A great letter to non-believers

Shaine Claiborne is the leader of a ministry called "the Simple Way". He advocated for a Christianity that is radical like Jesus in the way Christians love and live in this world. This letter is written to non-believers, specifically people who have come into comtact with so-called Christians who are more concerned with pushing a political viewpoint than being like Jesus. I just thought it was so awesome that I had to post it. Also - it's in Esquire Magazine of all places! HA!

http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209

enjoy!

Call to Worship Resource

I don't know if anyone who serves as a worship leader or pastor in their church even reads my blog... but if you do below I have posted a link to a file I uploaded to google docs. It is all the calls to worship that I wrote during my first year here at Faith UMC (from July to December, that is). Most are based of the lectionary scriptures. There are also a few opening prayers as well. I'm nearlyt postive that I wrote all of these - but I can't say beyond all doubt. Regardless - I hope this can be a resource for others. Follow the link below.

Call to Worship - Year A (July-December)

Passing By God's Word...

Driving to school today I passed by this huge truck. I glanced at it quickly and what I saw really excited me, because what I saw was the words 'TACO TRANSPORT".

HOLY MOLY! Think of all those tacos! I wonder if they are all beef...or all chicken. They wouldn't put them together I'm sure for fear of cross contamina...waitaminnut...oooooo...it says "TAC Transport".

How disappointing.
In my defense, I was tired and I it was only in that passing glance that I had the momentary hope that there would exist in this world a LARGE truck full of delicious tacos.

I think that reading the Bible, reflecting during the planning and experience of worship, prayer and pretty much any action of devotion towards God is much like this experience. We can't do it tired and we can't do it "at-a-glance". Something that has become super-apparent to me as a pastor is that I have no hope of adequately functioning in my ministry without two things: rest and time to reflect.
I wonder how much more I would get out of Scripture if I came to it with a rested mind, if I came to it unburdened by my anxieties and worries with a clear head and an enlivened heart. I also wonder how possible this is...

I suppose the fact that a "taco transport" is all it took for me to think all this reveals just how badly I need to really take time in scripture in such a way.

Worship Puzzle

Have you ever worked really hard on a puzzle - let's say an intricate one that requires alot of time? You've got a good deal done...and you need a Diet Dr. Pepper fix. You rise up from the coffee table you're working on and your leg bumps it, knocking all the pieces out of place. You say a toned down "christianized" form of some curse word ("well-golly-gosh-fudge- n'-fiddlesticks!"). That's how I feel about worship planning write now. I'm a wee-bit frustrated. I've been experimenting with moving a few things around here and there.

Should the offering go before or after the sermon?

Oh but if it goes there...then it's too close to another hymn and the songs aren't stretched out evenly over the entire worship service.

Hey! where did I put the prayers of the people? Oh yeah, it get's cut out because it's included in the Communion liturgy and I forgot to put it back in....

but I moved this other thing...so where do I put it now?

and so on.

Sometimes it does feel like I'm always finding pieces and trying to put them together. I struggle to make a single whole entity out of it.

So right now, I'm meditating on the "fourfold pattern of worship". This is the basic pattern that churches for millenia have held to. It originated from the two things that used to be a part of every Christian worship: Word and Table (Scripture and Sacrament, Bible teaching and communion). Later it was divided into these four catagories

1- The Gathering: Song and prayer that brings the worshipping community together and centers them on God. It is meant to prepare us for recieving what God has to give to us in His Word and at His table.

2- The Word: Scripture is read - always. And then there is a response. For the bulk of churches that means a sermon. But I wonder - what if we did something different? How about a dramatic telling of the scripture followed by a discussion in the congregation? Or what if the sermon was more of a teaching moment - where questions were asked and discussed in worship? Or how about testimonies? I really think that the sermon as we understand it (essentially a speech) is due for a facelift...

3- The Table: It used to be that all churches practiced Communion every Sunday. That is hardly the case in most protestant churches and I think that's a shame. Nevertheless, most churches enter into a "eucharist" anyways (the word means "thanksgiving"). That is what the offering is (it is also a response to the Word, I suppose). But I love the sacrament of communion. I love offering it and I love partaking of it. I love being fed by the body of blood of Jesus - I love the presence that I feel as we take communion. I love the sharing in the community. I love that we are together, gathered around one table like a family. I just love it. (Gee, ya' think I like communion?) I'm really thinking Faith will start sharing in communion every week...

