Where 2 or 3....

Sermon given Oct 14, 2012 as Second Congregational and First Presbyterian were about to vote to become one unified church!

Where Two or Three are Gathered

Isaiah 43:16-19
16 This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.



Luke 5:27-32
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

~~~~~~~
This morning, I was on the internet, (shocking, I know) and on Facebook, one pastor friend was unintentionally funny because of a typing error. He posted, “All are welcome this morning in celebration of a baptism, with gratitude for the TIRES that bind us.”   

We are working through series on “Natural Church Development”. According to author Christian Schwarz, there are 8 characteristics of growing churches. Schwarz says that instead of asking 'how do we get more people to come to church?” we need to ask “how can we grow in each of these 8 quality areas?” Today we discuss Holistic Small Groups.

So what does that mean. First, small groups means yes, our Bible study groups, Sunday morning, Friday Prayer breakfast, women's groups, Youth groups certainly. But 'small groups' certainly encompasses more. Small groups can be any group that gets together regularly. This can include...Carl's Coffee, choir!...how about, church boards and committees? Of course! our work groups and teams who have been leading the process of the coming together of 2 churches?! You bet!--so, Are these holistic small groups? Well, what does that mean?

“Holistic” defined according to Merriam Webster online...: relating to or concerned with wholes (W-h-o-l-e-s-not a hole in your sock but the entirety -the complete being) or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. 
e.g. holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body. 
Holistic medicine knows that your emotions and spiritual life affect the physical being, and how you feel physically affects your mental, emotional and spiritual state.
holistic means to understand that we are more than just the sum of our parts, and also that we are integrated with all that is around us. In the body of Christ lesson Doug gave us last week, we learned that each single part of a body is important, we NEED every single aspect, even the baby toe, right? And holistic theory helps us integrate and celebrate the WHOLE, not just the parts! Holistic small groups deal with the whole person, caring for needs of all participants,  So that we remember –Re-Member...get it!? That each member of a small group is a key part of that group and each group is an integral part of the church, therefore a part of the WHOLE. And that the whole church is a part of, and key, to the larger community, and so on.

Holistic small groups in a church are groups in which the work of Jesus is evident. it's evident in the people and in what they do. The Love, the compassion, the hope of the future, and the knowledge that God is with us through the present. Holistic groups are made up of people who are following Christ. The groups are intentional about keeping Jesus at the heart of what is being done. These groups incorporate prayer, even bible time, discussion of how God is working in our lives, and where God is leading the group, and especially-- recognizing consensus in the group as being the leading of the Holy Spirit! Each of us can be a part of understanding where God is leading, but we really learn and grow together in a group. Each of us brings our own experience and understanding, which is a PART of the whole understanding and experience of God. So we can then complement each other and grow together.

How can we be sure a group we are in is a “holistic” group? Do you enjoy being a part of the group? Are Godly priorities part of the group? Or is there complaining, or other negativity? Recurring negative talk and feelings are a sign that this is NOT holistic, it is not about the work of the Lord! If you are feeling this, please take even a moment to pray within your heart, if not aloud, for people to remember that we are gathered IN Christ, and may the Spirit of Christ be a presence in your midst. The group may even need to refocus, to make a new commitment to Following Jesus.

I believe that our transition work groups and teams have been holistic small groups. The meetings that I attended always started at least with a prayer for guidance. Some incorporated a short bible reading or devotion, to help us focus on the mission of that meeting. To remind us that we are here for a much larger purpose. This transition isn't just about us. In this process, we have recognized that we are doing something new. That God is doing a new thing, right here. We started off thinking this change would be something special, but we've come to realize that there is much more than what we perceived at the very beginning. In this process, we began to realize that God is indeed doing a new thing. We are coming together, not just 2 mainstream churches, but we are becoming a new entity! We of course honor our roots, our history, but we are much more than that! Together we have an amazing capability to reach out in the Name of Christ. Just look at what we have done together just the past several months!

Together we are working with Hands of Faith, helping families on the path from homelessness to a stable lifestyle. We hosted a beautiful music concert, attended by well over 200 people- the donations from which went to Project 16:49 to help homeless teens. Our Vacation Bible school helped 30 some kids get a better grasp of what it means to follow Jesus. We hosted a book bag bash, getting bags full of school supplies to 162 needy kids! And giving many more lunch and time to relax and play in a safe, structured environment. Some of the kids who were there and at VBS have come on Sunday morning! Just think how much we are accomplishing already this year, and we haven't even formally merged yet!
How much more can we do together, if we are committed to following Jesus, and reaching out in His name?!
Our 2 churches proudly come from the tradition of the Protestant Reformation, with its emphasis on the Bible. Our 2 churches have this long history of compassion and caring for others. It is after all, what the Bible tells us! Our churches have thought long and hard about our sense of purpose and our vision for the future. A few years ago, both churches did vision statements. 1st's was at the beginning of their transition process. 2nd's was as we were moving into our 150th anniversary celebration. Both vision statements tell of churches who emphasize worship and music. Both statements tell of churches with a love of fellowship, coming together to share coffee, a meal and good company, churches who holistically care for our members and our community. Both statements tell of a commitment to reach out in the Name of Jesus, as the Bible tells us. We are honoring the long traditions of our churches, as we are forming a new one! We will continue to honor our history, but right now, in this merger process, we need every member to renew our commitment to Follow Jesus! This is the only way we will discern the vision that God has for this new church. A couple days ago there was some discussion of what our vision for the future is. And I believe that we are so entrenched in this immediate process that we have not seen a precise vision for the future. God has not revealed it yet, or we are not quite perceiving it yet! But a few years ago, during the process of crafting our vision statement, I was praying about the future of our church. And this image came to my mind...a beautiful image, it was there for just a moment, but I certainly remember it. It was this church building with beams of light shining out from it. You know how light from a lighthouse can be seen from miles and miles away..there's a light on Cape Cod that can be seen 30 miles out to sea! This is what that light looked like, but shining in every single direction! Bright, warm light, glowing, it could be seen shining over our community for miles! It was the Light of Christ. Emanating from this very place. It was light that tells of love, hope, peace, and healing, from our Lord Jesus.

