December 17 sermon What Must We Do Luke 3 Philippians 4

December 17 sermon What Must We Do Luke 3 Philippians 4

Last week I decided I needed to talk to a councilor on authority and what it means to be a leader. I went to this one office complex. As I walked in, on the right there was a door with “Psycho-analyst” on it, and on the left there was a door with “Psychologist” on it. Well since I didn’t know the difference, I counted the letters in the title and with Psychoanalyst having more letters I went in that door. In the next room I was confronted with two more doors. The first said “with a couch” and the second said “without a couch”. Figuring I had come this far and wanted to be comfortable while talking about authority and leadership I went in the “couch” door. There I was confronted with two more doors. The first said “over $200k a year” and the second said “under $200k a year”. Well knowing I won’t be making over $200k this year of next year, I went in the “under $200k” door. There I found myself outside once again.


John the Baptist has more guts than I do. He has a crowd around him and he starts calling them a bunch of snakes. The scum of the earth. I don’t know if I would want to make a crowd of people angry at me by calling them names like that. Who were these crowds??

They were the Pharisees that Jesus railed against. But also, I think these were people like you and me who want to see what’s going on. They wanted to hear what this wild man wearing animal skin was saying. He speaks with authority, even though he doesn’t look like someone we would normally follow.



Most of the time we will follow those who are like us or those who don’t step on our toes too much or make us question ourselves. I’ve heard some men say about their pastors “thank God it’s not a woman”. I’ve heard some women say “Thank God he’s not a commanding authoritative type”. But authority comes from God.

And those we submit to (ooohhh there’s that word we hate to hear…”submit”). Each of us has to submit to our spiritual leader in the church. I have to submit to God himself. God has authority over me and all my actions.

John the Baptist was the same way. He called out this uncommitted crowd and threw them under the bus.
“Who told you to run from the coming destruction?” That is definitely putting them on the spot. Are you coming to listen to me because you are truly repentant of all the things you have done in your past, or are you doing this because it is popular??

It was not too long ago that Scientology was at the top of the religion craze of celebrities and everyone who wanted to be like a celebrity. I’m not sure who started it going, but Madonna seems to have made Kabala a household name. There’s a teller at my bank that has one of those high dollar red strings on his wrist. There’s always a new fad going around.

John is asking the question “are you repentant, or are you just following the crowd?” The people were saying to each other “how can he talk this way. WE are the chosen ones from Abraham. We don’t need to run from any destruction.” But John overheard them.

“Don’t claim Abraham as your father. These stones scattered around my feet might as well be the children of Abraham the way y’all are acting.” What kind of fruit are you producing? The Christian equivalent of “we have Abraham as our father” is “we have Christ as our savior.”

Now, Christ is necessary for salvation, but if you have Christ, you also should produce good fruit. Another way to say it is “I was raised in the church and have been a member of my church all my life”. Just like I heard not too long ago that “Going to church makes you a Christian like going in a garage makes you a car.” True Christianity is in the fruit production.

The ax is at the root of the family tree now. Your roots are where you get your nutrition and the way you are connected to the proper source. Since this crowd has not produced any good fruit, they will be cut down and thrown into the fire. On the other hand, if their roots and your roots are connected to the proper person, good fruit will automatically be produced.

Root can also mean the hidden parts of our lives. It’s that “below the surface” stuff that eyes around us cannot see. The ax isn’t a pruning tool. It’s going straight to the hidden stuff of our lives and kills it right there.

What should we do, the crowd asks. And I love the answer from John. He does not say 1. Go to church every week, 2. Make sure you give exactly 10% of your money to God, 3. Wear the proper clothes to your gatherings, 4. Pray to God 5 times a day.

No…he says “if you have 2 shirts, share with the man who has none. If you have food, give some to the one who doesn’t have any.” He is telling them what a true New Testament church should look like. To the tax collectors, don’t collect more money than is expected of you. To the soldiers, don’t shake down the people to get more money.

What is he telling these people? Be content with your work and your pay if it will support you. Don’t drop everything and quit your job for some spiritual quest. Use the mundane part of your life (that’s usually work) and do what it takes to help others.

What should we do, they ask? There is a big word in that question. It’s WE. It wasn’t individual, but corporal and communal. WE are in this together. What should WE do?
John says to Buck the system. Do things differently than everyone else around you.

Could John be the messiah?? Overhearing their words, John yells out. Wake up, I’m not the messiah. But he is coming. He is greater and stronger than me, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals. Untying sandals and washing feet was a menial task suited only for slaves, yet John says he is not worthy to be a slave of the coming Messiah, Jesus.

John understood the authority given to him. He had authority to step on the toes of those people around him. But one greater than John with authority over him was coming. And when Jesus comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Just like we talked about last week, those who are righteous will sense the comfort of the Spirit. Those who are unrighteous will experience the cleansing fire.

So what is left…and listen carefully because John says this is the Good News. In Verse 17, Jesus has the fork in hand ready to gather the wheat into the barn. The farmer takes the fork, scoops up a bunch of hay and throws it up in the air. All the chaff, the useless stuff (yes I said useless) gets separated out and blown away from the pile of wheat, and then gets thrown in the fire. The heavy stuff of actual substance stays and gets put in the barn for real use. John is saying the same for us.
If there is real spiritual substance in our lives, we will stay in the barn and be of good use. If our spiritual life is all fluff with no substance, it will be blown straight to the fire.

What should we do today? Have substance in our spiritual lives and how we live that life out. It’s not just having Christ, it’s living Christ. Show unity and be of one mind in following the mission of the church. And what is the mission of the church? To make disciples of Jesus Christ. The spiritual authority above us must be true and must be followed. And we should look to John. Share with those who have none. Give to those who need, without hesitation.

John was the voice calling out from the wilderness, and now Jesus has come. Tonight we will be going thru the whole story. Prophecies fulfilled. An era of grace comes upon us. And a baby is born, who must have authority over all of us. And we submit to his will, to share the Good News. And it is Good News indeed.

December 10 sermon and Advent lighting reading

December 10 Advent candle lighting reading

[Light the first candle on the Advent wreath.]
"Blessed be the Lord God, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, saying…
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins" (Luke 1:68-70, 76-77, NRSV).
God chooses the most unlikely messengers… …a desert wild-man dressed in animal skins and eating locusts and wild honey … a poor shepherd, shunned by polite society, keeping silent watch in the fields … or today perhaps a school teacher, a waitress, a plumber, a laborer … or even a … child
Jesus comes, not just to those of us in [your church's name or city], but even to those in New York, Beverly Hills, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, North Korea. Jesus comes to us in the words of a preacher and in the song of a choir, but also in the siren of an ambulance, in a letter opened in a prison cell, in a visit to a nursing home, and in the smile — or cry — of a child.
[Light the second candle on the Advent wreath.]























December 10 sermon – Love overflowing

Did you hear….The Energizer Bunny got arrested last week. He was sighted for Battery.
Paul and I were walking in the woods the other day when we came up on a bear. Turning to run, Paul looked down and saw me tying my shoe laces. “What are you doing?” he screamed. I said “I don’t have to outrun the bear, just you.”

Malichi is a short interesting prophet to read. He is preaching at a time when the temple has been rebuilt, but the people were not acting the way they should. Malichi is one of those prophets from the OT that no one wanted to hear. He was speaking for God.

The people thought they were doing just fine, but oh Malichi set them straight. He prophecies…I will send my messenger before me. That’s John the Baptist. Who would have thought that a guy wearing animal hide and eating wild honey and bugs would me a messenger for God.

