Christmas

All our Christmas services this year centered around trees: especially the Jesse Tree based upon this verse, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit" (Isaiah 11:1). On the left is the original idea behind the Jess Tree. By the use of images the medieval church communicated the linage of Christ. In more modern times someone combined the idea of a Jesse Tree with our modern Christmas tree. The result is the picture on the right. It was great to have our children take part in our service on Sunday and decorate the Jesse Trees with the ornaments they had created. In fact, one of the things I enjoy most about our special services is that we allow a number of our more creative people to use their gifts of decorating, singing, drama, construction, etc. May we continue to encourage creativity and applaud those who use the gifts God has given them to serve others and glorify our Lord.

Candlelight

I am continually amazed at the creativity of David Layman. Each year he crafts the perfect Candlelight service. The highlight of this year's service for me was having the children of the SMOMS (Single mom's ministry) carry in the various ceramic characters for the nativity. The number of children growing up in homes without a father is increasing. Few would say this is an ideal environment for children, however, this is the reality of the world in which we live. My hope is that our church will be a welcoming environment for single moms and their children and that these children grow to know God as their Father who will never leave them nor forsake them. May we, as the people of God, work to this end. Thank you David, for one small step in that direction.

Priest

The extent to which God went so that we might understand the magnitude of the sacrifice of Jesus is wonderful beyond comprehension. The establishment of the priesthood, the job of the High Priest, the requirements for sacrifices, the construction and design of the Tabernacle--all were done so that we might grasp how significant is the death of Christ on our behalf. The repetition of sacrifices and the magnitude of offerings given all lead up to the final, once for all sacrifice of Jesus. He is God's great High Priest who is vastly superior to all priests who preceded him. He is the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin that has brought full atonement so that we might never need to suffer under the guilt and condemnation of sin. May we all respond by trusting in the work of our faithful High Priest and being ever mindful of his constant intercession on our behalf, may we become more like him.

The Prophet

When Jesus came as "The Prophet" Moses had spoken about, his first sermon was, "repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." It is repentance that opens our heart to enter the kingdom and repentance that keeps us maturing and growing in Christ.

It is amazing that so wonderful a gift as repentance has come to be viewed so distastefully. It is such a blow to our pride to admit that we have been wrong. However, when we humble ourselves before God and freely confess our sins, we give the Holy Spirit the necessary room to bring about transformation of our true selves. It is then that "times of refreshing come from the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

The Relationships

I gain hope from how messed up the church in Corinth was. In fact, as I think about the New Testament churches, I don't see many (any?) that did not have major problems. The New Testament documents themselves were almost exclusively written to address the problems being experienced in the churches. In spite of that, the gospel was spreading and new congregations were springing up everywhere. How marvelous that God doesn't need us to get everything "fixed" for Him to work in wonderful ways. His grace is what saves us and his grace is what sustains us. Far from making us complacent, may God's grace have the same effect in our lives that it had in the life of the one who because of his former life, called himself, "the least of the apostles." In his own words, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

The Altar & The Table

It's no secret that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the idea of devoting a day for the purpose of giving God the appropriate thanks for all that he has done for us. Being able to spend the day with my family makes the day joyous indeed!

Our assembly seemed so alive this morning. Our all male praise team made such a beautiful noise to the Lord encouraging us all to participate. Having our children down front for a special lesson is always fun. Our pantry collection was sufficient to help many needy families in the coming months (well over $4,000). Having our family prayer time focus on thanksgiving brought tears to my eyes as people I have prayed with over the year came to "report" on how God has answered our prayers. Finally, taking the Lord's Supper together at the end of the service was especially joy filled.