These 2 churches coming together are the beginning of this vision coming true. There is more to be revealed, the light will only shine as it is meant to when each of us is fully committed to following our Loving Lord. Then this new Unified Church will indeed be a new thing for Christ, perceived far and wide, fulfilling God's dream for us and for the generations to come!


Please pray with me:
Holy Lord God,  we are here in Your name, yearning to better follow You. Help us today and every day, to Live in the love and light of Jesus. Help us to follow You more today than yesterday, and even more tomorrow! Help us to care for the whole person, the whole church, the whole community, as YOU would have us do. Guide us to help the Light of Christ shine ever more brightly from this place into the world. In Jesus' Holy Name, amen.

Forgot to post this sermon from Mother's Day 2012. title Mother Love.

1 John 5:1-6
5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.

5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

5:3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,

5:4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.

5:5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

5:6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

John 15:9-17
15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

15:11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

15:13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.

15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

15:15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

15:16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.

15:17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Happy Mother's Day!

A boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school play. Luckily his is mother was in the front row especially to prompt him.
She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. His memory was completely blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, 'I am the light of the world.'
He beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice announced, 'My mother is the light of the world.'

The Gospel of John chapter 15, the words of Jesus, spoken to the disciples on the last night of Jesus' earthly life. Jesus is speaking from his heart, saying “abide in My love!” teaching to love as he has loved. Not as others love, but as Jesus himself loves! Maybe your parents had a hard time conveying their love. Jesus says very plainly here how much he loves and cares for his followers. And since we are so loved, we are to love others. We do not HAVE to obey, but we wish to, because of that love. Both of our scriptures today speak of this obedience to God because of the Love of God, through Jesus :)

Good parents give of themselves, loving and caring for the family, make sure kids have place to sleep, enough to eat, warm clothing in winter and so on....some parents are not able to do these things well. They have other issues that prevent them from doing better. FORTUNATELY we have a loving perfect parent in God!God loves us unconditionally, as we are and not as we should be, because none of us is as we should be. When we recognize how loved we are, we are better able to love others well. We can grow out of the trouble we may have grown up in, because of that profound love. And loving others means-as good parents do- to offer ourselves, and our gifts.

Here at church for example, we offer our gifts—our weekly monetary gift of course, but also our time, our talents -making music, making food, organizing events, wiping tables or washing communion plates, any number of ways to help out. We offer our gifts because we are blessed! When we put God first, everything we do can be an offering! So we are wiping tables, singing a song, to honor God. Since God is love, we want to do for God in loving ways!

When we are loved well, we feel cared for and want to care for others.

When our children are babies, we change diapers not because we want to, we do so because we love them! So we change them and clean them up well because they can't do it yet. We want to do well to keep them healthy and happy. Just out of love. When we were little kids we wanted to do what our parents asked because we loved them. Now we want to do as Jesus says, because of the incredible love shown us, even in spite of all we do that is not Godly. So we do what we can and do it as well as we can. To honor God. And that is a way that the Light of Christ shines through us to others.

We may think we will help others when we get all squared away. We can't give this week because we can't afford steak. Can we afford burger? Cottage cheese? Then we are ahead of many others. We are called to help others, regardless! We may not have much, but we can still help! Because there is always someone worse off, there is always someone who needs our help. Right now, each of us has a place to return to, a place to lay down at night. It may not be a palace, but it's home. It's a place where we are comfortable and feel safe. Thank you, God! Sadly, even today in the 21^st century USA! there are many people who do not have a place to call home. Over and over the Bible tells us to care for others, especially the widow and orphan. In those times the widow and orphan were the most likely to be homeless. And in a society in which men were well into their 20s before marrying a younger woman, there were apt to be a LOT of widows and orphans...therefore a lot of folks who were homeless or nearly so. Today it is often a single parent family, or a family of a military veteran who are homeless. You and I have homes. How can we not help those without?

A couple of years ago, Jeff Hoyt, executive director of Hands of Faith spoke here at 2^nd Cong. We were inspired, collected a good offering for the ministry and folks here were interested. 1^st Presbyterian has been involved in Hands of Faith and wondered as we began talks of coming together, if 2^nd would care to help with Hands of Faith. Several of us said YES! This is clearly something we were meant to do. A commitment from each of us of a few hours spent together, a home-cooked meal, can mean so much to these folks who are working hard to get their lives back on track! let's help them see that God is the ultimate safe haven, even in hard times. God is the perfect parent, the place of rest, of comfort. Jesus' light will surely shine through as we help.

Jesus says, “you did not choose me, I chose you!” now of course the disciples DID choose to follow Jesus, but Jesus, who was in the beginning, actually chose them---and us-- first. And he appointed the disciples..and US-to go and bear fruit! To show the Love of God by loving and caring for others!

We are in a time of sea change for traditional churches. More churches are the church not just OF the community but FOR the community. Churches reach out to others to be a blessing, showing the love of Christ. One of the interesting facets of this time of change is that young people are coming into churches, because they have first joined mission projects and then learned about the churches involved and they begin to attend. People who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” are finding that some of us who are religious are actually spiritual too! that is the Holy Spirit, the gift of God, is the Truth. The truth of God.

Our Loving parent promises that

..for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. OUR faith...can help conquer the world!? Can a few folks in a midwestern town make a difference in the world?! Yes! Absolutely! Two church families, coming together to share their love of God and compassion for others can make a difference right here and far beyond this corner of Beloit! What each of us does has a ripple effect. We can never be sure just how far our words and actions will reach. Our work together, to help the homeless, the hungry, to help children and to reach out to all kinds of people will fill our community with the Light of Christ! And who knows what effect this can have on those folks we reach out to!? At the very least, families will remember that a group of folks helped out when they were struggling. This church can become a beacon of the Light of Christ for people all over this area. When we abide in Christ, he abides in us. And we can accomplish so much together. God has surely brought us together for this day and time, for God's purposes.

