The Pastor's Word

Enough

2012-01-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we will begin a four week study of Rev. Adam Hamilton's book Enough. The book talks about how we Americans have become obsessed with STUFF and with collecting more and more STUFF. STUFF has frequently become more important to us than anything else--more than our relationship with other people and more than our relationship with God.

This becomes abundantly clear when a loved dies. The fights that family members get into over mom or dad's stuff are really sad to see. It ruins relationships, although it usually indicates that relationships were not good to begin with. And our focus on needing more stuff takes priority over giving back to God. We fail to recognize that everything we have is a gift from God.

This Christmas as my daughter was home visiting, somehow we got to talking about stuff. She said quite bluntly, "Well you know, there's not anything of yours I'm going to want after you all are gone. You can just get rid of it all before you die." (She's kind of mess like that all the time!) But it was a good thing in many ways. What are we collecting for? We can begin to simplify and re-prioritize.

I encourage to purchase a copy of the book and read along. Hamilton has a lot of good things to say. The books are available in the church office and on Sundays. Then on February 19, we will make a commitment of our financial gifts to God for the work of the church in 2012.

Please be praying for the church, for a change in your own life and heart toward more simplicity and generosity, and for God's kingdom to come in this little corner of the world.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

New Year's Resolution

2012-01-03T08:34:00.001-08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged--March of 2011. We had started the Grand Sweep and I had this idea that I would blog right along with readiing and preaching through the Bible. You see how long that lasted. So I have a New Year's Resolution and that is to get back to blogging. It is an embarrassment that newcomer's might be checking out the website and seeing how long ago it was that I last blogged.

I start off this new year with thanksgiving--thanksgiving for all the blessings of 2011. It was a challenging year with many changes. We brought on new staff we said goodbye to others. We began our preparation to build a sanctuary. We faced some financial difficulties. And yet through it all, we saw how God continued to lead us in a mighty way. The message is for us to stay faithful as God is faithful. We have to keep trusting that God has big plans for us here at the corner of 3009 and Green Valley Dr. If we will trust God with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, we will see what God will do.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

A History Lesson

2011-03-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

This week we finish reading the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, the books of Law or teachings in our Grand Sweep journey of reading through the Bible. It is easy to get bogged down as we read through the lists of laws. But they were necessary as God took his people and formed them into a faith community. He had to instruct them in the ways of worship, in the ways of living together on a day in and day out basis, what basic health and nuitrition would be like and how to settle disputes. The laws sought to cover every conceivable situation so the people would know what was expected and what to do when particular circumstances arose. If the people had stuck with these laws, they would have found shalom, spiritual, emotional and physical well-bieing.

Now we move on to the history books. But the history books of the Bible are different from our history books. Modern history books seek to be objective. They seek to record history exactly as it happened. We have eye witness accounts to events that go on in the world and these are written down precisely. History is secular. We see it as happening separately from our religion. But this is not so in the Biblical world at all.

In the Biblical world, the peple were intent on observing and participating in what hppenend in and around them because they believed that God was personally alive and active in the world, in their community and in them. God was active in whatever was happening from a simple sunset to an encounter with a neighbor. For biblical people, God was not an idea that philosophers discussed. God was present in the ordinary and extraordinary occurrences of daily life. They did not make up and embellish fanciful stories. They simply revealed the ways of God with men and women and the world. They gave narrative shape to actual people and circumstances in their dealings with God and in God's dealings with them.

Sometimes they did not mention God a lot, as in the book of Esther. But that is because God's silent presence was in everything that was taking place. As far as the writers were concerned, the reason to pay attention to any event was to stay alert to God.

I hope that as we read these books, especially the difficult ones, we will remember how grounded in God they are. We will struggle because some are so harsh. The call to wipe out entire peoples is very difficult. We can only explain it by remembering the time in which the people lived. It was wipe out your enemy or be wiped out. And some of these cultures practiced horrors beyond our imagination that are not described in the pages of the bible. We simple have to keep reading and keep trusting God. So keep reading and what you will find is a history that is very different from "our" usual history. This history will pull us into a way of reading that involves us and everyone around us in all the ways of God.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

Holiness of Heart and Life

2011-02-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Read Leviticus 14 and 15

Thses two chapters of Leviticus had a lot of laws about personal holiness. They taught one how to purified one's self and stay pure. People went to a deal of effort to avoid defiling themselves once purified. The laws remind us of the link between physical and spiritual health. We get bogged down in all the descriptions of the skin lesions and bodily discharges. But their knowledge of health was way beyond their time. And follwing some of these codes resulted in much better physical health. Certainly taking seriously God's commands put them in much better spiritual health as well.

One of the important aspects of their state of uncleanness was that it lasted only until the evening. For the Isrealites, the new day began when the sun when down. Persons who had been unclean for a day could go to bed at night with a sense of purity. They began their new day at sunset, so as they went to sleep at night they could do so with a sense of freshness and peace. Being one who often wrestles through the night with the problems of the day, this sounds like a really wonderful pattern. Maybe we could benefit from such a change in time frame, going back to God's time in the Old Testament.

So lay aside the problems of the day as the soon goes down. Welcome the evening with a sense of calmness and peace. Then enjoy a good night's rest and be ready to serve the Lord with gladness as the dawn breaks in the morning.

What will it take for you to change your daily pattern?

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

The Great I Am

2011-02-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

Read Exodus 3:13-22

This section of Exodus is one of the most beautiful and puzzling in scripture. The name God gives to Moses is one that has puzzled scholars forever and probably will continue to do so. It is one of the great mysteries of God--one of those times that the more one understands God, the more mysterious God becomes.

The most common translation of the "name" God gives is "I am who I am." It could also be translated "I will be what/who I will be", "I will cause to be what I will cause to be", I will be who I am/who I will be". Probably the very best way to think about what God is saying to Moses is this: "I will be God to you". This applies to all of Israel as well. God will be God to Israel. Wherever God is being God, God will be the kind of God God is. Israel does not need to be concerned about divine arbitrariness or capriciousness. God can be counted on to be who God is. God will be faithful to God's promises. Israel's own experience with God in its history before and after Moses will confirm the meaning of this name.

By giving Moses any sort of name, God allowed Moses, and thereby Israel, some intimacy with God. Naming allows for a true encounter and makes possible real communication. By giving the name, God becomes available to people, to us. God and humans can now meet one another and both parties can address one another. Yet because the name is not a person, there remains a separateness, an otherness. God remains mysterious.

In Judaism, throughout the Hebrew Bible still today, God's name is considered very holy, so holy in fact that it was not to be spoken. Wherever Yahweh appears, Adonai (Lord) is spoken instead in reverence to God.

One more thing about the name of God. As you can tell from the "I am who I am", Yahweh is made up of a combination of the "to be" verb in Hebrew. That makes a very interesting play when you start thinking about the relationship of God to humans. Our being comes out of God's being. In Hebrew you cannot even talk about "being" without talking about God. Unless you know a little about Hebrew you cannot know or see that at all. But it is a rich visual image Hebrew that reminds us again that we ARE all children of God, ones who belong to the Great I AM.

Grace and peace,
Rev Linda

Holy Ground

2011-02-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Read Exodus 3:1-6

The Grand Sweep has now taken us into the book of Exodus in our journey through the Bible. We read another of my favorite verses, Exodus 3:5, "Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." I am a person who hates to wear shoes. If you drop by the office you are likely to find me without them. I quote this verse as justification for my behavior.

But truly "holy ground" is an important spiritual concept for us to ponder. In a sense all ground is holy because all ground is created by God. But usually we each have places that are particularly important on our spiritual journey. We have been on retreats or vacations or get aways to these places and experienced the presence of God in a particularly strong way. These are places we want to return to from time to time in order to get back in touch with God. And even if we cannot physically return there, we will often return there in our minds.

I invite you to find a holy space for study and reflection in your home. Our year long journey through the Bible will not be easy. Some books of the Bible are not very easy to read. Leviticus and Numbers have so many laws and detailed rituals that you think they will never end. The litany of "the king did what was evil in the sight of the Lord" in the prophets also gets old. But do not despair! We will get through these readings together. And if you have a holy space to read, relect and pray each day--a daily holy ground--you will find yourself drawing closer to God even through the most difficult of scriptures.

So take off your shoes, sit back, relax, and get ready to keep reading. Through all the scripture, God is present. God has much more patience than we ever deserve. The great "I Am" will come to us as we read, and we have no idea how much we will grow, individually and as a church, as we remain open to hearing what God has to say to us through God's word this year. That's a promise.

Grace and peace,
Rev Linda

Saints and Sinners

2011-01-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

In these latter chapters of Genesis, we get all kinds of characters. Jacob is a grabber and trickster from the day he is born. He cheats his brother Esau out of his birthright with the help of his mother. Then he has to flee for his life. In his father-in-law Laban, he meets his match.

Jacob marries two wives with Rachel being his favorite and the understandable jealousy between the two is forever evident. When Rachel finally gives birth to a son, Joseph becomes the favorite son. Joseph loves to rub that in with his brothers which causes all kinds of sibling rivalry. And so on, and so on...

If you have the Daily Response Book, you will have read on page 12 these words from Kalas, "Faith is not simple, not even for good people, not even for saints. The lives of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah ought to instruct us at that point. We may sometimes be troubled by their inconsistencies (especially if we are momentarily dull to our own), but we might also be encouraged by them. If they made it, and were even crucial to God's plan, surely there is hope for us! This is not to justify our sins or our lapses in righteousness but to recognize that goodness doesn't come easily. There are no sudden saints."

"There are no sudden saints." I love that statement! We are all a mixture of saint and sinner. And if we did not know that before, we should certainly know that after having read the book of Genesis. We have the capacity to be so faithful, going when God says "go". Some days are like that. Then other days we get afraid and don't stand up when we should. We pull the covers over our head instead or put our foot in our mouths. It's our version of going to Egypt and passing off our spouse as our sibling to save our skin. But no matter what, we keep putting one foot in front of the other on this journey of faith, taking a lifetime to grow in our love for Jesus Christ. That is our goal and it is worth striving toward.

Fortunately, God gives us a new beginning every day! We get to start over with fresh opportunities to be God's people. That is God's gracious gift to us, and it is God's grace that saves us too. For that, we can be eternally thankful.

So keep reading. Don't you give up on God's people in the Old Testament because God never did.

Grace and peace,
Rev Linda

Blessings to you

2011-01-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Our reading this week has been the Abraham story found in chapters 12-27 of Genesis. We read from when God first spoke to Abraham all the way through his death.

Abraham receives the blessing of God. But in Abraham, blessing takes on new meaning. God has been blessing since the creation. But blessing has been tied to creation. Blessing has been tied to fruitfulness. With God's blessing of Abraham, blessing is also tied to promise.

Within creation, blessing is powerful, life-enabling and life-sustaining. However this kind of blessing is still insufficient for the fullest life possible for human beings. Humans need something more to give life meaning. When blessing is tied to promise, blessing is brought into the sphere of redemption, of the hope and promise of a fullness of life not possible before.

God is now committed to a future with the one who has faithfully responded. The text describes not only human faithfulness but divine faithfulness. Not only will Abraham never be the same again, neither will God. God has created a new family and a new world where redemption is forever more the goal.

We are forever blessed through Abraham and his faithfulness.

Rev Linda

The Grand Sweep

2011-01-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

We have started on a great adventure for 2011 called The Grand Sweep. Using the plan outlined in the book by J. Ellis Kalas of the same name, we will be reading the Bible in 365 days. Reading day one was Jan. 10 so we are now on reading day 9. We have a long way to go but it is exciting already.

The book of Genesis is one of my favorites. It is all about beginnings: the beginning of the world, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of the covenant, the beginning of faithfulness to God--so many beginnings. Of course, it is also about the beginning of sin. But the stories are rich and right away we are introduced to the people that God called and used not because they were perfect people. They were not. Even Abraham two separate times passed off his wife Sarah as his sister because he thought that would save his life, trusting his own manipulations of the situation more than God. Right away we see that God called people just like you and me and empowered them to do what God had called them to do. We are able to do much more with God than we can ever do on our own. Left to our own devices, we do ridiculous things like make loincloths out of figleaves--the itchiest leaf in God's good creation. We should laugh at such antics by our cousins in paradise.

One thing I tell my Bible classes over and over as we begin our study together is to "think Hebrew." The Bible was not written with western, modern kind of thinking. And remember, it was told orally long before it was written down. Western modern thought puts a high premium on eye-witness accounts and getting down the facts exactly as they happened. It is a kind of thinking that did not exist in the ancient world. They wrote theologically. They wrote about how they understood God to be at work. The Bible is a faith document. We have to always be reading it for what it tells us about God and God's unfolding story of the redemption of humanity.

I am looking forward to our reading and studying together. I do not have all the answers but I love uncovering our questions. It is also good to remember that we probably won't always agree in our discussion about particular texts and stories and that will probably bother God a whole lot less than it will bother us!

Keep reading in week 2 and I'll write more in a day or two.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

Truth Telling

2010-12-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

There has been an awful lot in the news of late about truth telling. The website WikiLeaks has released a massive number of U.S. documents that were leaked to it by a former soldier. These documents included items related to the war in Iraq, private cables sent by the U.S. State Department and others. The fallout, especially from the release of these private cables, has been substantial. Conversations believed to have been held in confidence suddenly have become very public, affecting diplomatic relationships. The US governments has had to scramble to make ammends as have diplomats from other countries as well. There is still out there a question about whether or not the site's actions are legal. But regardless of how this question is ultimately answered, the damage is done.

There is another radical truth teller and there is no question about the legality of his actions. Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life." Jesus spoke the truth even when it was not what we wanted to hear.

Read John 4:4-23
In Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, all sorts of things could have gone wrong. The woman should not have been coming to the well at noon and Jesus should not have been speaking to a woman alone. But both taboos were broken. Jesus had a way of seeing through to a person's heart and seemed to know this woman's life was a mess. Instead of lecturing her or embarrassing her, Jesus spoke the truth to her and invited her to know God's love and forgiveness through him.

Read John 13:33-38
Peter, great one minute, falling on his face the next. And Jesus knew it. So in this text, Jesus speaks the truth to Peter. Jesus tells him how he will deny him three times. The benefit of Jesus' words to Peter is that when Peter denied Jesus and became aware of his failings, he knew that Jesus loved him anyway.

Read John 3:1-17
This scripture is about Nicodemus, a well-known, educated religious leader who came to Jesus by night, seeking answers to many questions that he had--questions that Jesus' teaching and ministry had raised. He did not understand Jesus' message about the kingdom of God. God's truth often transcends human understanding. But fortunately, God's Spirit works within us, guiding us and helping us to accept the truth of Jesus that leads to our salvation.

"Jesus is the way, the truth and the life." If you have questions and want to know more as we head toward 2011, I hope you will come so that we can together find answers.

How does Jesus reveal uncomfortable truths to you? How does Jesus let you know that you have done something wrong or that something in your life needs to change?

Who are the voices of truth and correction in your life? Who can lovingly put you in your place? How well do you listen to these voices? When have you resisted them?

What truths about Christ do you have trouble understanding? How does the Holy Spirit guide you toward understanding?

New Year's Blessings!
Rev Linda

A perfect God--Not a Perfect Me

2010-12-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Read Matthew 1:18-25

I think I am ready for Christmas. The new house is decorated. The presents are purchased. What needs to be mailed has been. The rest have been wrapped and are under the tree. Christmas Eve worship is planned and a draft of my sermon is written. Now I can relax and begin to enjoy this wonderful time of the year!

If you haven't noticed this before, I am a perfectionist. I put a lot of pressure on myself for things to go well. I want Christmas to be very special. I want all who come to worship on Christmas Eve to feel the holiness and the joy of God's special gift to us. At home, I want my family, who is together so rarely anymore, to enjoy each other's company and reside in peace together for just these few days. I want us to appreciate the wonderful blessings we have and be thankful. But sometimes, it all falls a little short. I am pretty hard on myself when that happens.

