Church Signs... Funny or not?

Please check out this video and then read my response. I'm interested in having some conversation about my concerns.



The Funniest Church Signs!!!! from churchsignslol on GodTube.


I enjoyed some of these. But I wonder if I'm SUPPOSED to be enjoying them. (Not that there's something wrong with my enjoyment, but rather shouldn't the public sign of a Christians church offer hope and invite the non-Christian into relationship with HIM? Signs that only a Christian insider can understand are probably lost on the ones we say we're trying to reach? And signs like "God doesn't believe in Atheists" and to the "dyslexic atheist" seem to be a deliberate snub or mocking of the atheist. And I was appalled to see a United Methodist Church sign mocking victims of natural disasters and blaming them on God. How does that do to help them receive the REAL message of Christ?

Babies crying during the sermon: A response

Earlier today, I ran across a blog post by Jon Acuff regarding babies crying during the sermon. The link is here.
Babies crying during the sermon. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff
I was so disturbed, I actually left a comment. (Not something I would normally do, by the way.)

This is what I wrote:

The gospels DO seem to record that some parents took kids with them when they went to listen to Jesus. And when Jesus recognized that there were adults (disciples) who were trying to keep them out of the way, Jesus SCOLDED them!
As a pastor, I LOVE that there are kids in church. The church I'm in right now does have a kids church about 1/2 way through the service, but not everyone sends their kids. And yes, there has been a crying baby a time or two. And my response is always "I believe the church assembled NEEDS to be able to hear the sounds of life! It is a pity to have a church that cannot hear them!'
If the message we are sharing is really all that important to real life, then that message better be able to withstand normal sounds of life. Including a baby crying.

Now that my blood is boiling, I'd like to know what some others do and what you thought after reading his blog posting.

Do You Want To Get Well?

This morning I picked up the Freedom in Christ Bible as I sat down to spend some quiet time with the Lord. When I went to open it, I stumbled upon Jesus' question to the disabled man at the pool of Bethesda: "Do you want to get well?"

That verse comes from the passage in John's gospel where Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for a Jewish feast and Jesus saw this man lying there and learned that he had been lying there for the past 38 years. (John 5:1-15) In response to Jesus' question, he never did say "yes" or "no." Rather, he gave an excuse why he could not get to the healing pool in those rare moments when it had been "stirred" by an angel, and thus be healed.

In the devotional on the next page, titled: "Do you want to get well?" the author says:
"People who cannot be helped fall into three categories."

1. "people who will not acknowledge they have a problem..."
2. "people who know they are in trouble but their pride won't let them ask for the help they need."
3. "people who really don't want to get well."

The first group reminds me of passages throughout the Bible which refer to forgiveness starting with a confession of sin... and then God can forgive. Even Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs, have long taught that step one of recovery is to admit you have a problem. To not do so, is to live in denial. 

Much of the weight I carry continues to be with me, because I, through many years, have denied I really had a weight problem. Until I acknowledged (and confessed) that I had a weight problem, I could not be helped.

The second group reminds me of Scriptural passages like "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov. 16:18) A lot of people (especially us men), who are obviously suffering with an ailment or injury are like that. They know they're sick or injured, and yet cannot bring themselves to go see a doctor. there's a heart attitude there that says 'I can take care of this all by myself... I am all sufficient to meet my own needs.' In truth, however, we can never meet all of our own needs. To refuse to look to others for help, we essentially make ourselves into a substitute god. After all, only God is "all sufficient." 

When I was 11, I lived this out as well. I decided to go sled riding on a late Saturday morning after cartoons at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Walking up the hill across the road from their place, I walked up beside the tractor path that we all rode on coming down the hill. I crunched my way up the hill. At the top of the hill you slid down and turned into the field off to the right of the tractor path.

It had been icy and snowy the night before and, unbeknownst to me, the tractor path was a sheet of ice with a little bit of snow cover over the ice. On to the sled I went and raced toward the turn off below. I turned the sled at the appropriate time and at the appropriate place, but the sled just kept going... the ice prevented the sled from being able to turn off the path.

Now, my grandparents lived one farm short of being at the top of a hollow on a dirt road in Potter County. I quickly looked ahead and to the sides and saw there were no cars coming. There seldom were any cars. So, in my 11 year old thinking I thought: 'oh well, the road is cindered, that will stop me.' It didn't.

So I found myself in the yard plunging forward rapidly. So, in my 11 year old thinking, I thought: 'OK, I'll just turn the sled to the left and have all of that big yard to slide to a stop in.' The sled (for the same reasons noted above) would not turn and I slammed into the cement porch of their house.  My grandfather, upstairs in the house and not the side near the porch, heard the thud and came to investigate. what he found was me unable to catch my breath, bleeding profusely from where my front teeth had been sheered off and cutting through my lower lip, and me holding my back because of the pain. (Years later, I would have to have surgery on my lip where teeth fragments had been lodged and eventually blocked off a salivary gland. Likewise, my back continues to hurt often decades later.) 

Looking back, I recognize that while I could have easily rolled off the sled long before the proch, I didn't because i was convinced that I was actually in control. I could turn that sled, get stopped by the road, or turn the sled into the yard. I thought I was completely able and sufficient to care for myself. I was not. I continue to pay for my 11 year old pride. I wish I could say I don't find myself in similar situations any more, but that would not be honest.

That third group, those who really do not want to get better, is where this paralyzed man is. All he has in response to Jesus' question about wanting to get well is an excuse. And I think it's pretty significant that the gospel clarifies that he had been in this situation for 38 years! Just lying there and begging for food or money or clothing is natural now. That was this man's source of income and way of life.

Despite this, Jesus decides to heal the man. "To show his gratitude, the man turned Jesus in to the authorities for healing him on the Sabbath."

The devotional goes on with a challenge for all of us who find ourselves in a place where we need healing or another chance in life. "If we really want to get well, we will make whatever commitment is necessary to overcome our infirmities or live productive lives through them. We won't get mad at God or blame anybody else. We will choose to believe that we are overcomers in Christ and that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength."

"We will do whatever it takes to become the person God created us to be because Jesus did what it took for us to be alive and free in Him."

Denial, pride, or an attitude of not wanting to change a way of life; these are all signs of one who cannot be helped except by a Sovereign God.

O God, I personally have had times in all three of these categories. Times when I couldn't believe I had a problem and so denied it. Times when I knew something was amiss, yet thought I could "take care of things" on my own. Times when i was so comfortable with the way things were in the status quo, that I couldn't bring myself to face the uncertainty that change might bring and so opted to stay longer in whatever situation I found myself. Forgive me. Clarify my thinking. Help me to see my own life as you do. And when I need your healing in my mind, in my heart, in my body, help me to quickly recognize when I'm in denial, feeling self-sufficient, or becoming too comfortable in the status quo. AMEN!

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Freedom in Christ Bible, Neil T. Anderson, general editor (Zondervan: 2001) pp. 1204-1205.

What is the Church?

