Confession and renewal!

Confession...

As those close to me know, weight is a struggle for me. I was not heavy as a teen or in my 20s, in fact I could eat almost anything and not gain! but I slowly gained through my 30s and beyond. In my early 50s I weighed over 200 lbs. I am barely 5'3”...so yes I was quite overweight, obese. 

That was the end of 2007. in 2008 I lost between 25-30 lbs. Some crept back over the next couple years, but I kept off a total of 15 lbs. At the end of 2012, I was back up over 200 and not happy about it! Not all the way back up to 'morbid obesity” but definitely in bad shape. I reviewed what I had done in the past, mistakes & successes, did a lot of reading and research. My budget did not allow for joining a paid program. But online there is a TON of information, and some is even reliable! (a lot isn't! One MUST use common sense and do research. And ignore the TV doctors, who shill for their advertisers.) I didn't want to “diet.” I wanted to be healthy, to enjoy my family and to be able to serve God and serve my church for a long time to come. There is a site called Spark People that I had used before. It is all free to use. Tracked what I ate, tracked exercise. There is community support, good recipes. Lots of articles about motivation, nutrition info. They are ALL about helping people make good choices to live a healthy lifestyle, which is exactly what I wanted! They have recommended diets to follow, but with my allergies and general pickyness I worked out my own plan. Drink plenty of water. Have fruit and veggies at every meal, whole grains, lower fat, but use olive oil for the healthy Omega fats it provides. Lots of salads and fresh foods. Savor what I eat..enjoying the colors and textures, aroma and tastes. And a bit of chocolate...good quality dark chocolate is OK! That way one does not feel deprived :)

SO in 2013 I lost 48 lbs ::big smile!:: I felt great, following a healthy lifestyle, for maybe the first time in my whole life!

This year, 2014 I had hoped/planned to maintain over the winter and lose the last 15 before my 60^th birthday in October.

Oops.... I didn't quite make it. I maintained over the winter, but...I have a thing for ice cream. And after a rough winter I celebrated spring. Some of those 'small servings, savored' gradually became larger, frequent servings.. and I wasn't as diligent about exercise. So about 10 lbs crept back. I am not blaming myself, but learned from the experience! I geared up in November and even through Thanksgiving stuck to my healthy eating, and have ramped up the exercise . I am back on the losing track. I am ready to make 2015 my best year ever. I know that after years-indeed decades-of failing to care for myself, it's something to commit to every day! Just as I read Bible passages and a devotion every single morning, I have to commit to care for myself in order to help serve God well. I am making 2015 new, as God makes all things new! Will you join me?  

Dec 26, Friday Five "Recovery Mode"

Friday Five (from RevGalBlogPals page http://revgalblogpals.org/)

1. What’s your “chill out” foot gear? Slippers or socks? Or Birkenstocks? (Poem not intentional)
   (answer) athletic sandals (support for my achy-breaky feet) with nice fuzzy sox on chilly days.

2. A holiday treat or beverage that just makes you say “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”

(a) I make cookies and brownies for Christmas, and this year the brownies were extra good. AND I replaced half the butter with plain Greek Yogurt, reducing fat and calories significantly. The texture and taste were great. This is now my go-to recipe.

3. What sight or sound moved you during the season? (This can be good or bad.)
   (a) the first song at our Christmas Eve service was O Holy Night, sung by a tenor from our choir, with his wife accompanying on piano. It was beautiful rendition of one of my faves. It set the tone for the service beautifully and helped me feel so worshipful and enjoy the service. also seeing a young bald eagle pair that are evidently living near the park where i like to walk. 

4. With whom did you enjoy sharing time with over the Christmas season?
   Older son. He and I got to just sit and chat 1 on 1 for a bit, it's been a while!

5. Was there someone missing from your festivities? How are you doing with that?
   This is one Christmas our immediate family hasn't lost anyone. We've had a few rough ones in the past. So I am grateful to be able to remember those gone from a distance. I was remembering how when our boys were young we would be together with Martin's Mom & Grandma and my Dad and Stepmother. And M's eldest brother and his sons. It was fun and chaotic!

BONUS:

A photo of a bodaciously wonderful present, delicious food, or lovely place that was a part of your holiday.

Well, since i forgot to take pics of dinner or gifts, here is a pic of Ashley Kitty "helping" after we did gifts. 

Hopes and Dreams Sermon given at United Church of Beloit Nov 30, 2014

Old Testament Lesson Isaiah 64:1-4 (ESV)

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence―
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil―
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.

New Testament Lesson 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (ESV)

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Came across some interesting quotes from experts–

            "Everything that can be invented has been invented." 
        --Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899. 

