Check Yes or No

Do you remember when you were in love and you’d get a love note from your boyfriend or girlfriend.  I can remember when this would be the highlight of the day- and especially as a middle school boy, the love note was far preferable to actually talking to someone- especially on the phone.  My family still had a corded phone when I was in middle school- one with a 25 foot cord.  When a girl would call I would take the phone from our downstairs living room and stretch it up to my upstairs bedroom so my parents or sister wouldn't hear any details of puppy love.  

The only problem with the note was how it was folded.  My experience in middle school and high school with notes was that it was like solving a Rubik’s Cube trying to open the letter up.  The most creative I could get was a paper airplane while they are sending me an origami goose or a ninja star (if I was lucky!).  While I looked forward to the words inside the note, I also anticipated how the note was folded. (A bunch of crafty people!) 

When you'd first get a note from someone you like- or send one...they would always end with these words:  Do you like me? Check yes or no.  

A love note requires a response.

This Sunday, we're beginning a sermon series called "Crazy Love" based of the book by the same name, and written by Francis Chan.   This Sunday, we'll be talking about one of God's love notes to you and to me: Creation.  In Creation God reveals a crazy, relentless, unconditional, and everlasting love.  Over the next several weeks, we'll be talking about that all important response as we seek to grasp God's love for us and how we can live in that love everyday.

What's the best love note you've received?  What's the best "folding" you can do for a note?  What is your favorite love letter from God?

If you're in the Dover, Delaware area, check us out at www.hopedover.com.  We worship at 9:30 a.m. in the Wesley College Chapel at the corner of Division and Bradford St.  Can't attend- listen to the sermon online!

Cannot Help But Speak

I'm preaching on Acts 1:1-8 this week as we continue looking at pictures of the Church in the Bible.  This week, we're talking about being a church focused on sharing what we've seen and heard regarding Jesus.  Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This is the another example of the Great Commission to go into all the world to proclaim the good news.  The disciples are called to share this testimony to the ends of the earth- and they do this through the power of the Holy Spirit.  As I read Acts, I am struck by Peter and John in chapter four who, when told to quit witnessing about Jesus said;

"Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

This is such a change from the Gospel accounts where the disciples fleed Jesus when he was arrested.  Peter even denied knowing him.  Yet here, filled with the Holy Spirit, he (and John) declare that they cannot help or stop speaking about what they have seen or heard.  Their lives have been changed and they want everyone to experience the same thing that they have!

This passage is challenging.  We live in a culture where it is often much easier to remain quiet about our faith.  We use the "Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words" as a defense to our silence.  Yet, if our lives have been changed by God- if we've experienced unmerited grace and mercy- if we've been healed, restored and redeemed- how can we stay silent?

My prayer for myself, Hope Church, and the Church around the world is that the Holy Spirit would so flood our lives that we will not remain silent about God's love and salvation available through Jesus Christ.





An Invitation to Community

I began a series yesterday where we will preach through the book of 1 John.  I led a bible study last fall on the book and really found it engaging.  Aparently, John Wesley called 1 John the "deepest part of the Holy Scriptures" for John's ability to blend deep theological thinking with simple/plain words. 

Yesterday, I focused on 1 John 1:3 where John says, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us." As John writes to his churches- he is concerned about  community- the unity of his flock around the person of Jesus Christ.  John begins the letter by proclaiming what he has seen, heard, touched, and experienced during his time with Jesus.  When we get to verse three John says that he proclaims the Word of life so that you may have fellowship with us.

Evangelism can be such a polarizing word, mostly because of the bad forms of evangelism that many of us have experienced over the years.  Some are put of by it because we live in a pluralistic, tolerant society where we don't want to offend anyone by sharing our beliefs.  John says, we share what we have experienced (evangelism) to invite people into fellowship- fellowship with the church community and with the community of God (Trinity).  For John, evangelism is more than just the forgiveness of our sins or fire insurance from hell.  Evangelism is about inviting people outside of community into community.  As Christians, we are called to go out into the world to invite people into this lifegiving community.

The thing with sharing our faith is that there is really no way around it in the Bible.  As much as we might try and rationalize sharing our faith- we are called to do so in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19).  It's also true that if we do not invite people into community with God- we are intentionally excluding them.  We are also withholding the opportunity to experience God's life in this lifetime and the hope of life everlasting to come!

How are you doing with inviting people into community?  What are some creative ways that you or your church is inviting people into community with God and God's church?

Site Preparations

"He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: 'A voice of one calling in the desert, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountian and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all mankind will see God's salvation.'""
                                                                                         Luke 3:3-6

The passage from Luke is the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry- one calling people to repentance.  Luke quotes Isaiah 40 as John is one calling out in the desert to prepare the way for the Lord.  On Sunday, we're going to focus on how we prepare ourselves for God. 

