Thomas-From Doubt to Devotion

sermon i gave when guest-preaching at Rochester, WI

Thomas: From Doubt to Devotion

John 20
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Some Questions
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are going dead?

When the French swear do they say pardon my English?

Why doesn’t glue stick to the bottle?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

We do check the wet paint don't we? I know I do! And isn't that almost what Thomas wanted to do? He just wanted tangible proof. Sure he had been with the disciples for 3 years, sure he knew they were reliable..or well maybe knowing them for 3 years is precisely why Thomas wanted tangible proof for himself!

Can you imagine this scene? The disciples were locked in the house. They had seen Jesus arrested, knew he had been beaten and killed, they were convinced they were next! They were terrified of the authorities. And suddenly Jesus appears in their midst, saying Peace be with you!

Thomas was not with the disciples at this first appearance. We are not told why. We are told that Thomas was also called the Twin. But whose twin?! We do not know. He could have been a twin or a look-alike sibling of one of the other disciples or someone else close to Jesus. There is some belief that Thomas may have been one of Jesus' brothers, or rather half brother. We just do not know.

Thomas was not present at the first appearance of Jesus. We are not told where he was, why he was not there. But we do know that a week later when Thomas was with the others, Jesus again appeared! And again just turned up in their midst in the locked house! Saying “peace be with you” and Jesus said specifically to Thomas, put your finger here..see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.” Jesus is not condemning Thomas, he is saying go ahead, touch the scars, see for yourself! Maybe Jesus recognized that needing hard proof was just the way Thomas was. Only after that did He say, “stop doubting and believe”

the words used here for doubt and belief have more than one meaning. Or perhaps I should say there are layers of meaning here. Remember that the languages of the Bible, Primarily Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New, have many fewer words than English does. So one word in these languages may have more than one meaning, or shades of meaning. These shades of meaning would be more apparent in context, with vocal inflection. So we lose a little bit in translation. What strikes me about the word for “Believe” is that the meanings of it include faith and belief, having confidence in, and trust. Trust is a key component of faith. And yet that can be one of the hardest things we manage. Perhaps Thomas believed in Jesus, but did not quite trust the words of the others. Could Jesus be saying, just have trust!!!

Author Brennan Manning writes in “The Ragamuffin Gospel” In earlier times it did not take faith to believe that God existed--almost everybody took that for granted. Rather, faith had to do with one's relationship to God--whether one trusted in God. The difference between faith as "belief in something that may or may not exist" and faith as "trusting in God" is enormous. The first is a matter of the head, the second a matter of the heart. The first can leave us unchanged, the second intrinsically brings change.”

we live in a time and a society in which we tend to have to 'See it to believe it” and to have proof. We want documentation, facts and figures. We may find it hard to believe—to trust, without hard proof. So faith can be a real challenge for us. When we want proof & documentation of everything else, why should we believe in a resurrected Jesus! I must admit, if I had been in that room, I might have had to touch the nail-scars myself.

Actually when I was much younger, I had been “born again”,and yet I did not act on my belief. In fact most of the time, I did not act like a Christian at all. I knew someone with a profound faith, my Aunt, and I envied her faith. Her faith and trust in the Lord saw her thru some hard times and illness, and gave her hope, no matter what. I never thought that I was capable of that depth of belief and trust in an invisible Saviour. One of my 'issues' is that i am a person who needs to see feel, touch, to experience something in order to believe. So I see a bit of myself in Thomas...doubting Thomas. But fortunately, faith is not something static, it can change. Our faith life is a progression..that is why we refer to our “walk of faith' we may not always “walk” in faith....some of us stumble, and maybe even crawl rather than walk. I finally understood that I can pray for more faith. That is a prayer that I believe God LOVES to answer!

At some point in our journey thru life, we need to experience the Living Christ for ourselves, just as Thomas and the other disciples did. Maybe that is a scar that we all bear...needing proof. And we all do have our own issues or scars, do we not!? Some of them big, some not so big. We may have issues in a relationship, with a temper, addictions or illness. Maybe we obsess over appearances, or maybe we just don't care! These are our scars, the invisible scars that we carry every day. Scars that may keep us from realizing the truth of Jesus, as Thomas' lack of faith and trust did until he saw and felt and heard for himself.

The scars of anger and bitterness can keep us from forgiving one another. This is what Jesus told the disciples; “If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Jesus first breathed the Holy Spirit on the disciples, then spoke to them of forgiveness. It is through the Spirit that we can comprehend the love of Jesus, and begin the process of forgiveness. If we begin to understand ourselves as the Lord understands, we will learn.

