poetry

the 'orchard thieves' blew it
embarrassed, their cover gone,
ever since they've been
trying to get back in
and go for the other tree
        - RFM

You, plural, describing the church . . .

We've been blessed with many new, good, enlightening translations of the Bible, and I, for one, am glad. My college Greek is long ago withered, and I never studied Hebrew. The "thees and thous" of old translations are foreign language any more. That is good.

But one little word, "ye", Y - E, was a valuable word-- the plural of "you", Y-O-U, because in several places we read it as for individuals, for ourself, when it is meant to include the whole body of believers.

For example, in I Corinthians 3:16 our modern English reads "you are the temple of God" and the old versions read "YE are the temple of God." What's the difference? Later on(6:19) it does read "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" which I understand to mean me, my body, personally. But here "ye" means that together, you and I, and the whole mystical union which is the redeemed body of Christ--all those imperfect people we worship with as well as all our warts an all-- we, together, are where God dwells on earth, and where God meets human life as it happens.

Looking for the glory . .

. . .so elusive, and yet it is there in surprising places . . like a shining coming through the trees . .. it is the love of Jesus almost always unconsciously given . . . broken bread that feeds the giver . . . it is not ours but we can share it . . .

Thoughts about glory . . .

I've been thinking about glory lately . . . not notoriety, or fame, or praise, or anything about 'me' at all . . . but glory as in love, as in shining, as in Presence, as in wonder . . . glory that cannot really be parsed out and explained or earned or deserved . . . the glory of being loved and the glory of knowing God is loving through you, too.

Three Great Things

The Great Commission--
We need to tell the world God is GOOD! That God the Good News is for everyone who will call on the name of the Lord...
The Great Commandment--
The hallmark of the Church is LOVE! If we love God and belong to God, then we had better learn to love God's people . . . even the ones who think we're too (liberal, fundamentalist, Catholic, conservative, fillin the blank) . . and even the ones with which we disagree in the details. If they say "Jesus is Lord!" be careful how you judge...
The Great Promise--
The LIFE of the Church is the Holy Spirit! We can be filled! Luke 11:13 is just one of many promises that we may have God indwelling us day by day! "If you being evil know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirt to those who ask Him?"

Walking by Faith

Psalm 107 begins by saying, by exhorting "Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good!" And then commanding "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so." Say what? That God is GOOD!

Then the Psalm goes on to give four examples of people in trouble . . . people who cry out to the LORD. In every case when they cry out God hears and answers. Then comes the refrain:

Oh that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

Just now I am in trouble . . . in a spiritual and physical and relational crisis . . . praying for a loved one's physical healing . . .praying God to intervene in a desperate situation. It is for all those involved a Gethsemene.

I want to affirm here and now that God is GOOD! His mercy endures forever! I desperately want God to give a miracle! I ask God for the faith we need to see God's GLORY shone (John 11:40).

End of the World and Fundamentalism

The Harold Camping prediction has brought to the world's attention the absolute folly of fundamentalism; of Christians who give answers to questions that are actually shrouded in mystery, and who need to control the interpretation of scripture. They are equally to blame with the very intelligent theologians and scholars who also need to make control pronouncements explaining away the supernatural; who tell us what God is and is not.
The fact remains that our Truth is a Word spoken by God; what is written down is not true because it is written down, but it was written down because it is True. That Word is beyond "explanation." We can KNOW the Word, but only as the Word chooses to be made known to us. I believe the Word is speaking, has spoken, will continue speaking. I am trying to listen.

I believe . . .

I believe the Bible is true, but somehow I know it is not true because it is written, but it is written because it is true.
This ismuch more than a play on words. Maybe theologians and philosophers have sophisticated words for what I am trying to say . . . but
"TRUTH" that is God is beyond "explanation" and the mysteries of creation, and miracles, and divine inspiration cannot be reduced to catch phrases and even to true doctrine.
"TRUTH" is a Person. God has expressed His love for us by sending Jesus to be identified with us. This is THE profound miracle. If we believe that it is by revelation. All other true "facts" are of lesser importance...
The Bible exists to reveal Jesus...Jesus who said
"If you know Me you have seen the Father."

Audacious Sermon Fragment - - Really Old!

