid many of the rougher parts of town. Lots of bad things go on in the night. The city of Los Angeles has had some success pushing crime out of some neighborhood parks by introducing strategically planned lighting. Many argue that this only relocates crime, but it does provide a safe place for people to gather, a place that was transformed by the introduction of light.

Most of the Bible describes the battle between good and evil as a battle between light and dark. The prologue to John's Gospel describes Christ as the light of the world, a light that comes into darkness. The darkness is said to not understand it, but it also cannot overcome it. That light shines forth, and it gives us a taste of what is to come, the image that is given to us in Revelation of the city of God, a city that will have no night, no darkness, because God will be our light.

Until Revelation, however, we continue to struggle with the forces of darkness, with the reality of evil in the world. Think of evil as a defeated animal in its death throes, violently thrashing about, claiming whatever victims it can on the way to its own destruction. We see evil at work in the world in so many ways—there is natural evil, of which we have evidence with every blue tarp that covers a tornado-ravaged roof. There is brokenness in death and disease, the breakdown of the human body—how many of you know someone who is sick with cancer or another disease? Then there is sin and evil in society, in the unjust economic imbalances and practices that keep so many poor and hungry. We have our own personal sin, the things we do and the things we don't do.

In the face of so many types and varieties of sin and evil, it feels a bit overwhelming to even talk about what we can do to resist? It feels like we're fighting a losing battle, even though we know that we're on the winning side. Every time we turn on the news we discover more examples of evil showing up and demonstrating that it still has plenty of force in the world. Holding on to good feels a bit like driving down a windy, one lane road in the mountains of Tennessee in the dark of night in an unreliable car with weak headlights—you think you know where you are going, and you know what your destination is, but in the meantime it sure doesn't feel very safe to be traveling this way.

The good news for Christians everywhere is that the darkness cannot win. Let me repeat that: it cannot win. No matter how dire it appears, no matter how depressing the news is, the darkness absolutely cannot and will not win. In Christ's death and resurrection, he has secured the future for all who are in Christ. The light of the world shines now and will shine forever, and there is nothing that darkness can do about that—but that doesn't mean that darkness will just give up.

What this means for us, though, is very, very important. The light of the world, Jesus Christ, has won the ultimate victory. What we are NOT called to do is sit back, rest on our laurels, and wait for Christ's final victory. This is not taking part in God's mission. I have said this before and I will say it again and then at least once more, we are called to join in with what God is doing, to partake in his mission during our lives. Christ is the light of the world, and he tells us that we are to let his light shine throughout the world. We are to let the light shine in us and live holy lives, avoiding sin and seeking to do God's will. Also, we are to let God's light shine through us, so that others may see us and, as Christ says, give glory to God. The entire purpose of our lives is to live in such a way that people see us and give glory to God. This is our goal!

What it means is that we're not supposed to flee from the darkness. We're not even supposed to be afraid of it. We're called to seek out the dark and plant a light there. Think of it this way—imagine that you are installing streetlights. You're called to do it in a way that is most helpful to drivers. Would you install them all right next to each other? Would you look for where other streetlights have been installed and place yours right there? No! You'd go to places like Tellico, where it's terrifying to drive around on dark roads, and install the streetlights there, to beat back the dark and give drivers the aid of light. You'd go to the darkest places, the places that are the most hazardous, and install your streetlights there! Otherwise you'd just end up with one really bright place amidst a dark world.

When we restrict our Christian practice to life within the church, this is exactly what we are doing. We're limiting the light of Christ by not letting it shine through us throughout our cities and communities. We're not helping those who dwell in darkness see the light, because the light doesn't move towards them. We're not illuminating dark places.