For some reason the tradition of taking the Lord's Supper that we inherited is very solemn, reflective, and individualized. As we read in the Scriptures today, the original purpose of the Supper was that it be joyful, festive, and communal. My hope is that we will continue to move in this direction exploring more ways to observe the Communion that we assist our growth in expressing our gratitude to God for all that he has done for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Resurrection

Some of us remember the old songs that used to be popular in church:

• This World is not My Home ("My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue")

• Won't it be Wonderful There ("When with the Savior we enter the glory land")

• Mansions Over The Hilltop ("I'm satisfied with just a cottage below; a little silver and a little gold")

• By and By ("Trials dark on every hand and we cannot understand all the ways that God will lead us to that blessed promised land.")

Most of these songs were written when life was hard and people looked forward to a "land of rest" when all of God's promises would come to fulfillment. Among African-Americans the spirituals had a similar theme such as this once familiar song, "I am a poor wayfaring stranger, a traveling through the world of woe."

As life became easier we stopping writing and singing these songs. Instead of thinking about Jesus' return, the end of time, resurrection, judgment, and eternity; we began to talk more about the blessings God has for us in this life. Christian bookstores are full of guides teaching us how to enjoy all the blessings of God right now. The epitome of this emphasis has become what is called the "Prosperity Gospel" or the "Gospel of Health and Wealth" which teaches that God wants to bless all of his children with health and wealth in this life.

Reading 1 Corinthians 15 in light of this emphasis seems strange indeed. For Paul, this world is messed up and needs more than a make over. It needs a complete purging. The world is held captive to sin and is ruled by death. Jesus' resurrection truly was the beginning of the End. We are living in the "last days" and the earth as we know it is passing away. We must resist the temptation to live as though this is our home. We are all here on assignment but our home is somewhere else. Resurrection means we are to live this life in preparation for the life to come.

The Assembly

The heritage that most of us grew up in followed a patternistic methodology whereby we believed that if we could simply discover the "pattern" of the 1st century church we could recreate that church in the modern age. In spite of this viewpoint I never remember 1 Corinthians 12-14 being taken seriously as a way to discover that pattern. In other words, we never taught that the pattern of early church worship could be found by following the correctives that Paul gives here, especially in the last part of chapter 14.

I have long since abandoned the quest to discover the pattern of worship followed by the churches of the New Testament believing instead that, aside from having some things in common such as the Lord's Supper and public reading of scripture, the assemblies of the New Testament churches were very different from one another. God did not give us a pattern to imitate but a Lord and Savior to follow. Such is the gist of Paul's teachings about the assembly. It's not enough to get all the right actions to be done in the right order. What is of critical importance is that we recognize one another in the spirit of Christ's love, and do all we can to edify, encourage, and build up one another in the faith. When we allow this to guide us in our decisions about what should or should not happen in our assemblies we are moving in the right direction.

The Greatest

Isn't it strange that the passage of scripture most often read at weddings was originally written to bring people to an acknowledgment of sin, confession and repentance? The "love chapter" was not written for self improvement but self exposure! When we recognize how far we are from the ideal of true love we need to turn to God in confession and repentance. We can freely confess our sins because of our understanding of God's love for us as seen in the cross of Christ. We need have NO FEAR in freely and openly acknowledging our shortcomings. By doing so we die to ourselves so that through Christ's resurrection from the dead we might have his life in us. The cross is the greatest demonstration of God's love for us. As we come to understand God's love more and more we are changed to be like him. As John wrote, "We love because he first loved us."

Prayer Retreat

Since David preached this past Sunday I am going to devote my blog to last week's retreat. I asked the teenagers to visit this site and they wanted me to talk about our Sunday class. So, I'll say a few words about that first. Two weeks ago I began teaching the High School class using Phillip Yancy's video series, "The Jesus I Never Knew." We are looking at Jesus afresh seeking to understand who he really is and breaking out of traditional images and childhood impressions.

