Putting Away Those Decorations
It's time to put away the Christmas decorations. I saw a number of my neighbors doing that this weekend, but I'm still holding out and my lights are back on tonight. But, I know they have to come down. I mean, it's just time and it would be really weird to get to Valentines day or Easter with the Christmas decorations still hanging around. It just would not be right. So, before this week is out I'll get the job done.
There are lots of things like that in life. The time comes to let go and move on. But we don't like it and we resist what we know is best for us to do.
It seems to me that the Christian faith gives us courage to let go of the things that are known and embrace what we have to face, the unknown. That is in some sense what it means to be "born again." At birth, we leave the comfort and security of the womb to risk a new and unknown world. After that beginning in this world, we are called to walk through a series of new births as we venture out of our safe places to experience new and greater things with God.
The New Year brings another opportunity to move ahead. The old has now passed away and the future calls us to let go of those things that will hold us back.
I'm praying for you to find the faith and courage to not only put away those holiday decorations, but to also let go of the past as you walk into new places today and in the future.
Sincerely,
Doug Burrell
Pastor, North Fayette UMC
dougb@nfumc.com
Uncertain Times Calls us to Reflect
These are what we might call "uncertain times." The presidential election is close at hand and there are going to be changes for our nation, no matter who is elected. The economy of our nation as well as the world economy is in disarray. Home values are down, credit is tight, gasoline is in short supply as prices soar and food is getting more expensive by the hour. We can add to this, our growing realization that there are radical climate changes going on which make our weather patterns more prone to extremes. We no longer know if there will be enough rain to fill our reservoirs. We can add to this list, our concerns about the rising costs of health care and the growing numbers of persons who are becoming uninsured. And since September 11, 2001 we have been caught up in an ongoing angst about terrorism and growing conflicts between religions, cultures and nations.
That is a lot of uncertainty which daily bombards our minds and would take our spirits hostage to hostility and bitterness. If we are not careful, we can be driven to despair. So, I call each of us to take a deep breath, slow down for a moment and reflect on life and the Creator of life.
First, remember the words of the Proverbs, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Second, consider the words of the Psalmist, who in the 90th Psalm helps us to put things in perspective saying,
"Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting your are God." (Psalm 90:1-2).
The psalmist goes on to say in verses 10 of that Psalm,
"The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and fly away."
And finally he cries out in the 12th verse,
"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a wise heart."
There are many uncertainties around us to be sure. But let us not get caught up in what is comparably so trivial to the exclusion of those precious gifts in life that cannot be recalled when they are gone. And let us not forget that there is one who does not change and who will, as it is said of the truth, "stand up and remain, though the whole world burns down."
In the name of that One and his Son,
Doug
P.S. Join us this Sunday as we begin a series of studies on "Living a Life that Counts." This week's message is "Spending Time."
Giving for Sake of Others is its Own Reward
I hope each of us will always keep our hearts open to the spirit of giving for the sake of others. It is, I believe, that spiritual discipline of giving which nourishes and refreshes the soul. Without it our souls wither into littleness, self-absorption, and ultimately, into resentment, bitterness and disillusionment.
Believe me when I say that it is often tempting to reject the discipline of giving, when I am in difficult financial conditions myself. It is hard to “let go” when I see where, if could just keep something for myself, I would be better off. But, then I have to ask myself this question: “When I compromise my calling in Christ and when I ignore my commitment to giving, in order to serve my own needs, am I better off?” Honestly, I do not think so. I don’t think I am ever better off when I break my vows. I am never better off when I break my word. I am never better off when I compromise my ideals. Whenever we make such “bargains with the devil” we diminish our souls. We become a bit more like the “Adversary” and a bit less like Christ.
On the other hand, to follow Christ in the art of “letting go” has its own rewards of joy, peace and the sure knowledge that each time we do it, we draw closer to the heart of God and we release more of the power of the Holy Spirit from within us for the good of all Creation. Surely you know what I am talking about here. I’ve heard so many of you say what joy you have received in sharing your talents through the Church, what joy you have known in giving a gift and seeing a child’s eyes at Christmas or at some other special occasion. Some of you have given of yourself through mission trips, donating to hurricane relief, etc. Recently, I have heard from some of you who served at the Trinity Soup Kitchen on August 3rd. You have reported to me the great blessing you received as you gave, not for recognition or reward, but for the sheer joy of giving for others. Wow! That is powerful stuff.
I have seen the same spirit of giving in this year’s “Garden Project,” which is a partnership with Becky Douville’s “Able2Farm” and our church, through the Kenwood Spirit Sunday School Class. This is a project of love and generosity to raise money that will go to our worldwide United Methodist Mission efforts through our congregation’s “Apportionments.”
So many of our congregation, both members of that class and others, have spent countless hours planting, weeding, harvesting, organizing, cleaning, stacking, transporting and selling produce at the markets and here at church. Others of us have faithfully supported this project by purchasing fresh produce weekly. There have been so many blessings as a result of your unselfish sacrifices. There have been the financial rewards which will flow through our congregation and into our Apportionments. There has been an increased depth and width of fellowship and community within our congregation as we have worked closely together. There has been a new awareness of North Fayette UMC out in our community as folks hear about what we are doing. There is now a much greater and very positive awareness of North Fayette UMC throughout the Metro Atlanta associations of growers, restaurants, gardeners, community groups and throughout the North Georgia Conference as people are hearing about the creative ways we are serving the community, making a difference through world missions and seeking to do so through “sustainable methods” of crop production that are more environmentally friendly. But that is not all.
Recently, we have been able through our presence at the Emory community’s weekly market to extend our giving in another way that is so exciting. In a cooperative effort spearheaded by Mrs. Douville, the vendors who come there to market are sharing what is left over at the end of each market day with the homeless and hurting souls in Atlanta. This leftover fresh produce is now being taken to the Trinity Soup Kitchen each Tuesday afternoon and is then shared with a number of local shelters in Atlanta.
The sheer joy on the faces of the Trinity Ministries staff upon seeing these gifts would leave absolutely no doubt, that when we give for the sake of others, doing so is its own reward.
Below, is an email I received yesterday (Thursday, August 14th) from Kathy Cannon, Director of Volunteer Programs at Trinity Community Ministries. I think this note will be a blessing to you, as it has been for me.
Let us not grow weary in well doing, my friends. Let us never give in to fear. God is faithful. Let us be also. Join me in worship this Sunday at 8:45 or 11:00 am.
In Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
North Fayette United Methodist Church
www.nfumc.com
Dear Rev. Burrell
I just wanted to let you know how very much the efforts of your “farming” volunteers are needed and appreciated here at Trinity Community Ministries! Becky & Team are just wonders with extraordinary green thumbs. The fruits of their labor are such a blessing. It is very, very hard for us and other similar agencies serving the homeless to afford fresh produce. And tomatoes at that! At today’s prices, a rare treat indeed. I wish you and the rest of your congregation could see the smiles when I distribute these delicious treats!
Please share our most sincere appreciation and gratitude for such generosity with your congregation – especially the hard working farming committee at NFUMC. And thank you, as their pastor, for developing such a giving church. You have truly planted good seeds!
Blessings,
Kathy Cannon
Director of Volunteer Programs
Trinity Community Ministries
404/577-6651 (Mon-Thurs)
www.tcmatlanta.org
“Trinity Community Ministries serves Atlanta’s hungry, homeless, and/or addicted, including connecting them to recovery programs and collaborative outreach partners.”
Feeding the Multitudes
"Feeding the Multitudes" will be the title of my message this Sunday. I find it amazing how this is the lectionary lesson theme which falls to us on this particular week. You see, I am not choosing which Bible texts that I want to preach on say, a certain subject right now. I'm simply bringing messages based on the Gospel lessons "assigned" to the Revised Common Lectionary used by Christians around the world on that given Sunday. During this "season" of the Christian calendar. During this cycle of the 3 year readings, the Gospel readings are from Matthew. And this week's lesson is as follows:
Matthew 14:13-21
13Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) companion reading for this week is found in the prophet Isaiah and reads as follows:
Isaiah 55:1-13
55Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
6Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
These readings both come to us on the Sunday when our congregation will be sending out a number of our people with 1,600 sandwiches along with hot dogs and chili to the Trinity Soup Kitchen in downtown Atlanta to feed hundreds of our homeless friends. Those of who remain behind here to carry on our public worship will be observing Holy Communion.
It seems that no matter where we turn this week, God is saying to us that there are hungry souls to be fed and the business of the Church is to "Feed the Multitudes."
I hope you might give that some thought this week. What are we offering the multitudes of hungry souls around us for the nourishment of their spirits, for their minds, and for their physical well being? Look around, the hungry are not only in downtown Atlanta. We are everywhere. Jesus invites us to be in business with him to feed the hungry, to nourish the weak and to build up the fainting ones we meet. We don't have to own a grocery store. We don't have to have a degree in psychology. We need not have seen the Food Network. The lesson before us shouts to me that if we simply offer what we have, there will be more than enough to do the job.
Until all are filled,
Doug
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Weeds In the Garden - But, Don't Give Up!
When I used to have a garden, July would come along to test my commitment. Gardening was fun in April when the air was cool and the soil was freshly turned. It was exciting to watch the soil each day for the first sign of plants shooting up through the soil. Then, as May turned into to June, the plants would flourish and begin to produce. Through the end of June I would usually fight the good fight with weeds. But by the middle of July the garden had ceased to be fun and now became really hard work.
The heavy air, the unbearable midday sun and the unending strings of grass taking over the walking space as well as choking out the plants is a gardener's nightmare. Only the committed gardener will stick it out in July and August. But for those who do, the rewards will be delicious.
What about you? What is your reaction to the "weeds" and other impediments that crop up in your pathways and threaten to choke the life out of your "garden?"
Those who persevere through the difficulties of life and who keep working through the "Dog Days of the Soul" will be rewarded with a fruitful return. We will be strengthened by the hard work and we will be nourished by the returns for our labor.
Christ our Savior shows us the way through even the most difficult and tangled pathways. His way is the way of faithfulness and service. His courage and strength is available to each of us who follows him and calls on him. So, do not give up. Do not be afraid. Christ has shown us the way and he stands beside us as we walk through even the valley of the shadow of death.
Have a great week.
Doug
Doug Burrell, Pastor
dougb@nfumc.com
Happy Independence Day!
I'm a bit behind with this greeting, but I hope each of you had a great "Independence Day." I am grateful to live in this nation where we value the dignity of every person's right to express their own beliefs and to take part in open and frank discussions about the role of the government and the plight of all people. I am grateful for the many women and men whose hard work, sacrifices and service has made our form of government possible. Ours is not a perfect system of government and we all know that their are flaws in the system, but we have the privilege and the responsibility to improve it and to make it better.
Last week the Prime Timers luncheon featured World War II Veterans who each told some of their story of where and how they served our nation during that critical period of our nation's history. It was a great blessing to hear from them and we thank them along with all of our Veterans whose service for our nation has been given to each of us as a gift.
It is a good time for us to also be thankful for many other non-military servants who also serve in government and as civil servants nationally, at the state level and locally. Each of these whose dedication and hard work it takes to make our lives safer and more secure, is a reminder that while we celebrate our "independence" from tyranny, we are still dependent on each other's cooperation and goodwill to make this nation great.
The same is true in the Church. We can celebrate the priesthood of each person to connect directly with God, but we know that the work of the Spirit is best experienced in the context of an intra-dependent " community where we care for each other and hold each other up and each bring our own unique gifts to the community to make it stronger.
Have a great week.
Doug
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
PS - Check out our messages and music on the sermon player
(http://northfayetteumc.ccbchurch.com/app/w_page.php?id=56&type=section)
and check out the garden project co-sponsored by the Kenwood Spirit Class and Able 2 Farm at www.able2farm.blogspot.com .
"I Will Not Forget You"
We all want to be remembered. I don't know of anyone who deep down wants to be completely forgotten. Of course, there are times when we wish we could hide or be anonymous. There are those times when we have made mistakes and we secretly hope others might forget about what we have done. But we all like to be remembered.
In fact, it's pretty discouraging to be forgotten. It is sad when people we care about don't seem to care about us. It is sad when parents get so busy that we forget something really important to our children. It's sad when we children get so busy or wrapped up in ourselves, that we forget to check on Mom or Dad. It's sad to visit in nursing homes and realize how some of the residents there seem to be forgotten by people who should not forget.
This week's reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 49:8-16a) is a reminder to us, as it was a reminder to the children of Israel long ago, while in Babylonian Captivity, that God has not and will not forget us. He promises to remember his children forever.
This passage is of great comfort if we can take it to heart and believe it. Likewise, the Gospel reading this week from Matthew 6:24-34 addresses another fear we have. So many of us have the fear that "there won't be enough." That is the fear behind the worship of what is called in that passage, "mammon." Our grab for more and more is an indication of our fear of emptiness which lurks within our being. We hoard and grab on to power, prestige, money, pleasure, food, etc., because we fear there won't be enough to go around. We need to get it before it gets gone.
The word of Jesus instructs us that God knows our needs and that he won't forget us.
I hope that is something we can all remember!
Have a great week,
Doug
dougb@nfumc.com
Understanding Pentecost
To understand the significance of Pentecost in the Christian tradition, one first needs to know something about the Jewish Feast Days. The one we hear most about is Passover (Pesach). This feast and the festival surrounding it commemorates the central salvation story of the Exodus, where the Angel of Death "passes over" those homes whose door posts have been sprinkled with the blood of a lamb. This bloodshed of an innocent lamb has been connected with Jesus, "the lamb of God," who also was sacrificed (crucified) during this high holy festival being celebrated in Jerusalem.
A lesser known Jewish Feast is one that follows almost immediately on the heels of Passover (Pesach). In fact, it is celebrated on the First Day of the Week following Passover. It is called "The Feast of the First Fruits." This "Feast of First Fruits" is described in Leviticus 23:9-14 (see the text below if you like).
But this Feast is also implied in the Gospels where they each say, "It is early in the morning on the first day of the week when the women come to the tomb." (see John 20:1,; Luke 20:1; Mark 16:1; and Matthew 28:1). At that very same time, a Priest, in the Temple in Jerusalem would be taking Barley and waving it over the altar to officially open the season of Harvesting for Barley. No other Barley could be harvested until this had been done on that "First day of the week" following Passover. And this barley that was harvested for this purpose came from the region of the Galilee where the darker soil in the lower elevation ripened first (thus, Feast of the FIRST Fruits). You can also find references to this in Luke 2:23, Hebrews 1:6 and Psalms 89:28. But, the Apostle Paul makes the connection between the Feast of the First Fruits and the Resurrection of Christ crystal clear in I Corinthians 15:20-23, where he says:
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (New Revised Standard Version)
For Christians the interpretation is that the resurrection of Christ is the beginning of the Harvest of Souls for Salvation and victory over death. But there is more.
This is where the Feast of Pentecost comes in. In Hebrew it is known as the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). Shavuot means weeks. Shavuot comes seven weeks after the Feast of the First (Barley) Fruits. Forty-nine days later(after the Feast of the First Fruits) would be a Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath). Shavuot (the time when the fist fruits of the WHEAT Harvest is begun) is supposed to be observed on the first day of the week (Sunday). Therefore, the Feast of Shavuot is actually fifty days after the Feast of the First Fruits (of Barley) rather than exactly seven weeks or forty-nine days.
So, you may ask, "Where does the word 'Pentecost' come into this?"
I'm glad you asked!
In Greek, which is the language of the New Testament books, including the book of Acts, the word "Shavuot" is translated as "Pente" which means "fifty." So, the Greek way of saying "The Feast of Weeks" is "Pentecost."
Just like with the Barley Harvest that cannot begin until a portion is taken to the Temple as an offering, so with the Wheat, there must be an official offering and blessing of the Wheat Harvest. This is the second harvest which not only included wheat, but also fruits and vegetables. It is the summer harvest.
When we read Acts chapter two we realize that at the very moment when the second harvest was beginning ("When the day of Pentecost had come...") another kind of harvest was also taking place, the harvest of some three thousand souls were added that day. This harvest comes with the warm wind of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. James Fleming to whom I'm indebted for much of this article, says about Pentecost:
"The largest ingathering of the year with the greatest variety of food is during Pentecost. The Feast of the First Fruits was only Barley. Shavuot ... includes summer vegetables as well as wheat. The reason all of the countries are listed in Acts is to show the wide variety of ingathering the Spirit is bringing into the Church." (The Gospel and The Feasts of The Land, by James W. Fleming, ED. D., page 91).
Since that time the harvest has continued and by the power of God's Holy Spirit, many continue to feel the breath of God's Spirit bringing the Word of Life alive in us as we await that day when we are all raised to life everlasting with Christ our Lord. So, let the harvest continue as we gather this Sunday for the celebration of Pentecost. I hope to see you in worship.
In Christ,
Doug
Other Scriptures:
Leviticus 23:9-14 (New Revised Standard Version)
The Lord spoke to Moses: 10Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11He shall raise the sheaf before the Lord, that you may find acceptance; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall raise it. 12On the day when you raise the sheaf, you shall offer a lamb a year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13And the grain offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14You shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your settlements.
Acts 2:1-41:(New Revised Standard Version)
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs-in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o"clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22"You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know- 23this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. 25For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 26therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. 27For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. 28You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' 29"Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.' 32This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. 34For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, 35until I make your enemies your footstool."' 36Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" 38Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
The Unknown God
The Apostle Paul, visiting the Ancient Greek city of Athens noticed how very religious the people of that great city were. It was quite obvious to him that these people were very religious because of the many buildings dedicated to the various gods and the almost countless numbers of images and houses of worship. As he was making his way among these many monuments to their religions he found one altar that must have surprised him. It was an altar, according to the inscription, "to the unknown god" (Note the picture on this page, found in Athens, and dating from about 100 BC. It's inscription says "to the unknown god.").
Later, when given the opportunity to speak among the leading citizens of Athens he made mention of this monument and announced to them that he had come to tell them the good news about this "god" whom they believed in, but did not know. From there he began to tell them about the God of creation and the Father of Jesus Christ who lived and died and was raised from the dead. You can find this story in the New Testament book of Acts, chapter 17 (see scriptures for this week below).
If a stranger were to visit our communities here in America, they too might think, based on the many houses of worship and other religious monuments, that we are a very religious people. And, in a certain way, that would be true.
Yet, I wonder if we are not more like the Athenian citizens of another millennium, in that we know about this God, but for the most part, He remains unknown. Do we "know" God or have we simply heard about God or simply talked about God?
Part of what God sent Paul to preach to the "gentiles" including those Athenians of long ago was that God wants us to Know Him and that God wants to know us too. In other words, God has opened the door to us that we can have a personal relationship with Himself.
But it won't happen without taking the time to get to know Him.
May I suggest that to do that you begin by reading the scriptures. I would suggest that you read one of the Gospels. Then listen. Ask God to speak to you in your times of listening and reflecting. As you get to know God more, practice confessing your questions, your hurts, your needs. Practice giving thanks for the gifts of life for which you are not responsible. Be quiet. Be still. Be.
See if you do not become better aquainted with this God whom we say we believe in, but may have only known in passing. I believe that the more time you and i spend with God, the more we will come to love God, the more we will love ourselves, and the more we will come to love others.
Have a great week!
Doug
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Revised Common Lectionary Texts
6th Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2008
New Testament: Acts 17:22-31
Psalm: Psalm 66:8-20
Epistle: 1 Peter 3:13-22
New Testament: John 14:15-21
(all texts from the New Revised Standard Version)
Acts 17:22-31
17:22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.
17:23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,
17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.
17:26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,
17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us.
17:28 For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'
17:29 Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.
17:30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
Psalm 66:8-20
66:8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
66:9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
66:12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
66:13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
66:14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
66:15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
66:17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
66:19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
66:20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.
1 Peter 3:13-22
3:13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?
3:14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,
3:15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;
3:16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.
3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil.
3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,
3:19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
3:20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
3:21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
John 14:15-21
14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
14:18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
14:19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.
14:20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
14:21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."
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Fifth Sunday Hymn Sing was Awesome!
What a great day we had in worship today at North Fayette United Methodist Church. It was our "Fifth Sunday (of the month) Hymn Sing" with singing led by Mr. Bob Watson, Mrs. LuAnn Latzanich and the Brass of North Fayette under the direction of Rev. Mike Daniell. We also enjoyed a wonderful Prelude to worship by Ms. Anna Latzanich. It was a truly inspiring time of worship.
You can go to the Sermon Player site to hear much of the music from today's service as well as my message dealing with the issue of Doubt in the midst of our Faith. In that message I deal with honest doubt and how it differs from "unbelief." I also share why I do not see a conflict between Faith and Science since they have different functions.
