Gospel Reading John 20:1-18,
Early on the first day of week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple out ran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. then Simon Peter, who was behind him arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. [They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.]
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don't know where they have taken him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to hear, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni! [Which means Teacher].
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me for I have not yet returned to the Father. God instead to my brothers and tell them I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news; “I have seen the Lord!” and she told that he said these things to her.
Sermon “Is That all There is?” John 20:1-18 04/04/10
When we depend upon our eyes or our other senses alone to perceive truth we end up lamenting as the old Peggy Lee song goes, “Is That all There is.” Many of you remember the song, no matter what was going on in the lyric the refrain always responded, is that all there is? Whether it was a tragedy or an occasion of joy. Whether her home burnt down or she went to the circus, it was always, “Is That all There is?”
Those who witnessed Christ's journey to the cross and his death must have felt that way as they left Golgotha. Those who feared and hated Jesus were disappointed because he died too quickly, is that all there is?. The Roman soldiers who had to go back to the boredom of the barrack life, must have thought is that all there is? Those who loved him must have thought back, remembering the promise of a new world, and faced with the reality of his death and a world seemingly unchanged must have lamented, is that all there is?
Look what happens as the disciples depend upon their eyes alone for truth.
Mary went to the tomb finding the stone rolled back and the tomb empty to goes to the other disciples and says, “They have taken the Lord away.”
The disciple whom Jesus loved looked in the tomb and saw the grave clothes lying there and believed. What did he believe? He didn't believe Christ had risen. He believed the tomb was empty and he now believed Mary when she said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb.
Peter went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen and the cloth that covered Jesus' face were neatly folded in different places. Even Peter, the one who always had flashes of insight, looked and said yes, he's gone. The biblical witness tells us they went home. There is nothing to do here, he's just gone. That is all there is.
Then Mary saw the two angels. Again she responds, “They have taken my Lord away.”
And then, Mary saw the gardener, she doesn't just say, “They have taken my Lord away.” She found person, so she says, “If you have carried him away, tell me...”
You know that is the problem with eye witnesses. They don't always see reality. That is why if you really want to make a good case for or against anything or anyone. You need good solid circumstantial evidence.
You see what happens inside our brains is our intellect is limited by its complexity. When have an experience the brain sorts through its collection of previous experiences to make a match. When we encounter something that doesn't fit into our previous experience we try to make it fit. Like Cinderella's slipper, we force this new experience into the experiences that we have had in the past, that which we know. And when it doesn't fit our brain either rejects the experience or bends it into something acceptable.
So when faced with an empty tomb Mary responds in a reasonable and sane fashion. Her grief does not cloud her rational mind. She actually arrives at the only conclusion a person in their right mind could reach. Dead bodies do not simply disappear. Someone has to move them. In a world of established rules, in a world where that's all there is; that's all there is or can be. In a world where reality must be touched, or smelled, or seen, there is only room for the old and familiar. Only a place for the plausible.
Mary's logic is right on target. Find the body, wherever it has been taken and get on with her grieving. Even when angels, heavenly beings, beings from another dimension ask her why she is weeping, Mary still believes that someone has stolen the body.
Even when she sees Jesus she thinks it is not him, he is dead, it must be the gardener. He'll know what happened to the body.
Mary knows that she is in a cemetery, a place of loss and death. Her brain has no way to process the what she sees. She sees Jesus but she says gardener because her intelligence cannot make room for a walking, talking, dead man.
And then something happens, he calls her by name. And when she hears her name, it must trigger some memory, long passed. Maybe from the beginning of their relationship. You know when they first met, when she was “crazy Mary.” Demon possessed, we don't know what shape it took, it could have been addiction, depression, schizophrenia or just demons. What ever sort demons beset her, they she was completely in their power. Because the biblical witness says, there were seven demons. The number of entirety. Maybe she had a flashback, just for an instant she could see that time so long ago, when they were standing over her, holding her down, she was shrieking and writhing when suddenly she heard, Mary, Mary, you are healed. Her body calmed as the voice touched her, he called her Mary, not crazy Mary, just Mary. And from that day on no one ever called her crazy again. And today when he spoke her name, she remembered.
She remembered that there is more to life than your present circumstance. There is more to life than is revealed at any given moment.