You see those cartoons with the guy standing on the street corner with a sign saying “THE END IS NEAR”. I would think both him and John are a little crazy.
You see, the people in the OT were holding back some of their tithe money. The Lord says “You’ve been holding back.
Give 10% or the first fruits of whatever you make and I will show you a blessing.” The people were holding back on their sacrifices. Sacrifices were supposed to be a young healthy animals with no defects. The people were sacrificing the scrawny, puny animals they wanted to get rid of. And the people were not helping those around them. But we will get to that soon.

Malichi says “the messiah is coming. Look busy…here comes Jesus”. But then his next sentence strikes fear in many people. “He will purify you and cleanse you with fire and Fullers soap”.

Has anyone used Fuller’s soap before?? RAISE YOUR HAND. I bet you have. They have been in business for years making specialty soaps for B&Bs and hotels usually with custom made labeling.

Look at that…you get a bible lesson and a business lesson at the same time.

Jesus is coming back soon he says. Jesus will come to purify us with fire and cleanse us with soap. Have you ever seen those documentaries where the heat up the silver or gold to outrageous temps and then skim the scum off the top?


Have you ever heard how hot Hell is going to be? Have you ever felt that the pain and trials you are going thru is like going thru hell? Have you heard that song from Rodney Atkins?? “If you’re going thru hell, keep on moving. Don’t slow down.”

God looks at our lives and says “you know what….we need to turn up the heat a little”. I saw the other day a guy in a three piece suit, shiny shoes, all decked out. He was in a group of other men, similarly dressed. This guys was saying he had just written a check to his church for $10k and boy that was a great thing I did.

I started to think though…who cares. Oh my gosh someone is about to fall out of the pew. The pastor isn’t asking for money and doesn’t care about the $10k check.

Don’t get me wrong. I would love for someone to write the church a check for $10k-$20k-$30k. I would love for someone to come up and say “hey…I want to build a new building over here for you to use. Or I want to help you start a sister church in another location.”

All that would be great. The problem was the attitude of this man who gave the $$. He was like the Pharisees Jesus was always complaining about, standing on the street corner proclaiming how great they are. They needed to hear the song “How Great Thou Art”.
What does the Lord say? “Your going thru the fire. Trails-temptation-pain-heartache. It’s coming. If your motives are pure and your heart is right, you will come thru looking like gold. If your motives not pure and heart is dark, you will make it thru the fire with little anything but the clothes on your back and they will smell like smoke and have burn holes all thru them.”

But all thru it, God will find that spot of pure righteousness in you, no matter how big or small it is. The smaller it is, the more painful the fire and correction will be.

Wait a minute pastor. Your sounding like those prosperity preachers like Benny Hinn and Joel Olsteen. Are you saying if I have enough faith, I won’t go thru trials? Oh how I wish that were true. I am saying, without God you won’t make it thru the trials.

Oct 30, 2004, 10 year old Erin Browning lay in a bed barely able to breath because of the cancer that was ravaging her body. Starting from the toes of her left foot all the way up to the top of her head, she was riddled with cancer. It was 3 years earlier on September 11th 2001 she was diagnosed with the cancer.

Erin was 6 years old when she prayed to receive Christ as her savior; She was 7 when she was diagnosed with cancer;
She was 8 when she was traveling to area churches to give her testimony. There was a time when the cancer went away and they all called it a miracle. The cancer came back later. Laurie, her mom, asked for prayers and looked for hope.

Sometimes, she had questions I think all of us have in times of pain “what’s going on here. I feel like I’m all alone.” But her worship never changed. Her love for Jesus remained constant even though she questioned what was going on. It was a raw and rare faith, and very inspiring.

Casting Crowns wrote “Praise you in the storm” in honor of Erin. The Chorus goes “and I’ll praise you in the storm, and I will lift my hands, for you are who you are, no matter where I am, and every tear I cry, you hold in your hands, you never left my side, and though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.

It’s the perfect song, for no matter how hard your troubles are and no matter how far down you go, God is there.

And that is what Paul writes to the Philipians. Paul was in chains and preaching to the guards. He was in chains and preaching to the Governor. I would say that’s pretty far down, yet Paul kept on praising Jesus’ name.
And Paul for the Philipians like Malichi for the Israelites, he was looking for their love for others to be deeper and stronger than any other love so when they went thru the refining fire on the day that Jesus Christ came back in victory, they would be seen as righteous.

Malichi and Paul are speaking against the adulterers, those who defraud their workers, perjurers, those who oppress the widows and fatherless, and those who do not fear the Lord.

Paul sums it up nicely. He says “I want you to be filled with the fruit of righteousness so that the one who began the good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Talk about your love for Jesus Christ every day, give to the needy every day, bring canned food for the food bank next week, go to the senior center and help out, deliver meals on wheels, visit the shut ins, call the person who did not show up for church today.

I tell you now. I think my God every day for you every day when I pray. In all my prayers for all of you I pray with joy because of your partnership in the preaching of the Word of God with me. And I know, that the one who began this good work in you will complete it so on that day when Jesus comes back he will look you in the eyes and say “well done, good and faithful servant.”

If there is anyone who doesn’t understand the good work before them, or who sees their past offerings as the sludge that’s skimmed off the top of the gold, or who doesn’t know the love and passion of God underlying their current pain and wants to pray about it now, come on up to the alter rail during this last hymn.

some great sites

I thought i would post some sites I keep bookmarked. Some people will like them; some people will hate them; some people will say "why in the world would he look at a site like that". There is a reason. email me and ask if you need further information :o)

http://www.off-the-map.org/ This is a site about evangelism thru the back door...basically. There is no in your face, Billy Graham (I love BG) fire and brimstone talking. Read some of the posts.

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/ Very insightful. not biblical, but not expected to be.

http://headrush.typepad.com/ Some of her posts are about programming, but title of "Creating Passionate Users" tells it all. In anything you are marketing, passionate users will sell it. related: www.churchmartketingsucks.com

http://www.lifehacker.com/ great information to make life more productive if not easier.

Check these out. get back to me with any others you like.

-Pastor Sean

PS...funny comment. Someone replied to one of my sermons with "GET A LIFE". I thought I had a life. More life than posting comments that make no sense :o)

November 26 sermon The King Revelation 1:4-8

Have you ever felt beaten down, hard on your luck, pushed to the edge of the cliff and then pushed over?? You look at the world today and see pain and hardship. I rarely watch the news anymore, because the saying is true “if it bleeds it leads.”

Maybe you don’t have to watch the news to see the pain in life. You look next door to a family that is struggling to make it. You see a few houses down signs of abuse or neglect. Down the pews you see the years worn on someone’s face. Inside your house, those same signs of your hard life are right in front of you.

How do you reconcile the “fruits of the spirit” with the pain your feeling right now?? Peace, Patience, kindness, gentleness, self-respect, compassion, humility. And that big one which can easily escape us when going thru these pains….JOY.

The people John wrote Revelation to are just like this. They were going thru some major persecution. It was written to encourage and inspire Christians under Roman persecution to endure and remain faithful during the time of tribulation.

To help with both the internal battles between personal faithfulness and abandonment of faith and the external battles waged by a culture out of control, threatened by unenlighted leaders and pagan values. Does that remind you of any other time in recent history...

You see, at the end of the 1st century, it was illegal to be a Christian. It was a time of chaos in which the promise of safety and security believed to be a result of faith could only be achieved by abandoning the faith, or by living a double life. Kind of like a double agent in the CIA.

It is here that John offers his vision of hope.
All throughout Revelation, John uses numbers and imagery to weave a web that Christians will be happy to run in to. “Grace and peace to you” is the greeting from John.