These are my notes for Sunday, July 7th's sermon at the Clarks Mills United Methodist Church (Clarks Mills, PA).

Please understand these are SPEAKING notes, which means they have commas, elipses, spacing, italics, and bold print to help me, the speaker, to remember to pause or emphasize certain areas. NO attempt has been made to properly punctuate or to use rules for proper grammar. 

ALSO, I refer to God in accordance with the rules of English which speak of masculine pronouns being used to denote masculine objects or objects which have no gender. (It is the same reason I use the Spanish la (the) with casa (house)... not that "the house" is a feminine object, but rather because that's what the rules of Spanish specify.) I do NOT believe God is a man or male in substance, any more than I believe a house is feminine, even in Spanish.)

SERMON: “What is the Church?”


There is a story about a new pastor who is just out of seminary at his very first church.
First week…preaches about helping the poor and reaching out to the needy…


PEOPLE'S RESPONSE?     “GREAT sermon…”


2nd week… again, a great sermon… but it’s word for word the same thing as week one…


3rd week…SAME sermon again…


Emergency board meeting is called to address this problem!


When asked, the pastor’s response: I didn’t want to move on until we had done the stuff from the first sermon… Wanted to wait until people “got it” & “did it”


OBVIOUSLY, the pastor and the people had different ideas about what the church was supposed to be about…

The people wanted a nice “presentation” each week… The pastor wanted to see people reach out. Nobody had moved from their seats… the gospel didn’t really affect them…

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

One of the ongoing struggles between pastors and their people, between different denominations of churches, between the theologians and seminarians alike, is how exactly do you define “church.”

IN SOME PLACES, THE CHURCH IS SET APART BY A FAMOUS DEFINITION THAT SAYS THE CHURCH IS WHERE YOU GO TO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS… That’s pretty much the definition you hear from the I.R.S. as well… a “real” church has the administration of the sacraments and a “real” pastor is one who has those “sacerdotal” duties… he or she administers the sacraments. If that’s it, then why do we have YF groups and PrimeTimers or daycare or United Methodist Women or missions? And why bother with sermons and music? Just come and receive the sacraments…

And the church would never be outside these walls around us.

Thank God, there’s more to the church than just the sacramental duties… Those things happen, but it’s not the whole reason we’re here.

IN SOME PLACES, THE CHURCH HAS BECOME A SOCIAL GROUP… You go to church because that’s where you meet some good people that are fairly trustworthy and would make good friends… or future spouses… or potential customers for your business.

In reality, that’s not so much “church” but rather a group like the “Rotary” or the “Grange” or the “Lions Club” or any number of other very good, very respectable organizations organized for good friendships and community service…

Thank God, there’s more to the church than just friendships and community service projects… Those things happen, but it’s not the whole reason we’re here.

IN SOME PLACES, THE CHURCH SEEMS LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN A ‘PROPER GENTLEMEN’S CLUB’ … the members of their group felt like they were “above” those who weren’t members… you had to have the right credentials and the right skin color and the right status to become a member… and if you were a member of the right club then you were really something…. Prestige, honor, respect… and power… were yours…

In some places, it seems the church has become like that… If you belong to OUR church then you’re REALLY going to Heaven… If you are baptized the right way or do communion the way we like it, then you’re on your way…. If you line up with our doctrines in the right way and If you say the right prayer with all of the right words in the right order, and know exactly when to stand up or sit down, then you’re one of us…

…AND IF YOU DON’T, then you’re obviously going to Hell… and it serves you right!

Thank God, there’s more to the church than just doctrines and beliefs and prayers… Those things happen, but it’s not the whole reason we’re here.

IN SOME PLACES, THE CHURCH IS DISTINGUISHED BY WHETHER OR NOT THEY WORSHIP IN THE RIGHT WAY… Do you sing the old songs or new songs… (and the “old songs” might be hymns or for others the “old songs” are more like Gregorian chants out of the Middle Ages… and “new songs” might mean choruses written last week or a 500 year old hymn like “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”) Do we have the right rituals? DO we do things in the right order? Do we use the right version of the Bible…

Is worship led by the right people… maybe it’s led by a liturgist, or the organist, or the pianist, or a worship team, or maybe even the preacher himself…

But in that kind of church, it had better be done right!

Thank God, there’s more to the church than just pleasing people with our rituals and music… Those things happen, but it’s not the whole reason we’re here.

I’D LIKE YOU TO TURN WITH ME TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW to the record of one of Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees… and I believe we’ll see one of the main reasons we’re here as a church… Listen and see if you can spot Jesus’ example for the church in this passage… FROM Matthew 9:9-13...

SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 9: 9-13
Now understand, it’s the Pharisees that really get rankled by Jesus when he doesn’t do things the way they think they should be done… They spend their time at the synagogue, and later the Temple, watching to see what He’s going to do wrong next… They’re watching for mistakes… They’re focusing on form alone… and they find exactly what they’re looking for… Because Jesus couldn’t care less about the form of their worship… Or their rules… Because Jesus is concerned about the relationship with God the Father. That’s supposed to be the focus of worship… Experiencing God… connecting with Him as we praise HIM… and as we pray to Him… as we meet with Him and turn our thoughts to Him.

And if someone comes into worship with a need… spiritually or emotionally or even physically, then as they connect with God the Healer, Jesus sees it as perfectly acceptable to heal them…

And if they show up and have made a mess of their lives and are broken hearted or have had lives full of sin, then Jesus welcomes them into his presence… Because that’s his specialty… He is known as one who hangs out with sinners…

Jesus’ answer to those Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day, when they accused Him of eating and drinking with sinners is one of my favorite Biblical images of the church. The writer of Mark tells of Jesus’ answer this way: His answer simply was: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

I used to be an orderly in the Olean General Hospital and worked a few months between terms of school at the St. Vincent Health Center in Erie. When I get to this passage here in Matthew, and the corresponding spots in Mark 2 and Luke 5, the questions and concerns about “what is the church?“ start to fade away… BECAUSE THE CHURCH, AT LEAST IN PART, IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE A HOSPITAL!

In a hospital, there are supposed to be sick people and they are tended for by nursing staff and doctors who are subject to the very same maladies and destructive habits as the patients… and yet the sick can still go to a hospital to find healing and hope.

In a hospital, often the healing doesn’t come about in the same way the patient expected it to at their arrival, and sometimes, some people never are completely healed.

The church is like that….

The church is supposed to be a place to meet the Healer…. The one we call the Great Physician…. And those of us who man the stations and work the desk, are like those doctors and nursing staff at the hospital… we DON’T know everything that will cure or help and we may fall into the very same sins and addictions that you have come here to seek healing for… But together, like at the hospital, we the ones who are experiencing healing can help reach out to those who still need healing.

And that healing might come in the least expected ways, through some of the least expected people… but in the church… there’s hope for healing!

If the church is like a hospital, then we are called to be both a welcoming community and a healing community. We cannot help heal, if those in need of healing don’t feel welcomed to come in.