Think with me through two or three "inner dramas" of people coming to seek salvation. See how the idea of what sin is goes to the heart of how we come to trust: 1. A commonly held "Nazarene" idea of finding salvation: Sin is being "bad," and sinning separates me from God. Salvation is being GOOD (once I've been to the altar to take care of being BAD)- And later I should come back to the altar to take care of the SIN ("bent to sin") that makes me wobbly at the center. The "drama" goes like this: I come to the altar. I confess my sins as I am told. I am given a clean slate, which assures me I will go to heaven if I die. I have a list of things I must and must not do. I must read and pray. I must not smoke or drink. I should go to church when I can, but then I sometimes see others who are rather casual about it, so maybe that isn't all that important. I start out with confidence. Then a couple of bad things can happen: (1) I keep all the neat rules, like NOT smoking and NOT drinking and so forth, and so I "know"(presumption!) I am saved even though from year to year I never really come to know the Lord Jesus in any personal way, and I never help any fellow mortal move one inch closer to the kingdom of God; or, (2) I soon find out that my clean slate is all messed up. I start over several times. Finally I quit in disgust saying that I cannot honestly live a Christian life. I drop away and say there is nothing real in this fake religion. (3) Or-- in spite of not having a perfect understanding of all these things I find a personal, growing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and somehow the miracle continues to grow! 2. Let me have the audacity to change the scene. Now I am a hard-shell Baptist, or a child of strict Reformed or Calvinist roots. My definition of sin is sort of all the above PLUS-- sin is ANY COMING SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD! And by that I mean any place I should do better and don't, or shouldn't do bad and do. It is ALL sin! All my life I hear the Bible preached as propositional truth. "God said it! I believe it! That settles it!" Here's how MY "salvation drama" goes: I "come forward." With good solid counseling I "receive the Lord Jesus as Savior." I understand that He is my Substitute, and that His righteousness is IMPUTED as my own. God now looks at me, and instead of my sins He sees the righteousness of His Son. I am honor-bound to read and pray and prove the reality of my new birth by (1) Baptism; (2) Tithing; (3) Witnessing. If I do these things (1) I often come to live far above the raw simplistic application of the very real Truth of this system, and the discipline carries me into a genuine relationship. OR, (2) I drift into old ways, and from time to time I "re-dedicate my life" during times of emotional challenge. All the while I am more-or-less consoled by the fact that I have received "eternal Life" which by definition can never be forfeited (presumption) , otherwise how is it "eternal?" (3) Or-- in spite of not having a perfect understanding of all these things I find a personal, growing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and somehow the miracle continues to grow! 3. Let me be even MORE audacious! Let me describe a person with some form of Catholic up-bringing. Sin to me is pretty much defined by the Church. There are mortal sins; there are venal sins. Jesus Christ is GOD and Savior, but the idea of salvation is strictly mediated through both the Word and the Traditions of the Church. I need to (1) be baptized; (2) confirmed; (3) keep current by taking Mass regularly, which should involve regular confession as well. My "salvation drama" comes when somehow these truths I have been taught become personal to me. I am saved by being in fellowship with the Church, and obeying from the heart its teachings, and I trust without inner assurance what I have been told- my salvation is "second hand" but the Creeds and Gospels move me from time to time. Or, I become a skeptic, a "nominal Catholic" and my life is no different from the culture in which I live, OR, Or-- in spite of not having a perfect understanding of all these things I find a personal, growing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and somehow the miracle continues to grow! IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT STORIES LIFE-CHANGING SALVATION NEEDS A PRESENT SAVIOR No human agency can fully present the truth so powerfully and true that "correct theology" will save. Somehow, by the Word being released and through the preaching I hear, in whatever church, I must grasp -the Idea that God knows ME-! He cares that I have sinned. He is angry with my sins, but I know He loves ME. I am enabled to enter into a personal relationship with Him. I ask Him for mercy and forgiveness. He grants it. I sense that I belong to Him. We do not know all the profound things that take place when the New Birth takes place! We properly quote our theology-- Justification – Regeneration – Adoption – Sanctification -- but it is never ours to say whose faith in genuine and whose is not. This is God's One Holy Catholic Apostolic church-- it is God's call. The Church is God's Beloved! Be careful not to rip and tear at what God loves! Salvation is a relationship has been established. It is not easily broken!

The Jesus Prayer

People I respect and love come from many different backgrounds, and many different sets of values. I want to be honest and real with every friend, but it is easier with some than with others to disagree at times and still feel unshaken fellowship. Some of my friends are convinced that the emerging church is the reason for a falling away in my denomination. Others of my friends are sure that people in political office are the greatest threat to our way of life, to the point of obsession. Some haver abandoned the music I grew up with, and the hymns that are written on my very heart; others excoriate the new, loud, casual music and cannot imagine how guitars and drums can ever bring a spirit of worship. I'm not saying it very well, but so many times what we are "against" becomes so strong that we forget what we are f\"for." Or, more properly, sometimes we hve to make our points until in our spirits we deny the very core of what we say we are. Actually, it is not what we are for, but Who is really our Life. Bottom line: The spirit (Spirit in us!) is everything! Even in militant opposition to sin as we understand it it is still the Jesus in us that people need to see. I have known many people whose doctrine is far different from my Wesleyan-Arminian persuasion-- but who lived and breathed a love for Christ that made me love Him more. I'm rambling, I know-- old people do that sometimes. But let me say this: the Word of God is a Person. The Bible is not true because it is written down-- it is written down and passed on because it is true. Sometimes TRUE means more than we can understand-- when it comes to how we got here, and why God permits this and that-- and why it seems hard for us to understand each other. The Church is God's darling. Don't rip it to shreds because it isn't like you think it should be-- rather pray that the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic church-- bigger than any "denomination"--purer and more holy that we can understand and yet imperfect and in need of grace (because I belong to it-- and you) --PRAY THAT WE WILL LET GOD BRING US TOGETHER AS HE SEES FIT. There is an ancient prayer that sums up what we need, day by day. Pray it with me: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

EAT IN FRONT OF YOUR ENEMIES

When faced with the evils of sciety Christians usually fall into one of two categories: either

ACTIVIST, or CONVERSIONIST.



1. Activists create pressure. They seek to enact law. They

form a moral majority or a green peace. They protest.



2. Conversionists seek to evangelize. Nothing wrong with

that-- except that all too often this means "Join MY group

the way WE say and then circle the wagons and wait for the

cavalry." I do not deny that I believe that people need

to be born again, and that unless a person is saved he or

she is lost.