Grace is the standard gentile greeting. Peace or shalom is the standard Jewish greeting. This was no ordinary greeting. This grace and peace is from a special source “who is, and who was and who is to come”.

What does this statement mean to you?? “The one who is and who was and who is to come”. PAUSE


God is not some temporal being out there holding the spinning basketball of life on his finger, every once in a while giving it another push to keep it going. What can be more important than a relationship of grace and peace with this God??

In the beginning of life is God. In the middle of life is God. In the end of life is God. This is a focus on your life and the one who is in the middle of it with you. This is a promise of engagement. God is not an absent being who has no interest in our life. My dad once said, “My little problems don’t matter much to God when he has a whole world of much bigger problems to take care of.” That’s not true. God is personal and loving.

This greeting is also from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Witness can also be translated as martyr. Jesus was crucified for the truth. He is faithful so we can trust he will always be there for us. Jesus is also the firstborn of the dead. John is affirming that those who died for the truth will rise again just as Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus is also “ruler of the kings of the earth”. The king Israel had hoped for would be superior to all other kings. He would rule over all the earth. Christians saw that honor bestowed on Jesus. This is some elaborate imagery of court and kings and rulers.
John shifts gears a little now. “To him who loves us…” Jesus really loves us. There is a new show on TV called “Ugly Betty”. When ugly Betty walks by some construction workers and gets whistled at, she stops and says “me?? You’re whistling at me??” It’s kind of like that.

Even with all the ugliness in our life, Jesus still loves us. He loves us and he releases us from the punishment we deserve because of our sins. How does he do that?? John tells us here it’s by his blood. Jesus shed his blood to wash away the sins of those who confess him as savior and make us clean.

Christ has made us a ‘kingdom of priest’. Notice that it does not say there are certain people who are the priest (or in some translations ministers). We are all called to be kings and priest for God. What does that mean for us?

The saints (that’s you and me) are made kings; given a kingdom of grace. We have power and authority given to us over the sin in our lives, and over Satan. We will live in this world, but will soon be clothed in righteousness with kingly garments to sit on a throne with Christ, reign with Christ in the new Kingdom, and at last be introduced into the kingdom of glory. That is how we are kings.

We are also priest in that we lift up spiritual sacrifices of prayers and praises, of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and even our own souls and bodies as a holy and living sacrifice.

Look he is coming on the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all those on earth will mourn. It’s a bird, it’s a plane. It’s….wait a minute. That’s not Superman. It seems that there are many people more apt to believe in Superman than in Jesus Christ being God.

Look at the shows on TV. Heroes is about people who have some sort of genetic changes and now have special powers. The 4400 is about 4400 people who were abducted by the future and sent back to our time to save the world. Smallville is about Superman when he was young. America’s Next Top Model is about people who can eat three crackers a day and then walk a straight line down the runway on Saturday.

When Christ comes back in final victory, those who persecuted Jesus and his followers, will see what wrong they did. Everyone on earth will be mourning because they will see the sin in their lives and how they are not worthy to be with Jesus.

But that mourning will turn to joy for us as Christians because the sin in our lives is washed away by the blood he shed for us.

The Lord then says “I am the Alpha and Omega”. In the beginning: God. In the end: God. In the middle of my life and yours: God. These are not exactly statements about time and space, but more about hope and trust.

What kind of God is this? God is the one who tells you “The worst is over.” To those hurting whose lives are marked by pain and fear, by weakness and oppression and injustice. TO those whose lives are marked by terror of the now and uncertainties of the future.

To those and to us, to you, God offers a brand new life. What God has to say in this letter is that no matter what comes against you in this life, no matter if all the power of pain and chaos seem to attack you all at once, no matter if you cannot control one single thing in your life, the worst is over and the healing has begun.

The lamb is on the throne. From beginning to end, he is here for you.






Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14
9As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. 10A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
13As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. 14To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

Revelation 1: 4-8
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Urgent - Major affect on Churches in America