As a pastor, like a doctor in the hospital, I see my task to be to help the “patient” recognize the extent of their illness or injury and how they might begin to be healed. And just like in a hospital, I can help to facilitate that healing, but it will be God and the sick person that actually do the healing.

A COUPLE OF OTHER SIMILARITIES JUMP OUT AT ME AS WELL… You see, in order to be treated in a hospital, a patient has to actually physically show up at the hospital. ALSO, the patient has to actually recognize and admit that they really are sick or wounded and in need of healing.

A patient healing in the hospital also has to allow, and participate with, the life sustaining and restoring remedies doled out by the physicians and therapists.

In short, the one in need of healing must be willing to be healed.

Without that initial desire to be healed, to be made whole, no healing can happen, no matter how open and welcoming the hospital is.

I find the same to be true in the church. The church has opened its doors and welcomed all to come in.

For the one who suffers because of their own sin, repentance and a willingness to change will be the starting point for healing.

For one who has suffered a woundedness through the sins of others, the healing process will be more complicated, yet still possible, as issues of justice and forgiveness are sorted out and resolved.

Either way, healing can be painful, and still requires a willing participation by the ‘patient.’ But without a recognition of the need for healing and a willingness to participate in the healing process, there is little the church really has to offer that one.

That doesn’t limit anyone’s coming to the church, any more than not admitting illness or injury block’s one from visiting a hospital. There just simply is no way for the hospital to treat a visitor with its healing remedies, because the hospital visitor doesn’t allow themselves to become a patient.

To be healed, requires participation, not visitation or spectatorship.

Likewise, in order to receive all that the church has to offer, we must participate, in the remedies of repentance and forgiveness, (Ps. 51: 16-17).

As a pastor then, like that doctor, I must recognize that sin is a reality and not turn a blind eye when I am aware of sin, whether it is done by, or to, one of the “patients” or in our case, one of the parishioners.

Now understand, there’s a stark warning goes hand in hand with this view though: if you do not like being around people who are sick or wounded, then you really should never plan on going to a hospital for any reason... or to a church for that matter.

For these are places where the ill and injured are not only welcome, but they are the very ones who are expected.

The very existence of the church, like the hospital, is designed for the weak to become strong, the wounded to become well, and the sick to be restored.

Hospitals are not associations of whole people trying to keep from being injured, weak, or sick, although there are ways the hospital can help facilitate those very activities after healing has begun.

In the same way, the church is not designed to be a place where “good people” avoid sin, sickness, and woundedness, although once healing has begun, the church can assist each other in remaining free from inflicting or receiving the negative effects caused by sin.

But rather, a hospital, and a church, are both designed as places where sick people go.

A further comparison is possible between the church and a hospital. In a hospital, because virtually all are there have something wrong with them, it is almost always a place where you can accidentally be infected with someone else’s sickness, and where the wounded become even more susceptible to developing illness along with their injury.

Staff and patients alike must be on guard against the further transmission of disease. The church as well, being filled with sinners, runs the risk of “rubbing off on someone else” with their particular sinful tendency, thus creating more sickness, hurt, or injury from within the very midst of the healing community we call the Church.

So what does that mean for us today?

It means that we have to be very intentional about our ministry… Our focus can never be just about details of worship services or particular programs… Our focus must always be experiencing God ourselves and helping others come to that place too… For that, my friends, is a place of healing.

It also means that church is “messy” sometimes…. Things don’t go as planned… just ask an emergency room nurse about how often things go as planned in an E.R… but by their very flexibility to help each person wherever they are, in whatever situation they are in, they are agents of healing…

Can we as the church, be that flexible? Can we meet people where they are… or must they line up with the way we want to do things? Can they come “Just as I am” like we’re always singing?

Ultimately, there is more to the church than just being like a hospital, but one of our traditions I’m told is to not have three hour worship services… so this is enough for this day. But on and off, as the Holy Spirit leads, we’ll be talking throughout this next year about God’s leading and God’s expectations for us as a church… and for every church. I haven’t been here long enough to know what does and doesn’t apply to us yet, so be assured I’m not throwing darts at anyone…

But it just seems fair from the very beginning of our time together that you know and understand that part of the vision and burden that the Lord’s placed in my heart, is to see the church as a place of healing where people are accepted and where all can encounter this Healing God we serve.

For that is WHAT the church is… people worshipping God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And as we do that, we will also find healing.

How do we make sure people see us as a place to find healing… rather than just a place to play softball or eat great food or to take care of kids?

How can we reach out and make everyone feel welcome here?

I believe it is by doing all of those other things WITH A HEART OF DRAWING PEOPLE INTO THE CHURCH ASSEMBLED SO THEY TOO CAN FIND THE HEALER.

Jesus offered healing… and people who needed healing came to him because they knew him… and people who needed healing knew him because he hung out with those people… And hanging out with Jesus as one of his followers was like being in a hospital emergency room… never predictable, never boring, always surrounded by the injured and the sick… the really, really sick…

And that’s what I believe we the church are to do in order to really be the church.

And that’s not just a preacher thing… any more than a hospital is just about one doctor… Rather, we all together, open our hearts, and our minds, and our doors to those who need Jesus… and in so doing we find ourselves welcoming those who need help and there’s room there for you and me as well in that group isn’t there?

WHAT is the church?

The church is a lot like a hospital!

Civil War, Ku Klux Klan, and anonymity

      In the aftermath of the Civil War, there were some in the south who felt powerless because they had lost and their desired way of life was no longer available to them (i.e. owning slaves and getting to act like the GOD over those slaves). When they lost that, they resorted to going out at night, hiding their identity with white hoods and sheets, and trying to bully the ones they used to be able to intimidate as slaves. They started intimidating and bullying their own neighbors when the neighbor did something to irk them. And people never talked about those things because you never knew who was, or wasn't, a member of the Ku Klux Klan organization. They just kept the town secrets to themselves for fear that they would be the next one on the receiving end of the intimidation.

     Nowadays, as far as I know, it's not the KKK that does the bullying. Even in the church, there are the "anonymous" letter writers who hide their identity in order to bully others. And most of the time, the letter recipient is so devastated that they never tell others and so nothing ever changes. And the church of Jesus loses another person that Christ himself died for.

     A friend of mine recently got two anonymous letters telling her what to do and what not to do, even going as far as telling my friend she could no longer attend her church. The authors of these letters apparently are ticked off about something that happened (or didn't happen) and feel they "just have to" take action to set things right. And so they hid their identity by calling themselves a "Concerned Parish member" and a "regular [church] attendee."

     As a pastor, I've received my share of anonymous letters. And they're worthless! There's a reason that newspapers specify that they will not print letters to the editor that aren't signed. Because if there is something important that needs to happen, people will own up to the idea or the critique and help DO SOMETHING about whatever problem there is. Those who are just ticked off because they don't get their own way, and know they'd be wrong if they openly confronted someone about their concern, try to be anonymous. Folks, if your beef isn't worth YOUR name and YOUR time being associated with it, then it's not worth our time and attention either.

