Relationships - friendship Proverbs 18:24, 8/3/08

Relationships - friendship Proverbs 18:24, 8/3/08

If I were to send my pastor on a renewal leave, this is what I would hope for
Be able to relax
Find a peaceful heart
Enter nature
Get inspired
Read some good stuff that will help me
Come back with ideas for staff and for our future direction
Most of all, I hope that my pastor would be gripped with a feeling of "I want to come back" I want to be here. I miss you.
All of this has taken place
Thank you for this time away

quote - first church I have been involved w that was secure enough to let its pastor be gone for a six week renewal leave

reading during this renewal leave I decided to preach on relationships - because I have felt again the truth that loving others and being loved by them is a key gift of life

week 1 - friendships week, 2-marriage week, 3 - when things go work, week 4 - rel w God

Read Scripture: Prov 18:24
If a man would have friends, he must show himself to be friendly, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

The problem
In our culture, there's an unsettled feeling, a malaise, life is not giving me what I want. Spending our time on the wrong stuff.
We're so busy striving for income that there isn't time for friendship. The divorce rate also goes up when people become richer, and partly it's because their very effort to become richer is a strain on the family. In general, materialists are unhappy people. If earning and consuming are less satisfying than friendship, why do we pursue them so vigorously?

Friendship defined
Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with them. They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are.

a small boy defined a friends as "Someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same."

Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. Aristotle.

Biblical examples:
Abraham and Lot
Ruth and Naomi
David and Jonathan
Daniel and his three companions
Jesus and Disciples
Mary Martha Lazarus and Jesus
Paul and Silas
Paul and Barnabas
Paul and Priscilla and Aquilla
Jesus...I no longer call you servants but friends

Why are friendships important
Life is about relationships
Babies that are hot held develop "failure to thrive"
All of us need people to be connected to
Friends are those people with which we find special connections

• You want to hang w them
• You look fwd to seeing them
• They are good for you
• You can tell them your secrets--I call u friends...full disclosure

a writer described the significance in friendship: "The human journey is so short. We no sooner realize that we are here than it is already time for us to be leaving. The brevity of life gives a subconscious urgency to our desire to know ourselves. Dostoyevsky said that one of the greatest tragedies is that so many people live their lives without ever finding themselves in themselves. Perhaps this is what a friendship gives us. The real mirror of your life and soul is your true friend. A friend helps you to glimpse who you really are and what you are doing here." -- John O"Donohue, "Soul to Soul," Utne Reader

So where do friendships come from
If a man would have friends, he must show himself to be friendly
Tom Bales.......mowing the grass......came over and we sat down and visited

Do you wait around for others to be nice to you
Or do you go out and make friends

Joan and the man that she wanted to date
Quote
George Bernard Shaw asked his readers if we would be "a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievance, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

Glass half full or half empty
See the good

Friendships are built and maintained on time invested
A Chinese proverb says, "the fifth cup of tea between friends is the best". Tea was made in old China simply by pouting hot water over loose tea leaves in a cup.

It is the fifth cup that becomes the symbol of friendship at its best.

We value friendship
Proverbs 17:17 - A friends loves at all times and a brother is born of adversity
From moments of pain, great relationships can arise
Because you have found someone that is trustworthy, who will care 4 yr heart

Jackie Robinson was the first black to play major league baseball. Breaking baseball's color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. The fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then, shortstop PeeWee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career.

Paul McClain - tears

When you find a friend, you have found a connection

• There is something inside of me that connects to you
• There is something inside of me that responds to you
• I want to hang around with you
• I am better because of you

Softball coach........................I want you on this team
Cathy's old work friends wanted a get together...........We are not going to do this w/o you
Friends say, you matter

Do you have room for one more friend in your life?
reach out
Meet them in the coffee bar

Conclusion
Relationships are the most valuable thing that we have
Let us celebrate friendship
Let us show ourselves to be friendly

Lion video

Fathers Day Galatians4:1-7 06/15/08

Fathers Day Galatians4:1-7 06/15/08
1What i am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is not difference from a slaves, although he owned the whole estate. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under basic principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

What do I want for fathers day? No tie, no shirt, no shelf for my boxing trophies...what I want for fathers day, you cannot wrap
I want two things
I want my children to love their mother,
An I want them to love one another
When you love your mother, and love one another, you honor me.
If you don't love each other, no neck tie is going to sooth the pain.
You are brothers and sisters....live that out

I think God wants the same thing for his children too.

The scripture today tells us that we are no longer slave, we are sons, sons and daughters of God. That means we have a father.

On fathers day we usually think vertically
What does it mean to have a father
It means that someone loves me
Kneau Reaves in parenthood...you need a license to hunt, to fish, to drive a car, they will let anyone be a father...it takes someone special to be a dad

a "childless couple who wanted to adopt a little boy approximately 6 years old. They had visited several adoption agencies and finally found a child that was a match for their family. As they visited with the child, the wife said, "If you would come and live with us, you could have your own private room, a nice yard with play equipment and all the toys you could ever want. Would you like to come and live with us? "The little boy hesitated a moment and said, "No I don't think so." The couple was stunned, They felt that they had offered the child everything a child could want. The husband said to the boy, "We've offered you everything anyone could want. What more do you want?" In words far beyond his years, the child replied, "I have a nice yard and a playground here at the home. I don't need that. I just want someone to love me." Farrell, Cries From the Cross (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994) 36.

Don't you know that children all over the world of all ages are looking for a dad

Adoption ministry
Amazing things that they are doing...every child needs a loving home

Misty Dixon...if you are looking to care...

On fathers day, we should also think horizontally
We should look to our earthly siblings and thank God for them.
I have two sisters. We weren't always close
But we are a part of the same family
I love them and they are mine
I honor them today and give thanks for them

On fathers day we must remember that we are adopted into God's family
we have a heavenly father
ok, now I an ok. I am loved by God. It means more than that
if all of us have the same father, then we are brother and sisters in Christ.

that is why hospitality in our church is so important...every person who is waking in the door is looking to feel that the belong
do you greet them? Do you hug them? Do you take time to make a connection with them?

Sit in different places....

the most powerful thing a church can do is to show God's love
To visitors, to new Christians, to those who have a different theological background than you do, to those who hurt you in the past.

Rules for my childre
You never leave you wingman
this person will always be your brother, will alays be your sister.
stand up for them, stand with them
we are a team, we are a unit, one day you will stand at the funeral of your parents. You will need each other in such moments.
your brother and sister are God's gift to you
love one another, forgive one another

The Cundiff brothers picture
this picture embodies what I am speaking about
do they never fight, no, I'm sure they have their moments
but they have trained, worked
we are only successful in the race of life when we are successful together and so I have done what I can and now I am straining to launch you and while you run, everything inside of me is going to be rooting for you
brothers we are brothers

we are brothers and sisters
look around your church...who are these people?
this may not look like any other church you have been a part of
the worship may be a little different
that is not the point.
this may be a different house, but we are all adopted into God's family
you bave no enemies here. If you are thinking that, you are thinking wrong/
Our souls are connected in ways that you cannot even see.

Jesus' Mothers and Brothers
Matthew12:46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stool outside, whanting to speak to him, 47someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.

48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my borthers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my father is heaven is my brother and sister and mother."


Dances with wolves
I am wind in his hair
Do you see that I am your friend?
Can you see that you will always be my friend?