DISCLAIMER: Please read the following article VERY CAREFULLY before you do anything at all. There is more going on here than meets the eye. You have been forewarned. - kg ** URGENT by Keith Giles As most of us are aware, there is a new Congress in session at the moment. With this new influx of Congressmen and Senators will no doubt come a changing of the guard that will require us as Christians to be vigilant as never before. This is why today's [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] is so critical for each of us. I'm tempted to ask everyone one of you to read what I write here and to forward this to EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK right away. (Especially if you "really" love Jesus). But, what I'm about to tell you is SO ALARMING, it could seriously threaten Church in America forever. There is new legislation in motion, at the earliest possible stage, which I need to let everyone know about now before it gets out of our control. First, many of you are already aware that there are forces out there that threaten to take away the non-profit status of Christian Churches in America whenever messages of a political nature are delivered from the pulpit. As desperate as this is, there is a new development brewing now that is even worse.
\n\nThere are people who want to propose legislation that would challenge the non-profit status of any Christian Church simply based on whether or not that Church actually gives a significant percentage of its funds back to the community, as most other "non-religious" non-profits are required to do.\n\n\nWHAT THIS MEANS is that your church could be in danger of losing its non-profit status simply because none of the tithe money goes to help out those poor families who live around the community. EVEN IF THEY DON\'T ATTEND YOUR CHURCH!\n\n\nOf course, there are plenty of churches in America that do care for the poor in their community. They pass out free groceries, they provide free oil changes for single Moms, they host after-school programs for kids in the area at no-charge, etc. Churches who are already "giving back" to the community in this way and serving others the way Jesus would would have NOTHING TO FEAR!\n\n\nHowever, if a church in the community were to spend 70%, 80%, or even 99% of its tithe on itself, it would be in danger of losing that non-profit status and would have to pay taxes JUST LIKE ALL OTHER LARGE CORPORATIONS. \n\n\nThis means that a church spending most of the tithe for salaries, or a new building, or the new flat-screen plasma televisions for the announcements in the nursery, or the Starbucks Coffee bar at the back of the Church, or the new carpet, etc., would have to justify their non-profit status on the basis of whether or not they were actually performing any actual "service" to the poor around them. If they couldn\'t demonstrate a tangible connection between their church and the community around them, their non-profit status would be revoked forever!\n\n\nREGARDLESS OF THE FACT that Matthew 25 suggests that Jesus takes our concern for the outcast seriously, this attack on the non-profit status of our big, fat American churches is just NOT FAIR!\n\n\nWe\'ve earned the right to collect as many hundreds of thousands of dollars as we like in the name of Jesus and it should be totally up to us how we spend that money. Especially if it\'s for our own needs, wants and desires. \n",1]
);
//-->
There are people who want to propose legislation that would challenge the non-profit status of any Christian Church simply based on whether or not that Church actually gives a significant percentage of its funds back to the community, as most other "non-religious" non-profits are required to do. WHAT THIS MEANS is that your church could be in danger of losing its non-profit status simply because none of the tithe money goes to help out those poor families who live around the community. EVEN IF THEY DON'T ATTEND YOUR CHURCH! Of course, there are plenty of churches in America that do care for the poor in their community. They pass out free groceries, they provide free oil changes for single Moms, they host after-school programs for kids in the area at no-charge, etc. Churches who are already "giving back" to the community in this way and serving others the way Jesus would would have NOTHING TO FEAR! However, if a church in the community were to spend 70%, 80%, or even 99% of its tithe on itself, it would be in danger of losing that non-profit status and would have to pay taxes JUST LIKE ALL OTHER LARGE CORPORATIONS. This means that a church spending most of the tithe for salaries, or a new building, or the new flat-screen plasma televisions for the announcements in the nursery, or the Starbucks Coffee bar at the back of the Church, or the new carpet, etc., would have to justify their non-profit status on the basis of whether or not they were actually performing any actual "service" to the poor around them. If they couldn't demonstrate a tangible connection between their church and the community around them, their non-profit status would be revoked forever! REGARDLESS OF THE FACT that Matthew 25 suggests that Jesus takes our concern for the outcast seriously, this attack on the non-profit status of our big, fat American churches is just NOT FAIR! We've earned the right to collect as many hundreds of thousands of dollars as we like in the name of Jesus and it should be totally up to us how we spend that money. Especially if it's for our own needs, wants and desires.
\n\nJust because we\'re not really involved in the needs of the poor around us, the Church SHOULDN\'T BE PUNISHED IN THIS WAY.\n\n\nRegardless of the fact that the Church in America HAS THE POWER and the ECONOMIC RESOURCES necessary provide affordable housing, long-term community development, and primary health care to everyone who needs it, the US Government should NOT be the one to force this upon us through legal means. That should be left up to a Higher Power. \n\n\nEven though Universal primary education would cost $8 billion a year, which is about half of what parents in the US spend annually on toys for their children, this has nothing to do with those of us who are called by the name of the One who humbled Himself and surrendered His life to demonstrate the compassion of God to the World, and especially to the least and the lost.\n\n\nSo, if you want to protect your church from this kind of judgement, I urge you to write to your pastors, your elders, your deacons and your church leaders and let them know how you feel about this very serious issue that faces the modern Church in America.\n\n\nWe, the Church in America, are dangerously close to the SIN OF SODOM!\n\n\nDo you know what the Sin of Sodom is? Read Ezekiel 16: 49. (HINT: It\'s not what you think). \n\n\n"Now this is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were proud and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen."\n\n\nObviously, the issue facing the Church in America today is WAY MORE SERIOUS THAN SIMPLY OUR NON-PROFIT STATUS! If the Church were to rise up and spend their money this way, THAT WOULD BE AN AWESOME THING, and yes, a lot of people would probably stop calling us hypocrites and maybe they\'d take us seriously when we tell them that Jesus loves them, because we\'ve demonstrated that just maybe we love them too.\n\n\nAs you may have guessed, this legislation IS TOTALLY FICITIOUS! I have made up the entire thing with the help of my good friend Jarred Rowland who first suggested the concept to me. \n",1]
);
//-->
Just because we're not really involved in the needs of the poor around us, the Church SHOULDN'T BE PUNISHED IN THIS WAY. Regardless of the fact that the Church in America HAS THE POWER and the ECONOMIC RESOURCES necessary provide affordable housing, long-term community development, and primary health care to everyone who needs it, the US Government should NOT be the one to force this upon us through legal means. That should be left up to a Higher Power. Even though Universal primary education would cost $8 billion a year, which is about half of what parents in the US spend annually on toys for their children, this has nothing to do with those of us who are called by the name of the One who humbled Himself and surrendered His life to demonstrate the compassion of God to the World, and especially to the least and the lost. So, if you want to protect your church from this kind of judgement, I urge you to write to your pastors, your elders, your deacons and your church leaders and let them know how you feel about this very serious issue that faces the modern Church in America. We, the Church in America, are dangerously close to the SIN OF SODOM! Do you know what the Sin of Sodom is? Read Ezekiel 16: 49. (HINT: It's not what you think). "Now this is the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were proud and did detestable things before me. Therefore, I did away with them as you have seen." Obviously, the issue facing the Church in America today is WAY MORE SERIOUS THAN SIMPLY OUR NON-PROFIT STATUS! If the Church were to rise up and spend their money this way, THAT WOULD BE AN AWESOME THING, and yes, a lot of people would probably stop calling us hypocrites and maybe they'd take us seriously when we tell them that Jesus loves them, because we've demonstrated that just maybe we love them too. As you may have guessed, this legislation IS TOTALLY FICITIOUS! I have made up the entire thing with the help of my good friend Jarred Rowland who first suggested the concept to me.
\n\nI couldn\'t resist mimicking the style of those alarmist Christian email messages we all get forwarded telling us that we must send it on to everyone we have ever known in order to prove our love for Jesus. Please, also forgive me for all the CAPITAL LETTERS I USED! \n\n\nSeriously, I think if my friend Jarred were to introduce a Bill like this one to our Congress it might put a fire under our churches to wake up and realize that their Bibles are full of commands to care for the outcast, the poor, and the needy who are all around them. If nothing else, it would create an amazing open dialog in the media between the leaders of the Church, the members of the community, and the man on the street about issues of compassion, Christian charity, and the calling of Jesus to care for the poor as we would care for Him. (see Matthew 25)\n\n\nUntil that legislation comes to pass, I will have to resort to stunts like this to try to wake people up and realize that God\'s heart is for the poor and that He has taken this issue very seriously.\n\n\nThe truth is, the idea of their church losing its non-profit status is more likely to spur Christians to action than the fact that there are thousands of homeless, and poverty-stricken human beings suffering a few blocks from their front door.\n\n\n"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?"- GOD, speaking of King Josiah in Jeremiah 22:16\n\n\n**\n\n\nTO REPLY TO THIS EMAIL DO NOT HIT "REPLY"- I WILL NOT GET IT!\nINSTEAD- email me directly at: elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com *remove the spaces, etc.\n\n\n**\nSO...YOU WANNA BE A PASTOR?\nGo to http://www.keithgiles.com and read my latest mini-article about the scriptural picture of pastor versus the cultural one we\'ve all held so dear. If today\'s [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] article didn\'t make you mad, then I think you\'ll probably love it.\n",1]
);
//-->
I couldn't resist mimicking the style of those alarmist Christian email messages we all get forwarded telling us that we must send it on to everyone we have ever known in order to prove our love for Jesus. Please, also forgive me for all the CAPITAL LETTERS I USED! Seriously, I think if my friend Jarred were to introduce a Bill like this one to our Congress it might put a fire under our churches to wake up and realize that their Bibles are full of commands to care for the outcast, the poor, and the needy who are all around them. If nothing else, it would create an amazing open dialog in the media between the leaders of the Church, the members of the community, and the man on the street about issues of compassion, Christian charity, and the calling of Jesus to care for the poor as we would care for Him. (see Matthew 25) Until that legislation comes to pass, I will have to resort to stunts like this to try to wake people up and realize that God's heart is for the poor and that He has taken this issue very seriously. The truth is, the idea of their church losing its non-profit status is more likely to spur Christians to action than the fact that there are thousands of homeless, and poverty-stricken human beings suffering a few blocks from their front door. "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?"- GOD, speaking of King Josiah in Jeremiah 22:16

from www.keithgiles.com

November 19 sermon Doubt? John 20

November 19 sermon Doubt? John 20

What does a Turkey eat on Thanksgiving? Nothing. He’s already stuffed.

How do you make a turkey float? Start with two scoops of ice cream, add root bear, and throw in a turkey.

What do you do with doubt about God? Not that God isn’t real, but that God is active in our lives. Spouse is sick or dying.

A child is being abused.

You lost your job again.

Your wife or husband left you.

The bishop sends you a young pastor who stretches you and your not sure if you are ready to trust him.

How do you cope?

Jesus told one father “If you can believe, all things are possible.” The father said back, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

Do you give up? Do you play the game of going to church each week to “keep up appearances”? Faith mixed with doubt. It’s a paradox, isn’t it?

Should you doubt? 1^st you become a Christian, then your perfect. All uncertainties and doubts are gone. No more difficult times. No more pain. Everything is roses and cherries. No…you do have some doubts. You are not instantly perfect.

Does doubt mean you are not a Christian? Or if you doubt, is God really God? You know, all knowing, loving, good, perfect. Since evil and suffering exist, then a loving God cannot.

