9/28/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." I will be seeing my mom in 2 days time. I am going back to my hometown of Littlefield, Texas, for my 40th high school reunion. On the way I am going to re-connect with my family. I will spend Thursday night in Abilene with Cathy's sister and brother-in-law, Betsy and David. While in Abilene, I will have supper on Thursday night with my sister and brother-in-law, Cathy and Allen. Then I will spend 2 nights with my mom who lives in Lubbock, driving the 36 miles over to Littlefield and back on Friday and Saturday.
The commandment to honor parents I am expanding to include honoring my family. Each of us is part of a family system. We do not exist without relationship. Honoring family leads to a promise: long life in the land that God gives. Thank God for my family.
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
freedom
9/27/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Ex. 20:2, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Before God gives the 10 commandments to Moses and the Hebrew children and to us, God identifies what kind of God he is. This God is the one who sets his people free. May it be so in your life today....from worry...from guilt ....from shame....from destructive behavior....from bitterness...from sin...from the power of sin....from addiction. God who brought the Hebrews out of the hosue of slavery wants to bring you out of whatever keeps you from enjoying his freedom.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Monday, September 26, 2011
our favorite hymn
From my sermon on Sept. 25, 2011 from Philippians 2:1-13
Music is powerful. Especially when it comes to expressing love and relationships, there is no better way to go than music. I ask you couples to remember “your song”…..the one that you fell in love to…it’s powerful.
In the Bible, we have God’s love song for us, and there are times when we are so overcome with God’s presence, that all we can do is sing. The Hebrew children are rescued out of bondage in Egypt, they cross the Red Sea on dry land, the pursuing army is drowned in the returning waters, and what do they do? They sing. In the 15th chapter of Exodus, we find some of the old Hebrew language, as Moses sings, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, horse and rider, he has thrown into the sea.” To grant equal time, Miriam later in the chapter sings the same verse.
In the book of Psalms, we have 150 songs that cover the gamut of emotions from praise of God like in Ps. 100
(sing) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye, all ye lands,….
to lament like in Ps. 137 (sing) By the waters, the waters of Babylon…
In the New Testament, we have the opening words of John’s gospel, that are usually translated as, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When we read this text at the service of lessons and carols, I do another translation allowed by the Greek, “In the beginning was the Song, and the Song was with God, and the Song was God.” Isn’t it wonderful to consider all of creation as being sung into existence?
In the ministry of Jesus, we have in Mark 14:26 that after Jesus and his closest friends celebrated the Passover feast, “when they had sung the hymn,” they went out into the night. Jesus enters his passion of betrayal, denial, trial, crucifixion.
So what does this have to do with the passage from Philippians? You are not going to believe this, but the church was in conflict! They had….wait for it…discord. They were not in harmony. So what does Paul do? He gives them a moral lecture…No. He gives them a theological treatise….No. He gives them quotes from scripture…No. What he does is quote from their hymnal. Verses 6-11 are actually one of the earliest hymns from the Christian Church. In the midst of discord, Paul tries to get them to sing together by referencing their favorite hymn.
Watch my directions: (hand up) have this mind amongst yourselves that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped but (hand down) emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, humbling himself, being found in human likeness, he freely accepted death, even death on a cross. (hand up) Therefore God has highly exalted him placing his name above every name on earth or in heaven that at the name of Jesus (hand down) every knee should bow and every tongue confess that (hand up) that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
Paul is acting like a choir director, giving them the tune, the beat of their favorite hymn. Music is powerful in bringing people together, in re-directing them from me-ism to serving others.
I want to tell you about our favorite hymn today. See if you can guess it. The author was born July 24, 1725, in London, England. He was the son of a shipmaster and went to sea at age 11. He was captured and put to work aboard a man-o-war. From there he espcaped onto a slave trader. He worked his way up to become the shipmaster of the slave trader. At port in Liverpool, he fell under the preacher of those early Methodists, like John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. He had a conversion experience and gave up slave trading. He studied Greek and Hebrew and prepared for the ministry, becoming ordained at age 41. He became an ardent abolitionist. He wrote his own epitaph: John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
Our favorite hymn today is….Amazing Grace (sing it).
Music is powerful. It gets to our deepest core. Our friends in Bastrop need music. Cathy and I did a scouting trip out there on Saturday. Have you seen the aftermath of the wildfires? What got me was the line of dump trucks, flat bed trucks, and trailers lined up at the scrap yard with all of the burned out vehicles. The going price is $200 per vehicle. Cathy and I mostly listened to the stories. Some who lost everything. Some whose homes miraculously were spared. At lunch at the Methodist Church were church members and men living on the streets. There were clean up crews from the Methodist in Frisco, Tx, and a Spanish-speaking only family. We are going to be in partnership with First UMC, Bastrop, for the foreseeable future. They need a lot of hope. Tonya Creamer was out there a week ago, to do a benefit concert for those people. It was not to reaise money; it was to raise hope. It was for the benefit of the people, to lift their spirits. One of the songs she sang was:
And love will hold us together, make us a shelter to weather the storm,
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper, so the whole world will know that we’re not alone.
