“Debt Free – Blessing the Poor”

September 6 “Debt Free – Blessing the Poor” Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23,*James 2.1-10 Jacqueline Hines

Like most Americans, you know how easy it is to get over our heads in debt. We can get into debt just trying to live a decent life, especially when the job market takes a dive or prices skyrocket. We cherish the thought of being debt free. 

In biblical days, those who incurred a debt, were condemned to a type of slavery until the last payment. It was not pretty. Today, it is not uncommon to think of ourselves as slaves, working for car payments, our credit cards, mortgages, and other debt – some more necessary than others.

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley lived in a very poor home as a child. His father, Samuel Wesley, was the Anglican priest in one of England’s lowest-paying parishes. He had nine children to support and was rarely out of debt. At the age of two John saw his father being marched off to debtors’ prison. The banker laws of that day allowed such penalties.

We all cherish the idea of being debt free, but of all our debts we have in life, we want to be debt-free with our God. We want to have our matters settled with God. We want God to rule our financial affairs as well as all our affairs.

As a professor at Oxford, John Wesley made a lot more money than he had when he was growing up. His days of poverty were over quickly. He could afford to spend all he wanted -as one record shows - on playing cards, tobacco and brandy*. Soon, though, he was moved by the Holy Spirit and his perspective on money changed.

He had just finished paying for some pictures for his room when one of the chambermaids came to his door. It was a cold winter day, and he noticed that she had nothing to protect her except a thin linen gown. He reached into his pocket to give her some money to buy a coat but found he had too little left. Immediately, the thought struck him that the Lord was not pleased with the way he had spent his money. He asked himself, Will thy Master say, “Well done, good and faithful steward?” Thou hast adorned thy walls with the money which might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O justice! O mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?*

Such experiences led to his most famous teaching: “Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.”

James preaches to the people of God in verse 6, ‘Do not dishonor the poor.’ All humanity knows what it is to be poor in one way or another. 

Did not Jesus say, “The poor you have with you always.”

The word for “poor” in this morning’s text is  Ptochos (pto-khos').

To be poor has a wide range of meanings. To be poor is to be reduced to begging, asking for help, destitute of wealth or learning, having no influence, without a place or position of honor. To be poor means to be lowly and afflicted.

To be poor also means to be without Christian values and their blessings, to be without eternal riches. To be poor can be helpless and powerless to change your situation, to be stuck, to be needy, to lack spiritual strength. To be poor is to lack anything.

 God is on the side of the poor. We especially hear this when Jesus declares, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.” 

Bethel’s book club is reading a book entitled What is so Blessed about Being Poor?

We can all answer that question. What is so blessed about being poor? For, just as we are confident of God’s presence and blessings when we are enjoying an abundance of provisions or love or opportunities, whenever we are suffering or experiencing lack, we can also find God’s blessings. We can be confident that even though we do not have something we need, God never leaves us empty handed. We are still blessed in deep and abiding ways. The Laws of God are on the side of whoever is poor, whenever we are poor, wherever we are poor, however we are poor.

The news is paying a lot of attention to all kinds of laws these days. Immigration laws are stirring our hearts. We all have strong feelings and strong fears. God is on the side of the poor immigrants and encourages us to do right by those who are in need.

We felt the tension of the woman who decided she was not going to follow the law and issue a license to a same sex couple. Did God really ask her to do that? What would you do in that situation?

What does the word of God say to us when we are seeking love? Whether we look back and decide that we have made a good choice or a bad choice, God is a jealous God and insists on being our first love no matter who else we are called to or choose to love. Our relationship with God thrives when we allow nothing to come between us and our love for God.

Albert Tindley put it well in a song: Nothing between, like pride or station;

Self or friends shall not intervene;

Though it may cost me much tribulation,

I am resolved, there’s nothing between.

Just like God is on the side of the poor immigrants, God is on the side of the poor lonely person looking for love. God is on the side of the poor whoever and whatever the poor can be found.  And, God is calling us to also be on the side of the poor.

Whatever choices we make may sound ridiculous or extreme or too easy for some, but our moral and other financial choices are ultimately for God to judge. Every choice we make or every response we make to another person’s choice is ultimately judged by an all-knowing, all-loving, all-seeing God. Like Jesus, even with our best judgment, we come first of all not to judge the world, but to do whatever we are assigned to help save the world. Yes, we do need to judge

but with a right judgment, a loving judgment and a judgment that understands that God is the ultimate judge of all.