But then I remember--the first Christmas was not exactly perfect either. Jesus was born in rather questionable circumstances. His mother was an unwed teen. Her fiance seriously considered setting her aside for her indiscrestion. The census taking of the day forced the couple to travel at the very time Mary was due to deliver. Because so many people were on the road, the only place they found to stay was a stable. Our Savior's first bed was a feeding trough for animals. It was far from perfect.

In spite of it all, born that night was God's gift of perfect love. Jesus was God's gift because God was well aware of this imperfect world and the imperfect people in it. The Bible is full of their stories. And that is probably the greatest gift of all. God does not love us because we are perfect. God loves us with perfect love. We do not deserve it and we certainly do not earn it. All we do is receive it.

This season I am going to try to not worry about being perfect because I am pretty sure that once again I won't quite make it. Instead, I am going to focus on God's gift of perfect love in Christ Jesus, the holy child. What a Christmas gift that will be.

Christmas blessings from the Montgomery household to yours!

Rev Linda

He Brings Peace

2010-12-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

Read Luke 2:8-20 and 2 Peter 3:1-18

I’ve probably told you this many times over but I really love Christmas. I really love decorating my house for Christmas, something I got from my mother which she got from her father. When I was growing up we always had a real tree and they got bigger every year. Various people in the church allowed my dad to go out on the land on which they lived, select a tree to cut down and bring it home for our Christmas tree. Sometimes they were so big they took up almost the whole family room. So one year when my girls were growing up, we decided to visit one of those Christmas tree farms to cut down our own tree. I thought it would create this great family memory and start a wonderful tradition.
It was a disaster from the word go. The girls started fighting before we even got to the tree farm. Once there, they gave us a pole to measure the height of the tree. It was a long pole. Stephanie took it to hold but that of course meant Becca wanted to hold it too. We gave Becca a turn and she wildly spun around with this six to seven ft pole nearly taking everyone down in her radius. We took it away and that started her pout. We boarded the truck for the hayride out to the part of the farm where we would cut. A hayride. Who wouldn’t enjoy a hayride? My family. You don’t need to hear more to get the idea. Every picture we have from that day shows the pouty and unhappy, uncooperative faces. It was our first and last cutting down the Christmas tree excursion. The prophet Jeremiah talks about the people crying “peace, peace when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 8:11) That was a little like I felt throughout this whole excursion. It was so bad all I could do was laugh. So much for family traditions and holiday memories.
In this portion of Luke’s gospel we read angel declares a message of great joy. A child has been born at Bethlehem and this child brings peace. We have celebrated the birth of that holy child now for over 2000 years. But as we look around the world, we see that there most certainly is not peace. However, that is because we misunderstand the word peace. Peace has come to mean the time when there aren’t any wars or maybe when there aren’t any major wars. But in Hebrew the word for peace is Shalom which means fullness or having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself.
Presbyterian Pastor and author Frederick Buechner, writing in Wishful Thinking says, “One of the titles by which Jesus is known is Prince of Peace, and he used the word himself in what seems at first glance to be two radically contradictory utterances. On one occasion he said to the disciples, ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ (Matthew 10:34) And later on, the last time they ate together, he said to them, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’ (John 14:27) The contradiction between these phrases is resolved when we realize that for Jesus peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle but the presence of love.” p 69
It does seem discouraging as we listen to the news every night that peace on earth has not been accomplished. And it is even discouraging when sometimes it is not even accomplished in our own homes. But 2 Peter 3:8 says this: “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” God’s is taking God’s holy time in bringing in the kingdom in its fullest form until every single one of God’s precious created children are ready to be in it. And in the meantime, we are to live in love and live in trust that this day is coming.
The birth of Christ brings peace in the form of everlasting and unconditional love, freely offered to all God’s children. So we celebrate Advent and Christmas with renewed hope, joy, love and peace each year. And we do our best to live lives of love, in this season and the whole year long. May we make our prayer, especially in this season, Lord, let there be peace on earth. Amen.

Grace and peace
Rev Linda

Advent Hope

2010-11-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

Read Micah 4:1-5

Advent is about a defining hope--namely the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the time of the creation, and the time of Adam and Eve's failure to live obediently, God had been about the work of reconciling humanity to himself. When humans continued in our sinful ways, God became human and lived among us. The very act of living as a human redeemed humanity even as Jesus' death and resurrection did so as well. Jesus showed how humans could live in relationship to one another in loving and compassionate ways.

Jesus was born into a world not unlike our own. It too was full of conflict and struggle, war and strife. But each year as we remember the birth of Jesus we renew our commitment to peace and a defining hope. One of the biblical passages that is foundational to the season is this one from Micah. Before this passage comes a passage announcing the devastating destruction that will come upon Jerusalem because of the sinfulness of the people. But this passage portrays what a time of peace among the nations will look like. And it is these images of hope continue to guide Christians. This is the kind of world we hope for one day...one day...We know this kingdom of God will not be established by our hands but by God's and yet we work for it with every loving act we do in the name of Christ. All of our acts together by the power of God will bring about that kingdom once and for all. That is the hope we hold onto.

With hope,

Rev Linda

Good News about the Hereafter

2010-11-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

Clint Eastwood's newest movie was released at the end of October. It is called "Hereafter" and explores the afterlife from several different points of view. I have not seen the movie but it raises a question that we all ask from time to time: "What happens when I die?"

The Apostle's Creed affirms that we believe in "the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." Because of Jesus' victory over death in the resurrection, we have confidence that death is not the final word. John 11:25 affirms this as Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life" and John 14:9 adds, that because Jesus lives we also will live. Because we trust in this promise, we can start living our eternal lives now. We live with that hope in the present as well as in the future.

This does not mean that we do not physically die. We do and we also grieve those we love who die. But it calls us to grieve as those who have hope. It says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."
And John 14 promises that we will have a place with God in God's eternal kingdom: "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself so that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:2-4). This is but a small part of the much larger picture: the final realization of God's kingdom for the whole of God's creation.

There is still a lot that we do not know about the hereafter. But we do know a few things. We know that the one who was there at the beginning will be there at the end. We know this one God, who became human in Jesus Christ, is a God of love, mercy and grace. We know that God is faithful to God's promises and that we do not need to be afraid. And we know that whatever heaven might be like it will be filled with more joy than we can even begin to imagine. We will just have to wait to fill in the details until we get there. It is one of the divine mysteries of faith.

How can you start living your eternal life right now?

How can we grieve as people who have hopt?

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

2010-11-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Read Nehemiah 8:9-12

After many long years in exile in Babylon, the people of Judah finally were able to return home to their holy land and to Jerusalem. They were able to rebuild this holy city and the Temple under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Following the completion of the city wall, Ezra gathered the peple for a reading of the law. The readings reminded the people that it was time for the Celebration of the Festival of Booths. So Ezra, Nehemiah and other leaders instructed the people to go to their homes and celebrate the festival, drinking the sweet wine and eating the fat.

After such a long time in exile, it was a relief and a release to be able to celebrate--to have fun. It was a good thing that their leaders knew this was what they needed and understood that holiness and devotion to God not only includes sacred solemnity but also joy and celebration.

How does having fun at a festival honor God?

How does the "joy of the Lord" give us strength?

The Masks We Wear

2010-10-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis 27 and Daniel 1

As we are well aware, Halloween is this week. Our church grounds will be invaded by about 1000 people for our annual Halloween festival. Preparations are well underway for this great community outreach event.

But Halloween has gotten to be big businees. Costumes used to be largely homemade concoctions. Sheets, mom's makeup and jewelry, felt from the craft closet and other household items were put together in creative ways to come up with a costume. Now Halloween stores pop up all over the city with elaborate (and expensive) costumes for those of all ages to use to dress up as their favorite character.

But wearing masks is nothing new, though masks are certainly more apparent and tangible on Halloween. In our desire for acceptance, it is easy sometimes to lose sight of who we really are and who God has created us to be. Sometimes we also wear masks to hide the pain and hurt inside us. We use masks to keep ourselves from being vulnerable or fully entering into a relationship with others.

In Genesis 27 is the story of the brothers Jacob and Esau. They were twins with Easu being the firstborn. In Jewish society, the firstborn received the birthright of the father. But Jacob and his mother stole the birthright by dressing Jacob up in a costume. Jacob had to leave home for a long time afterwards to avoid Esau's anger. This was a bad situation of his own making.

Daniel's situation was not of his own making. He was in exile. And while there, he refused to give up his identity. He was determined to continue being faithful to his religious customs. He would not put on a mask and remained true to himself.

To move from a mask-wearer to a Daniel takes one step at a time. It takes deciding that TODAY you will take off the mask. After that, you will take it off tomorrow. You will be able to do so because God will be helping you to grow. God wants you to live a full and abundant life and God will be empowering you each and every day to take thase steps. Remember these words from Psalm 139:

Lord you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me too lofty for me to attain...For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderly made.

May we each with God's help find the courage to take off our masks and be who God wants us to be.

When have you wished that you could be someone else?
How would the story of Jacob been different if Jacob had accepted who he was?
What is one positive thing about yourself that you want to show the world this week?

Redemption and Release

2010-10-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-15

Michael Vick was a football sensation, possibly on his way eventually to the Hall of Fame until his fall from grace. He was arrested and convicted on animal cruelty charges and went to prison. His career as the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons came crashing down. They released him from his contract, he was suspended by the NFL and it was doubtful whether anyone would ever want him to play for them again. Protesters capaigned for a permanent ban from football.

By last season, Vick had served his sentence in prison and his suspension from football ended. He was picked up by the Philadephia Eagles to be back up quarterback. He played only occasionally. That was to be the role for this season too until starting quarterback Kevin Kolb was injured. Vick took his place and played so well that it appeared he was headed for the starting position until he was injured himself. Now who knows what will happen.

The questions and commentary surrounding Vick's return to professional football involve forgiveness and reconciliation. The American public is still torn over this issue. Many still think that because of what Vick has done, he has no business being back on the football field. But as Christians, we are called to forgiveness and reconciliation. This doesn't mean excusing someone's actions, but it does mean letting go of grudges and moving forward in love. Should that include such actions as allowing a football player to take up his career again?

Under God's law, all debts in Israel were to be forgiven every seventh year. It didn't matter how large the debt was or how much had been repaid. In the seventh year, all Israelites slaves were to be released and given a generous allowance in order to prevent them from falling back into slavery. This illustrates the value God places on forgiveness and restoration.

Fortunately for all of us, God's grace and forgiveness are given much more freely and abundantly than ours. We always have conditions--for right or for wrong. Reconciliation is difficult work, and it is only possible because God continues to work in us and on us! Thanks be to God!

Why, do you think, did God instruct the Israelites to forgive one another's debts every seven years?

How is sin like debt? What does this Scripture teach us about how God wants us to respond to sin, particularly when others sin against us?

What do you think about Michael Vick or about those in such a public positition? Should he be allowed to return to his public position or not?

It's About Love

2010-10-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis 2 and 3

As we studied the creation story in my Disciple class, we came across that phrase about being created in the "image of God" and we had a good discussion about that. From time to time that topic comes up in discussion in Bible studies and it is always interesting to hear people's ideas about what that might mean.

I think God is a mystery and we have to accept that we are never going to know everything about God. Our understanding of God is always growing. Anytime we think we have God figured out, we can bet something is going to come along to upset our God box. So there is no one answer for what being created in the "image of God" means. I think we can be pretty certain it does not mean that we "look like" God. It has to do with how we are in the world--how we are with God, how we are with each other and how we are with everything else God created. God created everything and called it good. Therefore, God values everything that is created. Being in God's image surely must have something to do with likewise valuing all that God created.

Also, while we do not know everything about God, what we do know about God is that God is love. So being created in the "image of God" also has something to do with loving--or seeking to love--as God loves. God created us for relationships--with each other and with God. And we live into the "image of God" when we seek to be loving in every relationship and every encounter we have.

Those are my thoughts about the "image of God". What are yours?

Rev Linda

Sacred Science

2010-09-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis Chapters 1 and 2

I just started teaching Disciple 1 Bible Study a couple of weeks ago. I really love teaching Disciple 1. It is a great overview of the entire Bible.

We of course started with the book of Genesis. I have lots of favorite scriptures but I really and truly love Genesis. I have a poster of the entire book hanging in the foyer of my house. Last Sunday we talked about the creation stories. One of the things that the creation story makes perfectly clear is that God created. Everything that is came from God. There were not other divine creatures who had some kind of divine war and bumped up against each other thereby causing to come into being certain things in the world as other ancient creation stories claim. No, God created the world. And as God created it, God called it good.

I do not see the Biblical creation story as standing against science. For the most part, when push comes to shove, science cannot disprove faith. In the findings of science, faith sees compelling evidence of God's creativity and stands in even greater awe of the diversity and complexity of God's works. Faith also keeps science in healthy perspective. Science is a tool for understanding and appreciating God's creation, but cannot replace the Creator as the recipient of our ultimate loyalty and trust.

So take time to read againg the wonderful accounts of creation in chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis and give thanks to God for the gift of creation. God's handiwork is truly amazing.

How does science influence the ways that you see God in the world?

The Family of God

2010-09-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin. Proverbs 18:24

Scripture often uses images of the family to describe our relationships with God and others. It says we are "children of God" and we are "brothers and sisters in Christ". The fact that Scripture holds famiy relationships in such high regard underscores the power of this proverb. Often times a true friend is even closer to us than our family members. You cannot choose your family but you can choose your friends. A true friend often demonstrates the kind of sacrificial love that God expects us to show our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus also used the word friend to describe his relationship to his disciples. In John 15:13 Jesus says, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." But Jesus was a friend at the very deepest level. He really did lay down his life for us all. As we look at our commitments to other people, we get a glimpse of what they should be like when we look at the kind of relationships Jesus modeled. May we seek To be true friends with others, and may we seek to have a deep and abiding relationship with Christ, who laid down his life for us.

What are some ways a friend has shown you that you are like famiy to him or her?
What is most challenging about being someone's true friend? How was Jesus a true friend to his disckples to all people? What sacrifices are you willing to make for your friends? What sacrifices are you not willing to make?

God's Hiring Practices

2010-09-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Read Matthew 20:1-16

The landowner in Jesus' story was not like most modern landowners. We would see him either as a great boss or a bad one depending on which employee we were! He was willing to pay an hourly temp worker the same money as a lifetime employee. But Jesus isn't teaching best business practices. This prable, like all his parables, is a story designed to shock us out of our preconceived ideas about God. The day laborers hired to work the harvest just prior to quitting time earned the same paycheck as those who began working at the crack of dawn because God is generous. Those who had worked the longest grumbled about the fairness of this action. But God's notion of fairness is much different than ours. God does not value us for what we produce while "on the clock." God does not value us for what we produce at all. God loves all of us equally and unconditionally regardless of resume, results or time spent with him. God loves us just because God loves us.

But God does want to put us all to work--the work of heaven. "For by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing;...For we are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Ephesians 2:8, 10 God loves each and every one of us and has given us the work of loving and serving God and neighbor and sharing Jesus' love in word and deed. We do these acts in response to God's great love for us. As we celebrated Labor Day this week, may we commit to be laborers in God's vineyard once more. It is a blessed response.

When did God "hire" you?
Does it seem fair that the landowner paid everyone the same wage, regardless of how long they worked? What does this say about the work we do for GodA? What does it say about God's love for us?

The Highest Value

2010-08-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Read Matthew 13:44-46

Those stories about buying something at a Garage Sale and finding out it is worth a lot of money are fascinating. Occassionally I also have watched Antique Road Show where people have taken family treasures in to an antique dealer to have them appraised. Sometimes they turn out to be valuable; other times not. We have an interesting story in my family.