4- Finally there is the sending out into the world. Ussually it includes singing victoriously and vigorously (not always an option given the songs in our hymnals...) with a benediction that encourages that the church goes out into the world in the power of God's Spirit.

Maybe one day our worship bulletins will be simpler and reflect this more. But this is what I'm mulling over in my head as I struggle with worship planning.

The peace of Jesus be with you!

Worship and All Saints Day

Ok – so I haven’t posted in a while. I guess I haven’t really figured out what I want to do with this blogging thing. I’ve tried using as a tool for sermons – that really didn’t fly (at least, not yet). And I’ve used it for general reflections as well, but I’d like to have a greater sense of purpose when writing; something more than yakking about my day. So I’ve just now decided that I will use this blog for the purposes of contemplating, planning and discussing worship. Worshipping God is one of my passions as a minister. I get excited about having churches encounter God’s word and to respond to God’s grace and to experience God in their midst in new ways and old. I want Faith UMC to be a church where worship is a genuine act of devotion that brings our community closer to God and changes lives.

So as this church strives for that goal, I am going to post about my experiences in planning, leading and participating worship. I try to be innovative and creative with worship, so I pray that perhaps my blogging may become a tool to help other church leaders (here at Faith and beyond) to plan and prepare worship in new ways. However, planning Sunday after Sunday of worship gets to be daunting and I know that I am really starting to see the effects of mental and spiritual exhaustion in my worship planning and the in the crafting of my sermons. I think the church sees the decline too. So to address that I’m also doing this as a conscious effort to reflect on worship theologically and hopefully others will join me. I pray that this might refresh me and encourage me as I continue to plan and lead worship.

I suppose I should start with this past Sunday then. At Faith UMC we celebrated All Saints day. One of the highlights of this Sunday’s worship for me was the candle-lit communion table (see pic below). I mean, its cool looking! It really spoke to me about how the light of Christ that shines from the lives of all of us really has a legacy. It spoke to me about our purpose; that we are the light of Jesus in this world, called to bring people into communion (relationship) with God.

I wish everybody could have felt what I did when I was doing the blessing over the bread and wine. We lit the candles first, calling out the names of loved ones lost in the past year and having their friends and family come up to light a candle for them. And as I was going over the great thanksgiving (being careful not to catch my robe on fire) I could feel the warmth of the candles on my hands and face. It was pretty cool. Pastor’s perk I suppose.

Thanks to Laurie Thorwart for the second picture!

Preaching/Blogging Experiment part VII: The One Church of Jesus Christ

...We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins...

When we say that we believe in one “catholic” church, we mean to say that it is universal. Since the time of the Apostles, the church has spread from a tiny area in the Middle East to the entire world. We are part of this universal body of Christ that takes so many wonderfully different shapes all over the world. As you ponder that think about…
What do you think it is that all churches are called to as parts of Christ’s body? What is special about our church? What special ministry are we called to?

Ephesians 1:17-23 1st Corinthians 3:1-11 1st Peter 2:1-11

This sermon will be preached on July 26th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog (username - faithaccokeek --- password - faithumc) email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Preaching/ Blogging Experiment part VI: The Holy Spirit in the Church: Spiritual Gifts

...[The Holy Spirit] has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church...

This week we are looking at the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church, in particular we’re focusing on Spiritual Gifts; that is the special talents, abilities or passions that God has given each of us for ministry. Read the below scriptures.

Ephesians 4:1-8, 11-14 Romans 12:1-8 1st Corinthians 12

Think about your talents and passions. Think about how God has worked in your life. Think about your work in the church. Ponder for a while. What might your spiritual gifts be (they need not be those listed in the above scriptures)?

This sermon will be preached on July 19th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog (you can use the username "faithaccokeek" and password "faithumc") email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Blogging/Preaching Experiment part 5: The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the Prophets.

Having looked at our belief in God the Father and in Jesus the Christ, we now turn our attention to the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

- In the Old Testament, God is called “Lord”, and we profess Jesus Christ as Lord. How do you envision the Holy Spirit as our Lord? What does that mean?
- The Holy Spirit is “the giver of Life”. How is this different from the Father being the creator and the Son being the one “through whom all things were made”?
- What do you think it means for the Spirit to “proceed” from both the Father and the Son?
- With the father and the Son, the Spirit is to be worshipped and glorified. Do you think the Holy Spirit is given enough attention in the worship and activities of most churches today? How about in ours?
- How do you see the Holy Spirit at work in our Church? Does it continue to “speak through the prophets” at Faith UMC? How so?