Now about my retreat. This year I devoted myself to trying four different types or styles of praying:
Contemplative - This is simply sitting still and focusing on what is happening around me using all of my senses and being aware of God's creation and presence. It is prayer without words or prayer from the heart rather than the mind. Of course sometimes words do come as expressions of marvel at what one is experiencing, but mostly there is silence. This was my basic form of prayer during my time away. I would practice this prayer while sitting or walking. It was helpful to be in a secluded spot.
Jesus Prayer - I practiced this one afternoon while lying on my cot. I repeated the words, "Jesus, Son of God, Savior." As I repeated this phrase it became a part of my breathing. The words were offered to God and he opened my mind to images of others who used these words when addressing the Lord.
Praying Through My Life - I began with my grandparents who passed the Faith on to my parents and traveled with God through my life. Much of this prayer was spent in thanksgiving and reflection on the many people God has brought into my life at the very time I needed them. I also acknowledged how often God has shown me his mercy and forgiveness when I have sinned and fallen short of his righteousness.
Intercessory - This has become a foundational part of my retreats. I prayed through the church directory and lifted each individual before the Lord. I also prayed through the 110 or so requests that the church had given me.

In the future I want to help others in developing their prayer lives using the things I have especially learned during my annual prayer retreats. One specific plan for 2008 is to schedule four one-day prayer retreats for the Clear Lake Church.

The Gifts

How easy it is to get focused on spiritual gifts and lose sight of the whole point and purpose behind the gifts! My suggestion for those who feel uncertain what their gifts might be is found in Paul's words, "Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church" (1 Cor. 14:12). Look for ways to serve others. Your areas of giftedness might be where:
1) It feels like a good fit. Even if it is hard, it brings you a sense of joy and satisfaction.
2) Others tell you it's a good fit. If you're the only one who thinks you're gifted in a certain area you're probably not.
3) It is providing a needed service.
The point, however, is not to get perfectly fitted into your perfect gift! The point is to serve in ways that build others up.

Thinking about Paul's "spiritual anatomy" class: I think this is some of the funnest stuff the Apostle ever wrote. Imagine individual body parts getting their feelings hurt, experiencing insecurities, and talking about it! I'm so thankful that my personal body parts all exist for the good of the whole. Oh, that we in the body of Christ could do the same.

The Supper

It is much easier to discuss forms and techniques than to practice love. The essence of the Lord's Supper has little to do with many of the conversations (or arguments) that have surrounded it for centuries (frequency, form, who can serve trays, exact contents inside the trays, etc.). Rather, the essence is found in what the elements represent and what the implications are in terms of our life together as the body of Christ. Liz brought to my mind some of the "hidden meaning" of the video clip we saw from the movie "Places in the Heart." As the trays were passed everyone was represented: rich, poor, homeless, widows, different races, both genders, the disadvantaged, the privileged, the under privileged, adults, and children. All were there. All were eating the bread and drinking the cup. For one moment in time they all stood on level ground at the foot of the cross. "Peace of Christ" they whispered to themselves and each other. Oh, how much well all need the peace of Christ in our lives. Our spiritual need is the first great uniter. Our common redemption in Christ is the second and greater uniter of the church. May we live out the implications of such unity.

The Collection

As one who has had a difficult time preaching on giving I was unusually excited to preach this specific message. During the past year I have been so impressed with our elders and other leaders. The recurring theme has been: discerning where God is leading, obeying his direction, and trusting him to provide what we need to do his work. The way God usually provides is through his people. As we grow in our faith we also grow in our giving. Part of the fruit of the spirit is "self-discipline". As we mature in self-discipline we refuse to let money control our lives by living on less than we make. This enables us to give generously and often. Although the lesson today certainly had application for everyone I was specifically targeting those who do not have a consistent, planned approach for their church contribution. I am especially interested in our children and teenagers who are perhaps earning their first paychecks. Now is the time to develop the habit of giving that will be one significant part of laying up treasures in heaven instead of on earth.