Maybe you are here and you don't sense what I am talking about
That doesn't mean that it is not true
We haven't known each other for very long...
That is not the point...
You are a child of God, hw loves you deeply
You are my brother, you are my sister

Happy faters day, heavenly father. From your loving children. Amen

Pray, o Lord, let me see that we are connected. Let me see that these people are my brothers and sisters. I thank you for them.

Friendship With God John11:41-43 08-24-08

Friendship with God - John11:41-43 08-24-08

41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, hi shands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and cloth around his face.
"Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Set up the story-Friendship with God.....modeled by Jesus in this scripture

Jesus relationship with the father - a connection
I know you hear me
confident-relaxed-knowing
communication

places in this relationship with God

1. don't know of him, don't know him
2. know and believe, I am an American that makes me a Christian

Whose job is it to decide who the good Christians are?

3. I made a decision
I have heard of Dave Harris
I met Dave Harris
I bought a Dave Harris t-shirt
I wear his logo, sign, necklace
I go to the place where they remember him every week
But I an not doing anything more with that
Sometimes Christians quit here

4. friendship with God - Let's contrast 3 and 4
Friendship with God is not a point in time
I believe/time of decision
many people stop here....never grow up

There is a difference between becoming a Christian and have a friendship with God
Thief of the cross

Knowing about God vs knowing him
head vs heart
more than knowledge, more than a feeling, real connection, submission
without submission it is all talk
submission means to listen, to care, to be open to be engaged

We want learning to be enough
We want a formula
But we should be growing in grace

being a Christian is not arriving somewhere
It is arriving at humility=understanding that we do not know

it means giving all of you know of yourself, to all that you know of God
that changes as we change

some people want the hard boundaries.
just think this and you are ok
then you can act like a Christian diva
you can become self-righteous
old saying: those who say don't know, those who know, don't have to say

The elephant and the dog-The elephant went in to town. The elephant goes right along without so much as bothering to observe what people are thinking and doing. Whereas the little dog barks ar every other dog it meets and at people who come in the opposite direction

Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble

The Christian faith is not about normal people pretending to be holy
It is about normal people having a relationship with God

Jesus had nothing to prove, he just was who he was....

Handles on having a relationship with God, being his friend
I cannot give you 3 steps or 4 spiritual laws
But I can paint a picture, hold up some thoughts give you some handles

Handle 1 - A relationship with God is natural
no pretense - just like you were talking with your best friend

Handle 2 - Relationship with God is helped by spiritual disciples
what are they? - prayer, fasting, bible study, retreat, journaling, reflection, personal worship, confession and solitude
spiritual disciplines should help, can help but don't always
spiritual disciplines without submission leads to spiritual arrogance
spiritual disciplines plus submission equals relationship

Handle 3 - Relationship with God involves listening
Christians should talk less and listen more
learning to hear the voice of the spirit-my sheep hear my voice

John10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Handle 4 - Relationship friendship with God flavors us
let us go on to perfection - Wesley - to be make perfect in love in this life

replacing selfishness, pride, the self - with love, joy, peace, patience

trusting God
faith in God in the midst of difficulty
eyes on God not circumstances

Handle 5 - Relationship with God involves mystery
Mystery does not require defenders - idols do - mystery makes us humble.
questions related to life that are tough
we find wholeness when we are in a relationship with God
Why an I here - what is my purpose - am I ok?

Relaxing with mystery makes us peaceful
That trust eventually gives us...dying grace
it has been a good ride. I am ready to go

we don't arrive overnight
journey of Peter
call of disciples...put down nets
walking on water - slipping beneath the waves
serving faithfully then the 3 denials
identifying Jesus the Messiah, then hearing "get thee behind me"
much to do before he is ready to give his life in mission and give life for the mission

Conclusion
where are you in your relationship with God
Pope John Paul said:
Christ "walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every generation, alongside every person. he walks alongside each person as a friend. An important day in a young person's life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count."--Pope John Paul II

you can choose to believe
you can choose to grow
it takes time
for this we were created

Who Is Jesus-Jesus Relates to Regular People John 1-35-46 09-07-0/

Who Is Jesus? Jesus Relates to Regular People John1:35-46 09/07/08

Series about Jesus - gospel of john in every adult hand
Not scary, or dominating-sovereign, lord, sinless, theological words
Want to talk about things that help us feel as approachable-available

Jesus relates to regular people
Look at where he was from
A normal place where normal, uneventful, poor people came from
Can anything good come from Nazareth?

Look at the people Jesus chose. Anyone was available to him. think of who he passed over - Romans, rich, Pharisees, Herod

He resisted the proud
Luke18:14
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humble, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
If he were calling folks today
Who are those that he would avoid
Who would he seek out?

He was normal
He was accused of running with sinners
Luke7:29-35 [what is the point of this?]
29(All the people, even tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.) 31"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirg and you did not cry." 33For John the Baptist can neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children.

What is the point of this?

1. he was accused of running with sinners
2. the Pharisees had closed hearts - were not baptized by John
3. wisdon is proved right by all her children

Jesus doesn't want to be distant...real people relate to a real savior
Confused followers of Jesus have got this wrong for years....
Mark10:13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. for the kingdon of God belongs to such as these, 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
He doesn't want to be distant...real people relate to a real savior.

Somehow over the years spirituality became for the pompus, guilt bearers
We strained under the load
Church has become the place where normal people feel uncomformtable
Many of you here today have a story of pain...from a church
Quote from a will..."With regard to my estranged family who were never there for myself or my children, but always there for their distorted version of [names and denomination], I give and bequeath the sum of $1 each to my "mother, father, two brothers and sister" and request that they donate the same to their precious church to whom they had a greater allegiance, than to their first child and sister."
The very place that is to heal us, has wounded us...
Pharisees put loads on others
Would not carry them themselves
Jesus did not put on loads, he freed people from loads, freed them to live

Better
You have to be better than you are to go to church
People that go to church think they are better than you
No question we want to get better,
but we come as we are...no strings attached
Jesus wasn't looking for those who thought they were better. He resisted and rebuked them
Jesus was looking for those who are hurting, normal, regular, authentic
Sometimes it takes times of hurting and brokenness before we can undertand the love and grace of God

The pierced picture - call attention to it.
Todd Agnew, my Jesus
Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on his feet might stain the carpet
But, He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale ST. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear if I cry out load

You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus

My Jesus bled and dies
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?-----there is a place where the presence of God reaches people

Todd Agnew, my Jesus

There is a place where the presence of God reaches people. When we are honest enough to stop pretending, he can come in and heal our wounds.

There is an old story an aged preacher, lets call him Jeff, who became fearful as death drew near. His friends chided him: "What! Are you afraid that you'll be in trouble with God because you weren't Billy Graham?" "No," the old pastor replied, "I am afraid I will be in trouble with God because I was never Jeff."

Have you bought the Jesus that the church sold you, that said you were not good enough? That you had to pretend?
The Jesus that we know says in Matthew11:28 "come unot me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matthew11:28

Let me go a different direction for a moment and ask you a question. Who are you inviting to church?
Who is out there?
We need to welcome the broken, the divorcing, the poor, the struggling, the tattooed

• permanent identification with something
• I want to be able to talk the language of this generation

Is our church the kind of place that can reach normal people
Mike Montgomery-am I welcome in this church
Maybe you are here today and you have the same question

Conclusion
Here is the good news
Jesus comes for those in pain, for the imperfect, for the broken, for regular people living normal lives

Have you come to church and tried to act like everything was okay?
You don't have to

You thought you weren't good enough
You thought your weren't acceptable
You were not holy enough, not spiritual enough-you don't have to worry about such things

Jesus is looking for regular people.
And these, he chooses
Listen, you will hear his voice....Put down you nets, come follow me

So let's go back to the question
If Jesus was picking

Jesus Offers Abundant Life John19:7-10 9-14-08

Jesus Offers Abundant Life John10:7-10 09-14-08

7Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever come before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for the steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they have it more abundantly. NIV "have it to the full."