From the time I was a little girl, there was a picture of a woman that hung in my grandmother's living room. No one even particularly liked the painting but it had been there forever. It had been a gift to my grandparents from Uncle Johnny. After my grandfather's death, we were breaking down my grandmother's house to move her to Sherman where we lived. Someone who came by to appraise things told us we need to have that painting appraised because it looked like a painting by American aritist Thomas Sulley.

Now that painting that had hung on the wall for years and years got placed in a locked and insured closet in my parent's home. After a very long process, it turned out to be a Sulley painting which was auctioned for several thousand dollars. Who knew?

Jesus taught that our top priority should be seeking what God values. Just as the man sold all of his possessions to buy the field--and just as the man in verses 45-46sold all his possessions so that he could afford to buy a single, perfect pearl--we must be willing to part with anything and everything that comes between us and God's kingdom. This might mean we have to get rid of some things we enjoy, things that get in the way of our relationship with God and others. It means putting first the kingdom of God and God's priorities when making decisions about how to use our money.

Why do the men in Jesus' two parables give up everything else for the sake of just one thing?

How is the kingdom of God like a buried treasure in a field or an expensive pearl? What makes it so valuable?

How does a prson's life change when he or she makes God's kingdom a top priority?

Truth Telling

2010-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Read John 3:1-15

One of the things, both good and bad, about e-mail is the speed at which news and stories circulate. A prayer request can go out and I and the congregation can know what is going on with a person with lightening speed. But stories can also get circulated from household to household, town to town, state to state, nation to nation that have no basis in reality. Some of these tales have a hard time being put to rest even though they have been disproved over and over again. There are now websites you can go to that help with checking out the validity of a story: If you want to know if a statement made by a public official can be confirmed by the facts, check Politifact.com or FactCheck.org. If you heard a rumor that doesn't sound quite true, try the urban legend testers at Snopes.com. For most other questions, check out Discovery Channel's Mythbusters.

For Christians the work of discerning the truth goes beyond what we can find out on any website. God desires truth and calls us to be honest. (Exodus 20:16) In John, Jesus prefaces his words to Nicodemus with the words "Very truly, I tell you..." Jesus is being very clear that the good news of which he speaks is not legend or speculation, but is authentic and reliable. We can put our full trust in Jesus' message of grace and salvation now and always. What Jesus says is fully trustworthy. It is printed in documents that have stood the test of time.

Dilemma: to build or not to build

2010-08-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Read Mark 12:28-34

There is a real dilemma going on in New York City. The Cordoba Initiative is seeking to build a community center for Islamic, as well as interfaith and secular, programming. The Intiative's ongoing purpose is to improve relations between Muslims and western culture. The problem is the proposed site for their center is two blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center. And although there is nothing else planned for this building, many people in New York and beyond think that having anything located this close to Ground Zero associated with the Muslim faith is a slap in the face to those who died on 9/11.

The Muslims who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks were extremists. They were way out there on the radical end of the Muslim faith. The very large majority of Muslims do not believe in that kind of action at all. As a matter of fact, the Muslim congregation which founded the Cordoba Initiative has been meeting 10 blocks north of Ground Zero for 27 years. They also lost many members in the 9/11 attacks and gave firefighters bottled water during the rescue and recovery efforts. Plus Americans Muslims enjoy the same rights of free worship that every American is guaranteed.

As we look at our Christian faith, Jesus is very clear. Jesus says we must love other people--all other people. We don't have to believe what they believe but we do have to love them. And when we disagree, we are to disagree in love. There is an extremist Christian group in Florida who plans to burn copies of the Koran on 9/11 this year. This is like Islamophobia--a hatred of Muslims that I think falls into the category of what Jesus definately WOULD NOT do. It in no way falls under "Love one another as I have loved you."

But it is a dilemma--and it may be for me as for so many one of those "unredeemed places" in my soul. Ground Zero is such a painful place with so many painful memories. We need education and reconciliation with our Muslim brothers and sisters. But I stand in the middle of this dilemma and I am not sure what the right decision is. The building may be a step that we are not ready to take yet.

Why do you think many people have trouble loving people of other faiths, particularly Muslims?

How will you love, or actively work for the good of, your Muslim neighbors in your local community and in the United States?

HD Clarity

2010-07-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Whew--what happened to June? I went on the Youth Mission Trip which was awesome. But just a couple of days after returning, Tim and I moved to a new house. Then came the 4th of July holiday weekend so I am way far behind on blogging. I apologize.

There is a wonderful old hymn in the hymnal called "Blest Be the Tie That Binds". The first verse is "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above." It is a great hymn about the faith community and being bound together in Christian love. That is what is so important about being part of a church family. A church family supports one another through good times and through bad.

In a whole lot of ways we live in a whole that is very connected. We stay in constant touch with cell phones and the internet. We have the capability to be more in touch than ever before with all the different kinds of gadgets we have. The latest iPhone is one of many electronic devices in the long list of gadgets that our gadget-loving (and convenience-loving) culture has grabbed up quickly. And during the past decade, a high-definition, clearer-than-life picture has gone from being a luxury to being a necessary feature when people shop for televisions, computers and service providers. The latest thing which is even beyond HD is 3D television that produces and image with lifelike depth. What will they think of next?

But the thing is that at the very time we have the maximum capability to be the most connected, we sometimes are the least. Look around in restaurants and see how many families are seated together yes, but one or more of the parents are talking on the phone instead of interacting with the children. Or watch to see if the children have brought along their device to play games. Or go to a children's sporting event where the purpose is to be involved and supporting your children and again see how many parents spend their time on the phone. Or think about how many nights at homme are spent in front of the television instead of talking or playing games. Connection between people, family or otherwise, has been lost as we all become more dependent on electronic communication and less dependent on human communication. It would just be good if we paid attention to those ties that bind us together that come in ways other than electronic gadgets. The way to see most clearly may be to sit down with others in the same room, free of electronics, and talk and share and break the bread of Christian fellowship.

May we take time to do so with one another this summer.

Shalom,
Rev Linda

Wise King Solomon or not

2010-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Rd Kings 3:3-14 and 11:1-13

Most of the time when people think about King Solomon in the Old Testament, they refer to him as wise King Solomon. His reputation is as not only the wisest but the wealthiest and most powerful monarch. He oversaw the completion of Israel's glorious Temple. He really started out well. At the beginning of his reign, God said to Solomon, "Ask what I should give you." Instead of aking for wealth or power or a long life, Solomon asked for wisdom. God was of course very pleased with Solomon's response and blessed the king with not only wisdom but with wealth, power and longevity.

But things went down hill rapidly after this great start. Solomon abused his wealth and power, taking hundreds of wives from many nations and worshiping foreign gods. He enslaved his own people to keep up his lavish building projects, especially the building of his palace which was more elaborate than the temple. God had given Solomon abundant blessings, but the king believed he was entitled to more. As a result, the end of Solomon's reign left Israel divided and in turmoil.

How has God blessed you? When, if ever, have you thought that you have not been blessed enough and that you deserve more? Why do we sometimes have trouble being content with our blessings?

Rev Linda

Living a Lie

2010-06-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis 27:1-35

On those rare afternoons when I get home before 5:00, I love to watch Judge Judy. My family picks on me about this particular habit but you know Judge Judy treats everyone the same. She calls it as she sees it. If she thinks you are a bum, she tells you so--male, female, black, white, young, old--all are treated just the same. On a recent episode, Judge Judy was pretty sure someone was lying so she took the telephone number of a business involved in the case, went to her chambers and called to check out the facts. Sure enough, she caught the defendent in a lie. Not a good thing with Judge Judy or on National Television.

There was also a recent story about a Harvard student who was supposed to graduate this year. But just before graduation, it was discovered that this student, Adam Wheeler, had been lying his way through college. He had lied to get in, lied and even plagiarized to win scholarships and then faked some credentials on job applications. He had done it enough that it added up to twenty criminal charges of fraud with some larceny thrown in as well.

The Genesis text is the story of Jacob stealing the birthright from his brother Esau, and doing it with the help of his mother. It is not one of their finer moments. The trick causes such a rift in the family that Jacob has to flee for his life. It will be over 20 years before he returns. The ten commandments tell us not to bear "false witness" against another but fraud such as the Jacob and Esau story and even the story of Adam Wheeler is more than simply lying. Fraud also involves one's self-esteem and sense of identity. Christians as much as any one else want to attend good schools, work at good jobs, live in nice home and be able to provide for our families. But Christianity understands that we must keep these desires in the right perspective. These things are not as important as our relationship with God and our commitment to do God's will. And as Christians, we do have limits. We cannot lie, cheat, or pretend to be someone else in order to be accepted at a certain college or land a certain job. Doing so is not only dishonest, but also it indicates that we are not content with the individual gifts and abilities God has given us and the person God has called us to be. When we make faithful use of our God given talents, we grow in our relationship with God and that is a good and worthy goal!

When was a time you were tempted to or did lie about your accomplishments? How can you invest your God-given talents? What sort of return do you expect to receive on your investment?

Grace and peace,
Rev Linda

The Gift of Sabbath

2010-05-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. Exodus 31:16

From the very beginning, God had in mind that we would take time to rest and enjoy all the good things God created. But somehow God knew that this would not be easy for humanity. God knew that left to our own devices, humans would work our way into oblivion. So God commanded--not suggested or wished but commanded--that we take a break from our labors. It is so important to God that this command is listed right up there next to not murdering or stealing. God meant this command for the good of all God's children.

The gift of Sabbath seems to be a difficult one for us to receive. We are always practicing, always studying, always moving, always multi-tasking, always busy. We feel a constant pressure to produce, compete and achieve. And even when we stop, our minds keep going, full of the busy-ness of this day or the next.

The word Sabbath means "cease and desist". It simply means stop. Traditional Jewish practice is to stop from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. The early Christian church chose Sunday to celebrate as the Lord's Day and to celebrate it as a "little Easter", emphasizing the resurrection and the work of the Holy Spirit on the first day of every week. The Lord's Day and sabbath became one.

But honoring sabbath isn't limited to Sundays. Any moment in which we clear out everything else and focus on rest and re-creation is sabbath time. Sabbath is not only about what we do not do. It is also about what we choose to do. It is about taking time to draw near to God and to celebrate who God made us to be.

Author Marva Dawn in her book Keeping Sabbath Wholly suggests four actions that can help all of us be intentional about sabbath rest: cease work, rest our bodie and minds, embrace God and feast on God's goodness.

As you make your summer plans, be sure that you take time to be holy, and take some sabbath rest.

Rev Linda

The Problem of Religion

2010-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Rd Matthew 23:13-36
"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." Matthew 23:15

When we read verses like this one, it is not surprising that Jesus was not well received by the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus often had very harsh things to say about them. But hypocrite is still a charge people outside of the church make against those in the church. Jesus is concerned and even outraged that the actions of these leaders in the church do not live up to their teachings. This was a tough message to hear for scribes and Pharisees who prided themselves on their righteousness and observance of the law.

Christians today likewise need to be careful that we do not give just cause to be called hypocrites. We need to be careful to watch how we live. Because we preach, teach, and profess the words of Jesus, we need to make doubly sure that our lives reflect what we say we believe. We must live our lives in a way that honors the One whose name we bear.

How do the harsh words in Matthew compare to some of Jesus' other teachings? Why does Jesus speak these harsh words to the scribes and the Pharisees?
When have you been guilty of "talking the talk" without "walking the walk"? What harsh truths do people today need to hear?

Burning Bushes and other signs

2010-05-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Read Exodus 14:19-31

The Exodus story is a great one to read over and over again. The account of Moses and the burning bush is one of my favorite stories. Moses tells God "no" five times before he agrees to be the spokesperson to Pharaoh. I have those five times marked in my Bible. I think I said "no" at least that many times. But God is persistent and God uses many different things to get our attention.

When it came to getting Pharaoh's attention, God used plagues. But it took the killing of the first borns to finally convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Then God led the people like a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. God even parted the sea so they could walk across on dry ground.

Today, we wish for such a show of power. We wish God would speak to us in a burning bush and tell us just exactly what God has in mind for us. It would be so much easier if he did. But most of the time, God comes as the still small voice--sometimes through other people, sometimes through a peaces that surpasses all understanding, sometimes in a feeling that just will not let go. May we be open to God in all the many different ways God speaks to us and be ready to respond.

How has God spoken to you?

The Sheep and the Goats

2010-04-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Read Matthew 25:34-40

I love this particular text. It is so simple yet so powerful. The Son of Man comes and gives the inheritance to the righteous. The righteous are the ones who have given him something to eat, something to drink, visited him while a stranger and while in prison, given him clothes to wear and cared for him when he was sick. The righteous did not even know they had done these things. They had just helping those who needed it. It was a way of life for them. In doing so, they had helped the Son of Man.

Such is our call from God. Serving God is to be our way of life. How we live day in and day out makes a difference. Sometimes we have opportunities to serve in large ways--like mission trips or Faith in Action days. But mostly we are called day in and day out to see the needs around us and respond in loving, Christ-like ways.

We have a wonderful opportunity for service this week with Faith in Action. I hope you will take this opportunity to come and reach out to those in our community. But I hope it will help us keep our eyes open to all the needs around us every day that we might be ready to respond to those as well.

What are ways that you have found to serve every day? How has serving in the name of Christ made your faith grow?

Bread for the World

2010-04-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Jesus' opponents accused him of being "a glutton" (Matthew 11:19). It was a ridiculous charge but it had to do with the fact that Jesus broke bread with "sinners and tax collectors" and he broke bread with them often. Jesus was often the provider of food for he knew that people needed to eat. All of the gospels record an account of Jesus miraculously feeding a huge crowd with a very small amount of food. The risen Christ even cooked breakfast for his disciples (John 21:9-10).

Food mattered to Jesus because food matters to God. God created us to be eaters (Genesis 1:29) setting us in a world that abundantly produces food (Genesis 2:9). God invites us to eat and to enjoy it! Food is such a great gift that the Bible frequently pictures the next world as a feast (Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 22:2; Revelation 19:9).

But not all people enjoy this gift of food. Over one-sixth of the world's population are hungry; and one child dies of hunger-related causes every five seconds. Even in our nation over 49 million people live in households that have trouble affording enough food. The problem is not that the world doesn't produce enough food; the probelm is that we have human beings have been poor stewards of it.

After God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God provided food for them in the wilderness. Fresh manna was on the ground every morning for them to gather. But they were to gather only what they needed for one day. If they took more, it would spoil. It taught them that they must depend on God daily for what they needed. That is also why we pray in the Lord's prayer for "daily bread", for just what we need both physically and spiritually, each day.

All of this is to say that Jesus cares deeply about us. He meets all our hungers, and he desires that we feed others as well. As he has compassion on all people, so must we. May we do our best to answer this call.

When have you fully trusted God to feed you? When have you been guilty of taking more than your daily share? How much do you, like Jesus, feel for the hungry? How do you put that pain and sympathy to work?

Called by Name

2010-04-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

John 20:1-18
John 20 is the climax of the Holy Week and Easter story. Jesus has died a horrible death. His disciples have locked themselves away in the upper room afraid they might be next. Early on the third day--Sunday morning--Mary Magdalene bravely decides to go to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body for burial. There was not time on Friday to carry out this ritual. But when she arrives at the tomb, she finds the stone rolled away and the body gone. Her first thought is that the body has been stolen. She runs back to the other disciples and tells them what she has discovered. Peter and the beloved disciples have a foot race back to the tomb. They confirm what Mary has reported--the tomb is empty. As Mary stands weeping outside the tomb, a man approaches her. Assuming he is the gardener, she asks him where he has taken Jesus. But then the man speaks her name. As soon as he says "Mary" she knows it is Jesus. She knows that Jesus is alive and that he has defeated death.