But there is a third way. Stanley Hauerwas suggests that

this "third way" is not in any way a blending of the other

two, but a radically different approach to Christian

reality!



3. This third way says: EAT IN FRONT OF YOUR ENEMIES! Don't

just try to block them in legislature, or persuade them to

become a member of your church-- but show them your

Shepherd!



Instead of an ACTIVIST APPROACH or a CONVERSIONIST APPROACH, this

is A CONFESSIONAL APPROACH to Christian living. . . . saying: "Jesus

Christ is MY Shepherd! He is MY Lord and MY Master. I will seek to do

everything I do in a way to please Him and reveal Him to the world!

You and I are called to be Christ's body! He is the Bread of life!
As He satisfies our deepest needs . . . as He loves through us where we are . . . the most powerful force in the Universe is brought to bear on the ills of society that frustrate mere human effort.

Prayer
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,O LORD our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen

The Promise: Wait and See!

In January 1991 the Middle East was in crisis--so what is new? Is this Egypt thing "the end"? What do God's people do?
Here is a sermon God gave me then-- it seems to fit "now"...

January 27, 1991
Isaiah 40:28-31

A PROMISE OF GOD'S STRENGTH

Introduction

There is no question but that these are days of stress all over
the civilized world. The events in the Middle East are brought into
our living rooms and our minds, and they are sobering, to say the
least.

Yesterday the Patriot Ledger said that people of faith
everywhere are turning to prayer: some for guidance, some for solace,
some for God's intervention. I would hope that we would be people of
prayer.

The question is: Where do God's people have any advantage over
people who profess no faith at all? What difference does faith make?

Faith does indeed make a difference! I am sure that you are
already finding this out. Perhaps you don't even need to be told that.
But I find that it helps me to be reminded of God's great promises.
Times of stress, whatever the reason, are good times to return to
favorite treasures, to the passages of scripture that have 'come
through' with assurance over and over again.

One such passage that we can claim together is Isaiah 40, and
especially that last paragraph which says, in part:

" . . .they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength . . ."

I. ISAIAH IS A PROPHET OF GREAT HOPE

[Isaiah is also a great Messianic prophet, and is
sometimes called "the Fifth Evangelist" (along with
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, because we Christians can
see so much of Jesus in his writings.]

A. Some "key words" that open Isaiah's message as we read are
words like "expectancy" and "hope" and "peace." Isaiah lived in
expectancy for a long time, through many difficult times. But Isaiah
was "forward looking." He believed that God was in charge, and that He
was in charge of the future. Isaiah is the one who told us that
Messiah would be called "Prince of Peace."

B. The heart of Isaiah's message is the fact that God works not only
on a cosmic scale, but personally. God was interested in kings and
nations, and Isaiah observed roles and rituals of religious ceremony
along with his fellow priests and prophets. But the message came in a
PERSONAL way to Isaiah himself. Isaiah felt his own personal
uncleanness before the holiness of God as well as that of his
people. Isaiah experienced personal cleansing and empowering. The
message that God gave him interfaced with his own family situation.

And-- Messiah would be a PERSON! Not just the nation of Israel,
but a Suffering Servant, a man among men and women!

Majestic and meek. Baptized - and a baptizer with
fire! Life-bringer who came to die! This personal
Savior would be called by the names of deity: WISDOM
POWER IMMANUEL! God with us!

C. Isaiah tells us in this passage that the reality of God's gifts
of HOPE and STRENGTH and PEACE are personally available, held out to
those who will 'WAIT UPON THE LORD!'

Wait upon the Lord!

II. WHAT IS THIS 'WAITING UPON THE LORD'??

A. "Waiting" would seem to imply something like 'killing time;' like
reading old magazines in a doctor's waiting room somewhere while the
appointments are an hour behind schedule.

Or, waiting might seem simply to let the years go by until God's
time gets right, and a certain day or hour appears and God says, "Now
you've waited long enough!"

But "wait" here has a personal aspect. It doesn't simply mean
letting time pass, but means waiting in expectancy, or looking to God
in trust as we watch to see how God will answer our prayer.

And no one, in any age, ever really waits on God in vain! No
one ever comes in trust and obedience that does not somehow find that
God is IN the prayer, that God is BEHIND the prayer-- and that,
ultimately, God is HEARING the prayer. [I certainly do not minimize
the mystery of prayer. I do not dispute the fact of genuine struggle
and even travail in prayer. But God does hear and answer prayer!]

B. But what, then, does this waiting mean?

1. Waiting on God indicates a sense of DEPENDENCY. Being
dependant somehow goes against our All-American western culture
Protestant work-ethic positive self-image self-confident way of life
and living.

[There ARE benefits to a healthy self-image which I do not deny.
There is enormous worth in looking at a task and thinking "I CAN!"]

But in matters of eternity and life and death "I CAN!" somehow
fades away into the realization that among the spinning galaxies of
ultimate reality there are many things which "I CAN NOT!"

[In "skits" of Bible stories which we used at a recent
pastors' retreat one mini-drama had to do with the
centurion who came and asked Jesus to heal his servant.
The man who represented the centurion was deeply moved,
even to tears. Later he said, "I realized that in
temporal things I had great authority: 'I say to
one, "Come!" and he comes, etc.' But in the things which
really mattered (i.e., the life and death of the beloved
servant) I was totally helpless, dependant on Jesus."]

