Opening Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus, when we are squeezed like oranges by the pressures of living, fill us so full of grace that your love is what pours out into this thirsty world. Speak to us now, we're listening.
Isaiah 8: 11-22 and 9: 1-7
Comments:
I can hear some of you saying, "Say what?" You've been plopped down into the middle of a much larger story. The Assyrians, rising world power of that time, were ready to sweep over the nation of Israel. God's people were being squeezed. War was imminent. Loss of self-government, of homes, of lives, of everything familiar to them was imminent. How would God's people respond?
Many were running to worship other gods of the time in hopes that they would be saved. Some wanted to cut a deal with the Assyrians to save their own skin. Some sank into worry, fear, and despair. Others consulted mediums. I love what God says about this,"Should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?"
God's message to Isaiah and to his faithful disciples was this, "Do not call conspiracy what these people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy." In other words, God is greater than all angelic/demonic armies, let alone earthly ones. He alone is to be praised and feared, worshipped and trusted. And he will become "a sanctuary."
We are squeezed by many things in this fast-paced age of rapid technological revolution. Our expectations about how much more we can do in so much less time constantly squeeze us. The competition of world markets and constant changes in technology press us to keep up so our businesses can stay productive. Our mobility strains and stretches essential relationships. And the massive bombardment of entertainment and advertising options threatens to distract us from what is essential to good living. Like the lime I squeezed over my chicken tacos last night, what is inside of us will pour out when we are pressed. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45)."
So what is inside of us? When we are squeezed, will a determined, faith and trust in God pour out? Will doubt, fear, and a consultation with false gods or the dead drizzle down? Like Isaiah, God invites us to trust him, to "regard him alone as holy." Yes, we may feel afraid, struggle with doubt, and wonder if there is an easier way through, but God wants to know if we will choose to trust him with our lives in spite of our feelings.
Life Question:
1. When I'm being squeezed this week, what will pour out of me?
Closing Prayer:
Give us great faith in you when we feel like we are hanging over the edge of the cliff. Remind us you are Jesus, who conquered fear, hell, evil, and death and that nothing, NOTHING, can separate us from your love. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen!
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Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Patient, Persistent, Prayer
Opening Prayer:
Today, right now, remind us, great God of every star and planet, of every living thing that we are not alone. You are calling us closer to you this moment. We need your strength and wisdom to live well, and we need your love to transform us! We're listening...please give us Your Word.
Psalm 40
Comments:
I've heard the saying "good things come to those who wait but not to those who hesitate." I don't know who said it but it speaks the truth that there is a time to wait and pray, and there is a time to act on what God has already revealed without hesitation.
David's prayer mentions his patient waiting upon God to respond to his prayers. It makes me wonder how long he had to wait. Knowing that in many other Psalms David is found almost to be screaming and crying to God saying, "How long must I wait? Have you left me here to suffer and die," I wonder how patient is his idea of patient?
How patient are we in waiting for God to respond to our requests in prayer? Sometimes God tests us to see how much we trust him by seeing how long we will wait. Abraham was told by God's angel to take his only son, Isaac, the one he waited until he was 90 to have, and sacrifice him. So Abraham walked a few days to the site where the sacrifice was to be held. Imagine Abraham praying with each footstep that God would tell him not to do it. Imagine Abraham and Isaac reaching the top of the mountain with no word from God. Imagine Abraham tying Isaac up to the altar and there being no word from God! Imagine Abraham praying through sweat, anxiety, and tears; Abraham lifting the knife and then...God saying, "Stop!" God never wanted Isaac dead. He only wanted to see how much Abraham trusted God.
Jesus must know we have trouble patiently waiting on God in prayer. He told many stories about praying persistently. One of my favorites is of a man who was in bed asleep with his whole family (in those days the whole family slept in the same bed...can you imagine?) when his friend knocked on the door during the night asking for bread to share with a visitor who came to see him. Jesus says that the man in the bed didn't come to the door because he was his friend but because of his persistent knocking! In other words, the man at the door annoyed his friend into action! Now that's a funny image of prayer!
Part of following Jesus is learning to keep knocking on God's door, trusting God to answer out of the love He has for us. We may not understand God's time or God's ways, but, in the end we believe, like David that God will "incline to me and hear my cry." God will literally stretch way out to offer us what we need.