After the worship today the United Methodist Women of our congregation hosted a spaghetti luncheon to benefit the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life. We had a great crowd for the time of fellowship around the tables and the UMW took a big step toward reaching their goal of raising $3,500 to contribute for the "Relay.."
I thank God for this wonderful congregation and for the new friends who continue to join us for worship week by week. It is a joy to welcome new friends. So, invite someone to join us for worship, for Bible study or any of our other activities sponsored by our church. And don't forget that April 26th will be our "Spring Fling" featuring a great "Yard Sale," BBQ Chicken plates, Children's Activities (Story Tellers, Bouncy House), Baked Goods, a Drive-in Motorcycle Show and more. For BBQ tickets or for more information about the Spring Fling, call the church office at 770 461-2409 or email to info@nfumc.com . The Spring Fling will begin at 8 AM and end at 2 PM. BBQ will be served from 11 AM to 1 PM.
Have a great week.
Sincerely in Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell, Senior Pastor
dougb@nfumc.com
The Resurrection of Hope
This Weeks Message for March 23, 2008I do not claim to be a poet. Yet, on this evening of Easter Sunday, there seemed to me no adequate way to express my own sense of Easter wonder and joy in prose. Today has been a glorious day to be a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been a joy to worship with you, to sing the great Hymns of the resurrection and of the resurrected Christ.
My heart was as full as our Sanctuary when I heard the Hallelujah Chorus. Our hearts were stirred by the instrumentalists. We were made to be glad with the sounds and sights of the children laughing and skipping and asking questions out loud in worship. I was thrilled to look out into the congregation at new friends and longtime friends. Some have been around regularly. For others it has been a while. Yet, on this day, there we were - shoulder to shoulder - lifting our voices in praise and confession and prayer.
Today, we went into the heart of our faith, we made it into God's House to worship together - and there we met the Risen Lord. Today, my cup runs over and below these brief words, is some of what has spilled out for me. I pray for all of you to experience the fullness of Easter Blessings and that Peace which He offers.
In Christ,
Doug
Ah, Easter Morning
By Doug Burrell
Ah, Easter morning
That now, sweet day
When ere the stone
Was rolled away
What gladsome news
They soon would hear
That death, despair
Did disappear
Ah, Easter morning
Still wet with dew
When on approach
They never knew
That all would be
No more the same
That vict'ry's won
In Jesus' name
For into Hell
He did descend
With cruel blows
Into his skin
By nails and whips
His blood did flow
But by His love
New hope would grow
For all who feast
On wormwood, gall
This day has come
To heal us all
Downtrodden poor
Without a say
Shout "Hallelujah"
This is your day
If justice sleeps
And right seems mute
Fear not dear friend
Now stirs the truth
Ah Easter Morning
That glorious day
That wicked stone
Is rolled away
- Copyright, Rev. Doug Burrell 2008
THE GATHERING VULTURES
I offer my apologies to you all for not getting a note out last week. However, this time you get two for one!
Last week was a great week of worship at North Fayette. Bill Koetje brought the message regarding a passage in Matthew 23. Here is a copy of his text.
March 2, 2008
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 23:37-39
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Bill’s message related the sacrificial love which God has for his people which Jesus likens to that of a mother hen who would do anything for her brood of chicks if only they would turn to her for help. I hope you will check out his message and the great worship music at our Sermon Player. The message will be posted sometime Monday morning (March 10th, 2008).
The day was made more meaningful by the observance of the Sacrament of Holy Communion together as God’s family of faith here at North Fayette.
March 9, 2008
Today we continued our Lenten theme of “Listening to the Animals” as we encounter them in the life and teachings of Jesus.. Today’s animal to teach us is the “Vulture.” The proverbial saying of Jesus which we focus upon is found in Matthew 24:28 (“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather”). However, you really need to read from the first verse of that chapter to understand that the proverb is meant to interpret verses of 1-27.
Along with the Gospel reading for today I will include below, our companion First Testament and Epistle readings. You can go to our Sermon player to hear the message. Be sure to hear the inspiring anthem presented by our Chancel Choir today. Hearing this piece moved us to deeper communion and fellowship with God today. The same should be said about today’s Offertory by LuAnn Latzanich. The recordings will be posted sometime Monday morning (March 10th, 2008).
You will also find below, a prayer for today and the litany of confession we shared in worship. I hope you find these helpful in some way.
Have a great week. Come to worship on Palm Sunday next week. We are continuing our Wednesday night gatherings of “Soup and Soul Food” through Wednesday, March 19th. There is no cost for the soup meal, we simply ask you to call the church office at 770 461-2409 to reserve a spot. Call by the end of the day on the Monday preceding the Wednesday you want to attend. Soup is served at 6:00 PM and we gather for devotions in the Sanctuary at 6:30 PM.
Very Sincerely in Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
North Fayette UMC
dougb@nfumc.com
Scripture Lessons for March 9, 2008
Old Testament Lesson: Habakkuk 1:5-11
Look at the nations, and see! Be astonished! Be astounded! For a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told. For I am rousing the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. Dread and fearsome are they; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more menacing than wolves at dusk; their horses charge. Their horsemen come from far away; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, with faces pressing forward; they gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and of rulers they make sport. They laugh at every fortress, and heap up earth to take it. Then they sweep by like the wind; they transgress and become guilty; their own might is their god!
Epistle Lesson: Romans 1:16-23, 28-32
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die--yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.
Gospel: Matthew 24:1-14, 26-28
As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered them,
"Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.
So, if they say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look! He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
March 9, 2008
Lord Jesus Christ, your word speaks of the dreadful events in the last days that are the consequences of sin. Help us to know that despite the terrors that may be ahead, we are saved by grace and always secure in you through faith. Even as these events signal the certainty of your coming, as vultures most certainly signal the presence of a carcass, may we know that you will soon rescue us and take us to our heavenly home.
Make your people, the Church, a warning people. Help us to proclaim your word--a word of warning, but also a word of everlasting grace--to all people in all we do.
The signs of your coming affect the nations of the world, O Christ, as warfare is waged and tyranny prevails. Bless all countries with just leadership. Let peace and wisdom prevail.
So many people suffer, Lord. So many are in need. Bless with your presence and our attention all who are sickly, lonely, unlovely, unloved and grieving. Give us hearts to feed the hungry and provide for those without clean water. Save the children of the world.
Bless all who gather in this place with solidarity and love. Inspire us to go out and inspire others. Make of us signs to our community--signs of care, concern and charity.
Lord Jesus, surely you will come soon to right all that is wrong and restore your creation to the perfection you intended. May each of us be ready for that day with repentant hearts and faith that trusts your saving work on the cross. And thus may we look forward to your coming in joy. This we pray in your name, one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Swallowing Camels
Today's message was taken from the 23rd chapter of Matthew, verses 1-24. In that passage Jesus accuses the Pharisees of straining out gnats (they were considered unclean and folks would strain them from their drinks to stay ritually clean) while wolfing down whole camels (these animals were forbidden to be eaten due to the Levitical inclusion as those "unclean creatures" not to be consumed. His saying gained traction and is remembered as a way to warn us not to be so particular about the minutia of religious ritual, while disregarding the weightier matters of Justice, Mercy and Faith. I invite you to read the Gospel passage and other related passages below and to listen to this message on our Sermon Player which you can find on the welcome page to the web site. Or you can follow this link:
You are invited to join us this Wednesday night at 6 PM for "Soup and Soul Food" in Building A, room 104 at the church. The soup is free and at 6:30 we will move to the Sanctuary for a brief time of prayer and devotional study. This will continue during the Lenten season, on March 2nd, 9th and 16th. Call the church office by Monday at 4 pm to make reservations for the soup. There will be no charge.
Have a great week!
Sincerely in Christ,
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
THIS WEEKS SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Old Testament Lesson: Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Now this is the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Epistle Lesson: James 2:8-13
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Holy Gospel: Matthew 23:1-24
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.' How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!"
The Animals Tell the Story of an Angry Savior - The Dove
On the First Sunday of Lent (February 10th) we turned to Matthew’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11, see below), noting his identity as the humble King whose kinship is with that of God’s ideal servant of Isaiah 42:1-4 and the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:8-10 (see below). The servant nature of Christ is further explored in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi (Philippians 2:5-11, see below). Collectively these invite us to see how Christ too is a “beast of burden” and not a “show animal.” While the Kings of the Earth enter cities as conquering heroes on great war horses, Jesus comes as the lowly servant King, riding on a beast of burden.
Matthew 21:1-11: When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
Isaiah 42:1-4: Here is 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. 2He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Zechariah 9:8-10: Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that no one shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again overrun them, for now I have seen with my own eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Philippians 2:5-11: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Today, the Second Sunday of Lent (February 17, 2008), we find Jesus in the company of the Temple Doves. This time, the doves are being set free, as Christ, enraged by the crooked money changers and sellers of the sacrificial animals have turned a house of prayer into a den of thieves (See Matthew 11:1-11 see below). Rev. Bill Koetje, our Assistant Pastor helped us unpack the meaning of this incident with Jesus clearing the Temple, turning over the tables of the moneychangers and chasing out those selling the animals of sacrifice. His message challenges us to see the righteous indignation of Jesus as a call for us to recognize the need to be angry about some things. He cautioned us not to ignore the anger and wrath of God shown in this instance by Jesus and elsewhere in scripture. He also points out that such anger has its place in our lives too, if it is not selfish, if it is honest and if it is aimed at redemption.
Jesus was angered by those who used their positions of authority to take advantage of those souls seeking to worship God. The temple tax was required of all the pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem from across the world for Passover (hundreds of thousands, perhaps more than one million pilgrims). The only currency accepted was a special “Temple Currency.” All other currency had to be “changed” by those “moneychangers” as a very lucrative rate of exchange for these privileged vendors. Pilgrims were required to bring animals “without blemish) for sacrifice in the Temple and these were most often to be doves. Those who judged whether the animals brought to the Temple qualified as “without blemish,” conveniently had the market for selling animals that would meet the standard. It was a rotten scam and was being held right there in the “Court of the Gentiles”, where those seeking God were supposed to be able to come and worship God in prayer. Instead, what Jesus found was nothing short of a very seedy and unseemly mixture of “carnival” and barnyard animal mill.
The doves remind us of an Angry Savior and some forms of Christian thought have excluded the anger and righteous wrath of God from our vocabulary. Yet, we do so only at our peril and only by ignoring the witness of scripture. The grace of God calls out to us for a response of grace on behalf of the downtrodden, the captives and those whose lot in life has left them vulnerable to the vultures of business, of politics, and most especially, of religion. This grace (gift) is not to be a candy-coated message of a tooth fairy god. The gift required sometimes calls for us to speak the truth to power and to clean out the closets of corruption wherever they exist.
Matthew 21:12-16 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers." The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself'?"
Next week, we consider the Camel (and the gnat) when we examine Jesus’ words: found in Matthew 23:24, “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!"
Yours for service,
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
North Fayette United Methodist Church
The Animals Tell the Story
This Week’s Message
42Here is 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. 2He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
2If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
P.S. Here are the Scripture readings for today's worship service:
First Week in Lent
The Donkey Reveals a Peaceful Savior
Scripture Lessons
Old Testament Lesson ... Zechariah 9:8-10
L Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that no one shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again overrun them, for now I have seen with my own eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Epistle Lesson ... Philippians 2:5-11
L Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Holy Gospel ... Matthew 21:1-11
L When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
"There's Within My Heart..."
We had a great time in worship and Bible Study here at North Fayette today. Thank you to all who braved the cold this morning to be present. Many of our friends could not make it today. Some of them are sick. Others have been out of town. Our teenagers and chaperone's had a great weekend at Camp Glisson and have arrived back safely this afternoon.
This morning I continued preaching a series of messages on living "Life in the Spirit." Last week we talked about the inward reality of God's Spirit which the Sacrament of Baptism symbolizes. We noted that the inward reality of God's presence and God's abiding Spirit is the most important thing here, not the outward expressions. Yet, Jesus himself, as a sign of the inward reality "fulfilled all righteousness" by being baptized - even though it was not necessary.
This morning my message was as personal and direct as I know how to be. I spoke about my convictions regarding the reality of God and the Spirit of God. My thesis for the message was that there is within each of us a "spark" of God's Spirit that not only makes it possible for us to recognize the reality and presence of God, but that actually makes it possible for us to experience the reality of God's Spirit in a personal and meaningful relationship. I then offered several several reasons why I believe these things. In brief those reasons include:
Because we have been given the ability to imagine a reality greater than our selves.
Because we have the capacity for making music which can express the deep yearnings of the heart that transcend biology, chemistry or the physical sciences and transports us into the realm of the heart and the spirit.
Because I have heard the whispers of the Spirit in my own times of dispair and seen the working of the Spirit in the words and works of persons great and small who give with no thought for self. I have experienced the person of Jesus Christ both in scripture and in the traditions of the Church he has left here on earth.
Finally, I believe that behind the universe and all of the physical world there stands the Spirit of Love and Life and Light, because the alternative makes no sense to me. The alternative is that behind the veil of the material stands only emptiness and darkness and despair. This cannot account for the power of life, the joy of love and friendships and the truth and goodness that exists and will not be swallowed by the darkness.
The choice is ever before us all. I have chosen to believe in the Holy Spirit, the Creator of Life and the Savior of an imperfect world by one who was perfect and in perfect love laid down his life that by his mercy we may take up life everlasting if we so choose.
Come with me friends. Let us live our lives in this Spirit.
In Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Life In The Spirit
It's been a while since I've posted my "This Week's Message." I do apologize for the temporary hiatus. These past few weeks have been very challenging with the death of my father-in-law just after Christmas. Our family had to be away to care for each other and attend the funeral of Mr. Bond. He was a wonderful man that I loved and respected so very much. He was a devoted husband, father, brother and friend. He was also a very faithful Christian and member of the Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church in Albany, GA. He was a Veteran who served his country with distinction and was one of Albany's most distinguished business leaders for over sixty years. It was my honor to officiate the funeral of my father-in-law.
In the wake of his death has come the loss of Sara Keene, age 21 and George Ruschhaupt, age 97 during the same week. These were two very beloved members of our congregation for whom we have held Memorial Services this past Saturday and Sunday. There has been such an outpouring of love and affection for Sara's and George's families. These deaths have brought such a deep and painful sense of loss among our fellowship and we are seeking to care for their families and for each other during this time.
We have also been seeking to support and care for the family of Joshua Berry who has been hospitalized in a coma since January 2nd after a fall and trumatic head injury in Athens, Ga. His parents, Bill and Trina Berry have long been part of our congregation although they have recently retired to the Hilton Head, SC. Joshua is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia and is enrolled in a Master's of Business program at the University of South Carolina. I have been to Athens in the past week to pray with the Berry family and to offer them our love and encouragement. Several other members of the congregation have been there to support them through this time as well. I am glad to report that Josh's condition has been improving in the past few days. He is still in very serious condition and not completely out of the coma. However, there are some more hopeful signs now according to his doctors there at Athens Regional Hospital in Athens.
This months messages are a call for us to focus on our "Spiritual" nature and to make that spiritual connection with God the priority it needs to be. We began on January 6th with a call to repentance and reconciliation. That day marked my fourth anniversary as your pastor and I have challenged us to all put away the things of the past that would weight us down so we can live faithfully into the new future God is giving us in 2008.
This past Sunday, I made the distinction between ritual (the outward part of our religious life) and the spiritual reality that must accompany those rituals, such as baptism. I am challeging all of us to rediscover our spirituality and to give life in the Spirit a greater priority than the preoccupation with the material things we often obsess over.
Next week we will talk about the song that God desires to place in our hearts as we allow His Holy Spirit to fill us. I hope you will experience that Song of joy this week and that the Spirit will fill you and guide you to peace.
See you Sunday,
Doug
Dougb@nfumc.com
The Wilderness of Healing & Christmas
Today's message was a part of a continuing series of messages leading to Christmas that are taken from the "Wilderness" motif in the scriptures. On November 25th (Christ the King Sunday) we began with the message: "Waiting for God in the Wilderness of Expectation." We noted how prominent the "Wilderness" is in the Bible. God often speaks to people in the Wilderness. Moses was tending his Father-in-law's flock in the wilderness when God spoke to him out of the "burning bush." Later God was to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness. There they would wander for forty years, being prepared for service to God as a nation. Young David was prepared for service while tending his father's flock out in the wilderness. There, as a boy, he learned to fight off bears and other wild animals to protect the sheep. In the loneliness of that place he undoubtedly honed is skill as a poet.
All through the Biblical story the wilderness serves as the backdrop for dramatic happenings. John the Baptist went out into the wilderness to preach a baptism of repentance. Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted. The wilderness is both a place of great danger and a place where hope is found. The people who go there are forced to face our own finitude and human shortcomings. But we also signs of hope and promise. So it is the place where life is hard, but where hope is born for something better that is possible and promised. Thus, we live our lives in this wilderness. It is a wilderness in which expectation is born and a better day is hoped for.
In the second week I noted the wilderness as a place of Preparation, and even "Temptation." It is in the crucible of testing that character is given the opportunity to grow. It is there that the seeds of faith may sprout into something that at first seems impossible, but with God's help can grow into a mighty oak of faithfulness, spiritual strength, courage and dignity. The Gospels tell of Jesus' own temptation for "forty days and nights" in the wilderness. This is the prelude to his public ministry.
The third week allowed us to see the wilderness as a place of Forgiveness. We recall the rituals of "Yom Kipper" (the day of atonement) when the sins of the people are symbolically placed on the head of a kid (young goat) which was led into the wilderness away from the tabernacle to the west, thus signifying that God remembers our sins no more. They are carried away and this brings atonement or reconciliation between God and his people.
Last week was a time to sing and anticipate the coming of Christ with carols using our voices and other instruments to praise God. It brings to mind the Psalms of Ascents (Psalm 120-135) used by the pilgrims as they make their way up to Jerusalem and up into the temple. Those begin with songs from the wilderness of distress ("In my distress I cry to the Lord..." Psalm 120:1). They continue: "I will lift up my eyes tot he hills (Psalm 121:1). Then we hear: "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord!" (Psalm 122:1). On we could go with these great songs. And likewise, last Sunday we heard the songs of Christmas, where we celebrate, not that we;have "gone up" (ascended), but that "God has come down" (ascended, stooped, came as a baby).
We too have learned that the wilderness is a place for singing.
Today we have another look at the wilderness motif in scripture and the wilderness motif in our own living and here we find not only real dangers and real heartache and suffering, but we find something infinitely more profound. The wilderness is also a place where healing is possible, even in the face of the dangers and even in the face of death itself.
Jesus was said to have often retreated to a "lonely place." There he could be alone with God. Many of us too have found that retreating from our the artificial world we live in can bring refreshment and renewal. We turn to the wilderness and to nature instinctively because in solitude and stillness we find the presence of God. The psalmist says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
Two passages served our hearing today. The First Testament reading is from Ezekiel 47:1-12. The Second is from the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 13-15. Each of these passages and others in the Bible about "Healing" have one thing in common. God is the source of healing. There is also the reality that healing is first and foremost, a spiritual reality that is sometimes expressed in physical ways, but is always from the Spirit and by its very nature spiritual. First, John 3:13-15:
13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[a] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[b] (NIV)
In the Gospel lesson, John refers to a strange incident noted in Numbers 21 where God's people have been complaining about God and their life's situation. The result is and outbreak of serpents and complainers getting bit (note the partnership here with the serpent and how it brings to mind the serpent of Genesis and the dissatisfaction which leads to sin). In the Numbers 21 story, God instructs Moses to put a bronze snake on a stick and lift it up. Those who look up to this bronze serpent will be healed and live.
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, [c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (NIV)
John says likewise, the son of God will be lifted up (also on a stick, across) and those who look to him will find healing and live.
Finally, the Ezekiel passage brings us even closer to the Christmas message. Here is a picture of a stream of life that flows out of the Temple and runs into the desert places to bring healing to the land and life to it's inhabitants. I invite you to read this and then allow me to comment:
Ezekiel 47
The River From the Temple
1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits [a] and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?"
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, [b] where it enters the Sea. [c] When it empties into the Sea, [d] the water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Great Sea. [e] 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." (NIV)(Note: There is a continuation of this theme of the River of LIfe in Revelation 22.)