When they were at the cross, they lived in the mindset of “that's all there is.” In our gospel this morning we hear, “But on the first day,” the day of new beginnings. God wants us to know it is a new time, that is why it is on the first day of the week. The old and familiar death is replaced with new and abundant life.
When Mary knew who she saw, she said, “Rabonni,” her tears of grief turned to tears of joy.
The pain, the pain that Jesus predicted, the pain he likened to childbirth was replaced that joy that he promised the joy, the joy he likened to holding a new born babe.
O death, where is thy victory. O death, where is thy sting!
The grave could no longer hold Christ and because of Christ it no longer holds you.
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
As Mary was freed from the grave of possession, by the voice and touch of the living Savior. Likewise you can be freed from whatever holds you in bondage, whatever grave clothes bind you, whatever the name of the grave that holds you. Because we know our redeemer lives.
It wasn't just the resurrection of one man, of Jesus the Christ. He was the first born and we are free at last free at last thanks be to God we are free at last, free of the past, free of bondage free sin free of the bondage of death, free because He is risen. He is risen indeed.
Alleluia! And Amen!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Welcome to All:
Zion’s Children to Be Brought Home
Isaiah 49: 8 –12
8 Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;i
0 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
Most of us have never been incarcerated in the penal system. Yet many of us have been prisoners of one sort or another. We have been prisoners of destructive habits, of addictions, of hurtful relationships, and of situations where we felt as if circumstances were completely outside of our control.
To one in any type of prison, Isaiah’s words offer priceless pearls of hope. “Come out of your prisons, show yourselves from out of the darkness;” these are potent words of hope to people for whom hope was only a distant dream.
Not only is release promised, but a life of freedom is pledged as well. The freed captives will not hunger or thirst and they will not be struck down by scorching wind or sun. The key to this freedom is that they will be led by God; “he who has pity on them”.
Jesus described part of his role as Messiah as, “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives”. In what prison are you confined? Are you ready to hear the good news of freedom?
Let us pray: Lord you know our prisons, some are of our own making, some are imposed upon us. Free us we pray, release us from that which keeps us from being all that we can be. In the name of the One who transforms lives, Jesus the Christ, amen.
i
Zion’s Children to Be Brought Home
Isaiah 49: 8 –12
8 Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;i
0 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
Most of us have never been incarcerated in the penal system. Yet many of us have been prisoners of one sort or another. We have been prisoners of destructive habits, of addictions, of hurtful relationships, and of situations where we felt as if circumstances were completely outside of our control.
To one in any type of prison, Isaiah’s words offer priceless pearls of hope. “Come out of your prisons, show yourselves from out of the darkness;” these are potent words of hope to people for whom hope was only a distant dream.
Not only is release promised, but a life of freedom is pledged as well. The freed captives will not hunger or thirst and they will not be struck down by scorching wind or sun. The key to this freedom is that they will be led by God; “he who has pity on them”.
Jesus described part of his role as Messiah as, “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives”. In what prison are you confined? Are you ready to hear the good news of freedom?
Let us pray: Lord you know our prisons, some are of our own making, some are imposed upon us. Free us we pray, release us from that which keeps us from being all that we can be. In the name of the One who transforms lives, Jesus the Christ, amen.
i
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Welcome to our Lenten Journey
Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Have you ever been truly thirsty? This question does not refer to a time when one might like something to drink. This question refers to a circumstance where one is desperate for water; perhaps even a life-threatening situation.
Human beings are designed, we are born with a thirst such as this; a thirst for God. “You have made us for yourselves and our hearts are restless until they find rest
in you”, wrote Saint Augustine. Our souls thirst for God.
Yet too many people try to satisfy that thirst with false gods. Some try some “new spirituality”, while many others try to fill the need with wealth or possessions. These not only fail to truly satisfy, they seldom even last. Only God is eternal. Only God can fulfill our longing for meaning, for a joyful life. Let your restless soul find rest in him.
Join me in prayer: O God, let me find the living waters your Son promised. Fulfill my longing for meaning in my life through your presence. Let me find my rest only in you. In the name of the One who transforms lives, Jesus Christ, amen.
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Have you ever been truly thirsty? This question does not refer to a time when one might like something to drink. This question refers to a circumstance where one is desperate for water; perhaps even a life-threatening situation.