     JESUS taught us, in Matthew 18:15-17, that if we have a problem with someone else WE are to GO TO that person that offended or hurt us... alone and in person. That way, you can hopefully get things worked out and a friendship is maintained. If that person doesn't respond by making things right, then you get a couple of other people to go with you next time. In my religious tradition, that quite often is either the pastor or the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC). If the person STILL doesn't make things right, then you treat her or him like you would a common sinner.

     HOWEVER, if YOU remember that YOU are the one who has hurt someone else by your words or your actions, then Jesus explained in Matthew 5: 23-24 that it is up to you to go approach the one you hurt to try to make things right. That doesn't mean they forgive you (some will, some won't), but you must do your best to make it right if you want God to bless what you do.

     As Christians, we ARE in a Civil War today. Those who ought to be subjects of the Almighty King (Satan & his demons) have rebelled and refuse to bow their knee to their rightful King and Lord. Furthermore, when Jesus died on the cross, and then was raised from the dead, he defeated Satan completely. JESUS WON THAT WAR!!!

     However, in the same way that the KKK was unwilling to admit defeat and tried to intimidate those who had been made free, so it is with the devil and his hordes of followers. When we are following what Christ taught us, we are dangerous to them and we become targets for the evil tactics of a frustrated, defeated enemy. Since Satan cannot get at God, he sends his remaining demons to try and make life so difficult for the believers that maybe, just maybe, he can get us to give up on church and on God.

     OH, by the way, there is one more concern to take into account for those who would jab and fight from under the cover of anonymity: you are NOT anonymous to God. He sees what you do and knows the evil you intend, whether you burn crosses or send unsigned nasty letters.

     FOR THOSE OF US who know someone who's been on the receiving end of a bully's evil efforts, there are a couple things we can do.

     First, PRAY! Pray that God would cover the letter recipient with his love and comfort and grant them the courage and peace they will need to be able to deal with such evil.

     Second, find a way to let that person know how much they ARE loved and how little that bully speaks for the group. Talk, listen, spend time with him or her. (And facebook, twitter, and my space don't count! The one you are trying to encourage needs to be able to hear the empathy and love as you are with them... online doesn't allow that and even great thoughts can seem hurtful at times).

     Third, don't just react to them. I mean, they need to feel loved and connected, but if you and I just get MORE offended and take his (or her) problem on as our own, then we can't help as much. Usually, it ends up sounding like a gripe session where EVIL is the only topic of discussion and the God of love is left out. (Again, that's another reason to avoid the online treatment of such an important matter.)

     GOD knows who is a bully and a coward trying to destroy one of his loved ones. Let's make sure that can NEVER be said about us.

Best Birthday Gift-The Gift of Presence

Today, in my genealogical blog, Mixed Genes, I highlighted a landmark from the past; namely, the Haynes' Store in Sharon Center, PA. As I wrote the little bit of narrative to accompany the pic, I found myself reliving Halloweens when we would go to Grandpa and Grandma Haynes' place, attached to their store. Halloween meant receiving a handful (or two) of penny candy from the store, or after they had sold the store and moved into a trailer on my Grandpa Mix's farm, it would be Chicken-in-a-Biskit crackers.

Grandma Haynes (Laura Vivien Meacham, but always called Vivien) taught me how to do a game from her childhood in the 1890's; cat's cradle. She also taught me how to play the card game FLINCH. She helped inspire me to get involved in genealogy, when she would tell me stories about her parents and grandparents. I especially liked the story of how her grandmother, Nancy Ann (Foy) Meacham came over to America from Ireland on a ship and all that she had to do. (You can read more about Nancy Ann Foy here).

HOWEVER, my favorite memory of all is when I turned 8 years old in 1970. It was the first birthday party that I remember having and I believe the first one ever where I could invite someone other than close relatives.

This picture of me, excited as all get out, surrounded by my great-grandpa and great-grandma. Looking at the photo now, I STILL can feel the excitement and joy of that day. I'm sure they gave me a gift to unwrap, but it is their presence I remember, not the presents.

And I remember that one of the names prophesied about Jesus was that he would be called "Emmanuel;" which literally means "God is with us." I think that's why my favorite saying from Jesus is " I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). He gives us the gift of presence!

OK, so this day has been a serious walk through memory lane. But it's memories like this that help me remember the extreme importance of being there to witness my son in a first grade Christmas play where he just says two lines of about 15 words. And going to Little League practices, and on and on and on. It's simply the gift of being present that makes the difference. A shared memory. A present of time.

And now, I have a grandson who just turned two just last week. He calls me "Poppop." His mom, my daughter, is very conscientious and attentive, for which I'm thankful. My wife and I had that role when she was in our home. But now, like my grandparents and great-grandparents did with me, I'm the grandpa, and one of my roles is to be a giver of gifts, like my grandparents and great-grandparents were for me.

And the very best gift I can give is the present of presence.

AND... by the way, I AM present in this picture behind the camera.

Prodigal Sons

This is a sermon I've preached, building on the text of Luke 15:11-32.

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"THE PRODIGAL SONS"

Scripture Text: Luke 15:11-32

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Our Scripture passage this morning is one of those Bible stories that even non-Christians have probably heard of. The Prodigal Son. Turn with me if you will to Luke chapter 15. We hear Jesus telling parables, nice everyday stories that the everyday person can relate to, yet revealing Godly lessons. This time, like so often is the case, Jesus has a crowd gathered around him; there are his disciples, there are a group of Pharisees trying to catch him in a twist of the tongue, and then there are hundreds of confused, spiritually hungry normal, everyday people-- all listening intently to Jesus.


He tells a story of a lost sheep, one of 99, that gets lost in the wilderness, and how the shepherd leaves the rest in their safe pen and goes and finds the lost one, and brings it home, and then Jesus tells of the rejoicing that follows.


He then tells of a lost coin that is desparately searched for and found, and the rejoicing that follows.


And He tells of the prodigal son. Let's look at Luke 15, starting at verse eleven (New Living Translation).



11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.


13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.


17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’


20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’


22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.


25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’


28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’


31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

This parable of the prodigal son shows the nature of repentance and the Lord's readiness to welcome and bless all who return to him.


In so many ways, this is the perfect story of God accepting us back as sinners. But I want to challenge that idea just a little bit. While the acceptance and love of sinners is certainly a part of the meaning, I believe there's a message there for us as Christians. For those of us that the Bible calls "the adopted sons of God." You see, the way I read this story there were two sons. This is not a story of one good son and someone from the muck and mire of the streets that joins the family. At the very beginning, they were both sons. And I believe the problems and choices involved in this prodigal face us today.


This prodigal, as a son, while enjoying the benefits of being in the family, becomes restless. He finds the rules and rigors of being in the family too constraining, and wants his freedom. He wants the "fun" that he has never experienced. He longs to move from being just a son to being master on his own. Like the angel Lucifer before the creation of the world, he longs to stop serving and become his own master. A restlessness of this nature is the first step in becoming a prodigal.