Just outisde of Milford, a new shopping center is going up.  For the last several weeks/months, there have been heavy equipment on the property clearing brush, leveling the ground, and moving dirt.  These preparations are necessary for the buildings that will be placed on the properties.  This site preparation has a practical function.  There is another function of the site preparations- people begin to ask questions; "What's going on here?"  "I wonder what they are building?"  "When will they be complete?"  In a way, the preparation of the site is a marketing technique.  It piques ones interest in what is going on.  If it is a store or restaraunt that we enjoy, then we wait in anticipation for the construction to be completed.

The quotation of Isaiah and Luke speaks of a construction project.  The valleys will be raised, the mountains will be made low.  The crooked places will be straightened out.  The rough patches will be made smooth.  And everyone will see God's salvation.  These verses tell of a great reversal of nature.  The lowly will be raised up and the high and mighty brought down. 

Out near the Jordan River, John called people to prepare their hearts for someone greater.  He called people to prepare their heart by repenting for the forgiveness of their sins.  Repentance is more than a state of mind, or something abstract- it repentance requires action.  Repentance is turning away from sin and turning back to God.  Repentance clears the way for us to experience God's salvation.

On this second sunday of Advent- God is drawing near.  Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God, has come to earth and will come again.  Creation will roll out like a red carpet to note God's arrival.  Likewise, we too must have our hearts prepared and ready for Christ to dwell in us.

Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood

No...it's not the newest title in the Twilight series or some new horror movie. It's part of this week's text from John 6:51-58. Here is a piece of that passage-

"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

These words of Jesus caused a little bit of controversy over the years. First, the Law of Moses prohibited anyone from drinking the blood of anything, let alone the blood of another person (Lev. 17:14, Deut. 12:23). Romans misinterpreted Christian language surrounding the Eucharist "eating the body and blood of the Lord." They thought that Christians were cannibals and this caused the early church much persecution in the Romans Empire.

Jesus, throughout chapter 6, is using this motiff of bread to point to God's gift of eternal life. Just as God gave Moses manna from heaven, God has sent the bread of heaven to earth (John 6:33). Jesus declares, "I am the Bread of Life" in vs. 35. Just as life is obtained by eating physical food, eternal life is obtained by "eating" the flesh and blood of Jesus. This is a graphic way of explaining that we must take Christ into our inner most being since Jesus is the source of life.

How are we fed by God? How do we encounter God in a way that won't diminish before our next meal?

We live in a society that demands instant gratification and quick results. We love our microwave ovens, our fast-food restaraunts, and text messaging. We want a diet that will work in 8 easy steps, or better yet, 4 steps! Magazines tells us how to ______________ (lose weight, have better sex, get washboard abs, etc) in _____ (insert number) steps. Yet, in the Bible, there are no 5 step processes to spiritual growth. Jesus says in John 6:56,

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."

This sounds familier to John 15:5...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches ar epicked up, thrown into the fires and burned."

Both verses in John talked about remaining in Jesus and remaining in the Vine (God). Spiritual growth, allowing God to feed us isn't so much about what we do, but our proximity to God. How do we "remain" in God's presence? How do we get close enough to Christ to "eat" his flesh and blood? How do we linger in the Spirit's presence?

How are you fed by God? What ways have you found to linger in God's presence? To feast in His presence? Talk it out in the comments!

Beyond A Bumper Sticker Faith

I've been working on a new sermon series this week called Beyond a Bumper Sticker Faith. The series will take place this Fall or sometime in the winter. What I want to do is take a look at some of the sayings that Christians put on the back of their cars or wear on their T-shirts and discuss whether or not that is an accurate portrayal of Christianity. In most cases, our pithy bumper stickers and t-shirts give an inaccurate view of our faith. They are more like half-truths while some are near heresies.

I don't know if this will be a 4, 5, or 6 week series. I'm still working on the details. But here are some examples that I would like to tackle for the series.

1. God is My Co-Pilot: I really can't stand this bumper sticker. Let's face it, God asks for our total surrender. Galatians 2:20 calls us to be crucified so Christ can live through us. God was our whole lives. We are not Co-pilots with God. God should be in the pilot's/captain chair all by Godself.
2. Christians Are Perfect- Just Forgiven: Certainly there is some sense of truth in this bumper sticker. We are forgiven. Yet many times we fall into what Bonhoffer called "cheap grace" where we are forgiven but nothing really changes. The world sees us claiming to be Christian, yet living worldly because there has been no significant change in our life. God desire is for us to pursue holiness as God is holy. This does not mean we are perfect. It means that we are striving each day to be more Christlike in our words, actions, and deeds.