Author Brennan Manning again;”Faith is a code to accept that Jesus knows my whole life story, every skeleton in my closet, every moment of sin, shame, dishonesty, degradedness darkening my past. Right now he knows my shallow faith, my feeble prayer life, my inconsistent discipleship, and he comes beside me and he says, I dare you to trust. I dare you to trust that I love you, just as you are and not as you should be, because you're never going to be as you should be.”

Through this trust and love, we realize that each of us has acted out of the pain of our own scars and wounded others, and through the Spirit we learn that those who hurt us acted out of their own pain. When we recognize our own flaws, issues, wounded-ness, then we realize that others are acting out of theirs. Again through prayer, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we learn compassion and thru compassion, we learn to forgive. This is a part of our faith journey- We are forgiven as we forgive. When we forgive another, we are more fully accepting the Lord's forgiveness of us!


So while we, like Thomas, may wish we had tangible proof of Christ, if not for ourselves but for those near us who have doubts, we can accept on faith that Jesus is real, that Jesus did rise, even tho we can not touch the scars on his hands and his side.

The end of our Gospel lesson today is this:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.--that we may have life...today in Jesus and for eternity with him in Heaven.

...the other day I was reading an article that says that the vast majority of people do not believe in heaven. But there are those who have seen heaven and come bck to tell us about it! There is a book that is on the best seller lists right now about a little boy who saw heaven when he was 3 years old.. and told his parents about it as he got older and was able to talk about it.

there is a book titled 90 minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper.

He was in a horrible car accident-pronounced dead at the scene, and revived 90 min. later, by a man praying for him.

Don told about being at the gates of heaven. And the incredible, beautiful music there,...and seeing diseased loved ones. He said he was met by his great grandmother. And that as he knew her through his life, she had wrinkles and trouble with her teeth. When she met him at the gates of heaven, she had no lines at all in her face, and when she smiled at him her teeth sparkled!

Heaven is real...the bible says so! And we will have a renewed, perfect body, with no wrinkles, sparkly teeth, and no aches and pains..Hallelujah! We will not have any of that, because Jesus has the scars in his hands and his side. He, who was perfect, without sin, and became sin for us....for each of us, has the scars so we won't have to!!

The scriptures, all the Word of God are given that we may believe! We may want more-we have deep questions borne of life struggles. Jesus validated Thomas' struggle to believe by showing him the scars, and you deserve to have your struggles validated as well. If you are struggling with doubts, unforgiveness or just struggling with faith, it is ok. It has happened to me, and to most believers. Even Mother Teresa had struggles. Jesus Loves YOU without reservation. Let's celebrate this love together.

Let us pray, Our Lord and God, you know our doubts, our questions and struggles and still you love us. Today we pray for each of us who has a doubt, and we pray for compassion to help us forgive. thank you for the love and forgiveness shown through Jesus Christ.

sermon from Ecumenical Lenten service Mar 16, 2011

Texts: First Reading Deuteronomy 9:13-21

¹³Furthermore the LORD said to me, “I have seen that this people is indeed a stubborn people. ¹⁴Let me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and more numerous than they.”

¹⁵So I turned and went down from the mountain, while the mountain was ablaze; the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶Then I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God, by casting for yourselves an image of a calf; you had been quick to turn from the way that the LORD had commanded you. ¹⁷So I took hold of the two tablets and flung them from my two hands, smashing them before your eyes. ¹⁸Then I lay prostrate before the LORD as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin you had committed, provoking the LORD by doing what was evil in his sight. ¹⁹For I was afraid that the anger that the LORD bore against you was so fierce that he would destroy you. But the LORD listened to me that time also. ²⁰The LORD was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him, but I interceded also on behalf of Aaron at that same time. ²¹Then I took the sinful thing you had made, the calf, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly, until it was reduced to dust; and I threw the dust of it into the stream that runs down the mountain.

Second Reading Hebrews 3:12-19

¹²Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
¹⁶Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? ¹⁷But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Lent, a time of preparation for Easter, 40 days, to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness.

Giving up something for Lent, is about giving up something that obstructs, interferes, deters, blocks our relationship with God. Last week, Pastor Ian spoke about the word “repent” meaning “to turn around”-making a U-turn. Both of our texts talk about turning away from God, ideally what we give up for Lent is something that turns us away from a full relationship with God.

“taking up” something for Lent of course is about helping to promote our relationship with God.

Richard Foster Life With God

Pay attention to the recurring themes of the stories of the Bible: God loves human beings; human beings always seem to want what they can’t have; God is grieved and angered when human beings rebel but pursues them and forgives them anyway; God is involved not just in the lives of the chosen people, but in the lives of all peoples, and in the concerns of every living thing in creation.