In John 10 when Jesus is talking about the shepherd and his sheep, he talks about how the sheep know the voice of the shepherd. He calls the sheep by name and they know him. When Jesus' calls Mary by name, she recognizes him. He may look differently. but there is no mistaking his voice. He speaks her name and there is no doubt about his identity.

Jesus' promise is that as the Good Shepherd, he will still call us by name. Maybe you have had that experience, that experience of being so close to the risen Christ that you have felt him call you by name. But if not, do not lose heart, for the risen Christ is on the move. He is out and about doing his kingdom work. Listen and look for him always for he knows your name too.

What part of the Easter story resonates with you the most? How can we remember and celebrate the exhilaration that Jesus' followers experienced on the first Easter?

How Can I Keep From Singing?

2010-03-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

One of the magazines I subscribe to is Christian Century. There were several articles in it this week as we move closer to Easter. One of them was written by Bishop William Willimon who has been a favorite author and theogian of mine for many years. His article was called "Now Can We Sing?" He talks about a CNN report by Anderson Cooper from the very first night of the day the earthquake struck Hait. Anderson reported how people danced in the street and sang hymns. Theirs was a singing-through-their-tears kind of theology that acknowledged the goodness of God even in the midst of their terrible tragedy.

That's what Easter is. Easter is the good news of the victory of life over death--specifically of how Jesus is victorious over death. And in this world where we are bombarded by the bad news of the day, we cannot hear this good news enough. Reading the article reminded me of one of my favorite praise songs, written by Chris Tomlin. It is called "How Can I Keep From Singing?"

The final verse says, "I can sing in the troubled times, sing when I win; I can sing when I lose my step and fall down again. I can sing 'cause You pick me up, sing 'cause You're there. I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord when I call to You in prayer. I can sing with my last breath, sing for I know that I'll sing with the angels and the saints around the throne."

May we keep singing, through this holy season and beyond, knowing that God offers us life and hope in the midst of death. Amen.

Rev Linda

I'm praying for you...

2010-03-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Read John 17:20-26

"I'm praying for you." I wonder how many times we say that to people? It is good to know that we are being held up in prayer, especially at difficult times in our lives. There was a group of women who literally prayed me through seminary and I don't know how I would have made it without them. They are forever saints of my life.

But there is an even more powerful one who prays for us. In John 17, we read of Jesus' prayer for his disciples. He prays for the message they will boldly carry into the world. He prays that God will protect them. Then, at verse 17:20, he begins to pray for all believers. He prays for those who will hear his message as proclaimed through the disciples and come to believe in him. That means us--you and me. Jesus prays for us. It is powerful to think of other people praying for me, but to realize that JESUS prays for me is absolutely overwhelming. It humbles me and uplifts me at the very same time. I am going to hold onto the realization that Jesus is praying me every day, but especially on difficult days when I feel alone. Jesus' prayer for me and for you is yet another gracious gift by our God whose love knows no bounds.

Thanks be to God.
Rev Linda

March Madness--By Invitation Only

2010-03-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the March Madness theme--just because it is March--there is another element of this college basketball tournament stuff. Thirty-one teams earn invitations to compete in the tournament which leads to the national championship game by winning their conference championships. The rest of the teams (34 for men and 33 for women) receive "at-large" invitations. These are based on their records, the strength of their schedules and the quality of their wins. Some teams play so well they know for sure by mid-seaon that they will get an invitation. But other teams sit on pins and needles until the selection day waiting for word about that all important invitation.

Jesus would have recognized the excitement and anticipation surrounding March Madness. He sometimes used the analogy of a lavish party to explain the Kingdom of God. In Jesus' day, party guests were seeded much like teams in the NCAA Tournament. The most important guests sat near the front and received the very best food and drink. Guests of lesser and least importance received lower quality places and meals. The lower classes usually had no chance to attend such a party.

Jesus spoke of a party where everyone--the poor, the blind, the lame, and anyone on the streets willing to come--was invited and no one was seeded. Sadly, some of the more esteemed invitees made excuses for not attending. We do not have to wait until we die to enter this kingdom. The kingdom is among us right now. We live in God's kingdom when we put our trust in God and live according to Christ's teaching. The abundant life Jesus promised can be ours now. And God does not assign anyone a seed. As a matter of fact, Jesus taught that "the last will be first and the first will be last." This doesn't mean that Jesus is establishing a new hierarchy. It means that there will be no hierarchy.

Accept God's inviation and start living the abundant life of the kingdom today. You'll be glad you did.

Rev Linda

March Madness

2010-03-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

It is that time of the year when college basketball heats up. Every game from here on out is important as teams try to make it to the round of 32, then the sweet 16, the final 4 and at long last the national championship game. I don't watch it all, but I like to watch the Texas teams and especially THE University of Texas.

March madness could also apply to the litugical year as we move closer to Easter. Pastors begin to get a little frantic as Holy Week and Easter get closer--so much to do; so little time. Monday and Tuesday of this week was Bishop's Convocation, an annual retreat for pastors at Mt. Wesley in Kerrville. We all kind of grouse a bit about having to go. Sometimes it has been really good and other times less so. But this year, it was simply a time to worship. We worshiped in a variety of ways the whole time. It truly was a time of Sabbath. And it was wonderful. Pastors do not always get the chance to just sit and enjoy worship.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, talked about certain sprititual practices as "means of grace", ways in which we most clearly and fully experience God's grace. These practices bring us closer to God and help us better know God and God's will for our lives. These means of grace are confesssion, fasting, fellowship, Holy Communion, prayer, service, study of Scripture, Baptism and worship.

Now obviously not all of these are things we do all the time--Baptism we do only once in our lives. But still, as we continue our journey toward Easter, may we, instead of March Madness, experience Spiritual Splendor as we walk closely with God.

What are some distraction that keep us from staying focused and disciplined in our devotion to God?

Being Human

2010-02-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

My husband Tim has an interesting hobby--he works one day a week at Borders Book Store. It is about a break even proposition. We love books and we spend about as much as he makes. He just loves being in the bookstore, shelving, seeing what is coming out. It is very different from teaching and he just enjoys being in a bookstore.

Recently I dropped by the store and came across this little book about Desmond Tutu. (Actually there were three; the others were about Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi). Bishop Tutu talked abut this word from the African culture and tradition that is the highest praise that can be given to anyone. The word is ubuntu. Ubuntu addresses the essesnce of what it means to be human.

The definition of ubuntu has two parts. The first is that a person is friendly, hospitable, generous, gentle, caring and compassionate. This person will use their strengths on behalf of others and not take advantage of anyone. They treat others the way they want to be treated. Secondly, people with unbuntu are approachable and welcoming. They are not threatened by the goodness in others. Their self-esteem and worth is generated by knowing they belong to a greater whole. Ubuntu ascribes to the proposition "I am human because I belong".

I really loved this expression and not surprisingly it is very much in line with our Judeo-Christian heritage. God created us to be in relationship with God and with one another. But we in the western world have prized individualism more than the greater whole. We need other people much more than we often care to admit! We need others to know how to walk and speak and think and behave. Those who grow up in relative isolation are never fully formed.

We also need one another to be formed in the faith. The church community is a ubuntu community as we support, love and nurture one another on the faith journey. There is a reason why Jesus called twelve and not just one.

May we journey together at all times but especilly this Lent and seek to support each other every step of the way. And may this church be a place where all who come find a place of belonging.

That is my prayer.

Love is more than a Valentine

2010-02-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

We just passed the annual Valentine's Day ritual of exchanging cards, chocolates, flowers and gifts. But few of us know the origin of the day. Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome in the latter part of the third century AD. According to legend, the heavy-handed emperor Claudius II believed that the Roman armies would be stronger if more single men were availabe. To accomplish this, he outlawed marriage. In defiance of this edict, Valentine performed Christian weddings in the catacombs and private homes where believers gathered.

Valentine was discovered, arrested, and imprisoned. At first Claudius took a liking to the prisoner. But when Valentine tried to convert the emperor to the Christian faith, Claudius ordered his soldiers to beat him and then behead him. The day of the saint's death, February 14, became a feast day to honor his memory. And since he was imprisoned for performing marriages, it seemed appropriate for his feast day to celebrate romantic love. But the kind of love St. Valentine exemplified was certainly more than the gushy flowers and candy hearts kind of love that most often is associated with Valentine's Day. The kind of love St. Valentine exemplified was a deep, self-sacrificing Christian love.

In Greek there are three distinct words that are translated as "love". "Eros" is physical love, the type of love associated with Valentine's Day. "Philia" describes brotherly and sisterly love--the kind of love we have for family and friends. "Agape" love is the forgiving and sacrifical love that Jesus teaches us to show to God and neighbor and that God has for us. Agape love is Christian love. When we practice agape love, we are loving God with heat, soul, mind and strength and neighbor as much as self.

As we begin the season of Lent this week, may we seek to practice agape love with all God's children so that we might grow in grace.

Rev Linda

Living by the Book

2010-02-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

There is a new movie out called The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. It is about Denzel's character Eli who lives 30 years in the future and is seeking to protect the Bible from destruction. Eli believes it is the hope for humanity's future. The second character in the movie, Carnegie, also wants to save the Bible but he wants to save it in order to use it as propaganda for his own personal gain.

Now I have to say that I have not actually seen the movie. The above statements are what I have read about it. The movie is rated R so be careful about who you take to see it. It does sound interesting and I do like Denzel Washington. But it also affirms some things that we know about the Bible. We affirm, as the movie suggests, that the Bible is an important, powerful and intriguing book, and there are faithful and unfaithful ways to use Scripture.

The Bible tells us God's story of Creation. God created the world and everything in it. God also created humans. Of everything that God created, God said that it was good. But humanity chose sin, and since that time God has been at work to reconcile humanity back into right relationship with God once more. God's redemption and reconciliation was ultimately and finally accomplished through Jesus Christ. The entire story of God's faithfulness and humanity's lack thereof is contained in Scripture. It is a valuable source of wisdom, guidance, and inspiration. But those who revere the Bible can also misuse it. Some revere the Bible so much that they put it in a safe place and never read it. Others distort the words of Scripture, using them as a weapon to manipulate or attack others.

In the 4th century, St. Augustine wrote, "Whoever thinks he understands divine scripture or any part of it, but whose interpretation does not build up the twofold love of God and neighbor, has not really understood it." Love of God, love of neighbor and even love of enemies is the lens through which we should read all of Scripture--for God is love. Then, since we affirm that God was most clearly revealed in Jesus Christ, we should keep Jesus' life and teachings in mind as we approach Scripture. With these things in mind, the Bible can become an important part of our Christian Spiritual formation and discipline.

When has a book changed your life?

When has the Bible changed your life?

Angels Watching Over Us

2010-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Read Hebrews 1:1-14
Christians continue to have a fascination with angels. Anne Rice, the author of the vampire novels, has started a new series starring angels. The new series is called Angel Time. Television shows with angels come and go as do movies. But more than that, it is not unusual to hear just in casual conversations around the coffee pot or at our many meals together, talk about angels--guardian angels or otherwise. We are fascinated with angels.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews seems to have been concerned that his congregation--made up of believers who were faltering in their faith--paid too much attention to angels. They might even have been worshiping angels. So the author stresses Jesus' superiority--after all, he is God's Son, not an angel. The author also wants to make the point that angels are to be concerned for us, not for us to be concerned about angels. Angels serve God by serving God's people. Angels are to serve and strengthen us so that we might become stronger servants of God. Angels ministered to Elijah in a time of weakness and to Jesus in the wilderness. In both cases they provided the sustenance to keep them strong. From Elijah (1 Kings 19:7) to Daniel (Daniel 6:22) to Peter (Acts 12:6-11) to Jesus (Mark 1:13 and Luke 22:43), angels have helped to strengthen God's people in time of need.

How have you experienced spiritual strengthening in the past?
For what specific task of serving God do you need to be strengthened today?

Burnout

2010-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Read Exodus 17:8-16
I love this story about Moses. So here are the Israelites wandering through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. It has not been the best trip. The people have whined about almost everything: food and water shortages and then when food was provided about lack of variety in their diet. They have even suggested that maybe they would have been better off staying in Egypt than out here in the wilderness where surely they will DIE! Now they are being attacked by the Amalekites, a tribe somewhere in the area of their latest campsite. They have no choice but to fight.

During the battle, Mosese stood atop a nearby mountain and raised his arms. While his arms were raised, the Israelites were winning the battle. But when Moses dropped his arms, the Amalekites rallied. As Moses grew weary of standing with his arms raised, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock. They then take hold of his wrists so they can hold up his arms for him.

What a great image--when Moses cannot hold up his arms by himself any longer, some friends and supporters take over and do it for him. Sometimes we try to do too much and we need people who will prop us up, help us out, get us over those rough patches and do what we can no longer do for ourselves. We need people like that in our lives! We need to be people like that for others.

Who are your Aaron and Hur? Who helps you so that you don't burn out trying to do too much?

How can we stay devoted to God without burning out?

What are the dangers of trying to do too much without accepting help or stopping to rest?

Forgive, Forgive, Forgive

2010-01-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Matthew 18:21-22

Forgiveness--it is something that we often have a very difficult time with. It is hard to let go of the things that hurt us--the hateful words; the thoughtless acts; the betrayal. Once trust is broken it is very, very hard to rebuild. But Jesus tells his disciples that we are to forgive and forgive and forgive. God's forgiveness is a gracious gift that is ours for the asking. And God promises to "remember our sins no more." We are expected to do the same. It is easier said than done--but that is the goal.

In the movie Invictus, the real life story of Nelson Madela is told. After spending twenty-seven years in prison for protesting South Africa's apartheid policies, Mandela became president of the country that imprisoned him. Rather than seeking revenge against those who had oppressed him, Mandela had the courage and strength to forgive consistently and constantly. Even in prison, Mandela worked hard at forgiveness and at having as much compassion for those who had jailed him as he did for those who suffered under apartheid. The new president's example of forgiveness and insistence that his fellow South Africans follow this example helped make him an effective leader.

How can forgiving someone who has hurt you lead to healing and compassion?

How do you know when you have truly forgiven someone? when you haven't?

Health Kits for Haiti

2010-01-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

A request from UMCOR is for Health Kits. We will have the supplies for health kits and will be putting them together next week on two occassions:

Tuesday, January 19 from 3:00-4:00pm and Wednesday, January 20 from 10:00-11:00am.

Everyone is welcome.

A Message from Bishop Dorff

2010-01-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

Dear friends in Christ,

I write you with a heavy heart, but with hope which springs eternal. The earthquake in Haiti has now revealed itself to be one of the greatest natural disasters in this, or any other, century. The magnitude and location of this event are such that its effects will be felt for years. The lives of millions of people hang in the balance. The best efforts of global humanity are in various stages of response. This response includes each of us.

I want to make sure you are aware that as our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is actively engaged in its mission in Haiti, three of its primary leaders, including the top executive, were in Haiti at the time of the quake. One of those executives, Rev. Clint Rabb, is a member of the Southwest Texas Conference. As of this moment, no one in the U.S. has heard from any of them.

This is a time for somber, quiet reflection. It is also a time for thoughtful, faithful action. I call upon all United Methodists to pray and give.

-Pray for all of those in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. Pray for their families. Pray for their future. Pray for all those persons from around the world involved in rescue, recovery, and restoration. Pray for Suzanne Rabb and her family as they wait for word concerning Clint.

- Give what you are lead to give toward the cause of relief in Haiti. This giving can be done individually or through special congregational offerings. Listed below are the details of how you can give and what you can do to live out your concern within the United Methodist connection. Of course, there are other worthy sources of help which you may feel lead to support as well.

Our God is a mighty God. In times of crisis and tragedy we know that our God is continually with us. The support and hope we need is available to us and the people of Haiti. The Christ of the Cross and the Christ of the empty tomb are fully engaged in this ministry. So are we….

We shall keep you updated as events unfold.