Because John Wesley saw the faces of the poor and no doubt heard the loud cries of anguish and distress that God also heard, he left us a legacy of giving that is still part of the Methodist Church today. Wesley’s journal shows his income was 30 pounds one year and his living expenses 28 pounds, leaving two pounds for the poor.

When his income increased, he still tithed, but he did not raise his standard of living; he raised his standard of giving. He dedicated himself to living simply so that others could simply live.

God is calling us to deeper depths and higher heights to be a blessing to the poor, whether they be poor in finances or poor in some spiritual manner – needing a kind word, a gentle rebuke, a warm presence.

One of the blessings of being your pastor is always hearing you talk about the many ways God has richly blessed you and hearing about the many ways you are answering God’s call to be a blessing to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations.

Scriptures say that when we give to the poor, we lend to the Lord. As individuals, we have given to the poor. As families and as a congregation we have answered the call to give to the poor, and the Lord has repaid us with interest. Our debt of love has been paid again and again. This is a good thing because Scriptures tell us to owe no one anything except to love them.

It is a very good thing for Christians to strive to be debt free in every way possible. Being debt free is a great Christian testimony when it means we are living within our means, when we are living simply that others can simply live. Debt free is good spiritual living. More importantly, answering God’s call to give to the poor, makes us debt free with God.

When we give our all, we make room for the tremendous blessings of God that God is always pouring into our lives. Amen.

 *https://pastorpeterko.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/john-wesley-on-money/

August 16th Pray - for Bread

August 16, 2015  Psalm 111, *John 6.51-58 “Pray - for Bread” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

This week was full of the excitement of Vacation Bible School. From the Shick Shack to the sanctuary we were surrounded by the most beautiful pictures and biblical words that remind us that God is creator, provider, protector, savior, and king! [slide # 1 VBS ]The week was intense and afterwards everyone needed a rest. [ slide #2 rest ]

In this morning’s lesson from the gospel of John, Jesus invites us along with the disciples to abide in him or to be with him in intense ways. We are invited to times of Vacation Bible School or spiritual retreats or Sunday worship or daily devotions that fills us to the brim with God’s presence and God’s goodness and whatever else God has for us.

He invites us to be full, [ slide #3 Jesus knocking] to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, what we know as communion. We are invited to fully and intensely embrace the flesh and blood of Jesus. The crowd that gathered hearing these words of Jesus wondered what Jesus meant by eating his flesh and blood. They were thinking concretely. They were thinking of the flesh, the soft system of muscles and veins that cover our bones. They were thinking of the blood that comes out of our pores when our flesh is injured and damaged.

Jesus was not speaking concretely. He was speaking figuratively and spiritually. Jesus was inviting them to ingest his divine nature, to crave his righteousness, to feast on his words, to enjoy his directions, and to devour his love.  John 6. 57 ”Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, [ slide #4 abide in me] and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.”

We often remember what a wonderful thing it is to have Jesus in our hearts. But, this verse reminds us that we are also in the heart of Jesus, too.  “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me…or as the CEB version says: remains in me or is one with me as the CEV version says.

Our God carries us in his heart. We are close to the heart of God. It is common to see babies wrapped and strapped close to the body of a parent. [ slide # 5 baby wrapped] They are so close as to feel each other’s hearts beat. They are so close as to hear the pulse and the impulse of one another. Our God carries us in his heart. We are close to the heart of God. John 6. 57 ”Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. [slide #6 Resting on Jesus’ shoulder]

That is why when we complain to God about another child of God, we are offensive to God. That is why when we refuse to forgive and love another child of God, we are not forgiven; we are still indebted to God and one another. If we owe a debt of love, we ought to pay that debt. And, if we abide in him and he abides in us, we will have the strength and the insight to move in the direction of forgiveness and love. [ slide #7 if we really want to love….]

The older I get, the more complicated this world seems to be. Just when we think we have it all figured out, we see the devil has new tricks up his sleeve that shock and confound us. You may have seen in this week’s news that this young Mississippi couple, Jaelyn Young and Muhammed Dakhlalla.  [ slide #8 photos of couple] described by one judge as “sheltered” got married and planned to have their honeymoon in Syria and join Isis.  The news reminds us that every family needs the light of Jesus, because dark clouds can arrive at any time.

