“Love Appears” Pastor Hines February 6, 2022

 

“Love Appears”

Pastor Hines

February 6, 2022

How many of us have seen beautiful artwork with Jesus looking beautifully divine? His blue eyes and golden blonde hair inspire us. As well, we are inspired by Jesus as a man of color  and Jesus as an Asian. 

When I lived in Philadelphia, I heard of the Norman Rockwell Museum which no longer exists. His paintings attracted me. I even have this one on my wall in the office. When I did not see any people of color in any of his paintings that I saw, I was not offended, I just wanted to see the richness of his gift with faces that were as dark as mine, so I wrote the museum and asked if any existed. They sent me this picture. There was no note, no explanation, just the picture. I could not help wonder if they were offended that I even asked. It was not my intention to offend or protest; I just wanted to see his extraordinary, God-given gift expressed in brown faces. 

 

How we see and what we see makes a world of difference in our lives. What we see effects our self-esteem and our esteem for others. The Apostle Paul reminds his church in Corinth that people saw Jesus after Jesus rose from the dead. It is critical that all understand that Jesus is not ordinary, but extraordinary.

Corinth was like a city some have called a “Sin City” In a “sin city.” Everybody and anybody was doing anything and everything, whether good or evil. Apostle Paul was the first preacher that the Corinthians had ever heard. They knew little about Jesus until Paul spoke to them. That’s big. You can imagine that talking about having right relationships and spending time in prayer and tithing and respecting all people no matter their religion or race did not make Paul very popular at all. No it did not. He was persecuted and criticized, but he knew his message was one that could save anybody and everybody from their sinful ways. How wonderful it is to be saved!!! Surely you know someone right now that needs to be saved, delivered, and relieved of some burden great or small.

Paul helped them to see Jesus for who he is, a loving savior to those who want to be saved. Paul reminded the church, beginning in verse 5, that after Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared in all his loving glory first to Peter, then the twelve disciples, then a crowd of 500, then to his brother James, then to all the apostles (unnamed church leaders), and finally to Paul himself.

So Paul’s words to the church beg the question. Have YOU seen Jesus? The only time I can say that I saw Jesus was when I was sitting on the floor exercising. I had been hit by a car while crossing off Broad Street a couple blocks from where I worked as a social worker at United Methodist Neighborhood Services for three years after graduating from college. Just a little tap on my thigh from a 2000 pound vehicle landed me in the street in the middle of the day. I recall the panicked woman driver declaring how I just walked right into her car as she was turning the corner. Then a sweet man gently asked me if I could somehow get out of the middle of the street because I was blocking traffic. I was stunned, but I was able to do just that – move a couple feet onto the sidewalk. I did not need an ambulance but I did have a few weeks of therapy and with the help of a lawyer suggested by a “frenemy” received a check for $600.

A few months, after weeks of therapy, I was taking a long walk and felt my leg tighten until I thought I would not be able to walk back home. It was not a neighborhood that I wanted to be helpless and alone in. Knowing this might happen again, I began to pray daily for God to help me. I did not have health insurance. I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to do certain stretches that enabled me to walk without losing my strength.

Through the years, stretching has given me strength. One day, as I sat on the floor stretching, I saw a flash of the typical white-robed Jesus, quiet, peaceful and beautiful. He was beautiful – not because of his features but because of the love that thoroughly enveloped me. Love appeared. I clearly understood that I was being blessed and that stretching was an important part of taking care of the body that God had given me in order to do ministry and enjoy life. Seeing Jesus that day encourages my soul in a mighty way to this day.

What’s your story? Have you seen Jesus in a dream? In a vision? In a moment of meditation or service? In artwork like Henry Ossawa Tanner another Philadelphia artist who saw Jesus in his painting entitled, “The Saviour?” 

Seeing is believing. Seeing strengthens our faith. Seeing stirs up the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in our lives. Seeing Jesus changes lives. When your family, neighbors, friends and strangers see Jesus in you, you best believe it matters, and it matters a whole lot, it matters more than you think, it matters deep down. 

May it be that all of us can see our God, the God who is ready to bless us with saving and resurrecting power for any problem in our lives, the God “who stays” as one contemporary song says. 

One of my daily prayers is that we would stir up our spiritual gifts and use our unique gifts. Seeing Jesus stirs us, motivates us, drives us into the loving arms of the one who saves, drives us into the loving presence of those who care, drives us into sweet surrender and regular repentance that resurrects us and empowers to live life and to live it more abundantly! Sooner or later, in one way or another, you will see Jesus if you have not already. Love appears. Believe it. Give thanks for it. Pass it on. Amen.