Series from gospel of John....Who is Jesus?
Jesus related to normal people
Jesus is the person who shows us how to live and offers us that abundant life

Stuck with the king James
Life to the fullest
Abundant like...pie in the....religious sounding thing

Abundant life is not what comes naturally to us humans
Abundant life is something more than that

Romans 14:17
17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

1. what it isn't = meat nor drink
context----meat offered to idols
Not meat of drink
Don't intentionally cause someone to be upset
Care enough about them to eat fish, some other time
Stumbling block.....

2. what is it=righteous, not pretentiousness, but congruent living
Righteousness
Feeds right into our expectation.....Must be good, must behave

Righteous is not an outward thing, it is an inward thing
Equity of character, self evident
Congruent life

Not a list of rules
I am ok, because God tells me that I am ok

It all begins with, I am forgiven, I am free, I am ok
Jesus kept telling people they were okay, Pharisees kept telling people they were bad
Things you are suppose to think or things you are supposed to do, but rather something that we were created to be
Things that you put on, or things that you put in

People wake up, they are 40 years old, don't understand life......
Throw their lives away and start over

So much dysfunction - it comes naturally to us
Jesus is interested in salvation, not dysfunction......

Matthew6:25 therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

right, congruent, healthy life vs unright life
An unright life I do not measure by bad behavior, bad behavior is the result of, symptom of an unright life

122 things going right, 1 thing wrong
Reacting instead of acting

No pat answers about Jesus help in these times
Need to focus on the concept of love
God is love
Love void of self interest.....
Great commandment...love the lord with all you heart, love neighbor as yourself
fruit of the spirit
1corinthinas13

3What is peace - not world peace
peace in the midst of a storm
it is will with my soul......

Fredrick Buechner's grandmother, who he called "Naya," lived will into her 90's. She wa a very special person to him. "what makes her so rare in my experience," he says, is that, "no matter what happened to her, she seemed always to remain remarkably herself." Even at times when her life was shattered by the deaths of people she loved, even at times when her life seemed to fall apart, Fred says, "She seemed to remain so serene and intact that it was as if she lived out of some deep center within herself that was beyond the reach of circumstances." Near the end of her remarkable like, she was moved into a nursing home. Fred along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, went to see his Naya. They spent a wonderful day together.

A few days later, they received a letter from his grandmother thinging them for taking the time to visit with her. She wrote, "Dear children, it was a noble deed to make the long journey down here, and the joy of seeing you and your bewitching little fairy daughter more than cimpensated me for the struggle of substituting an old crone in a dark little room for the Naya of legend." This would be the last letter he would receive from this grandmother. She died a few weeks later.

"She could see clearly and without either bitterness or complaint," Fred says of his grandmother. "It is a glimpse of at least, some important aspect of wholeness, he admits, "that I carry with me to this day, a bit of bannister to hold on to as I, myself, prepare to climb the dark stair.

4 What it is = Joy
Joy is the natural by product of a like well lived....
You can't pretend joy
We can focus on the bad or we can see the good...we choose
Turning point in my life when I realize that I was not going to blame my parents any longer.....

Favorite Quote - this is the true joy in life,
the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one;
the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap...
and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod
of ailments and grievance, complaining that the world will not devote itself to
making you happy....George Bernard Shaw

13th-century poet Fra Angelico - Yet within our reach is joy. this is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see. and to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look. Life is so generous a giver: Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty the angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence.--13th century poet Fra Angelico

Who is Jesus? this is what he did....
He removed people from under the law and taught them to live in grace
He freed them from pain and worry and he freed them to live
He taught them how humans can live a love centered life!
And that my friends is an abundant life, a life lived to the fullest.

Love, Joy, Peace.....let us pray

Who Is Jesus - Jesus Washes Feet John13:1-17 09-21-08

Who Is Jesus - Jesus Washes Feet John13:1-17 09-21-08

Who is Jesus - one who washes feet - a servant leader

Jesus models for us the gift of humility

Jesus sets the example but it is a biblical there.

Micah:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

The scripture always lift up humility over pride

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins found in Proverb6Pride was the down fall of so many, Pharoah, Samson, Ahab

Humility is the mark of great leaders and successful Christians

Paul said

• I am the least of the apostles. 1Corinthians15:9


• I am the very least of all the saints. Ephesians3:8


• I am the foremost of simmers. 1Timohy1:15

What is humility?
Humility is not just gentleness or meekness.
It demands vulnerability, the willingness to be hurt.
It is readiness to go unnoticed, to be last, to receive the least.
don't let your left hand know what you right hand is doing
don't draw attention to yourself
It is central to the spiritual life
It is the was of Christ
For some of us the path to humility goes through humiliation -being brought low unable to function, striped of pretenses and defenses, feeling fraudulent, empty, useless -- that allows us to re-grow a life that is real

Humility not just as an aversion to pride, but humility is being teachable...open, willing to grow.

John12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Andrew Murray, dutch missionary to South Africa 1828-1017 Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have not trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expend nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble.

Humility is knowing that I am nothing with out God, but in him, and only in him, i am all that I need to be

Why is this important? - we don't get it

did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it?

Sportscaster and former baseball great Ralph Kiner tells the following story: After the 1952 season in which I hit 37 home runs, I asked Pittsburgh Pirate general manager Branch Rickey for a raise. he refused. "I led the league in homers," I reminded him. "Where did we finish?" Rickey asked me. "Last," I replied. "Well," Rickey said, "We can finish last without you." The next year Ralph Kiner was playing for the cubs.

Disciplies request for greatness
Luke22 - has this taking place on the same night....
24Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, "The kings of th Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exersize authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26ut you are not to be liked that. Istead, the greatest amoung yu should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is itnot the one who is at the table? But am among you as one who serves.

It doesn't come naturally to us, but it is the way of life. God's way. Without it, we are in our flesh

15Jesus said, I have set you an example that you should so as I have done for you.I

What are examples of humility-

Bookers T. Washington, the remowned black educator, was an outstanding example of humility. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy while women. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had not pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. when he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized ham and later revealed his identity to the lady.

The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely, "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. No long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

Sen. John Stennis had been shot...arriving home after a long day at the senate. Two people came out came out of the darkness, robbed him, and shot him twice. News of the shooting shocked Washington and the nation. For nearly seven hours, Senator Stennis was on the operating table at Walter Reed Hospital. another politician was driving home when he heard about the shooting. He turned his car around and drove directly to the hospital.

In the hospital, he noticed that the staff was swamped and could not keep up with the incoming calls about the Senator's condition. He spotted an unattended switchboard, sat down, and voluntarily went to work. He continued taking calls until daylight. Sometime during the next day, he stood up, stretched, put on his overcoat, and just befor leaving he introduced himself quietly to the other operator, "I'm Mark Hatfield, happy to help out." Then Senator Mark Hatfield unobtrusively walked out. The press could hardly handle that story. There seemed to be no way for a Republican to give a Democrat a tip of the hat, let alone spend hours doing a menial task and be "happy to help out."
I hope that you are being nice during election season.