In verse 12 we see the younger one say to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' He demands his gifts from the father, his inheritance, as if it were owed to him, even though estates and inheritances are not ours until later. They are not ours to demand on the spot when the will happens to hit us. How many times do we see Christians approach the Heavenly Father in the same way. God becomes like a giant vending machine. All you have to do is claim the thing and believe it will be given to you and, lo and behold, you unloose heaven's gates and presto, you will receive. I submit to you, this kind of attitude is an attitude of a developing prodigal. There is danger of falling away.


Then of course, we read in verse 13, "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living." The Scriptures let us know that time passed where he was in possession of all that was "his" yet still living as a member of the family. But, having all that we want, coupled with the attitudes of "I want to be my own master" and the attitude of "God owes me" makes it nearly impossible to stay in the family long. And the rest is downhill.


How many times do we see Christians, and even ministers, be blessed of God and exalted to high places, only to read about them on the front page later, exposing their wild living? How many times do our career minded Christians go from a heart desiring God, to being blessed and exalted in their career, and then those Christians are absent from the church for decades, and unfortunately, separated from God as well?


However, the other son, the older one, has a prodigal attitude as well, and ends the story as a prodigal, although he didn't think so I'm sure. Look at his part of this parable again.


Luke 15:25-28a (NLT)
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in.






Listen to him arguing with his father as to why he will not go into his family.


In verse 29.we read, "Look! All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused a single thing you told me to." First, he boasts of his own virtue and obediance. His brother had started with a heart attitude of wanting to be his own master, this son starts with a heart attitude of "I've already done all that I need to do, I'm already good!"


The older son then begins complaining. Look at verse 29 again:
"but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends."

He reveals how far his heart is from the family already in his complaint. He laments that he never got a goat for a party with his friends. A goat would be a very small token of the father's love, yet it is what this son longs more than a fatted calf, because he doesn't want to party with his family, he wants to party with his friends.

And then, in verse 30 we read:

"... when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!"

He looks down his self-righteous little nose and tries to set the younger son in as negative a light as possible. He had no way of knowing what the younger son had done with all his money. He hadn't even known that he was home, let alone to hear his stories about what had happened. But he was willing to spread the filth anyways, in order to appear more righteous. And he doesn't even acknowledge the younger one as his brother. He refers to him as "this son of yours."


How many times do we Christians look down on the prodigals in our midst? We see that God the Father has welcomed them home and renewed their position in the family, yet we refuse to call them "brother"...first, only in our hearts, but then, out loud, and even to the Father's face. And we go out of our way to make sure that others see them in the worst possible light. What arrogance!


Well, the father's dealing with each son is similar. He goes out and meets them before they reach the house. He shows his acceptance and willingness to include each, but only one son will bow his heart enough to allow the father to do so. And when the story ends, the younger son, who had sinned deplorably, is included inside the house, in the party, amongst the family. And the older son, the "righteous" one, yet the one who had never dealt with the brother or the family in truth, is on the outside, turning his back on all that he had known. And not even the father cannot even convince him to rejoin the family.


As Christians, as "sons", we need to see the message of this parable. For we need to remember that even as members of the father's family, we are all still sinners. There were two boys. Of the two, the wayward prodigal is by far the most likable, the most attractive, the most honest and open. Both were equally lost--the prodigal amongst the pigs and the other in his pew. The father loved them both. Yet they each chose their own way of responding. But where were they at the end of the story?We overlook it quite often, but there is as much prodigal son in him as his little brother.

Whose Job Is It Anyway?

WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAY?"

Reflecting on John 13:3-17

When I was still attending my home church, Shinglehouse UMC, back in the mid ‘90s, the bulletin each week listed the following leaders of the church:

Pastor: Rev. Randy Headley
Organist: Barb Wheeler
Ministers: All The People

Did you catch that? ALL THE PEOPLE are ministers!

It reminds me of the Scripture in Matthew 25 where Jesus tells the story of the sheep & the goats and how doing things like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick & those in prison, are all ways of showing love to Jesus himself. His words there are "because you've done these things for the least of these my children, you've done them for me..."

Our little church had captured that! The Pastor is in a church as a servant, and an administrator, and as a preacher, but most of the ministry of the church actually comes from the lay people who sit in the pews each and every Sunday. The ministry of the church comes primarily through them!

Well, what Jesus told in story form in the end of Matthew, he retells the night before his death, in very easy to understand, hard to miss terms by simply using an example.

John 13 (NLT) words it thusly: 4 So [Jesus] got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.


12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.


Even though the apostle John spends several more chapters on what Jesus did that final night, and what he taught, this teaching on service is the final night before his crucifixion. He wanted the disciples to remember these things, because they are some of the most important aspects of following Christ: the whole idea of service.

And Jesus goes about it in a way that they cannot forget. He, the leader, the master, the teacher, the KING, starts acting like one of the lowest of slaves... He gets down and washes their feet. He serves them.

Verse 4 says "so he got up from the table..." Later in verse 26, he is back sitting at the table and dipping the bread. ‘So what?’ you might ask... ‘What you getting at preacher?’

Just this… Jesus shows us here that service sometimes is inconvenient... maybe even in the middle of a meal. Yet, by his own example, we see that even a meal, the very meal that was to become the most famous meal in all of history, The Last Supper, even a meal is no excuse to keep us from serving others.

In my life, it was my grandmother who showed this behavior best. I'm thinking of the big Sunday dinners, or for that matter the everyday evening meals, where most of the way through the meal she is up & down, back & forth, making sure there were enough potatoes or meat or beverage or vegetable or whatever... but if she saw that one of us needed something, especially my grandpa, she would drop her fork, with food still on it, and get up to go get whatever was needed. Then she would return to her meal and the food on her plate.

Jesus does that here. Even though it's the middle of the meal, he stops eating and takes off his outside coat, rolls his sleeves up (so to speak), grabs a towel, and starts washing the disciples’ feet.

Sometimes service as a disciple of Jesus Christ will be equally inconvenient, yet still necessary. Yet how many times do we say, ‘Wait a few moments, or a few days, and then I'll be able to help?’

Notice also that Jesus also washes Judas Iscariot's feet. They all sit down to the meal and are eating, when Jesus gets up and washes the feet of the disciples. Then he goes back to the meal and tells everyone that the one who will betray him is the one he gives the bread to. In fact, Scripture even records Jesus talking to Judas after the meal. There is no question about it... Judas was there when we are told that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.

How many times do we say we want to serve Christ, but then when he deliberately puts us in a place where we need to serve him by serving others, we refuse to serve some just because they've been mean to us or hurt us in some way? We are more likely to say something like “If that's the way she's going to be, then see if I ever try to help her again!” Yet here is Jesus, who already knows what Judas is up to and what he's about to do, and still he is shown the love of Jesus like every other disciple.