The story of Christmas is the story that God will not be contained in the Sanctuary. God is willing and able to meet us out in the wilderness. In fact, God has done just that. He has "poured himself out" from the sanctuary of heaven to come live with us and walk with us in the difficult and lonely places of life. Paul said it best when he claimed that Christ:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8, NIV)
This "River of Life" will not be defeated by the wilderness. Instead, this mighty river will make its way through the wilderness and transform it into the Garden God intended it to be from the beginning. That is the truth of Christmas. Help is coming, the river is rising. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Christmas Music - The Joy of Giving - The Wilderness of Healing
This Week at North Fayette UMC
Christmas Music
The Joy of Giving
The Wilderness of Healing
This week at North Fayette began with music. Christmas music was in the air at both the 8:45 am and the 11:00 am worship services. We were drawn into God’s presence with bells, brass, and voices of gold. The organ, piano and percussion were joining the woodwinds to proclaim the eternal good news of God’s arrival in such a marvelous way. I watched the children scattered throughout the sanctuary enjoying the occasion. It looked to me like we might have some future “conductors” in the group based on the way they mirrored Mike Daniell and Becky Douville while they led their respective groups.
However, the music presented in yesterday’s worship was not the only thing “sweet” about the third Sunday of Advent at North Fayette. The United Methodist Women held their annual “Cookie Fest” between and after the services. The “Gathering Room” tables were filled with all those sweet holiday treats. All of the proceeds go to the various mission endeavors they support. At 3 pm Sunday, several of us gathered in the Activities Center to make fruit baskets and deliver them to the elderly who are not able to be with us in worship regularly. Sharing with them was a great blessing too.
The joys of giving are remarkable and our congregation has been so generous again. As Pastor I get to see some things that your giving produces. There are several families here in our community whose holiday will be more joyful and whose burden will be a little lighter because of what you have done. I have been privileged to see the relief on the faces of some parents when they received your gifts. Marilyn and Buren Knopps spoke to me about the joy and blessing they received last week when they delivered Christmas gifts for thirty children to the Murphy Harpst Children’s Home in Cedartown. Several of us were there to see the sparkle in the eyes of our elderly members when we brought the fruit baskets. They were so glad to know that they are not forgotten. We will not see the faces of the children who receive their own special “shoe box” delivered through “Operation Christmas Child,” but we can imagine the delight some child on the other side of the earth will experience as she opens up that shoebox and finds those simple little toys and goodies you put there for them to enjoy. We of course, may never know, but God knows! Some of those families who came to the “Breakfast with Santa” recently did not speak English very clearly. But words were not needed when their children saw Santa or when they went to get a gift for their little brother or sister at the “Secret Santa Shop.” This is the meaning of what Jesus is quoted as having said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Looking ahead to next Sunday: I hope you will be here to worship. My messages on “Walking with God in the Wilderness of Expectation” continue. This time I want us to consider the “Wilderness of Healing.” The wilderness in the Bible is a place of Healing in a number of ways. Even today, we find healing from the wild places where unusual plants grow. Some persons are encouraged to move to the drier dessert southwest in the United States for the sake of their health. Jesus himself found rest for his spirit in the “lonely” places of the wilderness when he needed to pray and retreat from the crowds. So do we. During these final days before Christmas we may need to consider our need for “healing.” It may be that we are going to be seeing relatives with whom we have broken relationships that need healing. Perhaps this season is one in which we are terribly depressed and our minds need healing. Perhaps we have a heart that is broken and needs repairing in a way that can only be done spiritually. Our bodies may be sick and diseased. We may need to be emotionally repaired and physically put back together. Sometimes these things can’t happen while we are running in hyper-drive. The wilderness causes us to let go of all those false props we lean on. It removes those layers of false selves we hide behind and remember who we really are. The wilderness is a place to find the truth. And the truth has the power to set us free.
I hope you will take the time to love on those in your circle of relationships. Kiss your children. Caress your spouse. Call your mama and daddy. Write or phone that special friend. Tell your brother or sister “thank you” for always being there. Go to a movie. Laugh out loud. Let your dog sit in your lap. Give the cat some milk. Let God heal you this Christmas.
Have a great week. I hope to see you on Sunday when we begin a new week.
Christmas Music - Sunday, December 16th
Greetings,
I hope this notes finds you warm and well on this rainy and cold Saturday evening.
I'm sending you this note to remind you that tomorrow morning the Chancel Choir, Agape Ringers and North Fayette Winds will be leading us in worship through the music of Christmas. It is going to be a great day of giving glory to God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I hope you will make every effort to join your church family for this occasion. I know it will be cold, but the music and fellowship will warm our hearts.
In addition, the United Methodist Women will be holding their annual Christmas Cookie Fest in the Gathering Room (A-104) of the church building. This means you can purchase some wonderful homemade sweets as gifts for friends and family. The proceeds from this event go directly into their missions ministry.
Between 2:30 and 3:00 we will be making fruit baskets for our "shut-in" friends and then delivering the baskets to them during the afternoon. Join us please and we will enjoy a great time of fellowship and get a great blessing from this ministry endeavor.
You are urged to go to our web site (http://www.nfumc.com/) where you can access the Sermon Player. I have just uploaded sermons and choir music from November 25th and December 9th. I hope to get the sermon and music up from December 2nd, but we are experiencing some technical difficulties. We will get them solved soon.
Our theme for this Advent time has been "Waiting for God in the Wilderness of Expectation." On November 25th my message introduced this theme. On December 2nd, we considered the challenge of "Waiting for God in the Wilderness of Temptation," remembering how Jesus was led out into the Wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights. Last Sunday, December 9th my message was on the theme of the "Wilderness of Forgiveness."
Tomorrow's musical worship service reminds us of the "Wilderness of Joy & Gladness" which is a pilgrimage theme. The songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) would always be sung as pilgrims made their way up to Jerusalem. These Psalms were memorized and could, like our Christmas songs, be sung by heart , as the people made their way out of their own particular "wildernesses" an "up" to the dwelling place of God on Mount Zion. Psalm 121 is part of these songs of Ascent:
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - from where will come my help?"
There is also the familiar portion from Psalm 122, vss. 1-3:
"I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.' Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem - built as a city that is bound firmly together."
On December 23rd, we will consider the message: "Waiting for God in the Wilderness of Healing" utilizing that great passage from the 47th chapter of Ezekiel as our guide. Then, finally, on Christmas Eve we will be "Waiting for God In the Wilderness of Reflection and Prayer," with music from Handel's "Messiah," and the words of Mary ringing in our ears, "and all these things she pondered in her heart."
I hope you are "pondering" these sacred realities in your heart this Advent season. Please do not let the spiritual significance of this season pass you by with all the material demands it will make on us. Join in worship in these next 10 days. You will not regret it.
In Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
"Waiting for God in the Wilderness of Expectation"
In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are considering the theme of the "wilderness" as a place of waiting for God and a place out of which some amazing "Advent"ures" spring.
On November 25th (Christ the King Sunday) I spoke about the Wilderness as a place of "Expectation." When you are wandering through the wilderness for say, 40 years, like the children of Israel did, you find yourself "looking forward" for a better time to come. The expectation is to some day have a home, to someday be delivered, to someday cease their wandering.
Likewise, for those who wander through the dry places of injustice, of inequality and oppression, there is the expectation (substitute the word "hope" here) that they will someday be delivered, be rescued (substitute the word "saved" here).
In the wilderness of poverty, injustice, corruption and the like, we wait expectantly for God's promises to be fulfilled. Isaiah 9:1-6 and 11:1-4 hint that those in the darkness have begun to see a great light. The prophecy promises that just around the corner, there is to appear a new kind of king whose name will be:
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
We believe that this king has come in Jesus of Nazareth. He came to show us a new kind of Kingship and to establish a new kind of Kingdom. He then returned to heaven, leaving us to spread the good news until he comes again. And we expect that it could happen again very soon!
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
THANKSGIVING
"The Healing Power of Thanksgiving" was the title of my message this past Sunday. My contention is that the attitude of "thankfulness" is a learned way of approaching life and life's situations which if practiced, does have the power to change us in a positive way.
Let's start with the essential "brokenness" of humanity as described in the Genesis stories. Therein are contained a series of examples where the "crown" of creation, those made in God's own image, choose to act out of a greedy, envious state of mind. For Adam and Eve, theirs is a garden filled with plenty. Yet, they were fixated on the one thing that they did not posess. A thankful heart and a thankful way of living would have led us to the conclusion that we have more than enough. But the eye wanders and we want more and more, until we are willing to risk the paradise of friendships and family and faith, to get our greedy hands on whatever it is that is unavailable to our overactive appetite. Cain and Able repeats the theme with a brotherly variation. The story of Jacob and Esau shows us how insidious the spirit of greed and powergrabbing can be in the family when parents choose favorites, when children or adults are not willing to accept things as they are, but out of fear, wander down a trail of deception, manipulation and self-absorption.
The bond between creature and Creator was and is broken at the place where giving thanks to God is replaced with "getting what we have coming," or "getting our fair share!" It is essentially, that we fail to trust God that there is enough and begin to be ruled by the notion that since there will not be "enough" fo us, we must begin to "hoard" for ourselves before others get it all (sounds like the Friday morning after Thanksgiving doesn't it?). In Genesis, the stories of Joseph and his brothers and the story of the Tower of Babel each continues this theme of broken promises, broken relationships, broken communities, and broken hearts; all in need of healing. And alwayys absent in these stories is any sense of gratitude for the blessings of what we have been given. Instead, we have the familiar theme of "grabbing for something before someone else gets it first."
It was the scholarly theologian, Mary Popins who once said, "Enough is as good as a feast." But only if we will allow our naturally greedy minds to be transformed. Christ comes to show us the way to be healed. The Apostle Paul, who himself was transformed by his encounter with Christ, from an angry and jealous soul into one whose heart is completely different as we hear him in the letter the the Christians at Philippi. All the more remarkable is the fact that Paul writes this letter while he was himself, a prisoner on his way to his eventual death for his commitment to the Gospel of Christ.
Philippians Chapter One
"3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
12I want you to know, beloved that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; 14and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear. 15Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; 17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. 18What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. 20It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
27Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well— 30since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have."
In Philippians Chapter Four, Paul continues saying:
"4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. "
There was a time when Paul had been driven by his fears. But God changed that and healed him with a new way of thinking, a thankful and grateful way of thinking. That is the mindset given to us by Jesus Christ.
Think about Jesus of Nazareth. He owned nothing in this world, yet he is Lord over everything. There are too many of us today who think we are Lords over all that we "own" but in reality those "things" own us and Lord over us as we strive to pay for them, strive to get more of them, and are never satisfied with what we have.
There is healing available to our broken lives. We find it in Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Doug
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Notes on Haggai and a History of the Temple of Jerusalem
In this morning's early worship service I began my message by giving those present a "tour" so to speak, around the historical neighborhood of the Old Testament. Knowing a few of these basic historical guideposts will help you in understanding the two chapter "book" of the "Old Testament" attached to the name "Haggai." So, here are some important numbers to guide us.
957 BCE: Under King Solomon's direction, the
950 BCE: The
950-933 BCE: Palaces & other royal buildings adjoining the
587 BCE: The Destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadrezzar (also known as Nebuchadnezzar) & the beginning of the Babylonian Exile for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the prophet, Jeremiah. They were joining earlier exiles taken there, including Ezekiel and Daniel. The "Ark of the Covenant" disappeared in this period.
587-539 BCE: The Exilic Period (in Babylon), during which much of the Old Testament writings appear to have been edited and "redacted" into the forms we have them today. The Genesis stories seem to have come under the influence of the Babylonian creation stories and may have been written as a response to the Babylonian claims about creation and to assert that Yahweh is the one true God of all creation. Jeremiah prophesied in this period and his book of "Lamentations" came from this period. Although the prophet Isaiah lived in the 8th Century BCE, the second and third parts of Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55 and Isaiah 56-66) came from just before the fall of
539 BCE: Cyrus "The Great" (of Persian) captures Babylonian capital. Under his benevolent policies toward subjugated peoples, the leaders of the
537 BCE: The 1st group of Jewish Exiles leaves Babylon and returns to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel (also known as Sheshbazar) fifty years after the exile had begun. Few of the original exiles would now be alive. Most of the exiles would have never seen the
535 BCE: In the second year of the return of these exiles, reconstruction of the
530 BCE: Cyrus Dies
530-521: Chaotic period without strong leadership in power for the Persians. The
521 BCE: Darius becomes the Leader of the Persian Empire and re-issues the decree for the building of the
520 BCE: The time referred to in Haggai chapters 1-2. This is nearly two decades after the exiles have been freed to return home & fifteen years after the beginning of reconstruction that stalled. Haggai, along with Zechariah and Malachi were the three prophets among the Biblical prophets whose voices were challenging these repatriated exiles to rebuild God's House. It seemed altogether wrong that these leaders had come back home and rebuilt their own homes and lives, but had neglected to build the
It is into this historical context that Haggai's message is spoken (for Biblical text click here: Haggai 1:15 -2:9 ). By the way, here are a few more dates that will help put the rest of Biblical history into some context too:
515 BCE: The Reconstruction of the Temple is completed under the leadership of King Zerubbabel and the High Priest, Joshua (not to be confused with the Joshua of earlier times - the period of the Judges, before the first King named Saul or his son, King David or his son, King Solomon). The
458 BCE: Ezra leads his band of captives back to
445 BCE: Nehemiah brings a group of exiles back to
433 BCE: Nehemiah returns to
445 - 331 BCE:
331 BCE: The Persian Period of rule over
323 BCE: The death of Alexander the Great dies and his kingdom is divided among his generals. The two generals who come into power next to the regions bordering
323 - 163 BCE: Over these one hundred and sixty years the Ptolomys and the Seleucids would battle over this buffer zone between them (the strip of land we know as
175-163 BCE: The Seleucid King, Antiochus Epiphanes imposed the Greek culture as well as the heavy hand of political power on the Jewish people. He deposed the faithful priest Onias III for his choice, Jason. He desecrated the
168 - 165 BCE: in response to the desecration of the
165-63 BCE: The Maccabean Kings (known as the "Hasmonaeans") were of the "priestly" lineage ruled
63 BCE: The Romans, under Pompey conquer
37 BCE - 4 AD: The Ascension of "Herod the Great" brought an abrupt end to the Hasmonaeans' rule or function in 35 BCE. Herod was not of Jewish descent, but an Edomite (long time enemies of
2 BCE: The birth of Jesus (scholars vary in their estimates, but most estimate it to have actually have been about 2 or 1 BCE), a few miles south of
66 AD: Jewish rebellion against Roman rule, led by zealots. The
70 AD: The Romans hesitated before destroying the
587 - 691 AD: Abd al-Malik builds a Muslim Shrine on the site that is called the "Dome of the Rock." It stands today on the site where the
This all may be way more than you wanted, but I hope this overview is helpful not only in understanding some issues being addressed in the book of Haggai, but also giving a context for understanding many parts of our Biblical heritage. Have a great week as you seek to live in the name and grace filled spirit of Jesus.
Doug
Doug Burrell, Pastor
North Fayette United
dougb@nfumc.com
Take Courage
This Sunday (November 11th), I will be preaching at the early service and Bill Koetje, our Assistant Pastor will be preaching at the eleven o'clock worship service. Bill will be speaking to us on the subject of a "Excited About Our Faith." The Gospel of John is his source of inspiration for this message (see John 1:29-42 ).
My message is based on Haggai 1:15b - 2:9 and I hope you will use this scripture link to go read that passage.
I know that it's hard for many of you to get excited about going to the "Old Testament" to read from a small prophetic book written some twenty five hundred years ago by a person named "Haggai." But hang in here with me for a moment. If you read this passage and if you will reflect on it long enough to "read between the lines," there may just be something there for you.
Haggai was a man speaking to people who were beaten and broken, depressed and dispirited. They felt abandoned. They were bankrupt. In short, they were really "lost." I will not bore you with the historic details of this people who had been defeated, humiliated, exiled and in time regurgitated back into a place no longer fully theirs, but in which they were now trying to survive.
I don't know if you have ever been to such a place. But it is truly terrifying. It can be like wading through ice cold molasses in the winter. The harder you struggle, the slower you seem to move. The feeling of hopelessness and despair that comes when the props have been taken from under you sometimes leaves us blinded with pain, wanting to retreat into the night or into the bottle or away from everyone and everything.
Such a place does not always have a name like "Mt. Zion." Google Earth may not be able to show the place where you live with your pain or disappointment because your rebuilding project is not a temple, but a will to live, a belief in living, a belief in yourself, or the idea that you have anything worth giving anymore.
The stabs of heartbreak and the weight of depression are not easily explained much less untangled while we suffer in their grip. And yet, our salvation sometimes finds us just when we have given up, and who knows, maybe it will never find us unless we are willing to give up. And it most often finds us in an unsuspecting moment and finds us through an unexpected source.
Thus, the words of Haggai: "Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts..." (Haggai 2:4).
Ultimately, to know that we are not alone is important. To be able to believe and accept that the "LORD of hosts..." is "with us" and that God is not "against us" means everything.
I hope this good word reaches someone who desperately needs it this week.
Yours In Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
Pastor
North Fayette UMC
dougb@nfumc.com
Singing With the Saints
That's what I'll be doing on this coming Sunday morning as we celebrate "All Saints Sunday" in worship.
It's what we did this past Sunday too. The Chancel choir and the other musicians did an outstanding job leading us in worship through music last Sunday morning in both worship services. If you would like, you can go to our Sermon Player to hear either one or both of those presentations of "Testament of Praise." The service was in celebration of the upcoming 300th anniversary of Charles Wesley's birth (December 18, 1707).
It was a great service that honored a great servant of God whose hymns, poems and other works have so enriched our Methodist heritage and so much of the Church at large. Below is an article about Charles Wesley, whose brother John Wesley usually gets most of the press.
I hope you will join us for worship this Sunday when we remember the "saints" who have passed from our midst in the past year and when we consider God's great celebration for all of those who pass from this life to be with him in glory.
Keep on Singing!
Doug Burrell,
Pastor
CHARLES WESLEY (1707-1788)
Charles Wesley was the eighteenth and last child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley. He was born December 18, 1707, in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England. He was first educated at home by his parents and later enrolled in the Westminister School in 1716 where his brother Samuel paid his room and board. He went on to Christ College in Oxford with a Westminster scholarship; he received his B.A. in 1730 and his M.A. in 1732. While there, he, along with his brother John and George Whitefield, formed the Oxford Holy Club for the purposes of worship, Bible study, frequent Holy Communion and visiting the sick and imprisoned in their pursuits they became known as the first "Methodists." After graduation he became a college tutor.
In 1735, Charles was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England; shortly thereafter he sailed for Georgia as a missionary to the new colony. Although secretary to General James Oglethorpe, he became disillusioned and in 1736 returned to London by way of Boston, in the process preaching in what is now the Old South Church. Upon return to London in 1737, he fell in with William Law, Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians and Peter Böhler and was converted on Whitsunday, May 21, 1738, Charles is said to have found "rest to his soul." The day is marked by his writing the hymn, "Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin."
He then began as curate without license from the bishop in a strongly Methodist parish, St. Mary's in Islington. He moved to Bristol in 1749 where he married Sarah Gwynne on April 18th; of the eight children they had, three survived. They returned to London in 1771 where he renewed his prison ministry to Newgate.
Charles was just as involved and instrumental in spreading and sustaining the Methodist movement as his brother, John Wesley. The myth holding Charles as the poet and John as the organizer and preacher is not true. John was one of the organizers of Methodism, but Charles was the one who developed its practical theology with his hymns. Throughout, Charles maintained his ties and allegiance to the Church of England and at times reprimanded his brother for his increasing distance from the church. In his hymns, all but four books of the Bible are cited, and he used over 45 different meters. His hymns are contained in 64 collections published during his lifetime. Charles died in Marylebone, London on March 29, 1788. He was buried in the churchyard at Marlebone, against his brother's wishes, with eight clergymen of the Church of England as pallbearers. "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Wesley's hymns were very good in every respect. They seem to have flowed from his pen, and it was only death that stopped the course of the stream. He considered himself to have lived and died as a member of the Church of England.
Source: http://hymnuts.luthersem.edu/hcompan/writers/wesleyc.htm
A web site provided by Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN – USA
"Do Not Grow Weary"
GALATIANS 6:7-10
"7Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. 10So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith."
That has been our theme for these first three weeks of November – “Growing Spiritually.” In our Bible Study groups we have studied about “8 Principals of Spiritual Growth.” I will list those below. In the first Sermon message of the month I spoke on the subject of “Growing Up in Christ.” That is what John Wesley (the father of Methodism) called “going on to perfection.” It is what the Apostle Paul speaks about when he says we are to “have this mind among you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2). In following Jesus Christ, we are to be growing more and more into his likeness as we go.
The second Sunday of the Month, David Butler challenged us to “Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of the Lord.” That word, “Grace” is from the Greek word, “charis” or gift/give. We are to be growing in our giving. We are to become more and more generous as we go farther along and become more intimately associated with (knowing him more personally) Jesus Christ.