You are washing feet every time you
Making sack lunches for the poor
Making room ffor others in worship
Parking father away so that new folks can park close
Anonymous person and the fellowship hall

We are blessed is we act in this way - a humble heart is its own reward
Unless I wash you, you have no part of me
Your life can't be about Christ if your life is about you
We hare humility because we have a need to prove we are great.
We have a need to tell others that we are great
We cannot trust Jesus if we are still trusting ourselves

Jesus invited us into a life filled with meaning, by asking us to give up on your own way and bow the knee to him. Who are you trusting today? Whoses feet will you wash?

Today is the connecting fair in the gym...I invite you to drop by and visit with an open heart and find a place to serve

Who Is Jesus - Part 4 John20:19-21 9-28-08

Who Is Jesus, Part 4 - Jesus Gives the Holy Spirit John20:19-21 09-28-08

Fear
The disciples were afraid
We have been afraid - Scott had a tumor in his abdomen
I feel like I am an empty shell
We may be afraid now

Hope
Wouldn't it be nice if someone could walk into the room and make it all ok
We are hoping in all the wrong things
Wouldn't it be nice if someone could walk into the room and make it all ok
Jesus appears, he brings peace

Peace be with you. He says it twice
Sometimes, you have to keep telling yourself the truth

Receive the Holy Spirit
If I leave the comforter will come

John14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom that Father will send in my name, will teach and will remind your of everything I have said to you.

The gift of a leader is the sense of trusting that they bring.....
Everything is ok

Result of peace is the possibility of real change
Things change
We hate it when change is forced
There comes a time when the time is right for change
Forest Gump running....and he stops
Welcomed changed becomes real change

When the time is right i can leave my comfort zone for the sake of Christ

Spiritually = a growth process --- And it always involves movement....
Because when we are listening, we are open, and when we are open,
we respond, we change

We are sent, we can go
Holy spirit gives us a Willingness to enter the desert
Going out among them
Wilderness--Neutral zone
Great moments come when we get out of the room, and leave our comfort zome
The disciples went to every corner of the of the ten known world.

Holy Spirit gives us a Willingness to enter the valleys - life isn't always happy and beautiful
Transitioning change --- Mountain tip to the valley
Recovering from difficulty

Depression, before I was enlightened, I was depressed. Now since enlightenment, I only experience depression

Lo I am with you always

You cannot rely on your emotion
Marriage and divorce...I was worried every time we would have a fight

our emotions cannot be trusted....

We stand on a solid rock

John Wesley on his death bed...Gos is with us

How can everything be ok?
What if the economy really tanks
We will open a soup kitchen at the church...life will go on
We will learn to trust in God in ways that maybe we haven't yet
In dark times people must decide if they will choose to cower in fear or to light the candle of hope

Today
People are nervous, people are afraid, people are waiting
If that is you, then today, Jesus walks in the door and speaks peace

If you are ok, we have an opportunity-
When people are afraid, they give up on their idols...
I missed it after 9-11
Now is a time for us to remember that we are the voice of the father
Peace, peace be unto you
You can be His voice....people are waiting
Peace. Peace. Peace. We are not alone. God is with us. Everything is ok.

What Is A Steward? Luke19:1-10 10-5-08

What is a Steward? Luke19:1-10 10-5-08

What is a steward?
You tell me
Airline stewardess--Cruise ship...area they are responsible for - manager

Right after the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus tells the parable of the talents
It is not one of our favorite stories

Parable of the talents
The servant with one talent did nothing at all with it
He buried it
Maybe he was afraid
Maybe he was confused about his masters intentions
Maybe he had his own agenda

why do we have trouble with this?
We want to think that what we have is ours, to be used as we see fit
We are not very good at being stewards

The 5,000 credit card bill - what was on it
Dave Ramsey, financial peace program

Even if your house is in order, we have to ask the question,
are we doing good things or God's things

Story of being fired from the bicycle tree

When we realize that God has a plan, then we can begin to submit to it
That is what happened with Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus
He was selfish
He met Jesus
He talked with Jesus
He became a different person
We have the same opportunity

Meet Jesus, choose Jesus, relax, and don't change
Some Christians like to choose Jesus, but don't really consider the impact of his teaching on our lives.

Meet with Jesus, Talk with Jesus
Change our ways of looking at life
Help us to discover big picture thinking

Big picture thinking.....
I am not the coach, I am on the team
I am not the queen bee I am a worker
I am not the creator, I am created
I am not the water, I am a vessel
I amnot the owner, I am the steward, the one who manages

There is a bigger plan
We are called to live in a way that we share what we have and who we are.

World Communion Sunday
To live lives with different parameters
This is the gift of trips to Russia, Guatemala, Liberia
Not just to care for a child during the week, but to change so that we care about children every day of the week.

World missions experience breaks us from our slumber, reminds us to be good stewards.

Mozambique pictures

Conclusion
Being a steward means being responsible,
remembering that here is an agenda that is bigger than our own

I had trouble with this a a young man
David Brane, Rick Cato, Charles Holt, Ralph Prosser, - Jim Ireland in London

George Hunter, professor at Asbury seminary, book: radical outreach
Church is the only organization that exists for it's non-members
Our lives exist for an agenda that is not ours

Every Chritian is a steward of the divine gift of God. Will we use these gifts for ourselves or will we use them for the purpose of God and to the glory of God.

The Contented Life: Simplicity Luke 9:57-62 10-12-08

The Contented Life: Simplicity Luke 9:57-62 10-12-08

57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, " will follow youo wherever you go." 58Jesus replied. "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nexts, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but youo go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Introduction

I have so many plates in the air that I'm awake trying to count them to make sure none fails and is shattered. I'm s overwhelmed with "life" that I am not really living. How can i be the wife/mother business owner/friend/person God meant me to be when my life is so artificially complex?

We have been on consumerism overload, and spending much more than we make, now we may be forced to consider the simple things of life, and sort our survival priorities, this will be beneficial to us.

Eric White - My sister pointed out, many years ago, about how much time we spend taking care of our things. This is the same as saying "what you own, owns a piece of you". Her advice stuck with me, and while it's nice to have things - its just not important. Spend your time with friends and family - not "taking care of your things".

simplicity as related to stuff
Jesus had n0 place to lay his head - Jesus had no home, No camel, no donkey

So many things have some to occupy our eyes and ears that there is not longer room for God to occupy our hearts and minds.
Here are some simple suggestions:

1. Turn off the tv
2. Are you president of the PTA, rotary, sorority, bunco and ?? Drop two of them. Pick up something at church
3. Are you in 5 things are church? Go to 4
4. Are your children exhausted, confused about life, becoming entitled? Remove your children from one activity
5. Do those things which are good for your soul

Learn to do without material things. Reduce material things
The shirt rule
Things i can fix
Prepare for the obligations ahead - Dave Ramsey
Eat simply - Beans and rice

I remember when we were in graduate school and seminary...i learned to "cook poor". Red beans and rice, buy a chicken whole and hack it to pieces then make at least 3 meals of it.

Also, There was a Mon-Pop grocery 2 blocks from our married housing dorm. I would put Kip in the stroller, walk to the market. The owner had a perpetual "#lbs. ground beef for $1" sale. I participated in the EVERY week. Over in the corner cans without their labels were stacked up. They were a nickle a can (no labels, remember). i would buy 14 cans every week. For dinner every night i would open up 2 cans. Some nights we would have peaches and peaches...because i had no way of knowing what was in each can (no labels, remember)>

I've often thought since then...there is probably a special corner in Heaven for the Mom/Pop. They probably tore the labels off some cans, just so we poor seminary students could afford to eat.