One final warning—one sign that we're doing this well is that we'll meet resistance. This is what Christ meant in the beginning of our passage. Those who are living faithfully will meet fierce resistance from the forces of evil. Christ tells us to rejoice and be glad, which seems crazy to do in the face of evil. You know the old saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me? We all know by now that's not true—words hurt plenty badly. It's hard to imagine rejoicing at harsh words hurled our way. Can you imagine us telling our children to sing: sticks and stones may break our bones, but harsh words will lead me to rejoice and be glad? It's crazy, right?
Well, yes, it is a bit crazy, but when we look through the eyes of Jesus, the world looks different. We have nothing to fear—the resistance that we meet may seem impressive, but it's like the Wizard of Oz—not nearly as scary when we peak behind the curtain. We need not fear rejection and hatred, because God has spoken the final verdict upon the cross—you are infinitely loved, infinitely valued, and accepted not because you are worthy, but because Christ loves you.

So let your light shine before others. Let Christ's light shine in you and through you, lighting up the dark places of the world, so that others may see our good works and glorify God in heaven. May all we do seek this singular purpose.

Let us pray

Friday, May 11, 2012

5-11 E-News

Yes, it's a day late.  Sorry.  I got a bit distracted.  Long story.


Announcements

Men's BreakfastTomorrow at 8.

HubfestTomorrow from 11-4 at Heritage Park. Come and enjoy it, come and spend some time at New Hope's tent.

Sunday Evening Prayer ServiceCome check out a prayer service this Sundy evening @ 6:00 in the McMillan Building.

Food CollectionWe will continue to collect food for East Brainerd Elementary over the summer. Please remember to bring in individual size fruit cups during the month of May.


New Hope News

Kid's Musical—Sunday, May 20.

Sunday School—We'll explore 2 Kings this Sunday @ 9:45.

Pray for:

Christine Dyer, Gerai's daughter, as she recovers from surgery

David Smith

Madeline Sims—she went home yesterday

Links



Book Recommendation

If you've not read C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, they are a treat. It's an easy read, and Lewis gives wonderful imagery to the way the devil plays with our minds, distracting us from what truly matters, keeping us from drawing nearer to God.

Random Thoughts

I was thinking this morning about a relative of Rachel's who returned from Afghanistan with bedbugs in his gear. Soon, they infected the entire house, and the process to remove them was extensive, to say the least. It was a costly hassle, and the bedbugs were not easily rooted out.

I think sinful habits are the same way in our lives. We develop them over time, often slowly, but in order to root them out, we have to tirelessly seek them out, often requiring the assistance of others. We have to pursue them with focus—if we expect them to leave on their own, or to disappear with a half-hearted effort, they will only grow to play a larger role in our lives. If we relentlessly seek to avoid sin, developing a hatred for it, and replace our sinful habits with things that bring us closer to God, we will grow as a faithful people, coming closer to God's will for our lives while at the same time developing useful ways to work with those around you to help them root sin out of their lives as well.

Text for Sunday, May 13

Matthew 5:11-16

11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.






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New Hope on iTunes

Saturday, May 5, 2012

May 6 Sermon

Matthew 2:1-12

2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Have you ever heard a person referred to as someone who 'made it in the world'? This might be said about someone for any number of reasons—perhaps they have achieved the highest level of their chosen profession, or it might simply be an individual who has a lot of money and no need to work—they're really got it made, don't they?
When I was much younger, I used to envision myself as wealthy and successful—that's what my vision of 'making it in the world' would look like. It didn't so much matter what kind of work I did, merely that I made a lot of money doing it. I was voted 'most likely to succeed in high school', and I think we all had a certain definition of what 'success' looked like.
Even when my first college physics class made it abundantly clear that I wasn't going to 'make it' as an engineer, I still had that vision in my head that riches and fame were what defined a successful life. I'd go ahead and venture that when I first arrived at New Hope, I even had a clear idea of what it meant for a church to make it, to be successful. It means it has to grow numerically, right? The world has to see it and be jealous, right? Isn't that what it means to make it in the world?

I'd like to suggest that we take every notion of what the world counts as success and toss it out the window, where it belongs. Let's not let the world's idea of success of 'making it' affect how we live as Christians for one more second. Let's turn to the Bible and let God redefine our score sheets. But first, we need to understand what really counts.