Human beings are designed, we are born with a thirst such as this; a thirst for God. “You have made us for yourselves and our hearts are restless until they find rest
in you”, wrote Saint Augustine. Our souls thirst for God.
Yet too many people try to satisfy that thirst with false gods. Some try some “new spirituality”, while many others try to fill the need with wealth or possessions. These not only fail to truly satisfy, they seldom even last. Only God is eternal. Only God can fulfill our longing for meaning, for a joyful life. Let your restless soul find rest in him.
Join me in prayer: O God, let me find the living waters your Son promised. Fulfill my longing for meaning in my life through your presence. Let me find my rest only in you. In the name of the One who transforms lives, Jesus Christ, amen.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Grace and peace to each of you!
Please pray with me: Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your Word. Silence any voice but your own, that, hearing we may also obey your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading John 2:1-11 NIV
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. “What is the Sign?” John 2:1-11, 01/17-10
I think the most intriguing phrase in this morning’s gospel is “the first of his miraculous signs.” Magicians change liquids from one to another all the time and someone said at Bible study, our response is usually is “How did you do that?” But the biblical witness says the event made the disciples believe in him. Perhaps the sign was not the miracle itself, the physical change of water into wine, perhaps it is something else.
For just a moment let’s contemplate the amount of wine. We know there were 6 jars that held between 20-30 gallons of water. Roughly 150 gallons of wine, that works out to 1600 glasses of wine. A wedding feast was a week long event and the biblical witness tells us we are half way through it, so that means that there are 457+ glasses of wine for each day. That is a lot of wine, a lot of very good wine, more wine than you need.
One hundred and fifty gallons of wine, jars filled to the brim. When Jesus comes on the scene we move from shortage, scarcity and lack to overflowing abundance.
When Jesus Christ set foot on earth, when he comes among us, there is an abundance of love; there is an abundance of hope, an abundance of joy and an abundance of courage.
But we have a problem understanding, accepting that truth and enjoying the life that God meant us to have.
It wasn’t just at the wedding at Cana that Jesus modeled the overflowing abundance that he would bring to our lives, the feeding of the five thousand- five loaves and two fishes and twelve baskets of left over food.
And it is not because we are too educated, too smart. It is not because we are too sophisticated and scientific. I believe that it is because we are o so careful, o so restrained and o so cautious.
Right now Nancy is leading a Bible study about stepping out in faith. And in our very first lesson we talked about Peter going to walk water to Christ, you remember the story; the disciples are out in a boat and a storm comes up. In fourth watch at the darkest time of night Jesus shows up walking on water towards them. “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” Jesus said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” And Peter did. The thought never crossed the minds of the other disciples in the boat.
We just don’t make big moves in life. We don’t ask big things of God. We keep our faith to ourselves, safely tucked away in the confines of our church. We keep our prayers subdued, cautious and careful.
And it might be because we think of our relationship with God in the context of what we feel, what we believe, or what we do. And we all know how frail, how limited, how finite our resources are.
How many times has someone come to me and confessed; “I fear I am losing my faith.” Usually it is when they are going through a tough time. They feel their faith is being tested by their circumstances, and they fear they will lose what little faith they have. In that fear, they ask, “What can I do to hold on to my faith?” “How can I have more faith?”
But what if, what if our faith, our belief, our love of God is truly a gift of God and not our personal achievement? What if God is there waiting, wanting to give us more faith, while our fists are clenched trying so hard to hold on to our faith he wants us to open hands and hearts and receive from him, more love, more energy, more hope and more joy.
In short, what if this morning’s gospel is true? Jesus comes to a party in Cana, out in Galilee. When the wine gives out, he tells them to fill up the large stone jars with water, not just fill them, but fill them to the brim. When they do, the water is turned into wine, lots and lots of wine, more wine and better wine than anybody could possibly need to have a good party! When he fed the five thousand, there were twelve baskets left over. Five thousand people five loaves, two fish, everyone had their fill twelve baskets left over.
The good news this morning is that we have a God who is gracious and generous beyond measure. If we open hands and our hearts and our spirits to receive the gifts of faith and hope and joy God will give us more faith, more hope, more joy, more than we could possibly need.