    "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." 
         --Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929. 

    "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."  --A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp. 

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."  -Western Union internal memo, 1876. 

"So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or, we' ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And, they said, 'No.' So then, we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'"  --Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer. 

  "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." 
            --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. 

So much for listening to the 'experts” right? I think they perhaps just didn't have the whole “Big Picture' in mind!

Advent―time of waiting, expectation, ...yearning! It is also a time when we repent, (that's why purple is the color, same as lent!) so that we can properly behold the Newborn King!

The first candle is traditionally the candle of Hope (or in some traditions, Prophecy). There are a few different traditions for the meaning of the advent candles. The most familiar is Hope, Joy, Love, Peace. There is also Prophecy, Shepherds, Bethlehem, and Angel. You see how each is an aspect of the Christmas story :D

fortunately, the prophet Isaiah did NOT turn out to be like that Decca Records executive!

Isaiah prophet during, some of the hardest times the Hebrew people endured. There were two eras in their history that they commemorate in worship on a regular basis. One is the Exodus, led by Moses, (including the Passover meal, which we commemorate with Communion) and the other is the Babylonian Exile. This was a time of about 70 years, that began nearly 600 years before the time of Jesus. Their homeland was embattled, their Temple destroyed, the temple dedicated by King David and constructed by his son Solomon. The belief was that God resides in the Temple in the Ark of the Covenant, and so with it's destruction, God had no home, they were exiled and had no home and so were completely lost without even God!

Isaiah is praying, prophesying that God would come in PERSON! To right the wrongs. To free those in exile, under the thumb of an oppressive foreign government.

Hard for us in US to imagine this...but I think in some ways we are oppressed...by a culture of advertising, of wanting more and giving less, by a culture that tells us over & over! that the wants of an individual...that “MY' wants are more important than the needs of those around me. And it's pervasive, it's hard to resist this! People want to be liked, to be popular, to have nice things, to go to fun places. But truly I believe that the commercialism of our times is a 'false prophet”.

Isaiah's reminder that God did “Awesome things that we did not look for..” what a message of hope this is. God does things that we don't even expect! “no one has seen a God like you..” We are reminded through these words that God is never absent, has never abandoned god's people, even when everything seems hopeless. That God will come down, to be with God's own people.. Isaiah's writings contain many prophecies of Jesus, including those of the virgin birth, as well as visions of the 'suffering servant'. All of these were recorded hundreds of years before Jesus' time.

Our new testament lesson comes from the Apostle Paul. This is from his letter to the church in Corinth.

(READ NT LESSON)

God is faithful....and will come back again!

If Paul viewed his churches as his children, Corinth was 'the wild child'. It was a seaport with lots of diversity of peoples and activities, most of those activities were not exactly wholesome!

And within this church were lots of opinions, many of which were NOT in line with good Christian teachings! Paul later in this letter rebukes folks especially for their 'puffed up” attitudes, it would seem there was quite a bit of 'holier than thou”. (some of those 'experts” again!) But he is starting off by recounting their blessings, and they did have many!

In this passage Paul is speaking to the church as a whole..the pronoun “you” in the original language is plural pronoun. So Paul is writing to them as a community. Later on he will address issues that some individuals have, but he is speaking to them as a whole, about what they have and what they do that is good and right! Because they are better together than they are as individuals. The prophecies OT and New are given to people IN community. Because God created us to be together with God and with each other.

Because we each have different gifts and skills and when we put them together we can accomplish some amazing things!

Last week our church hosted a Community-Wide service. We had folks here from a total of 7 churches, including at least 2 African-American churches. We had good worship time together and most everyone had some snacks after, and best of all, folks lingered downstairs, getting to know one another. There was a real effort to promote Christian community and there were some great ideas for ways to continue and grow this kind of activity. By finding common ground, we can celebrate our diversity while intentionally spend time to get to know each other. We can then look past the outward differences and see what's important to us! We can therefore work together to help break some of the divisions in our city and beyond.

Of course this week the news has been full of the racial problems. I do not want to start any debates, all of us together could not solve this problem! But maybe, together we can do some good!

But I came across a statement posted online by a young man named Benjamin Watson. He is an NFL player in New Orleans, and I want to share what he said,.

“At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:

I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.

I'M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios.

I'M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I'm a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a "threat" to those who don't know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt.

I'M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment.

I'M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family, the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations, insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth about what happened that day.

I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take "our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right.

I'M HOPELESS, because I've lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I'm not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.

I'M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it's a beautiful thing.

I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.”

Hope...