We cannot escape the dark of this world. Dark clouds are to be expected every now and then. The only way to be secure in the dark is to stay close to the one who is the light of the world, the one who shows us the way, who reveals to us the truth, and who defeats death with life. He is the bread of life!

Let this be the day that you remember you are close to the heart of God and there is love and light enough to see your way through the deepest darkness. Let this be the day you remember to turn to God no matter what. [ slide #9 u  turn ] Amen.

August 2nd Pray - for Deliverance

August 2   2 Samuel 11.26-12.13a, *Ephesians 4.1-16 “Pray – for Deliverance” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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Our text this morning finds the Apostle Paul in verse 1, begging God’s people to live a life worthy of the calling to which they have been called. Paul was begging them, as he suffered in his prison cell. He begged them to listen to God with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. He was begging them to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul was like God. Throughout scriptures God begs us worshippers to examine our lives, to be humble, gentle, patient in ways that create a loving and peaceful and united atmosphere.

That is a tall order for any of us. The good news is that according to verse 7, all of us whether small or great have a measure of grace. That is, we all have something in our hands and in our hearts that helps us create an atmosphere that is loving and peaceful, that is filled with humility, gentleness, unity and peace. We have it and God is blessed when we use it.

This week I have been reflecting on the idea that God designed us with a sense of urgency in mind. Paul is begging God’s people because the needs are urgent. So much of what God has created is created in urgency. The urgency in our lives reminds us that we depend on God. We depend on God for our every breath, our every heartbeat, our every drink of water, every meal, every kind word, and every gentle gesture.

Our needs are urgent because if we go a day or two without our basic needs being met, then we move quickly into a crisis mode, a mode of deprivation and even suffering.

We have all been in a crisis mode. We all know what it feels like to lack and be deprived of something or someone. We have all suffered in one way or another.

Our needs are constant. That is how God created us, and God is always with us in our crisis, our need, and our suffering. So, in trusting God we remember that God is everywhere and has something for us to bless us in our time of need. Our need is great and so is our God.

For God is above us and below us, the one who as verse 9 reminds us, ascends and descends. We do not have to look far to see that we are surrounded by the majestic and the mysterious. Our God is an awesome God! So when Paul begs us to speak the truth in love, in verse 15, we know we have access to Divine power that enables us to speak the truth in love.

Our words have power. Just as God created with a word, according to John that says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Our words have power. Every word we speak creates. Every move we make creates something. Every word we speak creates something. There are times we want to be silent and God wants us to speak. There are times we want to speak and God wants us to be silent. God, has a purpose and a plan. For God’s sake, we need to speak when it is time to speak and be silent when it is time to be silent.

What happens when we pray before we speak? When we pray before we speak, the spiritual fruit of self-control becomes stronger and stronger, and that is a good thing.

We have power to speak. We have power to speak the truth. Truth can be very elusive and complicated like an onion with many layers. We know that the truth is the light and that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

At times the truth is stranger than fiction. At times the truth is hard to swallow and hard to believe, nevertheless, the truth does set us free when it is spoken in loving ways.

A woman shared the story that she was not as close to her father as she longed to be. When he was well into his senior years, she dared to share with him gently some of her most sacred truths. At the end of one loving, truth-telling conversation she suddenly burst into tears, hugged her father with all her might, and felt relieved of a burden that had shackled her and her family for decades.

We can speak by the power of God. We can speak the truth and we can speak the truth in love. The truth is so powerful that we do well to speak carefully and prayerfully.

Speaking the truth can lead to a war of words, a war of the heart, according to Pastor Paul Tripp. When we have something hard to say, those words should be spoken for God’s sake more than our sake and our selfish will.

As we are motivated by love we speak without calling names, without put downs, and without threats. Truth stays pure because it is not bent and twisted by motivations such as fear, envy, greed, selfishness, or anger.

Pastor Tripp tells the story of his 16 year old son Justin who was very easy to parent. He was easier since Tripp believes a parent’s job is to stir up our children’s gifts and build in them a sense of their need to change for God’s sake.

Justin was going to spend a weekend with friends, but he asked a friend to lie for him because he was planning to go somewhere else.