Today, Mother's Day, can bring up complex feelings. You may be reminded of a wonderful relationship with your Mom or another relative, or your own kids. Or it may remind you of losses, of your mother or maybe a child. Or the loss of the nurturing that you didn't receive from your own mother. Can we think of today as a day to celebrate the love that runs all through life? The love that we experience holding a baby, the love that we may have found in family members or dear friends. An unconditional love..the love that we know comes from God :) Good parents offer a lot of themselves. Our Heavenly parent offered up the very best....God's own Son who laid down his life for his friends...and us.  

Daily Bread. Sermon given at 2nd Cong/1st Pres Sept 2, 2012.

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
16:2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
16:3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.
16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'"
16:10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
16:11 The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
16:12 "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
16:13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
16:14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
16:15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

John 6:24-35
6:24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
6:26 Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
6:28 Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"
6:29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
6:30 So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
6:31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
6:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

6:33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
6:34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

{BOB Uecker, "Voice of Milwaukee Brewers" recognized at Miller Park, sharing a few of his quotes}

"They said I was such a great prospect that they were sending me to a winter league to sharpen up. When I stepped off the plane, I was in Greenland."

"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." 

I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture.

going into football season...

watching professional sports and even the Olympics last month....

To compete at that level requires not just practice, but hours of watching training films, learning about adequate hydration and rest...athletes need to sleep 8-10 hours every night, plus rest an hour or 2 in the afternoon, because the body needs to rest to rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during such extreme activity. And they have special diets, Lots of protein of course, for muscles, carbohydrates for energy—carbs like vegetables and breads with whole grains, not sugary cereals or cupcakes...yummy as those are!

There are all kinds of experts to advise athletes on each area of training. Sports medicine and sports nutrition are areas of training that didn’t exist back when Ueck was playing (or in the Lombardi Era in Green Bay) and just in the past few years there have been tremendous advances in these areas.

Thousands of years ago, there was no such thing as a nutrition educator was there?! But God-- the creator of all, knew a thing or two....

OT lesson, Moses was leading the Israelites, they had left slavery in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, leading the people through the desert. The people are complaining! They complain that it would have been better to have died in slavery, where they were also constantly complaining, BUT they had enough to eat!

God hears their complaints. Note the text does not say they prayed about it, but that God heard anyway. and God told Moses that they would receive food! “Draw near to the Lord for he has heard your complaining!” God hears, and God provides!

God provided quails to eat in the evening and in the morning was fine powder to make bread. “manna' The Hebrew word manna, literally means, “what is it?”

could God have provided them with wheat, or barley or corn, sure!! but the people needed something that was unusual, that they would realize was indeed from GOD!

God provided for the Israelites.

Gospel lesson...this story comes just after the miraculous feeding of 5000 men, not counting the women and children. And following that, the Disciples are rowing across the Sea of Galilee at night, the water is rough because of winds, and the men see Jesus walking on the water! He calms them saying, it is I do not be afraid, they take him into the boat and immediately they arrive on the other side.

Then we read this story...

READ Gospel lesson

Jesus says you were looking for me, not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill...

does this mean the people were looking merely for the provision? For food, bread and fish, sustenance, easily provided. And Jesus says to them, don't be so caught up in the temporary things of life!! bread will spoil, look instead to eternity!

The people seemed to not 'get it' yet....the feeding of 5000 was a one-time thing. The manna from heaven was a daily occurrence for 40 years! The people of Jesus' time expected that the coming of the Messiah would be marked by a miracle as great as or greater than the giving of the manna in the desert.

and so the people still doubt or maybe they are challenging Jesus. After all he is making some pretty bold statements!

he corrects them saying Moses didn't provide the bread in the desert, it was God...Moses was chosen by God to lead, but God did the providing!

but Jesus says :MY father who gives the true bread from heaven'

the true bread from heaven. The word “true” has a special meaning. Jesus refers to what is everlasting, as opposed to something merely representative. The bread God provided through Moses was only material and temporary, not spiritual and eternal.

And they demand he give them this bread always!

And then he says HE is the Bread of life!!

this is one of the 7 “I am” statements Jesus made in John's Gospel. Saying “I Am” in itself was pretty bold, because the Hebrew people knew that “I AM” is the name God used to Moses! “tell them I AM sent you”

so when Jesus made these statements saying, I AM, he was indeed claiming to be Divine, claiming to be One with God.

Jesus' followers were Jewish, they regularly celebrated feast days, including the feast of Unleavened Bread. This is the feast commemorating the flight from Egypt. God gave Moses specific instructions for the people to make unleavened bread -bread with no yeast at all- as the Israelites were to leave Egypt. Then later gave specific directions on celebrating this holiday, the Passover, every year afterwards. The Israelite people understood the symbolism of bread as sustenance and also sacrifice. Unleavened bread, which has no yeast in it, was to be used for this feast...it is pure. What was used to leaven bread in those times, since they couldn't go to the store to buy a jar of yeast...was a bit of dough saved from a previous batch, dough that was fermenting a bit. A small bit would be stirred into a batch of dough, mixing through it and causing it to rise. Because of the fermentation, This is dough that would spoil very quickly if not baked right away. So leavening, and leavened bread has to be cleaned out of the house to prepare for the passover. The leavening is symbolic of sin. Only a little bit of it can affect a big batch of dough. So the Hebrew people even today, do an intense cleaning project before the Passover holiday, to remove all the leaven, to become completely clean and without sin.

When Jesus spoke of bread, here and in other places in the Gospels, it was sometimes symbolic and sometimes very real. Here he is saying he is bread...sustenance, something we need and want every day, and yet something that is pure and without sin. Later, when he introduced the communion story, he was definitely claiming the pure and without sin aspect...using the unleavened bread of the Passover celebration, to say “This is my body -given for you”