Bishop Jim Dorff

Who Is Our Neighbor: Haiti

2010-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

First of all I apologize for not blogging sooner this week. It has been a crazy one.

What is on my heart today is Haiti and the devastating loss of life on this tiny and poor island country. The picture and reports coming out of Port-au-Prince are truly heartbreaking. While no one knows for sure, early estimates regarding the loss of life believe the numbers will be in the tens of thousands. The Rev. Clint Rabb, a former pastor of this church who now works for the General Board of Global Ministries out of New York, was in Haiti and is among the missing. We pray for the people of Haiti and all those families who have lost loved ones, as well as for those whose loved ones are still missing.

The United Methodist Church's Relief agency is United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). UMCOR if always a first responder to any disaster anywhere in the world. They stay involved through the rebuilding efforts. Every dollar donated to UMCOR for a disaster goes directly to disaster relief as administrative costs are paid through apportionments (an amount designated to each United Methodist congregation). Seeing and having seen UMCOR in action always makes me proud to be United Methodist. Those who want to make a donation to the Haiti relief efforts may do so through this congregation by indicating on the memo line of your check
"UMCOR Advance #418325".

It is always difficult to understand why tragedies of this magnitude happen. While I may not understand why it happened, I am sure of this: God is there in Haiti. God is there gently leading home all those who have lost their lives; comforting those who mourn; giving strength to the rescue workers; giving strenth and compassion to the medical workers; holding close all the people of Haiti and in Haiti--for nothing can separate God's people from God. God's light is shining in this darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. I trust in God.

May we continue to pray for this island nation.

Grace and peace,
Rev Linda

Looking Back at a Decade

2010-01-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

Read Ruth 1:1-18 and Jeremiah 32:1-15

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade! Can you believe that it has been 10 years since we started a new millenium? I can't! It seems like just yesterday that people were worrying about what would happen with Y2K. But it came and went without a hitch.

Overall, it has not been a great decade. As a matter of fact, Time magazine called the 00's "the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post-World War II era." There is good reason for saying such. We were shocked by the events of 9/11 and something about our feeling of safety was forever destroyed. Others of the biggest news stories included the 2004 Indean Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan, the Virginia Tech shootings, the Ft Hood attack, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and many local tragedies. And that does not even touch on the financial crisis of the past year.

These two scriptures are about desolate times for God's people. In Ruth, Naomi's family, her husbands and sons, had died leaving her without anyone to care for her. But her daughter-in-law Ruth decided to stick by her mother-in-law. They returned to Naomi's homeland and began rebuilding their lives. They saw how God was with them throughout the whole process.

Jeremiah was a prophet to the Israelites at the time that they were being conquered and led into exile in Babylon. At this devastating time, Jeremiah buys a field. It is a sign of hope that one day the people will return.

As the last decade has shown, we go through terrible times and the future is uncertain. But as Christians, as God's people, we are never without hope. God is always with us, helping us through whatever happens. And in the midst of the terrible events of the past we saw incredible things happen: people lining up to give blood after 9/11; raising money for the tsunami; rebuilding houses in New Orleans and along the Texas Coast after Katrina and Ike. There is always hope.

How and where have you found signs of hope during difficult times?

Just When Does the New Year Begin?

2009-12-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

In just a few days we will say goodbye to 2009 and welcome in the year 2010. But according to the Liturgical calendar--or the Christian Calendar--we started a new year several weeks ago on the First Sunday of Advent.

The Liturgical Calendar is the calendar of the liturgy of the church. The word liturgy, which literally means "the work of the people", refers to all the rituals and practices associated with certain church seasons and days. God's people, since the time of our Jewish roots, have had festival and worship observances. We still do. Our observances now focus on the life, mission, death and resurrection of Jesus. Advent is the season of preparation for Jesus' promised coming--his birth over 2000 years ago and his coming again at some unknown future time. Christmas celebrates Jesus' birth. Ephiphany means "manifestation" or "clear revelation" and celebrates all the ways Jesus was clearly revealed to be the Messiah, beginning with the visit of the wise men. Lent recalls Jesus' forty days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness and his journey to Jerusalem and the cross. Easter commemorates Christ's resurrection. Pentecost recognizes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the church. The remainder of the year is Ordinary Time, a time to reflect on Jesus' commission, doing the work of the Kingdom of God and growing spiritually.

All of this is to say that while you are thinking about the new calendar year this week, I invite you to think also about the Christian Year. I invite you to reflect on some Christian Year Resolutions. How can I make the love of Christ more real to others this year? How can I keep Lent more sacred? What spiritual practice do I need to take on during Lent rather than give up? Where will I find resurrection in my life? You can think of your own questions to guide you in thinking about your own spiritual well-being. With this kind of spiritual check up, you will be able to have a truly blessed year.

Blessings,
Rev Linda

Christmas Blessings

2009-12-24T13:03:00.001-08:00

It is Christmas Eve and I am getting ready for worship this evening. My heart is truly full--of joy, of excitement, of nerves (my first Christmas in this church), of sadness (my first Christmas without my dad). But most of all of hope. Every year I feel it again. There is something about this night and these services. The music, the worship, Holy Communion and Candlelight. God is Emmanuel--with us in a special way and I feel caught up and carried in his spirit.

So I wish for all of you a holy and blessed Christmas. May you experience God's presence and power this night in worship and in the days to come. As you open gifts, may you remember the best gift of all times: the gift of God in the flesh to us. God with skin on so that we may know that there is nothing that we can say, think or feel that God has not also said, thought or felt. This God with us will be with us and help us to overcome whatever it is in life we need to overcome to experience fullness and wholeness of life. That is what God's gift to us means. Receive it and begin your new life tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!
Rev Linda

The Longest Night

2009-12-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Read Amos 5:21-24
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. (Amos 5:21)

Today is the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. We are having a worship service tonight called "The Longest Night" that will be quiet and reflective, a time of recognizing that for many Christmas is not holly jolly. Pastor Sharon brought this service to the church. I had not heard of it before. But I really like it. It is starting the week off just right. It is changing the tone of how I get ready for Christmas Eve. I am getting ready with this reflective worship service and that feels very right to me.

Now don't misunderstand me. I love Advent and Christmas. I love it because it epitomizes hope. And I think that is why the early church chose this time of year for its celebration of Jesus' birth. If ever there was a time that the world need to celebrate the light of the world being born, it was at the darkest time of the year.

The prophet Amos would not have anything positive to say about the rampant commercialism of Christmas today. Speaking for God, he criticized those Israelites who thought their prosperity was a sign of divine favor. Speaking to us, Amos would probably say that God is not particularly interested in whether or not we have manger scenes in public parks or Christmas celebrations in public schools. What God does care about is whether we show genuine love to God, to our families and neighbors. God also cares whether we are showing the kind of justice and righteousness that Amos talks about. God wants our worship and our traditions to honor God. It is great to have Christmas worship traditions, but let's make sure our worship traditions truly honor Christ. That is the way that we will really keep Jesus as the reason for the season.

Born to Save

2009-12-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

One of the best loved verses of the New Testament is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." It is a wonderful verse but it is followed by an equally important one which says this: "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
Verse 17 is not memorized and quoted nearly as much. Together these verse reveal that God not only loved humanity in the beginning but has chosen not to condemn humantiy after centuries and centuries worth of disobedience and broken promises to God. Humans have been rebelling against God since the creation story and still God has not given up on us. In Christ, God became human with us to save us, once again choosing not to condemn us. As Christians, we are called to follow this example and not condemn others. We are called even to love our enemies. This is something we struggle with--especially when we think in terms of loving those like the 9/11 terrorists or the recent Ft. Hood gunman.

In the church at Seguin, there was one particular member who made it a point during prayer time about once a month to offer prayer for our enemies. It was always a good reminder of Jesus' command.

In this season of Christmas, in order to "take back" Christmas, we might consider some changes in our attitdes. We might consider spreading the spirit of Christmas by not being judgmental of anyone, especially those who are different--different faith, different nationality, differently abled, etc. We might take on the practice of praying for our enemies and those who persecute us, praying that they might be saved. We might pray to become more Christlike in the coming year in all that we do.

Throughout Scripture and throughout history people have consitently sinned and rebelled against God. Why, do you think, did God go to such great lengths to save the world instead of simply condemning or giving up on the world?

Living in a Material World

2009-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

No, I am not talking about the Madonna song. I am talking about the real world--especially the world (or maybe just the American culture) at Christmas. Why do you think it is that we celebrate God's ultimate act of humility and sacrifice--coming among us as a poor child born in a stable--by accumulating material possessions? What have we done to one of our most sacred holidays?

It started out small I'm sure. People offered homemade and handmade loving gifts to those special people in their lives. But it really has turned into a feeding frenzy. Retail stores expect to make their sales target in the last few weeks of the year. I remember the first time just a few years ago when I heard the term "black Friday." All I could think of was Good Friday which is sometimes also called Black Friday but it was the wrong time of the year for that. Instead it is that day that is to launch the Christmas sales rush.

As Christians we do not need to give up gift-giving traditions. But we do need to be mindfull of how we celebrate Christ's birth in all aspects of our celebration. Is it time to scale back on buying gifts to family and give to charities instead? What do our actions, attitudes and priorities during the season say about the way we are approaching Jesus' birth?

As we move closer to December 24 and 25, remember these words from Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Real Christmas War

2009-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

Read Titus 2:11

I think I am once again out of step with a lot of current trends, even Christian ones, because I just cannot get excited about the so called "Christmas wars." Whst is supposed to be at issue in this war is the tendency for businesses, especially retail stores, to avoid using the word "Christmas" in their advertising. Instead, they choose generic terms like "Happy Holidays" in order not to alienate their non-Christian customers. It is a recognition of the diversity of the American population. But some see it as an effort to secularize Christmas.

But what is overlooked in this discussion over holiday greetings is a much deeper war on Christmas--one waged by Christians who have lost sight of the real meaning of the holiday. We must each look inward and ask whether we share the blame for fostering a culture that has turned Christmas from a sacred celebration of God's Incarnation in Jesus to a festival of consumerism. Christmas is not just Jesus' birthday, but a celebration of the Incarnation--God becoming flesh and living as a human among humans. This is a radical intervention by God into human history not to judge the world but to save it. In Jesus, God got right in the middle of messy humanity. Jesus brought in the Kingdom of God and invited all of us to live in it. Somehow, we have taken this event and turned it in to a shopping frenzy.

Putting Christ back in Christmas is not about whether to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. It is rather about how we live our lives--how we worship, how we give and most importantly of all how we love.

Over the next few days until Christmas, I invite you to reflect with me on how we might really put Christ back in Christmas.

One Family

2009-12-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

Read Hebrews 2:10-18

Jesus' birth is recorded only in two of the four gospels: Matthew and Luke. The book of Hebrews doesn't say anything about the circumstances of Jesus' birth, but says a lot about what his birth means for the whole of humanity. The baby of Bethlehem is the unbreakable bond between humanity and heaven, and the writer illustrates this bond for us in these verses. Jesus is the Son of God through whom all was created (Hebrews 1:1-3). He lived on the earth as a physical, fully human person just like us(2:14), he endured temptation as one of us (2:18; 4:15) suffered as one of us (2:10), and died as one of us. He death was to redeem and restore us to restore us to God's family (2:14-15), and bond which humans broke through human sin. As Edward's love for Bella in the Twilight series makes her part of a larger family complete with new brothers and sisters, even more so does God's love for us make us God's children (2:13), siblings of our big brother Jesus (2:11-12). Jesus became like us so that we can become like him.

How does thinking about Jesus as a sibling shape your relationship with him?

How does our relationship with Jesus make us part of a new, larger family? Who are our brothers and sisters in this family?

God Knows Who We Are

2009-12-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Read Psalm 139

Every fall there are movies released with producers hoping it will be a blockbuster. This fall much anticipated release and blockbuster was New Moon, which opened Nov. 20th. It was the third-largest opening ever and the second movie in the "Twilight Saga."

The Saga is about the romance between Bella Swan, a high scool student in rural Washington State, and Edward Cullen, an immortal vampire who has been seventeen for "a while" (since 1918 to be exact). While he is one of the "undead", he and his family are "vegetarian" vampires. They drink only animal blood. The series of books has been incredibly popular, mostly with teens, but not exclusively. I had friends that insisted I read them, knowing I am an avid reader. I read book 1, Twilight but I was not as crazy about it as others were.

Reviewing the books for Christianity Today, Todd Hertz wrote that it is the idea of being wanted, known and passionately loved taps into the desires of many who read the books. Each of us has a desire to be known and loved in such a way. The Psalmist reminds us that there is One who alreadys knows and loves us in just such a passionate way, and we can read of this love in a work that is not fiction. Verses 4, 15-16 of Psalm 139 speaks of God's complete knowledge of us. And God's knowledge of us is not emotionless or passive: God actively seeks us, refusing to let us remain distant (see verses 7-12). God began searching for us from the moment we first sinned (see the story of Adam and Eve hiding in Genesis 3:8-9) and culminating in the event we celebrate at Christmas: the time when God came among us and as one of us in Jesus. God's love for us is unconditional and irrevocable. God loves us even when we are not very lovable--as when we like the psalmist are praying for the destruction of those we think are wicked and professing hatred. God sticks with us until the end, continually helping us grow in holiness.

When do you feel most certain that God knows you and loves you? least certain? How does God's total knowledge of you and love for you affect how you live your life?

Sing Your Song

2009-12-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

Read Psalm 98

"O sing to the Lord a new song." Psalm 98:1a

Psalm 98 calls us to sing a "new song" for God, to celebrate the incredible things God has done. The psalmist is clear that we have a responsibility to be rowdy truth-tellers, calling as much attention to God as possible. Whether we play the lyre or the bass guitar, the ramm's horn or the trumpet, we must be bold in bringing God's love into the world.

But after the Israelites were taken into exile in Babylon, they struggled with singing the Lord's song. In Psalm 137 they expressed their pain: "By the rivers of Babylon--there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion...How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" Times of rapid change can seem like a foreign land and a time when we have to sing a new song. The word of the Lord stands forever, but we have to learn to declare it in new ways, in ways that will reach hurting people.

What are ways that we can sing a new song?

Square Pegs and Round Holes

2009-11-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

Read 1 Samuel 17:31-40

In this text, the young shepherd boy David prepares to go up against the great warrior of the Philistines, Goliath. His plan is to take him down like he does the wild animals who come after his sheep--with a sling and a smooth stone. He dresses up in in the coat of armor, but finds it too inhibiting. Instead, he goes just as himself, ready to do battle as he always does.

We learn from David's story that what works for one person or situation may not work for all. Churches too often assume that the best way to invite new people into the congregation is to use cutting-edge technology or other innovations. And in some settings this is very effective; but in other settings, it doesn't quite fit. Each church has to find what works best for them. But all efforts to reach newcomers require good old fashioned Christian Hospitality and ministries in which newcomers can participate in meaningful ways.

This blog is one of our ways to try to reach people we might not otherwise reach. We are trying to stay open to other ideas and possibilities as well--all because we have really good news to share. Jesus loves each and every one of us and he loves us unconditionally. His love, mercy and forgiveness are new each day. That is news worth sharing. And we want all peoples to know it.

What tools does the church use to spread the gospel and invite new people into the congregation? Which of these tools are most effective? What new ideas do you have?

Contagious Gratitude

2009-11-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

While some indicators suggest that the recession has ended and the economy is turning around, the recovery is slow. There are still over 15 million people out of work. A recent Consumer Report poll revealed that 65% of of consumers plan to cut back on holiday expenses this year. Some families are choosing not to make their traditonal trips to grandma's for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Others who host holiday dinners are cutting back by asking guests to bring more of the side dishes and desserts. And many people will cut back on the Black Friday shopping spree--news that shop owners are not happy to hear at all. This Christmas, many people will have to adjust to receiving less than everything on their wish lists.