Those are some examples of where the series is going.

I need your help: What are some of your favorite (or least favorite, depending on how you look at it.) Christian slogans, bumper stickers, or T-shirts? Talk it out in the comment section.

Thoughts on John 12:20-33

I will be preaching this Sunday at our 9:30 and 11:07 worship gatherings. Since it's the season of Lent, I often follow the lectionary for the scripture. This Sunday, the selected reading is John 12:20-33. It is a passage where Jesus begins to point to his coming death on the cross. In the midst of the passage, Jesus tells a brief parable.

"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
[fruit]. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their
life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves
me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be.
My Father will honor the one who serves me."

What strikes me the most is the implied cost of discipleship. Following Christ requires that we give up our lives. It requires sacrifice. It requires thinking of others ahead of our own agendas and desires. Discipleship is not something that we attend a small group for...it must become a lifestyle that is lived out.

I wonder what our Sunday morning worship gatherings would be like if we really preached (and lived) the cost of following Jesus. First, I think we'd have less people because they would be turned off by the discussion of giving up our lives. But on the other hand, if people caught a vision for what discipleship looked like (true discipleship, not a course or a small group), then our churches and communities might be turned upside down.

As we journey closer to Good Friday and the Cross of Christ, may we consider the cost of folllowing Jesus. May we live each day, offering our lives over to the only One who can save it. In losing our lives, may we find eternal life in God through Jesus Christ.

Fail

I am preaching this week. I haven't preached since Christmas Eve because of my Greek class that I just finished last week. I am beginning a series called "Love is the Movement." (Yes, I stole the phrase from the twloha t-shirt.)

I've been reading Brian McLaren's book Everything Must Change this past week or so. In it, McLaren writes:

"More and more reflective Christin leaders are beginning to realize that for the millions of young adults who dropped out of their churches in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Christian religion appears to be a failed religion."

McLaren goes into the ways in which the established Church has failed to live out the ideals and example of God through Jesus Christ. He cites that many have been concerned about escaping this world rather than being the hands and feet of Christ in it. I've heard many times that the story and the message of Jesus is the "Greatest Story Ever Told." We can look around us at the divorce rate, depression, drug/alchohol abuse, porn/sex addictions, war, genocide, poverty, child exploitation, inequity of social classes, etc., etc., etc., and we see that "a message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this."

Certainly McLaren writes this with the purpose of being provacative, but there is truth in the statement. In Western Christianity we often miss the mark (like the dog in the picture) and forget what Jesus taught us. In Mark, chapter 12, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. He replies, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this; Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."

What kind of a movement would it be if we truly loved God and our neighbors? What if we loved the illegal immigrant at Wal-Mart the same way we loved our own son or daughter? What if we really started to send aid around the way rather than promoting peace through "redemptive violence?" What would it look like is we joined with our brothers and sisters in our communities and truly prayed for one another? We would see a movement of love that the world has only seen in Jesus. We would see God's Kingdom in full effect. You see, while Christianity- as an organized religion- has failed on some level, God has not failed. And is faithful to work through those who live a life of love.

Are you ready to join a movement? Are you ready to live love? Join me in the movement.

Your Turn: Sermon Prep...

I am preaching Sunday and finishing my series on worship. I am going to be preaching on how giving thanks to God is an act of Worship. I have some ideas floating around in my head...but I want to know from you is...

1. Do you think we're a thankful people? Especially in the Church?
2. What does giving thanks really look like? What impact could an attitude of gratitude have in our communities?

Just two or three questions. If you have comments, I'd love to hear/read them. They help in the thinking process. Many blessings.

Worship Resources

With my series on Worship coming to a close next week, I wanted to give a listing of some of the resources that have helped shape the series. This is a psuedo-bibliography. Don't let my seminary professors see this because I won't be formatting it correctly!

Books on Worship:

The Dangerous Act of Worship- Mark Labberton: This book really challenges the reader to put worship and social justice together. What good does it to worship God if we do not love and care for our neighbor? The first couple chapters are tough on churches, and rightfully so. We must move from consumer worship to worship that is centered around the things of God.

The Unquenchable Worshipper- Matt Redman: This is a small book with short chapters. Redman has written a couple books on worship since then, but none of them come close. This is just a great primer of what worship is supposed to be about. I've given out lots of copies of this book to people on the worship team.

Worship Matters- Bob Kauflin: I came across this book kinda randomly a few months ago, but it is a great guide to leading worship. Kauflin builds a theological foundation for worship, and then offers a lot of practical considerations for those who lead worship. I will be using this book with some students and worship team.

Songs Used During the Series:

There were two songs that were used during the series that I wanted to reference.

Sweetly Broken- Jeremy Riddle: This song appears on a Vineyard compilation CD of the same name. Powerful song. Go get it on iTunes right now.