 

 

January 30, 2022 Youth Sunday Message is shared Quaker style Pastor Jacqueline Hines

 

January 30, 2022

Youth Sunday Message is shared Quaker style

Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Jeremiah 1.4-10 

People are called in many ways. God has so many ways. Have you every sensed God calling you to do something? Have you ever had a conversion experience that led to your serving God? I was at Eastern College in prayer and was left speechless…felt full of God’s love and God’s wanting me to serve with power and purpose.

Jeremiah was called when he was young and lacked confidence, but God put God’s words in Jeremiah’s mouth and can do the same for any of us.  

Harriet Tubman answered her call to rescue dozens of slaves from bondage after she was beat in the head for refusing to tie up another slave. She began to have seizures, see visions and felt she heard God guiding her on her underground railroad to freedom.

Anna Shaw felt God’s call to be a preacher, and in spite of social challenges with insults and rejection of her being a women in the pulpit, she answered her call. In 1873, the Methodist Church “voted unanimously to grant her a local preacher’s license.

 Psalm 71

Has the Lord delivered you from a person or situation? There is an old prayer of gratitude that says, “Thank you Lord for delivering us from dangers seen and unseen.” Once I was traveling with a good friend from time to time. We liked being together, but he was finding it harder and harder to depend upon the Lord and he was doing his own thing. On one occasion, we were planning a 6 hour drive and I had a dream that there was a terrible explosion. The dream warned me not to go. Fortunately, I listened. My friend went and sure enough, he became a victim of violence that was completely avoidable if he had made the right choice.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve made my share of poor choices. This time, I was blessed to listen and avoid the chaos that Satan has prepared for us. The light and way of God provided a refuge for me and saved me from certain, hurt, harm, and danger. That’s a good thing.

 1Corinthians 13

Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

God has so much love for us. This day, I especially remember the prayers God has put on my heart.

Prayer for youth – Have mercy upon our youth and young adults who come and go from home, school, work, worship, and enrichment activities. Anoint them with fire, bless them to be your witnesses, bless them to return to you, deliver them from resentment, fornication, adultery, abortion, abductions, and addictions.

Deliver our children from ill health and poverty.

Prayer for couples – Anoint marriages with fervor and truth.

Prayer changes things and it changes us.

Luke 4.21-30

We live in an angry world –Charles Stanly – Surviving in an Angry World.  

He was abused by his step father…abuse comes with anger. He was healed. Jesus wants us to tap into healing. Turning to God is always the answer.

May it be so today.

I trust the scriptures and opportunities to reflect in the way of the Quaker Meetings is a blessing to you today.

 

“Speaking the Word” - Pastor Hines January 23, 2022

 

“Speaking the Word” - Pastor Hines

January 23, 2022

Do we ever wonder if there is more to ministry than handing out cans of soup? When we are hungry soup helps. When we are hurting…we need help. God has plans for our healing and help. A friend reminded me this week of the Max Lucado quote: “God wants our whole heart and God wants our hearts whole.”  

God has plans for our healing and help. God has plans for us to bless others so that they can be healed and helped! Don’t you want to be a part of God’s plan?

We have access to the same anointing that Jesus had, the one that he read about from the Prophet Isaiah. He is anointed – called, commissioned, given authority, guided…

Number 1, Jesus says he is anointed to bring good news to the poor. Have you given good news to the poor lately? I had a friend who was homeless for a minute. The reason I say for a minute was because he had gambled his rent money away and was evicted from his apartment. He was leaving town, but his train would not be leaving until the next day. He had nowhere to stay. He slept illegally in the empty apartment haven turned in the key, but he left the door unlocked. As I prayed for him, the Holy Spirit comforted me with the words, “He will only be homeless for a minute.” Homelessness is homelessness, but it is a blessing to only be homeless for a minute. He had made poor decisions, but my good news to him was that I was concerned and praying for him. I could not, would not give him any money, but I did give him good news that I was a friend who was praying for him and would follow the Lord’s lead on helping him where I could.