This sermon will be preached on July 12th !

I am also the guest musician for that Sunday - so if you can think of any song suggestions, please let me know!
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

REMINDER: If you do not have a blogger or gmail or aol username - you can use the username "faithaccokeek" and the password "faithumc" -

Scriptures
Genesis 2:1-7 Ezekiel 37:1-10 John 15:26-27 John 20:19-23
2 Corinthians 3:17-18

The picture above is a tatoo depicting the Holy Spirit. I thought it was interesting for several reasons. It is a a picture that represents the Holy Spirit that resides not on a wall or in a stained glass window, but on a human being. Isn't that where the Spirit truly resides? In us? Also I like how the dove seems relaxed and at ease. Often we focus on the Holy Spirit as a "consuming fire"; an entity that is so incredibly active it baffles the mind. Here we may be catching a glace of the Holy Spirit as our counselor, even as God's presence with us in the midst of turmoil. I don't think I'd ever get a tatoo like this (too big), but I really like this art.

Blogging/Preaching Experiment IV: The Work of Christ

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the HolySpirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Last week we took a look at the person of Christ (who he is). Now we turn to the work of Christ (what he has done for us). The Nicene Creed gives a very short summary of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and puts it all under the heading of “for us and for our salvation”. When we speak of the work of Christ we’re speaking of how he has saved us. Whatever you believe about what Jesus has done for you is called your theory of atonement.

I’ve taken the part of the Nicene Creed that deals with the atoning work of Jesus Christ and I’ve underlined the five major statements it makes about what Jesus did.
- Do all of these events play a role in how Jesus saves us? If so, how?
- What does the creed say about Jesus’ life and ministry? Does anything seem to be missing?

How do you believe that Jesus has saved (atoned, redeemed, justified, etc.) you?

This sermon will be preached on July 5th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog, email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Scriptures
Matthew 20:20-28 John 1:29 Romans 5:6-11 Romans 6: 1-11

Hebrews 2:7-15 Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-10 1 Peter 2:20-25

REMINDER: If you do not have a blogger or gmail or aol username - you can use the username "faithaccokeek" and the password "faithumc" -

the image above is what many archeologists and historians believe to be the earliest depiction of the crucifiction of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Preaching/ Blogging Experiment, part III:

“We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made…
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and became truly human.”

The second part of the creed speaks of Jesus Christ. There are two major important facets of our understanding of Jesus Christ who he is (the person of Christ) and what he has done (the work of Christ).

For now, let’s focus on the person of Christ. Who is Jesus, what is his nature? Is he God, or just another dude? This is what the ancient church had to figure out – in fact they argued about it so much that they had to form a creed about it…

1- Take a look at what the creed says about who Jesus is. What does it tell us? Can you restate it in your own words?
2- What the heck is the difference between “begotten” and “made”?
3- We just got over talking about how God the Father is the creator…how is it then that it is through the Son that all things are made?
4- What does it mean for Jesus to be truly human?
5- Why is it significant that Jesus be both fully human and fully God?

This sermon will be preached on June 28th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog (link is on church website – see cover of bulletin) email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Scriptures
John 1:1-5, 14-18 Philippians 2:1-11 Isaiah 9:1-7
Colossians 2:6-10 Hebrews 1:1-8

Blogging / Preaching Experiment part II - God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth

Okay, so maybe not as much input as I had hoped so far...
But I know you all can do it! I BELIEVE IN YOU (no pun intended).

So here is our next topic that will be preached on June 21st!

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”

The first part of the creed talks about God the Father who is the creator of everything.

Now there’s a lot I could say about the Father in regards to the Trinity. I’m going to skip that for now. Rather I’d like to focus on two basic questions…

1- Theologically and personally, what does it mean for us to call God “Father”?
a. If there is a special relationship between Jesus and the Father, does this have any
significance for us who also call God Father?
b. Personally, do you refer to God as Father in prayer and your devotional life? Does calling
God Father touch your heart in any special way; does it have special meaning for you?
or does the idea of God as Father disturb or upset you in anyway? Is it hard for you to
call God Father?