Waiting on God is saying to God: We can't do it unless and until
YOU do it!

C. So waiting on God is not so much TIME as it is ATTITUDE. It is
listening for God. It is seeking to give God our attention. It is
being ready for communication from the Master. [It is perhaps like a
little dog trotting along, always looking back, always looking up to
make sure the master or mistress is coming along, and everything is
all right.]

And as we wait, we will hear God! As we wait the things will
happen that would NOT have happened if we had not waited! Isaiah
makes it clear that the benefits of waiting on God are in the HERE AND
NOW!

THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH!

[But we are NOT little dogs trotting along, looking up to the
Master's face. We are PEOPLE, living in a tremendously complex world
situation. We have tremendously complex lives to lead. Is there any
practical guidance for waiting on God?

III. GIVING GOD OUR ATTENTION

A. We can pray DELIBERATELY to be filled with God's Spirit.
William Barclay says:

"The only way to receive the Spirit is to silently and
prayerfully WAIT upon the Spirit."

A helpful verse to me is Luke 11:13. Jesus says that if we ask
the Father He is more anxious to empower us with the Spirit than we
are to give things to our own children! But we need to ASK!

Barclay goes on: "In a church life in which the church
is increasingly organized, and in which strenuous
activity is the key-note, and in which ACTION is valued
above all things it is hard to find time for that
apparent doing nothing which means everything."

B. But can we be even more PRACTICAL? More SPECIFIC? How shall we
pray in such a way that we can renew our strength? [I have FOUR
suggestions:]

1. By praying HONESTLY. God will only receive as much of our
lives as we are willing to give freely to Him. This God who could
easily overwhelm us never pushes His way in past locked doors! If you
need His help in areas of your life make certain that you have made
Him welcome in EVERY area. [sin / confession / open-ness]

2. By praying REGULARLY. Prayer life is not so much a series of
major repairs and overhauls as it is keeping a schedule of daily
maintenance. Fifteen minutes a day is better than two or three hours
every other week!

3. By praying CORPORATELY. Worship together with the Body of
Christ is an essential part of waiting on the Lord. Worship is much
more than just a convenient time for religious people to get together
to hear a common word. The CHURCH has power as it joins in prayer
together. "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together" is the
word of God (Hebrews 10:24.)

Finally,

4. By praying TOGETHER. Not just in the assembly of the Body,
but in the daily traffic of life and living, Christians must learn to
pray with each other, and pray for each other.

We need to reach out and ask for help. We need to say, "Let's
pray!" If it seems like a weakness, it is only admitting before God
that He alone is our strength! There is strength and power in weaving
the potency of prayer into the daily conversation of our living.

Conclusion

William Barclay again:
"God will 'do it again;' that is, renew and revive,
both for us individually, and for the church, if we
remember that He asks nothing but our attention, and if
we learn to wait INTENSELY upon Him."

Prayer:

Lord, We confess freely our need of Your strength. We believe that
You are as good as Your word. Help us to wait in simple faith and
trust- to give You our full attention. Help us to hear Your Word of
power. Amen

Who's Calling Us to Prayer???

Everybody seems to have answers . . .we analyze . . .we explain more than we know . . . but the fact is only One Person sees the whole picture, and He has given us a prayer which we know so well we sometimes pray it and don't hear what we are praying . . . or worse, we sing our ditties and pray our extemporaneous prayers and never come to grips with what Jesus told us:

PRAY THIS WAY!!!

OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN . . .

HALLOWED BE THY NAME!

THY KINGDOM COME !

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN !

We need to pray this together ... in our churches . . . pray it in our homes . . . pray it from our hearts!

Then...it is all right to ask:

GIVE US TODAY WHAT WE NEED TO BE ALL YOU WANT US TO BE !

FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US !

LEAD US!

dELIVER US FROM EVIL!

What if we all did what Jesus said we shoudl do?

I hear the call to prayer from different, even surprising directions these days . . . before we rush off to save the world in our own puny strength . . . before our civilization slips into hell . . . can we join together and pray the prayer we know by heart until from our hearts we truly pray that prayer?

Diana and Teresa . . . that week in September

September 7, 1997
Good News! There's Hope!

THE OUTSIDER
Mark 7:24-30 The Syro-Phoenician woman with a daughter
distressed with an unclean spirit.

This has been a week we will remember a long, long time. The
death of the Princess of Wales has caught the attention of many
millions of people around the world. At the outpouring of words that
immediately followed the news of Diana's death, I think I was most
impressed that Mother Teresa of Calcutta had loved Diana, and had
said, among other things, that Diana "was in love with the poor" of
the world. And then Friday afternoon we heard: Mother Teresa was
gone!

Two women, so very different-- one 37, and tall and stately and
beautiful-- one 87, and tiny and wrinkled and, yes, beautiful, too, in
her own wonderful way. One born to great riches, and living in the
glare of the spotlight. One with absolutely nothing of this world's
goods to call her own, under a vow of chastity, poverty, obedience,
and of service to the poor.