This also is the time of year when people are most likely to donate money, food and clothing to missions and ministries. But because of the economy, many charitable organizations will be expecting fewer donations and tightening their budgets.

As we begin this Thanksgiving week, it is easy to get focused on all this negative. But when we dwell on the negative, we miss out on the gratitude that comes from realizing that we are blessed beyond measure. May we use this time as an opportunity to express gratitude for all the gifts we've been given: a place to live, clothes to wear, friends and family, a church community, and God-given talents. Even the beautiful world we live in and each new day are reasons for giving thanks.

After the people of Judah returned home from exile in Babylon, they began the pain- staking task of rebuilding the Temple. After completing the foundation, the priests stopped to give thanks and praise. Their gratitude was contagious, and all the people joined in singing and shouting songs and prayers of thanksgiving. (Ezra 3:10-13) May our gratitude be likewise as contagious. May it flow from our lips in such a heartfelt way that it catches on as others recognize its truth. That would make not only for a truly Happy Thanksgiving, but a joyful way in which to begin Advent as well!

Bringing Unrighteous Worlds to An End

2009-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Read 2 Peter 3:8-15a
What sort of persons ought you to be?

Christians are called not to be worrying about the end of the world. We are called to be living faithfully in the world right now. Peter is giving ethical instructions to the followers of Jesus about what they are to do to build God's kingdom right now. Peter reminds us that Christians "strive to be found by [God] without spot or blemish" at all times. We eagerly anticpate a world where righteousness--God's perfect will--is at home.

God's promised tomorrow does not mean that we sit around and do nothing today. As Jesus teaches in his parable of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46, the promise of justice and righteousness in the future must motivate us to bring an end to injustice and unrighteousness now by caring for the "least of these." Thanksgiving and the holidays always seems to point out a world of need. It is a good time to exercise our faith.

What can you do this week to make God's righteiousness more at home in the world today?

The End of the World?

2009-11-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

Read Mark 13:24-35
Yesterday I preached about the end times from Mark 13:1-8. These verses continue along the same line. Verse 32 says "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

The movie 2012 is causing speculation that the end of the world is near. That speculation is based on the fact that the 5000+ year old Mayan calendar will run out in 2012. Some people believe that this as a sign that the end of the world is near.

Jesus is clear that we will not know when he will return and the end of the world will come. Only God knows that. To obsess about the end is misguided. We are called to live faithfully now, to do what we can to build God's kingdom now. The prophet Micah described this call succinctly when he said, "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Certainly that is what Jesus modeled.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Confession of 1967 states, "All who put their trust in Christ face divine judgment without fear, for the judge is their redeemer." The judge is our redeemer--that is important to remember. And the one who was there at our beginning, the one who created us and breathed life into us, is the one who is our judge and redeemer. That is a very good reason to have hope for the end times whenever that will be.

So let us face the future with great hope. And in the meantime, let us live kingdom building lives, being the best disciples we know how to be.

How would you respond to someone who claims to know when the world will end?

PS. If any of you are interested in yesterday's sermon, e-mail me at pastor_sumc@sbcglobal.net
Rev Linda

The Christian Tradition

2009-11-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

I Corinthians 11:17-26

These verses from one of Paul's letters to the church in Corinth address the abuse of a sacred tradition. Paul had learned that the Corinthians were not celebrating the Lord's Supper in the way Jesus had commanded. Instead, Paul saya, "When the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with you own supper." Those who had plenty could boast of having good bread and fine wine, while those who were poor would have nothing to eat. Lost was the emphasis on the body and blood of Christ and the coming together around the table as brother and sisters in Christ.

Each time we receive Holy Communion, we are participating in an ancient tradition that is unique to followers of Christ. It is just as sacred now as it was 2000 years ago in the Upper Room when Jesus first hosted this holy meal around the table with his disciples. Paul's teachings about Holy Communion in 1 Corinthians aplly to all of our sacred traditons. We must be careful to keep Christ at the center of these celebrations.

What are some other sacred Christian traditons? What does God want us to remember and celebrate through these traditions?

The Tragedy at Ft. Hood

2009-11-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

My thoughts and prayers and certainly are with the families at Ft. Hood: the families whose loved one was killed or wounded as well as all the families who are stationed there. My thoughts and prayers are also with all those stationed at Ft. Hood and with those in the military all over the world for somehow this seems like a tragedy that touches all those who are in the military.

I am reminded of the words from Psalm 130: "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice!"

We can cry to the Lord in our deepest, darkest hour and God does hear our cry. The Psalm continues a few verses later, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I hope;"

In the midst of a tragedy that we do not understand, we hang on to our hope in God.

Shortly after 9/11, Max Lucado wrote a very beautiful prayer that was widely circulated. I kept a copy of it knowing that unfortunately there would be other tragedies when it would be good to hear his words again. Here is his prayer:

Do It Again, Lord
As written by Max Lucado for America Prays, a national prayer vigil held Saturday, September 14, 2001. Permission to copy not only granted but encouraged.
Dear Lord,
We're still hoping we'll wake up. We're still hoping we'll open a sleepy eye and think, What a horrible dream.
But we won't, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad.
There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?)
We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn't.
And so we come to you. We don't ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don't request it; we implore it. We know what you can do. We've read the accounts. We've pondered the stories and now we plead, Do it again, Lord. Do it again.
Remember Joseph? You rescued him from the pit. You can do the same for us. Do it again, Lord.
Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from the angel of death. We have children, too, Lord. Do it again.
And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember his fears? You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their hope. The doubts of Thomas? You took them away. Do it again, Lord. Do it again.
You changed Daniel from a captive into a king's counselor. You took Peter the fisherman and made him Peter an apostle. Because of you, David went from leading sheep to leading armies. Do it again, Lord, for we need counselors today, Lord. We need apostles. We need leaders. Do it again, dear Lord.
Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here on that Tuesday, you saw there on that Friday. Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the ash fell on our children, the darkness fell on your Son. Just as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was pierced.
And by dusk, heaven's sweetest song was silent, buried behind a rock.
But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us a September Easter.
We thank you, dear Father, for these hours of unity. Disaster has done what discussion could not. Doctrinal fences have fallen. Republicans are standing with Democrats. Skin colors have been covered by the ash of burning buildings. We thank you for these hours of unity.
And we thank you for these hours of prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded. He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he has no idea what you can do.
Let your mercy be upon our President, Vice President, and their families. Grant to those who lead us wisdom beyond their years and experience. Have mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain. Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might believe.
And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years you've used her to heal a hurting world.
Do it again, Lord. Do it again.
Through Christ,
Amen.

Amen.
Rev Linda

Hallowed Traditions

2009-11-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! We had an absolutely great Fall Fest Saturday night with about 1000 people here enjoying a fun and safe Halloween. It was awesome. Then on Sunday morning, most all of the volunteers made it to church as we remembered and honored the Saints of the church and extended church family. That service always means a lot to me as I remember with love those who entered the church eternal in the past year.

I talked just a bit about All Hallows' Eve in my sermon on Sunday. Its customs come from the Druids in pre-Christian times. The believed that the night of November 1 marked the end of summer and the beginning of the long nights and dark days of winter. On this night, they believed that demons, witches and evil spirits roamed the earth. These spirits went about frightening, haunting and tricking mortals. Humans offered them treats to stay away. Sounds familiar doesn't it? In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III fixed the date of All Hallows Day (which later became All Saints Day) a day to remember the lives of martyrs and saints, to November 1. The pople hoped that this solemn Christian remembrance could replace the pagan festival--it had worked with many other seasons. But it did not work with this one and All Hallows Eve or Halloween persisted.

Long ago when the Apostle Paul visited Athens, Paul took note of all the statues of Geek gods and goddesses and also found "an altar...to an unknown God." (Acts 17:23) After poking fun at his audience for being so religious that they worship gods they don't even know, Paul explains that the unknown God they seek is Christ and quotes Greek poets to make his piont. Although Paul sees glimpses of God in the Greekss' pagan religion, he explains how traditions such as representing deities with gold, silver or stone distract us from truly worshiping God.

Methodists have no problem with calling Halloween "Halloween" even though it is not a Christian holiday. And we do see glimpses of God in many of our culture's secular traditions. But we need to be careful that a sacred remembrance of those who have died is not overshadowed by ghouls and ghosts, that the birth of our Savior is more than a jolly man in a red suit, and that Christ's resurrection isn't diluted by images of Peter Cottontail.

How can we make sure we keep holiness in our holidays?

Call to the Weary

2009-10-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Read Matthew 11:28-30
We know that because Jesus was fully human and fully divine, Jesus knows that humans face a host of emotional, physical and spiritual challenges. Jesus knows how it feels to need someone to depend on--someone to bear our burdens. Fortunately for us, Jesus identifies himself as that person, saying to all, no matter what our life situation, "come to me..and I will give you rest."

God calls us to fully depend on Jesus for all things. God doesn't promise to fix all of our problems, but God does promise to give us rest and strength for the journey. God offers this rest and strength through a variety of people, circumstances and practices (prayer, reading Scripture, worship) We need only to claim this blessing.

Find those ways and those practices that help you feel the presence of God. The sound of water always puts me in the presence of God so a small fountain helps me feel God's presence. Also, some kind of mantra can help focus attention on God and block out the world. I repeat the simple words "I am here; you are here." I can feel God's presence wash over me and the tension in my shoulders just relaxes. Giving up whatever worry or burden I am carrying is an ongoing process, but I know God is waiting always for me to let go.

What are some of the burdens you carry? How have you been able to give these burdens to God? How has God used you to give strength, rest, and/or comfort to someone who was carrying some heavy burdens?

Church Conference Report

2009-10-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is not my usual kind of post but I thought I'd post my Church Conference report here so that anyone in the congregation who wanted to read it could. It gives people an opportunity to comment as well if you so choose. Back to regular blogging soon.

Rev Linda

Pastor’s Church Conference Report
October 25, 2009
Rev. Linda Montgomery

And I will show you a still more excellent way. I Corinthians 12:31b

The apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Those words have echoed through my mind and my heart since even learning that I was coming to be the pastor Schertz United Methodist Church. What a joy, what a privilege it is to be serving as your pastor. I rejoice!

I have to start with a thank you. Thank you for not only warmly welcoming me but for also tenderly caring for me during the illness and death of my father this summer. Your prayers, your cards, your memorial gifts, your hugs and smiles all have meant so much to both me and my family. It did a great deal to make me go from feeling like a newcomer to feeling at home.

I have been challenging us to look at everything we do in terms of what Paul calls “the still more excellent way.” There is so much wonderful ministry that goes on here at Schertz UMC and there is so much potential. So I continue to challenge us to think about and to always be working toward excellence. It is like John Wesley’s phrase “going on to perfection.” We keep striving for excellence. It is not that we do anything wrong. We just keep getting better!

Now you know pastors love statistics so I have just a couple to throw in. This year to date we’ve seen a 7% increase in membership from 413 to 447. We have to say thanks in part to Pastor Sharon’s little speech last week about joining to bump up our statistics for this Church Conference resulting in 9 new members last Sunday. But, hey, whatever it takes! Our overall worship attendance is up 5% as well. For both of these we say “thanks be to God”. God is doing a good work here and we pray that it will continue.

I know that in the spring this congregation did a study of Bishop Schnase’s book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. I’ve studied the book as well and I have goals and dreams for the church based on these five practices:

Radical Hospitality
My goal and dream is that everyone who enters these premises will truly experience the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord as well as the love of this family of faith. Toward that end, I would like to see us interacting more with the parents of our Kids Day Out children as well as the Boy Scouts and their leaders. We have gold mine of families in each of these programs many of whom probably do not have church homes. May we offer them Christ and a place to call home.

Passionate Worship
This always has to include a personal challenge to make sure I am prepared in every way to preach and lead worship so that those who come truly will experience the presence of God as they actively participate in worship. Then, I want to make more use of technology, especially at 9:45. I also want to think about how worship can use all of our senses and how we can be sure that worship is child friendly. My goal is that we will passionately worship God every week.

Intentional Faith Development
I am excited about the addition of an Adult Council this year to look at our overall adult education ministry. I want us to grow in offering long and short term studies for adults.
We also have a lot of people coming from other denominations. I want us to also regularly be teaching United Methodist Beliefs. My goal is that all disciples of Christ at Schertz UMC will be growing in faith.

Risk Taking Mission and Service
I was excited to come to the church that introduced our Conference to Faith in Action and want us to continue that program. I am glad our youth take a mission trip each year. I want the adults to take a mission trip in 2010. It‘s been several years and it’s time. I am also excited about the “Imagine No Malaria”. The missions committee set a goal of saving lives through this campaign 10 times our worship attendance. That would be 2800 lives. We can do it!

Extravagant Generosity
This is a generous congregation. We have paid already 100% of our apportionments. I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a congregation paid out early. Praise God! The Futures Committee has set before us a goal of paying off the debt on building 1 by the middle of 2010. That is my goal and dream also.

Finally, it is a joy to work with this great staff: Alice, Sarah, Cherie, Kimberly, Brandy (and the rest of our nursery and KDO workers) and Sharon B. It is also a joy to serve with Rev. Sharon Stewart. We are a great team with complimentary skills. We have a great level of trust and camaraderie. I respect her gifts and graces for ministry. She has already made a great impact. I believe God called and sent us to Schertz United Methodist Church for “such a time as this.”

Again I am so blessed to be your pastor. I get up every morning and give thanks to God for you and for this church. May we continue to grow and to seek the still more excellent way as we discern where God is leading us into the future.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda

God Dependent

2009-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Read Psalm 20
"Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)

The classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of a boy's wonderful imagination. The book begins with a boy named Max whose mother sends him to his room as punishment for being too wild. Once there, his room turns into a jungle and then an ocean and finally a wild kingdom where he meets the Wild Things. The Wild Things are large and furry creatures that look like monsters but Max is not afraid of them. The creatures decide to make Max their king. As such he seeks to improve life for those under his rule. The Wild Things come to depend on Max for stability, security, peace and joy. Max learns that being a king is hard work. The Wild Things begin to question whether it is wise to depend on a boy for happiness and peace.

Like the Wild Things, we all need someone or something to depend on, someone who can offer us guidance and protection. But like the Wild Things, sometimes we make the mistake of placing our hope and trust in the wrong things or people.

Scripture tells us again and again that we cannot make it on our own and that we can depend on God for faith, joy and salvation. Throughout the Bible we read of people who struggled to fully place their trust in God. After God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, life was hard in the wilderness. More than once the people thought leaving was a mistake.

Once while Moses was up on Mt Sinai visiting with God, the people decided he had been gone way too long. They decided they would rather worship a god they could see. So they gathered all their gold and created a golden calf to worship. Read about this in Exodus 32. God and Moses were furious and the consequences were grave. Later, Joshua became the leader of the people. Just as they are ready to go into the promised land, the people again doubt. They are afraid they will be defeated by the Canaanites already living there. They make plans to select a leader to take them back to Egypt. Read about this in Numbers 14:1-12. (It does make one wonder why God did not just give up on the whole human race!) But God-inspired, spirit-filled leaders were able to talk sense into the people and get them back on the right track.

This Psalm, written by King David, reminds us once more to set our hearts right. It is God in whom we can really trust for strength, guidance, protection and wisdom. All the things that really matter are gifts from God. May we follow the example of David and others and fully depend on God.

What are some of the chariots and horses that people put their faith in today? When have you relied on your personal gifts and abilities instead of trusting God?

Jacob the Trickster

2009-10-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis 27:1-36
I have lots of favorites in the Bible but I love the whole book of Genesis. It is just full of wonderful stories of our "beginnings." The whole saga of Jacob is a great story of lying, deceit, trickery, come-uppance, redemption and transformation. But for this blog, we focus only on a portion--one of lying, cheating and trickery. Such a noble beginning for the Father of Israel!