Albertine- Brooke Fraser: Great song on a great CD. Brooke wrote and sings Hosanna on the Hillsong United CD's and the videos are below. This CD is packed with songs that make you think, and done with great musicianship.

What Does the Lord Require?

I am in the middle of preaching a series called iWorship at church. I've been taking a look at what worship is; who we worship; why we worship; and how we worship. I think it will be a four part series...we'll be on part 3 this Sunday. If you go to www.avenueumc.com/listen you can find a link to the sermons.

The first week, our main point was worship is our response to who God is. I focused much of our conversation of the majesty and holiness of God. We looked at the Creation account in Genesis and Isaiah chapters 6 and 40 as we considered the bigness of God. The challenge was to enlarge our image of who God is, and then to respond in worship.

This past Sunday our main point was worship is our response to what God has done. Starting in the Exodus account, we went through God's activity in redeeming humanity and extending grace and mercy to us. This culminated in the salvific sacrifice of Jesus Christ- who is the final sacrifice for our sin. We talked about how to worship is to remember. As those who worship God, we must always remember what God has done for us.

This Sunday's sermon is called The Dangerous Act of Worship. Part of this is inspired from the book by the same name. The book is by Mark Labberton and I highly recommend it to everyone. It will challenge your view of worship week in and week out. The premise of this week's message is that when we enlarge our vision of God, when we remember what God has done we respond, not by greater sacrifices or acts of worship, but by the words of Micah 6:8, "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." True worship focuses our heart on the things that are close to the heart of God- the poor, the oppressed, the outcast, the widow, the orphan, etc. It is not truly worship if we write a big check or raise our hands in worship and ignore the injustices that happen in our world.

I'm working on the sermon now, and I've been excited about getting to this week. I'm hoping this will begin a conversation in our members and our church about what it really means to worship God.

The Wedding Crashers

I am preaching this week on Matthew 22:1-14, a passage where Jesus is using a parable to describe the Kingdom of Heaven...We have to remember that the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is talking about is now/but not yet...we participate in the Kingdom now and yet the Kingdom will one day be fully revealed when God restores creation.

Back to the parable...It's the story of a King who is throwing a wedding banquet for his son. Weddings back then were week long affairs. When you are invited to a Royal Wedding, you did not refuse the invitation. Yet this is what is happening in verse 3 of chapter 22. Not only do the invitees refuse, but when the King sents out his servants to let the prospective guest know the feast was ready, many said they couldn't come because they had to tend to the farm or take care of other business (this may be the Biblical equivilent to washing one's hair when asked out on a date). Some go even further by killing the king's servant. Those who refuse the king's invitation faced judgement.

So what does the king do? He invites "anyone you find". The servants gather anyone they could; the "bad with the good." The wedding hall was full.

One of the things that a King would do for his wedding guest would be to provide the proper clothes. Since many of these people couldn't afford respectable/clean/proper clothes for the banquet, the King would make sure they were properly outfitted. Yet in the scripture account (vs. 11), we find that one does not have the proper clothes on. This man also faces judgement for refusing the kings grace.

This parable about the Kingdom of Heaven highlights our response to God. The final line of the passage says, "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

-The invitees at the beginning of the account are those who outright refuse God's invitation of grace, mercy, and love.

-The man with the improper clothing is someone, like Judas, who responded initially, yet failed to fully get on-board with the revolution that Christ was bringing. These are people who live a life of cheap-grace (as Bonhoeffer wrote), or fail to honor God.

So the ones who crash the party, who are apart of the Kingdom of Heaven are the sinners, the sick, the lowly who respond realizing our helplessness and clinging onto the grace that God invites us to experience. How are you responding to God today?

Welcome To Elementary School!

I found this program that rates the reading level on your blog. As you can see, the reading level I provide is much like the newspaper...on an elementary school level. I think I like it that way. It makes it easier for everyone else. Some who read this blog would have a difficult time if I used 'transubstantiation' or "hermeneutics".

I finished my sermon this morning. I am taking a look at the slavery imagery that the New Testament uses in regards to our sin nature. Even in the midst of being a slave to sin, we sometimes allow sin to linger. I call this a Spiritual Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is where an abductee begins to sympathize with their abductor. In the midst of this slavery to sin, we have become comfortable with our condition.

The answer to the problem is the grace of God. It is through Christ that we are more than conquerors because of God's love and grace. It is possible to be set free from the penalty and the power of sin when we live each day in God's grace.

On the family front, Abbie appears to be getting her next set of teeth. She's been unusually cranky the last two days. Tonight, I could see what appears to be teeth ready to emerge from her gums. We didn't get much sleep last night...I'm prepared not to get much tonight!