[[[Diana Frances Spencer was born on the first of July 1961, just
over 36 years ago and married Charles Philip Arthur George, the Prince
of Wales, in a spectacular wedding in St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29,
1981. Mother Teresa was born, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on the 27th of
August 1910 to Albanian parents in what was then Serbia. She was
called "Mother" but was a nun for 69 years. ]]]

Two women very different-- and yet both of them remembered with
love for one thing: they made the people they met feel valued and
respected. They somehow carried the message: "Whoever you are, you
matter!" And in so far as they carried that message, they were
messengers of truth. This world is starved for genuine love. We need
to hear the message "You are a person of worth! You matter!"

The first message that God wants this world to hear is that same
message: YOU MATTER TO GOD! Before they can really understand
anything else of spiritual worth, they need to know that God cares
about who we are and how we live.

It may not be the first message the church thinks the world
needs. We begin with Lesson Two or Lesson Three. We attack the evils
of our culture, and get wrapped up in boycotts and legislation, and no
doubt there is a place for all of that and much, much more. (After
all, Mother Teresa took every occasion she could to speak out against
abortion. But first she paid her dues; first she saw in every face
she met the image of God-- her base from which she worked was: YOU
MATTER TO GOD!) We tell the world "Change the way you're living, and
God will accept you, and you will be saved!" We say, "Confess your
sins-- and turn to Jesus and be saved!" and of course this is the very
heart of what we are here for-- but first, "Lesson ONE" is the message
the world needs to hear: God cares about you! You matter! You are of
worth to Him!

It seems so simple, perhaps. We've heard it so many times. But
the fact is, there are times when we need to hear this first word
again. But if we, who know our Bibles, and know something of God's
love need this, how much more people who have never met Jesus Christ
need to hear the good news of strong hope-- that God loves them, and
that THEY MATTER TO GOD!

In the gospel lesson today a woman, a foreigner, heard that Jesus
was nearby, in the coastal town of Tyre. This woman was an outsider
so far as the pious Jews were concerned. She had two big strikes
against her, maybe even three. She was a woman in a society where all
the religious leaders were male; she was a Syrophoenecian, a sort of
half-breed foreigner who was despised by the pure orthodox Hebrews.
This woman had a daughter in deep trouble, deep spiritual trouble.

This outsider thought she saw in Jesus that same quality we have
been speaking about-- the love and respect for all people that drew
people to Diana and Mother Teresa. Jesus had actually crossed a
political and religious boundary in entering Tyre, a city in Gentile
territory. It seems as though Jesus was trying to get a little down
time-- a tiny vacation, but it doesn't work and people flood in to
ask for his help.

The Syrophoenecian woman came to where Jesus was trying to rest,
and she watched for a while as people came and went, and saw his
kindness and power and healing compassion. Then she, too, asks for
help with those who are breaking into his time of rest.

Mark doesn't tell us, but Matthew does, that this woman was
noisily bothering the disciples and that they wanted Jesus to send her
away. He doesn't do that however, and I wonder if maybe the
interesting interchange between Jesus and the woman is more for the
disciples (read "us") than it was for the woman.

But this "outsider" saw what we all will see if we will look and
live-- she saw that no one who ever came to Jesus was turned away,
except those who came in hypocrisy to defeat Him. By his own words we
know "The one that comes to me I will in no way (ever) cast out!"
This "outsider" saw that compassion, and dared to ask for help. And
she found that she mattered to God. She got the help she needed.

YOU MATTER TO GOD! That is Good News!

Do you really believe that? You don't have to break down doors
and try to persuade God you are worthy to be loved by him. He loves
you just as you are! He cares about you! He wants to come into your
life and brings HIS HOPE to bear on all that you are and do.

YOUR NEIGHBOR MATTERS TO GOD!

How are you going to tell him/her? Probably imperfectly, if
you're like the rest of us. But it will begin with an attitude.

James has some suggestions in our epistle lesson. He tells us
that we had better stop deciding who is "in" and who is "out." He
says if a person with money starts attending, and we act as though she
matters more than another person who is poor, we are missing the
message: you matter to God.

Don't get me wrong-- rich people need to hear this message, too.
Don't despise your neighbor because he may have more than you do. The
message is the same: you matter to God!

Conclusion:

Not one of us here will ever catch the attention of the entire
world like Diana or Mother Teresa. We won't have the spotlight in
which to tell people that they count, they are important. We probably
can be thankful that we don't.

But we will all have the privilege, first of all, to know that
fact for ourselves. IN JESUS CHRIST WE HAVE A DOOR TO AN ETERNAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD! We matter! We are as important to God as
anyone who ever lived!

And then we have the privilege and the duty to begin where we can
by spreading the word far and near: YOU matter to God! You are NOT an
"outsider" to him! That is the message of our church! Will you help
tell it this week?

When Smart People answer Simple Questions

Process theology, as it appears to me, is the result of very smart people attempting to answer a question I have heard asked in innocence by much simpler, less well-trained minds:
Is God good?
Yes.
Is God strong?
Yes.
Is God stronger than the devil?
Yes.
Then if God is good and stronger than the devil why doesn’t God just kill the devil and be done with evil?
So we apply logic and human genius and presume to announce that God is . . .

Emerging church, as it appears to me, is the result of very sincere people beginning to see that behind and beyond and above all they have ever known is a God that loves them, and they come to believe they have discovered something so new that they must begin all over building the church from the ground up.
Emerging church…from where?
Who is building the church?
Where has the Builder been for 2,000 years?