The Issue

As I visited with people immediately after the sermon today there were a couple of common themes. Some wanted to talk about their relatives that have left the Church of Christ because of the church's inflexibility. Some of these reflections went back many decades. Others wanted to talk about how the culture has dramatically and rapidly changed in regards to the role of women. However, the church does not reflect that change. A few days ago I turned 48. When I was younger the culture was in transition but there were still cultural norms restricting women from fully participating in a number of areas. Remember on Petticoat Junction when a woman doctor came to town? The men were aghast! No way in this world would they let a woman treat them. (If you're younger than me I don't want any comments like, "What's a Petticoat Junction?".) Women could be nurses, secretaries, or teachers. Other than that, they should be homemakers. How quickly our culture changed. My children (all in their 20's now) see the world I grew up in as a strange place in regards to restrictions women faced. Today the only place in the U.S. that still restricts women is the church. How weird is that to our contemporary culture?

The Warning

The sermon today left me feeling kind of depressed. It's not really the type of message I enjoy presenting but felt that the text left me little choice. It is interesting that Paul doesn't just set everybody straight at the beginning of the discussion on "meat offered to idols" (8:1) by simply stating in a few bullets:

• Stop going to the idol temples
• Your are free to eat idol meat sold in the market unless someone makes a reference to it being sacrificed to idols

I get the feeling that for Paul it was more important that they learn to love one another and take care of each other than it was for them to get all their moral I's dotted and T's crossed. In other words, he was not trying to form a society that was simply "moral" but one that was Christ like.

Someone did tell me I should work on my illustrations. If I45 runs from Houston to Galveston, and the illustration for avoiding temptation is to take the exits provided, then .... does that mean Galveston is Hell? I'll leave that for you to decide.

The Freedom

How much fun was it watching me scramble to fill time while Alan worked on the DVD player? I can be scary when I get away from my script. All in all I communicated what I felt I needed too even if you all missed out on the excellent Rocky II clips. Paul argues for preachers to be financially supported in 1 Cor. 9 but then says that while he was among the Corinthians he waved his rights for the sake of the Gospel. I then take his words and make a major point about how we all need to be involved in supporting the ministers we've asked to devote a substantial part of their time to minister among us (a point I don't believe Paul was specifically making). I felt I was taking Paul's original point (giving up one's rights for the sake of the weak) and expanded upon his arguments to apply his words to our situation (which I think he would agree with). Is that what Paul did when he made an argument for supporting preachers because in the Law we are required to not muzzle our oxen? Oh well, my primary point, which I hope all will remember, is to keep our eyes on the prize so that we will freely deny ourselves of certain freedoms and rights so that we can win as many as possible.

The Attitude

There are so many good things one can say about knowledge. It opens doors of opportunity. It empowers one to make good decisions. It enables one to be able to teach others. It is also impressive to be known as a knowledgeable person. Within Christianity one with a deep knowledge of the Bible is given great respect. It comes as something of a surprise to read the words of perhaps the most educated and knowledgeable Christian of the first century when he wrote, "knowledge puffs up." A puffer fish is a fitting example of one who may have knowledge but does not have love. Working with people who are weak in faith due to their lack of knowledge, is difficult at times. The puffer fish illustrates us when we are proud of our knowledge and the enlightenment such knowledge provides. What would we look like if we had genuine love for the weak, "for whom Christ died"?

I put a counter on this page to see how many "hits" I get each week: it is somewhere around 30-40. I'd love to read your comments about the sermon, my reading list, or anything else related. It's really easy. At the bottom of this post click the link marked "comments". On your left you'll see what others have written and on your right is a form for you to fill out. You don't have to have a blog or a web page to leave a comment. You can even be anonymous if you like (but at least put your first name in your comments!). Click "publish your comment" and you're done.

The Perspective

Translating the message of God from one culture to another is no small task. I found the material in 1 Corinthians 7 to be especially difficult to present. What was happening in that 1st century Corinthian church that would cause Paul to write such things? And then, how does that apply to our 21st century, Houston church? As I came to grips with the message that needed to be preached I then had to ponder all the implications of such a message. Would this message make people feel condemned for past choices they had made? How could I present such a message with grace so that people would have hope and not despair? These were the thoughts and questions that burdened me during my preparation last week.

Now that the sermon is over I wonder what message was heard by those who listened. Did they hear the voice of judgment or the voice of love? And more importantly, will we all be more inclined to seek God's eternal perspective in the important decisions of life? Maranatha.

