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Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 8:1-21
This passage talks about wisdom, and right in the middle of the passage, we see what wisdom looks like, to fear the Lord is to hate evil. Also in Proverbs it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of the Lord is such and important and misunderstood concept. I believe that we have lost that understanding that we are to fear the Lord. It more of a holy reverence.
We are to love God, desire God, walk with God, but are to also have a holy reverence of God. We know that He walks with us and cares for us, but He will also judge us, He also had the power of life and death, He also spoke through the prophets, punished Israel for their sins, and raised Christ Jesus from the dead. His He our best friend? Yes, but He is so much more. He is the King, creator, Father, and judge, and we should love Him, but also respect and fear Him. And if we have that holy reverence of God, that will change how we live and see things, and wisdom begins there.
New Testament Lesson
Philemon 1-25
Philemon has one of my favorite verses in all the bible, v. 6, "Be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." The more we share our faith the more we are aware of how blessed we are. The more we talk about God, the more we know the grace of God. The more we count out blessings, the more blessings that we know we have. Likewise, the more we complain, the more we have to complain about. The more we focus on the bad, the more bad we see. But, if we share our faith, we will come be better know how much God loves and how much grace He has given us. Today, share your faith with someone, maybe a friend, a spouse a co worker. I'm not saying you even have to witness (thought not a bad idea) but just talk about how good God has been to you, and see if that doesn't increase you own faith, and remind you all the good things you have in Jesus Christ.
Gospel Lesson
John 12:9-19
In this passage, we see Jesus ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He is hailed as the king, as the son of David, the crowds lay the coats and palms before Him. To you or me, this may be the high point of our lives. For Jesus, this was the beginning of the last week of His life, and these crowds that cheered in on Palm Sunday will be crying crucify Him on Good Friday. We read this and think, oh that's terrible. But, we do the same thing. We come to church and praise Him on Sunday, but through the week, through our actions; through our sins, we shout crucify him, crucify him. We do the same. We praise on Sunday, we deny on Monday.
Today, through your actions, will you praise Him, or will you shout crucify. Those are the choices we may ever day. Today, how will you live, today, will you bring honor to Jesus, or will you deny Him through your actions, through your words, through your sin.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany: Thursday, February 23. 2006
Old Testament Lesson
Likewise, the things of God look burdensome to some. Scripture, prayer, church; these things infringe upon their time. But, in reality, these things lead to life. It is the easy road of sin that leads to destruction, the disciplined road of God that leads to life. And, in reality, God’s road is not burdensome, but life giving. Today, will we choose the “easy” road of sin that leads to death or the “hard” road of God that leads to life?
New Testament Lesson
John reminds us in this text that those born of God will not continue to sin. That is not to say that they will commit sin, for we will all make mistakes. However, the one born of God cannot and must not continue a life of sin, that being a life of willful disobedient sin. We should be working to be more faithful each day, to know God’s grace more each day, and to allow that grace to work in our lives, that we can be more like our God calls us to be. We will make mistakes, we will commit sins. We will fall. The question becomes, will we get up?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany: Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 6:1-19
The book of Proverbs is not hard to understand. It can be hard to live by, for it calls us to live a good life. A life of hard work, a life of humility, a life of obedience to God and His wisdom. These things are not treasured by this world. Humility is not a virtue in the 21st century, yet, in Proverbs, it may be among the highest of virtues.
Today in this text, we see that if your pride has you bound, the only way out is to humble yourself, and gain your freedom through humility. Christ can that we may be set free. So, why then, would we allow our pride to make us captive again? Jesus Christ humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. Can we not humble ourselves to the point of asking forgiveness? Restoring a friendship? Confessing our mistake? Saying we are sorry? Through humility, we will find freedom from these things. Through pride, we will find chains. We road will we choose today?
New Testament Lesson
1 John 5:1-12
This is love, that we obey God. I’ve never met a person in my ministry that wouldn’t tell you that they love God. Everyone loves God. Have you ever met anyone that would tell you that they love God? The question then becomes how many of us love God with our lives. Love of God is not words and talk, love of God is obedience to God and His commands. It is not merely enough to say that you love God, we must obey God. That is how our love for God is truly shown. Today, do you love God? Do you obey Him? Do, will you love God? Will you obey Him and follow Him where He leads you in your work, in your, family, in your church (yes, tonight is Wednesday night!), and in your life?