Agreeable God! Never, ever says “No!” Grace for the asking, off-hand, even. God of excitement and good times. Who needs to study? Why split hairs over any doctrine? God of the beautiful, young and strong. Worship in cliché and celebration.
A caricature, perhaps, of homogenous worship.
But the challenge to sacrifice, to leave, and follow often is missing.

Old people like me-- who never have known anything but the church and hymns and scripture-- can and do get to thinking that while other Christian groups or understandings of the Way of salvation may stumble through because of grace, it is really WE who know the best. WE understand who God is and what God is REALLY “like.”

What all us sincere people have in common is the danger of “creating God in our image” . . . we know so much it is hard for God Himself to get through our (MY) dullness or ignorance or carnal pride or obscurantism to lead us onwaqrd and upward.
Elijah thought he was the last one left . . . and I sympathize--no, empathize with him in my weaker moments. I wonder what I can do to help my little corner of the church find its way.

Then I fall back into a promise
That if I can and do really believe that God IS
(not God is “like”, or God is “here”. Or God is (anything but God IS!)
..if I can believe God IS-- then I have a great gift! It is FAITH!
The rest of that promise is to take my gift of FAITH and diligently
Begin to SEEK God!

A very wise man and maybe one of the best preachers I ever knew said in a memorable sermon in a church I once pastored:
“I know God! Oh, I know God! He has saved me! He has forgiven my sins! God loves me!
“But sometimes it seems I hardly know Him at al!!”
He was saying that our lives are enriched as we seek God, seek to know Him and let Him know us to the depths of our beings.

I am concerned about many things. I want to do what I can to see God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth. But I am convinced it begins and ends when people seek God diligently. It is so naïve to think thoughts like this, I know. But I’m beyond analyzing and seeking to provide answers. I need to know God. I want God to help me pray the Lord’s Prayer with you and with all who call Jesus “Lord”-- pray it all the way through!

A SERIOUS QUESTION . . .

. . . the following question is one which should not be
avoided. [My problem sometimes is that people think I am exaggerating
when I'm serious, or think I'm serious when I am having fun and
exaggerating. I want absolutely no confusion here: I am as serious as
I know how to be!]

The question is: HOW REAL IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU? If you, as
parent, role model, leader, have a "get-by" or "mediocre" friendship
with Jesus, and your prayer life is not an increasing push into the
adventure of the mystery of knowing God in Jesus Christ, then it is
likely that those watching you will not be excited about the faith
that you may well hold dear.

We need to talk with Jesus. We need to walk with Jesus, and tell
Him constantly how we are, what we are thinking. And then we need to
put at the top of our intercessory prayer list the people we do not
want to be separated from for all eternity!

The WORD of God ..the Word of God..where God's WORD lives

Colossians 3:16
The WORD of God . . . the Word of God . . . where God's Word Lives . . .

"It has become a family story..."
Ben went to the doctor who lifted his shirt and listened to his heart
with a stethoscope.
"What are you doing?" asked little Ben.
"I'm listening to your heart," was the reply.
"Jesus is in there, " said Ben, matter-of-factly.
"I think I hear Him," said the doctor with a smile.

My young grandson Ben's statement to the doctor: "God is in
there!" comes close to summing up what genuine Christian faith can be:
God in US! … incarnational faith!
Paul says in Colosians: Let the word dwell in you richly!

WHAT IS THE WORD OF GOD ??
The Bible? The Bible is God's WRITTEN Word. It is probably the first thing
that comes to mind, especially for those of us brought up in the
Christian church. We believe that the Bible is God's revealed Word on
salvation. It is a great and good thing to have the words of the
Bible hidden in our hearts. But the Bible is the written Word that tells us of the WORD.

JESUS CHRIST is God's WORD. He is the LIVING Word. John in the
Prologue to his Gospel says, "In the beginning was the WORD!" The
text says "Let the WORD dwell in you!" To have the WORD in us is more
than Bible memorization: the living WORD can come and live within us!
In Ephesians 3:17, a similar passage, instead of saying "Let the Word
dwell in you.." Paul says "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith.."

But with Jesus Christ LIVING-- ALIVE in you and in me... WE the CHURCH-- become THE WORD INCARNATE!
Three great miracles of INCARNATION
-- the Bible, which exists to testify of
the WORD,
and the Church (made up of born-again believers)-- speak to a world that
is hungry for God.

It is our task to abide in Jesus, the WORD, and to let His WORDS
abide in us-- and then we can share in His mission to let the world
come to know God:
We are called to be HOLY; not simply so that we can bask in our
goodness, but so that Christ can indwell us, and speak of His love and
righteousness and grace to a world that wants to know God!
We are given what is necessary for us to live this CHOSEN life:
God's peace; His Word; and His great name-- the name of Jesus!
Into the Privilege of Christ’s Presence in the Sacrament of Communion
As we Invite the Living WORD to abide in us!

Listening . . .

. . . Sometimes it seems the hardest thing to do to be quiet enough to hear God speak. And it is a mystery how He gets through to us when He answers our prayers. Hebrews 11:6 promises us that God is the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
. . . The faith to believe God IS is itself a gift. The insight that God is GOOD is also a gift, because the way we look at things often tries to "see God" where WE expect and how WE "know" He should act. That is His business. But the diligence . . . the persistence . . . the listening, that is my part! I'm willing. And if I somehow am not in synch, or not really willing, by an act of will I say
"I am willing to be made willing!"
". . .No holds barred, no qualification-- Lord, I'm listening! I love YOU!
"Yes!"