Music is powerful. That’s why as much as 40% of any worship service will be music. This music stays with us, speaking to the deepest core of our being.
Sing with me:
He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole wide world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands.
(show the video clip from Memory Bridge of the woman with Alzheimer’s who starts singing along with the volunteer who connects with her by singing “He’s got the whole world in His hands)
Music is powerful...keeping singing and playing.
Music is powerful. Especially when it comes to expressing love and relationships, there is no better way to go than music. I ask you couples to remember “your song”…..the one that you fell in love to…it’s powerful.
In the Bible, we have God’s love song for us, and there are times when we are so overcome with God’s presence, that all we can do is sing. The Hebrew children are rescued out of bondage in Egypt, they cross the Red Sea on dry land, the pursuing army is drowned in the returning waters, and what do they do? They sing. In the 15th chapter of Exodus, we find some of the old Hebrew language, as Moses sings, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, horse and rider, he has thrown into the sea.” To grant equal time, Miriam later in the chapter sings the same verse.
In the book of Psalms, we have 150 songs that cover the gamut of emotions from praise of God like in Ps. 100
(sing) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye, all ye lands,….
to lament like in Ps. 137 (sing) By the waters, the waters of Babylon…
In the New Testament, we have the opening words of John’s gospel, that are usually translated as, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When we read this text at the service of lessons and carols, I do another translation allowed by the Greek, “In the beginning was the Song, and the Song was with God, and the Song was God.” Isn’t it wonderful to consider all of creation as being sung into existence?
In the ministry of Jesus, we have in Mark 14:26 that after Jesus and his closest friends celebrated the Passover feast, “when they had sung the hymn,” they went out into the night. Jesus enters his passion of betrayal, denial, trial, crucifixion.
So what does this have to do with the passage from Philippians? You are not going to believe this, but the church was in conflict! They had….wait for it…discord. They were not in harmony. So what does Paul do? He gives them a moral lecture…No. He gives them a theological treatise….No. He gives them quotes from scripture…No. What he does is quote from their hymnal. Verses 6-11 are actually one of the earliest hymns from the Christian Church. In the midst of discord, Paul tries to get them to sing together by referencing their favorite hymn.
Watch my directions: (hand up) have this mind amongst yourselves that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped but (hand down) emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, humbling himself, being found in human likeness, he freely accepted death, even death on a cross. (hand up) Therefore God has highly exalted him placing his name above every name on earth or in heaven that at the name of Jesus (hand down) every knee should bow and every tongue confess that (hand up) that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
Paul is acting like a choir director, giving them the tune, the beat of their favorite hymn. Music is powerful in bringing people together, in re-directing them from me-ism to serving others.
I want to tell you about our favorite hymn today. See if you can guess it. The author was born July 24, 1725, in London, England. He was the son of a shipmaster and went to sea at age 11. He was captured and put to work aboard a man-o-war. From there he espcaped onto a slave trader. He worked his way up to become the shipmaster of the slave trader. At port in Liverpool, he fell under the preacher of those early Methodists, like John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. He had a conversion experience and gave up slave trading. He studied Greek and Hebrew and prepared for the ministry, becoming ordained at age 41. He became an ardent abolitionist. He wrote his own epitaph: John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
Our favorite hymn today is….Amazing Grace (sing it).
Music is powerful. It gets to our deepest core. Our friends in Bastrop need music. Cathy and I did a scouting trip out there on Saturday. Have you seen the aftermath of the wildfires? What got me was the line of dump trucks, flat bed trucks, and trailers lined up at the scrap yard with all of the burned out vehicles. The going price is $200 per vehicle. Cathy and I mostly listened to the stories. Some who lost everything. Some whose homes miraculously were spared. At lunch at the Methodist Church were church members and men living on the streets. There were clean up crews from the Methodist in Frisco, Tx, and a Spanish-speaking only family. We are going to be in partnership with First UMC, Bastrop, for the foreseeable future. They need a lot of hope. Tonya Creamer was out there a week ago, to do a benefit concert for those people. It was not to reaise money; it was to raise hope. It was for the benefit of the people, to lift their spirits. One of the songs she sang was:
And love will hold us together, make us a shelter to weather the storm,
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper, so the whole world will know that we’re not alone.
Music is powerful. That’s why as much as 40% of any worship service will be music. This music stays with us, speaking to the deepest core of our being.
Sing with me:
He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole wide world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands.
(show the video clip from Memory Bridge of the woman with Alzheimer’s who starts singing along with the volunteer who connects with her by singing “He’s got the whole world in His hands)
Music is powerful...keeping singing and playing.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
change leads to conflict
9/22/11 I wish I could tell you that it was easy, being the senior pastor of a healthy progam-sized church, but it's not. We had a meeting yesterday with our District Superindent. We were sharing with her the exciting news of the launching of a new worship service here (this Sunday!)with its small groups, mission component, feedback sessions, etc. She made the very astute comment that some of the family members (staff, long time members of the church, etc.) might be feeling a bit neglected...what with all of the effort, time, commitment, energy being shown this new child. As wonderful as it is to try this new venture, it is not without cost in terms of money, time, and especially emotion.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
ears
9/21/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 78:1, "Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth." Today in my early morning walk/prayer time, I tried to listen to everything around me, to God. Instead of filling the time with my words or petitions or names of people on my heart, I tried to hear. I used my ears more than my mouth today.