Hebrews text Unbelief ==faith + trust.

Both texts refer to 'turning away' from God. Remember last week, Ian talked about the word Repent meaning to turn around. Once we have repented, turned around, to face God, we need to remember to stay aligned or turned in with God. If we turn away, we will stray.

Moses—40 years in the desert...on the mountain with God for 40 days, then when he came down...the people had strayed, they turned toward other beliefs.

Then Moses went back and fasted before the Lord, for 40 days and 40 nights! That struck me when reading this. Jesus' fasting in the wilderness was an echo to Moses 40 years and 40 days.

The number 40 appears a lot in the Bible and generally refers to a time of testing and cleansing. Like rain for 40 days and 40 nights. And at the end of the 40 days or 40 years, there is a reminder of the Lord's presence. A rainbow, a covenant, the Word of God turning away Satan!

So Moses lay prostrate before the Lord, fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, to repent not for himself, but for the sins of the people!

Jesus' time in the wilderness was not for himself, but for His people. Jesus had no sin, he was God incarnate, therefore incapable of sin. So his fasting was not for a time of testing and trial for Himself, but for us, since we are so very capable of sin.

OK now we don't like to think of ourselves as “sinners”. We keep the 10 Commandments, honor our father and mother (well we mostly did, there was a time or two in our teens...) We give to our churches and to charity, we live good lives. But are we FOCUSED on God? Do we really TRUST in God?!

You see trust is a big aspect of faith. The word in the bible that is translated faith, also means trust. It seems that the people lost trust in God pretty fast while Moses was up on the mountain! And this was after being fed by manna every day, by finding water in a rock, by having God with them in a cloud by day....for protection, and a pillar of fire by night. For light and protection. After 40 years of God's faithfulness, the people failed to trust for only 40 days!

I guess that is why our Hebrews text tells us to “exhort one another every day.” we need reminders of God's faithfulness every day, don't we. Well maybe you don't. But someone does! That is why we have daily devotions, special readings during Lent, daily bible reading plans....If faith were a one shot deal and we are done, well we wouldn't need a Bible or church at all would we!?

as we go through this Lenten season, we are deepening our relationship with God. And when our relationship with God is healthier,

And we crave that health for others. As we crave this, we crave it for our community and our world. So as we work toward being right with God, as individuals, we crave, and work toward, and pray for, a world that is right with God. That is turned toward God, focused on God.

That can be hard in today's' world. It was hard in Moses time and they didn't have TV, internet, to distract them from a focus on God. Today we have so many distractions! endless advertising telling us we need more money, fancier car, smaller electronics, better insurance, tastier snacks, softer pillows and harder exercise. We have 24 hours news that focuses not on Godly things, but on personalities! whiny celebrities, brutish opinions, the scariest depictions of news stories....how do we stay focused on God with all of this?!

Well we are here, aren't we. We are here this evening to worship. To spend time with God's word, to sing a few hymns, pray, give a donation to local groups who help people in need. To spend time together. That together time is such a blessing. We are exhorting, encouraging one another to be here this evening and to attend the other lenten services. To experience other worship styles, to hear music and speakers besides the ones we hear every Sunday. What a beautiful way to put aside the distractions and temptations of the rest of the world. What a beautiful way to 'Exhort' one another to stay focused on God.

The Hebrews text says we are to exhort one another. What exactly does that mean? To exhort means literally to walk alongside. The word used in the original Greek means to call to one's side. It is related to the word Paraklete, the word for the Holy Spirit. So to 'exhort” one another, in Christ, we can call upon the holy spirit for guidance. So we can say a prayer for help from the Spirit, to help us to walk alongside one another, to help us all stay turned toward God.

There is a difference between Godly 'exhorting” which is encouragement --walking alongside...and condemnation! Sometimes people get caught up in wanting to convey a message and they come on too strong, and come across in a condemning way, or a way that does not encourage, but lays blame.

We tend to want an explanation when bad stuff happens. And that explanation may come across in a way that unintentionally hurts. For example, one pastor who wrote a book on prayer said that one of his parishioners survived a disaster because she prayed so hard. That implies that the people who died in that disaster did not pray as hard, or their loved ones did not....we have to be careful that what we say bring encouragement, not hurt. Jesus never blamed victims for their troubles. But he did say we must repent...turn around. We must maintain our focus on God. Not just in Lent but always.

Author Eric Kolbell in What Jesus Meant, the Beatitudes and a Meaningful Life...I do not believe it is God's benevolence when we escape suffering any more than it is his malevolence when we don't. God does not spook a horse, inflict one man with AIDS and spare another, is no more responsible for famines in Saharan Africa than for overflowing wheat silos in central Kansas, and did not lead some people into and others out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Life is arbitrary but God is not; God is not in the business of loading guns, breaking hearts, bankrupting families, dissolving once loving relationships, or destroying homes with a clap of thunder or a rush of rain. No, God does not engineer suffering and loss but rather calls us to redeem it.