Today, we noted that although we want to grow in these ways, we need to be on guard that we DO NOT “grow weary” in doing what is right in following Jesus. It is so easy to grow weary in trying to do the right thing. We are in a constant struggle between what priorities will be primary and gain our attention and our resources. Thus, we consider whether we are “committed or curious” about following Christ and doing His work.
The good news is that if we do not grow weary, there is waiting for each of us a great “harvest” from God. But it comes for those who are willing to delay their gratification in the short term and be satisfied forever with Christ.
Yours for Giving and for Growth in Him,
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
Time is Ticking - "Use It or Lose It"
Those words, "Use it or lose it" were the words of David Butler this Sunday (October 14, 2007) when talking about God's call for us to grow spiritually. His message is taken from Second Peter 3:17-18 where the Apostle admonishes us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord."
And our time for growing in that grace and that knowledge is not unlimited. Life is relatively short, and what we do with the time we have is important.
David's message is brief, but powerfully incisive in how it cuts to the heart of what is real and really important in the Christian walk. He is 100% correct in leading us to see that if we have been given a gift (grace, greek "charis"), but allow it to sit unused, it will be diminished, until we no longer have the ability to use it. This sort of atrophy is clearly understood if you used to play a sport like tennis or were a runner. Just stay away from those activities for a few years and you will see that it is not something you leave alone and then pick back up as if you never left. The same is true in the spiritual realm as in the realm of the physical. The gift of faith, the gift of mercy, the gift of love, the gift of giving must be cultivated or practiced if they are to grow and flourish. Otherwise, they will become so unused as to be useless and at some point, unusable.
Thank you David for your message and your reminder that we need to "Use it" or risk "losing it."
Next week's spiritual growth message is "Do Not Grow Weary In Well Doing." In worship we will be invited to make a commitment to grow in our giving as part of our "Grow-One Step" stewardship campaign. Whether or not you are with us for this message and this commitment Sunday, I hope you will make a commitment to take a step forward in what you give through your church for God's work.
Yours for Growth and Service,
Doug
Spiritual Growth Is God's Desire For Us
During the month of October we are tackling the topic of Growing Spiritually. What about you? Are you still growing spiritually?
This past Sunday I shared a message that is prompted by a passage from the New Testament epistle of First Peter. My focus was on chapter 2, verses 1-3. In part those verses say, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted what is good."
I've posted the message on our Sermon Player which you can find by going tot he home page.
This Sunday, David Butler, our Director of Family Ministry will share a message as we honor the children. The United Methodist Women will lead in the Children's time and have some goodies for the children just to let them know how special they are to all of us and how much we love them.
David Butler is a really neat person who loves our young people and is a great example to them of one who continues to be growing in Christ. I hope you wil be with us to hear David.
Until next time,
May the peace of Christ be with you...
Doug Burrell
Honor One Another
Today's message is the final one in my series of "One Another" sermons. So far, we have heard the exhortaions to "Consider One Another," to "Fellowship With One Another," to "Accept One Another," to "Bear With One Another," and to "Forgive One Another." Today, we fine in Romans 12, verse 10 the admonition to "Honor One Another." Here is our focal passage:
Romans 12:9-21
9Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Why Are We To Honor People?
The honor we give to others is due because of the Honor God has built in to every human being. Each person has in her or him, the image of God. In honoring a person, we are in fact, honoring God, who made them.
How Are We To Honor Others?
We are not to honor persons simply to massage their egos or in order that we might find favor with persons who can repay us. We should honor persons in such a way as to help them see the good that God has built into them. Honor them in such a way that will cause them to give thanks to God. We are to honor others in order that the likeness of God will be drawn out in them, so that we might bring out their best.
What Does "To Honor Another" Mean?
The passage before us in Romans 12:10 says to "show brotherly affection" as we "outdo" one another in honoring each other. Showing "brotherly affection" is a reminder that life in the family requires patience, kindness, gentleness, loyalty, honesty and all the virtues that come as the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5) and that we hear Paul speak of in I Corinthians 13.
But let me also mention two other words that will also guide us toward honoring each other. The first word is "Respect" and the second word is "Bless." To honor another is to give him or her their "due" or to offer them a measure of "respect." Yet, the "Christian" part of this does not end with a recognition of positions or power, but offers respect to every human being, even to and especially including the least of these. The Christian way of Honor does not bestow it for gain, nor does it see honor for itself. Out of respect for our creator, we offer respect to all, and thus honor our Creator.
The second word, "Bless" is a word of "empowerment." In the Bible, any word is embued with power, the power to bless or the power to curse. That is why in James, the tongue is pictured as an instrument of potentially deadly means. Words, once let loose cannot be called back. We then must tame the tongue and bring it under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We can choose to "bless" others as we honor them and God, or we can offer others a word of "cursing" as we dishonor them and God. The blessing builds up and the cursing tears down.
Thus, we come to the practical aspect of "honoring" each other as we live together. To bestow honor on others builds them up and builds us up into what God wants for His creation and particularly what He dreams about in the community of faith, the Church.
Think of what can happen as we all become those who honor, respect, bless and build up others in the home, at work, in the school and at church. That is God's call to each of us.
May it be so. AMEN
Have a great week!
Doug
Forgive One Another
Below I am posting some scriptures that are appropriate for considertion as we approach the topic of "forgiveness." In our worship earlier today (Sunday, September 16, 2007) we only read the passage from Colossians 3 and Matthew 18. We also read responsively from Psalm 51. We did not dealve into the Genesis passage from the Joseph stories. It however deals with how Joseph dealt with his brothers who had betrayed him years before. So, I commend it to you for your consideration.
Jesus places forgiveness as a hinge upon which discipleship in him hangs. It does so as we are dependent upon God's forgiveness, but Jesus also makes it clear that there is a reciprocal relationship between God's forgiveness and our forgiveness of others. That is clear in the parable of Jesus found in Matthew 18:23-35. You might also want to read Matthew 18:21-22 to hear the question of Peter which prompted this parable.
One thing to note is that forgiveness is about "letting go" of something, or more literally, the words for this in Hebrew and in Greek mean "to take off" or to "take away." Forgiving another is lifting something off of ourselves, taking away a burden that we are bearing. That, after all, is what holding on to anger, malice, hatred and the like really becomes: a heavy burden. This burden will steal the joy and vitality out of a person's life. To forgive is to find healing for my soul. It is not about soul of that other person. It is not about the guilt or innocence of another person. It says nothing about the justification of the person who is the object of my forgiveness.
When I say to another human being, "I forgive you" it means that I have let go of any claim that I might have to extract revenge against you or to meat out punishment toward you. And, further, forgiving another in the name of Jesus, will mean that I have relinquished that claim into the hands and heart of my Lord and Savior.
In today's message I am simply making the case that there are at least three good and Biblical reasons why I should forgive others. They are:
First, to do so brings healing and peace for my own soul. When I do not forgive others Holding a grudge or seeking revenge is almost always more costly to the one seeking it than the one for whom we seek it. It, like a cancer can eat away at our souls and drive us into sorrow and dispair.
Second, to offer forgiveness helps us to live for the present and the future rather than living in the past. When we do not let go of past wrongs that we have experienced, we rob ourselves of blessings that are available for us today and into the future.
Finally, we offer forgiveness to others because it has first been offered to us. As the family of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we by definition are ones who claim the mercy and forgiveness offered to us from God through his Son, Jesus. In I John, the author says that if we say we love God and do not love others, we are liars and the truth does not dwell in us. And we know that part of the love which we have learned from God is bound up in mercy and forgiveness. Read the parable below from Matthew 18. It is hard to read that and miss the point. I'm not saying this is easy. It is not. I'm not even saying that we have to like it. That is hard too. But I am saying that the teaching of Jesus is very clear. We are to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven by God. And to do such a thing is not "natural," but it is "Christian." That is what Paul is talking about in the letter to the Colossians. You might want to read it and even go back to the chapter which preceeds our reading (see Colossians 2 & 3).
That's the gist of my message this week. I'll soon have the recording of it posted on our web site. I've had trouble getting the recording uploaded today and am waiting some technical assistance. The same goes for the music from today's worship service. The music groups did a splendid job and I want that up so you can enjoy it soon.
I hope you have a great week. Next week's message will be the final one in this series. It is titled: "Honor One Another."
Your's In Christ,
Doug Burrell
dougb@nfumc.com
Genesis 45:1-15
45Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. 4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into
Colossians 3:1-17
3So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.
8But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
12As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Matthew 18:21-35
21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Psalm 51
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my ransgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18Do good to
Bear With One Another
It's not easy to put up with each other sometimes. But that is what the Bible teaches us to do. It's not exactly translated that way, but that is what it means. Ephesians 4:1-3 and Colosians 3:12-13 both counsel this. And in a related phrase, Jesus asks the disciples in Matthew 17:17 Jesus asks, "O faithless an perverse generation how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" (RSV)
In this weeks message I plead with the church to bear with each other more faithfully than the culture around us teaches us to do. Of course, Jesus asks his question rhetorically, and later, according to the Gospel of John, goes on to say that he will never leave us or forsake us.
But the question is "How" can we do this "bearing with one another?" According to the passages in both Ephesians and Colossians, it requires: patience, lowliness of mind (humility) kindness, and love. Yet those things are not magically produced on demand.
I think part of "bearing with" one another may have to do with "bearing up" one another. In Galatians 6:2 Paul says "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." (RSV)
It happens that as we begin to lift up another and help him/her with their "bag of rocks," our thinking about that person begins to change. We can then empathize with them and understand them. As we pray for them we come to want the best for him and love her. It then becomes more and more possible and even probable that we will be able to "bear with" whatever idiosyncracies we had been fixed on before.
I hope this message is helpful. Next week's message is bout "Forgiving One Another." God bless you all and have a great week.
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Pastor
dougb@nfumc.com
"Accept One Another"
With a grateful heart for all the blessings of our Creator (including the blessing of labor) I send you greetings on this “Labor Day,” 2007. In worship yesterday we continued the series of “One Another” messages, focusing on the command to “Accept One Another.” We find this admonition among the “letter” to the Church at 7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[b]on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
"Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name."[c] 10Again, it says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."[d] 11And again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and sing praises to him, all you peoples."[e] 12And again, Isaiah says,
"The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
the Gentiles will hope in him."[f]
How do you “receive” others? Are you interested in receiving others? Do you think this passage is for others but not for you?
This is a word just as important to us in the Church today as it was in the first century. And in yesterday’s message I sought to answer some important questions about the meaning of this verse for us today. I did so with the same questions a good journalist would employ, namely:
Who? What? Why? Where? & How?
As for the “Where?” we know that this letter was addressed to the Church at
Next Sunday’s message is: “Bear With One Another.” I look forward to seeing you when we gather to worship.
Yours in Christ,
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Pastor
dougb@nfumc.com
Fellowship with One Another
What is Chrisitan Fellowship?
We in the Methodist tradition often think of food in connection witht he word "fellowship." To be more specific we probably think, "covered dish meal." Yet, we surely know that Christian Fellowship is more profound than sweet potato casserole or deep fried chicken.
Today's message was the 2nd in a series of messages on the subject of how we who follow Christ are to relate to each other (or "one another"). Last week we began with a baby step into the world of "one anothering" by noting that we should "consider one another." Being considerate of each other is a good starting point in any relationship and is essential for a good relationship.
But life in Christ challenges us to go deeper, to risk more, and to find a more meaningful way of being together. We call this deeper experience, "Christian Fellowship." It is translated from the word "Koinonia" meaning joined together, unified, sharing in common. Thus, we say when we speak of the church that we are a "communion" of saints. Literally, this means that we are bound together by a common experience. That experience has its roots in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We find our way of sharing in God's Word and in the one who is the "Word" made flesh. It was he who showed us how to be in union with the Heavenly Father. It was he, Jesus, who prayed for us as recorded in John 17, that we would have that same level of intimacy with the Father and with one another. We hear more about this in the book of Acts, in chapter two. There we find the believers gladly sharing, meeting together daily, breaking bread together and following the teachings of the Apostles. In that context great joy broke out so that more and more people were being added to their numbers day by day.
Today, the Holy Spirit still works through such unselfish sharing to bless us and others. This is what so many people today are hungry to experince, genuine fellowship, togetherness and companionship based on honesty and genuine concern about each other. This is what we are striving for in the community of this congregation. We aren't there yet, but by God's grace we are on our way.
Be sure to check out this week's sermon on the sermon player. In addition to the sermon you will also find the scripture readings for the day that are the foundation for this message.
Have a great week. I look forward to seeing you next Sunday when we will explore a third of the "One Another" statements: "Accept One Another." The scriptures for this message include: Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 15:5-9; and Luke 15:1-7.
Yours for Christian Fellowship,
Doug
"Consider One Another"
Today I began a series of "One Another" messages. This week's message is a call for us to "Consider One Another," based on Hebrews 10:23-25.
This is the first in a series of messages that deal with how we are called to live in relationship to each other and how we are to treat one another The messages will be practical. They are based on the early teachings of the Apostle Paul and others in guiding the early church. Yet, they are as timely and applicable today as they were in those times.
This theme of "One Another" draws us into territory that is somewhat uncomfortable in "Western Society" where the "individual" and "independence" is often revered to the detriment of the group or institution, including the Church. Yet, the call of Christ has always been a call into community. Though we believe that the call of God is personal, that call is never a private call exclusive of others. We are called to be part of the body of Christ and as such, we are intimately bound together. What happens with one part of the Body affects each other part of the Body. In other words, we are made to be in community.
So, it makes sense that if we are called to live in community then we need some practical advise for that experience. Paul offers that advise in the form of several "one another" teachings to a variety of early Christian communities/churches. These come to us in the form of admoniions, exhortaitons, correctives and disciplines from Paul and from other early church leaders, including the author of the book of Hebrews.
A second term we encounter in today's text is the word "Consider." This is also found in Chapter 3, verse 1 of Hebrews. There it says "Consider Christ." In Hebrews 10:23-24 we are admonished to "Consider...one another." In each case the verb means to "look at," "pay attention," "get to know," "become closely aquainted with" another or others.
Being "considerate" requires time and energy and patience and effort. To consider others requires that we be with them, spending time, allowing them to know us and us to know them. And according to this passage, it makes sense that part of being considerate of each other is the act of getting together, being with each other - or as the author of Hebrews indicates, "do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the habit of some."
This is a good place for us to start this series.
I hope you will not isolate yourself from the rest of the body. You are needed. We need each other. We are bound together by our church vows and by our connection with Christ. If we are able, we should do all in our power to be growing in our connection with each other. This is a great source of strength and encouragement that will stir us up to greater love and to greater good works.
You can hear this message by going to the public web page and choosing "Sermons" from the menu. The sermon player will then appear. Just choose the message for August 19, 2007 called "Consider One Another."
Next week's message will be "Encourage One Another."
In Christ,
Doug
August Prayer Calender For Students, Teachers, & All Who Work In the Schools
August Prayer Calendar for Students, Teachers, Administrators, Bus Drivers, School Employees. From The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Prayers & Scripture References by Days of the Month:
1 God, bless all institutions of learning and every teacher and student as they start a new school year. Proverbs 22:6
2 God, we pray that every child have the opportunity for a quality education. Galatians 6:10
3 God, bless our United Methodist colleges and universities and everyone who passes through their halls. Matthew 6:21
4 God, we thank you for the teachers, counselors, bus drivers and school staff who care for our children. 2 Chronicles 15:7
5 God, give students at schools everywhere open minds and create in them a life-long love of learning. Psalm 32:8
6 God, we say a special prayer for children entering kindergarten. Be with them as they learn and grow and play. Joshua 1:9
7 God, help the children in our church schools grow in their love for Christ while expanding their minds. Matthew 22:37-38
8 God, help our principals and school administrators make decisions that are thoughtful and wise. Proverbs 3:5-6
9 God, guide the decisions of legislators as they make laws affecting school systems.
Proverbs 16:9
10 God, make our schools safe places with nurturing environments. Luke 8:8
11 God, teach us to raise children who show genuine respect to their teachers. Exodus 4:12
12 God, be present with families and individuals that have been affected by school violence. Isaiah 66:13
13 God, let this be the year that we see an end to violence in our schools. Romans 13:10
14 God, we lift up the members of our Commission on Higher Education and Campus Ministry. Romans 10:15
15 God, teach my church how to be supportive of our students away at college and welcoming to students in our area. Hebrews 13:2
16 God, thank you for the scholarships that aid United Methodist students who are pursuing higher education. 2 Corinthians 9:12
17 God, bring vitality to our Wesley Foundations, Wesley Fellowships and other campus ministries. Ephesians 6:7
18 God, thank you for the people who have invested in Africa’s future through Africa University. Exodus 3:5
19 God, open doors for seminary students and others you have called to ordained ministry. Proverbs 2:6
20 God, enable our United Methodist seminaries to prepare a new generation of Christian leaders. Isaiah 49:6
21 God, be present with our clergy as they continue their education through classes and workshops. Psalm 119:7
22 God, thank you for the schools I attended and for the friendships and memories that I formed. 2 Corinthians 4:18
23 God, show me opportunities to support the schools in my community. Genesis 21:19
24 God, offer insight to students so that they might understand difficult topics and subjects. Psalm 119:18
25 God, may those who teach our children be filled with love and compassion. Matthew 18:5
26 God, show teachers how to guide challenging students with determination and goodwill.
Colossians 3:15
27 God, be a source of encouragement when studies are difficult and we are tempted to give up. Job 12:7
28 God, from the littlest of learners up to the oldest among us, thank you for our capacity to learn from one another. Hebrews 10:24
29 God, may all institutions of learning be places of new discoveries and sound education. Psalm 90:12
30 God, help me to use wisely all the knowledge I have gained in this life and most importantly to use it to glorify you. Ephesians 5:8
31 God, we thank you for sending your son to be our ultimate teacher. Help me to live my life according to his lessons. 1 John 5:20
www.ngumc.org
"Get Ready..."
It is time for school and lots to do to get ready. You know the routine of course. The list includes: paper, pencils, book bags, scissors, glue, markers, lab supplies, supplies to help out in the class rooms, new shoes, clothes, dental appointments, eye exams, shots, meetings with the teachers, band camp, football practice, PTO, etc., etc.
There is lots to do to get ready for the new school year.
Jesus also talks about getting ready. Of course, he is talking about sprirtual readiness. I know how busy we are getting ready for school. We all know what it is like to get ready for the holidays or for company to come over. But, what are we doing to get ready for meeting our maker? What are we doing to be formed into the likeness of Christ so that when he returns that we will recognize him, want to be with him and be at home with him?
It is possible that when he makes his appearance that we will have spent so much time getting ready for worldly things that we won't have anything in common with Jesus.
In his conversation both with the crowds and with the twelve, he was clear that we should do everything we can to be prepared for his appearance. He admonishes us to be alert and awake since we do not know the hour when the master will return. Christ says that we need to be unencumbered, ready for action and to have our flashlights ready in case he returns in the darkest part of the night. That was how the Israelights made their way out of the slavery of Egypt and eventually into the "Promised Land."
There is no getting around this. We are challenged to make sure that we are getting ready for the most important things of all.
I hope we will listen to what Jesus says in Luke 12:32-48. You can hear my message on this topic. It was presented in worhship today, August 12, 2007. It is posted on our public web site home page or at the home page of the members site.
Let's pray for the children, teachers and school administrators as they begin a new school year. Let's also pray for each of us to do what we can to "Get Ready" to meet Christ when he returns.
Doug
Luke 12:32-48
32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
41Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” 42And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (New Revised Standard Version)
Bigger Barns & Back to School
Yesterday's sermon examined the parable Jesus tells as recorded in Luke chapter 12 (verses 13-21). He told it in response to a young man who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to share with him the inheritance from their father. The parable is familiar to many of us. In it a man is described who has an abundance and for reasons unexplained, decides that he will tear down his existing storage facilities (barns) to build bigger ones. That way he will be able to store up all his grain and other goods, and be able to relax, eat, drink, etc. But Jesus says that God's assesment of this man is to say, "You fool. This very night your soul will be required of you. And then who will have all these things?" (my paraphrase).
If you want a clue in understanding this parable, look at Luke 12:15. That verse is addressed to the man who appealed to Jesus about his brother sharing. In this verse Jesus gives a warning we should all consider. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kind of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (New International Version).
If you want to hear this message you can go to the home page, select the "sermon player" and the message titled, "Bigger Barns."
And now we leave the barn and head back to school!
