You are the God who makes extravagant promises.
We relish your great promises
of fidelity
and presence
and solidarity
and we exude in them.
Only to find out, always too late,
that your promise always comes
in the midst of a hard, deep call to obedience.
You are the God who calls people like us,
and the long list of mothers and fathers before us,
who trusted the promise enough to keep the call.
So we give you thanks that you are a calling God,
who calls always to dangerous new places.
We pray enough of your grace and mercy among us
that we may be among those
who believe in your promises enough
to respond to your call.
We pray in the one who embodied your promise
and enacted your call, even Jesus. Amen.
-Walter Brueggeman
I got into the sharing my faith business a little differently than most Christians. I got hired into it as a missionary! We planned and trained to share our faith for a long time. It took years! I even raised money so I could share my faith and still feed my family. It was a long process of packing up all our stuff, moving to
Then I arrived and started the job and realized I had no clue how to do what I was supposed to do. Sharing my faith, evangelizing, preaching, still felt awkward and unwelcomed and ... well, to tell you the truth... not all that fun.
Today we will talk about sharpening the sharing part of our ministry skills. We have talked about prayer and talked about caring and now comes the hardest one of all. Actually speaking to people about our faith.
The problem we have in
Most preachers, at this point, would try and re-convince you that the thing you are selling is the most important thing in the world! There is a lot of truth in that, and the fact we are not all more ambitious about telling our friends is perhaps a commentary on our faith. However, I think the "sharing" part is not something we need to make an effort. It is the result, the product of a life of caring and prayer. If we pray for others and genuinely care for them, then we will share with them as well.
Mark
That day when evening came, [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Like every kid in
While telling one’s children not to talk to strangers is probably good parenting practice, John gives the church somewhat different advice in his third letter. In fact, he commends them for doing just the opposite: giving support to strangers. You can imagine how this scene might have unfolded. Demetrius shows up in a small town in
After telling this congregation to welcome strangers, John makes another surprising statement. He writes to the congregation that they should imitate what is good, not what is evil. (No surprise there.) He goes on to say that whoever does good is from God (still no surprise), and whoever does evil has not seen God. He does not say whoever does evil is not from God, or whoever does evil is from the Devil, or whoever does evil ought to be kicked out. He simply says whoever does evil has not seen God, implying that what evildoers really need is not to be feared and shunned, but to have an encounter with our God. And what better place exists for that to happen than inside the doors of a church.
Tera
Here’s a great quote from Samuel Wells’s God’s Companions: Reimagining Christian Ethics: “When people of the current generation talk about keeping in touch, what they usually mean is email, mobile phones, landlines, or even perhaps a letter. The irony is that none of these involve touching anybody. Eating together is one way, perhaps the most important way, in which people learn to touch one another. In eating together, they become one another’s companions--bread-sharers.”
I know distance makes keeping in touch with others very difficult. I constantly experience the painful feeling of being apart from many people I love. It seems like we can channel this longing for close relationship in several different ways. One way that may not be helpful is relying exclusively upon technology to meet our relational needs. Don’t get me wrong, I think technology is great. I have a blog. I have a Facebook account and enjoy it very much. I’ve even written on how the Internet is a real community. But I have to remind myself that technological communication cannot replace the experience of a face-to-face, bodily meeting with another person. This is really tough to remember in our culture of gadgets. Even the phone call, one of the most basic gadgets around, cannot replace talking with another person face-to-face.
The relentless production of new forms of communication requires us to be very intentional about preserving the practice of making local friendships. This will be especially hard on those accustomed to relying solely on long-distance friendships. It seems easier just to contact the long-distant friends using technology than it does developing an entirely new friendship. We all know finding new friends takes a lot of time. But I don’t think it’s worth the cost of neglecting face-to-face friendship. There’s something deeply real and Christian about a face-to-face encounter, especially over a meal. I think the communion table is a symbol of this deep reality. Genuine relationship is nourished by breaking bread together. Despite the newness and the risk involved, the forming of face-to-face friendships over meals is perhaps one of the most Christian, and counter-cultural things we could do. So, do you know any good places to eat around here? Matt
By faith Abel, by faith Enoch, by faith Noah, by faith Abraham and Sarah . . .