When He told his followers, "I am the Bread of Life," Jesus was reminding them-and us- that He is basic to our daily lives. Just as we need daily nourishment, we need to focus on God, We need Jesus Christ every day, as much as we need basic sustenance.

Could this be part of what we pray when we ask “Give us this day our daily bread”? Yes we are praying for our daily needs, food, clothing, shelter, but could there be even more to that prayer? Could there be more to life if we follow Jesus every day, asking him to be closer to us every day? And therefore helping us to better reach out to others in love?!

Barbara Brown Taylor in An Altar in the World

When I hear people talk about what is wrong with organized religion, or why their mainline churches are failing, I hear about bad music, inept clergy, mean congregations, and preoccupation with institutional maintenance. I almost never hear about the intellectualization of faith, which strikes me as a far greater danger than anything else on the list. In an age of information overload, when a vast variety of media delivers news faster than most of us can digest—when many of us have at least two e-mail addresses, two telephone numbers, and one fax number—the last thing any of us needs is more information about God. We need the practice of incarnation, by which God saves the lives of those whose intellectual assent has turned as dry as dust, who have run frighteningly low on the bread of life, who are dying to know more God in their bodies. Not more about God. More God.

In reading some of the references in the Bible to bread...i was struck by this..when Jesus said, 'man cannot live on bread alone but on every word from the mouth of God'

this is in Matthew 4, when Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. It is a quote from Deuteronomy chapter 8. what struck me was the phrase “every word”...

whole of The Word. We need ALL of the Bible. Not some of it, not a few select verses, or even a favorite chapter or two...but EVERY Word from the mouth of God.

It's sort of like bread that is processed so that the bran and wheat germ are gone ...it's tasty, but it's not as nutritious as the whole grain! It just doesn't stick with you.

We Congregationalists & Presbyterians, are children of the Protestant Reformation. We are people of the Bible.

I know how hard it can be to make time to read the bible every day. I struggle with it. Yet, the days that I do read, seem to go better. My life seems to go better, not that I have fewer troubles...but that I cope better. I pray better. I have a teeny bit more patience...well sometimes...

and having more of Jesus every day has actually helped my faith grow! The more I know of Jesus the better I want to know him! The more I read and learn the more I want! Its like when you first fall in love, you can't spend enough time with the other person!

Prayer, bible reading, these are how we find more God...these are among the spiritual disciplines that help us to be better followers of Jesus, and therefore better people!

In Life With God, Richard Foster writes...Spiritual Disciplines involve doing what we can do to receive from God the power to do what we cannot do. ...Freedom comes not from the absence of restraint but from the presence of discipline. Only the disciplined gymnast is free to score a perfect ten on the parallel bars. Only the disciplined violinist is free to play Paganini’s “Caprices.” This, of course, is true in all of life, but it is never more true than in the spiritual life. When we are on the spot, when we find ourselves in the midst of the crisis, it is too late. Training in the Spiritual Disciplines is the God-ordained means for forming and transforming the human personality so that in the emergency we can be “response-able”—able to respond appropriately.

Spending time with the Bread of Life, in prayer, reading the Bible, helps us to better serve. As we head into fall, a new season of school or work, and we as a church are working through this merger process, let us draw ever closer to the our Loving Lord.

Let us work with the Ultimate Trainer. Enjoy the Bread of Life, and never be hungry again. We may not be professional athletes, but we can be better people, better church members and better followers of our Lord Jesus.  

Psalm 27, Matthew 6 From Me to We

Sermon given at Ecumenical Lenten service, Wed March 28, 2012.

Psalm 27 ESV

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

This is a Psalm of David, one of the many times he was fleeing for his life. David wrote this and other Psalms as prayers, and they are intensely personal. but they were prayers to be sung! Sung in worship...in community. The Psalms have been called the Hebrew Hymn book and the Christian prayer book. As personal as the Psalms are, and if one read through them all, every emotion is there! As personal as they are, they are intended to be sung in community.

These Ecumenical Lenten services have been so good. The different types of worship, music, the various sermons, have been wonderful. And it;s so good to enjoy the hospitality and catching up with folks after the services. It's so nice to renew these connections.

After all that's what these services are about. Worshiping God of course! And renewing connections between our churches :)

and we are all connected in some way. You know there is a thing about six degrees of separation...a theory that everyone is connected to everyone else by six degrees, six other people or fewer. I think here in Beloit it's only 2 degrees!

The bible reminds us of connections too. This prayer reminds us of connections! Our Gospel lesson is one you find very familiar. You see, some time ago I heard that the best way to pray is to pray the Lord's Prayer, but take an hour to do it! Wouldn't that be ideal! Yet, to take an hour to pray...well, it's hard to admit, but I can't focus that long, can you? And the phone will ring, or the cat wants to play... but one day I managed. And it changed the way I think about prayer, especially this prayer.

Matthew 6:9-13 NRSV

‘Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.

(May the Lord add a blessing to this reading of His Holy Word)

What changed the way I think about prayer? The first word, “Our”.

prayer is personal, but the pronouns are all plural! Jesus said, pray this way....

we pray in community! And yes, Jesus taught that one should go into one's prayer closet...to pray effectively we often need to make some space, take time to breathe deeply and clear away some of the hubbub of the day. And in Bible times, you didn’t have your own office or your own room! You lived with your multi-generational family in just a few rooms! So Jesus advised to get away for prayer, because most of the time that was the ONLY way for a bit of privacy to really focus on God.

And yet, the prayer that Jesus taught is a prayer that reminds us that we are all connected, to God and to one another.

When we pray this prayer, we are praying with each other! We are praying with people of faith, of every denomination or none, everywhere- who are praying this same prayer, even at this same moment! It is Wednesday night during Lent, there are midweek services happening all over this country right now! All over the world, perhaps right at this moment, others are praying these same beautiful words –in community with us! At this moment it is morning in China, Laos, where it is not safe to proclaim Jesus Christ. But Christians there are indeed praying this prayer right now. We pray in community with them, and for them. And for all the others who are praying.

We also pray with the great cloud of witnesses. Those who have gone before, even generations before, are praying with us, cheering us on to better live God's will.

let me be clear, When we pray, “Our Father” we are not claiming ownership of God. God is infinite, and perfect, far beyond our ability to imagine or to claim! No we are saying “Our” as a recognition of God's loving claim on us, that we are chosen through Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Henri Nouwen (if you read no other author, read anything by Nouwen!)