We live in hard times. The news is terribly discouraging. Unrest so many places, divisiveness in governing bodies, the disaster of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with incomprehensible destruction. I have to admit, I have been glued to the coverage. I imagine some of you are too. And I know we are praying too. Praying for the people affected, that they would know that God had not forsaken them! That even those who have lost everything, that God is with them, that there is hope!

You see that is the message of the Bible, that God is with us no matter what! And so we are never to give up hope!

You may wonder why should we worry about disasters overseas when we have problems here. The Bible says God created the heavens and the earth. The WHOLE earth. Not just Beloit, not just Wisconsin, not just the USA, not just North America...but the whole world. God also created Japan, and Afghanistan, Bahrain and Libya. And all people everywhere are God's Children, even if they do not know Christ. if we turn away from any of Gods creation or God’s children, even those who have not come to Christ, we are turning away from God. taking care of one another is one of the things that is stated over and over in the Bible, OT and NT. and of course we are the Body, and if one part of the body suffers, all suffer. So until all parts of the Body are cared for, no part of the Body will be well.

If we turn away from others, we turn away from God.

In Lent we turn away from some of the habits that may keep us from God. We take up another to help us keep turned towards God.

Bible, prayer, devotional time, church,....these things help us to stay in The Word, to keep God first.

Richard Foster in Life With God The Bible does not simply tell us of the presence of God; it shows us the active presence of God deeply and permanently embedded in all the smells, tastes, touches, sights, and sounds of human life. Over and over, this reality is played out in stories, poems, carefully preserved histories, records of cultural systems, details of prophetic revelations, speeches, letters, songs, and prayers. The Scripture weaves the involvement of God through the intimacies of birth and death, lovemaking and betrayal, weddings and funerals, labor and rest, warring and peacemaking, wealth and poverty, hunger and thirst, tears and laughter. Across thousands of years, with wave upon wave of names and faces and recurring events, the Bible threads God’s patient words of love and faithfulness: I am with you.

God with us give us hope. We recognize that Love and faithfulness when we turn toward God and we keep it close when we stay turned toward God. If we turn away, we lose hope. God created the heavens and the earth. And God created humans to be in relationship, God promises to be with us, always, even to the end of time.

The Love of God gives us hope. The Love of God WITH US was lived out in the life and ministry, teaching, preaching and healing of Jesus Christ. As Jesus journeyed to the Cross, and we journey along through this Lenten season, let us turn more completely to that divine Love. And let us never stray! The love of God was shown to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Turn toward the Love of God-- turn toward Christ. Turn toward Him and You will be guided to hope, love and trust.

Sermon given @ Second Congregational Nov. 28

First Sunday of Advent, Light the candle of Hope.

Isaiah 60:1-5 ; 18-22

1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the hip.
5 Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.

18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”

Our Advent series is all about The Light. The Promise of the Light, the Coming of the Light, and on Christmas, the Embrace of the Light. The Light of course is the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. The Advent season is traditionally a time of anticipation, expectancy as we wait for the birth of Jesus. The 4 Sundays of Advent, we light candles symbolizing Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.

Now in our time the catch words of this season seem to be shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, cleaning, -not much peace there! Maybe that's why we come to church!!

Prophet Isaiah..began to prophecy about 740 years before the time of Jesus.

His writings are very poetic, with beautiful imagery, showing how all of creation, all of nature, will be in harmony when God's kingdom reigns supreme. The early parts of Isaiah predict of the fall of various kingdoms, but from chapter 40 on are words of comfort, and predictions of the messiah and the beauty and peace-shalom, that will accompany the reign of God. Isaiah's message is all about the Grace of God, salvation coming through God, not because of anything we people have done or can do!

Let's look at the imagery in this passage...light, glory, radiance, splendor...

does v. 19 seem familiar? It is used in the Revelation..the description, of heaven, the new Jerusalem...Rev 21: 23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Light and dark are images used all through the Bible...1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Light and dark....scientific defintion of darkness is absence of light...light has physical properties, it is made up of photons, travels at 186,000 miles per second...darkness does not have properties of its own, it is purely an absence, doing without, emptiness...of light.

Through this advent series, as we talk about Light, the Promise of the Light, the coming of the Light, and embracing the light, we are talking about Jesus, the Light of the World. In an epistle of John, “God is Light, in him there is no darkness whatsoever.” so when the Bible talks of light, it means God, and darkness is being without God, separation from God.

our world seems to have an awful lot of darkness, doesn't it?!