Romans 7 & 8 "Too simple??"

OBEYING THE HIGHER LAW Romans 7,8Lesson: Romans 7: (12) so then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. ... (14) For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. ... (16) ...I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. (21) I find then a principle (law) that evil is present with me- the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the Law of God in the inner man, (23) but I see A DIFFERENT LAW in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (25) With my mind (I am) serving the law of God, but ... with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 8:2 ..the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.The Story of Naaman and Elisha It was all going very well indeed. The career was ahead ofschedule- there had been victory after victory, and promotion afterpromotion, and now Naaman had been made Chief of Staff and General ofGenerals. He was on top of his world! Then-- he noticed a few strange sensations in his hands; he sawsome white spots on his wrist. After a few days he went to see thedoctor. He was shocked by the report! The report was: "You are aleper!" This statement, this diagnosis changed all of Naaman's life.It was a death sentence! Sooner or later it would become commonknowledge, and he would be shunned, outcast, and the result wascertain deformity and death! The Bible says, "Naaman was a greatman-- BUT he was a leper!" But what makes this story worth telling is that even though thispagan general had a sure sentence of death, and by all the laws ofnature was doomed to die, HE HEARD A WORD OF HOPE, A MESSAGE ABOUT AHIGHER LAW. This word of HOPE came from the most unlikely place! It camefrom a little slave girl-- a little girl from Israel that had beencaptured in one of Naaman's conquests. The little girl evidentlycared about Naaman, and she said to her mistress-- "I WISH NAAMAN COULD GO TO ISRAEL-- THERE IS A MAN THERE WHOKNOWS GOD-- AND WHO COULD CURE HIM OF HIS LEPROSY!" It wasn't much-- but when you are desperate you don't need muchto send you looking. The little girl told her mistress and themistress told Naaman and Naaman told the King of Aram-- and the kingsaid, "GO FOR IT!" So Naaman, the conqueror of nations, the general of generals,takes a small caravan of valuables and heads for Samaria and the Kingof Israel. When Naaman arrived in Samaria, the capital city of the NorthernKingdom, he wasted no time. He went right to the top! When he gotthrough stating his reason for coming, King Jehoram (wicked Ahab'swicked son) was absolutely beside himself. "I'VE COME TO ISRAEL BECAUSE I'VE HEARD YOU HAVE A CURE FORLEPROSY!" Everyone knew that there is no cure for leprosy, but here stoodthe general of one of Israel's traditional enemies, making animpossible request. Naaman was a fearsome sight to all the neighborsof Aram, and Israel in particular. "AM I GOD?" asked the king to his subjects. "WHO DOES THISRAVING MANIAC LEPER FROM SYRIA THINK I AM? HE IS SIMPLY PICKING AFIGHT WITH US! HE INTENDS TO DESTROY ISRAEL!" Naaman, for his part, was in no mood to fight or argue. Hedidn't think there was much hope, anyway. He simply gave the word andthe caravan wheeled about and turned to go back toward the north andeast. Just about that time a man came running through the crowd. Hisname was Gehazi, and he was the servant of Elisha the Tishbite, aprophet of God. [ Now Elisha was not exactly well-accepted at court. His styleof worship was obsolete, and his idea of direct contact with God wasnot too sophisticated. And Elisha was not always civil to KingJehoram! But somehow Elisha had got word of the king's problem, andso he had sent his servant with a message to the king. ] "SEND THE GENERAL OVER TO ME!" It took the king about ten seconds to decide that sendingGeneral Naaman to the prophet would be a good idea. He didn't knowwhere the prophet lived, but Gehazi was willing to guide him. So theentourage turned and left the palace. When they arrived at the home of the prophet Gehazi went in andfound Elisha. I think Elisha was in the back garden. [Elijah was a rugged man, an outdoorsman, fond of camel skincoats and honey and locusts. But Elisha was a city person, smooth andcivilized, and yet not one bit less fearless or straightforward thanhis illustrious teacher had been. He was not over-awed by the power ofAram's armed might outside his doorway. He did not need to satisfyany personal curiosity.] Elisha sent word by the servant, and never himself spoke a wordto Naaman: "GO AND WASH IN THE JORDAN SEVEN TIMES AND YOUR FLESH SHALL BERESTORED TO YOU AND YOU SHALL BE CLEAN." "There it is! Take it or leave it! You are offered healing- - atthe price of obedience and faith in God! At the price of doing as youare bidden, not as you think you ought to do!" The Bible says, But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. (5:11-12)"IT'S TOO SIMPLE! IT'S TOO HUMBLING!" The message of finding the higher law is not unique to thisstory. That message is that WHEN WE COME TO THE END OF HUMANRESOURCES, IF WE WILL ACCEPT HIM ON HIS TERMS THERE IS GOD! We may think that we have life pretty much under control-- andyet we discover that we are sinners! Like Naaman, we are undersentence of death! The wages of willful sin is death! We seek help for the symptoms of our sinfulness- the damage itdoes to our lives. We go to church-- we ask for help in many acceptedchannels and we hear things like: (1) Sin is an outdated concept. There really isn't any sin anymore-- it is a combination of our environment and our inheritance. Wehave received a bad deal from our parents. Whatever feels good is allright to do. But somehow we KNOW that we are on a collision course with a justand holy God-- and that we are not prepared. or... (2) We are offered various human therapies which are helpful asfar as they go, but which can not reach to the depths of the real needof our lives, which is freedom from the power and guilt andcondemnation of sin. We are not just people who sin-- we are SINNERS! And THEN-- we hear the simple Gospel message: The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, shed on the Cross ofCalvary, cleanses from all sin! Christ died for the sinner! Or thispassage in Romans 10: (8-11) "the Word is near you, in your mouth andin your heart that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, andif you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead,you will be saved!" And our "sophisticated" reaction is like the ancient Arameangeneral, the leper named Naaman. "IT IS TOO SIMPLE!" NAAMAN'S STORYDOESN'T END WITH HIM GOING OFF IN A RAGE: His servants prevail on him with common sense: "What can youlose?" He goes to the banks of Jordan-- maybe to the same place Jesuswas baptized, who knows? He looks up on the banks and sees the natives watching. Heknows he will look stupid! But he wades in-- and dips under the water. Nothing! He dips again-- and again Nothing! But seven times down and the seventh time up helooks-- and . . . the white spots are gone! He comes up out of the muddy water and heads, dripping, for hischariot. "Go back to that prophet's house!" he orders the driver.The caravan wheels around again and heads back for Samara. And this time Elisha the Tishbite comes out. Maybe there is evena little smile on his face. "Here is a million dollars!" says the general, Naaman. "I won't take one red cent!" says the prophet. (Evidently he ison salary, like Billy Graham; or else, he hasn't learned how to make abig prophet like the TV prophets.) The general rides away a man who is convinced of the power ofJehovah God!Summary and Application: I suppose that I have read this portion of Romans -speakingabout being bound by lower laws-- and then finding freedom in higherlaws-- a hundred times or more. It is NOT a simple, easy passage. Wethink as we read, "Why do you make it so difficult? Why don't yousimply spell it out in language that we can easily understand?" Two or three things come to mind when I think of 'easilyunderstanding' the Word of God. One is-- that the way of salvation is easily entered, simple tograsp, requiring only the obedience of faith to say, "Jesus is LORD!" But another is-- that we think that because eternal life is afree gift, then it does not require study and application and effort,like any other wonderful truth. We think in arrogance that we knowall that is to be known simply by our native intelligence. And thatsimply is NOT so! Paul speaks of the deep things which the CorinthiansOUGHT to have been grappling with, but they simply were going over andover the same elementary truths of arithmetic, not realizing thedepths of algebra and calculus and wonder that God had for them tounderstand and practice. And finally, along with this lack of willingness to study: Wethink that God should always bend to our way of thinking; we thinkthat we are the measure of understanding. But we must be willing toendeavor to follow God's teaching, and enter into His lessons. This, then, is a difficult passage. It expresses the deepest joyof freedom and life in God found anywhere in the Bible. But itdemands our full attention. We will not plumb its depths in thissermon together, and I hope that you will not solve its meaning thisafternoon and come back with all the answers tonight. But you canbegin, or you can continue-- as I am sure that we all are in somemeasure engaged in this "heart-of-Romans truth." Have you submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Are you evenNOW confessing with your mouth, and by God's grace, believing in yourheart? It is profoundly simple, and simply profound-- but the freedomand power of Romans 8 is for us all! We can obey God's HOLY law, andbe FREE from the "law of sin and death" as we submit to the "law ofthe Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!" Elisha said to Naaman, "Go, wash and be clean!" The Spirit says to you and to me: "Confess, believe, and be freefrom sin and condemnation!"PrayerHymn No. 465 Trust and Obey———————————————————————————————————
Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene. Permission to reprint or publish this material is GRANTED as long as the reprinting or republishing is not-for-profit. You can access more of Dr. Metcalfe's sermons at his scripturally indexed sermon archives web site. Now with MP3 audio sermons and audio bonus material.
http://russellmetcalfesermons.nazarene.nl/sermons.html
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A Modest Proposal