Life Question:
1. What are we praying about that demands patient persistence from us?
2. Where do we struggle with doubt that God will provide what we need or what others need?
3. Let us pray the prayer of the father of the demon possessed man in Mark 9, "Lord I believe! Help
my unbelief!"
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the persistent, powerful faith that moves mountains, the kind you showed as you mounted the cross for our salvation! Help us trust in your unfailing love for us and in your tender care. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Daily Prayer:
Sermons:
Christian Community:
Today, right now, remind us, great God of every star and planet, of every living thing that we are not alone. You are calling us closer to you this moment. We need your strength and wisdom to live well, and we need your love to transform us! We're listening...please give us Your Word.
Psalm 40
Comments:
I've heard the saying "good things come to those who wait but not to those who hesitate." I don't know who said it but it speaks the truth that there is a time to wait and pray, and there is a time to act on what God has already revealed without hesitation.
David's prayer mentions his patient waiting upon God to respond to his prayers. It makes me wonder how long he had to wait. Knowing that in many other Psalms David is found almost to be screaming and crying to God saying, "How long must I wait? Have you left me here to suffer and die," I wonder how patient is his idea of patient?
How patient are we in waiting for God to respond to our requests in prayer? Sometimes God tests us to see how much we trust him by seeing how long we will wait. Abraham was told by God's angel to take his only son, Isaac, the one he waited until he was 90 to have, and sacrifice him. So Abraham walked a few days to the site where the sacrifice was to be held. Imagine Abraham praying with each footstep that God would tell him not to do it. Imagine Abraham and Isaac reaching the top of the mountain with no word from God. Imagine Abraham tying Isaac up to the altar and there being no word from God! Imagine Abraham praying through sweat, anxiety, and tears; Abraham lifting the knife and then...God saying, "Stop!" God never wanted Isaac dead. He only wanted to see how much Abraham trusted God.
Jesus must know we have trouble patiently waiting on God in prayer. He told many stories about praying persistently. One of my favorites is of a man who was in bed asleep with his whole family (in those days the whole family slept in the same bed...can you imagine?) when his friend knocked on the door during the night asking for bread to share with a visitor who came to see him. Jesus says that the man in the bed didn't come to the door because he was his friend but because of his persistent knocking! In other words, the man at the door annoyed his friend into action! Now that's a funny image of prayer!
Part of following Jesus is learning to keep knocking on God's door, trusting God to answer out of the love He has for us. We may not understand God's time or God's ways, but, in the end we believe, like David that God will "incline to me and hear my cry." God will literally stretch way out to offer us what we need.
Life Question:
1. What are we praying about that demands patient persistence from us?
2. Where do we struggle with doubt that God will provide what we need or what others need?
3. Let us pray the prayer of the father of the demon possessed man in Mark 9, "Lord I believe! Help
my unbelief!"
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the persistent, powerful faith that moves mountains, the kind you showed as you mounted the cross for our salvation! Help us trust in your unfailing love for us and in your tender care. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Daily Prayer:
Sermons:
Christian Community:
Monday, August 15, 2011
Weekly Prayer: Emptied Out And Filled Up
Opening Prayer:
Merciful and kind God, thank you for being quick to forgive and slow to anger. As we start this week, save us from our small thoughts that this week is only about making more money, keeping everyone happy, having a little fun, or "just getting by." Restore us to your vision of good life which is nothing less than life lived out of gratitude for your love, life spent honoring you by doing great things and by serving those in need. That is life worthy of eternity.
Scripture: Matthew 3: 1-17
Comments:
This past weekend I got a better idea of what it looks like to empty myself. After swimming and biking in the Florida summer heat at full speed, I got off my bike and began to run a 5k on the way to completing a sprint triathlon. My shoes squished with sweat each time I took a stride, my mouth was dry, my head was pounding, and I was running out of energy. Sportscasters working the Tour de France often say of cyclists climbing one of the Alps, "He's turning himself inside out!" I certainly wasn't climbing an Alp, but I did feel like I was turning myself inside out, expending every last drop of energy. Hmmm, I wonder if spending every last drop of energy in life on Jesus' work to bring wholeness to this broken world is what Jesus means when he says to his disciples and other followers, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8: 34-35)?"