When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us feel guilty or anxious, and embrace the present moment. If we could, for a few minutes each day, just be fully where we are, we would indeed discover that we are not alone, and that the One who is with us in our hearts wants only to give us the love we need and the power to love others.

The Love we need and the power to love others....when we have the love we need, we are empowered to learn to love others well. This is why we pray in community. Why we live and worship in community. We are to love God with all our heart soul mind and strength, and love each other! When we spend time with other people of faith, like in these worship services, and talk to one another, we connect. We find that we are all connected, by our love of God, by our love of our families. we learn that we are all just regular folks, with stuff to deal with. Everyone has stuff, and once we learn that about each other, we can have compassion. Compassion of course is caring, loving concern. It is what we feel when we identify with another who is going through the SHTUFF of life.

And when we realize that we are all just trying to do the best we can in spite of what is bogging us down, our hearts soften a bit and we become more compassionate, more Christ-like. We care and we want to help.

Richard Foster Life with God

Attending to the needs of others—whether in the physical, spiritual, social, or political spheres—is as central to Christian faith as the greatest commandment: “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37–40)

We know what Jesus did for us. It's Lent, we are in worship on Wednesday night, that's why we are here! But how are we living out our faith outside of church? We are indeed called to live out our faith beyond our church attendance. And that is how we will again fill our churches. Because we all want to see our churches full. But folks don't go to church just because it's Sunday any more! In fact lots of people work Sundays, or nights, and going to church is something that has to be arranged, it takes commitment!

It's challenging. Because a lot of the time we have to just trust God and not see exactly what the next step is. In one of the Indiana Jones movies, Harrison Ford as Indy had to cross a huge rocky chasm. It's too far to jump and there seems to be no way across. He finally takes one step, seemingly into thin air, and a there appeared a rocky step! Each bit of the rocky bridge appears only as he just takes a step of faith.

We, as people of faith, may need to keep taking steps onto a bridge we can not see! We want to help others see Christ in us, and the best way to truly show Christ, is for us to see Christ in others. Every time we pray as Jesus taught, we pray Our Us and We, we are being stretched a bit to see Him in each other and in the rest of the world.

Francis Chan in Crazy Love How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ-the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can't seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed?

How indeed would our lives change?

We will only be true followers of Jesus Christ –the one who lived, suffered and died for each of us and for all of us! ..When we know that Christ is in everyone we meet, yes even THAT neighbor...and when we respond with care and compassion to each person, because Christ is within us and within them, whether or not they know it yet. How will things change when we are loving God so much that we sense God's presence inside every bit of God's creation.

And--How will our churches change? If they are filled with people who recognize Christ in each other and in the world?

Author N.T. Wright in his book Simply Christian, writes of what the church can be:

“It’s a place of welcome and laughter, of healing and hope, of friends and family and justice and new life. It’s where the homeless drop in for a bowl of soup and the elderly stop by for a chat. It’s where one group is working to help drug addicts and another is campaigning for social justice. It’s where you’ll find people learning to pray, coming to faith, struggling with temptation, finding new purpose, and getting in touch with a new power to carry out that purpose, It’s where people bring their own small faith and discover, in getting together with others to worship the one true God, that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. No church is like that all the time. But a remarkable number of churches are partly like that for quite a lot of time.”

Our churches are partly like that, part of the time. They can be more and more like that if we make it so. We can take this renewed recognition of the Passion of our Lord and our growing com-passion, back to our churches and help others find this profound sense of community. These last 10 days or so of Lent, pray thoughtfully and think prayerfully about how we can help make our churches more like this vision.

God who is our Light and Salvation created humans, created you and me for a personal relationship with himself, and to be in compassionate community with each other. The Infinite , perfect God so LOVED the world....all of the world, that God gave his one and only son, Jesus. Jesus-the One who knew no sin- took all of our sin, our pride, our hate, greed, selfishness, everything that keeps us apart from God, Jesus took upon himself at the cross. Jesus endured the cruelest death that humankind could mete out. He did it purely from love and desire to make us one with God. In these final days of Lent, let us prayerfully remember and honor what Jesus did for us by living out that prayer He taught.

sermon given at 1st Presbyterian, 2nd Cong. joint service

Psalm 50

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge!
Selah

Mark 9:2-9

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Transfiguration

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

OBLIGATORY Opening Joke: I saw this on the internet, so it must be true!

During a recent password audit, it was found that someone was using the following password:
"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento"
When the user was asked why they had such a long password, the reply, “I was told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include one capital.”

This story, the Transfiguration, almost sounds like something one would read on the internet, or see on a cable TV 'magazine” show. “coming up tonight, was Jesus really radiant from within? What did Elijah and Moses say? Tune in at 7!”

In our Bible, this is one of the stories that is in 3 Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.

The story of the Transfiguration is a turning point in the Gospels. It echoes Moses coming down Mt Sinai after spending time with God. Moses face was shining brightly, so much so that he had to cover up, it was too bright for the others! Yet Moses' glory was a reflection of God.-sort of like the moon reflecting the light of the sun! It is bright, but it is not self-generating! Jesus' Light was shining from within!

God speaks out of the cloud words that echo what he said at Jesus' Baptism, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”

these echo in the Prophet Isaiah The Lord's Chosen Servant

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.

the words, “listen to him” come from Deuteronomy, Moses' sermon to the Hebrew people, Deut 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen”

dazzling white (lit., “bright as a flash of lightning”).

Jesus’ physical transformation was a reminder of the glory he had before he became man and a preview of his future exaltation.

Why did Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus? God used Moses as the great deliverer of the Hebrew people. He led them out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt. He led them through 40 years in the desert wilderness. God was with them all the way, in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. (hear the echoes of that in our Psalm reading?) Elijah was a prophet, who was 'taken up to heaven'- and he would come back, according to the prophet Malachi, of God sending “Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes”.