Let us pray: Lord give us a bold love for you. In our prayer, give us a willingness to ask you for big gifts, not small ones. Gifts like peace, love and justice. In our lives inflame our desires for more abundant life. Life lived in your light. In our discipleship tempt us to try large tasks, great ventures and remarkable feats. Change our insipid water downed faith into the bubbling joyful wine of faithful discipleship. To your glory we ask these things in Jesus name, amen.
May your week be filled with God's mercy, may his mercy you move you closer to Christ, and may the Holy Spirit fill you with the courage to answer God's call on your Life!
Blessings, Pastor Dottie
Please pray with me: Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your Word. Silence any voice but your own, that, hearing we may also obey your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading John 2:1-11 NIV
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. “What is the Sign?” John 2:1-11, 01/17-10
I think the most intriguing phrase in this morning’s gospel is “the first of his miraculous signs.” Magicians change liquids from one to another all the time and someone said at Bible study, our response is usually is “How did you do that?” But the biblical witness says the event made the disciples believe in him. Perhaps the sign was not the miracle itself, the physical change of water into wine, perhaps it is something else.
For just a moment let’s contemplate the amount of wine. We know there were 6 jars that held between 20-30 gallons of water. Roughly 150 gallons of wine, that works out to 1600 glasses of wine. A wedding feast was a week long event and the biblical witness tells us we are half way through it, so that means that there are 457+ glasses of wine for each day. That is a lot of wine, a lot of very good wine, more wine than you need.
One hundred and fifty gallons of wine, jars filled to the brim. When Jesus comes on the scene we move from shortage, scarcity and lack to overflowing abundance.
When Jesus Christ set foot on earth, when he comes among us, there is an abundance of love; there is an abundance of hope, an abundance of joy and an abundance of courage.
But we have a problem understanding, accepting that truth and enjoying the life that God meant us to have.
It wasn’t just at the wedding at Cana that Jesus modeled the overflowing abundance that he would bring to our lives, the feeding of the five thousand- five loaves and two fishes and twelve baskets of left over food.
And it is not because we are too educated, too smart. It is not because we are too sophisticated and scientific. I believe that it is because we are o so careful, o so restrained and o so cautious.
Right now Nancy is leading a Bible study about stepping out in faith. And in our very first lesson we talked about Peter going to walk water to Christ, you remember the story; the disciples are out in a boat and a storm comes up. In fourth watch at the darkest time of night Jesus shows up walking on water towards them. “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” Jesus said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” And Peter did. The thought never crossed the minds of the other disciples in the boat.
We just don’t make big moves in life. We don’t ask big things of God. We keep our faith to ourselves, safely tucked away in the confines of our church. We keep our prayers subdued, cautious and careful.
And it might be because we think of our relationship with God in the context of what we feel, what we believe, or what we do. And we all know how frail, how limited, how finite our resources are.
How many times has someone come to me and confessed; “I fear I am losing my faith.” Usually it is when they are going through a tough time. They feel their faith is being tested by their circumstances, and they fear they will lose what little faith they have. In that fear, they ask, “What can I do to hold on to my faith?” “How can I have more faith?”
But what if, what if our faith, our belief, our love of God is truly a gift of God and not our personal achievement? What if God is there waiting, wanting to give us more faith, while our fists are clenched trying so hard to hold on to our faith he wants us to open hands and hearts and receive from him, more love, more energy, more hope and more joy.
In short, what if this morning’s gospel is true? Jesus comes to a party in Cana, out in Galilee. When the wine gives out, he tells them to fill up the large stone jars with water, not just fill them, but fill them to the brim. When they do, the water is turned into wine, lots and lots of wine, more wine and better wine than anybody could possibly need to have a good party! When he fed the five thousand, there were twelve baskets left over. Five thousand people five loaves, two fish, everyone had their fill twelve baskets left over.
The good news this morning is that we have a God who is gracious and generous beyond measure. If we open hands and our hearts and our spirits to receive the gifts of faith and hope and joy God will give us more faith, more hope, more joy, more than we could possibly need.
Let us pray: Lord give us a bold love for you. In our prayer, give us a willingness to ask you for big gifts, not small ones. Gifts like peace, love and justice. In our lives inflame our desires for more abundant life. Life lived in your light. In our discipleship tempt us to try large tasks, great ventures and remarkable feats. Change our insipid water downed faith into the bubbling joyful wine of faithful discipleship. To your glory we ask these things in Jesus name, amen.