Benjamin Watson reminds all of us of the hope we have this season. He said later on CNN, and I believe his lessons, his wisdom pertains to many situations;

He said the key is to get past that first level of emotion. You have to understand why you are angry, he said.

And then take it a step further.

We need to understand the other side brings his own experiences to each situation.

"It's really important that we take a step back sometimes and think about the other side before we make accusations and assumptions," he said.

We need to step back and think about the other side. We all want things neat and tidy and to OUR expectations. We want the world to turn according to our own direction. But if we step back and think about the other side, that we have a variety of peoples and experiences. Not all are what WE would live, but maybe if we listen to each other's stories we will better understand. And when we strive to understand, we are better people, and better followers of Christ.

thru Advent and Christmas, we look at prophecies of God, we hear the words of the prophets, who wrote of the One in whom we Hope, the one who brings joy, love, peace, Emmanuel, God within. Yes God within, we each have Jesus inside of us, and Jesus is in others, too! can we see Jesus in each other? God created all kinds of people...and God came to live with and within God's own creation. And even us....Let us love and live better today as we wait in hope for the coming Christ Child!

another Friday Five from RevGalBlogPals

First, Sweet or Salty? Or both? Describe that gotta-have-it treat. (It can be healthy or paleo-friendly, or decadent. We won’t judge!)

sweet...(we are what we eat, right?-laughing) 

the gotta-have-it treat for me is chocolate ice cream, or being a Wisconsin gal, Frozen custard! With hot fudge, and oreo crumbles. Or mini choc. chips. Or a brownie....if I am going for it, I am going for decadence!

2. Self-control: How do you help yourself stay strong with the temptation of All That Sugar?

Self-control? What is that? Seriously, this is a struggle and I have worked hard on it. Small portions, savored. Reminding myself of just HOW many calories/fat grams are in that decadent dessert.

3. Have you successfully cut (or decreased) sugar out of your diet? How did you do it?

Decreased yes. I have some good quality treat, and try to eat it slowly, mindful of the aroma, flavor, texture.

4. What’s one sweet you won’t do without. Ever.
   Dark chocolate. Preferably Dove. But a Hershey's with almonds works in an emergency!

5. Just for fun: if you were a candy bar, which one would you be?
   Snickers or Hershey's with almonds, sweet and nutty ;)

Friday Five (from RevGalBlogPals)

1. How do you sign off in your emails, professional and personally? For example, you say “Blessings”,
   “Take Care”, “Remember, the Devil is watching you” (o.k. just kidding on that one.) Let us know and why…

Professional emails: Shalom, Pastor Carol, Title & church

Personal emails sig is “Save the Earth-it's the only planet with Chocolate!”

2. If you were an animal TODAY, what is it and why?
   A) Cat, because i need more SLEEP! how DO they sleep so much?!  and wake up alert?! 

3. If you get snarky, what triggers it? If you don’t get snarky, please, what is the secret?
   Stupidity in various forms...and I try NOT to post snark, because it doesn't do much good-it won't change the idiocy, and negativity is NOT what Jesus would do....BUT a couple weeks ago when a friend posted an inspirational video of a male gymnast, someone else commented he wished it was a vid of a chick....and i HAD to reply "yes, because nowhere on the internet is there any video of a scantily dressed 'chick' moving in provocative manner." and i did get a lot of 'likes' on that. ;)

4. Look up from your computer/tablet/phone screen. What is the first favorite thing your eyes land on. Describe it. 
   Our cat..Ashley, who is ash grey tabby with gold eyes and some calico markings on her feet and tummy. She is 7 pounds of attitude! She growls at thunderstorms and UPS trucks!

5. Do you have a favorite pair of socks? Tell us about them!
   no fave sox.....BUT I was just thinking last night (when I couldn't sleep) I need some good soft sleep sox!

on RevGalBlogPals I found the Friday Five Random questions. here they are with my answers for today, Sept 12 in Purple

Random Friday Five is back!

1. If you could sneak away anywhere this weekend, right now, all expenses paid, where would you go and what would you do?
   A)any sunny beach- ideally Florida. with someone to fetch food and beverage  :) (water and iced coffee...yes, i really AM that boring..)

2. What is for lunch today? (one of the very first FF asked this.)
   A) leftover pizza -one of the best parts about making or getting pizza for dinner is the leftover the next day!

3. Along that first-FF-I-ever-played theme, what are you wearing today?
   A) jeans, and warmup jacket cuz it's freakin' November weather! 

