A Blog for Blogging's Sake

This is probably very self-centered of me...assuming that my thoughts are so important that I should bother blogging with my new HTC EGO 4G.

I love this phone so very much.

Jesus is probably "tsk-tsk"ing me from the right hand of the father. Possibly he is quoting Isaiah, "my thoughts are higher then your thoughts....

...SO STOP TYPING WITH YOUR THUMBS!"

ok so Isaiah never said that latter part.

But what if I DID think like God? What would be the main difference?

Aside from being perfect and Holy, I think that my thoughts differ from God's thoughts in this way;

God doesn't just think. God DOES.
There is no disconnect between God's loving thoughts and God's loving action.

Lord, may it also be with me. Let me not be a man divided into segregated heart, hands and mind, but let me serve you as wholly one, o Holy One.

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You Can Take The Guidos and Guidettes Out of Jersey, But You Can't Take Jesus Out Of Anywhere...

Yes, that is the back of none other than Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's head. Really, his haircut should come as not surprise. Look how often you see the cross hanging from the necks of the stars of MTV's Jersey Shore. The boys especially wear rosaries quite often (which I understand to be a no no for Catholics?) and Ronnie of course has a HUGE black tattoo of a cross on his back.

I'm going to be bringing up Jersey Shore and its cast in this week's sermon. Of course this means I'll be yapping on about the absurdity of "reality television" and the ridiculous ideals, values and behaviors that shows like Jersey Shore promotes and propose as how reality should be understood. I'm also just a wee bit off-put by the continuous presence of the cross of Christ in the show, and the continuous absence of Christ-likeness.

Or so one might think.

Whether I mention it in the sermon or not - I need to point out one aspect of Jersey Shore that I love (apart from the rest of it that I love as a guilty pleasure).

Every Sunday night it seems, the entire crew gather as a family at a big table and share a home-made meal together. Regardless of whatever spats have occurred or whatever resentment remains, they still come together and share a meal. And at that table you often see forgiveness, reconciliation and (dysfunctional though it may be) love. Remind you of another table? If not, then you haven't been paying attention at Communion - cause that's what's supposed to happen there. The Church, since the beginning has gathered around a meal, for the past millennia plus celebrated in a simple two-courses; bread and wine.

And really, should we look down on Mike, Ronnie, Snookie, Jenni, Pauly, Sammy, Vinny or Angelina? Is this group of sinners really that different from us - just another group of sinners that gather around a table and find forgiveness and love? (Yes, even Angelina...)

I'm just waiting for one of the Jersey Shore girls to bring home some strange middle-eastern lookin' dude to that dinner table - and watch him grab the garlic bread and tear off pieces, pass them around and say "take, eat, this is my body..."

A Meaningful Christmas

So I'm already thinking about worship for this Christmas. It's actually a big deal because when I say "for Christmas" I'm mean the four Sundays of Advent and Christmas Eve.

I love most of the things we do at Christmas time.

- the lighting of the Advent wreath

- candlelight Christmas Eve service

- familiar Christmas songs

- familiar Christmas scriptures

But I want to make sure that we don't fall into simple sentimentalism here. Christmas should be meaningful! I mean this is the celebration of Jesus' Birth - and given our theology, that's a BIG deal!

Remember who we Christians say Jesus is? Yeah...he's God in human flesh. The first Christmas was a universe-shaking event, it literally changed everything. This is the day that God became human - for us, for all creation. God became a living, breathing, cooing, drooling, pooping baby boy named Jesus.

That's pretty meaningful. Christmas says so much to us about a God - OUR God - who loves his creatures so much that He was willing to become one of us. This isn't a God that stays remote up in heaven, not caring, not involved - our God became one of US.

So to commemorate this...we buy crap.

Seriously, we (and I include myself here) buy stuff we don't need, that really has no use but to satisfy our own lust for material possessions.

And I know - a pastor ranting against materialism at this point is old news. Churches have been seeking to combat what Christmas has become in our secular culture with what Christmas should be about for like...ever. But t-shirts saying "Jesus is the reason for the season" doesn't do much. And it seems that the Church's activity has only become a part of this big meaningless Christmas. All the candles and decorations and music points to Jesus Christ - but we've sentimentalized it all.

How can we have a MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS that truly truly celebrates the coming of Jesus - that reflects the love of our God who came to US as one of us to save us?

Worship Update - Holy Humor Sunday

Well, we had our two memorial services here at Faith UMC.

Thing is, for some reason memorial services and funerals tend to be some of the most moving and meaningful worship experiences. I think the solemness of our reason for gathering (the death of a loved one and concern for those still alive and grieving) resets us.

What I mean is...while not in the best place, we are in a better place to really allow God to enter into our hearts.
...we are vulnerable...
...we are in desperate spiritual need...
...our everyday worries are cast aside, our human pain has cast them out of ourselves.

And I think for alot of us - we really open ourselves to the work of God's Spirit in such a time.