Now, God has always been active in the world. From the beginning of God's creation, we can read about how he's been intervening in the world, moving in the hearts and lives of his children to bring us closer to him. At the same time, he's been promising that, one day, he will defeat sin and death with finality and establish his kingdom forever, in which there will be no more evil.
When we get to the New Testament, we have a radical in-breaking of the Kingdom of God. It had always been around, and God had been working with his chosen people, Israel, but in the life of Jesus Christ, God himself comes to earth to show us how to live, to help us see that the promise of God's Kingdom isn't just some idle, far off pipe dream, but rather a reality that will one day change the earth. In the life of Jesus, we see snapshots of what it will be like—there will be enough love for all, and no one will be excluded because they're not of the right social status. It won't be about earning God's love—that love will be freely given to the rich and the poor, but there won't be rich or poor, because all the factors that divide us will be destroyed.
In the visit of the Magi, we get a foretaste of what the Kingdom of God is going to be like. In their visit, these rich, powerful and successful men travel for a long period of time to visit a poor toddler and worship him, giving this babe wildly expensive gifts. Their financial adviser and anyone who knew them would have advised that this was madness, that it was a wild goose chase, and even if they went that they didn't need to spend money on the child, that the money could be better served invested for their retirement, but the men, through their faith in God, began to see the world differently. They recognized that money didn't matter, that time spent on the road didn't matter—that what truly mattered was the chance to worship Jesus. Saving for the world's wealth, to ensure their worldly success, was seen as wasteful in comparison to the eternal treasure of faith in God.
If this happened today, it would be international news. Imagine Bill Gates, a man who we would certainly say has made it in the world. He couldn't spend all of his money if he tried, unless he decided to buy Tennessee or France or whatever else he decided to purchase. The whole world knows who he is. Just think how the world would react if he decided to pack up and travel to rural China, to bow low before a child in a poor village and write a check for ten million dollars. We'd consider the man crazy, right? We'd spend all this time wondering why he did it, and we'd think about all the other things that could have been done with that money, right? Books would be written about the trip.

But in God's Kingdom, wise men travel from far away to worship an infant, born into poverty.
In God's Kingdom, this same infant, more powerful than any man who has ever lived, will spend his time serving the poor and the lame selflessly.
In God's Kingdom, this child will one day die on a cross, so that others may live.

In God's Kingdom, things are different. There is a different scorecard. Making it in God's Kingdom means that we have to give up the idea that our efforts are what determines the success of our lives. Making it in God's Kingdom means seeing the world, and one another, through a different set of lenses—it's not about being associated with the rich and powerful, with getting your picture on the front of the paper, but rather it's about how well we love anyone, everyone—from an unborn child to the homeless man on the street to the president of the country. Each is equally worthy of our love.

God sees the world differently than we do—and God pushes us to understand that when his Kingdom comes in fullness, it's not going to be just a prettier version of this world as we know it now. It's going to be radically different. Our status before God isn't going to be determined by our wealth or power or fame, but rather by the grace of Christ, which is a free gift, and which he demonstrated to us how to use it. The Kingdom of God is going to be a place where each person is celebrated because they are made in the image of God, rather than judged because they look a little different. In the Kingdom of God, each and every person is worthy of our service, of our love.

Possessions, if they still exist, will be viewed differently, too. No longer will they be things for us to possess, to accumulate, to own. No longer will we obsess over items. Rather, each thing will be something that we can use to serve God and our neighbors.

In God's Kingdom, it's not about us. It's not about making it. It's about worshiping God in all we do.

The best part about God's Kingdom? We don't have to wait—in Christ, it has already come, and we already live with one foot in God's Kingdom. The life that we now lead is practice for the eternal, so God invites us to live our life as though we were already fully in God's Kingdom—to stop judging ourselves and others by how successful we are in the eyes of the world and start treating each and every person as though they were made in the image of God, fully worthy of our love and service. In God's Kingdom, we're called not to worry about ourselves and what tomorrow brings, but to live each moment as an opportunity to worship God. In God's Kingdom, a church isn't judged by how many people show up on Sunday, but by the integrity of our worship and the willingness of our members to serve the world as Christ's hands and feet.