4. Along the Today Theme, what are you doing today?
   A) catching up at home today, and going make soup, cuz it's freakin' November weather 

5. Along the random theme, what is your favorite scent, and why?
   A) cinnamon, tho i love the scent of coffee brewing as i get up in the morning

August 24, 2014     Getting to the Core          

OT lesson: Psalm 150

Let Everything Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

NT lesson: Mark 2:1-12

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd,they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,“Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”―he said to the paralytic― 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Psalm 150, deliberately chosen since we had a variety of music and musicians in worship this morning. Can you imagine a service with trumpets? Cymbals? Maybe worship wasn't always somber and serious! ;)

Sermon series based on various sports....

Weight training....great for muscles, calorie burn etc... muscles that are toned burn calories all the time even at rest!

Must use good form to avoid injury, as in all sports. there is a correct way to do each exercise...One of the biggest ways is to engage core. Core muscles are abs, side and back even hips and glutes. Keeping one's core strong helps posture, balance and stability, helps your back, and a strong core can help prevent injury even in daily activities. (Wish I had learned this 40 years ago...)

So in our faith life...things that are hard about being a Christian...working the CORE of our faith.....especially in an era that does not encourage people to express their faith, to attend church.

New testament reading from the Gospel of Mark...

as I read our Gospel lesson, imagine the scene, picture it...imagine you are there.

READ GOSPEL LESSON

homes in this region and time had a flat thatched roof, which was accessible, as it was used as storage and as a place to sit in the cool of the evening :) One lived with a large extended family, who may have had a few homes together, around an open yard. So Jesus would be speaking in the front part of the house with people all around and probably filling the open yard too.

Jesus in this passage is shown to have 3 distinct divine qualities, forgiveness. He can discern the thoughts of his critics..(omniscience) and he performs a healing.

This is early in his ministry and the author Mark is giving us no room for doubt of who Jesus really is. Jesus' divinity is at the core of this story.

The people who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus...we don't hear what they say....and we don't hear from that man either actually. Was he a passive part of the story? Or might he have been saying, I don't care what you have to do, get me to this Jesus! So the men not only carried him up onto the roof...they dug through the roof, which would have likely been a few layers of dried mud and straw over wooden crossbeams. Luke's version of this story says they removed roof tiles. Luke was writing for a different audience in a different area who would have had clay tile roofs.

Either way, this was not an easy task. And if they were indeed digging through thatch, it would have been messy. Once they made progress stuff would have been falling threw ..maybe even ON to Jesus! Can you imagine the other people around? Can you imagine the home owner? Or his wife...

but Jesus doesn't respond to the unusual aspects of this story, he just looks at the man and says affectionately Son your sins are forgiven.

Then Jesus shows his Omniscience...and finally his authority as Son of Man, a reference to the book of Daniel, one of the Hebrew prophets.

(Daniel 7:13) "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.”

This is a prophecy of the Messiah! Jesus is saying I am the one you've been waiting for!

So when I asked you to imagine you were IN this scene...how did you picture yourself. Were you watching it all, taking it all in? Were you in front, near Jesus, watching hunks of dried mud and thatch falling? Were you the homeowner thinking what in the world are they doing to my house?! Were you thinking who is this Jesus person anyway? Were you one of the friends working SO hard to get this man to Jesus? Were you the one in need of healing?

We all need some healing sometimes...just as we sometimes are the ones saying who IS this Jesus anyway....and sometimes we get to help someone else get to Jesus.

SO how do we engage the core of our faith... we start by knowing God through Jesus.--for God so loved the world.....and what does the bible say?

Be still and know that I am God.

I came across something I have saved for a long time..it's something called the Simple Path..

Mother Teresa's Simple Path

The fruit of silence is prayer.

The fruit of prayer is faith

The fruit of faith is love

The fruit of love is service

The fruit of service is peace.

“be still and know that I am God..” the fruit of silence is prayer... conversing with God, listening as well as talking, listening for that quiet voice..

the fruit of prayer is faith...we know God and our faith and trust deepen...

the fruit of faith is love. Faith helps us to recognize and take in that incomparable, immeasurable unconditional eternal LOVE. And when we realize that love for ourselves, we reach out to share it...that is service.

The fruit of service is peace.

Marva Dawn

God has called everyone to be part of God's mission in the world.

To accomplish this mission in the world we need to be engaged in the core of our faith and our community. This is how we are strengthened and equipped. We then can reach out in love, serving others, carrying them to Jesus! And then we find peace...that perfect Shalom of God, the peace that comes from within.