Indeed, just a couple verses later, Jesus would remind the disciples of this, so they would understand that John the Baptist had fulfilled that role.

This was a moment when God said very clearly, Jesus was The One! Moses' presence said Jesus was the fulfillment of God's law and traditions. Elijah's presence stated Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecies! And God's statement itself said these things and that we are to heed Jesus!

This moment 'high up on a mountain' was a moment of transfiguration for Peter James and John too. Peter wrote of this moment in his 1^st Epistle. This was a moment when a glimpse of heaven opened up right here on earth. It seems that they thought this was the ultimate moment of God coming to earth. Hence Peter's blunder, saying 'let's build 3 shelters for you”.

this experience for the disciples was a moment of seeing and knowing heaven, altho they were not able to fully comprehend it yet! Jesus told them not to share this story, because it would not be understood until after his death and resurrection.

In the Jewish tradition, God was in the Temple. It was THE meeting place of heaven and earth; this moment of heaven opening up must have made the men think that the last day was upon them! Instead it was a preview! And a foreshadowing that one day soon, the Temple would not be the only way to come to God! That sacrifices as they knew them would no longer be necessary.

author D.A. Carson writes:..under the terms of the old covenant, the temple was the great meeting place between a holy God and his sinful people. This was the place for sacrifice, the place of atonement for sin. But..Jesus by his sacrifice pays for our sin, Jesus himself becomes the great meeting place between a holy God and his sinful people; thus he becomes the temple, the meeting place between God and his people. -D.A. Carson, Scandalous

In Celtic tradition one reads about “thin places”-places where the separation between heaven and earth is thin, that is, we more easily perceive the existence of something more than we can know just through our 5 senses. There can be thin moments too, a moment of perception of something much greater than ourselves. We often have this sense in nature, or at special moments of life.

Mahatma Ghandi wrote “There is an indefinable, mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power that makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses”

“Thin places" are when a glimpse of heaven breaks through to us here on Earth. It may be a place, or it may happen in worship, and when we are carrying out our mission as followers of Jesus. Times when we experience the joy of the Lord. and when we follow Christ, each of us can find some of that heaven on earth. When we are filled with the attributes of God, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. and ideally we find these thin moments in our churches, especially as we come together and work together to reach out to our community.

We here in 1^st Pres and 2^nd Cong, find those qualities. Sometimes in worship, sometimes in our music, in our missions. I suspect we will find a lot more of these moments as we come together into one church, however it may all work out! I pray that we find some of those moments even IN our working out of the details! (to that end, I strongly suggest every Work Group meeting begin with prayer...doesn’t have to be fancy, just sincerely praying “Lord bless our meeting and each of us to your service, in Jesus' Name- Amen” works!) When we think and work together, as long as we remember our commonalities and love for the Lord, it will work out as God intends!

Our churches shares roots as old as the city of Beloit itself..1^st Presbyterian began in 1848. You're the big brother/sisters!

Second Congregational, began in 1859 on the growing West side of Beloit. Three years ago this week, 2^nd Cong kicked off our sesquicentennial celebration! We celebrated through the year...fortunately, since it took me that long to spell Sesquicentennial! But during our celebration year, we said that we were not just celebrating the past 150 years, but beginning the next 150!

we are taking a huge step toward the next 150 years. We are bringing together 2 churches, from the same beginnings, coming together to better serve our Lord. We share the same roots, we share a heart for those who need care. We have a lot to work out, but as long as we remember what we share, our love of the Lord, and our desire to help bring the Light of Christ to people in this area and the world, it will all work out. The Lord will work it out through us.

The traditional church in America is changing. We no longer go to church on Sundays because that's what everyone does! There are now businesses open all weekend, and many folks work weekends or nights, so Sunday mornings are not always an option for folks. People who are in church now have made a choice to be here! And it may have taken a lot out of their week to make that choice. What a blessing we are to each other to be here together!

Author N.T. Wright in his book Simply Christian, writes of what the church can be:

“It’s a place of welcome and laughter, of healing and hope, of friends and family and justice and new life. It’s where the homeless drop in for a bowl of soup and the elderly stop by for a chat. It’s where one group is working to help drug addicts and another is campaigning for social justice. It’s where you’ll find people learning to pray, coming to faith, struggling with temptation, finding new purpose, and getting in touch with a new power to carry out that purpose, It’s where people bring their own small faith and discover, in getting together with others to worship the one true God, that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. No church is like that all the time. But a remarkable number of churches are partly like that for quite a lot of time.”

- NT Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, p. 123

a church that is like that....offers us heaven right here on earth! A church where people are welcome to visit, to find help and hope, is the kind of church that we can have together! We have components of all of these in place now. And together, we can build on what we have and through the power of God working through us, we can have a church that is a beacon of hope, help and healing for today and for future generations! We can allow the transfiguration power of Jesus to transform our church and our lives and let the light of Christ shine through to our community and beyond!

humor in the Bible

Talking with a friend about fave Bible stories brought one to mind. After the crucifixion, Jesus has risen, but not everyone knows it yet. In John 20, verse 19, the disciples are together in a house 'with the doors locked", as they were afraid of being arrested for being associated with Jesus. "Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”"

now, picture this. The disciples are in a locked house, and Jesus suddenly appears in their midst with no warning! I bet they just about jumped out of the their skin! Eyes big as saucers! I suspect inwardly Jesus had a chuckle at their reaction. And maybe they all started laughing with surprise and joy at seeing Jesus risen!

sometimes when we are happy and surprised, we begin to laugh and can hardly contain it! the Gospels never say that Jesus laughed, but some things he said could be said with a twinkle in the eye, and would give his listeners a laugh. ("It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle..." what an image! He also told Peter to find a coin to pay taxes, in the mouth of a fish! and 'why worry about the speck in your neighbor's eye when you have a plank in your own eye!"

I suspect Jesus had a great smile, and loved to laugh, and that folks around him often felt a sense of joy just being nearby. Faith doesn't always have to be serious!

Looking for SomeOne? Epiphany sermon, Jan 8 2012

Isaiah 60

The Future Glory of Israel

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

Matthew 2

The Visit of the Wise Men

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