By Saturday night, his friend felt so guilty for lying for Justin that he told his mom and his mom called the Tripp home. Pastor Tripp answered the phone. When he got off the phone he says he was livid. He walked upstairs to his wife Luella and said, “Guess where our son is…” and he told her he was not where he said he would be. She could hear the sarcasm is his voice; looking at his face, she said, “I think you should pray.” He said, “I don’t think I can even pray for my son, now.” Luella said, “No. You should pray for you!”

After prayer, he calmed down enough to realize God was clearly working in the details of this family situation. The friend felt guilty enough for lying for Justin. His mom was responsible enough to call his parents and his wife heard God’s call to pray in the nick of time.

When Justin came home, instead of getting up in his son’s face, he waited a few hours, went to his room, asked him to turn the stereo down so they could talk. He calmly began by asking, “Justin, did you ever think about on your average weekend how much God loves you? One thing led to another and Justin said, “Who told you, Dad…?”

He went on to tell his son that he had made some good choices and was living a good life. “You have been living in the light, but tonight you took a step toward darkness. You manipulated your friends, told stories that were not true…why do you want to choose that?” After speaking calmly, he turned to leave hoping his son would reflect seriously on his life.

When he reached the door, he heard his son say, “Dad, don’t leave.” Tears were streaming down his face as he said, “I want to live in the light but it is so hard. Can you help me?” That son was reconciled to God and to his family. Something was created and it was very good!

This father was glad that he did not speak to his wayward son with inflammatory words while the veins were bulging on the side of his neck, or with darts of rage flashing like lightening in his mind. He was glad.

A certain mother was separated from her husband for four years. They had a son in college who had been lying about going to class. When she found out, she gave her son the option to go to school, get a job or get out. So, he moved in with his dad and he became very distant to his mom.

She was in great anguish and feared losing her son, and wondered if she should remain distant or pursue her son. Wise counselors advised her to pursue – send an occasional text and greeting card and wait for him to grow up and come back to the mother who had invested many years of love into his life, which he would eventually appreciate.

The counselors gave her hope that she could one day have a conversation where she would be able to ask him what she did to hurt him and he would be able to tell her clearly and they would be reconciled as mother and son once again. Speaking the truth in love is not easy, it may even take time, but it always creates something good. Amen.

June 28 2015 Heal the Lambs, Feast on Love

June 28, 2015“Heal the Lambs, Feast on Love” Mark 5.21-43 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

A great crowd gathered around Jesus. [ slide # 1 crowd around Jesus  ]  He was the talk of the town. They gathered around him like those who gather around the 6 o’clock news to see what in the world is going to happen next. [slide #2 news desk   ]

Breaking news from Mark 5 verse 35. Bad news  - a 12 year old has been declared dead at the scene in Northern Palestine. She was the daughter of a prominent leader. Stay tuned for the latest details.

By the time most heard the news, the cameras were rolling, family members could be seen crying and consoling one another. The scriptures say they were wailing loudly. Some cultures have reputations for being louder than others. Every culture is louder at some times more than others.

The Middle East during Jesus’ time hired mourners to make a loud and respectable display to honor the deceased. That way a great impression would be made in the minds of the public. It would in some way reflect the great love they had for their loved one. Hired mourners, of course, were like hired musicians and hired actors. They were very important, even necessary in helping the entire community have an experience that was meaningful and memorable when someone died.

Jesus entered the house of the little girl, but he did not come to express sympathy. Instead he told the crowd that the girl was not dead. She was sleeping. [  slide # 3 sleeping girl ]  A few folks in the corner could be heard sucking their teeth, grunting, and rolling their eyes in derision, mockery, and scorn. “There he is again, talking that spiritual talk. Somebody tell him that we have no interest in that foolishness?”[slide # 4 contempt face ]

Even today, the world sees our spiritual talk as foolishness. The last few weeks have been unbelievably difficult for our nation. It seems like a lot of foolishness. From around the globe, people can be seen consoling one another, crying, and wailing loudly, for the massacre in Charleston and so many other situations. Just when we thought we were making strides toward justice and peace - our hope seem to die again.

But, in every circumstance Jesus shows up to say, ‘Hope is not dead, it is just asleep.’  [ slide # 5 hope is not dead ]

When I first arrived in Bethel I had the greatest welcome in town. The café and the congregation was filled to overflowing with well-wishers and cookies, cakes, and quiche. It felt good. A few years later, the welcome is still wonderful and my family members and guests have commented on many, many occasions that they can tell that Bethel Church sincerely loves their pastor. That is a wonderful thing to say about a church. [slide # 6 I love my pastor ] 

We can appreciate what one young white man said about Charleston, the city where he lives. He said that the murderer who killed 9 people in church because he wanted to start a race riot, picked the wrong city.