I'm making this the subject for this coming Sunday's message. We will pray for those going off to college, pray for teachers and other school workers, and for all the students who be heading into the classrooms from kindergarten through high school. Some of these children will be heading to school for the first time and there will be tears for the baby who now is marching into school and away from mama's apron strings. Others will be going back to shouts of joy for the children who have driven you crazy with too much time to get into trouble this summer. We will pray for teachers, parents and administrators to find the energy, determination and patience to work together for the good of the children and to help each of them to grow and learn in a positive and challenging environment.
The ability to learn, the availability of schools, teachers and other resoureces to facilitate learning is such an amazing gift. There are so many places in the world where children cannot learn because they are not healthy enough to learn, because their is not security enough to attend school, where there is no one to teach, no books to read, no school buildings, no way to get to a place of learning, and no hope of ever improving their standing or station beyond the abject poverty in which they now dwell.
The gift of the mind is one of God's greatest gifts to us. We are called on to be good stewards of these minds. We should never quit learning and growing. And we should do all in our power to nurture that gift in the children. Pray for children everywhere to know the joy of learning. It remains true that "a mind is a terrible thing to waste."
See you Sunday,
Doug Burrell
Happy Birthday Bill Koetje!
This past Sunday was the 80th birthday of our beloved Assistant Pastor, Rev. Bill Koetje. He celebrated this milestone by bringing lots of family to worship with us and preaching for our July 5th Sunday service. I'm sorry I could not be here to hear his message in person and to wish him a happy birthday in song along with the rest of our congregation. However, I have heard his sermon which was an outstanding message on God's forgiveness and you can hear it too by going to our web site where you can choose to hear his message. It was messge number 7 in the series on "The Apostle's Creed." It is a great explanation of why we boldly affirm as part of the "Apostle's Creed": "I believe...in the forgiveness of sin."
If you want to get to our online sermon player quickly, copy the following into your web browser and go: http://northfayetteumc.ccbchurch.com/app/w_page.php?id=56&type=section
What a great week we have been experiencing with our youth this week. I hope many of you will be here Friday night for dessert and entertainment they will provide as the closing part of this week. They have sung, worshipped, played games, ate, enjoyed a concert here at the church facilities, gone bowling, attended a braves game, and just generally had a great time of fun, fellowship, and time of growing closer to God and each other. Thank you David Butler for leading our young people and for all the parents and others who have helped out in any way.
A special thank you goes to our summer Family Ministry Interns, Anna Gunter, David Burrell, and Sean Carroll. This week offically ends their work with us as they will each be heading off to or getting ready to begin their college classes. You have each been a blessing to our church. Thank you.
This coming week many of our teachers will be returning to the classrooms in preparation for the students who will return a week later. We pray for all of you and for all of our college students who will soon be back on the college campuses. We pray for all of you to have a year filled with learning, growth and peace through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Doug
P.S. This week's message is called "Building Bigger Barns?" Check out the scriptures as a way of getting prepared for worship. The Gospel reading is Luke 12:13-21. The Epistle reading is found in Colossians 3:1-11. You might also read the Psaltar reading for the day, Psalm 49:1-12. In case your Bible is not handy, I'll copy those readings just below. These passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
Psalm 49:1-12
49:1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
49:3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
49:5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
49:6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
49:7 Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
49:8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice
49:9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
49:10 When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.
49:11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
49:12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
Colossians 3:1-11
3:1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,
3:3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
3:4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.
3:7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.
3:8 But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.
3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices
3:10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
3:11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Luke 12:13-21
12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
12:14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?"
12:15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
12:16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
12:17 And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?'
12:18 Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'
12:20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
12:21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."Do We Really Want to be Free?
This morning I concluded the series of messages reagarding "Freedom." We have considered the following questions over the past few weeks:
"What is Freedom?"
"Wjhat is the Cost of Freedom?"
"What about Indepencence?"
And today we looked throughe example of the Prodigal son found in Luke 15 and the children of Israel as revealed in Exodus chapter 14, at the question: "Do We Really Want to be Free?"
Not everyone really wants to be free. To be free means we have to be honest. We have to tell the truth. We have to tolerate people we don't like. We have to put up with opinions with which we may vehemently disagree. If we have special priviledges or enjoy extraodinary blessings of inherited wealth or hard-earned positions of power, freedom means the playing feild may get leveled. If we want to be free we will not abide injustice knowing that our freedom means nothing if that same freedom and guarantees for due process and basic rights are withheld from others.
Sometimes we choose to be bound to substances or patterns of unhealthy relationships and ways of functioning in order to avoid the hard work of dealing with our grief, working through our pain or standing up to our fears. It's just easier to live in denial, to escape into a substance, or seek out fleeting pleasures that temporarily deliver us from reality. But when we wake up, we do so in a prison of our own choosing.
That is what the prodigal son did. His story is the same as that of Adam and Eve, who allowed themselves to be deceived into believing that the Father can't be trusted, that he is doing me wrong, that he is holding me back. So nothing will do until he is set free from the Father's House to be out on his own.
But alas, one day he wakes up to realize that his so called freedom is really a prison. When "he comes to himself" as the scripture says, he sees the truth for the first time. Then he recognizes the truth that in his Father's House he is the most free of all places. There he is free to be himself,free to be a child of his Father, free to be what he was created to be.
Yet, that story would be incomplete without his next move. When he came to himself, he got up and went to his Father. He did not delay. He took action right then to get his life back on track.
What about you?
Do you want to be free but find yourself in a "far country?" Have you been running into self-styled exile by denying who you really are? If so, it is not too late to get up and go badk to your Father's house and find the forgiveness and restoration that will make you more free thatn anything else in all the universe.
This is my prayer for all of us.
If you want to hear or download an audio recording of this message you will find it and other recordings at the following web site:
http://www.ccbplayer.com/c/NorthFayetteUMC/
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
Dougb@nfumc.com
What About Independence?
This past Sunday (7/15/07), I continued my series of sermons on Freedom. This third message in the series of four dealt with the document which formally announced to the wolrd that the "American Colonists" were standing up against the unjust rule of King George of England and claiming their inalienable rights under the Creator.
We read selected portions from the declaration of Independence as a call to worship (See the entire text below). In this message, we noted that in giving careful consideration to this historic document, we can see the spiritual nature of its message and we will also find the principals of human rights and soul freedom to be in harmony with Biblical teachings, including and most especially, the teachings of Jesus (see Luke 4:15 ff in Jesus' Inagural message about God's mission for him).
We considered Romans 12:1-2 where Paul calls on the small band of Christians in the shadow of the Emporer of Rome, not to be "conformed" to this world (and its power), but to be "transformed" by the renewing of their minds.
You can hear this message and other messages that I will be adding weekly, by going to the following web link: http://www.ccbplayer.com/c/NorthFayetteUMC/
In this message archive you will also be able to hear Mr. Brett Vogel's awesome Offertory performance of "O, Lord, Our God," and a link to hear J.P. and Irene Williams as they sing "At My Right Hand," based on Psalm 16. When you go to the web address listed below you will be able to choose among these and other archived recordings.
I hope you enjoy these messages in word and music and invite you to share them with others. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday for worship. My message will be "Do We Really Want To Be Free?"
Yours In Christ,
Doug
P.S. Once again, here is the web link where you can find the messages.
http://www.ccbplayer.com/c/NorthFayetteUMC/
The Declaration of
Presented by the Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington
The Declaration of
In CONGRESS,
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
· He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
· He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
· He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
· He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
· He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
· He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
· He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
· He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
· He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
· He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
· He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
· He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
· He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
o For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
o For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
o For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
o For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
o For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
o For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
o For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
o For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
o For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
o He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
o He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
o He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
o He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
o He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
What Are the Costs of Freedom?
Biblical Texts For Your Consideration Include:
Micah 6:8
John 8:31-32
Luke 4:14-21
Last week I noted that the context for human freedom is not only freedom from and freedom for certain things, but also freedom "in" God' purpose. Speaking about Christ as the truest expression of God's person in this world, the Apostle Paul once said that it is "in" him that we "live and move and have our being."
The greatest freedom of all is the freedom to live out our lives according to the purpose for which God has created you and me. In a society that means we also allow each individual the freedom to pursue their beliefs in that regard and to worship as their conscience dictates. This is foundational and points to the "spirtual nature" of human freedom.
Such freedom however, carries with it significant costs. This is so because not everyone wants to be free nor does everyone believe that all people should have the opportunity to be free. And the reality is that the history of mankind has shown our propensity for choosing slavery, oppression and authoritarianism over the more difficult and messier business of freedom.
So, in history, the ideal of a free society where the people are free to make choices about their government and about how they will choose to limit themselves has been an uphill struggle. But where it has, it carries with it not only great blessings, but also awesome costs. These costs include:
1. Commitment:
To cast off the bonds of oppression, slavery, addiction, injustice and the like, one must be supremely dedicated and committed never to comprimise the ideals of freedom incuding the ideal that none of us is free as long as some of us are not free. A great price has been paid among the citizens of God's kingdom is standing up against injustice, oppression and coersion. The same can be said of our nation, when we have been at our best. Any society who aspires toward the ideals of freedom may not comprimise here, even for the so called greater good of national security or the war on terror. The principal of freedom is the greater good that demands discipline and commitment in the face of even the greatest dangers.
2. Responsibility
Someone has noted that Responsibility is the conjoined twin of freedom. There simply is not one without the other. Freedom always calls for us to be responsible. It is not absolute. It has limits that will not trample on the freedoms and dignity of others. Nor will it live without being fed the nourishment of one's respect, humility and hard work that comes along side the business of being able to make choices, being able to keep ourselves and our leaders accountable to the high standards of spiritual vitality and societal health. Freedom carris with it the responsiblity to be informed, to make choices, to carry our own weight and to recognize and address the flaws in ourselves and in our system.
3. Willingness to tell and hear the truth.
The third cost of freedom has to do with the "Truth." Jesus noted to his disciples in John 8, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Think about this for a moment. Can you think of an example in your life when telling a lie has made you more free than telling the truth? Well, it is true that some people have avoided punishment, even going to prison, by telling lies. so, it may appear on the service that lying has set some free. Yet, I wonder, is living a lie, really freedom? I think not.
The Bible clearly proclaims that Satan (literally, "ha-satan," the one who opposes God) is the "Father of lies." If we go further, we see that this is the spirit of "anti-christ" (against Christ - the personification of the truth).
The business of "Freedom" can never live in the soil of deception. This is true personally and it is true corporately for the church and any government. As long as I decieve myself I have failed to love myself. I have failed to be my true self. I am, alas, not only a iiar, but a slave to my own deception. The same is true when I relate to others. Freedom in a relationship demands honesty. Thisis, of course, very risky - yes - very costly. Many of us are not willing to be honest. But to the degree that we are dishonest with ourselves and with others, is the degree to which we are also in bondage.
It is the same in relationship to a government. The relationship between a government and its people is a "trust" relationship. The government holds its people "in trust." It is empowered with the responsiblity to keep that trust. But when it violates this trust through deception, lies and the like, it has forfieted its right to govern. No amount of excuses can change that. Only the truth can revive the relationship. It is simply said, the cost we must be willing to pay, if we want to be free. For otherwise, it is illigitimate.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, God made his creation to be free. We were made to be free,even to say yes or no to God. It is true that we have often used that freedom to make wrong choices. But in His wisdom, God allowed us to be free to choose. The freedom to say "no" is a sacred freedom. Sometimes it takes great wisdom to see that such freedom is for the best. That is the sort of society we aspire to in this nation. Even when we would wish for everyone to say "yes." We must let people choose. To allow this takes commitment, responsibility and a willingess to speak and hear the truth.
Doug
What Do We Mean By Freedom ?
This past Sunday I began a sermon series on "Freedom." This first message asks us to think about what we mean when we speak of freedom. Our Epistle reading from the Lectionary was from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter five. That reding is as follows:
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
5:15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
5:17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,
5:21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
5:22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
5:23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
In addition to this passage, I called our attention to John's Gospel, chapter eight. That reading is as follows:
John 8:31-36
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Regarding this thing we call "Freedom," there are two ways we usually think about freedom, both of which have their place. We speak of being free "from" certain things. And we speak of being free "for" or "to do" certain things.
Certainly it can be good to be free from oppression, free from fear, free from injustice, etc. However, being free "from" is not enough. Freedom "from" has become an excuse for some to abandon responsibility. The freedom to divorce ourselves from others and from anything and everything except what I want is ultimately a form of slavery which neither serves the individual nor society as a whole.
To be free from something implies that we also need to be free that we can also be free "to do" certain things. For example if we are free from oppressive government or from injustice, we are free to "form a more perfect union" in the words of our Declaration of Independence. We are free from injustice and free to act "with liberty and justice for all" in the words of the Pledge of Allegience. Every great discipline of life knows this. The greatest and most liberated musicians are those who have been free to practice, free to devote their time and energy so that they can enjoy the freedom of playing music. The same is true in science, sports, business or in raising a family.
Yet, our freedom, whether it is a freedom from something or a freedom to do something will not sustain us in and of themselves. I say that because "Freedom" cannot be reduced to a list of dos and don'ts or froms or tos. "Freedom" is a spiritual affair. It is a matter of the "soul." Any meaningful discussion of what is means to be "free" must understand that freedom is a gift from God. And to be "free" is less about being free "from" something or free "for" or "to do" something; and all about being free "in" something. For ultimately, the freedom we yearn for is the freedom to be living "in" the pattern of the one who made us. We may not always understand this. But the greatest freedom of all is the freedom to be all that God made us to be - free to express the gifts God has given us to express.
That is why Paul was so adament in speaking with the congregation at Galatia. He knew that God had made the Galatians the way they were and that God accepted them that way. Yet, there were those who wanted to insist that they give up who they were and submit to the way others wanted them to be. He told them to accept God's gift to them and not to be enslaved trying to be what others wanted them to be.
Christ Jesus boldly proclaimed that the truth he was bringing would free people who were being enslaved to a sort of "spiritual 'one-upsmanship'." Freedom is to found in following him and in keeping his word.
What then, am I saying? What do we mean by this word "Freedom?" Just this. Freedom is never just an individual thing. It is a matter between every human being and her or his creator. It is a spiritual thing. It is not a political thing nor a military thing. It is a "Soul" thing. We must honor it and we must hold it sacred not only for ourselves, but for every human being on the face of this planet. Without it life is not worth living.
Until next week,
Doug
Vacation Bible School Brings Congregation Together
We have just completed another year of "Vacation Bible School" here at North Fayette UMC. I thought I'd like to share some of my impressions about this year's VBS and what I think made it special.
We had a great time again this year as we completed a three year cycle of Bible Land based experiences. The first year we visited Jerusalem Market Place and explored the sights and sounds of Jerusalem. Last year our focus was centered on Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. This year we traveled to the Galilee where Jesus lived, worked and carried out much of his ministry.
Each year, including this past week, the children were gathered in tribes (as in the 12 tribes of Israel) including the tribes of Dan, Judah, Benjamin, etc. Each tribe had a Tribal Leader(s) who were adults and older youth. The tribes all gathered at the beginning and end of Bible School to sing, dance, and find out important news for each day. These were always exciting times for everyone. After the opening gatherings, the children gathered with their tribes and visited the places like Nazareth and the markets for foods grown in the area and to make sandals, work with the artisans of the area who made jewelry, toys, sandals, etc. The children enjoyed dramatic presentations from some of the residents who knew and saw Jesus. They went to synagogue each day and also enjoyed games like the games children of Jesus' day might have enjoyed in Nazareth and the other areas of the Galilee. It is really amazing how much all of us learned from these activities.
But perhaps just as important as this was how great it was to see so many persons of all age groups coming together for this week of learning and fun. Our teens are very active in this week. There were college students, grandmothers and grandfathers, teachers, nurses, computer specialists, moms, dads, teachers, middle schoolers, therapists, small, large, old and young; all working and playing and laughing and learning and sharing our lives together in a way that has made us all better disciples for Jesus Christ.
I want to thank David and Kelly Butler, our summer interns, all who loaned us tents, tools, etc., and to all who worked in the shops, helped with recreation, led the music, acted out dramatic scenes, made monetary contributions, prayed for and/or attended the sessions. To God be the glory. Through this experience the children's lives have been blessed and we have all been drawn closer together.
Doug
Report From Annual Conference
Reporting from "The Classic Center" (left) in my hometown of Athens, GA:
Thousands of Methodists are in Athens this week where we are "conferring" together about the life and work of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. George McKelvey, our Lay Delegate to the Annual Conference, and I are here from the North Fayette congregation. So much has been happening in these first four days of the Conference. We will give a more in depth rundown of the happenings later, but if you want to learn more you can go to the North Georgia Annual Conference Web site at: www.ngumc.org. There you will find a link to the "Annual Conference." During the sessions you can also log on and get live audio and video streaming of the Conference.
One of the things we are doing is electing both "Laity" and "Clergy" delegates to serve as the delegation from our Conference to the 2008 United Methodist "General" and "Jurisdictional" Conferences.
We elect 14 lay and 14 clergy delegates to "General Conference." These 28 delegates (along with 5 other lay and 5 other clergy "reserves" also to be elected, will travel to Houston, Texas next spring to "conference" with other United Methodist from around the world. Their work will bring new and revised legislation to our Discipline; a cadre of resolutions which speak for the Church on social, political and human rights and human relations issues; and refreshed visions and plans to guide our Church for the next four years.
We also elect 14 lay and 14 clergy delegates (who will join the other 28 delegates mentioned above) to attend "Jurisdictionall Conference." These 56 delegates (along with the "reserves") will travel to Junaluska, North Carolina next year to "conference" with other United Methodist from around the Southeastern U.S. at Jurisdictional Conference (the North Georgia Conference is part of the "Southeastern Jurisdiction" encompassing the southeastern United States).
Among the most important work done there will be the selection of new "Bishops" to be added to the "pool" of Bishops shared among the Annual Conferences of our Jurisdiction. The Clergy person elected to lead our delegation is the Reverend Doctor Ed Tomlinson. He will be the candidate put forward by our delegation for the "Episcopacy." If elected, he would then receive an assignment from the Jurisdiction to serve as Bishop of an Annual Conference in the Jurisdiction. Bishops are not appointed to their own home Conference. The number of bishops elected in any quadrinium (4th year when the Jurisdictional Conference convenes) is dependent upon whether or how many active bishops may be retiring or become incapacitated.
The elections of delegates is a remarkable process in which the Lay Delegates of the Annual Conference elect their delegation and the Clergy Delegates of the Annual Conference elect their delegation. Tonight is Thursday and the Laity have elected all of their delegates now, but the clergy continue the process, having elected all of our delegates to General Conference and about half of the Jurisdictional delegates. Each delegate must receive a majority of votes from among those voting to be elected. Then their names are removed from the pool of those for whom we may vote.
The Lay delegates generally vote on persons from a pool of "declared" candidates, which means they might have maybe one hundred declared candidates. They can also have write-in candidates that were not among that pool of "declared" candidates. This year, something amazing happened on the Lay side of this process. During the Laity Session held on Monday, one of our Conference youth rose to say that he would be willing to serve as a delegate to General Conference. I don't know exactly what he said or in what context he spoke because the Clergy were in our own session and I was not in the Laity Session. Nevertheless, this young person, Matthew Everhart, made such an impression on the Lay Delegates, that he has been elected as a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conference as a write-in candidate!
The clergy, on the other hand do not have "officially" declared candidates, but choose from a ballot with every Full Connection Elder and Deacon on it. This year that ballot started out at nine hundred and ninety nine names on it. We start out voting for 14 persons, no more and no less. We keep taking ballots until 14 persons receive a majority number of votes of those voting on a ballot. We went through maybe five ballots before anyone was elected. I think that we took maybe fifteen ballots to elect the first 14 delegates. We have now taken another eight or nine ballots to get seven more delegates. It is going to be a race to the wire to see if we can finish the election by the time of adjournment. If not, we must stay until the elections are complete. I think we will get it done, but it will be close.
Of course, this ballot taking, while very important, is not the main thing we are doing. We do this in between many other sessions of Ministry Agency reports, Worship Services, votes on resolutions, testimonies, discussions about budget proposals, and lots of handshakes, hugs, laughter and great fellowship in the hallways, around dinner tables and the coffee shop. In a lot of ways Annual Conference is like a great "Family Reunion" where we see our friends from across the Conference Connection. I really wish all of you could be here. Of course, it can get boring or tiring, but it is also refreshing and inspiring to see what an awesome church to which we belong.
This Sunday, George McKelvey will give us some of his impressions of Conference. I know you will enjoy hearing what he has to say. In the meantime, below, I will give you a list of some things that have been happening here.
I look forward to seeing all of you as we gather for worship this Sunday at 847 New Hope Road. Bring a friend as we celebrate the living Christ on Father's Day. Until then....