~~~~

There's a story about a family who were talking with their children about the morning's Sunday School lesson. They talked about the Magi bringing gifts to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh. There was a long pause and one child asked, “How come nobody brought diapers?!”

this is the story of the Epiphany. The 12^th day of Christmas. Though in reality it likely took much longer than 12 days for the Magi to come find Jesus. Indeed the text tells us they came to a house, so Joseph and Mary had found a place to stay other than a stable!

The Magi were kings, possibly from Persia, or even further away. The Bible lesson doesn't really tell us the specifics, does it? It doesn't even say how many there were, we presume there were 3, because of the mention of the 3 gifts.

There would have been more than just the kings, traveling into Jerusalem. after all, important powerful people never travel alone. Nowadays if you are important you travel with your publicists, personal assistants, security. 2000 years ago, the Kings' travel group would have had security and personal aides, but instead of media publicists, there would be heralds to announce their coming, and people to care for the animals on which they rode. So a troupe like this coming into the city would have caused a commotion that got people's attention. Herod may have been threatened by their mere presence, and then they asked about a newborn KING of the Jews! This would have certainly frightened Herod. Herod the Great, who was renowned for tremendous building projects in Jerusalem, including the Temple, was also terribly paranoid, so much so that he killed anyone he deemed a threat, including his wife and two of his sons.
No wonder he was “troubled, and all of the city with him” So he summoned the Magi. Lying to them that he wanted to worship this newborn king, he found out for himself what they knew. Fortunately, the Magi were warned in a dream to NOT go back to Herod and found another route out of the region.

So the Magi, however many of them and their travel companions, found their way to Jesus by a “star” that guided them to Bethlehem. Bethlehem is due south of Jerusalem and there has been much speculation over time about just what this star was. A comet, or a conjunction of the moon and several planets? We don't really know. It's one of those things that scholars like to argue about. I think spending too much time on details like was it a comet or how many magi there were, can take us away from the real reason this story is in scripture.

This is the first time that Jesus is recognized as divine by non-Jewish people!
Remember, last week, Doug told us about Simeon, who had been told he would not die before seeing the Messiah. And Simeon said over the baby Jesus, that he was a light to the Gentiles as well as to Israel. The Magi were not Jewish. But they knew that this Jewish baby was someone very special. That is why they went looking for this SomeOne. And why they brought gifts of great value to show their recognition that this was indeed Someone Special.