The murderer chose Charleston precisely because there were no skinheads or others doing dastardly deeds of hate that needed to be done if blacks were to be kept in their place – under the control of whites. There was just some white supremacist talk on the internet. Nobody was actually beating people up, killing them, making sure they were not sitting in the front of the bus, or holding any positions of authority over whites, or being made to feel invisible, unimportant and unworthy.

If you have ever been to a United Methodist anti-racism workshop, Commission on the Status and Role of Women event, or an SPRC training for cross-racial appointments, you understood the isms to be defined as prejudice plus power.     [ slide # 7 prejudice plus power] If we simply believe we are more valuable than other people, then our belief can be defined as a prejudice. But, if we use our power to mistreat someone based on our prejudice, then that act is an act of racism.  

It takes a huge amount of support day after day and year after year to commit any evil. Evil needs a whole lot of individuals to accomplish anything. Think about ALL the effort it took to help two New York murderers escape from prison, by putting tools in hamburger meat [ slide # 8 burger] or to cover up sexual misconduct [ slide # 9 red headed Sandusky victim ]and domestic abuse in the church or among athletes.  [slide # 10 Ray Rice and fiancé]

It takes a village to grow wickedness, to be the right city or church, or family where evil is accepted and tolerated. It only takes a spark to get the evil going. And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. Just like it is with God’s love.  Once you’ve accepted hate. You want to spread that hate to everyone. You want to pass it on.

It is not easy to be the church that can resist evil in all its various forms. Some days are harder than others. Every day is a day when we are tested to the limit to put our faith in love versus hate, prejudice without power, and to resist the violence of silence.   [slide # 11 silence – war crime]

When the isms call on Bethel we want to be able to say with confidence and evidence, “You have the wrong church.” We want every decision we make show the children and show the world that hope is not dead, even though it may have been asleep at one time.

Verse 41 of Mark’s gospel says that Jesus took the little girl that seemed to be dead by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). [ slide # 12 little girl getting up ] Jesus instructed someone to give her something to eat.

Surely, we will be able to hear our Lord’s voice each time we are called to get up, stand up, and speak up in ways that let hate know, “Our hope in justice is not dead. You have the wrong church. Love is very much alive. As we feast on love, all God’s lambs experience healing in one way or another to one degree or another.  [slide # 13 black and white lambs]. “  Let the healing begin with us. Amen. [slide # 14 keep love alive]

Be a Dad, Honor the Father June 21 Father's Day

June 21 2015 Father’s Day Pastor Jacqueline Hines, Mark 4.35-41 “Be a Dad, Honor the Father”

Like Jesus, when our lives are crowded we want to get away – by plane [slide # plane] or train [slide #2 train]  or even boat [slide #3 boat]. Jesus and the disciples left a crowd behind and took a boat to the other side of the lake. It was evening; the sun was about to set, but they were well on their way to the other side – the quiet side.

There may be fathers here today who know what it is to have a day crowded with activity, crowded with the needs of others. And, you can so appreciate a little quiet like Jesus planned that day.

They wanted quiet but a storm broke out. They began to wonder if the Jesus they had so faithfully followed, would save them as he had on many occasions. The storm had them at the end of their rope and they woke Jesus up saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” [slide #4 Jesus sleeping in the boat] He did not answer them because they had already learned the lesson.

Don’t be surprised when God does not answer a question that has already been answered. One songwriter had the answer, [slide #5 cast your cares]

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth or song,

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain:

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares.

Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm….  

Being a dad is being in the boat with Jesus. Being a dad means honoring the father, praying, serving, living like you know there is a God. Being a dad is having all the power you need to calm the sea and stop the wind according to God’s will.

Mother Theresa won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor whom she called ‘great people who have much to teach the world.’ When she was asked how we could have world peace, she said, “Go home, and love your families.”

Jesus spoke to the sea, saying “Peace! Be still!”   [slide #6 Jesus calming the storm from the boat]

How we need that peace in our boats, today. We need fathers who can bring the peace that Jesus brings to our hearts, our homes, on the job, at school, at play. A father in the boat with Jesus learns some lessons and can say to our restless seas, “Peace! Be still!”