Given the on-going worship dialogues, I have a modest proposal to keep us old fogies from losing it entirely and attacking the platform with our canes and walkers . . .

The proposal has three parts . . . depending on the churchb size and situation.

For the larger church that has moved into a gymnasium-type setting with moveable seats and cheap projection screens:
After the greetings and offering, dismiss everyone with wrinkles or liver spots to "senior church" in the old auditorium, which probably still has a piano or organ in it which some old fogie can play. Have them take their hymnals with them. They can leave at the same time as the children to "junior church".

For the smaller church the pastor can ask the "senior citizens" to come forward and sit (sit) in the front pews for "pastor's time with the senior citizens". He can turn around and put on a clip-on tie and then have a senior sermon, maybe explaining what all the wires and microphones do and how they can adjust their hearing aids at different parts of the service. He can assure them that the people who stand behind those mikes and slap their thighs and wiggle are NOT Gladys Knight and the Pips, what are they thinking?

For the fortunate church that has "senior talent" a back-up group can be recruited, or a warm-up group or whatever you call it-- of seniors all dressed alike with creases in their pants and oil in what hair they have left-- like the Mille Brothers or the Four Freshmen . . . or even likeGomer Pyle and Goober. That way the older people can get back at the young ones and make them pretend they like it.

I would draw the line at body surfing.