In God's Kingdom, life looks different than it does in this world's eyes. But let us not be stopped by fear or uncertainty—let us live according to God's rules, and may our lives be a witness to the world that the only Kingdom that matters is the one that will last forever.
Let us pray.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

7 months!

  Today, Caleb is 7 months old.  To celebrate, he's going to eat sweet potatoes and sleep all night.  (clicking heels together three times...there's nothing like sleeping all night, there's nothing like sleeping all night, there's nothing like sleeping all night)  Well, he'll do at least one of those.  Isn't there some study on the power of positive thinking?

  Caleb keeps growing up.  He now holds his own bottle when I feed him.  It's a far cry from the early days when he and I went to battle each morning!  Of course, he's fascinated and thrilled with being able to feed himself--he grips the bottle in each hand and jams it into his mouth.  (Well, it actually ends up in his eye more often than his mouth, so dad offers some directional guidance.)  He finds this so entertaining that he pulls it back out and laughs gleefully.  Which means, of course, that feeding him takes three times longer than it did before he could hold his own bottle.  But it's a lot of fun.  I will admit that I have to remind myself to stop worrying about leaving on time and just enjoy the laughter that erupts from him every time he pulls his bottle out of his mouth.

  They're also beginning to move him up in daycare.  The next class is only separated by a clear wall, but in my heart it feels like another world.  In there, children crawl and run and do the rambunctious things boys do.  (It's also a class of all boys, strangely enough.  I can picture him now, hands pressed against the glass, wondering why the girls in his class no longer respond when he talks to them.)  I've been pretty resistant to the idea of him moving up, but I realize it's just fear.  I can't control him growing up, getting bigger.  I want the daycare people to watch over him like a hawk every second of the day, lest he topple over or smash his finger in a toy.  God is trying to teach me to give up control, to let him grow.  He'll be crawling around the daycare (and our house!) soon enough, and I need to accept it, to enjoy it, to cherish it.  They'll still watch over him and take care of him in the next classroom.  It's not like they throw them in there and lock the door, like some toddler version of The Hunger Games, only letting the strongest emerge.  He'll be fine.  (Repeat:  He'll be fine.  He'll be fine.  He'll be fine...)  I'll be fine, too.  I just need to accept it.  Caleb's growing up.

  The delightful part of it is that all of this means that the laughter will be bigger, too.

5/3 E-News


Announcements

Outreach CommitteeMeets tonight @ 6

Sunday Evening Prayer ServiceCome check out a prayer service this Sundy evening @ 6:00 in the McMillan Building. This week will be a taize service.

PotluckThis Sunday!


New Hope News

Sunday School—We'll explore 1 Kings this Sunday @ 9:45.

Pray for:

Christine Dyer, Gerai's daughter, as she recovers from surgery

David Smith

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Eleanor Hall

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Book Recommendation

Curious about the Reformation? Ever wanted to increase your knowledge about the roots of Protestantism? Alistair McGrath's Christianity's Dangerous Idea is a great place to start. It's a history of the Protestant church from the beginning to present day.

Random Thoughts

I've been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament lately (it's only fair after spending 2.5 years wrapped up in Luke), and I can't help but wonder what the prophets would say to the 21st century American Christian church. It's easy to read the invective that the prophets hurled without restraint at Israel and see all the reasons that God was angry with the Israelites. It's a lot harder to look at our own lives and wonder if God might be angry with us for many of the choices we make. I believe and trust in God's mercy, but I also believe that God calls us to a level of discipleship that demands a life offered completely to God.

Are we living a life that testifies to God's love for all of creation? Do the poor and the outcast, the blind and the prisoner, the oppressed and the lost, register on our awareness? Or are we so caught up in our own lives, in our own struggles, that we've lost sight of the bigger picture? Are we so concerned with surviving until tomorrow that we're missing the bigger mission of God?

I worry about the church. I worry that the prophets might say the same things to us today, but we don't hear the message as one for us , and if we can't hear the message, how will we ever change?

Text for Sunday, May 6

Matthew 2:1-12

2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.






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