A good father can also rebuke the wind like Jesus did. There is a classic dynamic in families wherein a mother might exclaim to her children whose behavior is out of control, “Just wait until your father gets home.”

There is something powerful about the boundary line that Jesus draws for the wayward winds in us. For when the children of God are out of bounds, the game of life is no longer fair, and precious celebrations are forfeited.

Jesus gives fathers the power to rebuke the winds like Jesus did and to bring order where there is disorder, to bring health where there is dis-ease, and to bring justice where there is injustice.

When fathers are in the boat with Jesus, they know what to do in every storm. [slide #7 Jesus standing tall in boat] They know to look to the one that cares, the one that even the wind and sea obeys. [slide #8 smile at the storm] Amen.

March 29 2015 Palm Sunday and Youth Sunday - Give It UP - Guest Room

March 29 2015  Give It Up – the Guest Room” Mark 11.8-11, 14.13-16 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

The bible makes a BIG deal about hospitality. We all know how a warm welcome and tasty treats makes us feel good. Sharing pleasantries and feeling accepted for who we are is God’s way of building all of us up to be better together than we are alone. The bible makes a VERY BIG deal about hospitality. [slide # 1 umbrella]

Jesus knows well how delightful it is to be welcomed, to have others roll out the red carpet, to be received with glad smiles and open arms. Jesus knows. On Palm Sunday a crowd cheered him as he rode into the city. It was a holy parade, an awe inspiring and happy moment. It was exciting and God was pleased! [slide # 2 yellow welcome ]

Lord knows if you are going to measure up to God’s high standards for welcoming – even strangers – you need a whole lot of wisdom and discernment. This is exactly what Jesus had when he sent two of his disciples on an errand in verse 13:

13So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” 15He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ [ slide #3 verses 13-15 ]

Jesus had all the wisdom and discernment to direct God’s people on how to prepare for a gathering. He knew who to ask, what to ask, where to ask, and when to ask in order to get the preparations in order. [slide #4 key ] Like Jesus we are using that same wisdom and discernment in constantly making preparations. We too want to celebrate God’s blessings of deliverance and provision. That is why we gather together at the communion table and why we share testimonies. We too want to eat good spiritual food and prepare a feast for those who hunger for God. That is why we study, pray, and serve in missions together.

We gather, not simply as children of the most high God on an ordinary day, but we gather in a guest room because the occasion of being together is special, because we are special and our experience is special and always extraordinary. We gather so that we can nurture one another and support one another. Gathering is how we grow strong in the Lord, strong enough to stand in the day of testing, strong enough to stay so united that our enemies will find no loopholes in our covenant with one another. [ slide #5 loopholes]

It is our joy to gather. God intends that we have joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. It is also our need to gather. We need to be in the presence of God in order to grow and mature as disciples. We need the wisdom that we glean while mingling, serving, and worshipping with others who have the Holy Spirit living in them and around them. We need to be together at the same table, not only for those who already have faith, but for those who are ready to confess their faith for the first time.

Every year churches are asked to report the bottom line of their ministry. We are asked to tell how we have prepared a blessing for those who are hungry and homeless. We are asked to show how we have prepared a place in our heart for those who are new converts, people who come to the table from no religious background, a non-Christian background or no official church home.

We are asked whom we are inviting to this table. We welcome others for fellowship with us in the Holy Spirit. We welcome them for power to do good deeds in a world filled with evil.

One church with a budget of $1.6 million began to seek God for new priorities in their missions. They thought they needed God’s guidance because after an entire year, they thought they wanted to launch out into deep waters and seek God’s guidance to broaden their pool of invitations, to see who God was calling them to invite.

Youth Sunday is our reminder that it is good to prepare a special space for those who are young.  We have reserved space for them to be themselves and share what God is doing in their lives. We are blessed beyond measure to worship with so many youth. God is pleased.

May the Holy Spirit put in each of our hearts the names and faces of others who are ready for our invitation to the place that we, by the grace of God, are preparing for them, a place where they can find rest for their souls [slide #6 resting with God] and a feast for every place they hunger. [slide #7 bowls  ]  May it be so today. Amen. [slide # 8 resting in grass ]

March 22 2015 Give It Up - FORGIVE

March 22 2015 “Give It Up – Forgive” Jeremiah 31.31-34 Jacqueline Hines

Kyle, a college student, pale and bald from chemo treatments, was rolling his mother in her wheel chair in a movie theater. When they reached the wheel chair row, [slide #1 wheel chair] he grabbed the rail and struggled to pull himself up one step to the seat. There was a lady sprawled in the aisle seat in front of him. Kyle said, “Excuse me, would you mind moving down one?   