The gifts showed Jesus' Kingship-the Gold- and religious significance-the Frankincense. They-KINGS from other regions, brought expensive gifts to honor the baby Jesus!

The tradition of gift giving at Christmas probably began here. And ironically in our day and age, we may be very tired of Christmas by the 12^th day! Be honest, some of you groaned inside when you saw we were singing one more Christmas song this morning! We get worn out by the commercial aspects of the holiday season. There is so much pressure to get the right gifts, make the right dinner, have or attend the right parties. And over the last several decades Retail companies ramp up their marketing to get more and more of our Christma$ money! The marketing wears us out...seeing Christmas displays out in the stores well before Thanksgiving, and the endless commercials braying “X number of shopping days left”, well, it can take us right out of any thought of worshiping a newborn King!

You see, I'm afraid we have started to confuse the birth of Christ with the hoopla of the holiday. The commercialism and the media are so overwhelming that we just want to be DONE with Christmas! So by New Years we may have put away the decorations with a huge sigh of relief! But we may feel something missing. We are still looking for something, for SomeOne, down deep inside.

All humans have a deep desire for Something, because we are created for more than just work, eat and sleep. We are created to be together with others. We are created with desire for someone who knows us intimately, who can still love us! God created us with a deep yearning for relationship with God and with one another. That is what all of us seek. That is what Christmas and Epiphany are all about. Not the shopping, baking, decorating, but the LOVING, the caring, the giving a gift of LOVE because you care about the other person and recognize they care for you.

And we find true completeness in the SomeOne born on Christmas day. Jesus is the SomeOne we all seek, whether we realize it or not. And we, like the Magi can bring gifts to honor and revere and acknowledge his Lordship in our Lives.

We can bring Gold...our time, talent and treasure. Yes we bring our weekly offering. We contribute to missions and other charities. We also give our time! Spending some time helping at the church, serving as an usher or greeter, helping at coffee hour, Sunday School, choir, offering a ride to others, serving on a board or committee, visiting folks. There are endless chances to give our time and talent to our Lord.

We can bring another gift to Jesus....frankincense! What?! Frankincense was a special incense used in the Temple, when it was burned it was believed that the prayers of the people went up to heaven on the smoke! We can pray for our friends and family, for our church and her leaders -lay leaders and pastors! We can pray for our Nation, for missionaries, for Christians in other parts of the world, where it is not safe to proclaim the name of Jesus! We can read our bibles outside of church! Yes the bible is often hard to understand. Altho as Mark Twain was quoted as saying, “It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.”

the Bible can be challenging for pastors too, especially the parts we do understand...but we are here for you. We have Bible study groups, weekly Wednesday prayer gathering. We even have a website on which there are devotions and links to websites with Bible study information. Our gift of frankincense is our commitment to spiritual growth.

And our third gift...Myrrh. Myrrh is resin or gum from a specific type of tree that grows in the Middle East. It was used to prepare a body for burial. Not a 'normal' gift to bring to a baby, was it? But of course, this was not just any baby. Myrrh tells reminds us that Jesus, the One for whom we are all looking, came for one reason. Jesus was born to die. To die on the Cross. Because that was the ONLY way to make us right so that we could be in complete relationship with God. We can bring all the things we do wrong, all the stuff that separates us from the love of God and of others, we can bring them to Jesus right now and say “Lord, I am sorry. I lay all my imperfections and and self centeredness and all the ways I look for someone other than You-i lay all these things at the cross right now. Lord Jesus, will You forgive me?”

When we pray this, Jesus' answer is “Yes, my child. I forgive you. Because I love you. I was born for you, I died on that cross for you, I rose again for you, all because I love you. Look no further, I am the SomeOne that you seek.”

today and every day, we can look for that SomeOne and bring our gifts to Jesus. To the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the One who was born to die for each of us. How can we do anything but worship and adore Him!

the cross over the manger

Some time ago, I was “multi-tasking” in the Bible. I was planning Advent Bible studies, reading through the birth stories and making notes. And later that same day, hoping to write a devotion for the Lenten season, I read the Good Friday texts. Reading both the birth and death stories, something really struck me.

Luke 2:12 ESV

“and you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”

Luke 23: 52-53 {Joseph of Arimathea} went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down {from the Cross} and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.”

the baby wrapped well is a sign that he was well cared for. Newborns like to be wrapped up, it helps them to feel secure.

That Jesus' body was wrapped in linen after his death was also a sign that he was being cared for, even though there was no time for the women to prepare the body with the oils and spices.

But there is obviously something more to these details! The parallels in both stories are there for a purpose. They remind us that the shadow of the cross lies over the manger. We love the Christmas story, we feel all warm and fuzzy when the children sing Away In A Manger. But Jesus didn't come just for us to feel warm and fuzzy! Jesus came-- God with us. And came as an infant! (The God of all creation!) just from love, from desire for complete relationship with us, His creation! And the only way to that complete relationship was the cross.

Jesus' mission was the cross. The One who would never sin was wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, would grow up to take ALL our sin, all the things that distract us from God for even an instant....upon Himself on the cross.

Can we remember this as we go through Advent and Christmas, can we remember to honor our Lord and do better caring for others, now and always? As we watch the children's programs, wrap the gifts, sing the songs, bake the cookies—remember, the Cross over the manger.