In today's reading, we find John the baptist in the desert crying out to the world to turn away from their sin and turn back to following God. The desert...really? Why not go to Jerusalem or New York City where people actually live if you want to get the word out? Why would God want to call people out to the desert to turn back to him? Hmmm...could it be that going out to the desert requires us to be inconvenienced, to have to go out of our way, to step aside from what is normal for us, to empty ourselves of our broken ways of living so that we will be cleaned out and ready to receive the new life Jesus comes to give?
This God of ours doesn't always seem interested in our convenience or in perpetuating our life-denying ways of living. This is no namby-pamby, feel good, positive thinking, "programs to make your life better" God. This is a God who says, "You want eternal life, you've got to die to your selfish ways and turn back to me, plain and simple." Hmmm, that will need some time to ponder. God seems resolutely focused on reorganizing our lives according to his ways, ways of love, justice, and mercy, even if that means inviting us out to the desert to empty ourselves.
Life Questions:
1. In what ways do I love convenience more than I love God?
2. What in me needs to be empty on my way to the desert to be filled by the loving, saving presence
of Jesus Christ and his Spirit?
Closing Prayer:
Save us from a life of weak resignation to "normal." Fill us with a passionate, all out love for you and the creation you have died and risen to save. In the name of Jesus who fills us with life overflowing, amen.
Weekly Prayer:
Sermons:
Connect To Christian Community:
Merciful and kind God, thank you for being quick to forgive and slow to anger. As we start this week, save us from our small thoughts that this week is only about making more money, keeping everyone happy, having a little fun, or "just getting by." Restore us to your vision of good life which is nothing less than life lived out of gratitude for your love, life spent honoring you by doing great things and by serving those in need. That is life worthy of eternity.
Scripture: Matthew 3: 1-17
Comments:
This past weekend I got a better idea of what it looks like to empty myself. After swimming and biking in the Florida summer heat at full speed, I got off my bike and began to run a 5k on the way to completing a sprint triathlon. My shoes squished with sweat each time I took a stride, my mouth was dry, my head was pounding, and I was running out of energy. Sportscasters working the Tour de France often say of cyclists climbing one of the Alps, "He's turning himself inside out!" I certainly wasn't climbing an Alp, but I did feel like I was turning myself inside out, expending every last drop of energy. Hmmm, I wonder if spending every last drop of energy in life on Jesus' work to bring wholeness to this broken world is what Jesus means when he says to his disciples and other followers, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8: 34-35)?"
In today's reading, we find John the baptist in the desert crying out to the world to turn away from their sin and turn back to following God. The desert...really? Why not go to Jerusalem or New York City where people actually live if you want to get the word out? Why would God want to call people out to the desert to turn back to him? Hmmm...could it be that going out to the desert requires us to be inconvenienced, to have to go out of our way, to step aside from what is normal for us, to empty ourselves of our broken ways of living so that we will be cleaned out and ready to receive the new life Jesus comes to give?
This God of ours doesn't always seem interested in our convenience or in perpetuating our life-denying ways of living. This is no namby-pamby, feel good, positive thinking, "programs to make your life better" God. This is a God who says, "You want eternal life, you've got to die to your selfish ways and turn back to me, plain and simple." Hmmm, that will need some time to ponder. God seems resolutely focused on reorganizing our lives according to his ways, ways of love, justice, and mercy, even if that means inviting us out to the desert to empty ourselves.
Life Questions:
1. In what ways do I love convenience more than I love God?
2. What in me needs to be empty on my way to the desert to be filled by the loving, saving presence
of Jesus Christ and his Spirit?
Closing Prayer:
Save us from a life of weak resignation to "normal." Fill us with a passionate, all out love for you and the creation you have died and risen to save. In the name of Jesus who fills us with life overflowing, amen.
Weekly Prayer:
Sermons:
Connect To Christian Community:
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Weekly Prayer: God And Your Body
Opening Prayer:
God of power, love, and creativity, thank you for taking the stuff of dust and dirt and breathing life into them so that we can live! Your creativity is boundless and beautiful! In all of the tasks and busyness of living, help us see the gifts in the present moment so that we may enjoy them and give you praise! In the name of Jesus, amen.