The Life

This is a picture I found in the prayer notebook I mentioned this morning. This is my cousin James after God extended his life. It was taken at Thanksgiving, 2001 at my brother's house. After having a long period of relatively good health he was on the decline at this point and this was the last family gathering he was able to attend.

During the prayer time this morning Maedell came to pray with me simply to thank God that she had been able to meet James and spend a little time with him. I felt that even though James is dead God is still working through his life ("And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." Heb. 11:4). When we choose to live a sanctified life God works in wonderful ways for his glory. What greater goal can a person have for their life than to be used by God for his glory?

The Loaf

Application of the biblical text is not always as easy one might think. I wonder what the full story was on the man who was sleeping with his father's wife. Surely it was not his mother or else Paul would have said so. But what was the story and what had Paul's previous attempts been to restore the man? And how do we apply the command to not even eat with such persons when it appears that the kind of meal Paul was referring to does not even exist in our church culture? Such questions trouble me but I think we can still glean the point Paul is making and there is certainly plenty of relevant application to be made to our lives. The sermon this morning was an attempt to do that. Imagine how much fun we'll have when we get to women wearing veils, men not cutting their hair, and women remaining silent! If only we had someone from Chloe's household to fill in the details for us.

The Irony

One definition of irony is, "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected." Talking about the cross in 21st Century North America is vastly different from talking about the cross in 1st Century Corinth. To think that God would allow his son to suffer the indignity, humiliation, and shame of death on a cross was almost unthinkable to a person familiar with the use of crosses for public execution. For Jesus to say that one who would follow him must take up their cross daily is laughable until we realize that he is serious. To view the slide show of methods of execution I referenced in the sermon this morning click here. (You many need to click the link "Continue Gallery" to get past the ads.) I find these images disturbing but they do put into context why "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Cor. 1:18).

Click this link if you would like to see the Scum of the Earth Church web site.

The Church

I'm afraid my age is showing. When I used the picture of the cartoon character Mr. Magoo as an illustration I got blank stares from the teenagers down front. When I asked them if they knew who Mr. Magoo was they shrugged their shoulders. Another cultural icon gone forever. When I asked a couple of college students after the sermon about my statement, "I'm afraid at times the church is having an affair with Madison Avenue" they told me they didn't know what Madison Avenue was. Wikipedia reports, "The term 'Madison Avenue' is often used metonymously for advertising, and Madison Avenue became identified with the advertising industry after the explosive growth in this area in the 1920s." Alas, a cartoon character from the 60's and a metonymy made popular in the 20's perhaps don't communicate to the younger generation in this new millennium. Hopefully, the scriptures (written in the 50's - that's not the 1950's but the real 50's!) were more relevant and timely than the illustrations.

On another note several asked about my son Jeremy and his move to Dallas. He and Adrienne left Saturday and he will begin classes at Baylor Dental School this fall.

The Spirit

For years I've been convinced that the best preaching is expository where the preacher's objective is to preach directly from a specific text of Scripture. The task for the preacher is to first attempt to understand what the scripture meant to the original readers and then, using that information, determine what the message is for today. The final step is to decide how to best communicate that message in the sermon. It certainly is not the easiest way to preach, but I feel the process builds in a certain amount of controls so that what is preached is in fact "the word of God" and not simply some good ideas with a few passages of scripture tacked on.

My goal with each sermon is not so much to give neat and tidy answers to the difficult questions of life, as it is to cause people to think. After wrestling with a text all week it is almost a relief to hand it off to others to roll it around in their minds for awhile. One of the greatest compliments I hear in preaching is for someone to say, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about the passage you preached last Sunday."

The sermon this morning, with it's contrast between thinking as a natural individual and thinking as a spiritual individual in the natural world, is just such a sermon. My hope is that by wrestling with this concept God's spirit will help each of us see practical ways he desires us to live in the natural world as a person full of his Spirit.