May your week be filled with God's mercy, may his mercy you move you closer to Christ, and may the Holy Spirit fill you with the courage to answer God's call on your Life!
Blessings, Pastor Dottie
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I pray your New Year is filled with God's grace and mercy.
Let us center ourselves with prayer. God of mercy, grant that the Word you speak this day may take root in our hearts, and bear fruit to your honor and glory, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe your selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Sermon “Be-Attitudes for the New Year!”
Happy New Year!
Every year we make New Year’s resolutions. We want to improve our health, so we create a diet and try to follow it. Or we promise to quit smoking and make an action plan. Or we join a gym and promise to work out at least three times a week. We promise not to waste money and to save or to tithe, or to be on a schedule so we can be more productive. We decide we will work on our relationships by setting aside a date-night for our spouse or a game night for our children.
This can be called a program approach. You set up a program and you are doomed to failure. How many diets have you started, only to find yourself going back to your same old habits. You get busy, you get distracted and your commitment begins to waver and your program begins to fall apart, usually around the 24th or 25th of January.
So maybe what we need for real change is an attitude adjustment. We cannot change our behavior without changing our attitudes, because our attitudes are basis for our behavior. So let’s look at some real change we can make in lives.
1 Be positive.
Paul uses a clothing analogy and you know if you think about it, if your clothes or your shoes are uncomfortable, if they are too tight you can’t move freely. You know yourself when you’re mindset is fearful you feel all tight and tense, and it is hard to be compassionate and you can’t possibly be kind. You can’t be open to hearing others and when you can’t hear others you get focused on yourself you lose your humility and without humility you can neither be patient nor gentle. It is like having ill-fitting clothes, we can’t move around freely if we live in fear. Paul in II Timothy tells us; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
2 Be perfect.
I don’t mean perfect in the sense of never making a mistake. It is Christ’s love expressed through us that makes us perfect in God’s eyes.
The difference between a nice clothes and a stylish look is the way all the pieces come together. In God’s closet we find love. Love is the attitude that brings all the parts of our character into a single whole. Love, in the words of one writer is “not an emotion, but a policy.” Just as wood putty fills cracks and defects in wood, so that the wood might be useful, so love covers the individual defects and idiosyncrasies in our faith so that we can be useful to God and to one another. The Message paraphrase of the Bible calls love “Our basic all purpose garment,” some might call it the little black dress of faith. Without love our compassion, humility all of those wonderful qualities are but a clanging symbol.
3 Be peaceful and thankful.
Living at peace with our families, friends, co-workers and fellow Christians is not always easy. Noah had as much to fear from the woodpecker inside the ark as he did the storm raging round him. Our “umpire of conduct,” paraphrasing the Greek, is the rule of peace.
There is a question we might ask ourselves before we take an action. “Will my action promote peace?” Has anyone here ever improved a relationship by being confrontational? Another way to consider the same question would be simply, “Will I, will God, be thankful for how I acted?” Holding those questions in the back of your mind will contribute in a positive manner to all your relationships
4 Be praiseful.
Whatever you do, do it as praise to God. This maybe the most helpful attitude change you can make. Look at why you do things; do you separate out your reasons for doing things? Are there churchy things you do to praise God and then other things you do for other reasons? Just as a little experiment, tonight when you place your head on the pillow go through your day, what did you do that was to praise God and then what were the reasons that you did everything else. I had a friend and he was in constant conversation with God everything he did was prayer of praise. As result his life became a prayer of praise to his creator. Now did he live a perfect life, was he ideal Christian no, but he was grounded in God.
5 Be purposeful.
The name of Jesus Christ is the center of our Christian living. His name provides our identity [I am a Christian].
It provides something else, something perhaps we don’t think about. The name of Jesus Christ provides us authority for our conduct [I do all I do in Jesus name]. As a Christian I need not cower not bully, neither whine nor despair.
If we begin the year not by making a list of all that is wrong with us and trying to white knuckle change by creating a program, a schedule but by looking at our attitudes. Going into God’s closet taking out what he offers us and remember whose we are and who we are. Seek first the kingdom of God and all else will be added to you. All those resolutions that we make and break before the month out will be unnecessary, because the change that you seek will happen as a natural outgrowth of being clothed in Christ.