Gospel Lesson
John 11:45-54
This text is exact opposite of what we should see in church. The religious leaders were more worried about their power and prestige than they were about Jesus and the hope that he was bringing. If they would have only listened to Him, they could have been set free. Instead, they only thought about what they wanted, and how this Jesus would affect their life. Too many folks miss Jesus because they are too focused only on what they want. Too many churches do not do effective ministry because they are only focused on what they want, not what the Lord wants. Too many Christians live ineffective lives because they don’t want to give up full control of their lives to Jesus and His mission. Friends, if we are a Christian, then, we have no choice. He must be in control. He must be leading. We should not hold onto power (be it in our church, in our family, or in our lives), we should give Jesus full power and control. He knows what He is doing. Do you trust Him enough today to give Him control? In doing that, it is the only way he will be Lord of your life.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany: Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Remember JoAnn Nicholson as she goes for surgery this morning.
Gospel Lesson
John 11:30-44
Many of us know verse 35 which says only Jesus wept. I always tried to use this a memory verse when I was in UMYF (United Methodist Youth Foundation for the non Methodists), but our leader did not buy it. This verse is important, though, because it shows how God does hurt over our loss. The Word says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), and here we see Jesus weeping over the loss of a friend. When we hurt, we know that our God understands our hurt, our fear, all these things, for through Jesus Christ, God Himself experienced it.
Jesus' tears were not the end, through. Jesus plan was to raise Lazarus from the dead. CS Lewis calls Lazarus the first martyr in Christian history, because he was already in heaven (to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord -- 2 Corinthians 5:8), had to come back to life, only to have to die again one day in the future. This shows the power that Jesus has over death. The grave cannot hold Him back. He is life and all that believe in Him will have that victory over death. Through Jesus, we can have life, right now, and in the age to come. He has come that we might life.
The question then is, are we truly alive, or are we just going through the motions. Life is too precious today to merely pretend to be alive, God has more for you today than to just go through motions of life. Today, may you know His grace, and may you know His life.
Gospel Lesson
John 11:30-44
Many of us know verse 35 which says only Jesus wept. I always tried to use this a memory verse when I was in UMYF (United Methodist Youth Foundation for the non Methodists), but our leader did not buy it. This verse is important, though, because it shows how God does hurt over our loss. The Word says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), and here we see Jesus weeping over the loss of a friend. When we hurt, we know that our God understands our hurt, our fear, all these things, for through Jesus Christ, God Himself experienced it.
Jesus' tears were not the end, through. Jesus plan was to raise Lazarus from the dead. CS Lewis calls Lazarus the first martyr in Christian history, because he was already in heaven (to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord -- 2 Corinthians 5:8), had to come back to life, only to have to die again one day in the future. This shows the power that Jesus has over death. The grave cannot hold Him back. He is life and all that believe in Him will have that victory over death. Through Jesus, we can have life, right now, and in the age to come. He has come that we might life.
The question then is, are we truly alive, or are we just going through the motions. Life is too precious today to merely pretend to be alive, God has more for you today than to just go through motions of life. Today, may you know His grace, and may you know His life.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Just got tagged
Bro. Greg tagged me with the following challenge:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.
This works out well, since I am the owner of a new MP3 player and a proud member of Napster, so I'm worked up to share my favorite songs. I'm such a geek. Ok, here goes
1. Common People by William Shatner. Ben Folds wrote and sang on this song, and while ole Billy Shatner is a joke among music fans, this song is really catchy and actually pretty good.
2. Medley by Third Day off the Second Offerings CD. Anytime a band goes from Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus to With or Without You in the same song, that's pretty cool.
3. Respect by Otis Redding. Aretha Franklin's version is really good, but Otis Redding's is actually better. I know you don't believe me, but you need to hear it and check it out.