John 1: 1-18
Comments:
John is all about the big picture and Jesus, the cosmic impact of the enfleshment of God! Jesus is the Word, the organizing principle and power and source of all living things. He is the life and light of all that grows and breathes. When Jesus becomes flesh the divine and human are joined, the spiritual and physical are sown back together after having been torn by sin, and all that is good and right and beautiful about the physical world is given the possibility and power to be restored by the gracious loving sacrifice of God. So what does that have to do with us today?
Many people don't see that faith in Jesus Christ has any impact on their physical lives. Over the centuries some bad teachings have led people to believe that the physical world must be destroyed and left behind in order to become more spiritual. Some have taught that the pleasures of physical life like sex, eating, and the enjoyment of beautiful things like art and music should be avoided at all costs in order to please God. And historically, when the world has been a painful place to live, people have resorted to an "escapist" faith, looking so forward to the blissful heavenly life after death that they forget God's interest in the physical well being of his creatures in the present.
When "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," Jesus came to restore the connection between the spiritual and physical. God is not just interested in whether you go to heaven or hell when you die. God is interested in the life-giving order of his Kingdom being restored "on earth as it is in heaven!" God is not just interested in whether we say the words "I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior." God is also interested in whether our bodies act like the Body of Jesus we have joined by faith. God is interested in whether we love like Jesus with our hands, with how we spend our time, with how we work every day , with how we treat our spouses and children, with how we vote on issues, with what we do in our sex lives, with what we eat, with how we spend our money, and with how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others. In short, God is very interested in our bodies!
Life Questions:
1. How do you use your body in ways that honor God and promote love and good living in others?
2. In what ways do you use your body that are destructive?
Prayer:
Merciful God, thank you for caring for our bodies! Forgive us when we have used our bodies as weapons, when our words have injured others, when our actions have broken relationships and the bodies of others. Thank you for the good that our bodies can do! Restore our minds, hearts, bodies and souls through the life-giving cross and resurrection of Jesus so that we may live for you joyfully today and in each moment you give. Amen!
Weekly Prayer
Sermons
Christian Community
God of power, love, and creativity, thank you for taking the stuff of dust and dirt and breathing life into them so that we can live! Your creativity is boundless and beautiful! In all of the tasks and busyness of living, help us see the gifts in the present moment so that we may enjoy them and give you praise! In the name of Jesus, amen.
John 1: 1-18
Comments:
John is all about the big picture and Jesus, the cosmic impact of the enfleshment of God! Jesus is the Word, the organizing principle and power and source of all living things. He is the life and light of all that grows and breathes. When Jesus becomes flesh the divine and human are joined, the spiritual and physical are sown back together after having been torn by sin, and all that is good and right and beautiful about the physical world is given the possibility and power to be restored by the gracious loving sacrifice of God. So what does that have to do with us today?
Many people don't see that faith in Jesus Christ has any impact on their physical lives. Over the centuries some bad teachings have led people to believe that the physical world must be destroyed and left behind in order to become more spiritual. Some have taught that the pleasures of physical life like sex, eating, and the enjoyment of beautiful things like art and music should be avoided at all costs in order to please God. And historically, when the world has been a painful place to live, people have resorted to an "escapist" faith, looking so forward to the blissful heavenly life after death that they forget God's interest in the physical well being of his creatures in the present.
When "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," Jesus came to restore the connection between the spiritual and physical. God is not just interested in whether you go to heaven or hell when you die. God is interested in the life-giving order of his Kingdom being restored "on earth as it is in heaven!" God is not just interested in whether we say the words "I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior." God is also interested in whether our bodies act like the Body of Jesus we have joined by faith. God is interested in whether we love like Jesus with our hands, with how we spend our time, with how we work every day , with how we treat our spouses and children, with how we vote on issues, with what we do in our sex lives, with what we eat, with how we spend our money, and with how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others. In short, God is very interested in our bodies!
Life Questions:
1. How do you use your body in ways that honor God and promote love and good living in others?
2. In what ways do you use your body that are destructive?
Prayer:
Merciful God, thank you for caring for our bodies! Forgive us when we have used our bodies as weapons, when our words have injured others, when our actions have broken relationships and the bodies of others. Thank you for the good that our bodies can do! Restore our minds, hearts, bodies and souls through the life-giving cross and resurrection of Jesus so that we may live for you joyfully today and in each moment you give. Amen!
Weekly Prayer
Sermons
Christian Community
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