Doug
The United Methodist Church
June 11 - 15, 2007
The Classic Center - Athens, Georgia
Theme: “We Are Called to Walk Humbly with God”
8 am Laity Registration – Foundry Bldg . - Cypress 1,2
8 am Clergy Registration – Foundry Bldg. - High Shoals 1
10 am Lay Orientation - Grand Hall
10 am Clergy Executive Session - Theatre
2 pm Session One – Grand Hall
Opening Communion/Memorial
The Spirit Filled Life - Psalm 51
Preacher - Donald A. Harp, Jr., Peachtree Rd UMC
Music – Snellville UMC Intergenerational
Chamber Choir/ Athens First UMC Handbell Choir
3:45 pm Opening of Conference - Grand Hall
Call to Order – 141st Session
Prayer - Aida Beltran Gaetan
Hymn “And Are We Yet Alive”
Welcome-Host Committee
Organization of Conference
Setting the Bar of the Conference
Election of Associate Secretaries
Election of Head Tellers
Adoption of the Agenda
Consent Agenda
Other organizational items
Eligibility &Voting Process for Electing
Lay and Clergy Delegates
*Clergy Ballot # 1
*Lay Ballot # 1
Emory Health Care, Emory Clergy Care,
Emory Center for Pastoral Services,
Conference Insurance Committee
Introduction 2007 Theme and Logo
Monitoring at Annual Conference
Announcements
5:15 pm Adjournment
7:30 pm Session Two - Theatre
Service of Ordination/Commissioning
The Called Life - 2 Chronicles 7:14
Preacher - Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster
Alabama-West Florida
Music - Cascade UMC Choir, Karen Lowery, Director
Offering – Annual Conference expense
7 am Bishop’s Breakfast for Tuesday’s Presenters - Olympia 2
7 am Service of Holy Communion - Classic Ctr Theatre
Preacher - Mary Kollarik
7:30 am Concessions Open - 130 Foundry Bldg Lower Lobby
7:30 am Young Adult Ministry – Athena D
8:15 am Session Three – Grand Hall
Prayer - John Cuentas, Midway UMC, Douglasville
*Ballots and Reports as needed
Music and Witness – Phillip Shoultz/Chuck Savage
Board of Pensions and Health Benefits
Retiree Medical Insurance Task Force
10: 30am*Recognition of Clergy Who are Retiring
UM Publishing House
Wesleyan Christian Advocate
Announcements
12:15 pm Adjourn
2 pm Session Four – Grand Hall
Prayer - Diego Orsini
*Ballots and Reports as needed
North Georgia Conference News video # 1
Staffing Task Force
Church Development
Committee on the Episcopacy/Episcopal Residence
Musical Break
Consent Agenda to remove items
Standing Rules Committee Report
Committee on Nominations Report
GA/FL UM Credit Union
Announcements
5:15 pm Adjournment
7:30 pm Session Five - Theatre
Missions Service - The Giving Life - Luke 9: 23 - 25
Preacher - Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster
Music - Combined Choirs
Christ UMC,Dunwoody UMC, Johns Creek UMC, Sardis UMC,
Snellville UMC, St. Mark UMC, St. Paul UMC
Organist, Randy Elkins
Bishop’s Mission Offering – Simpsonwood Conference & Retreat Center
6:30 am Emory Health Care/Emory Clergy Care
Great Day of Service 5-K Fun Run/Walk
7:00 am Bishop’s Breakfast for Wednesday’s Presenters - Olympia 2
7:30 am Young Adult Ministry – Athena D
7:30 am Service of Holy Communion - Classic Ctr Theatre
Preacher - Larry Rary
7:30 am Concessions Open - Foundry Bldg Lower Lobby
8:15 am Session Six – Grand Hall
Prayer - Juan Quintanilla, Cristo la Roca UM Mission
*Ballots and Reports as needed
Music and Witness – Liberty Hill Praise Band/Sondra Jones
Council on Finance & Administration - Part I
North Georgia Conference News Video # 2
Housing and Homeless Council
Aldersgate Homes
UM Children’s Home
Wesley Woods
Announcements
Sending Forth for Great Day of Service
12:15 pm Adjournment
12 - 3 pm Session Seven - Athens Community
Great Day of Service
3:30 pm Session Seven - continued
Prayer - Niranjan Noronha, South Asian Congregation
*Ballots and Reports as needed
Office of Information
Action Ministries
Wesley Community Centers/Camp Wesley –
Richardson Award
Announcements
5 pm Adjournment
7:15 pm Musical Celebration - Great Day of Service
7:30 - 9 pm Session Eight - Grand Hall
Prayer - Ana Pereira, Brazilian Congregation
*Ballots and Reports as needed
North Georgia Conference News Video # 3
Board of Ordained Ministry
Black College Fund Ambassador
Higher Education
Resolutions
Announcements
9:00 pm Adjournment
7 am Bishop’s Breakfast for Thursday’s Presenters - Olympia 2
7 am Young Adult Ministry – Athena D
7:30 am Service of Holy Communion - Classic Ctr Theatre
Preacher - Charles Swainey
7:30 am Concessions Open - 130 Foundry Bldg Lower Lobby
8:15 am Session Nine – Grand Hall
Prayer - Peter K. Mtuamwari, Kenyan Cong. East Cobb
*Ballots and Reports as needed
Music and Witness – Nohemi Ramirez/Boyd Whaley
Conference Statistician – John Dallas
Conference Treasurer – Keith Cox
Simpsonwood Task Force Update
Equitable Compensation
North Georgia Conference News Video # 4
Denman Awards – Dick Williamson
Connectional Ministries
Camp Glisson
UMW
UMM
Property Resolutions
Southeastern Connectional Table
Greetings from Candler Dean Jan Love
12 pm Adjourn
2 pm Session Ten - Grand Hall
Laity Worship Service
The Disciplined Life - 2 Timothy 1:7
Message - Charles Whittemore
Music - Aldersgate UMC Praise Band
3:30 pm Prayer - Eduardo Stevens, Cumming First UMC
*Ballot and Reports as needed
Board of Laity
North Georgia Conference News Video # 5
Consent Agenda to vote on items removed – if needed
Standing Rules to Vote
Nominations to Vote
Resolutions – continued if needed
Announcements
5 pm Adjournment
7:30 pm Session Eleven - Theatre
Youth Worship Service The Good Life - James 3:13
Message – Natalie Stadnick
Music – The Fourth Man
Offering – Annual Conference expense
7:00 am Bishop’s Breakfast for Friday’s Presenters – Olympia 2
7:30 am Young Adult Ministry – Athena D
7:30 am Service of Holy Communion - Classic Ctr Theatre
Preacher - Doug Volk
7:30 am Concessions Open - Foundry Bldg Lower Lobby
8:15 am Session Twelve - Grand Hall
Prayer - Nohemi Ramirez, Mision Latina Athens
*Ballots and reports as needed
Music and Witness – Julie Powell Caldwell/Nancy Folsom
Report of the Journal Committee
Advocacy Team Monitoring
Council on Finance & Administration, Part II
Mississippi Annual Conference Video
Emory Healthcare
World Methodist Evangelism
Moving Day
Future Sites of Annual Conference
Recognitions
Announcements
11 am Reading of Appointments and Sending Forth
12 pm Adjournment
June 10th - June 16th
Hi Folks,
I'm grateful to Bill Koetje, our Assistant Pastor, for preaching in my absence last Sunday. He spoke about the Trinity on "Trinity Sunday" as a part of his ongoing series of messages on "The Apostle's Creed."
Did you hear the results of our "Multiplying the Talents" campaign? Let me see if I can give you an accounting of what took place and the net results:
Spring Fling fundraising event in late April resulted in net proceeds to the church of just over $6,000.
On the first Sunday of May the Finance Committee handed out just over $3,000 of those Spring Fling proceeds to members of the congregation and anyone in worship who desired to take some money as "talents" or "seed money". We were all challenged to put those dollars to work over a four week period and bring it back on Pentecost Sunday to see what was produced.
The result of this campaign was that through Pentecost Sunday (May 27th) the just over $3,000 which was given out has returned in the amount of more than $11,000. When added to the remaining just under $3,000 from the Spring Fling that was not distributed, our net result has been more the $14,500 which will be added to our budget gifts. Wow! How amazing is God's Grace? Thank you Lord! And thank you members of this wonderful congregation whose faith and positive spirit is remarkable.
And here is another piece of good news to go with this. Looking over the Offering report from last Sunday (June 3rd) I see that we have now received $966 more in "Talents" money, which means that our net proceeds from the Spring Fling and the Multiplying our Talents campaign has grown to more the $15,000. And further, our Treasurer has reported that for the first time in nearly a decade, we can report that as we go to Annual Conference, North Fayette UMC has paid 100% of our Apportionments & Districe Work Fund through the first five months of the year. Thank you to each and every one of you for your faithfulness and hard work to make this happen.
Speaking of the Annual Conference meeting: The North Georgia Annual Conference will be convening this coming week in Athens, GA. We will be in session beginning Monday, June 11 and ending Friday, June 15. George McKelvey will be joining me as our Lay Delegate to the Annual Conference this year as we will be electing Delegates to both General and Jurisdictional Conferences to be held in 2008. Dr. Mckelvey will be giving a report to you in both worship services on Sunday, June 17th. In the meantime, you can follow the Conference events on the Worldwide Web. Follow the web link below and check out all the information about the North Georgia Annual Conference. I hope you will do so. Conference really is amazing and it's great to be able to check it out on line. Here is the link
Watch and Listen to Annual Conference on Your Computer (new)
The Conference will stream audio and video live from gavel to gavel. Listen and watch starting Monday, June 11, at the Annual Conference section of ngumc.org .
Here is another bit of news from the North Georgia Conference that might be of interest to you, especially if you are a young adult or know a young adult you can share this information with.
| CONFERENCE NEWS |
| Get 'the bug' (update)
|
Finally, a word about my upcoming message for this Sunday. It is about "Change." Is it possible for people to change? Can you rebuild a life that is broken? Is it really possible to to recover from an addiction, a devastating trauma, betrayal, divorce, loss, bankruptcy, a conviction, abuse, bitterness, rape, public humiliation, injustice, etc.?
The first chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians (Galatians 1:11-24) offer us a reminder that people really can be changed. In this brief passage we get a glimpse of one for whom change seemed very unlikely, if not downright impossible. But one encounter with the living and resurrected Christ changed everything.
I hope you will be with us for worship this Sunday as we rediscover the HOPE of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that change is possible for anyone who meets Christ.
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
Celebrating Pentecost
Today is Pentecost Sunday, loosely considered the "Birthday" of the church. It was on this day in the year that Jesus was crucified, that the followers of Jesus recieved the gift of God's promised "Holy Spirit" in a new and powerful way. As a result, many person from a wide variety of places, came to believe in Jesus. Pentecost was a Jewish religious festival holiday, occuring fifty days after Passover. Devout persons from a wide variety of geographic locations were in Jerusalem on a religious pilgramage to celebrate this festival (also known as "The Festival Weeks").
On the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were gathered in one place praying as Jesus had instructed them to do (before he ascended to heaven). While there a remarkable experience with the "Spirit of God' took place that spilled over from the place where they were meeting into the city of Jerusalem itself during this religious festiva. Among the miraculous t things that happened that day was the "conversion" of more than three thousand souls to faith in Christ Jesus.
It is hard to explain what happened in this history altering event. By faith we accept that the experience of those early followers of Jesus were empowered to speak in such a way that they were both heard and understood by people of many different languages and nationalities who were in town that day. The Apostle Peter preached the good news of Jesus that day and more than 3,000 souls were added to the Church. Up to this point Peter had not been a public speaker and certainly not a trained orator with great persuasive powers. But it wasn't just Peter who spoke, nor was it Peter who won these new converts to Christ. According to Dr. Luke (the author of Acts and Luke who was also a traveling companion with Paul on his missionary journeys). It was also recorded that in the wake of this manifestation of God's Holy Spirit, there was incredible personal warmth, generosity and camraderie that broke out.
We would each do well to ask God to bath us in the same spiritual bath water which came over those early followers of Jesus. My message today has been an invitation for each of us to invite the Spirit to express itself in us as it did that Pentecost long ago. As we do we will experience the same three-fold miracles experienced by the early Church, namely:
A Miracle of Communication
A Miracle of Connection
A Miracle of Cooperation
I'll talk more about each of these later. Please check back here soon.
In Christ,
Doug
An Unusual Mother’s Day Message
My message last Sunday was not completely centered on the Mother’s Day theme. In fact, I may have been the only United Methodist Minister in our North Georgia Conference to preach from the book of The Revelation on Mother’s Day! And while it may not have had the touchy feely sort of warm fuzzy effect on those who heard it, I believe it did have a connection with what every good mom or dad will seek to teach her or his children. Let’s see if I can make my case.
The message was based on the text in Revelation chapter 21:10 – 22:5. It describes the “
I will not recount my entire message here, but I do want to make what was the main point, namely, that these two cities represent two different ways each of can choose to go in life. They represent two different dwelling places or destinations. They represent two very different communities in which we could choose to put down our “stakes.” The city in chapters 17 & 18 is called “
These two cities stand for the ways that are before you and me each day, and the way that was especially before the congregations to which the Apostle John was the shepherd and spiritual guardian (the churches of Asia Minor, see Revelation 1:4-6, 10-11; 2:1-3:22).
John, like any good guardian/parent was seeking with his whole heart to have his children choose wisely between that which is evil and that which is holy; between that which is easy and that which calls for patience, suffering and sacrifice; and that which leads to short term pleasure versus that which brings an everlasting reward.
In Matthew 6&7 Jesus warns us about the way that is wide and the path is easy. He says it is a way that leads to destruction, and many will choose that path. But he also warns that the way that leads to life is narrow and difficult; and thus, not often traveled.
The “Way” God desires for creation is the pathway of “Holy” living. The world “holy” means “called out” or “set aside” for a special purpose. Christ modeled such “holiness” as a calling to generosity, to sacrificial living, to serving others rather than being served. To live like this does not mean that we abandon the world, but to live like this does mean that we stand out in sharp contrast to the values and mores most popularly adopted by people who populate this planet and by the systems and institutions of the world in which we live. What the New Testament is always calling “the world” is in fact a euphemism for the self-serving, ego-centric forces and interests of the world we live in. The way the world we live in “seems” to work, that way may seem foolish or dull or the way for “losers.” Yet, it is the way to God, the way of Christ, the way and the truth and the life. If we will follow him in this way, we find everlasting life.
The “preacher” in the book of Ecclesiastes declares, “…there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). Taking shortcuts is certainly not a new scheme. Our mothers and fathers have been telling us that there are forces out in the world which will tempt us to believe their great lies. But we often do not listen. Read the Proverbs again and you can perhaps hear the voice of your own mother speaking to you the wisdom of her experience. Hear the collective wisdom of our mother church speaking to us the wisdom of her experience. In both cases we thank God for “Sophia” (Godly Wisdom) given to us by our Mother. May we honor her in all our “ways.”
Doug
What To Do With Our Talents
This past Sunday was perhaps the most unusual day of worship that I've been part of in my life!
Now that is a pretty large statement for me to make, considering that I've been going to church services from the time I was born in 1956, and for about 40 of those years I was Baptist, which meant worship twice on each Sunday, and every Wednesday night, plus at least two one to two week revival meetings a year. Conservatively I would guess that I've been part of at least 8,000 worship services in my life time.
But still, this past Sunday's service was unique.
Just in case you missed it I'll fill you in here. Last Sunday was one of our "Fifth Sunday" worship services when we sing lots of the old songs and we all meet at the
But that also, was not the thing that made our worship so unique.
What made this worship service different from any I have ever experienced is that we handed out money to everyone who was in the service Sunday. Yes, each person was given a $20 bill and challenged to consider that money to be like the "talents" given to those persons in Jesus' parable of the talents (See Matthew 25:14-30). We were all challenged to pray about this money and seek to multiply it over the next four weeks. Then, on May 27th (Pentecost Sunday) we will bring these "Talents" back with whatever we have been able to add to them. In all, we gave away over $3,000 and we have more to give away for those who still desire to be part of this challenge.
The result has been impressive already as individuals, families and small groups are seeking out what to do with what has been placed in our hands. One of our Sunday school classes plans to host a dinner for 100 people. This could potentially turn their talents into $3,500 or more! Some have already turned in the money they received, simply adding $100 or $200 to the $20. Others have put their $20 in a prominent place as a reminder to save their change, contribute money they might have wasted on snacks or other non-essentials. They are already seeing the $20 grow. We have a list of twenty one ideas for growing this money. I will list those below.
Our Finance Committee and our Board of Stewards has endorsed this project for several reasons. First, because I urged them to do it and they have graciously (but not blindly) trusted my leadership. Second, because we were blessed in our recent spring fund raiser to realize a profit of about $6,000 due to the unselfish efforts of so many of our people and the support of folks in our community. Yet, in order to meet our budget obligations by the end of May we need something in the order of $20,000 from sources beyond our regular giving as it is coming in to date. We knew this would be a challenge when we began this year and we committed ourselves to walk by faith and make this happen. So, this is how we thought we could put our $6,000 to work. Third, the Finance Committee and the Board of Stewards believe that there is an important spiritual principal at work in this that we all need to see and incorporate into our living. That principal is this: God puts what He does into our lives in order that it may "flow through us" and become even greater as we put it to work! I noted in the message Sunday that while plants grow when buried in the ground, because they follow the laws of nature, that is not true of money. Rather, money becomes stagnant when it is buried or hidden. That is true because money does not follow the laws of nature but the laws of economics. In the laws of economics, money only grows as it is put to work - put into motion - put into circulation!
Jesus told this parable of the talents to make a greater point. God has not given us the spiritual life of the Kingdom for us to bury it or keep it to ourselves. He means for us to put that life-giving force into circulation - to put it to work - to trade on it, so to speak. Money of course, is not that life-force, but it is powerful, just as the
The natural reaction to gaining power of any sort, be it political, physical or economic power is to almost immediately start looking for ways to keep it and not let it go. But the Gospel message is that only that which is released and shared can ever bring us blessings. We are confident that in the risk of losing, we will gain far more over the next thirty days. And as we do, perhaps we will all grow in our willingness to trust God more over the years with whatever he places in our hands.
Have a great week.
Doug
Doug Burrell
Senior Minister
21 Ideas for Multiplying the “Seed Money” You Receive
1. RECEIVE THIS SEED MONEY AS A CHALLENGE TO YOUR FAITH FOR YOU TO GIVE SACRIFICIALLY AND ADD TO IT. One person has said he plans to add $100 to his $20 and return it to the church. What a great idea. That is a fivefold return he plans to bring back to his “Master.”
2. ASK OTHERS IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE. Share with others your excitement and commitment to this unique challenge that your church is involved with. Tell them how this project will help our church reach out in our worldwide missions program including disaster relief, educating children, sending missionaries and much more. Tell others what your church is doing and ask them if they would like to make a contribution to help you multiply this “seed money” that you will return to the church on May 27th.
3. DON’T FORGET TO SEND OUT EMAILS TO YOUR LIST OF CONTACTS WITH A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOUR CHURCH IS DOING AND YOUR EXCITEMENT ABOUT THIS. REQUEST THOSE ON YOUR LIST TO PRAYER FOR YOU AND FOR YOUR CHURCH AS WE DO THIS. INVITE PERSONS TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECT. Request to those on your email list that they pray for our church as we seek to meet this challenge. Invite them to consider helping you with any amount of gift they would like to make. If they would like their contribution to be tax deductible, simply have them make a check out to North Fayette UMC. You can turn that in with the money you bring back on May 27th.
4. ASK A RETAILER YOU KNOW TO PARTNER WITH YOU TO HELP YOU IN THIS PROJECT BY PLACING A PRODUCT AND/OR INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PROJECT IN THEIR PLACE OF BUSINESS IN A PROMINENT PLACE. (Ideas include the people with whom you do business: drycleaners, auto repair shop, drug store, dress shop, specialty shop, convenience store, car wash, office area of the accounting firm with whom you do business, law office, counseling center, etc.).
5. CONTRIBUTE PROCEEDS FROM A SECONDARY INCOME SOURCE. Dedicate something you already have as a source of income toward this project. For example, if you have a small business with a vending machine, dedicate the proceeds from the vending machine for one month.
6. BUY AND SELL SNACK FOODS. Purchase snack foods or fruit at a local warehouse club like “Sam’s” or “Costco” where you can buy at a reduced price in bulk. Then offer those snacks during the work day for those who would like a snack or want to take a treat home to the family. If your place of employment does not have healthy snacks like fruit or “low carb” bars, you could offer a healthy alternative. Type up an information sheet that tells what your church is doing and about your commitment to this project. What a great witness this can be. Be sure to get some of our “Church Business Cards” (available at the rear of the sanctuary or from the church office) and put your name and contact information on the card.