I feel for your couples nowadays. I don't think they know how to "cook poor".

Try it for a month

Carve out a quiet time - God on a retreat
Read a book that is not simply entertainment but challenges you to become a better person
Leave the world of hurry and scurry
Can't feel God's presence.....no wonder
all your energy is spread across a thousand trivial matters, and all i want from you is to say 'no' to all of that stuff, slow down and let me show you what you were made for. That is the only way you'll ever be fulfilled.

Bridge
Simplicity allows us to see others as we should
Live so that others can live

I sponsor a 12-year old your girl in Zambia. Christeta has learned, from having to live simply. For, in the last photo I received from her, she has a radiant, contagious semile amid:

• both parents are deceased from aids, and she lives with relatives
  
• The monthly family income is $50
• Their home has one bedroom, a living room, and one bedroom...for four people
• Christeta sleeps on a dirt floor, in a house with a metal roof
• Her family drinks from a community faucet

Finding a Simple Mind...our minds get full of junk
We live out of the brain and never out of the soul....
L means loving. We decided to become less judgemental and more loving people. It is much simpler to be loving than judgemental.

Simplicity as related to the soul
No excuses, Get down to business - let the dead bury their dead...

They are too busy....
All stuff, while mostly good, can create noice in your soul

*Having my priorities in order. *Having balance in my values. *Fewer "activities" so I could be closer to God and to the people in my life who need to know that they are loved. *Just knowing what is most inportant and living that way without regret. LEN

I carry a card in my purse that says what I was as my eptitath. And I believe these statements are profoundly spiritual and biblical: "Live simply, laugh ofter, love deeply"

There is, do we not agree, a strong impulse in all of us to simplify life?

Richard FOster - The Discipline of Simplicity
He places simply under the category of the Outward Disciples. Here are his tne ways to order our world so that we can create simplicity in our life.

• First, buty things for the usefulness rather than steir status.
• Second, reject anthing that is producing an addiction in you.
• Third, develop a habit of giving things away.
• Fourth, refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.
• Fifth, learn to enjoy things without owning them.
• Sixth, develop a deeper appreciation for the creation.
• Seventh, look at a healthy skepticism at all "buy now, pay later" schemes.
• Eighth, obey Jesus' instructions about plain, honest speech.
• Nonth, reject anything that will breed the oppression of others.
• Tenth, shun whatever would distract you from you main goal: "Seek first the kingdom of God."

Conclusion
We have tried to satisfy the soul by purchasing things and being busy with life.
It doesn't work
Are you looking for something real?
This is a time when the economic circumstances are causing us to consider our lives.
If you have trusted in "things" in the past, I invite you today to leave them behind and trust in Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus can satisfy the soul

The Contented Life - Contentment Phillipians4:10-13

The Con



Contented Life - Contentment Phillipians4:10-13 10-19-08



The fisherman story

Put Jesus in the corner

Paul's situation - appreciates the help of the phillipian church



Contentment - the opposite of being contented is being entitled

Are we contented or entitled

When we think we deserve more, it is hard to be happy with what we have

Why do we have so much trouble with this...

Where is Jesus



Contentment in general

Just with general life

Demello stories

Stallion makes him happy, runs away, unhappy

Returns with wild mares...happy, son breaks let, unhppy

Soldiers come to conscripit young mem....happy

We have giiven outside things power over us

Contentment comes from the inside

Where is Jesus?



Shack illustrations - because of our desire to be separte from, ndependent from God, we end up deciding what is good and bad, apart from him

Things hapen in life that we think are good or bad...when Jesus is so far away, we get stuck.



Contentment in difficult circumstances

My father in law had a debilitatin stroke at the age of 52

Loss of a child

Man came down with adisease of the lungs



wh to do-

I hae learned in all circumstances...what has he learned?

Ways to live past circumstances

1. see what isn't - only works sometings

I an not sick, I am not unemployed



If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on you back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you ae richer than 75% of this world.



If you have money in the bank, and in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...you are amoong the top 8% of the world's wealthy.



If you woke up this morning with more health than illness....you are more blessed than the millions who will not survuve this week.



If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pain of starvation...you are better off than 20 million people in the world.



If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.



2. see what is - look, see the good



a widow lost her home by fire. Her neighbors decided to band together and build her a house. so they asked her what changes she would like in her new home, whhich was to be rebuilt after the style of the old one. She thought about this for a while, and then said: "I'll tell you what - I'd just love to have a window over the kithen sink!"



3. to laugh



in tough times and tough situations, a sense of humor can b gods blessing and can lessen tension and bad feelings and difuse an explosive



that is why after a funeral people like to get together for a party



4. to love



5. to stay in love with Jesus



I can do all things through Christ.

Not simply to believe

But to let him in, to hold him close



1803-1806

first methodist presence in Mo came from Illinois. Broke the law. Crossed the Mississippi rver to preach in French help area. Go stand at the Mississippi reiver. Not on a cliff, but on the banks. what would cause you to paddle across? A chld, grandchild, preach a sermon?



When we have Christ we have a purpose that is bigger than our comfort

We cease trying to remove hardship from out life

and actually welcome hardship for the sake of the gospel



I have learned in al things to be content. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.



A son had lived in America for ears. Half of what he made, he sent back to Poland to help his aging parents who had nothing. fter 20 yers, he returned to visit his mom and pop. His suitcase was filled with money and gifts for them.



Upon his arrival, he was surprised to see that nothing had changed on the farm. For 20 years he had sent money home and the farm lookd the same as the day he left.



He asked his father, what became of all the money that I sent you? Oh, it is here. And he took the son to an old boot in the kitchen that was filled with 20 years of cash and checks.



Did, I sent you a treasure of money, why did you not spend it?

The father said, spend it? On what? We have everyting that we need. We lack for nothing. The garden, the cow, the goat;and the chickens provide us with all that we need. Son, we love you. Take your money ad spend it on someone who does not have what they need.

The American businessman was at the pier of a small Mexican village when a small boat docked. Inside the boat were several large tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on te quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his families immediate needs.

The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, I sleep, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maira, stroll into the village each evenng where i sip winw and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senior.

The American scofed, I am a Harvard MBA and I can help you. You should spend more time ishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boar, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening youor own cannery. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and more to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.

The Mixican fisherman asked, But senior, how long will this all take? To which the American replied, fifteen to 20 years. But what then, senior?

The American laughed and said that's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions.

Millions, senior? Then What?

The American said, Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take sieata with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play yoour guitar with your amigos.

Give Thanks Part 1 11-2-08 Genesis 13:1-18

Give Thanks, Part 1 Genesis 13:1-18 11-1-08

Intro
30 days has September, April, June and November
join me in 30 days of giving thanks

Series - Give Thanks - Part 5
For the past

All saints day
Memorial day for the church - time to give thanks for thoses who have made a difference in your life

We don't alwaysthink of our past as something to give thanks for
But there is much to give thanks for, if yu look closely

So I am drawn to the story of Abraham and Lot
Abraham was a partriarch. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Lot was Abraham's nephew

Lot is special...Abraham saw something good in him
He mentioned
His herds grow
He is allowed first choice of the land
Let there be no quarreling between us
He is saved
From being carried off in battle - Melchizadeck
From the destruction of Sodom - Abraham prays him through
Abraham saw something good in him

At some point Lot looked back on his life

Thankful for Abraham
Allowed him to be oung and foolish
Rescued him from an Army
Prayed him our of Sodom

Several places along the way Abraham built an alter and worshipped
What does Lot think about that?