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth . . . they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham, by faith Isaac, by faith Jacob, by faith Joseph, by faith Moses' parents, by faith Moses, by faith the people passed through the Red Sea, by faith the walls of Jericho fell, by faith the prostitute Rahab . . . was not killed . . .
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
By faith, fifty years ago, a group of Christians began a congregation . . . may we continue by faith, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . .
*from Hebrews 11: 3-40 and 12: 2
God prepared the Hebrews for their departure from
Would it surprise you to know that as Christians, and for the most part Gentile Christians, we have learned the meaning of, and continue to celebrate the Passover?
This year the original Passover festival, more or less as laid out in scripture (Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23) will be celebrated for a week beginning at sunset on Friday April 18. How and why is this significant to Christians? Why, how and when do Christians continue to celebrate this festival? Come share a different kind of experience with us. Find out the answers to these questions and more.
During our worship service on Sunday, April 13, we’ll begin to explore the Christian significance of the Passover festival. Then, on the following Saturday, April 19, you are all invited to explore the full meaning of the Passover Seder - the combined service and meal associated with this holiday. If you’ve never attended a Passover celebration, this is your opportunity to learn all about it. If you have had this unique experience, this too is for you, because we’ll explore Passover from a Christian perspective.
So bring your family and join your
If we were to pick up the book of Acts and look for a theme in regards to women, we’d have a few choices. Women are mentioned either directly or indirectly over 20 times in the book of Acts. Here are a couple suggested themes:
How about the theme of suffering? (we might call this women’s sufferage;-)
There are three separate times that it mentions women who were tortured for their faith:
Acts 8:3 Saul committed women to prison,
Acts 9:2 That Saul might bring women bound to prison,
Acts 22:4 Saul/Paul testifies how he had committed women to prison before his conversion.
It’s true that they suffered but it’s not exactly a consistent “theme”.
Acts 5:1-11 When Sapphira lied for her husband and God judged her for her part.
Acts 12:13-16 Rhoda didn´t open the gate for Peter!
Acts
The problem with that one is the theme of men behaving badly is much more consistent, and the men are guilty of slightly worse offenses than “not opening gates”.
But how about a theme of Women Being Faithful?
In Acts chapter 2 Peter stands up and quotes the prophet Joel:
17" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
We see the prophet Joel’s words come true in Acts. The very first European convert is
Mark
I have noticed there is a phenomenon at play in my life that drastically affects all I do. I suspect that it may be at play in your life as well. I call it "The Bottom of My Screen Syndrome". Basically it works like this: my life seems to revolve around people contacting me via emails. (Even my telephone voice mails at one job get automatically emailed to me as Mp3's.) They pile into my in box at a terrific rate. They come in fast enough that I can't possibly reply to all of them, so I find myself sort of randomly replying to the ones that are not urgently sent from someone work-related. Therefore, as soon as the emails disappear off the bottom of my screen...they join the thousands of others down there, and they are literally out of sight, out of mind. The only encouraging thing about this is that I don't yet have a Blackberry...which has an even smaller screen and thus subjects more and more of my emails to the "bottom of my screen" reality. Ironically, as I write this bulletin article it is this reality that causes me to forget to send an article to Carrie much of the time!
Sadly, we live in a culture where this is the way we operate. Priorities are often sacrificed because they get pushed off the bottom of our screens. Whoever shouts the loudest or sends the most SPAM gets our attention. God, who does not play that game, often gets pushed so far down the screen that we never even think of him. We are too busy handling the things on our screens... regardless of whether they are all that important.
What was it that kept service to God on Paul’s screen even after he realized that the old-school-Pharisee motivation for serving God was not the main reason to serve him?
Mark
Remember the guy in the rainbow wig who used to go to all the NFL games with a John 3:16 sign? You can bet the guy was not a church of Christer because if he were and he had the chance to show the world the Bible’s most important verse, he would have selected Acts 2:38 instead.
Peter does a masterful job in this sermon. He convicts he audience of their compliance in the death of an innocent man with the logic of a prosecuting attorney and the emotion and passion of a gospel preacher. He also offers us a great outline for what we can tell others when we speak. “Change your mind, change your heart and die (be baptized)”…that’s what it means to decide to follow Christ. And those who do get the amazing gift of he Holy Spirit to guide them in their journey. At the heart of Peter’s plea seems to be this: “You have chosen against God in the past, it’s time to choose God.”