Jacob was one of the twin sons of Isaac. (Remember Isaac? He was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.) Now although he was a twin, he was born second and this is always significant in Ancient Israel. The blessing of the father--meaning the inheritance--goes to the first born son. But Jacob was his mother Rebekah's favorite. So Rebekah and Jacob hatch up a plan to steal Esau's birthright. They dress up Jacob is animal skins so that he feels hairy like his brother and present him to his elderly, blind father as if he is Esau. Isaac blesses him and he receives the inheritance. The blessing is permanent, even when given by mistake.

Jacob is forced to flee for his life. Esau, as we can well imagine, is furious at Jacob's deception. Jacob flees to Haran where he meets up with another trickster Laban who will become his father-in-law. In Haran Jacob will marry Leah and Rachel and they will give birth to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Despite Jacob's obvious faults, God does not turn away from him. In fact, God continues the covenant with him. Jacob's name much later in the story becomes Israel which means "one who struggles with God." Often throughout their history, the people of Israel have struggled with God. But God has continued to love and work through them.

What made Jacob difficult? Why would God continue to work with and through Jacob? What does God's relationship with Jacob suggest about God's relationship with us?

The Lost Sheep

2009-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Read Luke 15:1-7
Sometimes in my spare time I watch the show House. House is about a rather cantankerous doctor, Dr. House, who is a brilliant diagnostician. But he walks with a cane and lives with chronic pain. He is just one of those crotchety people. He has no bedside manner so his patients never quite know how to take him. Student doctors are always scared to death of him. But in the end, he always comes up with the diagnosis for the mysterious ailment and saves the day. Thus people want to keep him around because of his skill even though he does suffer from OPD--Obnoxious Personality Disorder (another show, another era).

I remember my very first job in the church. I was very young and I was just starting out as a Christian Educator. We were living in Harlingen, TX. The Business Manager of the church was a retired Colonel and he really thought I was an overpaid secretary who just couldn't type. (I didn't at that time before we really had computers). He watched every move I made with a very critical eye. He would even watch how I stamped envelopes with the return address. "Have you ever done time-motion studies, because if you had you would realize how much time you are wasting in the way you are stamping those envelopes." For real--he said that to me. I was sooooo intimidated. And the more he watched, the clumsier my movements became. I have a lot more backbone now than I did at 23!

The parable of the Lost Sheep (and the one of the Lost Coin which follows) are among my favorite scriptures. Jesus tells about a shepherd who is tending 100 sheep and suddenly realizes one is missing. The shepherd leaves behind the 99 while he goes searching diligently for the one missing sheep. Sheep in the wilderness are in great peril. All alone, they are easy prey to wild animals. He could have decided to just write off this one not so smart sheep who left the safety of the group. But not this shepherd. He searched and searched UNTIL he found it. Then he throws a party to celebrate the finding of the one who is so precious.

I suspect that the Dr. House's of the world, or the Colonels who intimate young women or even the young women who are so intimidated are like the lost sheep. Each one of them, each one of us, each one of God's children in whatever way we are wandering and lost, are very precious to God. God searches for us until God finds us and when God finds us, God throws a party to celebrate our homecoming, back into God's fold. Regardless of how difficult we are or how much we wander, God does not give up on us. And God does not wait for us to ask to be found either. God searches for us just because God loves us and wants to. Behold what manner of love that God has given unto us that we should be called children of God.

What does the shepherd in this parable teach us about God? What is so radical about this shepherd's approach to lost sheep. What does this parable teach us about God's relationship with us?

God Believes in Us

2009-10-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Read Luke 19:1-10
Still referring to Glee, the cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is doing everything to destroy the club. But Glee club coach Will Schuester believes in "his" kids and persists in helping the singers. He is not a flawless character, but his attitude toward his kids offers a pretty strong parable of God's love for God's people--even those the world sees as losers.

The Luke text is the story of Zacchaeus. Zachaeus was a man, short in stature, who was a tax collector. Tax collectors were hated by their fellow Jews because they were seen as having "sold" out to the hated Roman govt because they agreed to collect govt taxes and were believed to cheat for personal gain in the process. But Jesus sees this "loser" as "a son of Abraham"--a beloved member of the chosen people of God--one of the "lost" whom Jesus came to seek out and save. We don't know whether Zacchaeus is as bad a "sinner" as his neighbors make him out to be (although his offer of restitution may suggest that he is) but we do know that Jesus looked on him with love, just as Jesus looks on us all even though each and every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:21-26).

When have you believed in someone others wrote off as a loser? How do you experience Jesus' love for and belief in you?

Insiders and Outsiders

2009-10-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

The new Fox Network show Glee is getting a lot of critical acclaim. This show is about a group of High School students who join the Glee Club at their school. They are without a shadow of a doubt a very talented group of students. But the club is made up of the unpopular students, the ones who are even considered by most of the student body to be the "Losers". The Glee Club includes a wheelchair bound bully targe, a football player whose teammates shun him when he decides to join the choir, unpopular Rachel and others.

The show is a cosmos of what happens all too often not only in high schools but also out in the real world. All too often the world gets divided into winners and losers. And all of us want to be winners. It is very difficult when one feels as if one has been placed in the Loser category. Many a bright and shining child of God has lost their way because they have come to feel as if they are a Loser.

Congregations can be guilty as well. We know how to minister to people "just like us." We have more trouble when it comes to ministering to people out on the fringes: the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill. At a workshop I attended this summer, the pastor/leader told the story about a woman who came to him for counseling. She was a prostitute. She accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior but here was the divine dilemma. She had no family support, no education and a child to care for. As far as she could see, she had no other means to provide for her family than to keep being a prostitute. She gave her heart to Christ but she had to survive. She told the pastor, "Your church doesn't want me. It doesn't know what to do with me." I think she is right. I think she breaks the mold for most churches--ours included. We would want to fix her when maybe what we need to do most of all is just love her. Jesus loves her, of that I am sure. Psalm 139:14 says of her and all of us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." And James 2:1 says "My brothers and sister, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?"
What would you say to our sister in Christ? What would Jesus say?

Not for Sale

2009-09-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Read Acts 8:9-25
Philip was a deacon chosen by the twelve disciples to assist in the work of ministry. He is preaching and baptizing in Samaria when he comes across a local magician named Simon. Simon is somewhat of a celebrity in Samaria because of his acts of magic. But now comes Philip and he is able to do some "out of the ordinary" things himself. Simon is intrigued by Philip by what Philip is doing.

Philip is preaching and baptizing in the name of Jesus. He has also been able to perform signs and miracles. It is this that intrigues Simon. When the apostles Peter and John come to town and demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit, Simon decides that he too needs this power. He tries to buy it from the apostles. For this he is sternly rebuked by Peter, and Simon repents.

All the money in the world cannot buy for us the Holy Spirit's power, God's grace or the redemption we receive through Christ.

What are some examples of other things that money cannot buy?
How is faithfully giving money to the church different from trying to buy God's love?

Two Masters

2009-09-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Read Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34

Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, which started in Chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus has been instructing the crowd to hold themselves to a higher standard. He tells them it is not enough to not commit murder; they must also avoid rage. Likewise, not committing adultery is insufficient; they should refrain from lust. But then Jesus begins talking about money--a subject Jesus talks about more than any other because Jesus knows it is one we have trouble with. Jesus sets the bar equally high in what he has to say about money. He tells his listeners that they are not to store up treasures on earth but instead to store up treasures in heaven. In other words, we cannot put all of our trust in the money and things we have in this world. They are ultimately going to be gone. We have to look to a future that is beyond this life. And when you look to the future that cannot be seen with the human eye, it makes you see what matters a little differently. It means you need to spend some time with the One with whom you hope to spend eternity. God is your treasure in heaven.

Jesus takes this teaching even a step further when he says that we cannot serve two masters. We have to choose which master to serve: God or money. This is very difficult for most of us living in the materialistic world in which we live. And, there are very real things for which we must be prepared, things like retirement. We've seen enough evidence of true greed in our recent past, Wall Street types who simply and blatantly looked out only for themselves, to know something about who, at least on a large scale, this text is talking to. But all of us to one extent are another must confront this text and ask ourselves whether we put our trust in God to provide or whether we withhold not quite able or willing to believe God will provide. It is a question that will keep us balanced, keep us in right relationship with God.

Running the Race.
Rev Linda

Running th Race

2009-09-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Read I Corinthians 9:24-27

This text from Corinthians speaks of running the race and how races only have one winner. It instructs readers to "run in such a way as to get the prize."

When I was one of the pastors in Seguin, we were looking for a new youth director. In the midst of our search, a husband and wife team applied for the job. Every correspondeance we got from them was signed "Running the Race". I came to really like that. It speaks of how we are running the race of faith. Are we doing everything we can do in our life of faith to be faithfully fit for the goal of salvation? Now salvation is a gift--I have to say that really quickly especially since I am currently teaching a book on salvation--but we still have a responsibility to be practicing our faith. We have a responsibility to be doing those things that keep our faith strong and growing. And, may we be so spiritually fit that others will see our light shining brightly and want some of it too. That is the greatest prize of all.

May we run the race with energy and zeal.

Running the race,
Rev. Linda

A Cloud of Witnesses

2009-09-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Acts 18:24-19:7

Apollos was a Jewish Christian from Egypt who spoke well and was well versed in the Scripture. He spoke with great enthusiasm and boldly throughout the city of Ephesus and Asia Minor. Priscilla and Aquilla, two Christian leaders in the early church, heard him speak and noticed that something was missing from his testimony. So they spent some time with Apollos, giving him further instruction in the Christian faith, teaching him what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.

While Apollos was still in Ephesus, Paul arrived. Paul began to teach about the difference between the baptism that came from John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus. John was not the Messiah, the Savior. His baptism was for repentance but it had not included the Holy Spirit. Remember that even today when we baptize, we baptize in the name of "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." John did not know of the Holy Spirit as it had not come yet. So Apollos and others were baptized in the name of Jesus.

Apollos knew Scripture well. He was able to speak eloquently. But he also needed others to teach him about Jesus, and what else he needed to know to be a follower of Jesus. It takes a village, even when we are grown-ups, to help us on our journey of faith. It takes a church family to be fellow travelers, to study together, pray together, be in fellowship together and to be encouragers along the way.

Glenna Judd was the organist of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Sherman, Texas in 1967when my family moved to Sherman and my dad became pastor of that church. She was also the librarian at Austin College. The organ was one of those big, wonderful pipe organs with double hand keyboard and a foot keyboard as well. I loved to watch her play. When she retired from Austin College, she joined the Peace Corp and spent three years in Africa. She always drove a little Volkswagon Beetle and you always knew when it was Glenna coming. She played the organ for all four Thompson children weddings--mine being the first. She is definately a saint of my life, in my cloud of witnesses. Glenna died this summer at the age of 102. I'm telling you this just because I wanted to celebrate one of those in my cloud of witnesses.

There are always people who nurture us along the way in our faith journeys. What would we do without them? If you want to celebrate someone, you may as you make comments. The life of faith is strengthened by the presence of other Christians who travel with us along the way.

Who has helped you better understand your Christian faith and how?

Grace and peace,
Rev. Linda

Faith Training

2009-09-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

2 Timothy 3:14-17 "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it."

In this letter, Paul encourages his protege, Timothy, to remain strong in his knowledge of Scripture and in the beliefs he grew up learning. The letter reminds Timothy that knowing, undertanding, and applying Scripture prepares us for the work that God calls us to do.

All too often we are not prepared for the work of faith. It gets our left overs. But faithful living takes training and discipline. It takes as much time and attention as do things like athletic training. We devote time to reading and studying Scripture, better understanding the basic tenets of the Christian faith, and applying Jesus' teachings to our daily lives "so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."

How much time do you devote do prayer, devotion and studying Scripture?
In what ways do you learn about Scripture and the basics of the faith?

Bringing Good News

2009-09-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

Matthew 4:23 "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people."

Jesus began his ministry by traveling throughout Galilee and preaching the good news about the kingdom of God. This good news involved healing. Matthew tell us that Jesus went about "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people." God desires that everyone be healthy in body, mind and spirit. When we pray in the Lord's Paryer, "your kingdom come", we are praying for (among other things) the healing of the sickness and brokenness in our lives and throughout the world.

The text above from Matthew follows the passage in which Jesus calls his disciples. Jesus intructed these disciples to join in the kingdom-work of healing, and he has called disiciple of every subsequent generation to do the same. When we work toward the healing of brokenness, in all its many different forms, then we are being kingdom-builders.

How can you work toward healing brokenness in your world?
How can you, through acts of healing, give others a glimpse of God's kingdom?

God the Ultimate Caregiver

2009-09-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

Read Isaiah 65:17-20
These are beautiful and hopeful words from the prophet Isaiah--words that promise a time of long life for all God's people. They talk of a "new creation" that must be some kind of paradise. While the text does not say it, it calls to my mind at least, the creation story before sin entered in.

The ancient people of Israel and Judah had a complicated relationship with God. Like all people of faith, they went back and forth between being faithful to God's promises and ignoring God's instructions. Over and over again they took matters into their own hand making quite a mess out of things. The Israelits' faithfulness to God was complicated by their tumultuous history of being enslaved and conquered. They often found themselves in need of some kind of healing: to be freed from captivity in Egypt; to be delivered from exile in Babylon; to be rescued from the corrupt rule of kings who instituted idol worship.

Few of us have experienced slavery or exile, but we do know what it means to stand in need of healing whether it be healing from physical illness, broken relationships, pride, greed, disappointment, failure or other types of sickness and brokenness. The Scripture reminds us, as it did the people of Judah, that God desires healing for all people. It gives us a vision of a world free from sickness and premature death. As Christians, we look forward to a world where death and illness are no more. Only God can bring about such long-lasting healing. But we can join God in this effort by bringing healing to the brokenness that we encounter each day.

What are some things in our world that need healing?
How do you think God provides healing in our world?
In what ways does God work thorugh us to provide healing?

Fear Turned to Fruit

2009-08-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

Read Genesis 45:4-15
This is a portion of the story Joseph. Joseph was abused by his brothers as a child because they were jealous of him. They first threw him in a pit to leave him for dead. Then they had a better idea and sold him into slavery. Later Jospeh was wrongly accused of rape and sent to prison. Still, he prsevered and remaiined faithful to God. Ultimately Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt and was able to save the country, as well as the brothers who had sold him into slavery, from famine.

We can only imagine how afraid Joseph must have been when he was in the pit, when he was sold into slavery, when he was wrongly accused and imprisoned. But through all these trials, Joseph managed to hang on to his relationship with God and keep hoping and having faith in God.

How does God work through frightening situations?
What can we learn from Joseph's example?

Post Script

2009-08-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Aug. 27, 2009

I read Disciplines from the Upper Room for my morning devotional. The text today was from James 1:17-21 (one of the texts for Sunday). But it had some really beautiful thoughts to add to our discussion on truthtelling. The writer this week is Rev. Dean Lueking. James says, "[God] gave us birth by the word of truth." The author writes, "In a world pelted daily with words beyond number--dumb talk, phony speech, angry words, pointless yakking--God takes an amazing risk. God entrusts the gospel word to the lips of God's people to speak the truth in love, to upbuild one another in faith, to speak good news where there is none. Think of it: We hang on the word of life as we speak Christ to others again today, which makes us midwives in that wondrous mystery that quickens souls and equips lives to be abundant in works of love."

And then the prayer: "Speak to me, blessed God, that I may speak life to others. Amen."

God entrusts the gospel word to us and we become midwives as we speak that good news, those life-giving words to others so that they may experience abundant life. That is also what it means to speak the truth in love. I thought that was well said.

Grace and peace,
Rev. Linda

We All Fear

2009-08-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone."