From Epcurus the philosopher, “Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can but does not want to; or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, and does not want to, he is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how come evil is in the world?”

Remember that little boy who stuck his finger in the hole of the dike, thereby saving an entire village from drowning. Do you ever feel like that, where your little finger of faith is holding back a huge wave of doubt??

Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for doubting. Instead he offered him evidence for the truth. “stick your finger where the holes are. Do not doubt anymore.”

What do you doubt at times?? I’m sure you don’t doubt that God exist, right? There is just way too much evidence that there is a God.

So, could you doubt your understandings of God? Maybe God is unpredictable from our viewpoint. I heard this great illustration not too long ago.

I’m walking in the woods with my good friend Paul. First, Paul warns me to “look out, don’t trip over that root.” Later, Paul calmly watches while I handle a plant then tells me “that’s poison ivy. Here’s some ointment to reduce the itching. I’m glad for the ointment, but wonder why Paul didn’t warn me before I touched the poison ivy. Later on I fall down a deep hole and can’t get out. I look up and see Paul calmly standing there. No matter how many times I ask him for help, he just stands there and watches me.

That’s how it seems with God sometimes. Sometimes God warns me about stumbling blocks before me. He has this hedge of protection around me. Sometimes God lets me get in the poison ivy of life, and then gives me ointment to start the healing. And sometimes God just sits and watches, leaving me on my own to get out of life’s pit of despair. I don’t know how God is going to deal with me; and that unknowing and uncertainty, is the root of my doubt.

Is doubting a bad thing? Does God want me to have some doubt? Has God appeared on any of the platforms you have built in the past?

Ed is getting close to finishing his house. Maybe God will show up today on that nice concrete pad site. He’s never been visible to me; never turned water to wine; no one has come back from the grave in my lifetime I know of; The most I’ve ever instantly been healed is when a headache went away when the Advil kicked in.

Frederick Buechner expresses this ambivalence about doubt beautifully: “Whether your faith is that 1. there is a God or that 2. there is not a God, if you don’t have doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep.

Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.” Romans 8 says “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.”

Maybe occasional struggles with doubt are good.

1. doubting tests the perseverance of my faith.

If I have not doubted, then I really never step out in faith. Hebrews 11 says “Faith is believing in what you don’t see.”

2. Doubt makes my faith grow stronger.

If my faith in God never struggles, then why would I search for answers?

For example, I’m learning to drive a car. I put it into drive for the first time and take off….going down the coast, seeing the sights, showing off my new car. But I make a wrong turn and end up at a dead end. I stop at the wall and wonder what to do next. Every time I tap the gas pedal, I move closer to the wall. Finally in a last ditch effort, knowing this car is brand new and virtually perfect, and having come this far, I’m a perfect driver, I PUT THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. Of course I wreck the car.

I can’t believe that my WHOLE understanding of driving has been completely wrong. Cars aren’t really the way to get around. Everyone needs to get a horse. Cars are a farce put on society by a government that just wants to control us. The idea that cars can get us from one point to another is just a crutch for the weak mind. Of course that’s wrong.

Doubts strengthen our faith. How? Doubts are like the barbells we must lift for our faith to grow stronger. James tells us that “whenever you face trials, you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” No pain, no gain.

3. As faith gets stronger, the doubt will raise our level of faith above mere feelings and emotions. If your faith is grounded in feelings, it will go south when life gets hard.

Some of the televangelist will tell you “If you don’t feel the Spirit moving in your life, you just don’t have enough faith.” Then they say something about sending in money. But in the scripture we talked about last week, Jesus tells us to love God with all our hearts, souls. MINDS, and strength. You can’t base faith just on feelings.

What are the sources of doubt???

1. The world…kids when you go to school, especially college, you will be bombarded with people telling you that Christianity is a fake and useless belief pushed on you by someone you really love.

Science has proved the non-existence of God. It’s offensive to claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven. A loving God would never send people to hell.

2. Satan…yes Satan is real. Yes hell is real. And just as God is working on you thru you with His Prevenient grace, Justifying grace and Sanctifying grace, Satan and his evil group is working to plant seeds of doubt in your mind. I’ll give you this illustration for the three types of grace.

Your world is a box, covered with black ice. No light can get in. It’s all you. From the day of your conception, God’s prevenient grace is taking an ice pick and chipping away at that black ice. One day, grace has chipped away enough of the black ice that light gets in your box and lights the fire in you.

That is Justifying grace. That is the day you believe in salvation by Jesus Christ. Then every day after that, sanctifying grace blows on the embers of that fire within you to melt more and more of the black ice from around you.

3. Our own flesh is the last and probably greatest source of doubt. When the disciples were on the sea, Peter starts to walk on water out to where Jesus was. But when the waves bounced around him, and he began to sink, he cried out “Lord save me.”

Jesus reached out and lifted him up. “Oh you of little faith. Why do you doubt?” When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, his faith faltered.

What do you do now when you doubt?

1. study the Christian evidence. The empty tomb, 500 witnesses to the resurrection, other changed lives.

2. study the bible. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith gains strength by reading and studying the bible.

3. Most important is to talk to God. Jesus did not pray that Peter would be shielded from Satan’s attacks, but that “his faith should not fail when tested.”

God did not keep Daniel from being thrown in the lions den, but protected him while he was among the lions. Definitely ask God to eliminate your problems, but after that, ask him to sustain your faith if he desires you to go thru them.

I’ll tell you right now. I don’t have the easy answers for those ongoing questions of doubt. Though I do have some answers, there are some you must learn on your own. There are struggles you must go thru.

But when your faith is low, you will have a spouse or a friend or me, your pastor sitting beside you. My faith is strong, stronger than it has ever been. We have a really big God who is bigger than any of your doubts. So if you need to, you can rely on my faith for a while, and I know we will get thru this together.

I’m here to listen to you. You and I can lift those barbells of doubt together and build some faith filled muscle. Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” I know that to be true, and we will take this journey together.

Vonage is the new AOL

Do you remember all those AOL cds you used to get in the mail?? AOL was advertised everywhere, CDs came in the mail and the newspaper. Well Vonage has taken the place of AOL. If you have not ever used the phone over internet, it's the way to cut your phone bill dramatically. We used Vonage for 4 years before moving to Waxahachie. It was a great tool. But now all the mailings and advertising are getting annoying. Also check out this. If you have not seen any mailings from Vonage, expect them soon.

Fasting

This is an outline for a report I'm giving on "fasting". Thought it would be good to post.

The Practice of Self Emptying: rediscovering the fast
Chapter 5 Soul Feast


Jewish reason to fast:
1. Express personal or national repentance for sin
Humble supplication before God in the face of imminent destruction or calamity (see Joel 2, Jonah 3, and Ester 4).
2. prepare oneself inwardly for receiving the necessary strength and grace to complete a mission of faithful service in God’s name (Moses, Elijah, and Jesus’ 40 day fast).

We will comprehend little of how we are nourished by Christ until we have emptied ourselves of the kinds of sustenance that keep us content to live at life’s surface.

Some historical fasting figures:
1. Wesley fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays
2. Calvin fasted to:
a. Subdue the needless desires of the flesh
b. Prepare for prayer and meditation
c. Express humility before God in confession
3. Abba Poemen (a Desert Father) said “For my part, I think it better that one should eat every day, but only a little, so as not to be satisfied.”


Lent and the Fast

What Lent is not:
1. 6 week inconvenience in an otherwise abundant year.
2. Trying to please God with voluntary and minor suffering.
3. Testing ground for our willpower.
4. “spiritual rational” for losing 10 pounds before swimsuit season.