I have to imagine, long after Abraham is gone, Lot is siting around ontemplating his lie. He is remembering all the ways that Abraham loved and cared for him in his life.
We don't know if he went to them, but Lot at lease knew where the alters were

So what? Think back into your past....application
who loved u in spite of your youthful indiscreations
who saw to the good in you?
Who rescued you when you were in trouble
Who taught you how to rescue yourself

Who prayed for you
Who were those people, saints of God who taught us the faith
Opened the doors
Gave us the info that when the time wa right, the spirit make it real

It is fitting that we pause to say thnks and praise God for every person who helped to shape us and cared for us
Who left behind alters for us to worship??

Let me say a work about some of thoses in my past
I am thankful for my college roommate Dallas Moore, Cncinnati Ohio, boy did we have fun times

I am thankful for my friend Bob Walls, who at a moment of pain, gave me some advice on how to manage life's junk. Would you like to hear it?

I am thankful for the grandman Brinman, Toopta, who visualized conversion
i am dying without dignity

I am thankful for Bob Tuttle - he taught me a different approach to spirituality
relevance

I am thankful for my Dad...

• do the right thing son,
• do you really need that
  how many pairs f shoes can you wear at once
  Seek first the kingdom of God
• Don't blow your won horn
  God resists the proud, gives grace to the humble

I am thnakful for my mom
There is or horatio that is dreamed of in your philosophies
Pride cometh before a fall

The voice of my mother calls from the grave
Love them Jeff. just love them, that is all that matters

And I am also thankful for the painful parts of my past
I am thankful for my mistakes
They knocked me off of my high horss
They caused me to look at others in a different way
They caused me to trust god instead of myself

Psalm94:19 - When anxiety was great within me, our consolation brought joy to my soul.

I am thankful for my past and for the alter that others have built as a place for me to give thanks.

When you look back into your past Who are you thanful for?

Who put up with you craziness
Who loved you just the way you are
Who built alters and them showed you were they were?

Let's praise God and give thanks for all of the good and dfficult things that have brought us to this place today.
At least we know where the alters are.

Thanksgiving Part 3 Outside Comfort Zome Mark 5:1-20 11-16-08

Sermon 11-16-08 Mark 5:1-20 Thanksgiving Part 3 Outside Comfort Zome

Thanksgiving series...Past, future, present...opps
Where this sermon came from

Do you see yourself in this story?
Who would you like to be?
Jesus, disciples, townsfold
Pigs? I think I am a Demoniac?

Why am I the demoniac? I think all Christians are. We were possessed by selfishness, pride, worry and arrogance. We were lost and Jesus delivered us.
We are not perfect, but we are on a new path

Some people are uset about losing their pigs
People look at the wrong thing.
The pigs were my livelihood [my stock market] now. We have lost money
Could have ben hanking God for a life that was changed

Demoniac wanted to go with Jesus
When we sign on with Jesus, things aren't always going to go the way we want.
Jesus I will follow you, just don't ask me to do anything hard.
He had some comfortable ideas in his head.
Don't let me be sick, and don't let my pigs die.
Jesus said, no. You go tell what has happened to you

I was readng something a few months ago.....
Jesus didn't ask fo volunteers

I am thankful that God asks us to live a life outside of myself

We too have some comfortable ideas about what the church should be like.
It should feel just the way I like to feel.
It should be like the church I grew up......

The church will never be the church we grew up in
We cannot wish our society back to God
We live today in a post Christian world, it will never be what we grew up with
We must be willing to accept and welcome everyone
More than that, we must learn to want everyone to be here
We must learn to give up our comfort and preference for the sake of the kingdom

The demoniac is asked to win people? Should we keep trying too?
I used to believe that we were growing fast enough.
I didn't want to have so many people here that we could not serve them
We have dome little or no advertising
I was sitting on the bench this summer waiting for church to start
Convicted of how wrong that is.
Can't be about your comfort, must be about thoses who are unreached.
[Sermon was on the AHA moments of life]

This church meeds to grow because there is something unique about this church
We have a special message
Kris Bartman and WCC

1. Broken eople are made at ease and nnot here solely to be heled, but here to be used in active ministry
2. The invitation to be a part of God's work here is not manipulated, or coerced but rather the offer is made to "taste and see" what God is doing
3. The truth of God is descovered when we actively pursue the grace of God and administer it to othersActive ministry is expected in the lives of our people - living out the faith is where the learning begins
4. Humility reigns - a servant's hert is at the root of our people

We hold out the message in a way that does not guilt people or scare them. I believer that we point past the church to a loving relationship with God.

I read an awsome story about a month ago

Ghosts and medals

A monther could not get her little son to come home from is games before dark. So she grightened him; she told him that the ath leading to their house was haunted by ghosts who cam out as soon as the sun went down. After that, she had not trouble making him come home before dark each evening. But when the boy grew up he was so afraid of the dark and the ghsts that he refused to go our of the house at nght. Occassionally she would need something from the store and want him to go get it. So she gave him a medal to wear and convinced him that as he wore his medal the ghosts would not not power to harm him. So now he vntures forth into the dark clutching his medal.

Bad religion gives us medals. Good religion helps up to see that there are not ghosts.

We need to invite others

How can we do this?
8:00 am service...challenge to invite others

you can talk to them, but if there is not room, whill they feel welcome?
Park further away
Sit up front, sit in the middle
Simple things that make a welcome

Looking for those what you don't know
Skip the coffee with thoses you know

Take their hands and look them in the eye
Jeff didn't shake my hand
Whoses hand are you shaking?
Say it with me - "whose hand and I shaking?"

Got in trouble with a sermon like this a year ago.
All you ever do is talk about winning people
When is it enough?
When every person in our community is in church, then it is enough
When no one is left out of God's grace, then it is enough
When no one is left out of God's grace, then it is enough

1010 in the gym
in a few months we plan to open overflow video streamed in
Clay, live music, sermon video streamed in
casual, bring your coffee and donut
come late on one will notice
push your chair back
let your kinds sit on the floor

Remember, when we prepare to launch this, I am going to be looking for 200 people to make a shift to the gym. Don't be upset that I am asking this.
Consider it a special effort that you can make room for others

God asks us to live outside our comfort zone

This is the time of the year to invite
Use this paper

Patch Adams
Doctor who was full of life
Lived life from the soul
He changed the people around him

Jesus invitd the demoniac to go
Not with a starchy "here is this paper" or come sit in the pew with me
Or even believe this or learn this

But with a warmth and a joy and relevance
Something has happened to me
Jesus changed my life

When was the last time you took stock of what Jesus has done for you?
Remember your story today.....
Get out of the pew, someone is waiting

I am thankful that God asks us to live outside of outselves

Give Thanks for Today Psalm118 11-23-08

Give Thanks for Today Psalm118 11-23-08

Today as we continue our series on giving thanks
Let us give thanks for today
This is the day that the lord has made

I preached three weeks ago; give thanks for the past
Clay preached, give thanks for the future
If we get stuck in either place, we miss today

Bill Gaither sang a song in my youth..."Yesterday's gone, tomorrow may never come, we have this moment today."