Last week,along with several other churches, we helped carry some folks to Jesus. They may not have recognized it 100%, but they knew something special was going on...as they received free school supplies, a lunch, hair cuts for kids, and several hours of fun on a Saturday afternoon in the park―in a safe environment. It took several church groups and a lot of time and work and again I thank you all for your support and participation. It's a perfect example of what can happen when we are focused―not on ourselves, but on our Loving Lord.

we're going to continue to engage the core...Jesus--the core of our faith-- our core values of worship, mission and outreach, fellowship, discipleship, and stewardship. We need to gird those muscles and do some weight training....we may need to flex muscles that we haven't used for a long time!

We will add some bible study groups, we are going to work to get to know each other, …I don't think we need to break through a roof!! we may step out of our comfort zone a bit.

“It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.”
Anne Lamott,  Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Are you ready?  

Sermon What, Me Worry?

I am way behind in my blog, here is the most recent sermon 

(July 20 at United Church of Beloit) 

What, Me Worry? 

Sermon Series: Lord, It's Hard to be a Christian

Isaiah 44:6-8
44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
44:7 Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.
44:8 Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.

Matthew 6 Do Not Be Anxious

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

{series- Lord it's Hard to be a Christian..based on '10 hardest things to do in sports}

Back in High school my best friend and I enjoyed playing tennis. We never had lessons, just what we learned in gym class, so we hadn't learned how to put top spin on the ball or anything, but we could serve and volley. but the scoring never made sense...which goes Love, 15, 30, 40, game or deuce, advantage in.

Q: How many tennis players does it take to change a light bulb? A: "What do you mean it was out, it was in!"

Q: Why should you never fall in love with a tennis player? A: To them, "Love" means nothing. 

Our OT lesson from Isaiah –God says even tho things stink right in this moment, it won't be like that forever....Fear NOT!

READ GOSPEL LESSON

From Sermon on the Mount...Jesus' wonderful 'sermon” that begins with the Beatitudes, this passage is right in the middle of the 'sermon”.

One day I was sitting outside and some birds flew very close to me, so close that I was startled. And it reminded me that the Sermon was preached outside...Maybe a flock of birds flew near by as Jesus was speaking and he said...consider the birds of the air...

Good speakers, good teachers use what is available, what their audience can see and hear and relate to. So Jesus said Look at the lilies blooming right over there...consider the birds flying by....doesn't God take care of them? And you are of more value than they are! So God will take care of you too!! why worry!

Now there is a lot of irony in me preaching on “do not worry”. You see I'm a worrier. It's one of the things I do best. And I read this (and I have read this many times...) and it hits home every time. Do any of you worry? (I KNOW you do....)

Author Francis Chan writes in the book Crazy Love, “Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.”

Worry come from fear. We worry when we are afraid...afraid of what we might hear, of something bad happening, of losing control...

yet the bible says over and over...Fear Not.

I was very worried this week..about a few things, but especially about someone I am close to who was in the hospital...and I prayed hard.

Prayer helps with worry. Prayer helps calm and helps remind us that God is in control...you see worry and negative emotions trigger adrenaline and stress hormones. So prayer and physical activity -taking a walk- help dispel those and replace them with dopamine and other 'feel good hormones”

So when I begin to worry, I remind myself to pray....and it helps. If it can help me, a world class worrier, it can help you! And reading the bible helps too. Because pretty soon you will find a “fear not...” and those reminders of God's love and being with us no matter what! The Bible and prayer remind us God is in control and is indeed big enough, powerful enough, loving enough to take care of us, no matter what.

God being with us always was the theme of the NACCC Annual meeting this year, that we attended a few weeks ago. Thank you again for allowing Martin & me to represent you all. The bible lecturer was fantastic, one of the best we've heard. Dr. Richard Cleaves..from Cheltenham, UK and teaches at the University of Winchester.

He spoke on how to read the scriptures...using the Jewish perspective...saying among other things... “It has been the tendency in Protestant circles to seek a definitive meaning in Scripture. This is quite different from the Jewish approach – for the Jewish approach asks questions of  Scripture. And it is in the questioning that the truths of Scripture emerge.”

He quoted Walter Brueggemann “....a recurring Christian propensity is to give closure to our readings  and  interpretations, it is recurringly Jewish to recognize that our readings are always provisional, because there is always another text, always another commentary, always another rabbinic {commentary}midrash, that moves beyond any particular reading.” 

when the Pilgrims were about to launch their journey to the New World., their pastor John Robinson said, “I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth from His holy word.”

I believe that the movement of seriously looking at the Jewish traditions and context are a part of the way that more truth and light is breaking forth!