In this chapter of Corinthians, Paul addresses the church at Corinth with a warning. He reminds them that even though Israel was God's chosen people who had God's favor and guidance, many Isrelites gave in to temptation and sin. God led them through the Red Sea and the wilderness, but they still faced many hardships. They still had to obey God'scommandments and keep God's covenant.

In the same way, the Corinthian church and our churches today cannot assume that our faith in God will make us immune from trouble. That is impossible. Our faith does not exempt us from earthly trials, but it does empower us to face these fears. We can face them because we know that God is going to face them with us. We know that there is nothing that we can face that Jesus did not face as well and that he walks with us every step of the way. God gives us the strength to get through whatever "test" comes our way. Corinthians says God provides a way out. I prefer to think of it as God provides a way through the test or the trial because God is walking beside us, or if need be, carrying us.

Fear is an honest human emotion and God accepts honest human emotions. We never have to hide how we feel from God. When we have a relationship with God, God does not necessarily remove all our fears, but God can give us a new perspective on fear and help us to respond faithfully and courageously when fear arises if we will trust God.

What are some common human fears?

How can we grow in faith by facing our fears with courage?

When we face our fear, in what ways does God provide a way out or a way through?

The Necessary Truths

2009-08-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Read 1 Kings 22:13-28
This is a very interesting story about the prophet Micaiah who was the only truthful prophet of all the prophets in the kingdom and the king knew it. When all the other prophets told the king to go to war, the king knew that only Micaiah would tell him what God really wanted. It would have been easier for Micaiah to go along with the crowd. But Micaiah spoke up and told the truth.

Jeremiah 14:13-16 and John 7:18 also stress the importance of truth telling. God is not very tolerant of those who are dishonest. So again, Ephesians 4:14-16 is important. "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love."

Paul is calling for maturity of faith, of standing firm and of speaking the truth in love. If we don't, then we are more like these words from 1 Corinthians 13:1-2: "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

These are strong words--without love, I am nothing. Paul is serious about this attitude for Christians. God is love; therefore Christians must be love as well and must be willing to be truth tellers at all times.

What a difference it would make in the world if everyone would simply tell the truth. Yes, that is idealistic but it would make the world a better place! May we pray to God for the wisdom and courage to be truthtellers in all circumstances.

About Posting Comments...

2009-08-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Several people have told me about problems they have had posting comments. So, I went back to my expert blogger, my daughter Stephanie, and she checked it out. Now so have I. Here is posting comments made easy:

Go to the "profile" button. Go all the way to the bottom. It gives you two options. One is "Name/URL" and one is "anonymous". You can use either of those to simply post a comment without having to set up a whole profile. With the "name", a URL is not required. You can choose to give your name or still to use another kind of sign-in of your choice just at the end of your comment. This should make commenting a lot easier.

I just wanted to clarify that for everyone.

Grace and peace,
Rev. Linda

Getting Rid of Falsehood and Telling the Truth

2009-08-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Colossians 3:8-11
Now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another.

In many of his letters to churches, Paul offers instructions often involve bearing faithful witness--avoiding dishonesty, slander and malicious language. We must shed these old and sinful ways to get ready for the newness of life that Jesus brings. Our new life in Christ will be made known in our words, actions and relationships with others.

Colossians 3 continues like this:
Therefore, as God's chosen people, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which bind them all together in perfect unity.

We must choose to get dressed up in these atrributes every day. When we do, the light of Christ shines through.

When is being completely honest difficult? Are there times when you think you'd be better off not telling the truth?

Witness to the Truth

2009-08-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Deuternomy 5:20

The debate about health care reform seems to be bringing out the worst in people. Instead of focusing on the topic, it appears that the town hall meetings have become opportunities for name calling and overall bad behavior. It is partisan politics at its worst! But the ten commandments are very clear on this issue. Appearing twice in the Old Testamen, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, the ten commandments instruct us to avoid bearing false witness against a neighbor.

But what does it mean to "bear witness" and who is our neighbor? Jesus told his disciples they were witnesses to "the ends of the earth." (acts 1:8) As witnesses they were to faithfully represent Jesus and his teachings so that others would hear the truth about Christ. Being a witness comes with a big responsibility. If we pass along mistruths and distortions, poisoning otherwise healthy conversation and debate and we hurt not only others but our own credibility as witnesses. As representatives of Christ, we have a responsibility to be truthful and respectful of other people, even when we disagree with them.

When we hear the word neighbor, we often think of someone who lives on our street or in our community. But Jesus used a definition of neighbor that was much more broad--a definition that included strangers, enemies, sinners and people from other nations and cultures. We have an obligation as Christ's followers not to bear false witness to or against any of these neighbors. In case you haven't figured it out yet, that pretty much covers the whole world! Instead, we should always "speak the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15)

What does it mean to be a witness? In what ways are you a witness? What are some of the negative consequences of bearing false witness?

Communion of Saints

2009-08-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Scripture is full of stories of people who "seized the day" for God. It is interesting and uplifting to read about these everyday people and what they did. Deborah was a judge in Israel. She listened for God's words and told the armies of Israel where they needed to go to conquer their enemies. Read one such account in Judges 4:1-9. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers but ended up being a very influential leader in Egypt, and later saved his own people and family from a terrible famine. Read parts of his story in Genesis 41:14-16, 38-45. Queen Esther put her life in danger by going before her husband the king without permission all to save her own people the Israelites because it could be that she became queen for just "such a time as this." Read her story in Esther 4:10-16, 7:1-6
Ruth left her own homeland to stick with her mother-in-law when they were both helpless widows. She is in Jesus' family tree. Read part of her story in Ruth 2:1-13. The prophet Isaiah heard God's call and answered "Here am I". Read this beautiful account in Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-8. There are many more besides these. But what is always encouraging is that these were everyday people who simply did what needed to be done when the opportunity came along. They weren't perfect, and usually their stories show that side of them as well. But they seek to do what they believe is right and what they believe God wants them to do in the present moment. The words from Esther are among my favorite: "for such a time as this..." Maybe God has put us in this position today "for such a time as this..."

My prayer is that God will keep me, and God will keep each of us, open to the possibility of being used in a special way--no matter how big or how small--just because we were ready and willing and able. Amen.

To Do List

2009-08-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

James 4:13-17 "Anyone, then, who know the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin."

This is the kind of scripture that makes me squirm. How often is it that I know the right thing to do but I just don't get around to doing it? It is like that old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentionss." Ecclesiastes reminded us to live each day to the fullest FOR GOD and James is reminding us to act now. We have today and it is a gift from God. We have no guarantees beyond this one day.

Now I hope we don't take that as negative and maudlin. It is not. Take it instead as every day is the kind of gift that we open with surprise and joy. We treasure its contents and use it to the best of our abilities.

In John 12 is the story of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with costly perfume. Judas is offended at the extravagance of her action. Couldn't the money have been spent on something more practical? But Jesus accepts and honors Mary's overwhelming expression of love and affirms that she was right to seize the moment and express her feelings. Centuries before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah called on God's people to "Seek the Lord while he may be found." (Isaiah 55:6) As those who love and follow Jesus, the time to tell him (and show him by loving and serving others) is now.

What is one thing you can do for God now that you've been putting off until tomorrow?

How do you express your love for Jesus each day of your life?

What opportunities to express your love for Jesus have you missed?

You Need to Get Out More

2009-08-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Read Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

Can you believe it? It is almost the middle of August. Next week in most of the school districts around here, teachers will report back to school. The week after that, classes will begin for students. I know this not because I have school aged children but because I am married to a teacher. It does seem that the summer has flown by!

This text from Ecclesiastes reminds us of the passage of time. It reminds especially young people to appreciate today, to rejoice in the day, for all too quickly it is over and done. "Rejoice, young [people] while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth..." it says. But it says something for those of any age as well with these sage words, "Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all..."

These words remind us that every day is truly a gift from God and we should live it as such. Each day is prcious and we have no time to waste on regrets, missed opportunities, and what ifs. Even as Christ promises eternal life, he makes no guarantees about how long we have to live our present lives. If we are going to enjoy God's blessings, we have to do it right now. We have to carpe diem
"sieze the day" and live each one "full out."

This applies to how we live our faith every day too. Are we living as faithfully as we can each day? Do we "seize the day" in faith? Do we make sure we "do all the good we can" as John Wesley would say? Do we take to pray? Do we see God in everything? Do we say and do those things that are loving and Christ-like?

How can we "seize the day" to live in more Christ-like ways?

As Christian we have eteranl life through Christ. Why is living in the moment important even though we have an eternity?

More thought and texts

2009-08-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

I am taking a little vacation this week. It was already scheduled before my dad's death so I could be with my family. Now it is turning out to be just some time to catch my breath, to regroup a bit, to find Sabbath rest and then to be ready to get back to being a Pastor again. But I did not want to entirely neglect the blog, especially since it is so new so I will leave you with some texts and thoughts to look up and think about.

Read Romans 7:14-25 God offers us love and patience even when we do the very things we hate.

Read Matthew 5:38-48 How can you respond to evil with goodness and love?

Read John 17:15-19 In your prayers today, ask God to deliver you from evil. And isn't it tell that Jesus knew to put that in the Lord's prayer. We need help resisting temptation, resisting evil, constantly!

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:20-23 How can you "test everything" to know what is good and what is evil?

Read 3 John 11 Today look for examples of goodness that you can imitate.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Give thanks to God that despite your sin, you have been made new in Christ.

Temptations and Resistance

2009-08-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Matthew 4:1-11 is the story of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness where and when he is tempted by Satan. There are three temptations:

1) to turn stones into bread to which Jesus replies "one does not live by bread alone by by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

2) throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple and let God or God's angels save you to which Jesus replies "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

3) the offer to own and have power over all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will just worship Satan to which Jesus replies "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him."

I think these are very human temptations. If we have ALL the bread we need (ability to make bread from stones) then we don't need God. We humans frequently live our lives as if we do not need God. But Jesus resisted the temptation to try to live life on his own terms. He recognize his need and his desire for God in his life. In temptation two, Jesus could have chosen the razzle dazzle way. It sure would have been easier to convince the world that he was the Messiah if he could do razzle dazzle things. We still put God to the test, do this God, right here right now, just the way I want it. We like the idea of a prosperity gospel and a God at our beck and call. It works pretty well until our world falls apart. Jesus refused to fall into this trap. Finally, Satan offered Jesus power and Jesus said "no". Power has quite an allure. We only have to look at all the recent Wall Street scandals to see what happens when people fall for the lure of power, prestige and money. These become gods.

There are plenty of temptations out there. What can we do to resist? The apostle Paul had some ideas. Writing in Ephesians 6:10-17 he said this:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Put on the whole armor of God. Every day we need to be ready to face the world, armed with what we know is true and good and right. We need to be ready to share God's love and mercy in a world that is all too ready to live in darkness. But dress in the whole armor of God, we will let the light of Christ shine in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.

What evils do many people struggle with--including those often thought of as good? How do evils such as selfishness and greed reflect a lack of trust in God? How can you confront these evils in your life?

Breaking the Cycle

2009-07-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

We live in a world that that seeks revenge and retaliation for wrong doing. If you hit me, I hit you back. If your gang commits violence on a member of my gang, my gang responds with more violence against members of your gang. Violence escalates and escalates and many people get hurt, among them many innocent people.

But Proverbs mixes it up a bit. Instead of repaying evil for evil, repay evil with good. Treat your enemies as you would treat your friends. In so doing, you break the cycle of hatred and retaliation and create an atmospehre in which love and reconciliation can thrive.

Jesus picked up on this theme in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Matthew 5:39 says this, "Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also." Later, he says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

According to the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, to "heap coals of fire" on someone's head means to cause shame or remorse for having treated someone so badly. The point is then that treating enemies kindly is not only appropriate behavior, it may also have the effect of turning their hearts. And, when you start praying for your enemies, it becomes harder and harder to keep thinking about them as enemies. God begins to soften your heart because prayer always changes the pray-er first and foremost. And, what is peacemaking except chaning one heart at a time, be it our own or someone else's? Then, we leave the heart of our enemy to God as well. There is a man in the congregation at Seguin who about once a month during prayer time in worship reminds us of the need to pray for our enemies. It is a good reminder.

Questions for Reflection:
Why is confronting evil with love and grace often more effective than confronting evil with violence and hate?

Do you think these principles could apply when confronting evils such as genocide and oppression? If so, how?

Grace AND Peace,
Rev Linda

Why, Why, Why?

2009-07-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am shocked, sickened, saddened by the murder of the one month old baby in San Antonio this week. How a mother could do the things to a baby that this mother did to hers--I can't even think about them. Maybe she really was psychotic; I almost hope so. That is easier to think about than just plain being evil. But as always such a senseless act to such an innocent victim causes us to ask God "why?"

As Christians we beleive that evil is a real and present force in our world. We simply cannot deny that--especially when something like this violent act happens. Some Christians personify evil into or onto Satan or other demons, naming these beings as the root cause of evil. Other Christians, and I fall more into this category, think of evil more as an abstract force. But all Christians affirm that evil is that which is contrary to God's will and is something we should at all times be striving to resist and defeat. By growing closer to God, we each become more resistant to evil forces. As we encourage others to know God, to come to know Jesus Christ and to have a relationship with him, we also are encouraging them to choose good, to choose love and to resist evil. This is why we say in the baptismal vows and in our profession of faith these words "Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin? Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?"

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, writing in the seventh century before the common era, looked out over Judah and saw injustice and violence everyshere. The wicked seemed to be prospering and the righteous seemed overwhelmed and outnumbered. Sounds familiar! Habakkuk cried out to God in frustration, "How long shall I cry for help and you will not listen?" (Habakkuk 1:2)

Read Habakkuk 1:1-4 and verse 13 and 2:1-3. Answer these questions: How does knowing that God has a plan for an "appointed time" affect how we respond to evil in the world? What evils and injustices in today's world might cause people to cry out to God in despair?

Post your answer and we shall continue.

Rev Linda

Nathan Confronts David

2009-07-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

This story in Samuel is the story of the prophet Nathan confronting King David with his sin. In 2 Samuel 11:1-15 we read what David did. While he sent soldiers into battle, David saw the wife of one of his generals bathing on the roof of a nearby house. He sends for Bathsheba and "lays" with her. She becomes pregnant. When David finds out she is pregnant with his child, he brings home her husband Uriah from battle hoping he will sleep with his own wife and cover up David's sin--only Uriah refuses to cooperate. He will not relax while his men are in danger. Finally, David arranges a sure fire way for Uriah to be killed in battle and he is. This is the sin about which Nathan confronts David.

It took a lot of guts for Nathan to confront David. He could easily have been put to death by the King for speaking so frankly. But he was speaking God's word to David and David heard that word for what it was. He was confronted by his own sinfulness and repented. In Psalm 51 David wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

Sometimes I go blithely through life not recognizing my own sinfulness--my sins of ommission or commission. Then I will come face to face with them--maybe not with a prophet Nathan but by discovering another way in which harm has been done. But as God did not give up on David, I know that when I confess, God will also not give up on me. God will wipe clean the slate and will in fact create in me a clean heart and put a new and right spirit within me. I get such a new beginning with each new day. And I give thanks for it.

A new week--a new beginning. Lord, may I give you my very best everyday, Amen.

About the Word

2009-07-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my first posting of the Pastor's Word. This will be a whole new experience for me and we'll see how it goes. What I plan to do is to lead a kind of blogging Bible Study for whoever wants to participate. I will post the lesson, and then participants can comment, ask questions, etc. Questions asked may lead us in different directions, much like would happen in a class setting. But my hope is that people who do not have time to come to the church for a Bible study might take time to do some reading and reflection as they log in to this opportunity for study. I am sure we will together fine tune the process as we go along. But we will see where the Spirit and the computer takes us. Look for the first lesson about July 27, 2009.

See you back here next week.

Grace and peace,

Rev Linda