What Lent is:
1. Opportunity to return to normal human life (life of natural communion with God as it was before the Fall).
2. Spring cleaning of the soul.
3. Life restored by accepting limits on our consumption and activity .








Types of Fast

Food Fasts:
1. Normal fast – abstaining from all food, solid or liquid, but not from water.
2. Partial fast – restriction of the diet, but not total abstention.
3. Absolute fast – abstaining from both food and water.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:
* A fast depletes your normal energy reserves so reduce normal activity.
* Work your way up to an absolute fast. Don’t go “cold turkey”.
* Don’t “tank up” on extra calories before or eat a big meal after the fast.
* Drink plenty of water.



Other Forms of Fasting
The purpose of abstinence is to learn rightly to enjoy God’s gifts. Fasting is not primarily a discipline through which I gain greater control over my life, but one through which God gains access to redirect and heal me in body, mind, and spirit.

Abstain from objects of consumption that have come to fill emotional voids in our lives.
* Sex
* TV
* Recognition
* Media stimulation
* Needless shopping sprees
* Prejudging people
* Drugs
* Internet
* Over-packed schedules


Keeping a Journal During the Fast

Questions to ask:
* How do I respond to hunger pangs?
* What feelings attend the experience of physical emptiness – panic, irritation, boredom, helplessness?
* How do I express these?
* Do I sense any inward cleansing, release, or freedom?
* Do I feel a need to draw the attention of others to what I am doing?
* Do I find myself attentive to God’s presence in new ways?
* Do I find myself connected to others in new ways?
* What is God revealing to me through my responses?

Nonvember 12 sermon Exodus 3:11-14 who sent you???

There was a blonde at work who just got sick and tired of all the blonde jokes. So one evening she went home and memorized all the state capitals. Back in the office the next day, some guy started telling a dumb blonde joke. She interrupted him with an announcement, "I've had it up to here with these blonde jokes. I want you to know that this blonde went home last night and did something probably none of you could do...I memorized all the state capitals." Of course, one of the guys said, "I don't believe you. What is the capital of Nevada?" She just smiled and confidently answered, "N”



Exodus 3:11-14 who sent you???

In 1 Chronicles 28 (that’s the OT), King David had the plans in his hands for the new temple that was to be built for the God. He wanted to personally build it, but God had other plans. He told the king that his son Solomon would be the one to build the temple.

David chose to not see himself as being cut out of the action and grand plan, but undertook his new charge.
He must convey the plans and vision to Solomon . He must communicate the vision for the temple in a manner that would enlist Solomon’s support. King David rose to his feet, standing up on the platform above all the people in the court and made this announcement.

“Of all the many son’s my LORD has given me, he has chosen Solomon to sit on the throne after me. He said to me ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house, for I have chosen him. I will establish his kingdom as long as he follows me.” Did you hear that? David got the vision from the Lord that a marvelous temple would be built, but he would not build it.

His son Solomon would be the one to build it. Can you imagine if you were Solomon? “I’m supposed to do what??” he asks. This vision is from God, and you Solomon will be leading the charge to undergo it. Halfhearted commitment will not work or be tolerated. Such a task will require total devotion to the God and to the work.

Next, David gave his son sufficient detail about the temple that Solomon could visualize what it would look like. He went thru all the plans of what the porches and gold ornaments would look like. Nothing was left out.
Finally, after casting this vision, the king gave his son another dose of encouragement. “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God is with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you. Everyone will obey your commands.”

What authority did David have?? He was king. Was that great communication or what?? David had grad plans in front of him ready to go. All his kingdom is awaiting his command. The ships are ready to sail to get the wood. Gold has been mined. The craftsmen are ready and waiting. But God says no, your son will be the one to take on this project.

How would you feel? You have these big plans and dreams. You have the resources and the desire. But you are stopped dead in your tracks. I’m surprised David didn’t get disgusted with the whole thing. But David saw the bigger picture. Instead of looking thru his narrow field of vision, he looked from above as God would. It’s like when E. F. Hutton talks. God talked and David listened. And David did what he should. He communicated to his son.

Do you have that kind of communication with other people?? Before you talk, do you seek the wisdom of the Lord? Before you send a letter or an email, do you wonder, “what would Jesus do?”
When you communicate, is it God talking thru you? Let’s envision a conversation for a minute. Bob is on the leadership team of the church and goes to talk to Jacob. (No there is no Bob or Jacob in our congregation. I made up the names.)

“Jacob, you need to lead the men’s group. It starts on Monday.” There you go. How is that? What do you think will happen? Maybe Jacob will go home and forget all about it. Maybe he will start a Men’s Group that is second to none. Probably not. How could the conversation have gone differently??

Bob goes to Jacob. “Jacob. I’ve been praying for our men’s group every day for the past month. I’ve asked God for wisdom and vision for leadership for this group. He has given me what he is wanting and now I’m bringing it to you.” Sounds good so far right? Bob started off praying for guidance. He didn’t jump into leading the men’s group because no one else would step up and do it. He waited for God’s vision and didn’t jump the gun. Then he passed on the vision.

Bob says “Jacob, God has shown me the future of the men’s group with you and another brother leading it. He says that both of you will have disciples under you to bring up in a Godly faith and understanding. As those brothers mature, they will disciple brothers under them.
You will form a chain going up the spiritual mountain of faith. As you go along brother, there will be some who don’t see the vision you have. They will only see change and believe it is not good. But you must persevere and stay the course. God almighty will be with you always, just as he said.”

Bob goes into detail with Jacob on the vision of God to lead the men’s group. Where does Bob get his authority? From the leadership team.

What happens when there is bad communication or no authority given? How does it affect the outcome? Have you seen the cell phone commercials on TV? The guy is talking to his soon to be father-in-law. “call me Jim. We are going to be family.”

The boy opens up “Ok Jim, Jimbo, jimborama, Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care.” Then nothing on the other end of the line. The phone goes dead. The boy panics. Dropped calls are bad. Miscommunication is terrible. Because of the communication problem, he automatically thinks he offended his father-in-law.

Communication problems can happen in the church also. Here is an example (no this has not happened so don’t start any rumors). I say something to Ed, knowing he just told me a story about getting his hair cut yesterday. “Boy your hair is really short.”
Mike hears my comment, assumes the worst, that I’m making fun of Ed or trying to hurt his feelings. Mike tells Tammy who is mad at Brandy because Brandy didn’t say hi to her this morning in SS (although Brandy just didn’t hear her). Tammy is talking to Melanie before church and tells her that “The Pastor was rude and inconsiderate to Ed, and I can’t believe he was sent to our wonderful little church.”

I’m in the hallway shaking hands after service. Everyone is smiling. Melanie comes stomping by, gives me a look that could easily kill me (if looks could kill), doesn’t say anything and leaves. She doesn’t talk to me or return my calls. How’s that for our communication??

What did I say before about communicating?? Is it of God? Did it come from a prayer or vision from God? Jesus says in Matthew 12 “A healthy tree produces good fruit and a diseased tree produces bad fruit. How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-mouthed? A good person produces good deeds season after season.

An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Words are powerful. They can be your salvation or your damnation.” These are big words from our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is saying that no amount of skill or technique will compensate for an empty or an evil heart.
Jesus stated that the heart is the key to salvation. Personal relationships are to be entered into and continued out of a sense of strength, fullness and vitality.

And now Moses. In our scripture reading today, Moses was daunted by the mission to which God was calling him but he received God’s assurance that he would be empowered to accomplish his divinely appointed purpose. Moses had to convince the Israelites to follow him out into the wilderness.