NT lesson John 1:9-13

John 1: 9-13

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John is of course writing about Jesus Christ. The True light...that gives light, meaning, to bring understanding, to everyone.

Jesus was not received, or accepted, by everyone in His own time, or even now 2000 years later!

And yet, God promises that we who do receive Christ, who believe, become children of God. What a lovely promise that is!!

The Bible is full of promises of God, promises of Light, that we shall be children of God, Faithful promises of everlasting life, forgiveness, comfort, of Love, Joy, Peace and Hope!

The Hope of Advent comes from the promises of God. As author Richard Foster writes:

The Bible does not simply tell us of the presence of God; it shows us the active presence of God deeply and permanently embedded in all the smells, tastes, touches, sights, and sounds of human life. Over and over, this reality is played out in stories, poems, carefully preserved histories, records of cultural systems, details of prophetic revelations, speeches, letters, songs and prayers. The Scripture weaves the involvement of God through the intimacies of birth and death, lovemaking and betrayal, weddings and funerals, warring and peacemaking, wealth and poverty, hunger and thirst, tears and laughter. Across thousands of years with wave upon wave of names and faces and recurring events, the Bible threads God's patient words of love and faithfulness: I am with you.

–Richard Foster, Life With God

God created the heavens and the earth, and then created humans, God promised to be with us. God is so interested in a personal relationship, that God sent a son...to be born to a woman, a virgin as promised in Scripture, raised in an ordinary family, to live with ordinary people, and to die an extraordinary death...just because God so loved the world. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The ultimate promise is the Light of the World, our Lord and Savior. Let the Light of Jesus shine in you as you go through this Advent season.

a new sermon

Sermon given June 27 at 2nd Cong.

Psalm 16
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. 7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. 10 For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. 11 You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Obligatory joke to open the sermon....A Short Prayer…
Dear Lord,
So far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over indulgent. I’m very thankful for that.
But, in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help. Amen!

Psalm 16- of David

talking about redemption, through not his own actions but by choosing to follow God,. Seeking guidance, avoiding the choices that others make by following other gods and their own actions. Choosing to listen through his prayers to the guidance of God. Recognizing the eternal qualities of God, the Presence that is always there, recognizing his own freedom to choose to recognize that Presence in his daily life.

Galatians 5:1, 13-25
5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Ah the Fruits of the Spirit...a famous lesson. The gifts of the Holy Spirit of God. These are the qualities of God! The very qualities embodied by Christ in his time on earth, and the qualities to which we followers of Christ all aspire.

Quite a contrast with the list preceeding isn't it? “the acts of the sinful nature'”
these are actions that go against God,. That separate us from God.
They are qualities that we see a lot of, and may, occasionally exhibit ourselves, from time to time.. AND no, we are not here to say well this one does that and that one does this....No, today, let's look at the mirror, not at the neighbor!

There is a paradox at the heart of the Christian faith -- that we are most free when we are tied to Christ and surrendered to the Spirit. This is the essence of Congregationalism! “The Congregational Way is a way of following Christ. People of a Congregational Church do not seek to be led by a creed, but by the Spirit. Ours is the tradition of a free church, gathered under the headship of Christ and bound to others by love, not law.” this is very much like the early church that we read about in our Bibles, to whom Paul is writing in this and his other epistles.

We convenant together, we choose to be together, rather than being bound together by a set of prescribed statements of belief. This is VERY biblical! And yet, This can be challenging! Sometimes it is easier to have that set of 'rules” --a guidebook-- isn't it?