So not only was I wary of doing a "Holy Humor Sunday" that week because of our church'es grief - I didn't want to cheapen the meaningfulness of the encounters people had with God in any way.

Not to mention I was in no mood to be jolly. On top of two memorial services, it's finals season for me and I have a ton of papers and projects to do. On Wednesday, my Father in law had a heart attack too. He's okay though.

Well, we did it anyways.

And we were silly.
our choir director wore her pajamas (all the better for my sermon, right?)
another fellow came in a straw hat and running shorts
funny hats were abundant!
no one brought whoopie cushions though...probably a good thing...wouldn't want some confused soul think that we were promoting the real thing...it gets hot enough in that church...

And during our joys and concerns, when the congregation lifts up their prayers of joy and concern (was that redundant?) and on this sunday, jokes as well - one man, the gentleman who was widowed the past week, stood up and gave a moving testimony. I mean moving. Not a dry eye in the house, but plenty of smiles.

And ya know what. It was a reallt beautiful and meaningful service.

Silly? Heckz yeah.

But really beautiful, somehow. I doubt I will ever forget it.

Peace and Love in Jesus Name!

Two Funerals and Humor on Sunday (or "God's Really Bad Joke")

If you read my previous post, you see that by my decision and design - Faith UMC is going to have a "Humor Sunday" this coming Sunday. Again, the point is to experience joy - joy because Christ Is Risen!

And to lift one another up by making each other pee our pants laughing.

Well... God sent me a few stumbling blocks in the form of the deaths of two members of our church. So we will be having two memorial services, one on Thursday another on Saturday.

Two services where people will be faced with the reality of death.

Two services with mourning and crying that will not stop when i say the dismissal and blessing.

So should I have Humor Sunday still? Is it appropriate? Will I offend? Will this sully the memories of these dear people? I'm conflicted. I mean - even beyond my concern for the congregation and those who loved these people - I'm mourning too! Can I pull off leading a humorous worship service? Should I?

Humor Sunday!

Okay, so the picture above is just...not right. I mean I think Jesus smiled and laughed -he was human and those are some of the best parts of being human! And he is also God - and I do believe that God has a deep sense of humor. BUT - Jesus was not a used car salesman or the Fonze either. (Hey! Pick up your cross and follow me! Eeeehhhhh!).

The above picture is not anything like what I intend for this upcoming Sunday - which we have announced as humor Sunday. Yes, I told the congregation to bring funny hats and clothes, noisemaker and yes...even whoopie cushions (i'm wondering if that was a good idea...)

But we are not going to turn Jesus into a joke. The point is to lift each other up with humor - to encourage one another with laughter - and to experience joy together as a church. After all we are in the season of Easter - what better time to experience joy.

I'm still not sure how I'm gonna pull this off...

Worship Updates

Seeing how it's been a while since I've posted - I'm just going to offer some refelctions on some of the worship that we've experienced at Faith UMC lately, highlighting parts that were particularly meaningful for me.

On Wednesday, March 31st - I preached at Shiloh UMC in Indian Head, MD. Faith is involved with a group of churches along the 210 Corridor and we join together during Lent for Wednesday night worship - we have different churches host on certain nights, and another church provides the worship experience on those nights. Any-hoo, what was neat for me was the chance to use a projector and screen (I want one! I want one!). The scripture was from Matthew, where a leper comes to Jesus asking to be cleansed. Jesus in his compassion, reaches out and TOUCHES the man (which was a no no in the ancient near east) and heals him. See the first chapter of Mark in your Bible for the whole story. We projected a picture (that I think i posted on this blog a year or two ago) of a person stricken with leprosy holding a flower. The sermon was meant to confront us with the fact that we are all spritual lepers - and in the need of Jesus healing touch - and that we, now bearers of this touch of Jesus, should withold it from no one. The downside? The podium I used wouldn't hold my manuscript - and I kept loosing my place and essentially had to make it up as I went along. God worked it out (thanks, Lord).

On Good Friday we had a small service at Faith in the early afternoon, after food pantry. We used a big wooden cross I built last year and went through the gospels - telling the story of the crucifiction. Meanwhile the cross was adorned with a crown of thorns, nails and finally a balck cloth draped over it to signify death. I made the mistake of not instructing the congregation effectively and I think they felt a little lost, and it distracted from the depth that the service could have had. But maybe I'm wrong...God judges hearts...not me (okay, I DO - but I'm not supposed to and when i do I'm often wrong.)

On Easter we had our sunrise service at 6:45 am. It was simple, we sang, read some scripture and "flowered the cross" covering the center of it with carnations and then draping in it a white sheet. This cross was then brought into the sanctuary as the choir processed in (which i thought was kinda cool). Honestly, I can't even remember what I preached! Sad, right? Really, I feel like the beauty of the day (it was gorgeous out!) contributed more to a sense and understanding of Christ's resurrection WAY more than anything we did inside the church.

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