People very often take scripture and look at a verse or two or even a chapter...but asking questions, keeping in mind the context and the ancient traditions helps us to remember to look at the big picture, the whole story. When we look at the whole story, it challenges us to think big picture. To put things into perspective. To know that if God cares for flowers and trees and birds...well I guess maybe God's going to make sure we are OK too.

I get that my standing here saying “God will take care of us” sounds pretty hollow when this week there was a commercial jetliner shot down, Palestinians and Israel are bombing each other, YOUNG children are pouring over our borders desperate to escape the abject poverty and violence at home.. and a major corporation is cutting thousands of jobs. It sounds shallow to say “God is with you” when these things are happening...

And there have been times in my faith walk when I struggled with these kinds of things. When it feels like prayer doesn't even get as far as the ceiling....and I know most of us have had those feelings. We all have had losses...

But I can not believe that God CAUSES awful things to happen...

"God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal, living in a world of inflexible natural laws. The painful things that happen to us are not punishments for our misbehavior, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God's part. Because the tragedy is not God's will, we need not feel hurt or betrayed by God when tragedy strikes. We can turn to him for help in over-coming it, precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are."-Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

“Do not be anxious...Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...”

and we can help bring the Kingdom to people who are in need of help! We can do this out of the love that we have and compassion. Because we know what it's like to lose a job, lose a loved one.

Also in the news this week locally at least...were articles about Meals on Wheels, Caritas, Love INC and the Book Bag Bash and Project 16:49. all of these are missions of this very church. I don't think it's a coincidence that they have all been featured recently. We and all people and other churches who contribute to these organizations need to be reminded that we are instrumental in this community. We individually and especially as a church are making a difference. If we keep our focus on the Lord, on our mission, we will continue to help bring the Kingdom of heaven to people here in Beloit, and the surrounding area as well as in the rest of the nation and world. And this church will continue to grow and thrive to serve the next generations!

Just like in tennis, we start with Love―except, in tennis love is nothing.

in life, Love is the beginning, It's the foundation..the Love of God...God who is the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega...

God who created the heavens and the earth, and so loved God's creation..he gave Jesus. Jesus who wept with his friends, Jesus who reminds us to not be anxious, but to seek first the kingdom of God and ALL things will be given to us.

Sermon 2/9/14 United Church of Beloit. All You Need is Love

Our Favorite Verses-All You Need is Love  

A Psalm for giving thanks.

100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

1 Corinthians 13 (NRSV)

The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Our passage today is a favorite of B.. It was a favorite of her grandmother, who passed her love onto her family. It's a beautiful passage, one that we often hear at weddings! For a wedding is when we really celebrate love. Weddings and Valentine's day...which is this week....Gentlemen? Valentine's Day is FRIDAY...you have now been reminded :)

I paired the Corinthians text with Psalm 100, because this (and many other) psalms remind us of the steadfast nature of God's love. That God is eternal and eternally loving. That is why we worship, why we come to sing and praise God.

Our NT lesson from 1 Corinthians...the Apostle Paul wrote to many churches, the church in Corinth was sort of “his wild child”. Corinth was a large port city, with all the troubles that a large port city can develop in a society in which there is a lot of variety of people, ideas and disciplines...or lack thereof. (sound familiar?) So Paul wrote this and another letter to the church there to remind them of the basics, to help them get back on track.

This is chapter 13. the chapter immediately preceding is about how we are one Body in Christ and we have different gifts, each gift is valuable to serve the body. Then here in Ch. 13, Paul talks about Love.

This is a description of perfect love, of Divine Love. This is the love of God. We, humans, can aspire to this sort of love. This is part of how we follow Our Lord Jesus better...by aspiring to His love.

The intro in one study bible says that this letter “is marked by 3 outstanding segments, the absense of any one of which would leave us remarkably poorer. The first has to do with the Lord's Supper..(ch11, “for I share with you as it was given to me...”) ...the second is the great hymn of love in which Paul states that all of the gifts of the {Corinthian} church shink into insignificance if love is missing. … No matter what we do, if we are doing it for any reason that is not love, we are nothing without the love of God.

I was reading about some of the Olympic athletes. One is a hockey player named Anne Schleper-- From St. Cloud, MN

Anne has been stalwart in her hockey career at U-Minn.. she played a record setting 158 games, often battling thru injuries in order to never miss a game. She not only is extremely talented athlete, but mentors less experienced players as well, knowing from her own experience how important that can be.