Scripture is filled with adminitions about living in the present

Matthew6 - don't worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of its own
James4 - O, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go here and do this
Ephesians5 - Wake up, O sleeper and Christ will shine on you. 15Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Isaiah and Peter - all flesh is like the grass, Grass withers, flower fades away

Today matters - today is a gift
We must learn to be present and celebrate it
Clay like to say, wherever you are, be all there
I remember the first time I heard someone suggest that we celebrate today
I thought they were crazy
The Christian like was about duty and service not celebration
See I had only know the God of guilt and judgment,
I had not been introduced to the God of grace and love.

How do we learn to celebrate today and live in the present?
We have to fight off the past
1. We do that by relieving ourselves of past doubts and fears
Stop reliving the sins of yesterday
Is you have asked forgiveness, God has separated your sins from you as far as the east is from west.
Do you believe this?
Then it is insulting to God, you can forgive everyone elses sins, but not mine
Wow, look how special I am
unforgiveness holds you in the past
Forgive others and yourself or you are stuck in the past
If we would celebrate today we must fight off the past

If we would celebrate today we must resist living in the future
2 We do that by preparing for the future, but not living in the future
Losing November 26 - December 24 because we were so excited for Christmas
Losing the month before vacation cause we were excited about the trip

A Christian view of the future does not include worry
To the degree that worry and fear has a place in your life, you neither believe that God is good nor know that he loves you

We were designed to live in the present
Do you spend most of your time living in the past, the present or the future?
Where does Jesus live?
Jesus dwells with us in the present
Our worries of the future rarely picture Jesus with us
If we saw him there, we wouldn't worry
We worry about the future because we have not yet learned that we are loved today and that Jesus is with us
When we know that we are loved, that Jesus is with us and everything is ok, we enjoy this moment, and we don't jave to worry about tomorrow, everything will be ok

To keep past and future in perspective we must get our eyes off of circumstances

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with the 10

Get your eyes off of circumstances by welcoming difficulty
There are churches that will tell you, just trust God and you won't have any problems. God will make you rich. I wonder what they are telling their people today.
We have a faith that exists beyond circumstances
Paul said I rejoice in sufferings
James said tribulation works patience
Let it have your perfect work

The diamond story.

A farmer in Australia heard that other farmers had sold their little farms, gone off prospecting for diamonds, and had become very wealthy. He couldn't wait to do the same/ Finally he found a buyer, took the money, and started prospecting for diamonds. At the end of one month, nothing happened, then three months, fruitless, then six months, no success. Finally after a year of fruitless effort, he became so despondent that he jumped off a bridge.
meanwhile, back on the farm, the man who bought the acreage from the farmer invited a friend over for dinner one night. His friend was admiring a rock that was on the mantelpiece. He was astounded. It was the largest diamond he had ever seen. The farmer said, "I just found that in the stream on our property. We have acres of them all over the place!" The diamonds were unrecognizable because they were in rough, uncut form.
The moral of the story is simple. the first farmer went in search of diamonds everywhere, whereas he was sitting on them at home all the time. Also, even if he saw them, he wouldn't recognize them because they were in a form he wasn't familiar with. They were uncut.
These is a great treasure right here, if we just see it.

We must learn to see the gift of today and celebrate it.
This. this is the day.

Remember the story I told last week about the ghosts and medals?
Look at what a mess was made of his brain
What if the mother had to the boy the truth. The sky is awesome; the trees are beautiful, go and celebrate a wonderful world

When we are stuck in the past or worried about the future we line in a paralyzed, hypnotized state. God calls us to wake up, to shake off the sleep of darkness
We don't have to be trapped in the past of the future,
We can wake up! See the good

this is the day that the Lord has made!
I thank God for Today

Give Thanks, Part 5 Jonah2:1-10 11-30-08

Give Thanks, Part 5 Jonah2:1-10

General Jonah stuff
Can you be swallowed by a fist?
If God can make a world and a human body, I can conceive a situation where you live in a fishes belly in an air bubble for three days.
The unbelievable part of this story to me is not that he was swallowed by a fist, but that it takes him three days to come back to God

Things that I am thankful for in this story
Number one: God doesn't ask us to be perfect, just willing
You have to love the humanness of Jonah

1. is close enough to God to be called to serve
   he is asked to make in investment int he lives of others
2. runs away
3. has a change of heart in the belly of the fish
   MU-KU I saw faces of despair
   Despair is not about who is winning or losing a football game
   Despair is knowing that I am separated from God
   Jonah has a change of heart

A great saint once learned a lesson from an anonymous beggar. "God give you a good day, my friend," the saint said as he met the beggar. "I thank God I never had a bad day, "the beggar quickly answered, "I thank God I am never unhappy."

now the saint was curious..."Never unhappy," he said. "What do you mean?"

"Well," the beggar replied, "when it is fine, I thank God; when it rains, I thank God; when I have plenty, I thank God; when I am hungry, I thank God; and since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say that I am unhappy when I am happy when I am not?"

the saint was now in awe of his new friend. "who are you?" he asked.

"I am a king," said the beggar. "A king!" said the saint, half ready to believe it. "Where is your kingdom?" The man in rags spoke calmly, strongly, "In my heart," he whispered. "In my heart."

1. preaches to the to the ninevites
2. is unhappy about their conversion

see the cycle of faithful, faithless. Belief, doubt. Trust them resistance.
man can you relate to that? Good news, bad news
I am good, I am bad. I am on , I am off. I am solid, then I am a mess
The spirit and the flesh that Paul spoke of are still struggling for control

Second thing I am thankful for in this picture...it's not about deliverance

Jonah didn't even know if he was going to get out
He was just grateful of God
But from the belly of trouble, he gave thanks
There are no strings attached.
I love you no matter what
What does it say of our relationships if there are strings attached
I will love you as long as you give me Royals tickets
I will love you as long as you treat me nice
I will love you as long as you keep me healthy and wealthy
I am not sure that we really have a relationship at all with God until we love him with no strings attached
When strings are attached, it is on our terms

He is not praying to get out of the fishes belly
He wants to be a part of the work, the plan
Verse 4, 7, 9
He is just grateful

Henry Nouwen wrote on the Power of gratefulness...he once suggested that the purest, simplest holiday may be Thanksgiving. Christmas is distorted by a society that promotes consumer madness. Even Easter is overshadowed by chocolate bunnies and new finery.

It has been said that gratefulness is the very heart, and so to truly observe Thanksgiving is to engage in fervent prayer.

We cannot attain a state of gratitude by presenting God with a list of things we think we should feel grateful for, but by presenting ourselves and our desire to know God more closely.

Third thing I like about this picture, God places a desire in the heart to help others - sometimes you just want to help

A gererous heart overcomes its humanness and goes out to a person in need

Not all hearts go out...some hearts are self consumed. Consumed with self.

8. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

To the extent that we love something inappropriately, out of balance, we are robbing ourselves, forfeiting the grace that could have been ours

A pastor told the following story...Johnny Bergman was a young man in my congregation. He and his wife were enthusiastic participants, but then the weeds of worldly care choked their young faith. They acquired children; they became suddenly wealthy and their lives filled up with boats and cars, house-building and social engagements. They were in worship less and less frequently and then not at all. After a two-year absence, on a bright winter Sunday, Johnny was there again. Surprised to see him, I said "Johnny! What brought you to worship today?" He said, "I woke this morning feeling so good, so blessed, so alive--so created--I just had to say thank you, and this is the only plave I could think to say it adequately. I wanted to say it to Jesus."

We come to this place to say thinks - to put our lives in perspective.