And lest we think that this is just a message for just the “church leaders on how to serve their church and their God, look again at verses 12-17.

ANY of us who call ourselves followers of Christ are his disciples and are called to serve him and follow his example. We are to be involved in service... through the local church and as individuals. It reminds me of the story I once read about “Who's Job Is It?”

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT FOUR PEOPLE NAMED EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, AND NOBODY. THERE WAS AN IMPORTANT JOB TO BE DONE AND EVERYBODY WAS SURE SOMEBODY WOULD DO IT. ANYBODY COULD HAVE DONE IT, BUT NOBODY DID IT. SOMEBODY GOT ANGRY ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE IT WAS EVERYBODY’S JOB. EVERYBODY THOUGHT ANYBODY COULD DO IT BUT NOBODY REALIZED THAT EVERYBODY WOULDN'T DO IT. IT ENDED UP THAT EVERYBODY BLAMED SOMEBODY WHEN NOBODY DID WHAT ANYBODY COULD HAVE DONE. (author unknown)

We are to be involved in service... through the local church and as individuals. We are called, like Jesus said in verse 17: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

Jesus is our example here. We are to serve, we are to serve even if it's inconvenient, and we are to serve even those whom we don't like or who hurt us. But how we serve speaks of how we love our Lord.

We may gather on Sundays to worship God, but our service is how we work together and individually for the kingdom of God.

The Rest of the Story

My notes from my Sunday sermons at Reynoldsville: First UMC yesterday.

First Scripture Reading: Mark 1:4-11

Second Scripture Reading: Acts 19:1-7

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This morning, we look at a short passage from the book of Acts, where Luke has recorded details impressed upon him as important by the Holy Spirit of God, as he follows the ministry of Paul and the early church. But it’s part of a bigger story…
In the chapter before this, Paul has been on an extended tour, preaching and teaching about how to faithfully live life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul’s travels, in that one chapter alone included stops in Athens, Corinth, Syria, Ephesus, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, and Phrygia… and the Bible says that he “held discussions” (18:4,19), and he was “preaching the message” and “testifying” (18:5), “teaching” (18:11), “greeted the church” (18:22), and “strengthening all the believers” (18:23).
And we know that this took a while, first of all because there were no turnpikes… or airports… or taxis, but also because we know that he spent at least a year and a half in one spot alone, Corinth (18:11).
And in our text this morning, he’s at it again and ends up back in the city of Ephesus, where he had stopped briefly in his last set of travels (18:19-21).
And the first thing Luke tells us… is that Paul gets there to Ephesus… “while Apollos was in Corinth…”
OK… so who’s Apollos… and why do we care that he’s in Corinth when Paul gets to Ephesus?
Well, at the end of the chapter before this, in verse 24, we find that Apollos was a Jew who was “eloquent” when he spoke and had a “thorough knowledge” of the Scriptures.
Verse 25 of chapter 18 then lets us know that he had received instruction in “the Way of the Lord” and was able to teach others the facts about Jesus… correctly in fact.
In fact, he ends up teaching and preaching in Ephesus, where Paul had stopped back in verses 19, 20, and 21, but where Paul had not been able to stay long enough to do any long term explanations or teaching or discipleship.
And here comes Apollos, filling in the gap… teaching what he knows… and doing it really well.
But, the Bible goes on to say that Apollos “knew only the baptism of John.” (18:25)
And then here we are now in chapter 19 with Paul encountering Christians from that very same Ephesus and he finds that they “haven’t heard” that there even was a Holy Spirit, let alone received the Holy Spirit.
They, like Apollos before them, had only received a piece of the story… and had followed the form of what they thought was good religious practice… they were baptized in the way that John the Baptist had done… a baptism of repentance.
Folks, without stepping too deeply into the deep waters of baptismal theology, I think there are a couple of things God might be saying through these verses for you and me as we minister here in this place.
First of all, we, like Apollos and the Ephesian Christians Paul encounters, may have all of the instruction and training about Jesus and still be missing a major piece of the life of a Christian disciple.
The head knowledge about Jesus is good, and it’s a great place to start… that’s why we spend so much time and effort and money in having Sunday Schools… We want our children (and even us as adults) to have the godly, Christ-centered head knowledge to make informed and godly decisions… about salvation, about discipleship, about living in the midst of the world as an ambassador for Christ…
But that’s can’t be where it ends… Like Apollos, it’s not enough to simply be knowledgeable, or even eloquent and convincing…
Luke spends several verses, over the course of two chapters, explaining the difference and the incompleteness of Apollos and these Ephesian Christians who only had the baptism of John… Their baptism was simply a response on their part to symbolize their own repentance… And twice, Scripture emphasizes that that simply isn’t enough…
Christian baptism isn’t just a symbolic representation of your repentance or mine… that became clear when Jesus insisted on John baptizing him… Jesus had nothing to repent of… and John knew it… If you remember, John didn’t want to baptize Jesus and said ‘no Lord, I need you to baptize me…’ Because in John’s mind, baptism was a matter of repentance.
But, as would be the case so often in Christ’s ministry, Jesus turned John’s whole idea of baptism on its head… It could no longer be just about repentance. Jesus refused to baptize John in a baptism of repentance and insisted that John baptize him… and Christian baptism changed from that moment on.
John found out from Jesus, Apollos found out from Aquila and Priscilla, and these Ephesian disciples found out from Paul. Christian baptism doesn’t represent what you and I do or decide…
That’s why we, as United Methodists, don’t get all hung up about baptizing children and infants… because it’s not about their repentance, it’s about God choosing to pour his grace and mercy out on people who were still sinners and don’t deserve the gift of salvation… and yet God chooses them anyways.
And babies, toddlers, children, teens, adults, and even senior citizens all need God’s grace equally… and God pours out his grace on each one… whether they’ve repented yet or not… Baptism is a visible sign of what GOD has already done and is still doing… Offering and grace and mercy to all…
In fact, Scripture teaches that God’s grace is what enables us to even experience the gift of repentance so that we can respond to Christ’s offer of salvation…
Baptism represents God’s grace…
“Well, preacher,” you may be thinking, “I don’t see why this is so important… what difference does it really make anyways?”
Well, enough of a difference that it was included in the Scriptural text as part of the words of God that are for our instruction, doctrine, correction, and training in righteousness. God Himself felt this was important enough to make it into the book…
It makes enough of a difference that the Ephesians were then baptized as Christians in the name of Jesus… because the baptism of repentance simply wasn’t good enough… not for a Christian who had freely experienced the grace of God poured out on him through no effort of his own.
So what do we see here that we can specifically apply, in our day and age, in our situation, in our lives?
First, On this day when we remember Jesus’ baptism, let’s not get baptism and repentance confused… repentance is US recognizing our sin and US choosing to give up that sin. However, baptism is all about what GOD does… not what we do.
Second, let’s take a lesson from Paul, and make sure that we leave people like Aquila and Priscilla, good and mature Christians who can follow up and disciple newer Christians… It’s not enough to have Sunday School training and head knowledge, but rather we want to entrust our young in age and young in faith to people who are living out the Christian walk of faith… and can lead by example as well as by words…
Third, let’s remember that our journey of faith, including our baptism, and also times when we respond to God, are nothing until we allow God to pour out His Holy Spirit on us… filling us and immersing us in His presence and His power through His Spirit.