She hiked her feet up on the railing and barely gave him a glance. “This is my seat,” she said.

“My mom’s in a wheelchair. And my brother and grandma are coming. I’d like to sit behind them, but I can’t climb over you.”

“Not moving,” she said, turning her back, without even offering to step into the aisle so he could get to the empty seat beside her. “No.” She crossed her arms and looked him right in the face.

Resisting the temptation to act like the demon possessed star in the movie The Exorcist, the family did wonder if they had ever been so cruel as this woman was to them.

*They had been taught to “be kind all the time, no matter what. Turn your empathy on high. Look around for others who are hurting and go out of your way to make a small difference in their day. We have no idea what someone else is dealing with, they thought. And we have to encourage each other and stick together.” They were careful never to share words that had an R-rating. This family has mastered the art of forgiveness.

Yale Professor and Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf [slide # 2 photo of Miroslav Volf] in his book Free of Charge – giving and forgiving in a culture stripped of Grace, says that there are three types of persons in this world: takers, getters, and givers. The takers take what they want illicitly and immorally. The getters are out to get all they are supposed to get, fairly, morally. The givers identify and condemn injustice and demand what is due them, but they don’t let what is owed them stop them from giving.

More than anything, God is a giver, says Volf. Everything we have comes from God. If we believe that - we are demonstrating our faith, and if we have faith, we will be grateful, and if we are grateful we will make ourselves available to be a blessing, and if we make ourselves available, we will participate with God’s people - the Church, and if we participate, we will give freely as God gives - including giving forgiveness.

We forgive because we are in a delightful covenant that God described to the prophet Jeremiah: [slide #3 Jeremiah]

33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. [ slide # 4 for I will forgive…]

We can forgive because forgiveness is one of the gifts [ slide #5 gift ] we have received from God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. [slide #6 all have sinned] We have forgiveness and we are to give it to others as freely as God gives it to us. God does not just give; God gives liberally.  [ slide #7 showers of blessings]

Being extremely poor and severely afflicted has no ultimate power to keep us from being givers like God; being wealthy does not make us great givers. Being in God’s presence [slide #8 man in sunshine ] transforms us and frees us to give like God gives. [slide # 9 children giving]

God’s good gifts can be threatened with ruin when we are exposed to a lot of spiritual pollution. For example, there are video games [ slide # 10 video store] that encourage players to be vengeful, ruthless, shoot or kill anyone, steal anything, enjoy anything and anybody anyway you want, whenever you want. These actions cause a lot of damage and hurt feelings, but forgiving generously is not a part of the world’s game plan. [ slide # 11 map]

God moves by a whole different set of rules. One of the biggest rules is to forgive. [ slide # 12 forgiveness ] By asking us to forgive, God is not asking us to pretend that an injustice has not been done to us. In fact, we need to identify and name any evil. When God asks us to forgive, God reminds us that we must condemn sin, but God is the avenger, and we are not.  

The innumerable inhumane acts referenced in world history and today’s news are unspeakably horrible… [slide # 13 tear ] Forgiving can be excruciatingly painful and difficult. Deep wounds require deep healing. [ slide # 14 God heals] But, forgiving heals the body of Christ because it purges us of the resentment and bitterness that poison our lives and threaten to turn our church into a country club and make our ministry irrelevant. Forgiveness helps to mend broken relationships. Who wants to be broken when we can be healed? [ slide # 15 forgiveness heals]

Forgiving is not forgetting. The pain and memory of our injuries may last for more than one generation, [slide #16 generation] even though the resentment and bitterness are long gone. [slide # 17 when you forgive…]

The quality of our church reflects the quality of our relationships. [slide # 18 healthy relationships] Healthy relationships make for a healthy church. Who does not want a healthy church? Let today be the day we take the next step toward God’s presence that helps us forgive. [slide # 19 green bud] 

After all, God forgives all our slime and grime. What a gift! Let’s share it! [slide # 20 if you really… ]  Amen.

*Lori Freeland.  lafreeland.com.