4. Rockin the Suburbs by Ben Folds. A couple of words that I woudn't advise you sing in church, but is very satrical and very funny.
5. Wicked Man by Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Ben Harper is very eclectic and this a great combinaion with the fameous Gospel Group the Blind Boys of Alabama.
6. Far Behind by Candelbox. I like the grunge music and this was one of the most underated songs of that genre.
7. There Goes my Life by Kenny Chestney. I do like county musically, especially Johnny Cash. Not a huge Kenny Chestney fan, but ever since my daughter was born, this song really does get to me.
I could do this all day.
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.
This works out well, since I am the owner of a new MP3 player and a proud member of Napster, so I'm worked up to share my favorite songs. I'm such a geek. Ok, here goes
1. Common People by William Shatner. Ben Folds wrote and sang on this song, and while ole Billy Shatner is a joke among music fans, this song is really catchy and actually pretty good.
2. Medley by Third Day off the Second Offerings CD. Anytime a band goes from Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus to With or Without You in the same song, that's pretty cool.
3. Respect by Otis Redding. Aretha Franklin's version is really good, but Otis Redding's is actually better. I know you don't believe me, but you need to hear it and check it out.
4. Rockin the Suburbs by Ben Folds. A couple of words that I woudn't advise you sing in church, but is very satrical and very funny.
5. Wicked Man by Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Ben Harper is very eclectic and this a great combinaion with the fameous Gospel Group the Blind Boys of Alabama.
6. Far Behind by Candelbox. I like the grunge music and this was one of the most underated songs of that genre.
7. There Goes my Life by Kenny Chestney. I do like county musically, especially Johnny Cash. Not a huge Kenny Chestney fan, but ever since my daughter was born, this song really does get to me.
I could do this all day.
Faith and Feeling
I'm preaching a sermon series on Sunday on the fruit of the Spirit. Last night, we talked about kindness, and my basic theme was that we have mistaken the "feeling" of kindness for the action of kindness, if we feel like being kind that is enought, and we don't have to change the actions that we make. For examples, I used the General Rules of the Methodist Church. These were things that were move us to action, first, eliminating sinful action and then starting good action; love of neighbor and God.
This brought me to thinking about religion in general, and I guess within my parrish in specific. So often, I beleive that we mistake feeling for action. If I am under convcition of sin, that is enough. I don't have to actually repent and change, just merely feeling that guilt is enough. At Coy, folks like thier "toes stepped on," and I tell them that is all nice and well, but having the toe stepped on is not enought, the foot must then turn adn repent.
When we mistake feeling for action, trouble begins. CS Lewis said in The Screwtape Letters,
These feeling or emoitons must product action. We must not mistake they way we feel for a changed life. Kindness is not emtion only and repentance is not conviction alone. They must both produce action; they must both produce a changed life.
This brought me to thinking about religion in general, and I guess within my parrish in specific. So often, I beleive that we mistake feeling for action. If I am under convcition of sin, that is enough. I don't have to actually repent and change, just merely feeling that guilt is enough. At Coy, folks like thier "toes stepped on," and I tell them that is all nice and well, but having the toe stepped on is not enought, the foot must then turn adn repent.
When we mistake feeling for action, trouble begins. CS Lewis said in The Screwtape Letters,
"The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As long as he does not convert it into action, it does not matter how much he thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it ... let him do anything but act ... as one of the humans has said, active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.”
These feeling or emoitons must product action. We must not mistake they way we feel for a changed life. Kindness is not emtion only and repentance is not conviction alone. They must both produce action; they must both produce a changed life.
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Monday, February 20, 2006
Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 3:11-20
This text talks about two things that we see a lot of in Proverbs, discipline and wisdom. Notice it says that God will discipline His children and then a verse later talks about how important wisdom is. It is wisdom that tells us punishment is not for punishment's sake, but if we are punished, it is for our own good, for God is longing to make us into something greater. And while it is a different understanding of the word discipline, it is discipline that makes us more into what God would have us to be. It is discipline that causes us to pray when we do not feel like it, it is discipline that causes us to be within the body of Christ on days when we'd rather stay in, it is discipline that causes us to read the Word when are pressed for time. For us to fully be who God calls us to be, we need not only God to discipline us, rather we need to discipline ourselves. And in that, we find through His Grace, wisdom.