Schleper points to her experience with a group called Athletes in Action as the time when the religion of her childhood became a personal faith. Schleper now leads a Bible study at Team USA training camps. "Any time you get in the athletic environment, it's challenging as a Christian. It's easy to have an 'it's about me' attitude," she says. "That's why it's important to be around other Christians who can lift you up and pray for you. It's good to stay connected, and that's where I've seen those Bible studies at camps be so huge...”

yes, it's good to stay connected! To be with others., that's what a life of faith is all about. That;s what living in the Love of Christ is about...staying connected, forming new connections, reaching out in love, to check on others, to care for others. That's how we spread the Light of Christ.

That is why THIS church is called into being. 1^st Pres and 2^nd Cong are both 'daughter' churches of the very first church in Beloit, 1^st Cong. The people who formed that church, back in the 1830s when the new community of Beloit was forming, consisted of Congregationalists and Presbyterians. There was a paragraph in the charter of that first church that the Presbyterian members could, at any time form a new Presbyterian church. (sort of a “no fault” clause)

They chose to do so in 1849. the catalyst for that decision was the issue of the abolition of slavery. Second Cong was founded 10 years later when there was development on the west side of Rock river. A nice wooden bridge had been constructed about where Grand avenue is now, and businesses and homes were springing up. The Second Cong. charter was signed in mid-February 1859. I suspect that folks were tired of slip-sliding across a snowy, icy bridge on Sunday mornings.

Our individual churches were founded in love and practicality. To maintain a beloved denominational identity and take action for a cause; and to have a church home closer to work and home.

We came together because of love and practicality. One group realized their building was in too much disrepair, yet a commitment was made to stay together as a church, as the body of Christ. that is remarkable. As we explored options together, spent time together, we realized that both our churches have that 'family feeling' and we enjoy each other's company. The merger was a LOT of work. And we find ourselves working hard again now to find a new Sr Minister, and some of us are feeling a bit lost. But our core values are intact. When there is a need in the neighborhood or the community, you all step up so fast, I can hardly keep up! A few weeks ago we had ribbons for MLK Day, the ribbons were a fundraiser for a scholarship. $1 got you a nice ribbon to wear sunday and monday. I ordered 30 ribbons, and when I turned them back in, there were a few left in the envelope. But there was also $70!! SEVENTY dollars, for about 25 ribbons. That's the love of Our Lord at work right here. I have a dozen stories like that, our Book Bag Bash, Hands of Faith, we average 45-50 volunteers every session that we host. And we will have even more opportunities this coming year, with a new pastor, with a bigger Book Bag Bash, with Vacation Bible School, more chances to reach out love.

The intro in my study bible says that this letter “is marked by 3 outstanding segments, ... The first has to do with the Lord's Supper..the second is the great hymn of love --

The third is the magnificent defense for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. (chap 15).

Jesus lived out God's Love. Jesus, born to a working class family in a non-descript town, lived and loved and taught. He told stories, healed people, sometimes showed a bit of frustration, “how much longer do I have to put up with you?” but I suspect it was said with a twinkle in his eyes!! Jesus is the embodiment of this perfect love described in our passage! Jesus, purely out of love, went to the cross for each of us, and was raised from the dead...to show the power of love is greater than any other power on earth!

Years ago, a Johns Hopkins professor gave a group of graduate students this assignment: Go to the {inner city} Take 200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and investigate their background and environment. Then predict their chances for the future.

The students, after consulting social statistics, talking to the boys and compiling much data, concluded that 90 percent of the boys would spend some time in jail.
Twenty-five years later, another group of graduate students was given the job of testing the prediction. They went back to the same area. Some of the boys - by then men - were still there, a few had died, some had moved away, but they got in touch with 180 of the original 200. They found that only four of the group had ever been sent to jail.

Why was it that these men, who had lived in a breeding place of crime, had such a surprisingly good record? The researchers were continually told: "Well, there was a teacher ..."

They pressed further and found that in 75 percent of the cases it was the same woman. The researchers went to this teacher, now living in a home for retired teachers. How had she exerted this remarkable influence over that group of children? Could she give them any reason why these boys should have remembered her?

"No," she said, "no, I really couldn't." And then, thinking back
over the years, she said musingly, more to herself than to the researchers: "I loved those boys. ..."

there has never been a time when LOVE is needed like now. The LOVE of God, expressed in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is all you need. When we are loved so well, when we comprehend that love, we have no choice but to reach out and share it. That is our calling as individuals, and as a church. Let's live that love today!! THIS is the love to live and celebrate! The Love of our Lord. 

Sermon Jan. 19, 2014 "Who is My Neighbor?"

Deuteronomy 6: 4-12
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him{Jesus} to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Our favorite verses:

Opening joke....A young lawyer died and was escorted to the pearly gates. Upon arriving the lawyer started protesting for he was only 32 years old, and there must be some mistake. The listening angel agreed that perhaps it was a mistake and agreed to look into it. After a few minutes the angel came back and said “I’m sorry sir but I am afraid there is no mistake, we calculated your age by how many hours you billed your clients, and you are at least 96.