It is like the freedom we have here in the US. We are free to worship or not, free to work or not, free to live in ways that promote health and well being or not.
We as Christians are free to act in Godly ways, or not.
But we can and if we are true to our faith, we ought to! Our role is to be more like Christ, is it not? So how do we, like the person in the early morning prayer, once we are getting out of bed, refrain from the things that keep us separate from God? And let's be clear, this list of “No-no's” is more than just God saying, “I would like to see you do better...” the Scripture is very clear...that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ...If we are living in these ways..we are NOT part of God!
Well, someone may say, why are we like that then? God must have made us this way...it is just human nature!! No, technically it is not. We were created in God's image. Whether you believe that the Garden of Eden story is the absolute literal way we were created, or if you believe it is a beautiful word picture of creation, we were created in the image of God! We were created to have all these gifts of the Spirit. But we blew it. We blow it every day. What we want to call “human nature' is actually the sinful nature. And as one character says in the movie the African Queen, “Nature, Mr Allnut, is what we were put on this earth to rise above”
We can, rise above, we can be closer to what God created us to be...we can have a Godly nature....By the power of the holy spirit. The power, that Paul wrote in ephesians is at work in us...a power that is accessed, by acts of faith....the word of God, prayer, time with other people of faith! Paying attention to those nudges of conscience that guide us during the day.
Stop and listen.. when you are stressed, can you stop and listen, say a quick prayer for guidance? Even God Help me! Is a great prayer! As david wrote in the psalm, keep the Lord ever before you,, reminding ourselves of the Presence of the Lord throughout the day can help keep us on task. Do you have a sense of God;s presence? Sure, here, when we have good worship, wondeful music. When else do you find a real sense of God? A lot of say out in nature, at the shore, in the northwoods, the mountains. There are other ways, you may have a sense of God.... Ask God to help you keep him in mind through your day. Keeping God in mind, thinking about those fruits of the spirit, the qualities of God, can help keep us on task.
Jesus, God's son, Chose to live on earth, chose to live as a human, to show us how God truly is and how to live in a Godly way. Jesus chose this! He ate, slept, prayed, wept, never sinned, but neither did He condemn sinners. He came to love and to show us to love God and love one another. Jesus lived by faith, freely given US the freedom to choose to do likewise. And he chose, out of his tremendous love, to go to the Cross, for you and for me. And then gave His Holy spirit to us to help guide and teach us how to be more like Him.
When describing the early Christians to the Emperor Hadrian, Greek writer Aristides wrote: "They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the person who has nothing; if they see a stranger, they take him home as a brother or sister in the spirit, the Spirit of God."

Dallas Willard....The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988). Its thesis is very simple:

“There is a way of life that, if generally adopted, would eliminate all of the social and political problems from which we suffer. This way of life comes to whole-hearted disciples of Christ who live in the disciplines of the spiritual life and allow grace to bring their {actions} into alignment with their redeemed spirits”

Willard points out that the word disciple is used 269 times in the New Testament. The word Christian is found only three times - and the first time introduces the disciples (Acts 11:26). The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples and for disciples of Jesus Christ (258).

Here comes the clincher paragraph:

“For at least several decades the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit and teachings as a condition of membership...discipleship clearly is optional.” (258)

Conclusion?: Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have not yet decided to follow Christ. If we do not follow Christ, we do not have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are therefore not able to keep God with us, in our minds and in our hearts. We are unable to rise above,...to be true followers of The Lord Jesus.

Will you choose to make this commitment today- to truly follow our Loving Lord? Will you renew your life in Christ? Will you embrace the gifts of the spirit, turning your back on those things that keep us separate from God? Will you choose to help make this world a bit better place, one hour, one day at a time, right here, right now?

If so, Please pray with me...
You oh LORD are my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
You show me the path of life. In your presence there is joy; in your hand are pleasures forevermore. Help me, Lord God to use my freedom to not indulge the sinful nature; rather, to serve one another humbly in love. Help me to live the fruits of Your Spirit, and live out your love in all I do each day. We pray in the Name and Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

not keeping up here very well am I?!
We have adopted a kitten. She is adorable, tiny. She is a lovely smokey grey color. So she is named Ashley Shadow Squeakerton. She is now 9 weeks old and is up to 2 whole pounds! Our sons especially adore her. She seems to have helped older son out of the slump he has been in since his gf died in December. Nothing like a little purring ball of fluff to take your mind off your troubles!

Not reading as much as I should, I have trouble focusing for any length of time.
I have never been diagnosed with ADD, and I am certainly not hyperactive. But if i am short on sleep or anything, i can not concentrate for more than a few minutes on anything! Mayb a few brain circuits got fried during all those years of multi-tasking in a busy retail pharmacy!

Where did it go?

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"
-- today I was making a few phone calls to gals about Women's Circle. along about the 4th phone call, the person's phone rang 2 or 3 times and a man answered. My mind went utterly blank. NO idea whatsoever of who I had just dialed. In front of me is the whole church phone listing, so that's no immediate help. I said "Hi!" and stammered a bit, then said, "This Carol from church..." and the man burst out laughing and said, "You forgot who you are calling didn't you!" and he enlightened me as to whose home I had reached. Thank God I remembered HIS name before he went and got his wife for me. He was still laughing.

This is a "Wordle" of this blog. Fun web application. Check it out at www.wordle.net

Images created by the Wordle.net web application are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

April 1 2010 Maundy Thursday Sermon

Intro- it is Passover, Jewish holiday celebrated every year...going on now! To commemorate the Exodus, the escape of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt.

Luke 22 verses 14-20

14 When the hour came, {for the Passover meal} Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Our passage from the Gospel of Luke is of course the moment when Jesus instituted the sacrament of Communion.