Be positive, Be perfect [in God’s eyes], Be peaceful and thankful, Be praiseful,
And Be purposeful. And have a blessed New Year!
The grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Pastor D
Let us center ourselves with prayer. God of mercy, grant that the Word you speak this day may take root in our hearts, and bear fruit to your honor and glory, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe your selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Sermon “Be-Attitudes for the New Year!”
Happy New Year!
Every year we make New Year’s resolutions. We want to improve our health, so we create a diet and try to follow it. Or we promise to quit smoking and make an action plan. Or we join a gym and promise to work out at least three times a week. We promise not to waste money and to save or to tithe, or to be on a schedule so we can be more productive. We decide we will work on our relationships by setting aside a date-night for our spouse or a game night for our children.
This can be called a program approach. You set up a program and you are doomed to failure. How many diets have you started, only to find yourself going back to your same old habits. You get busy, you get distracted and your commitment begins to waver and your program begins to fall apart, usually around the 24th or 25th of January.
So maybe what we need for real change is an attitude adjustment. We cannot change our behavior without changing our attitudes, because our attitudes are basis for our behavior. So let’s look at some real change we can make in lives.
1 Be positive.
Paul uses a clothing analogy and you know if you think about it, if your clothes or your shoes are uncomfortable, if they are too tight you can’t move freely. You know yourself when you’re mindset is fearful you feel all tight and tense, and it is hard to be compassionate and you can’t possibly be kind. You can’t be open to hearing others and when you can’t hear others you get focused on yourself you lose your humility and without humility you can neither be patient nor gentle. It is like having ill-fitting clothes, we can’t move around freely if we live in fear. Paul in II Timothy tells us; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
2 Be perfect.
I don’t mean perfect in the sense of never making a mistake. It is Christ’s love expressed through us that makes us perfect in God’s eyes.
The difference between a nice clothes and a stylish look is the way all the pieces come together. In God’s closet we find love. Love is the attitude that brings all the parts of our character into a single whole. Love, in the words of one writer is “not an emotion, but a policy.” Just as wood putty fills cracks and defects in wood, so that the wood might be useful, so love covers the individual defects and idiosyncrasies in our faith so that we can be useful to God and to one another. The Message paraphrase of the Bible calls love “Our basic all purpose garment,” some might call it the little black dress of faith. Without love our compassion, humility all of those wonderful qualities are but a clanging symbol.
3 Be peaceful and thankful.
Living at peace with our families, friends, co-workers and fellow Christians is not always easy. Noah had as much to fear from the woodpecker inside the ark as he did the storm raging round him. Our “umpire of conduct,” paraphrasing the Greek, is the rule of peace.
There is a question we might ask ourselves before we take an action. “Will my action promote peace?” Has anyone here ever improved a relationship by being confrontational? Another way to consider the same question would be simply, “Will I, will God, be thankful for how I acted?” Holding those questions in the back of your mind will contribute in a positive manner to all your relationships
4 Be praiseful.
Whatever you do, do it as praise to God. This maybe the most helpful attitude change you can make. Look at why you do things; do you separate out your reasons for doing things? Are there churchy things you do to praise God and then other things you do for other reasons? Just as a little experiment, tonight when you place your head on the pillow go through your day, what did you do that was to praise God and then what were the reasons that you did everything else. I had a friend and he was in constant conversation with God everything he did was prayer of praise. As result his life became a prayer of praise to his creator. Now did he live a perfect life, was he ideal Christian no, but he was grounded in God.
5 Be purposeful.
The name of Jesus Christ is the center of our Christian living. His name provides our identity [I am a Christian].
It provides something else, something perhaps we don’t think about. The name of Jesus Christ provides us authority for our conduct [I do all I do in Jesus name]. As a Christian I need not cower not bully, neither whine nor despair.
If we begin the year not by making a list of all that is wrong with us and trying to white knuckle change by creating a program, a schedule but by looking at our attitudes. Going into God’s closet taking out what he offers us and remember whose we are and who we are. Seek first the kingdom of God and all else will be added to you. All those resolutions that we make and break before the month out will be unnecessary, because the change that you seek will happen as a natural outgrowth of being clothed in Christ.
Be positive, Be perfect [in God’s eyes], Be peaceful and thankful, Be praiseful,
And Be purposeful. And have a blessed New Year!
The grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Pastor D
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