The Message

A few years back I read The Unnecessary Pastor by Eugene Peterson and Marva Dawn. A thought provoking read to say the least. Can any of us honestly claim to be "necessary"? How easy it is to think of ourselves as more important than we really are. The marvel and beauty of recognizing that we are "unnecessary" is when we realize that God desires to use us anyway. There is only one Savior and all the rest of us are simply servants doing our assigned duties. Spiritual elitism can occur when we elevate certain preachers, teachers, methods, seminars, authors, counselors, etc.... to the position of Savior. In essence we elevate ourselves because of our association with the one we have elevated.

From here it is a very small step to the development of a faction. The end result is envy, fighting, jealously, quarreling, bitterness, and so forth. The bread and cup call us to remember the message. Messengers are "unnecessary". They certainly have a job to do and they should do the best they can with the message they have to deliver! However, today's messengers will not even be known in a few decades. God will raise up new messengers.

The bread and the cup direct us to give all our allegiance to Christ. He is the message. In him we will find unity with one another.

The Call

We looked a long time last week to find a picture to use for the sermon series, "Supper Time", which began today. I wanted a picture of the bread and cup but had a terrible time finding a picture that looked like something you could possible have for supper! To have the heading "Supper Time" over a picture of a pinch of cracker and a thimble full of wine just didn't look right. I finally found this one which we used in the presentation today. It's a thought provoking picture don't you think? What thoughts come to your mind as you examine it?

I've never considered that the answer to the problems of unity and holiness would be found in the Lord's Supper until this past week. I'm excited to dig deeper in to 1 Corinthians to uncover the power of this simple observance that Christ told us to do "in remembrance of me."

Small but Powerful!

I knew there would be photo requests after this morning's sermon, so here are Willie and Bear, our 6 month old puppies who supplied one of the sermon illustrations. I'm sure there will be more to come!

Jeremy Pierce told me he was disappointed that I did not include the description of Willie that was first uttered by my wonderful daughter-in-law. Since Willie is constantly licking people she said, "Willie can't handle his 'licker'". Sorry Jeremy for the oversight. You would think in a sermon on the tongue that I could have found some use for that expression.

Thinking about how destructive our words can be is a sobering thought. My hope is that we can encourage one another to use language that builds the kingdom of God instead of setting loose the fire of hell.

On another note, Dan Miller's illustration of the candy bar was perfect! For those who missed it here is the brief recap of Dan's words before we took up our contribution. Dan gives his child a candy bar and asks if he can have some of it back. The child grudgingly pulls the smallest piece from the corner and gives it to him. May we all grow in our love for God and may it find expression in our financial generosity.

A Christian View of Death

"Conflicted" is the word Liz used to describe her feelings this past week. Others in her ladies' class this morning agreed. Should we celebrate a life well lived or grieve the loss of one we loved? Is it even possible to do both at the same time?

My objective this morning was to give people "permission" to grieve. Lamenting, it seems, is now often viewed as a lack of faith. May we all learn to grieve, but not to grieve like those who have no hope.

I was touched this morning when Ben became a bit emotional talking about our church. Emotions can be the window into one's soul. It's great to have a Shepherd who is moved when speaking about those who have served well. It was also good to have our newest Shepherd, Gilbert, give our homily before the Lord's Supper. I know he had worked a long time to put all the images together to go with his thoughts. The NASA presentation had to be the most moving part of the entire service. To see how much those astronauts loved Paula Hall was touching.

Perseverance

I was as nervous as a boy preaching his first sermon this morning. I had been planning this lesson for more than a month but the thought of showing 8 minutes of football still made me wonder if it was really appropriate. However, I was confident that the entire presentation would connect with certain men who, perhaps, have always felt out of place at church. As someone told me afterward, "It may have made some uncomfortable; but it may be the first time others have ever felt comfortable at church!"

Didn't "T" do a great job! We are fortunate to have him and his family with us. Also, I was proud of Barry Duncan who did such a good job preparing us for the Lord's Supper.