This passage is a brief glimpse, just a few moments in this final evening of Jesus' life. We have heard the story....Jesus is about to tell his disciples that one of them will betray Him, that they will all desert Him. He woill then go into the Garden and pray in total anguish, ultimately praying to His Father in Heaven...”Not my will, but yours” He would be betrayed, arrested, deserted by His friends, endure beatings, a 'trial' on trumped up charges and be flogged and put to death. But this passage, this moment in the life of Jesus and the Twelve is a moment of joy. It is a moment that commemorates Jesus' whole purpose. It is a moment “he eagerly desired!”

Jewish-ness of Jesus and followers..and first Christians...Jesus raised in a Jewish family He would have been taught the traditions of prayer and sacrifice. Traditions that He would of course grow up to live out!

the Passover meal contains the observance of many rituals including: Eating bitter herbs to remember the bitterness of enslavement, eating unleavened bread-which commemorates the haste with which the Hebrew people had to leave Egypt, drinking of wine, relating the story of the exodus to the children.

The Exodus passage tells us of that first passover. The Hebrew people were to sacrifice a perfect lamb to feed their family, and the blood of that sacrifice, sprinkled on the doorposts, was a sign to keep them safe from the angel of death as the firstborn of Egypt were all slain. as the Israelites ate their quickly prepared meal, God's presence at the “table”, was their protection, and a judgment upon their enemies.

(From Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler & Lois Tverberg)

The idea of communing with God at his table was a key part of the sacrificial system of the temple. Certain offerings, like sin and guilt sacrifices, were completely consecrated to God. But others like the fellowship or peace offering, were different. In these kinds of offerings, the worshiper and his family, along with the priests, would consume a portion of the sacrifice. When they ate from the altar, it was as though God was sharing some of his food with them. By doing so, they were affirming that they were dining at God's table. Through their peace offering they celebrated their Shalom with God and with each other. The Israelites understood this as a true covenantal communion—that they could sit down to a meal with God.

The Passover meal is a time to celebrate that one is at peace with God, and with those around the table. No wonder Jesus “Eagerly desired” this moment!

He then renewed that covenant, and instituted a new covenant! The covenant with God through Jesus himself.

Bread is used so often in scripture as a symbol. Bread is a staple of the diet of every society. Yet Scripture says, “ people do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” During the 40 years in the wilderness the Israelites lived on manna, referred to as Bread from heaven.

in the New Testament, Jesus multiples bread and a few fish to feed thousands of people! after his resurrection, in the Road to Emmaus story, Jesus is with the two travelers for quite a while, yet they only recognize him when he takes bread, giving thanks and breaking it! In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life.

The bread that Jesus took at this meal and gave to his disciples was unleavened bread, Matzoh. It is broken into 3 pieces, and the piece that Jesus took was the middle piece, with symbolizes the priest or mediator between God and the people. So Jesus used this piece of bread, to tell his disciples and us, how He himself, his body, broken, would become the perfect mediator between us and God.

The Four Cups of wine used in the Seder primarily symbolize the four distinct redemptions promised by God to the Hebrews as told in Exodus 6:6-7. (1) "I will take you out of Egypt", (2) "I will deliver you from slavery", (3) "I will redeem you with a demonstration of my power", and (4) "I will acquire you as a nation".

The cup of wine Jesus took and gave to his disciples is the cup of redemption. God redeemed the Hebrew people from Egypt by a display of his power...the parting of the Red Sea. Jesus took the cup of redemption, and called it the New Covenant in his blood. We would be redeemed, by this act of sacrifice that Jesus was about to make on our behalf.

Jesus came to give us –each of US-the complete peace, the Shalom, the peace, and wholeness of God. This is from which comes this bit of joy and serenity that we sense in this brief passage. This shalom is present even in the midst of the anguish and suffering that Jesus would shortly endure.

There are people who display that sense of shalom, that knowledge that whatever is happening, God is in control! We all know folks like that. We have been blessed to have some right in this church. These are people whose faith enables them to sail pretty smoothly through life. I try...but I am not quite there yet. Years ago, when my family was going through some serious challenges, we had 2 deaths in one week. We were reeling, I tell you! But at the second visitation, for my grampa, was a rosary service. And I was watching my aunts, who were so calmed by the prayer service. I envied and admired their faith. I also doubted if I were capable of that deep a faith. Some time later, I shared that doubt with a friend, who wisely, quietly, said, “you can pray for more faith.” I am sure my prayer was very hesitant, something along the lines of “um, God, it's Carol, um,..i know you are busy, and have important stuff to tend to...but if you have a minute...i was wondering...” Well, if you need proof that God does NOT need us to be articulate in our prayers, I am here to tell ya, that hesitant prayer was answered. Gradually, my faith has increased. I am not all the way there yet, but with continued prayer, I'm getting closer! And God provided me with some models of faith and prayer to help me to pray with less hesitation! To learn to as scripture says, to boldly approach the throne of grace!