This morning, I want to encourage each of us to ask ourselves a question…
Where do we find ourselves in these passages?
Are we like these twelve Ephesian disciples? Trying to be faithful, doing all of the right things as best as we can understand them? And yet, still basing our entire Christian walk on our efforts and our decisions and our rational choices and logical understandings?


If so, reach out in prayer to God and allow him to take you beyond mere religious response and fill you with His Spirit… that your life would be a life marked by the outpouring and experience of grace, not merely a religious set of ‘gottas’ and ‘can’ts’ based in your own understanding.
Perhaps, you have already come to that place where you’ve gone beyond the head knowledge and have experienced the power of God being poured out into your life… If so, then according to Scripture there is some gift of the Holy Spirit that He has also given you… for these twelve Ephesians it was tongues and prophesy… Do you know what spiritual gift (or gifts) He gave you when He poured out His Spirit on you?
Finally, are you one who’s experienced the maturing power of God in your life? Then, like Paul, and Aquila and Priscilla, we need you to be reaching out in ministry to those who are still en route… What ministry are you actively involved in… where you are using those spiritual gifts and helping to teach, preach, encourage, or strengthen those younger in the faith like Apollos or the Ephesian disciples?
Can we… WILL we… take that next step?

--Adapted from a sermon I preached Jan. 12, 2003 in Patton, PA



Whose Job Is It Anyway?

Here are my sermon notes from this morning's sermons at Reynoldsville: First UMC.

"WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAYS?"

Scripture Text: John 13: 3-17

 

I visited my home church, Shinglehouse UMC, a few years back and noticed this in their bulletin:

Pastor: Rev. Randy Headley
Organist: Barb Wheeler
Ministers: All The People

ALL THE PEOPLE are the ministers! It reminds me of the Scripture in Matthew 25 where Jesus tells the story of the sheep & the goats and how doing things like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick & those in prison, are all ways of showing love to Jesus himself. His words there are "because you've done these things for the least of these my children, you've done them for me..."

That little church has captured that... the Pastor is there as a servant and an administrator and as a preacher, but most of the ministry of the church actually comes from the lay people who sit in the pews each and every Sunday. The ministry of the church comes primarily through them, even though most people will still speak of the pastor as “the minister.”

Well, what Jesus told in story form there in the end of Matthew, he retells the night before his death, in very easy to understand, hard to miss terms by using an example.

Read with me our Scripture passage for this morning: John 13:3-17 (New Living Translation)

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.  So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.


When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”


Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”


“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”


Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”


Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”


After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

Even though the apostle John spends several more chapters on what Jesus did that final night, and what he taught, this teaching on service is the final night before his crucifixion. He wanted the disciples to remember these things, because they are some of the most important aspects of following Christ: the whole idea of service.

And Jesus goes about it in a way that they cannot forget.

He, the leader, the master, the teacher, the KING, starts acting like one of the lowest of slaves... He gets down and washes their feet. He serves them.

verse 4 "so he got up from the table..." Later in verse 26, he is back sitting at the table and dipping the bread.

‘So what?’ you might ask... ‘What you getting at preacher?’

Just this...
Jesus shows us here that service sometimes is inconvenient... maybe even in the middle of a meal. Yet, by his own example, we see that even a meal, the very meal that was to become the most famous meal in all of history, The Last Supper, even a meal is no excuse to keep us from serving others.

In my life, it was my grandmother who showed this behavior best. I'm thinking of the big Sunday dinners, or for that matter the everyday evening meals, where most of the way through the meal she is up & down, back & forth, making sure there were enough potatoes or meat or beverage or vegetable or whatever... but if she saw that one of us needed something, especially my grandpa, she would drop her fork, with food still on it, and get up to go get whatever was needed. Then she would return to her meal and the food on her plate.

Jesus does that here. Even though it's the middle of the meal, he stops eating and takes off his outside coat, rolls his sleeves up (so to speak), grabs a towel, and starts washing the disciples’ feet.

Sometimes service as a disciple of Jesus Christ will be equally inconvenient, yet still necessary. Yet how many times do we say, ‘Wait a few moments, or a few days, and then I'll be able to help?’

Notice also that Jesus also washes Judas Iscariot's feet. They all sit down to the meal and are eating, when Jesus gets up and washes the feet of the disciples. Then he goes back to the meal and tells everyone that the one who will betray him is the one he gives the bread to. In fact, Scripture even records Jesus talking to Judas after the meal. There is no question about it... Judas was there when we are told that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.

How many times do we say we want to serve Christ, but then when he deliberately puts us in a place where we need to serve him by serving others, we refuse to serve some just because they've been mean to us or hurt us in some way? We are more likely to say something like “If that's the way she's going to be, then see if I ever try to help her again!” Yet here is Jesus, who already knows what Judas is up to and what he's about to do, and still he is shown the love of Jesus like every other disciple.

And lest we think that this is just a message for just the “church leaders on how to serve their church and their God, look again at verses 12-17:

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.


ANY of us who call ourselves followers of Christ are his disciples and are called to serve him and follow his example. We are to be involved in service... through the local church and as individuals. It reminds me of the story I once read about “Who's Job Is It?”

"This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done." (author unknown)

We are to be involved in service... through the local church and as individuals. We are called, like Jesus said in verse 17: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

Jesus is our example here. We are to serve, we are to serve even if it's inconvenient, and we are to serve even those whom we don't like or who hurt us. But how we serve speaks of how we love our Lord.

This morning we have dedicated our service of others, to the Lord by our acceptance of positions of service here in the church. The committee chairs and members, the secretaries, the communion stewards, the ushers, the musicians, the custodians, the historians, and the financial people.

Some of the positions may seem “important” or even “spiritual” while others may not. Yet, each job, from chairperson to committee member to the cooks to the custodians is an indispensible part of the way that we, as a united, unified group of believers, serve our community and our Lord.

As we prepare for our final hymn let me just remind you of what was said to people attending the little Quaker church as they were preparing to end their worship time and then go home: They were told: “The service starts when the meeting ends.”

We worship this morning, but our service is how we work together and individually for the kingdom of God.

(Adapted from a sermon I preached January 5, 1997)

Are We April Fools?

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
—Psalm 14:1/53:1

There’s a funny story that circulates around the internet about an atheist who is in court claiming discrimination since there are holidays for religious observances, but none for those who aren’t believers. The judge is reported to say that atheists in fact DO have a holiday: April Fool’s Day! The judge’s rationale is this verse from the Psalms.
It’s a cute story, even though I doubt it’s true.