When a heart goes out to another two needs are met..
the need of the person who received and
the need of the person who gives

Ringing the bell for the salvation army
Watching generosity flow from the hearts of people

You see, God puts the hands of the called into the path of the needy
God brings people into your life so that you can make an investment in theirs

Phone call this week...I want to help someone

We are the most alive when we are reaching out in love to another person.

I received an email this week...The Charles Schultz's philosophy [not really]

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of miss America
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel of Pulitzer Prize
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners
   

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here is another quiz

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught your something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?
the lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not theones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care. They are the ones who reached out to you...they made an investment in you

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia" (Charles Schultz)

today, Let us, the imperfect, make an investment int he lives of those around us. Let us be comprehensively, completely, unreservedly inspite of circumstances grateful to God.

Chesterton wrote..."You say grace before meals, "All right.
but I say grace before the movie and the evening news,
I say grace before the concert and sporting event,
I say grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting, working, mowing
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing,
I say grace before I dip the pen in the ink."

I am comprehensively overwhelmed with gratitude for life itself.

In the aftermath of World War II, a husband and wife were getting ready to go to a memorial service for the son of friends of theirs. The man had been killed in the service. His family was dedicating a window in the church to this young man who had lost his life. The window cost $50,000.
"What a beautiful thing to do in honor of their son, "the wife said to her husband. Suddenly, she turned around with an ashen look on her face and said, "What are we going to give?"
"What are you talking about?" he said. "We don't need to give anything, Our son came back and alive and safe."
"That's exactly what I mean," she pressed. "Our friends lost their son, and they are giving $50,000. We got our son back, and we are not giving anything?"

1. 
   
2. 
   

Christmas Thoughts 2008 Matthew1:18-23 12-14-08

Christmas Thoughts Matthew1:18-23 12-14-08

18this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the Prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a sone, and they will call him Immanuea" - which means "God with us.

These may be the most important words that I say this year.

They will call him...God with us
No God far away from us...not in a stained glass window...Here close by, touching

People need touch, We hold a baby, a pet, a cat, a dog, a person.
Appropriate thought his a holdy gift.

Where is God? Close or far away
We sometimes speak of the dark night of the soul
We pray and say that the heaven's are brass
Is it possible that he is right here with us and we are missing him...

Anthony de Mello, known around the world for his ability to "teach people to pray," warns us that while we are searching wildly for the 'great experience of God" there are a host of rich experiences of God that are passing us by. "One needs to do very little, really, to experience God. All one needs to do is quiet oneself, become still - and become aware of the feeling of your hand. Be aware of the sensations in your hand.

What do you do with your hands? What doyou think about them?
I write, I draw, I throw a ball, I clean, I pray
Bones, muscles and nerves, all working together to accomplish amazing things
A miracle of God, here at our fngertips
The amazing God living and working in you, touching you, intensely near you...

De Mello laughs when he talks about this exersize. Most people think this is a little silly. Feeling their hand and finding God. "They are like the Jews who were straining their eyes toward the future in expectation of a glorious, sendational Messiah, while all along the Messiah was beside them in the form of a man called Jesus of Nazareth...You wish to see God? Look at the face of the man next to you. You want to hear him? Listen to the cry of a baby, the loud laughter at a party, the wind rustling in the trees. You want to feel him? Stretch your hand out and hold someone"

God with us...People touching people...

Senses...What we see, we see. What we hear we hear. What we say, we say, but when we touch someone, we are touched. Something of our souls touches the other person.

Sometime when people are hurting, they don't want answers, they aren't ready for advice. They just want to be held.

Donna Swanson wrote a poem, "Minnie Remembers" Minnie is an elderly woman, in the peon she is saying: "How long has it been since someone touched me/Twenty years?/twenty years I've been a widow./Respected/Smiled at/but never touched/Never held so close that loneliness/was blotted out."

A frustrated woman in a counceling session finally blurted out: "All I want from my husband is not much more than my god wants from him. When my husband comes home, our dog barks and runs to him, waiting for three things to happen: first, a kind look; second, a friendly word; and third, a loving touch."

She summarized: "A look, a word, a touch; that's all I really want in this relationship.

touch...in seminary we were taught that when you go to someone's home for a visit, if the kids and the pets like you, all is well, and if they don't...the people will look for another church.

We have the most obnoxious dog at out house...yet, a few brave souls have learned to reach out and heal him.

Whoever wants life must go softly toward life, softly as one would go toward a deer and a fawn that were nestling under a tree. One gesture of violence, one violent assertion of self-will, and life is gone...But the quietness, with a abandon of self-assertion and a fullness of the deep, true self, one can approach another human being and know the delicate best of life, the touch.

Is our ability to need with God, connected to our neighbor? Matthew25

31When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on this throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


34"then the King will say to thoses on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and your gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes an dyou clothed me, I ws sick and you looked after ne, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The king will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

I was speaking with a freind the other night about our best moments.
Our best moments are not when we are doing something ourselves.
Our best moments are when we are doing for others.
What is more important the $20 you spend on yourself, or the $20 you give to another?
We are most fully alive when we are helping another in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Messiah in disguise
High in the mountains was a monastery that had once been known throughout the world. Its monks were pious, its students were enthusiatic. The chants from the monastery's chapel deeply touched the hearts of people who cam there to pray and meditate.

But, something had changed. Fewer and fewer young men came to study there; fewer and fewer people came for spiritual nourishment. The monks who remained became disheartened and sad.

Deeply worried, the abbot of the monastery went off in search of an answer. What had his monastery fallen on such hard times? The abbot came to a guru, and he asked the master, "Is it because of some sin of ours that the monastery is no longer full of vitality?"

"Yes," replied the master,"it is the sin of ignorance."
"The sin of ignorance?" questioned the abbot. "Of what are we ignorant?"

The guru looked at the abbot for a long time, and then he said, "One of you is the Messiah in disguise. But, you are all ignorant of thie." Then, the guru closed his eyes, and he was silent.

"The messiah?" thought the abbot. "the messiah is one of us? Who could it be? Could it be Brother Cook? Could it be Brother Treasurer? Could it be Brother Bell-Ringer? Could it be Brother Vegetalbe Grower?"

"Which one? Which one? Every one of us has faults, failings, human defects. Isn't the messiah suppose to be perfect? But, then, perhaps these faults and failings are part of his disguise. Which one? Which one?"

When the abbot returned to the monastery, he gathered all the monks together and told them what the guru had said.

"One of us? The messiah? Impossible?" But, the master had spoken, and the master was never wrong.

"One of us? The messiah? Incredible! But, it must be so. which one? Which one? That brother over there? That one? That one?" Whichever one of the monks was the messiah, he was , surely, in disguise.

Not knowing who amongst then was the messiah, all the monks began treating each other with new respect. "You never know" the thought, "he might be theone, so I had better deal with him kindly."

It was not long before the monastry was filled with new found joy. Soon, new students came to learn, and people came from far and wide to be inspired by the chants of the kind, smiling monks.

for once again, the monastery was filled with the spirit of love.

In you eyes, the eyes of Christ,
In your smile, the smile of Christ,
In your heart, the love of Christ,
In your touch, the touch of Christ.

God with us. Here today, right in our midst...

conclusion
At Christmas, heaven touches earth. God touches man and woman.
It all becomes personal, Jesus is with us
There is a baby to hold
A savior to hug
A healing hand that will reach out and make us whole

God is with us.
Peace on earth, good will to men and women.