7. RECYCLE USE PRINTER CARTRIDGES. Ask your co-workers, family and friends to bring you their used printer cartridges. Take them to the “Cartridge World” near the J.C. Penney store in
8. RECYCLE 20 OZ. PLASTIC BOTTLES. Collect 20 oz. plastic bottles to recycle and receive 5 cents for each. (See Lynne or Walt Keiser for details).
9. MAKE AND SELL DISCIPLES CROSSES. Order “Disciples Cross” kits and make “Disciples Crosses.” The “Disciples Cross” organization will purchase quality made crosses back from you at a profit to you, or which you can sell to retail outlets for $5 each or sell to individuals for $10 [Note: This is a good project for those who like craft type projects and can do careful work with your hands.] Information about this is available at www.disciplescross.com.
10. MAKE AND SELL ART WORK, CRAFTS OR OTHER PRODUCTS OF YOUR CHOICE. Some of you already have special artistic talents in photography, woodwork, sculpture, quilting, etc. Why not dedicate a special work of art or collection of items which could be sold and the proceeds dedicated to this project. This can work well if you are already entered in an upcoming spring art show or have items on e-bay, or if you have a list of customers to whom you could send information about this special project and you could ask them to consider supporting this project by bidding or making a purchase.
11. WASH & DETAIL AUTOMOBILES, BOATS, RVs.
• Set a reasonable, but profitable price to hand wash vehicles. To hand wash, wipe dry, thoroughly clean windows and trim inside and out, thoroughly clean wheels, tires, vacuum carpet and upholstery and dress tires and all trim. $35 to $50 is a reasonable price for this service for cars. For cleaning boats as people get ready for the summer season a reasonable price would be $50 for a 17-18 ft. runabout. Campers and other large RVs would have to be priced on an individual basis.
• You may know someone in your neighborhood or with whom you or your parents work. Approach them with information about what our church is doing and offer your services. Explain to them that you will do a good job for a reasonable price. Then, make sure you do a good job. It will be a reflection on your church.
• You may already have the materials needed to do this work. If not, use your seed money to get what you need. This is a project that three or four could work together to do together.
Some further suggestions include:
• You would want to go to where the vehicle is kept to do this job or have it brought to your home.
• Let them drive the vehicle and not you.
• Don’t do this as a “parking lot” car wash. People often expect to get that for a tip of $4 or $5 and they want it done in a hurry, so that you can’t really do a good job.
• NOTE: If someone wants a “true custom detail job,” that would include: carpet shampoo, upholstery shampoo or leather cleaning and treatment, engine cleaning, trunk detailing, wheel well detailing and the like; that is a different price. Those usually go for about $150-$200. This is probably best left to professionals.
12. CLEAN WINDOWS. You could use your seed money to purchase the cleaning products you need.
• Purchase quality ammonia based window cleaner, a small squeegee for small window panes, a larger squeegee for large window surfaces, cheap paper towel (Cheap paper towels work better than more expensive ones which have too much lint in them. Also, it is better to use these than cloths which will tend to have soap in them from washing and will leave more streaks.)
• You will probably need a step ladder.
• There are excellent products which attach to a hose for washing outside windows. You want to purchase a product that will dry streak free. They work great. Screens may have to be removed before using these.
• Wash windows outside before you wash the inside of windows since the most dirt and grime will be outside.
• Once the outside is cleaned, you will be able to see more clearly what needs to be cleaned inside.
13. MAKE BAKED GOODS AND SELL THEM. Some of you have wonderful recipes. Consider baking some pound cakes and ask a retailer if you could leave one or two there for customers to buy. Or make up a sheet with descriptions of some cakes or pies you make and leave them in a business you patronize. People will see these and want them. Most people today are starving for old fashioned home cooked goodies and are sick of going to the store for store bought birthday cakes or deserts to serve guests. They will be glad to call you with orders for these type goodies. Pricing can vary, but good pound cakes can go for $15 and fresh coconut or other more exotic cakes like caramel cakes or German Chocolate cakes might sell for $20 or more. Remember that at a restaurant desert sells for $4.95 to $9.95 a slice!!!
14. DO YARDWORK.
15. CLEAN GUTTERS
16. HAVE A DINNER PARTY OR STEAK COOKOUT FOR GUESTS. Have guests over for a dinner party as a fundraiser for this project. Invite as many as is feasible for your home and let them know about what our congregation is doing. Tell them that you are doing this to have fun and to raise money for our church’s local and world-wide mission and outreach program. You could let the guests know that there will be a charge for the dinner (say $25-$30 per person according to your expected costs). If the meal cost you $10 per person, you might net $300 for ten guests or $600 for 20 guests. Another way to do this would be to invite guests and ask them to contribute what they would like to help us with this project. You could suggest to the group an amount which you hope to raise (e.g. “Our goal is to raise $1,000 or $500 with our dinner event.”). To make the event more festive, you might consider giving away door prizes or having a silent auction on some items that might add to the proceeds for the evening. Make this fun. It’s not unusual for couple to spend $100 to go out for an evening, so why not see that money go to help our church!
17. MUSICIANS – HIRE YOURSELF OUT FOR AN EVENING OF ENTERTAINMENT AND DONATE THE PROCEEDS. MORE THAN ONE OF YOU MIGHT WORK TOGETHER ON A PROGRAM. You might consider doing that in cooperation with someone doing a dinner party like is described above.
18. BUY AND SELL ITEMS ON EBAY AND DONATE PROCEEDS.
19. MAKE SPECIALTY CASSEROLES AND OFFER THEM FOR SELL. PEOPLE ARE VERY BUSY TODAY AND WOULD LOVE TO HAVE FREEZER READY CASSEROLES FOR WEEKDAY MEALS AND FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
20. MAKE HOME MADE ICE CREAM AND SELL IT BY THE HALF GALLON OR BY THE QUART. This is a great time of the year to make homemade strawberry ice cream or your other favorite ice cream and offer it for sell to others.
21. PICK AND PREPARE FRESH STRAWBERRIES. May is a perfect time to go to Adam’s farm on highway 54 between
Worthy Is The Lamb
This past Sunday my message was based on the passage from Revelation 5: 1-10. The passage has to do with the vision which John of Patmos has regarding the great mysteries of life and death. It seems that John's vision involves the throne room of heaven where there appears a scroll that is sealed with "seven seals." The problem is that there cannot be found anyone who is "worthy" to open this scroll. There is no one who is able then, to break the seals that will unlock the great mysteries of life and death.
It occurred to me in preparing for the message to be given on April 22, that people all over our nation were also seeking for someone to unlock the mysteries of what had happened at Virginia Tech where 32 persons were murdered and where one very disturbed and angry young man had chosen to add his own life to the number of those who were senselessly snuffed out for no good reason. We, like the heavenly creatures and like the saints gathered around the altar of worship have been trying to figure out where we can get some answers.
The reality however, is that there are no simple answers. We are not worthy to plumb the depths of such mysterious tragedy and make any sense of it. Yet, the story told in the Revelation is that there is another who was also "murdered," "slaughtered," or "slain" who is worthy to help us here.
He is worthy based on the fact that he stands as one who is both the conquering lion of Judah (vs. 5) and the very vulnerable lamb standing as one who has been slain (vs. 6) "with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits sent out into all the earth." These two pictures of Christ remind us that his conquering comes through suffering and that he still stands among us as one who has suffered and one who continures to suffer with us in such tragedies like those at Virginia Tech and elsewhere. The seven eyes and horns and spirits represent his universal reach and his ability to be with all who suffer. In that is found his great worthiness.
We rightfully have been disturbed and wounded by the events of April 16th and by what we have learned in the days that followed. But the reality is that such crueties and massacres are occuring daily where there are no news reports and there are no cell phones to capture the sounds or the pictures. Yet, God is there, present in every instance, standing with the suffering as a lamb slaughtered, sharing in their suffering, sharing in our suffering.
Christ Jesus, the suffering servant, the suffering savior weeps with us, suffers with us, and promises that there will come a day, when there will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more pain (Revelation 21). For it is true that the one who was slain is also the one who has conquered, and at his name, someday, every knee will bow (Philippians 2) and every tongue will join that great cloud of witnesses that John sees in heaven, saying: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all theein, saying, 'To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!' And the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5:12-14, RSV)
Until then, keep the faith. He is with us even now.
Doug
Every Eye Shall See HIm
During the weeks between the Resurrection of Christ (Easter) and the Day of Pentecost, I will be preaching out of the Lectionary texts from the New Testament book of Revelation. I do so for several reasons.
First, I do so because it is actually rare, for a series of texts from Revelation to appear consecutively in our Lectionary Cycles and if I'm going to do it, now is the time.
Second, I do so because this last book in the "Canon" of scripture is widely neglected in mainstream pulpits and grossly misunderstood and misused by many who have preached it and taught it for fun and profit on Television and through sensational books and movies designed to scare the hell out of us.
Finally, I do so because I've studied this book extensively for more than twenty five years now and believe its message is one that is relevant to our living in general and particularly relevant to our living between Easter and Pentecost.
Allow me to comment on the last part of my sentence above in order to set the context for hearing the Revelation of Christ to John of Patmos.
To more fully understand the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it is important to understand the context in which it takes place in Jewish Religious life. The Festival and Feast days of Israel are markers for us to "see" something that otherwise will go unnoticed by the untrained "eye."
For example, it is important to know that the festival of Passover and the Passover meal commemorate Yahweh's delivery of the Israelites from Egypt when following God's instructions, the children of Israel were "Passed Over" by the Angel of Death, because they had sprinkled the blood of an unblemished lamb over their door posts. LIkewise, as the very hour approached for the Passover Meal, the blood of Jesus was "poured out for many" on a Roman cross, just outside the walls of Jerusalem. You can read Isaiah 53 to gain further insight into the profound significance of the "lamb" being led to slaughter. But, there is much more than this.
Passover was a celebration of God's deliverence by the blood of an innocent lamb. But little known to many Christians is that on the "Sunday" following "Passover" there is another Feast/Festival Day observed in the time of Jesus. That day is known as the "Feast of the First Fruits." On that day, early in the morning, the religious officials would gather at the altar of the Temple to sprinkle a hadful of barley which had come from the region of the "Galilee" (yes, the area aournd Nazareth, where Jesus was from) on to the altar.
Since the barley from the dark soil of Galilee was below sea level and since it was warmer than the chalky soil of the higher elevations of Palestine (including Jerusalem) it ripened several weeks before any other barley in the region. This handful of barley brought to Jerusalem for this Festival would be known as the "First Fruits" of the harvest.
So, early in the morning, on the first day of the week, while the priest was sprinkling the first fruits of the barley havest over the altar, and while the priest was saying, "Let the harvest begin!", something else was happening in another part of Jerusalem. At that same time, the women were arriving at the tomb of Jesus. They were not attending the festival ceremony, since they had not been able to properly bury Jesus' body by adding the spices for the body as was the cusom. And when they arrived that morning, they too discovered that the "harvest had begun." For there, they discovered the "First Fruit" of the Resurrection. Jesus was and is the "First Fruit" of the Resurrection. Paul calls him that in II Corinthians15.
Yet, as Paul Harvey used to say, "Here's the rest of the story."
When Jesus appeared to the disciples and before he ascended into heaven, he promised that he would not be the last to be raised up, but that soon there would be another harvest which would be more inclusive and more far reaching than what they were seeing then.
But, in the mean time, they were to follow his commandments, spread the Gospel and wait. More than two thousand years have passed since he told that to us. And we are still waiting, still spreading the Gospel and still seeking to follow his commandments.
Yet, there is one more Feast for us to consider. Where the Barley Harvest was the Spring Harvest (time of our March/April), seven weeks after the Barley Harvest comes another Feast Day that will signal the start of the Summer harvest. This Feast is known as "Shavuot" (the word means "weeks") translated into English as the "Feast of Weeks." It was to occur seven weeks after the Feast of The First Fruits (Barley Harvest). But, since 49 days later would fall on a Saturday (the 7th day or sabbath), and since it is meant to be celebrated on a Sunday (the 1st day), this Feast actually occurs 50 days later. The Greek translation of Shavuot is "Pente" (fifty), and the Greek way of saying "feast of weeks" is "Pentecost."
Now I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here, but over the next seven weeks (including this one) since the Feast of the First Fruits (our Easter), there is going to be a season of watching and praying for another harvest. We will, by they way, find that something amazing is going to take place at "Pentecost," which will indeed signal that the 2nd harvest of those who are dead has begun.
But we are living somewhere between Easter and Pentecost. Yes, Jesus has been raised fromt he dead. He is the first fruits. But the second harvest has not yet come as we know it someday will. We will get a small taste of it at Pentecost, but its fulfillment is yet to come.
And that is what we need to keep in mind as we enter the Book of the Revelation. It is a book that looks forward to a time when the final Harvest will be completed. But it speaks to people who much like us, must find themselves wavering in their faith and wondering what is taking so long.
Revelation is not primarily a book of predictions. It is, believe it or not, a book of "Comfort" and a book of "Exhortation and Encouragement" put into a literary genre of almost cartoonish imagery and fantasy. It like other apocolyptic literature is a literature of crises and a literature of protest. It is written to benefit people who are under pressure, frightened, beleagured and confused by what they have been promised in the faith and what they are experiencing in the world. The book of Daniel is apocolyptic literature written to the faithful suffering under the domination of the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV. In the midst of the Syrian's very real and present domination, Daniel paints a picture of an alternate reality which most cannot yet see, but which those with eyes to see (the eyes of faith) can know with certainty. It is that God, not Antiochus, is really in control, and that in the end, God wil be victorious and will reveal his reality which for a time is hidden from view.
That is the message which John brings to the believers of the late first century who live in "Asia Minor" (the general area represented by the seven churches he mentions in the book). For now, the rulers of this world have the upper hand, but do not fear. He is walking among us even in this time. For those who can see him, there is hope and comfort and there is the promise that the powers of this world will not have the final say. But he, who is the first fruits of the resurrection will soon come in glory where "Every Eye Will See HIm."
That is where we land in the first chapter of Revelation. We are somewhere between Easter and Pentecost. We are watching and we are waiting. Can we see him?
Revelation 1:4-8
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Why I Believe In The Resurrection
Easter Sunday was an awesome day of worship and it was good to see so many people to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Briefly, I will recap my Easter sermon for those who may have been away and for those who have requested that I recap it.
Essentially, this is what I said Sunday:
I believe that Jesus of Nazareth lived in the flesh in the early 1st century CE, was crucified on a Roman cross, was dead and buried, and was raised from the dead so that he appeared, alive, to his inner circle of disciples and to many others. In other words, I do believe in the "resurrection" of Christ, and I do so for at least three reasons. Those reasons are as follows.
1st. I believe in the resurrection because somebody told me about it.
The reality is of course, that most everything we know, we know because someone told us about it. It's then, just a matter of what do we choose to believe. For example, I believe that men walked on the Moon, even though I was not there. Of course, I happened to have seen pictures of it on T.V when I was about 13 years old too. But, for all I know, those pictures could have been staged and it could have been a giant hoax. Some people actually do believe that it was a giant hoax.
The same thing could be said about the Civil war, the holocaust, the death of Elvis, etc. I wasn't there. I didn't see it with my own eyes. And by the way, how do I know that I can really believe what I see with my own eyes. Even in science, all we can do is draw conclusions on what we "BELIEVE" is realiable data or sensory input. Yet, there is no such thing as 100% certainty. There is always a leap of faith, whether it is in science, history, investment or theology.
I believe in the resurrection 1st of all because, someone has told me
2nd, I believe in the resurrection because it has stood the test of time.
The story of Jesus Christ having been raised from the dead and having appeared to some 500 persons has persisted now for more than two thousand years even though it has been assailed from every concievable direction by some of the most brilliant minds and by some of the most powerful governments, armies and dictators the world has to offer. Yet, the story persists, its credibility still intact after all these years.
Fads come and go, great atheletes rise and fall, great empires have seemed invincible for a while, but soon they fade. Yet, through all those things, the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead remains.
I wonder who will remember today's "top ten" songs 100 years from now. What about 200 years from now? What about a thousand years from now? It's absurd to even ask isn't it? Yet, for more than 2,000 years, believers have been gathering to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And if Christ does not return by then, followers of Christ will be talking about the resurrection, 10,000 years from now.
I believe in the resurrection because it has stood the test of time.
3rd, I believe in the resurrection because I have experienced the reality of it myself.
Early on and over the centuries since, men and women have been willing to give up their lives as a testament to their belief in the resurrection. Look at the Apostles of Jesus. Just after the death of Christ, the Gospels report they ran off cowering behind locked doors, fearing for thier lives. Yet, after the resurrection, they were completely changed. They went out boldly proclaiming the resurrection. Every one of them met a violent death for their belief in what they had seen with their eyes and touched with their hands (the resurrected Christ). Not one of them were willing to save their own life by saying "it didn't happen." I could see that one or two might be willing to die to perpetuate a lie, but all of them? That does not happen among liars!
The story of the resurrection is still empowering people to rise up, to live courageouisly, and to die to themselves to find life that transcends all else. This resurrection power has been experienced by myself and thousands of others. We too, have met the living Christ. We have had experiences of the living Christ touching our hearts and speaking to us in our journeys. The Holy Spirit which he promised to send to us has given witness in the lives of people around me and in this church. I have seen the resurrection power of Christ restore families, raise up broken spirits, bring physical and emotional healing, and work wonders in our community and around the world.
So, I believe in the resurrection because someone told me about it, because it has stood the test of time, and because, I too have experienced it's reality.
Of couse, none of this is to say that I can prove the resurrection. I cannot.
But, I believe it.
Blessings & Peace,
Doug
Political Backdrop to the Passion of Christ
The four New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) all report that the teachings, actions and claims of an itinerant carpenter turned teacher/healer from the gentile controlled fishing hamlet of Nazareth, was a source of irritation and political discomfort to the officials of Judean Temple worship and Jewish Roman relations. It is important to understand some of this background as we seek to understand what happened in the days leading up to and the actual execution of Jesus.
One must be careful when reading the Gospel stories of the confrontation with and the arrest, trials and execution of Jesus. The "Judean" Jewish officials were not representative of all Jewish people. This could be likened to our own political situation where a certain party controls the White House and the Congress. In criticizing those in power one might easily speak of the actions of those in power as the actions of the "Americans," when in reality, their policies and actions are actually not at all descriptive of the vast majority of Americans (Can we say 30% approval ratings for our current president?). These Judean Jewish officials however, were in control of the "Temple" at Jerusalem, and were in control of "Temple Worship" and "Temple Sacrifices." And with this power they also controlled a far reaching "Temple Economy" and the "Temple Treasury."
The "Temple Economy" was fueled by the "Law of Moses" and the ancient traditions of "Temple Sacrifice." One can read about those in Levitcus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Over the centuries, the Jewish peolple had been "dispersed" throughout the Ancient world through various occupations and deportations by foriegn forces like Babylon, Persia, Egypt, and in New Testament times, Rome. The old Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen some seven hundred years ealier and there was no longer Jewish worship on Mount Gerazin in the region of Samaria. Only the Jewish Temple on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem survived (Jerusalem was the capital of the Southern Kingdom of "Israel" know as "Judah" and had been ruled by King David who enriched the Kindom & King Soloman, who built the Temple). That survival had come only after its destruction in 587 BC at the hands of the Babylonians and it's eventual rebuilding by Ezra and Nehemiah (some 70 years later) under the "benevolent" support of King Cyrus of Persio, and the later Herodian temple project by the Roman pupet-leader wanting to make a name for himself.
Through all of those years and the ups and downs of the Jewish people, the Jewish people remained deeply faithful, and continued their religious pilgrimages to the the Temple to make sacrifices. These religious traditions were deep-seated and faithful Jews from all over the ancient world came to Jerusalem pumping megabucks into the economy. The faithful made great sacrifices to come to Jerusalem and were met there with inflated prices and unscrupulous temple venders selling doves, lambs and other animals for sacrifice. As you can imagine, the priviledge for vending there was for sale and everyone from the department of licensing to Pilate himself expected a cut. The animals acceptable for sacrifice in the Temple were of course, only sold by those who paid the "piper." And all costs were passed on to the "pilgrim" who is a captive to the system. And by the way, only temple currency could be used to buy these "certified sacrificial animals." This was of course a "service" for those who were coming to the Temple and was anothere outrageously expensive "profit center" controlled by the ruling household who controlled the Temple. This is interesting to consider when the Law forbade the charging of interest of any kind as a way of profiting from a brother. Jesus, was not pleased with this form of robbing from the poor to line the pockets of the rich; as evidenced by his taking whips to these money changers and turning over their tables. He asserted that those in charge had transformed his Fathers House into a "den of thieves."