The Jewish faith has a profound tradition of prayer. To help the people to remind themselves of God's continual presence, they have short prayers of blessing to say throughout the day, from waking until going to sleep. These prayers are prayers of praise, recognizing that all gifts are from God. So these short prayers are to follow the commandment to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. The apostle Paul alludes to this tradition of prayer in his epistles...

just one example is 1 Thessalonians 5--16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Can we embrace this tradition? can we strive to make our every act a prayer? just as Jesus was taught and as he taught. As we pray “Give us this day our Daily bread...” can we remember that we are asking for the necessities of life, and asking Jesus,the Bread of Life, to be lord of our lives more today than yesterday!

In just a few moments, to prepare for Communion we will sing part of a Psalm, another Jewish tradition, praying “Oh Lord you are my God, I trust in you.” Let us make that more than a song, but a prayer. As we take the Bread of Life and the Cup of Redemption, Let us pray to make our lives, more of a prayer, to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

quote

quote i just found:
"Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good."
— Maya Angelou (Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer)

Friends

Wrote this today for our church national association Lenten devotions publication

"I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15 TNIV

My friend and I ate our dessert in silence. With some folks, it is awkward when neither has anything to say. This friend and I are comfortable in silence together. We have been friends since grade school. We were not in touch for a time, as we both went through considerable life changes. But we are back together, and it is just as if we were never apart. What a gift it is to have a such a close friend!

Jesus said to the disciples, "I called you friends". What a gift! He called them friends, because He made known what He knew from God. This is intimacy, when one shares with another. Sharing requires that we are open to one another. The disciples were open to Jesus' teachings. It was a process that did not happen overnight! Real intimacy does not happen instantaneously. It comes over time.

How can we allow ourselves to be more open to the teachings of Jesus? Can we spend more time with Him, in our Bible time, small groups, in worship, and in service? Shall we accept the gift of friendship from our Lord?

Prayer: Loving Lord, thank you for the gift of friendship. Help us to grow in our friendship with You and with other Christians. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

be still

Devotion that i gave this morning at church staff meeting: The senior minister is beginning a sermon series on spiritual discernment, How do we discern (learn, interpret, comprehend) the direction God is leading us? So the first step is : Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

We need to have quiet time in order to hear from God. in 1 Kings 19, the voice of the Lord is referred to as "still, small voice". in our time, the word "small" seems to mean "insignificant". And of course God's voice is significant! Author Henri Nouwen refers to the voice of God as "an intimate voice". It is not loud, or pushy like a tv sales pitch! In fact I think we are so used to "hey hey Have I got a deal for you" in our daily lives, that we do not remember to take time to be still and know that God is. We pray for the ability to better listen to the intimate voice of God.

Godly Goals

On Jan. 1, as I sat down to do my Bible reading, I was thinking/praying about my New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are goals. To effectively set goals, whether personal or for a group or business, there need to be parameters. Good goals need to be specific, realistic, & measurable. And as I was pondering this, I realized that as a Christian, as one called to serve, my goals also need to be Godly! And what better way to have Godly Goals, than to use Scripture!?
So my goal of reading thru the Bible this year (which has a side benefit of being more knowledgeable about it!) is "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." So I can pray, "Lord, help me spend more time reading and pondering your word, and help it grow in me and guide me in all I do"

2010

a new year! so is it pronounced twenty-ten or two thousand ten?

Last night's New Year's Eve service and supper at church went well. and broke up earlier than usual which was good! we were home by 8:30. I went to sleep early but woke up before midnight. and the neighborhood was quieter than usual at midnight, a few firecracker volleys but that was it. I read Revelation 21 & 22, the description of the heaven..the New Jerusalem. "Behold I am coming soon!"

at the service we sang a couple songs, then i read Gen 1:1-5 and John 1:1-5 and 1:14. Talked about language, words. God merely spoke and everything was created. and His word-promises, law and covenants came to Abraham and Moses. The prophets spoke of God; then Jesus the Word, is God and is the promise of God's word. We can have The Word within us, Jesus as savior and the word of God as we read and meditate and pray on it.

and I am going to go do just that. I have a new Bible reading plan and devotions for the new year. knowing that there will be days I do not manage the 'daily readings' I am going to allot days like today, downtime, to read chunks. bliss.

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus be with us more each day in this new year! Shalom, Carol