As usual, April starts with this holiday celebrating foolishness and fun. But this year, within the first two weeks, we also have Easter. Holidays for non-believers AND believers alike!
But this idea of the fool has captured my attention. Nobody (that I know of) likes being called a fool. And yet, to the extent that we are still unbelievers… ones who doubt God… then we ARE fools.

Most of us involved with this church family would claim to be believer in God… in fact, we regularly use the Apostle’s Creed to reaffirm our beliefs. “I believe in God the Father… in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord… in the Holy Spirit...” We believe.
But if we are really honest with ourselves, there are many moments when we’re not sure WHAT to believe. There are so many different opinions on what it means to be a Christian, what you’re allowed to do or say, even what you can wear if you’re going to be a member of this group of Christians or that other group down the street. Many people look at the very same Bible we read and get an entirely different meaning than we do. What are we to do?

Ultimately I find myself in those moments remembering the father of a sick child asking Jesus for help and for healing. Jesus asked him “Do you believe?” And that father replied “I do believe… Help my unbelief.”

Isn’t that our situation so often? We DO believe… yet there are so many areas where our faith needs to keep growing and our believing needs help. We, like that father, can honestly say, I believe… Help my unbelief.

It is only the foolish ones that categorically decree that there is nothing in which to believe. And they are known as fools.

Let’s respond to God and his offer of help and healing through Jesus with those words: “I do believe… Help my unbelief!”

Our Core Value Is...

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” —Jesus, John 13:35 (NLT)

During this month, the culture around us will focus on “love” with images of hearts and cupids, and gifts of flowers and candy. Interestingly, that’s the very word image that Jesus used when he described the way that the world around us would be able to identify true followers of Jesus… they would know us by our love.

Now that doesn’t mean we have to send Valentines to each other or buy chocolate for the preacher (although you are welcome to do those things!) But it does mean that if we are going to try to win the world, we must win them by the way we show them the love of Jesus. And if we want the world to notice the love we have, they need to be able to see examples of our love when they look at us… even in the way we treat the other people around us who are sometimes a little less loveable. You know who I’m talking about… There’s the great-aunt or cousin that thinks she is the world’s greatest expert on everything and you find yourself trying to find an excuse out of that family reunion just to avoid her. Or perhaps it’s the guy who thinks he has a personal mission from God Almighty to tell everyone in the church how their jobs and ministries ought to be run… or maybe someone from work who’s more annoying than productive. Sometimes it’s just plain hard to love someone!

These are the ones the non-Christians around us are watching... to see how we interact with them. Is the love of Jesus evident in those annoying, stressful, strained relationship moments? Because if the love of Christ is big enough to make a difference in those situations, with those people, then maybe He could help in their lives as well.

Our annual conference has tried to boil down HOW we, as a group of churches and as a group of Christians, can “get the job done” and it came down to one basic statement: “Our core value is love.”

With every heart decoration or candy you see this month, with every valentine you send or receive this month, and with every relationship you encounter this month, let the love of Jesus be at the very core of what you do, what you say, and who you are… because they’ll know us by our love.

Weeping Jesus

Today is one of those "day of infamy" kind of days... Lexington & Concord, Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Oklahoma City. And it's not just today, but the entire week. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the Columbine Massacre. And now, we add the horror of Virginia Tech.

Today's post was written shortly after our family returned from a cross-country educational field trip in 2002 when I was pastor in Patton, PA. When we got to Oklahoma City it had been a mere 4 months since the September 11th attacks and I was simply overwhelmed by what I saw in Oklahoma City. Here is my pastor's letter from our Trinity UMC newsletter for March during Lent of that year.

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In January, my family visited the National Memorial in downtown Oklahoma City. After we explained to our girls the horrific story of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, we began walking through the memorial that has since been built on the spot where the building once stood. I have never been so moved as I was that day.

At each end are huge gates… one representing the moment before the bombing (9:01 a.m.) and the other representing the moment after the attack (9:03 a.m.). And in between those two gates… in between those two moments… was the blast and its aftermath. Each of the lives lost is symbolized by an empty chair bearing the name of one of the 168 victims. Walking around the reflecting pool, looking at the chairs and the remains of the one piece of wall that still stands, I slowly began to realize that the chairs were of different sizes… and I remembered that 19 of those killed were innocent children at play in their day-care center. And I was struck by the horror of it all over again.

At each end of the memorial site stand two church buildings that had also been damaged in the blast. Across the street at the eastern end is the United Methodist Church, which included an open chapel on the grounds when they rebuilt, complete with helpful brochures, healing pamphlets, and even free Bibles, offering the peace of Christ and the hope of Jesus to any who want to leave the terror behind.

Across the street at the western end is a Roman Catholic Church, that commissioned a memorial of their own when they rebuilt: a statue of Jesus, with his back to the grisly destruction, weeping.

Jesus Christ, weeps in the face of such hatred that would be so violent and murderous. He turns his back to such evil and destruction. God cannot stand sin… sin cannot abide in his presence. According to the Gospels, God the Father hid his face from His own Son when He was bearing our sins on that cross so long ago.

Engraved on the gates of the Oklahoma City Memorial are these words: “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever...May all who leave here know the impact of violence…”

We need to remember. Especially in light of the unimaginable events that we have since lived through in this past year. Terrorism is well named. For it is terror we feel when faced with these unthinkable, cowardly acts of violence. There is no protection it seems, no hope, no safety, no peace, when faced with terror.

Yet, we are reminded by these two churches, and by the Scriptures, that even though our Lord despises and rejects such hatred, He is never untouched by the pain and the suffering. His back may be turned to evil, but his face is filled with tears of compassion and love. He promises to walk through the darkest of times hand-in-hand with anyone of us who calls on Him and allows Him to bring us His peace and His comfort.

Back here in our church, we are preparing again for the celebration of Easter, reminding us that Christ is victorious over sin and death. But as we journey towards that glorious celebration of His resurrection, we are called to remember his broken body and His shed blood as He turned His back to a cross and allowed Himself to be nailed to it in order to once and for all time purchase our eternal freedom. Since God cannot allow sin into His presence, and every one of us has sinned, we were all doomed for an eternity separated from God… an eternal death. But Jesus Christ, the only one who ever walked through life without ever sinning, took our place… facing death and hell so that we could be freed from that judgment of eternal death. Like when someone chooses to pay off a debt for you that you knew you’d never be able to pay.

In this time of uncertainty, when the terror and fear and sin is so clearly visible, it is time for us to return to the weeping Jesus, and remember His death until He comes again.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We have had an inflatable HAPPY BIRTHDAY giant cake in our yard for several weeks. Every time Josh sees it, we talk about how Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus... He actually sings Happy Birthday, Jesus now as we pull into the driveway. Not a major event, but for a three year old, it's progress! (Amazing how many friends and family ask us who's birthday we're celebrating!!!!)

Meanwhile, here is a great picture my beautiful wife took of Josh and me after i set up his stand-alone Thomas the Train.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!