2- What is the significance of God being the creator of “all that is seen and unseen”?
a. Orthodox Christian belief states that God created “ex nihilo” which means “out of
nothing”. This means that God created the entire universe out of nothing. God didn’t have
all the parts necessary for the planets and stars and everything else and assembled them,
God made everything out of nothing. How is this significant?
b. The creed states that God is creator of both earth and heaven. Typically when we think
of creation, we think of the ocean, the sky and mountains, maybe even ourselves, but
what about the things we don’t see? What about the angels and heaven?
c. When we think about creation, we tend to think about the first two chapters of Genesis
(“In the beginning…”), but God is still creating. God is constantly bringing new things into
existence. Does this challenge or expand your thinking of God as creator in any way?

Another thing to consider…
- Is God necessarily male? Many well-meaning and faithful Christians have wanted to change the way we refer to God from “Father” to ‘Father/Mother God” or “Mother God” (interchangeable with “Father God”) or simply wish to remove any reference to gender in respects to God. What do you think of this?

Scriptures to ponder...
Genesis 1 – 2
Psalm 8
Isaiah 63: 7-16
Isaiah 64: 1-9
Matthew 5:43- 6:15
Luke 11:9-13
Ephesians 4:4-6
1st John 3:1-3

Blogging / Preaching part 1: “I BELIEVE"

The first part of the Apostle’s Creed that we will look at are the very first two words; “I believe”. A Creed, after all, is simply a statement of belief.

So before we enter into the content of what it is we believe, let’s look at just what belief is and how it is we believe. Here are a few questions/discussion starters to get us going.

1) What does it mean to believe something?
2) Is belief the same thing as faith, or is it different? How so?
3) How does what (or who) we believe in affect how we believe?
4) How does a person come to believe in God? (How did YOU come to believe in God?)
5) Any suggestions for hymns or acts of worship?

6) Most importantly...so what? How does this have any meaning for your life, change the way you live or transform the world?

Any other questions or comments that you have – please post or e-mail or put in the question box at church.

Naturally, I'm not asking you to answer all the questions above - they are only posted to get your brains going.

Some scriptures to look at (two or maybe three of these will be used in worship)
Genesis 15:1-7, Exodus 3:7-14, 4:1-9, Numbers 14:1-11
Matthew 21: 18-23, Mark 9:17-24, Mark 16:9-16, Galatians 3:21-25,

Do you have any suggestions for other scriptures? Please let me know!

This topic will be preached on June 14th

Homiletical Blogging.

Hey! Remember that thing I said I was going to do last month?
No?
Wait…you didn’t read my blog last month?
You’ve NEVER read my blog!?!?

all kidding aside, here’s what we’re doing. Yes, WE.

I am posting some general information/reflection/discussion questions about some of our basic beliefs as Christians. Soon (I’m thinking two weeks from now) I will be preaching on the subject.

However, what is going to determine the shape of the sermon and the worship are YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.

So I either would like you to do one of the following.
1) Post a comment to this blog
2) Leave a comment in the ‘Question and Answer” box on the table in the narthex at church.
3) E-mail me your comment (my e-mail address is on the church website and printed on our Sunday bulletins)

Your comment can include any or all of the following
1) whether you agree or disagree with what I have said about the topic
2) things that you think I have missed
3) questions you have about this topic
4) hymn suggestions
5) Suggestions for prayers or liturgies or anything of the like.
6) Things you have heard from other preachers/ sermons about this
7) How this topic is relevant to your life
8) Anything else pertinent to the discussion

You need not only comment on what I have said. Read the comments of others and respond to them as well!

I pray that we will all enter into this little experiment and see wonderful things arise from it!

The Peace of Jesus be with You!
- Pastor Mike

Holy Week at Faith UMC!

Above are several pictures detailing some notable events from Holy Week (April 9th through the 11th, plus Easter Sunday).

The first is a large wooden cross that I made (all by myself!) with some cannibalized lumber from some old bookshelves from the parsonage basement. I had a lot of fun making this, it felt good to put something together with my own two hands. I used this cross in two different worship services during Holy Week.

On Good Friday, we had a small, short and sweet afternoon service. It culminated in a time of silent confession where each person there wrote a confession of some kind (and no, I did not read any of these besides my own – so I don’t know what people wrote) and proceeded to nail it to the cross. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the passion story that we forget why Jesus died. It was for me, for you and for all. It was to save us from our sins.

2nd Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We nailed our sins to the cross to symbolize how Jesus took on the sin of all humanity so that in his death all sin is destroyed.