New Testament Lesson
1 John 3:18-4:6
This is a passage I'm not sure I've read since college, but it was one of my favorites. God's grace is greater than our hearts. Sometimes, God can forgive us, but we cannot forgive ourselves. I've had folks come to me in my ministry, convinced they had committed the unforgivable sin. I always ask, do you feel sorry for doing it and want forgiveness, and they always rely, yes. Then, you haven't committed the unforgivable sin. The reason why is unforgivable is because by that point you are so far from God, you cannot and would not ask forgiveness; you wouldn't even care. So often, we cannot forgive ourselves. We hold onto our failures, to our defeats. Friends, we live by grace. We cannot save ourselves, only God's grace can do that. We don't have to be perfect. We will makes mistakes. Now God is at work on us, and we must not be satisfied and content living in sin, We are as Wesley said, going on to perfection, but we are not there yet. We live by grace. If God can forgive us, why can't we forgive ourselves. His grace is greater than our hearts.
Gospel Lesson
John 11:17-29
Martha didn't see Jesus full plan, because she could not. None of us can. No human can; only God. She didn't know what was to come. She didn't know that Jesus would raise her brother from the dead. She didn't know what Jesus had in mind. Neither do we. Many times, we do not know what God is work on in our lives; we do not know His full plan. We only see in part, and sometimes, we don't even see that. We have to trust that He knows what He is doing. Martha did not know what great thing Jesus had in store for her family; we do not know what great thing God has in store for us. We must simply trust. Whatever you are going through right now, God is at work in it, to bring something good out of it. You may not know what; but God does. Trust in Him; He is at work.
Proverbs 3:11-20
This text talks about two things that we see a lot of in Proverbs, discipline and wisdom. Notice it says that God will discipline His children and then a verse later talks about how important wisdom is. It is wisdom that tells us punishment is not for punishment's sake, but if we are punished, it is for our own good, for God is longing to make us into something greater. And while it is a different understanding of the word discipline, it is discipline that makes us more into what God would have us to be. It is discipline that causes us to pray when we do not feel like it, it is discipline that causes us to be within the body of Christ on days when we'd rather stay in, it is discipline that causes us to read the Word when are pressed for time. For us to fully be who God calls us to be, we need not only God to discipline us, rather we need to discipline ourselves. And in that, we find through His Grace, wisdom.
New Testament Lesson
1 John 3:18-4:6
This is a passage I'm not sure I've read since college, but it was one of my favorites. God's grace is greater than our hearts. Sometimes, God can forgive us, but we cannot forgive ourselves. I've had folks come to me in my ministry, convinced they had committed the unforgivable sin. I always ask, do you feel sorry for doing it and want forgiveness, and they always rely, yes. Then, you haven't committed the unforgivable sin. The reason why is unforgivable is because by that point you are so far from God, you cannot and would not ask forgiveness; you wouldn't even care. So often, we cannot forgive ourselves. We hold onto our failures, to our defeats. Friends, we live by grace. We cannot save ourselves, only God's grace can do that. We don't have to be perfect. We will makes mistakes. Now God is at work on us, and we must not be satisfied and content living in sin, We are as Wesley said, going on to perfection, but we are not there yet. We live by grace. If God can forgive us, why can't we forgive ourselves. His grace is greater than our hearts.
Gospel Lesson
John 11:17-29
Martha didn't see Jesus full plan, because she could not. None of us can. No human can; only God. She didn't know what was to come. She didn't know that Jesus would raise her brother from the dead. She didn't know what Jesus had in mind. Neither do we. Many times, we do not know what God is work on in our lives; we do not know His full plan. We only see in part, and sometimes, we don't even see that. We have to trust that He knows what He is doing. Martha did not know what great thing Jesus had in store for her family; we do not know what great thing God has in store for us. We must simply trust. Whatever you are going through right now, God is at work in it, to bring something good out of it. You may not know what; but God does. Trust in Him; He is at work.
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