Deuteronomy 6, very familiar words, we read this for a baptism! “hear oh Israel, the lord is One...One God”. Not a god of sun and a god of the harvest and a goddess of moon and gods of fertility and whatever..but One God. YHWH. The creator, God who made a covenant with Abraham, saying your descendents will be like the stars in the sky...the Lord who freed the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt.

The Lord who is not to be forgotten, when we have homes and enough to eat....this was told to the Israelites after their 40 years in the desert, when they were about to enter the land that had been promised to them. Remember Who brought you to this...who was WITH you thru the 40 years, God was with them..as a cloud during the day...a cloud is protection from the sun when you are in the desert...and as a pillar of fire all night...a source of light and heat and protection from animals. Even tho the israelites had to wander, taking 40 days for a 2 week trip...God was with them thru it all. And in deuteronomy, Moses is reminding them of all of that.

this is the beginning of the Great prayer, the Shema, prayed daily by Jewish people every day-for 5000 years! When Jesus said this, his listeners would have known immediately what he was referring to.

Jesus did refer to this prayer...our passage from Luke is one of the times that Jesus said we are to Love God and Love one another. And he told a famous story to illustrate it.

Imagine you are in the crowd around Jesus. Listen to what He has to say...

READ GOSPEL LESSON

now this is a story Jesus told, it didn't actually happen, but it could have. The setting was a road that was well known and known to be dangerous. But Jesus' telling of this story would have challenged his listeners. A priest went by! A holy man, the person perhaps most trusted in the whole community! Remember in these times, one went to temple every day, prayed several times a day. The priests and levites were the most influential, important people in the Jewish community. And Jesus says this man crossed to the other side of the road, from the poor victim. A Levite, was another religious leader who assisted in the operations of the temple... and did the same thing. Not only ignoring the man, but crossing over to avoid him. Jesus -and there may well have been some of these people IN the crowd, was saying that someone could be hurt or dying and the community leaders just might ignore you and continue on their way. Now there were strict rules about cleanliness. If either of these 2 men were on their way to temple, helping the dying man would cause them to become 'unclean' and they would not be able to perform their tasks in a timely manner. But it seems from Jesus telling of this story that there is something else going on here...

now in our times, we speak of “Good Samaritan laws' and so on. We don't truly get how the Samaritan in this story would have challenged Jesus' listeners. You see the Jewish people and the Samaritans hated each other. There had been centuries of bad blood between them. They feuded over worship, over many traditions and by this time in their history, they completely avoided each other. There was hate, mistrust. So for Jesus to say a Samaritan helped the injured Jewish man, well this was radical stuff. I'm not even sure how we can envision today how radical this is.

And Jesus said, which one of these is the neighbor?! And told the lawyer, go and do likewise. Go and put aside all your differences with anyone! Treat others as you would want to be treated, as you would want your nearest and dearest to be treated!

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King day. He spoke on this very passage the last night of his life. I want to share a bit of what he said....

Dr King:

But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that those men {the Priest and the Levite} were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. {did you get that? You descend 3400 feet in a 20 min drive) {Dr King continued} That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked -- the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

This is what King said...he said we are to reverse the question. We are to ask what will happen to that person if I do not help. What will happen to my neighbor, if I don't help? What will happen, not to me, but to that child—if I do not help. What will happen..., to this community, to this church? If I do not help?

This is what we need to be asking. Every day. What will happen...

Whether they be young or old, spry and fit --or tired & weak of body and soul, whether they be married or single, straight or gay, even male or female. Whether a person has addictions, is recovering from disease or injury, whether they live in a grand home or in a shelter. Whether they just came to this country or have been here since the Mayflower, or are Native to this land, which so few of us are. What will happen if we do not help?

We just read our covenant..in the Reformed Protestant tradition, we 'covenant together' we mutually agree to be together as a gathered body. In that covenant we say “we seek to affirm”. That means we uphold even defend others, no matter their age, marital status, gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, health....we choose to AFFIRM, not condemn. We choose to think, what will happen to them....that is at the core of the values of this church, of the 2 churches that came together. Let us think and pray today and every day about how how WE can be better neighbors to each other and to our community and beyond.

What do we need? We need love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice. We need to remember who is our neighbor, and what will happen to that person if I do not act. If I do not give, if I do not care.

Let us pray...

Let's sing together hymn Red 637 Instruments of Your Peace.