After the service I took the cross and tried to find a place to set it during our sunrise service on Easter morning. I found a large tree stump on the side of the parsonage with a hole in it. The cross fit perfectly, but as I stuck in there I evidently chased a young blacksnake out of its hiding place and it crawled up into the azalea bush next to the stump.

That really made me think.

God has dealt with sin through the cross of Christ. In the Old Testament, a sin offering was made not to appease God, but to chase sin out of the community by placing the sins of the people on a sacrificial animal that was led away from the city and away from that community. Christ was the sacrifice that chased sin out of the community that is all creation, His sacrifice on the cross chased sin out of existence. And here I was chasing a serpent out of its hole…with a big ‘ol cross.
Hmm….

Anyways on Easter Sunday, during our sunrise service we set the cross in that stump as we burned away those “sins” that we wrote down, symbolizing God’s forgiveness. We then proceeded to “flower” the cross to represent the new life that we now have in Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen savior!

Romans 6:4 (NASB) Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

A Lenten Reflection...sweet...

So I'm getting ready for Good Friday and Easter and I'm getting pretty excited!

I mean, it's my first time doing all this stuff! I pray that it all goes well.

I pray that the Holy Spirit really moves Faith UMC as we gather in worship and fellowship.

One thing that I think is a really Spirit filled activity is the Easter Egg hunt.

Yes, Holy Spirit filled.

Come on! Lil' kids running around trying to find colorful plastic eggs filled with candy?

All the while the adults are watching and laughing and enjoying one-another.

Being a community.

Dare I say, loving one-another as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ?

Any-hoo, I decided to grab some candy to put in these eggs. And as I browsed the shelves, I see why some folks are wary of the commercialization of Easter. They should be, the amount of candy on these shelves was ridiculous...and oh so tasty looking (drooooool...)

As I beheld the image that's posted above, I remembered Jesus and the disciples in the garden, and how Jesus told them "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." (Luke 22:40)

I'm diabetic, if you didn't know. So my parents had to carefully portion my Easter treats (which kinda takes the fun out of it). I'll tell you, to do the same now as a grown-up...it is an exercise in resisting temptation - - and yes, sometimes I fail to do so.

And it happened today, after I came home from the store. No, I didn't eat the candy - that's for the kiddies. It was a pastry...OK it was a Pop Tart. It wasn't even worth it! I traded my health for a cheap and tawdry Pop Tart! But it had that delicious looking strawberry icing and....

...sprinkles.

I didn't even bother to toast it.

I could hear the voice of Jesus say "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

And I could hear my inner-voice say "quiet, Jesus! I'm too busy pigging out on a Pop Tart to listen to you!"

How should the story end? "And the Lord smoteth Pastor Mike with a diabetic coma, and it was good." or "His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your Pop Tart? Curse Kellogg's and die!" (if you know that Kellogg's makes Pop Tarts it makes that joke funnier - also read Job chapter 2)

Nope. My blood sugar before dinner was 97.

God is good. Sometimes God let's me suffer the consequences of my sin (even little ones like eating a Pop Tart). But often, I find myself reprieved. Forgiven.

I've fallen to temptation before, and to things much more poisonous and degrading than a Pop Tart. I've ignored my Lord too may times when he has said "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

Good Friday is a day away. When I'm leading services, when I'm talking about what Jesus did on the cross. Will I remember that it's my sin he took from me and took to the cross?

Lord, help me remember my Pop Tart. In fact help me remember all the Pop Tarts. Help me remember all the cheap tawdry things I've turned to, when I could have turned to You.

Don't let me turn away from Jesus when I see him on the cross.

Give me the strength my soul needs to look at him and to listen.

God, too often I've turned away when Jesus has said

"Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

Do NOT let me turn away when he says

"Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:24)

The Forcast Is Cloudy At Faith!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
Hebrews 12:1- 2a

When’s the last time you shared your faith with somebody?

• I don’t mean give a sermon
• I don’t mean whacking somebody over the head with a Bible
• I don’t mean yelling at somebody about eternal damnation and repentance
• I don’t mean exegete a passage of scripture from its original Greek in order to extrapolate great theological meaning (say what?)

What I mean is...

When’s the last time you simply mentioned something about God or Jesus or prayer, church or the Bible to a friend, family member or co-worker who you know does not have an active faith life or does not belong to a community of faith?
Heck, when’s the last time you talked with somebody at Faith (and I don’t count) about your personal faith; about your beliefs?