2. Jesus was able to proclaim release to the captives. Has he spoken a word that gave you freedom when you were stuck? What’s your testimony? Have you proclaimed release to any captives lately? What are some of the ways you see people being stuck, or captive, or caught up in something that is less than good? Is it a relationship, addiction, depression? If we stand still long enough, perhaps God will give you the words that can set someone free in their mind. God may give you the money like Tim Tebow is using his money to set trafficked women and children free from slavery. There are many ways to set someone free. Perhaps there is someone to whom you can speak forgiveness that they might be set free. Perhaps you can do a kind deed and release someone from the prison of isolation during this pandemic. What would life look like for you if you proclaimed freedom to someone who is captive to something

3. Jesus was anointed, chosen to bring recovery of sight to the blind, not just those who were physically blind. I recorded a book for a blind man when I was at Baltimore City Community College. He was one of the meanest men I have ever met. He cussed up a storm. He had a foul, mean vocabulary and a nasty tone. He seemed angry all the time. He was cruel to his wife and given half a chance, he would be rude and irritable to me when I was doing him a favor. Most would agree that given a choice it would be more important that he be healed spiritually and emotionally than physically. Some might say that he was a mean and nasty man because he was physically blind. No matter what our circumstances, It’s not so much what happens to us so much as what happens in us. Is your light shining so that someone can see their way to being a better person today? Can we appreciate the idea that when we draw closer to God, God draws us closer to one another? That’s true for couples, countries, teams and toddlers.  

4. Jesus was anointed to let the oppressed go free. This is God’s word. What a wonderful thing that we have God’s word. God’s word puts the most important people and things right in our face so we can’t miss them. As good Christians, we find it hard to look into the eyes and the lives of anyone who is suffering oppression.  Who has ever been oppressed and does not want to be free? No one wants to be oppressed. No one wants to be down or out. No one. Is there anything you can do, great or small to let the oppressed go free? You’re probably already doing something small or great to ease someone’s suffering. Yet, it is good to keep our hearts and minds open. What would happen if we prayed daily, “ Lord, is there someone you would have me serve today?”  

5. Jesus was anointed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. The year of the Lord’s favor is associated with the year of Jubilee. Ancient celebrations of the year of Jubilee meant your debts were wiped off the books.  That was good news for people who took out loans and had mortgages, but it was not necessarily good news for bankers, except that it is indeed better to give than to receive. Jubilee, like the year of God’s favor that Jesus proclaimed, was a proclamation of a windfall, a wonderful restoration of property, or a release from servitude.

Favor was not so much about God doing us a favor as it was and is today about God reminding us that we are special. We are all God’s favorites. God has promised to bless all of us and never leave any of us and even invites all of us into a covenant, an agreement - to become all we can be, to bear much spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  

How wonderful it is to be invited into a loving covenant since there is so much uncertainty in this world? Aren’t you glad you don’t have to maneuver in this world without the help of a higher power?  

 

Jesus proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor and we can too. We can do so by learning how to treat all God’s children as favored and special, which first begins with our treating each other as human beings…God will do the rest. Go forth today and #1 let God help you be the good news to the poor, #2 release someone who is stuck in poverty or violence, #3 shine a path bright enough for someone to find their way out of bad behavior, #4 free the oppressed and those crushed underneath the strong and greedy and finally #5 let someone know with or without words that God knows they are special and you know it too! Amen.

 

 

“Speaking the T--r--u-t--h” - Pastor Hines January 15, 2022

 

“Speaking the T--r--u-t--h” - Pastor Hines

January 15, 2022

A 4-year-old boy who was asked to pray for the Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?"

That is a wise child! He did not want to tell a lie. Children first learn to tell lies around the age of three. They have begun to figure out that you can’t read their mind, you certainly do not know everything and do not have eyes in the back of your head. So, they think they can fool you. Sometimes they do. A study out of the University of Waterloo observing children in their own homes found that 96 percent of young children lie at some point. Four-year-olds lie, on average, every two hours, and six-year-olds lie, on average, every hour. ... Lying requires sophisticated thinking. One study of 1000 people suggested that teenagers lie the most. Judge Judy often says that we know teenagers are lying when they open up their mouth. I’m sure she’s exaggerating a bit.

If we have not learned already, the truth has a way of setting us free. The truth leads to righteousness and right living. Lies can put us and everyone around us at risk. Truth matters. Good words matter.

Growing up my mom would often say, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, the prophet Isaiah says in the first verse of our text that he will not keep silent, so he must have something good to say. Isaiah knows it is time to speak up and break the silence.

This is just the opposite of the verse in Habakkuk 2.20 that declares “The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.”  

Of course, silence is not just about words, it’s an attitude. Richard Foster a member of the Friend (Quaker) community, in his book Celebration of Discipline notes “If we are silent when we should speak, we are not living in the Discipline of silence. If we speak when we should be silent, we again miss the mark.