He had to convince Pharaoh that 2.5 million slaves had to be let go. He had to convince himself that God actually wanted him to do this. “Who am I?” He was overwhelmed, over his head, and challenged beyond understanding. “What should I tell them? What if they don’t believe me?”

And God said “This is what you are to say to the Israelites. “I am who I am. I am has sent me to you.” Moses soon discovered that one plus God equals a majority. Without question, Moses was one of the greatest leaders of world history. God validated each of Moses’ statements and addressed them.



As Moses concerns went away, so did his resistance to the vision. “Who am I?” God said, in effect, “I have called you and I am doing this. It’s not who you are, but who I am and what I want you to do.”

Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. His authority came from God. I am called to lead this church. My authority comes directly from God. He reached down and grabbed me by the heart and said “I have called you and I am sending you to Sardis.”

And now some of you are feeling a call right now. There are two to lead the men’s ministry. There are two to lead the youth. Why two? Because Jesus sent out the 70, two by two. Where do they get their authority? I give them all the support and authority they need because it was given to me.

The vision is being put in place. God sent his only son down to earth to live among us and to even die for us as a sacrifice for every bad thing we have done in our lives. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he said “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” And now it’s time to go. You have been called. You have your orders. And you have the authority of Jesus Christ who is always with you.

November 5 sermon The Greatest Commandment mark 12

November 5 sermon The Greatest Commandment Mark 12

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to "Where do pets come from?" Adam and Eve said, "LORD, when we were in the garden, YOU walked with us every day. Now we do not see YOU any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much YOU love us."
And GOD said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of MY love for you, so that you will love ME even when you cannot see ME. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."
And GOD created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.And it was a good animal. And GOD was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And GOD said, " I have created this new animal to be a reflection of MY love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him Dog." And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted. And GOD was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail. After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And GOD said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration." And GOD created Cat to be a companion to Adam and Eve. And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.
And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved. And GOD was pleased. And Dog was happy.
And cat didn’t care either way.


What is the greatest commandment?? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and of course love your neighbor as yourself. How do you do that?? The Pharisee wanted to be meticulous in the keeping of all the laws. he’s thinking, “While I’m keeping the law, I want to make sure that the most important one is kept,”.

DO you ever feel that way? If I could just say the right thing to my spouse, she would listen. If I could just sell a few more computers I would make enough on my commission to put a down payment on the house. If I just knew what six numbers to pick, I could win the lottery and all my troubles would be over. If I could just bring in a few more people, the church would not struggle.

If, if, if, if. I don’t think the Pharisee was day dreaming. I think he was wrestling with his life. He was wondering if he was doing the right thing in his life. He wanted to make sure he was justified before God. We all want that. We all want to make sure we “make it” thru the gates. Even if I am sliding into home thru those pearly gates I still made it.



I have a friend up in Nashville who used to say “I’ll be happy just holding the door open for everyone else and being the last one in.” Not worried about status or the mansion on the hill, he just wanted to be in the gates.
So what does the greatest commandment mean? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Just that part right there is very easy. “I love you God. With all my heart I love you. With all my soul I love you. With all my mind I love you. With all my strength I love you.” Whew…..glad I got that in.

Is there more though? We talked a couple weeks ago about selling out for Jesus. Diving in to the deep end instead of walking around in the wading pool. How do I love God with all my heart in the wading pool of spirituality???? Who is the most important person in your life, besides your pastor? Who is the one you want to spend all the time you can….besides your pastor?

Maybe your spouse or your kids. It could be a best friend from college you love to be with. Why do you want to spend so much time with them? What is it about them that makes them so special? At Shriner’s Hospital they have a pet therapy group where the kids will open up by bringing a pet in which brings some home familiarity back.


The animals absorb the children’s focus and alleviate any anxiety. What about that person you have given all your heart too?? When you get married, you want to spend all your time with your spouse. You want to share everything and do everything together.

My niece got married a few months ago. I put together a list of 8 things to know when you get married.
1. You don’t have to be right all the time, even if you are. A friend once said “is this the hill you want to die on.” Just let it go. Trust me.
2. Get away from each other once a month. One person needs to leave for the weekend...go to your mom's, to see a friend across state, to Uncle Bob’s house. But get away from each other. The time away will refresh your marriage and you will see how much you missed the other person when you get back.
3. Money is the biggest thing you will fight over...whether you have any or not. Combine all your $$ in one acct (don't have separate accts). Don't have one person responsible for the bills every month. Do them together, or at least look at them together when the other is writing them out.4. Move out of the town your parents live in. This is true unless BOTH of you have the best relationship with whatever parent lives in town. Mom and dad only want the best for their child, and they will ALWAYS pick their child over the spouse.
You may have thought the show "Everybody Loves Raymond" was funny...it was true.5. Don't get in the family bickering. Whatever mom thinks of dad or dad thinks of Uncle Joe, ignore it. Make your own relationships.
6. This also goes for in-laws bickering. What you tell your mom about your spouse and spouse's family; that is all she knows. If you tell her that "my wife's mom sent a nasty email to us", but you don't tell her about the phone call the next day to apologize and make everything better, mom will always hate the other family. Plus there is always a contest about which family is better. It gets worse when you have kids.7. Live your own life. Your new family comes first now. You do what's best for them. That can be anything including moving across the country or around the world.
8. Focus on God in your marriage. Like my auto-signature on my email says "Party clean, live righteous". It's hard to believe without really experiencing it, but when you look to God in your marriage, in making decisions, in just learning more about Him, he will guide your life more than ever. It's a great thing. Sometimes it seems things are not going like they should, but if you stay focused on God, you will have guidance.


So you probably know how to love your mom or dad or spouse or kids with all of your heart. What about God now? To Love God with all your heart, you believe everything he says to be completely true. That he made you exactly how he wanted you to be. That he does love you, even though he saw everything you did last week.

That he sent his Son Jesus Christ to earth to be the sacrifice to save us from ourselves, and all we have to do is accept Jesus as our savior and live as he lived. To love God with all my heart means to give him dominion over every part of my life; even my heart. That’s a hard thing to do.

I can keep my heart and give everything else. Take the car, the computer, the money in the bank (there’s only about $28 in there anyway). But if I can keep my heart, I can keep my secrets. I can hide my true self.

But when I give my heart to God, it will be true love. Why keep a secret from him. He knows everything anyway. Everything I do in the dark, he sees. In the OT, Jonah was told to go to Ninevah by God. But Jonah’s people hated the Ninevites. So he ran the other way. He got on a ship and went down to the bottom deck and hid in the corner. “God won’t find me here, he thought.” Oh but God did. God had to throw him overboard and have a big fish swallow him for 3 days to get Jonah to listen.
It took a while, but Jonah gave his heart to God. He did what God said. Then he understood the last part of Jesus’ message. “Love your neighbor as yourself”.

When you finally see yourself as God sees you, only then can you start to love your neighbor. You see, God sees you perfect. He doesn’t care about those labels you have put on yourself, or someone else has put on you. He doesn’t care that your nose is crooked, your hair is blue and messed up, you have bad breath.

When you give him your heart, you will start to see as he sees. You look in the mirror and see a beautiful person looking back at you. That is how God sees you. Now you are able to love your neighbor. You see beauty in yourself and then you see beauty in others.



There was a lady named Mary who hated herself. She saw herself as too fat, unmotivated, and not loved. It took time for her to realize that she was beautiful. God loved her. She was ready to change her self-image. She started looking in the mirror each morning and seeing someone she liked.



The more she liked that person, the more she liked the people she met out on the street, even those she had done her best to ignore. A few months later she started working at a homeless shelter downtown. The people she now ministered to were penniless, a different color than her, and they stunk. But she realized that God loved them just like He loved her.