Through the centuries, there were hard fought struggles to be in control of the Temple and its economy. Those battles were often filled with intrigue, betrayal, interesting political and marriage alliances and the like.
In Jesus' day, the ruling party was able to keep their "official" religious traditons going through a mixture of diplomacy, power politics, bribery and blackmail. They were politically savy and could be ruthless in getting what they wanted. They worked in concert with the occupying Roman officials to oppress the poor and obscure the Jewish prophetic traditions of social justice and political righteousness.
The Roman way of occupying territories like the tiny outpost of Palestine, was to keep the locals in control of their own, but to keep those officials in their pockets with various "incentives" (or carrots), while making it clear that if carrots don't work, they also have a very big "stick" which they can and will use. The Roman officials in Jerusalem, were, to a large degree, dependent upon these Judean officials to keep the masses in check during the "festival" seasons and religious Holy Days like Passover. They could use force (and often did), but the last thing they wanted was for their to be political unrest which they could not handle, and for word to reach Rome that the appointed governor of the tiny province couldn't handle his assignment. Someone like Pilate was a small fish in the Roman pond and throughout the Roman Empire, the Jewish people and the Romans had worked things out pretty well.
With this as a backdrop, now consider the teachings of Jeus and consider the explosive expectations during this time among many who lived in Paletine that God was going to send a deliverer who would challenge the power of Rome and be the Messiah.
Jesus' message and his actions led the masses to believe he was messiah. His popularity and the political unrest it produced would not be tolerated by those in control of the Temple Economy. The things he taught were a direct threat to their authority and their power. Passover was always a volatile time (think Marti Gras in New Orleans in terms of crowd control, etc), but the buzz and unrest created by the teachings of this Galilean was aparently extremely dangerous to those whose control was slipping. And while, as Pilate would later correctly discern, Jesus had absolutely no political ambition and had broken no laws, the truth he taught was really on the verge of setting the masses "free."
Jesus' journey to Jerusalem was the final straw. It was an ill advised move according to his disciples. He was begged not to go. But there was no stopping him. He "set his face toward Jerusalem." In doing so, "he gave himself up" as a sacrifice which which would eventually set the people free.
Doug
Dealing With The Unexpected
This past week has brought to my mind once again how quickly life can change. Word came to us that Sara, one of our brightest and liveliest college students (a junior at GA Tech) was taken to the hospital overnight on Saturday. By Sunday moring the word Luekemia was being used. There were tests, consultations, a bone marrow biopsy, conference calls between Leukemia specialists throughout the Southeast, and by Tuesday, intraveneous chemicals were flowing into her veins around the clock for eight staight days. Sara is now in a fourteen day recovery period before she will have another bone marrow biopsy to determine where the treatment goes from here.
Rebecca was nursing her newborn child just three weeks ago. Today she is home recovering from breast cancer surgery. She and Billy are reeling from a whirlwind few weeks. It's hard to keep things "normal" for the kids. But they are giving it their best shot.
Dot and Marsha are very close. As mother and daughter, they share so much together. They care for each other deeply. But neither of them thought they would be diagnosed with growths on the breast at the same time. Dot took care of Marsha last week after the daughter's surgery. Next week it will Be Marsha's turn to take care of her mom after her surgery.
Margaret wasn't expecting a fall and a broken leg when she went to see the grandchildren. But now she's thinking about rehab.
Don and Minka had a detour recently too. So has Debbie's mom and dad. Sandra is making the commute to Augusta where things change daily and she has to wonder what the next call will bring.
Yesterday it was Senator and Mrs. Edwards in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Those words: "The cancer has returned," are chilling reminders that the lives we live can change so quickly.
I remember when I got that news. It's what every person who has experienced cancer dreads to hear, but which sits perched in the mind with every visit to the lab, the radiology department, every doctor's appointment.
Yet, it is the nature of life. If it's not today, it will soon be my turn and your turn to face the inevitable, but also the unexpected reality that life here has limits and that in an instant, everything can change.
Knowing that, is cause to prepare ourselves to face our humanity, our temporal reality and to live each day and each moment as if it was to be our last day and our last moment. We should each remember that time we inhabit is not ours. We do not own it. We inhabit is because it has been loaned to us. It is a pure gift. We need not either overlook it by worrying about what may happen in the future, nor waste it by acting as if we have all the time in the world.
Let us instead, live fully in each moment we are given to enjoy. Remember, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Let's make that both our prayer and our promise!
Doug
Our Working Connection
From the Pastor
I recently rediscovered a friend from high school days who lives just a few miles from me right here in Fayette County. It had been thirty three years since Jeff and I had spoken or seen each other. Yet, within a moment, it was as if it was only yesterday. Although you might question a friendship that has been thirty three years in the neglecting, I can say to you in all honesty that my friend and I mutually feel a love and friendship for each other that will never die and which we immediately sensed as soon as we spoke with each other after all those years.
What in the world could be the basis of such a friendship and a common bond? Simply this: for several years Jeff and I were part of a team of young people who met together several times a week seeking to accomplish common goals and to achieve what no "one" of us could do alone. In other words, Jeff and I were on a team. And here is the "kicker," as our football team practiced, Jeff and I daily lined up and each hit the other as hard as possible. He played on the offensive line at guard and I played inside linebacker.
We shared a common toil together that included cramps, sprains, cuts, bruises, broken bones, unbearable heat three times a day in August, wind sprints until we threw up, and a few moments of glory on Friday nights. And in exchange, Jeff and I share a brotherhood and a bond that will never be broken.
As we met recently for our monthly "Board of Stewards" Meeting I was so very proud to be on another team here at North Fayette Church. There is so much work that goes into being the Church and in doing what God wants us to do as his people. I looked around the room and listened to reports from the Evangelism Committee, the Health and Wellness Committee, Disciple Groups, Youth, Children and Music Ministry. I heard reports from the Garden Committee, the Worship Committee, Trustees, Mission Outreach, United Methodist Men, United Methodist Women, Sunday School Classes, Visitation Teams and more. We heard a financial report from our Finance Committee and I remembered the hard work and the commitment of our Fall Campaign. I thought about the excruciating struggle we have shared to get from where we were three years ago to where we are today. I listened as our Board talked about plans for our Spring Fling: the Bar-b-que, another yard sale and the leadership they are giving and the way people were volunteering to do various jobs. And quietly I thanked our God.
I don't know if I will be alive in another thirty three years. But if I am and if I meet some of you in another place, our bond will be unbroken. For God has connected us here at North Fayette in a way that only those who share a common vision and work can understand. It is part of what we mean when we say we are part of a "Connection."
Doug
Forty Days of Preparation: Lent
Over the next 40 days we are called to prepare for the "Passion" of Christ. We are invited to follow Jesus into the wilderness to pray and seek God. This is the Christian liturgical season we call "Lent."
As followers of Jesus Christ, the Church has made as our practice to order our Church Year around the life of Christ.
We begin with Advent in November or early December. It is a season of "anticipation" or "expectancy" as we watch for the coming of Christ and as we "rehearse" the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem.
Beginning with Christmas Day on our calendar and for twelve days we celebrate his birth in the season of "Christmas" until the arrival of the "Wisemen" or "Magi" which marks the "Epiphany" or "revealing of Christ" to the nations.
The Sundays after Epiphany allow us to examine how Christ reveals himself and God's purpose through his ministry on earth. These weeks are relatively brief, but there will be more time for this later in the year during what is called the "Ordinal" or "Ordinary" days of the Church year. They will come between Pentecost (last of May or first of June) until Advent again (last of November or first of December).
But for now we move toward the Jewish feast of Passover which coincided with the arrest, trial, humiliation and crucifixion of Jesus during those holidays (which generally coincide with March or April, but which is scheduled following the lunar calendar rather than our solar or Roman based calendar). It was during those days that Christ returned to Jerusalem (against the advise of many who feared his arrest) and the drama his conflict with the religious and political authorities plays out and in which his death occurs.
The season of Lent is a time for us to examine what this means to us. It is a time to think about that in which we really believe. It is a time for us to consider where we draw our lines and take our stands. It is a time to look honestly into our hearts. It is a time for us to throw off anything that would keep us from being honest with ourselves and honest with God.
There is nothing magical about the lenten season. One could make a habit of the inward spiritual discipline of reflection, of prayer, of fasting, and the like at any time. Yet, it is a time when the weight of Church tradition and practice more pointedly guides us and calls us to this discipline. If not now, when?
Honestly, the way of life in our "post-modern" world is actively conspiring against this spiritual discipline. Yet the call of Christ rings in our ears: "follow me."
I encourage each of us to get behind the Christ, follow him into the wilderness where he faces the demons that would tempt him and seeks the Heavenly Father whose love will deliver him (and us) from evil. Then, let us walk with him on the "via dela rosa" (the way toward the cross).
Yours for the Journey,
Doug Burrell
A Heart of Darkness
My sermon for Sunday, February 11, 2007 was related to a brief but sobering verse found in today's First Testament Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10. There we read:
5Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. 6They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. 9The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? 10I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. (NRSV)
My concern in today's message is with verse 9 above. "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse - who can understand it?"
Reinhold Niebuhr, in his book, Beyond Tragedy, highlights this word from Jeremiah in driving home the idea that we are in his words, to "Trust No Man" (Chapter 6, "The Ultimate Trust"). Allow me then, to go further with Niebuhr's thougthts:
"Ultimate confidence in the goodness of life can, in other words, not rest upon confidence in the goodness of man. If that is where it rests it is an optimism which will suffer ultimate disillusionment. Romanticism will be transmuted into cynicism, as it has always been in the world's history. The faith of a Christian is something quite different from this optimism. It is trust in God, in a good God who created a good world, through the world is not now good; in a good God, powerful and good enough finally to destroy evil that men do and redeem them of their sins. This kind of faith is not optimism. It does not, in fact, arise until optimism breaks down and men cease to trust in themselves that they are righteous. Faced with the indubitable fact of human history there is no human vitality which is not subject to decay and no human virtue which is not subject to corruption, hope in the meaningfulness of human existence must be nourished by roots which go deeper than the deserts of history, with their periodic droughts. The Christian faith in the goodness of God is not to be equated with confidence in the virtue of man."
Dr. Niebuhr is right. The human heart is, left to it's own devises, a devious and deceitful member. It will find ways to exchange truth for lies; to take what we know to be wrong and ever so cleverly twist them until we can convince oursleves that these must be right. How else can the hearts of men ever believe it to be right that six million jews should be murdered? How else could we sit by and watch when men and women are sold into slavery? How else in God's name, could you and I convince ourselves that a thousand and one evils and injustices can and should be carried out in the name of God?
It is possible because the heart is decietful. It is perverse. And it cannot be trusted. Only the heart of God can be trusted and only when we set our hearts to be synchronized with God's heart can we be rescued from the lies and decetfulness which the human heart has chosen.
The Apostle Paul once indicated that humanity has exchanged the truth of God, for a lie. He was correct. The great lie is that man is sufficient in himself. It is the sin of willful pride. It is the sin of arrogance and an overestimation of our goodness. It is indeed, what Dr. Niebuhr refers to as "optimism" of human self-confidence. And although one might now say that such a message as this is very dreary and dark in and of itself, I would suggest just the opposite. The darkest days for mankind have always come in the sunshine of sef-confidence and amid the optimism that we are "special." It is at just such a time when the axe is at the root of the tree. It is at just such a time that we are most vulnerable to ruin and blind to our real situation.
Oddly enough, the call to see our own darkness is where the light has the best chance to shine in and deliver us from ruin and deliver us from evil. For only when we walk deliberately into the darkness of our own hearts and see them for what they are; will the light of truth light up our lives with the saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So let us join in the the Psalmist, David who in the hour of his greatest sorrow, found the light of God's everlating grace when he prayed:
"Create in me a clean heart O God, and put a new and right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10)."
Have a good week
Doug
HELP US FEED 5000 BY PENTECOST (MAY 27)
We Are Continuing to Offer Nourishment for Hungry Souls
Each Sunday morning we are served up a great feast filled with delicious blessings and sweet fellowship. God's banquet of blessings is to be shared with each other and with others. The wonderful thing is that the more we share it with others, the more there is to celebrate and feast upon.
I'm talking about our goal to have 5000 persons in worship from December 31, 2006 through May 27, 2007. It's our way of remembering that being together for worhship and fellowship is so spiritually nourishing and each of us is needed in worship to nourish each other, too. And of course, we want to share these good things with others we may know. We do not want to keep this to ourselves either. We want to share this with others.
So, as you go through each week, invite friends, neighbors, customers, co-workers, fellow students, and anyone you meet. Tell them about our worship and invite them to come enjoy the feast. Tell them about our web site, about our music program. Tell them how God is blessing you by being part of this fellowship.
Feeding 5,000 is a matter of faith. When we work with God on such a project, even the leftovers will be a feast.
Blessingsand Peace,
Doug Burrell, Pastor
Love Will Keep Us Together
Love & Togetherness
It’s hard to think of February and not think Valentines Day. Everywhere you look, there are flowers, candy, cards and every sort of stuffed creature you can imagine. February in our society is a time to express affection and show appreciation for that special someone in your life.
Of course, we don’t have to limit the occasion to “sweethearts.” Why not take this occasion to express Christian love to any number of people you know. Small acts of kindness can be remarkably effective in bringing people together. What about an expression of kindness and appreciation to a neighbor you have not really gotten to know yet? What about the person who brings you your paper or delivers the mail? Maybe there is someone who was a great help to you in days gone by that you have not contacted for a long time. It could be a schoolteacher, a coach, or an employer who gave you that first opportunity. Do you know someone who lives alone or is in a nursing home?
(The words love one another occur in 19 verses,
12 verses of which are exact matches)
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
John 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1Jo 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1Jo 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jo 4:7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jo 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
1Jo 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
2Jo 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
These 7 verses are variations of the phrase:
John 13:35 By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Rom 12:10 [Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all [men], even as we [do] toward you:
Hbr 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
1Pe 3:8 Finally, [be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, [be] pitiful, [be] courteous:
Now What?
That's the question we sometimes face just after Christmas. What do we do now? How do we top that? Is that all there is?
Christmas always looks different by say dinner time on December 25th than it did at 6pm on December 24th. I think it is the anticipation of all that we do, the giftwrapping, the meals together, celebrating around the tree, and visiting with family and friends.
But in the context of our faith and our liturgy in the church, what it represents is only a beginning. We now go forward to not only receive the gift, but to explore what the coming of the Christ means.
In fact, as invested as our society is into the "Christmas" holiday, we should not invest too much emotional energy at the manger to the detriment of our walk with this Jesus who calls us to follow him. The birth of Christ, the story of Mary and Joseph and the journey to Bethlehem are important to us only in the light of how he lived, what he taught and that he both died and was resurrected.
Perhaps the celebration of Christmas will cause us to ask, "Who is the Jesus? What did he teach? What did he do? Does he really matter?" I would challenge you to meet this remarkable teacher, this healer, this dissident and trouble maker. Discover what he said and did and what those who knew him best claimed about him. Do not stop at the manger or even with the story of the wise men. Listen to him. Read what he taught. Consider what he did. Question him, argue with him, wrestle with him about the truth.
The stories of Christmas were written by unobjective observers, by believers who tell their stories to shed light on a larger story. Learn first hand what that story is. Decide for yourself if he is who they claimed him to be. We find these traditional stories in the three "synoptic" Gospels called "Mark," "Luke," and "Matthew." We hear a different sort of story from the Gospel called "John." Pick one of these and read what they say. Enter the story and get to know this carpenter from Nazareth.
If you asked me (the question in the title of this article), that's what I would suggest. Go find out who Jesus was (and is).
Don't take my word for it. Listen to him, meet him. Get to know him.
In the church, that is where we go from here. Next stop, Epiphany. The coming of the "Wise Men" ("Kings," or "Magi") represents that this one who was born in the shadows cannot be hidden from the rest of the world. What he will teach and do will be "let loose" into all the earth.
And as we turn back to the calendar of the world we live in, we also head toward a new year. I pray it will be a time for each of us to ask that question (Now what?) in a new and more serious way than ever. We have, after all, only so many new years left.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and best wishes for a new year filled with joy and peace.
Doug
Is That A Dog House?
I did a double take on the way to Church Sunday. It was obviously supposed to be a creche, complete with manger, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, sheep and of course, the baby, Jesus. But that was definitely not a cave; and it wasn't a barn either. It WAS a DOG HOUSE with the front off of it.
Yes, there it was on someone's front lawn. It would seem that in their exuberence for depicting the story, they had ended up putting Jesus in the "dog house!"
And, wow, didn't that give me something to think about!
At first it seemed odd. Then, the more I thought about it, the more interesting it became.
When I got to the children's sermon, I had to tell the children what I saw. Then I asked them, if Jesus came to see you would you put him in the dog house? "No" they said. "We would put him in the guest room. We'd make room for him inside," they said. "Me too." I joined in.
But now, after everyone has left the church and I'm in my office alone, I'm wondering about our answer. The truth is, that Jesus often shows up but we don't answer the door. We see him, but he looks different these days. I think he may be Hispanic, or Arabic, or something. But, I'm not going to let those folks stay in my house. They could be illegal aliens, or Muslims, or "yellow dog democrats!"
You know, come to think of it, I no longer have a "dog house." I think we left that in Carrollton... or was it Rome. No, I remember now. It was 1990 when we left the dog house behind. Since then, the dog has been sleeping inside! It's warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
But if Jesus comes to my house, where will we put him now?
It's something for us to think about as we "get ready" for the coming of Christ, this Christmas.
Your's for Christian Hospitality,
Doug
Anticipation
Welcome to "This Week's Message." Anticipation is the word that comes to my mind as we prepare to turn the calendar to the twelfth and final page of 2006. The Christian year is drawing to a close. Yesterday in worship we celebrated the "coronation" of Christ as "King of Kings" and "Lord of lords." In our liturgical calendar Christ the King Sunday allows us to rehearse the anticipated conclusion of what God has begun in Christ. We anticipate that time when the rule of Christ and his Kingdom of righteousness, love and reconcilliation will be fullfilled. It is an exercise that prepares us for another season of anticipation as well, the season of Advent.
In the Church our living revolves around the life of Christ. In our collective memory we hearken back into the experiences of our hebrew cousins in faith, and to the prophecies of the First Testament. Out of their experiences with Yahweh (Creator God, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and out of their experiences of life, there developed an anticipation for the future.
The hebrew people had rarely experienced a time without being under either the threat of or the yoke of foriegn domination. Among their own rulers there was often greed, injustice and unfaithfulness. And while their sense of God's calling upon them was keen, their ideals were not fulfilled among their religious leaders. They, like people of faith in our own time often became disallusioned as they saw the righteous suffer and wicked prosper, and when they recognized that some used their religion to press down the poor and to serve special interests. Yet, out of such a spiritual and political wilderness arose a few voices of hope and anticipation.
These voices were the radical voices of dissenters like Amos of Tekoa, Isaiah and his students, Ezekiel, Malachi, Hosea, and Jeremiah (among others). These men had a vision of anticipation, of hope for the future and of a time when God would set things right. Isaiah and those who followed in his teachings, understood that God would send a King like no other. This unorthodox ruler would execute justice and deal equitably with all people. Yet, his rule would not be established by force, but through service, sacrifice and suffering. Isaiah pictures him as the "ideal servant" (see Isaiah 42 ff). His coming would save the world and yet, it would cost him everything (see Isaiah 53).
We in the Christian community, celebrate the fulfillment of what those prophets anticipated. We believe that Jesus of Nazereth, born in Bethlehem is that Servant King. We believe that he was crucified, buried, was raised from the dead and has now ascended into heaven. And further, we expect that he will soon come again to complete what he has begun. And that is the gist of our season of Advent. It is a seson of anticipation as we both look back to celebrate how God answered the prayers of those who had waited long ago for the coming of the Messiah (savior, deliverer) and as we look forward to the fulfillment of his Kindom.
I will not deny that this season of Christmas has morphed from a religious celebration of God's greatest gift into something much different. And actually, as a children of this culture we also enjoy our secular tradtions too. We all enjoy the anticipation of being with family, decorating the tree and opening the gifts. Some of us even indulge in such sillyness as songs like "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" and other "classics."
Yet, the heart of this season is not to be found in the retail outlets nor the office party or the parades. It is found in the hope for God to make things right, for His Kingdom to come "on earth, as it is in heaven." It is found as we invite Christ to come to the world through us and in us until that day when his reign is complete.
Until then, we can anticipate!
I hope to see you this coming Sunday, our first Sunday of Advent. Be well!
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