What is it that a godly person should say? Of course, the words that should come out of the mouths of those who walk with God should be words that build others up. The words that come out of the mouths of Christians should be words that honor God and bless the people and bless this world that God has created. Our words should be words that not only uplift, but show gratitude, praise, encouragement, and comfort. There is a wonderful new song that says “I will praise God in this storm.”  It echoes Psalm 92 which says “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, to sing and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.”

Good and holy words are like anchors that stabilize us in our journey of faith. When we are navigating troubled waters, good and holy words help us to hold on until the storm is gone. Praising God with our words in a storm is a great way to start this year. Verse 1 the prophet says that he must speak because his speaking brings a light. He says speaking Godly words brings a vindication that shines like the dawn. Godly speech brings a salvation whose light is as bright as a burning torch. We all need light. We all need to see where God is leading us. We need vindication from injustices. We need salvation from wickedness. We need the light of God all the time, at every turn.

There is no need to keep our praises to God and our truth and our holy words silent!! Before I became a preacher, I learned a very, very good pastoral tip from a lay woman. We were talking during a break in a workshop and she began to express her strong feelings about preachers in general. I will never forget that she said, “Preachers talk too much.” It can be true that preachers can get a little long winded. We are a work in progress and often get told the sermon is too long. We go too far sometime, but that may be a little better than being silent!

Jeremiah was God’s spokesperson who thought about what would happen if he decided to keep silent. “If I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” If he did not speak up and speak out, Jeremiah knew he would be restless, uncomfortable, and unable to remain silent.

You may have heard our District Superintendent tell the story of how she stood up in a meeting and volunteered to invite people to worship. No one else spoke but she could not keep silent. Someone snarled to her from the back of the meeting something like, “Sit down and shut up.” Her feelings were hurt, but the Holy Spirit brought success to the things for which she volunteered. It is good that she spoke up to honor God.

Jesus said it well in Luke 19, if the people don’t praise God, the rocks will cry out. Or as Isaac Watt’s song “Joy to the World” exclaims, “Let “Heaven and nature sing!!” It is good that ALL of God’s creation praise God. At least three things happen when we praise God? First of all, our attitude of praise and thanksgiving affects all of our relationships in a miraculous way.  

Words can create anything. With a word God spoke creation into existence. We have power to use our words to create an atmosphere of love, to create wholeness where there is brokenness, to create peace when there is confusion.

Goldie and Abraham Plotkin conduct lectures on the Five Love Languages from the Hassidic Jewish perspective. Goldie tells the story of a couple clearly in love walking down the street together. Suddenly a man approaches them and greets the wife in a warm and friendly manner. As they keep walking, the husband asks, “Who was that fellow?” The wife answers, “That was Jacob Goldman. We used to date years ago. The husband says to his wife, “Aren’t you glad that you married me because I am the prime minister and he is a regular guy?” His wife replies, “If I had married him, he would have become the prime minister instead of you.” She had confidence that the words she carefully shared by the grace of God had created a great leader. 

A second thing that happens when we humble ourselves and give thanks and praise to God is that the Lord draws near. Psalm 22 says the Lord inhabits the praises of the people. As we are made in God’s image, we too want to live where there is praise and appreciation. Seeing each other with eyes of praise helps us to see the best in one another without overlooking the places we need to improve and repent. Praise and appreciation help us to be the best we can be.

Our lives are showered with blessings. Children flourish when they are nurtured and praised and appreciated for their efforts, for their ministry, for their giftedness. When we see our children flourish and become good people, it is because they have been nurtured. They have been praised and showers of blessings happen whenever there is praise.

Thirdly, praise brings the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not weak and helpless because God gives us the power of a Holy Spirit inside of us. Praising God ushers in that power. As Ernie Arnold a Nazarene preacher put it: Praise destroys walls. It tears down the walls of frustration, the walls of failure, the walls of self-shame, the walls of loss and the walls of sadness…praise is a destroyer of negativity. It takes things down and it builds things up. It takes down the enemy and it builds up your confidence in the Lord. It magnifies your vision of Jesus. It makes things new and possible. It cries out victory and it sings of the love and blessings of the Lord. Praise is a game-changer. 

When we speak the truth in love, when we refuse to be silent when God is to be praised and the people of God are to be uplifted, verse 4 says we are no longer azubah – the Hebrew word for forsaken.  We are no longer deserted. Instead, we become hephzibah – the Hebrew word meaning the one that God delights in, the one with whom God is in covenantal relationship. The one verse 5 says God rejoices over like a groom rejoices over his bride.  May we speak now and never hold our peace when it comes to speaking the truth in love and for praising our wonderful and loving God. May be go from azubah to hephzibah today and forever. Amen!