That “plan” has been called by us and others the “plan of salvation”. Peter lays it out pretty clearly and does not want anyone to miss it. (By the way, the most notable group to call it a “plan of salvation” and use that exact same phrase is the Mormons.)
This week we will look at Peter’s first sermon and what it says about him and his expectations for the church. We compare his message with Paul’s later messages in Acts which quite often seem to counter Peter’s “here is how to choose God” messages with “here is how God CHOSE me” messages. Can they both be true? And how dangerous is it to ignore one or the other?
We have spent the last several months talking about Luke and the significance of the table in Luke. We talked a lot about this "table" being a metaphor for God's intention, which is that people would be brought into fellowship with Him. As we venture into ACTS, Luke's second book, we see God’s Church emerge as the ultimate representation of that fellowship.
But the Church is about more than fellowship. Country-clubs, alumni groups and other social organizations provide great food and fellowship for people each week as well. CS Lewis reminds us that the church differs from these other organizations in that they all provide a "unity of likings". In other words, people with common interests and tastes and probably similar backgrounds and political opinions, tend to gather in social groups around the world. They "like" the same stuff and they join organizations (like golf clubs) that offer them the opportunity to hang out with people of similar likings. But more than a community of likings, the church is a community of place. People come together simply because it is THE place God calls them to be, not because they all like the same stuff or have similar backgrounds, but because it is God's institution to change them and the world around them.
Obviously there are potentially big problems for churches who deal improperly with the tendency of people to gravitate towards "likings". We see some churches that are really nothing more than a gathering of likings; everyone looks sort of the same, drives similar cars, even dress sort of alike each Sunday. Many people spend their lives church shopping, hunting for that place where they "like" everyone and everyone there likes the same sort of stuff they do. Such an environment and such an attitude produce churches that are an inch deep and a mile wide. My experience is that they are often big and slick, have great coffee bars and nifty websites. Many of their "likings" are best seen in their corporate worship expressions which are measured by a slicker-the-better mentality and judged by how entertaining they are for the masses.
I don't think railing against the "community of likings" mentality is the most useful thing I could say to our congregation at Springfield. One look around and it's pretty easy to see that we are not geared to keep that crowd. We are not all alike, not from the same social clubs or political parties or economic backgrounds. We don't put a lot of effort into making our services slick or entertaining. However, if we don't watch it we may be guilty of falling down the other side of that slippery slope. The other side is perhaps not as shallow, but if left unchecked, can be as arrogant as the other side is shallow. It's a side which I might call the "if-you-don't-like-it-lump-it" side. This side correctly says, "We are not here to entertain you!" Then, rather than admit there might be room for diversity in what people like and don't like...we draw up a list as long as your arm of Biblical reasons to justify our dislike for the community of likings crowd. This side of the coin refuses to admit that actually liking something (say a worship service or a Bible study group) is possible.
This week we will talk about how we make those decisions by looking at how the early church used to make those decisions.
Mark
Beginning in November, several ladies participated in an e-mail study group using the book Preparing My Heart for Advent.* Below are some snippets from the devotionals for December 26 through January 6. May they bless the start of your New Year:
Did you know God knows your name? He knows everything about you (see Jeremiah 1:5). He knows exactly what you need and wants to give it to you. He is the giver of all perfect gifts [James
. . . we can look forward to deepening our relationship with God, as well as living with the ultimate hope of seeing Him face to face (p. 138).
O come all ye who are faithful, come adore Jesus all year long. And in His presence may you feel His life and His light (p. 143).
Let your goals reflect your priorities: God, spouse, children, family, others . . . Just like the psalmist, ask God how you can best spend your time to gain a heart of wisdom (p. 144).
Who are you living for this year? Philippians 1: 21 reads, “For to me, to live is Christ” (p. 146).
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5: 9) . . . In this new year, keep your accounts short. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness . . . (p. 148).
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5: 11a) . . . Isn’t it awesome that we have such a powerful positive tool to use for God’s glory? Let us step out in encouragement and love (p. 150).
*Ann Marie Stewart ©2005