In a week we are getting together to see where the focus of ministry for the church is going. We will be putting together the vision for the church to go with the mission of “Making disciples for Jesus Christ”. We will pray and come together and see where God leads the church. We will find out who our neighbors are; those we must love; those who God loves.

This week, look in the mirror. Look at the man or woman created by God and loved by God. Step outside your box now and see the other people God created. Those are the neighbors he wants you to love. We can love them together. That’s our service today and for every tomorrow.

COMMUNION
Page 12

November 5 sermon The Greatest Commandment Mark 12

November 5 sermon The Greatest Commandment Mark 12

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to "Where do pets come from?" Adam and Eve said, "LORD, when we were in the garden, YOU walked with us every day. Now we do not see YOU any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much YOU love us."
And GOD said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of MY love for you, so that you will love ME even when you cannot see ME. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."
And GOD created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.And it was a good animal. And GOD was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And GOD said, " I have created this new animal to be a reflection of MY love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him Dog." And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted. And GOD was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail. After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And GOD said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration." And GOD created Cat to be a companion to Adam and Eve. And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.
And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved. And GOD was pleased. And Dog was happy.
And cat didn’t care either way.


What is the greatest commandment?? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and of course love your neighbor as yourself. How do you do that?? The Pharisee wanted to be meticulous in the keeping of all the laws. “While I’m keeping the law, I want to make sure that the most important one is kept for sure,” he’s thinking.

DO you ever feel that way? If I could just say the right thing to my spouse, she would listen. If I could just sell a few more computers I would make enough on my commission to put a down payment on the house. If I just knew what six numbers to pick, I could win the lottery and all my troubles would be over. If I could just bring in a few more people, the church would not struggle.

If, if, if, if. I don’t think the Pharisee was day dreaming. I think he was wrestling with his life. He was wondering if he was doing the right thing in his life. He wanted to make sure he was justified before God. We all want that. We all want to make sure we “make it” thru the gates. Even if I am sliding into home thru those pearly gates I still made it.



I have a friend up in Nashville who used to say “I’ll be happy just holding the door open for everyone else and being the last one in.” Not worried about status or the mansion on the hill, he just wanted to be in the gates.
So what does the greatest commandment mean? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Just that part right there is very easy. “I love you God. With all my heart I love you. With all my soul I love you. With all my mind I love you. With all my strength I love you.” Whew…..glad I got that in.

Is there more though? We talked a couple weeks ago about selling out for Jesus. Diving in to the deep end instead of walking around in the wading pool. How do I love God with all my heart in the wading pool???? Who is the most important person in your life, besides your pastor? Who is the one you want to spend all the time you can with….besides your pastor?

Maybe your spouse or your kids. It could be a best friend from college you love to be with. Why do you want to spend so much time with them? What is it about them that makes them so special? I found a website for Best Friends Animal Society. They rescue homeless animals of all shapes and sizes. At Shriner’s Hospital they have a pet therapy group where the kids will open up by bringing a pet in which brings some familiarity back.
The animals absorb the children’s focus and alleviate any anxiety. What about that person you have given all your heart too?? When you get married, you want to spend all your time with your spouse. You want to share everything and do everything together.

My niece got married a few months ago. I put together a list of 8 things to know when you get married.
1. You don’t have to be right all the time, even if you are. A friend once said “is this the hill you want to die on.” Just let it go. Trust me.
2. Get away from each other once a month. One person needs to leave for the weekend...go to your mom's, to see a friend across state, to Uncle Bob’s house. But get away from each other. The time away will refresh your marriage and you will see how much you missed the other person when you get back.
3. Money is the biggest thing you will fight over...whether you have any or not. Combine all your $$ in one acct (don't have separate accts). Don't have one person responsible for the bills every month. Do them together, or at least look at them together when the other is writing them out.4. Move out of the town your parents live in. This is true unless BOTH of you have the best relationship with whatever parent lives in town. Mom and dad only want the best for their child, and they will ALWAYS pick their child over the spouse.
You may have thought the show "Everybody Loves Raymond" was funny...it was very true.5. Don't get in the family bickering. Whatever mom thinks of dad or dad thinks of Uncle Joe, ignore it. Make your own relationships.
6. This also goes for in-laws bickering. What you tell your mom about your spouse and spouse's family; that is all she knows. If you tell her that "my wife's mom send a nasty email to us", but you don't tell her about the phone call the next day to apologize and make everything better, mom will always hate the other family. Plus there is always a contest about which family is better. It gets worse when you have kids.7. Live your own life. Your new family comes first now. You do what's best for them. That can be anything including moving across the country or around the world.
8. Focus on God in your marriage. Like my auto-signature on my email says "Party clean, live righteous". It's hard to believe without really experiencing it, but when you look to God in your marriage, in making decisions, in just learning more about Him, he will guide your life more than ever. It's a great thing. Sometimes it seems things are not going like they should, but if you stay focused on God, you will have guidance.


So you probably know how to love your mom or dad or spouse or kids with all of your heart. What about God now? To Love God with all your heart, you believe everything he says to be completely true. That he made you exactly how he wanted you to be. That he does love you, even though he saw everything you did last week.

That he sent his Son Jesus Christ to earth to be the sacrifice to save us from ourselves, and all we have to do is accept Jesus as our savior and live as he lived. To love God with all my heart means to give him dominion over every part of my life, even my heart. That’s a hard thing to do.

I can keep my heart and give everything else. Take the car, the computer, the money in the bank (there’s only about $28 in there anyway). But if I can keep my heart, I can keep my secrets. I can hide my true self.

But when I give my heart to God, it will be true love. Why keep a secret from him. He knows everything anyway. Everything I do in the dark, he sees. In the OT, Jonah was told to go to Ninevah by God. But Jonah’s people hated the Ninevites. So he ran the other way. He got on a ship and went down to the bottom deck and hid in the corner. “God won’t find me here, he thought.” Oh but God did. God had to throw him overboard and have a big fish swallow him for 3 days to get Jonah to listen.
It took a while, but Jonah gave his heart to God. He did what God said. Then he understood the last part of Jesus’ message. “Love your neighbor as yourself”.

When you finally see yourself as God sees you, only then can you start to love your neighbor. You know, God sees you perfect. He doesn’t care about those labels you have put on yourself, or someone else has put on you. He doesn’t care that your nose is crooked, your hair is blue and messed up, you have bad breath.

When you give him your heart, you will start to see as he sees. You look in the mirror and see a beautiful person looking back at you. That is how God sees you. Now you are able to love your neighbor. You see beauty in yourself and then you see beauty in others.

Do you like what you see when you look in the mirror? If not, what needs to change? You can’t love and you can’t live like Jesus until you like the person staring back at you.

There was a lady named Mary who hated herself. She saw herself as too fat, unmotivated, and not loved. It took time for her to realize that she was beautiful. God loved her. She was ready to change her image. She started looking in the mirror each morning and seeing someone she liked.
The more she liked that person, the more she liked the people she met out on the street, even those she had done her best to ignore. A few months later she started working at a homeless shelter downtown. The people she now ministered to were pennyless, a different color than her, and they stunk. But she realized that God loved them just like He loved her.

In a week we are getting together to see where the focus of ministry for the church is going. We will be putting together the vision for the church to go with the mission of “Making disciples for Jesus Christ”. We will pray and come together and see where God leads the church. We will find out who our neighbors are; those we must love; those who God loves.

This week, look in the mirror. Look at the man or woman created by God and loved by God. Step outside your box now and see the other people God created. Those are the neighbors he wants you to love. We can love them together. That’s our service today.

COMMUNION
Page 12