The Cloud of Witnesses this passage refers to is all those who have witnessed to their faith, who have shared what they believe in and trust in with others.
If we want to be an effective church, then we need to understand that we are part of this cloud. If we want to throw off the old things that hinder us from growing and thriving and instead fix our eyes on Jesus as we seek to follow God’s call to new things and new life – then we need to share our faith.
If we want to do what Jesus is calling us to do then we do need to fix our eyes on him who says things like “you’ve heard it said….but I say to you” (see the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5ish to 7ish). We need to fix our eyes on Jesus as he tells us “you’ve been doing things one way…but I tell you…”
How do we fix ourselves on Jesus? One thing we must do is be each-others preachers and prophets – we need to be witnesses to Jesus Christ to each other. By sharing our faith we discover how Jesus is calling us together. And by sharing our faith with the rest of the world, we invite others into this kind of life-changing community of faith where they can find new life and direction and purpose.
And this time I don’t mean sharing faith in terms of doing. Yes, we display our faith with food pantry and stuff like that. But I mean TALKING about who we believe in! Let’s together fix our eyes on Jesus and speak the truth about Him to each other and to the world!

The Apostle's Creed

Hi everybody (like...all three people who read my blog, counting my Mom...sigh, I digress)

Had a thought and I figured I'd share it.

We never read the Apostles Creed in Church anymore.

Why? There's nothing wrong with it. It's a perfectly good statement of faith!

Is has also occurred to me that too many Christians either don't know what they believe or worse - don't bother to think or meditate on this stuff.

Theology isn't the job of the eggheads in universities and seminaries. It's the job of the church.

And we are the church!

So here's my plan. Sometime soon we're going to go through a new sermon series at Faith UMC. What we're going to do is go through all of the Apostle's Creed - line by line. We're gonna refocus ourselves on our core beliefs and try to look at some hard questions that come up.

I'm also going to post reflections on each topic every week as a spiritual discipline on this blog - and as a way to incorporate your comments and questions into the sermon.

I'm thinkin' that once school lets out in early May (for me that is...), it would be a good time to start the series.

Let me know what you think!

Peace and Love in Jesus' Name,

Pastor Mike

Oh yeah, here's a link that has several versions of the creed in it as well as some interesting history

the picture above is a mosaic of the apostles ("the original boy band")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles_Creed

This picture really doesn't do justice to the gorgeous sunset I was trying to capture on film (actually, it's a digital media card). There were bright oranges blazing next to not-so-subdued purples washed in a hue of sky-blue. Words cannot describe, and neither does this picture.

I must have tried to capture those beautiful colors with my camera phone twenty times. Each time it just kinda came out like this. Much grayer.

In my sermon this week I talked about how I was such a grouch this week, about how I was in a spiritual funk. I was spiritually gray. And no matter how many times I tried this week, I couldn't get out of this dreary grayness.

Maybe this past week was a lesson for me. Maybe I needed to learn how to wait on the Lord. Perhaps the brilliant colors of joy, love and peace were around me every second of every day. Perhaps my grayness is like this picture. It's only a snapshot of my life that doesn't really do justice to the truth of what is happening.

When I look at this picture, the first thing I think of is not what I see, but what I saw with my own eyes when I took the photo. I see this rather plain picture and I immediately think of the brilliance of that sunset.

I think this is what joy is. When we look at a snapshot of our lives; when we are in difficult times; when it's been a gray day, week, month or year, we need to look beyond it. There is brilliance in our lives that is far greater than any sunset...

...because on Easter Sunday, the son rose.

Maybe all I need to do to move beyond my spiritual funk is to move closer to the cross and by doing so experience the power of Jesus' resurrection all the more.

Lepers.

In my preaching class this past week we looked at Mark 9:2-9.

Here's a link to the text (in several versions)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201:40-45;&version=31;65;49;51;9;



We were to write as many sermon ideas as we could come up with. I only got 12 (one person came up with 50!). What do YOU think could be preached from this text? What do you hear God telling you in this scripture?



To inspire you a little more I'm also posting this picture that I found online. I believe this image hails from India, where resides the largest population of human beings afflicted with leprosy. This is the hand of one of those people who is being treated at a facility that cares for these men and women. I think the picture is absolutely beautiful. The caption that was below it was "Joy is more infectous than leprosy". I believe the man healed by Jesus would attest to that.