As I walked, I heard the chorus of birds, many different parts and melodies, but coming together in a beautiful harmony. I heard the crunch of dry leaves under my shoes....God knows we need rain. I could hear the traffic, cars rushing to work, to school, to play....I prayed for my neighbors. I heard the wail of a siren...I prayed for fire, police, EMS workers. I heard the beep.beep.beep. of heavy machinery backing up.....I prayed for those who labor in the heat and the recovery of the economy.
Today, I am going to listen to people when they talk, really pay attention. I am going to use my ears in prayer today.
Love,
Lynn
As I walked, I heard the chorus of birds, many different parts and melodies, but coming together in a beautiful harmony. I heard the crunch of dry leaves under my shoes....God knows we need rain. I could hear the traffic, cars rushing to work, to school, to play....I prayed for my neighbors. I heard the wail of a siren...I prayed for fire, police, EMS workers. I heard the beep.beep.beep. of heavy machinery backing up.....I prayed for those who labor in the heat and the recovery of the economy.
Today, I am going to listen to people when they talk, really pay attention. I am going to use my ears in prayer today.
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
a tell all book
From my sermon on 9/18/11 from Psalm 105:1-11
There is a song I learned in church growing up…sing with me..
Oh the B I B L E, oh, that’s the book for me…
I stand alone on the Word of God, the B I B L E.
What a wonderful book. We give it to 3rd graders today. The Psalmist gives thanks for the book, saying call on his name, make know his deeds, remember his works and the judgments he uttered.
I want you to remember your first Bible…or your first memory of a Bible story….who gave it to you…who told you the story…I want you to turn to a partner and share your memory.
This year marks the 400th year since the King James Version was published. That event made the Bible accessible to English speakers. Today, there are so many translations of the Bible, and paraphrases and Bibles directed to special groups. You may even have a Bible app on your smartphone. But I want to know do you read the Bible today?
I was trying to think of a way to get the 3rd graders and in fact all of you to read the Bible. I came across a quote from Ted Wardlaw , the president of the Austin Seminary, that might help. He had a seminary professor who said in class one day, “The Bible is the most dangerous book ever written.”
Can you believe that we give this book to 3rd graders? Annie Dillard in her book An American Childhood talks about growing up in an upscale suburb of Pittsburgh. She wonders about the sanity of those who gave her the Bible, “if they had read it, they would have hidden it. Didn’t they recognize the vivid danger, that we would, through repeated exposure catch a case of wild opposition to their world?”
The Bible is a tell all book. Have you read tell all books where a movie star or sports hero or rock idol will expose everything? Or if they don’t their maid, or driver, or body guard will.
The Bible tells us all about God…who God is, what God does, what God says. We read the Bible to remember this God so that we can be saved from spiritual amnesia. That’s why the Psalmist says we read this book.
But don’t read this book! It’s dangerous. This God favors the vulnerable, the widow , the orphan, the sojourner in the land. OUCH! God opposes the proud, the rich, the powerful. This God welcomes all kinds of people we would never welcome. This God wants Abraham and Sarah and us to be blessed to be a blessing to others. This God wants Jonah and us to preach good news to our enemies. This God wants us to be a light to the nations so that all will be drawn to worship.
Don’t read this book! It’s dangerous. God calls the most unlikely ones. Abraham and Sarah are in their 70’s when God says they are going to have a child and that that child will be the start of a whole new people of God. Joseph is part of a blended family, one of the youngsters. His brothers want to kill him, but settle for selling him into slavery in Egypt. He becomes the #2 man in the land and saves his people. There is Esther who wins a beauty contest in Persia. She uses her natural abilities to save her people. There is a boy who shares his lunch with those who have come to hear Jesus. His generosity sets in motion a miracle by which 5,000 are fed. There is a woman, a foreigner, a Gentile, who pleads for her sick daughter to be healed. Jesus hears her prayer and heals the daughter.
Don’t read this book because it will not only tell all about God, but also all about you. One the second page of the Bible, one man kills his brother over whom God likes best. I know you never fight over toys or over getting attention in your families. Don’t read this book because you will find that we are prone to lyin’, cheatin’, stealin’, and foolin’ around.
Don’t take the class I start next week during Sunday School time on the Bible from Scratch, the New Testament for Beginners. You will only find out all about yourself.
For goodness sake, please don’t underline in your Bible, write notes in it, or highlight it. If you do, then when I come to do your funeral, I will know what was important to you and how the Bible impacted you.
You know I am kidding, right? I really want you to read the Bible. More than that I want the Bible to read you, who you are. A writer from 1734, J. A. Bengel, said, “Apply thyself wholly to the scripture text, then apply that text wholly to thyself!”
Don’t read this tell all book, because if you do, you just might find that
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
There is a song I learned in church growing up…sing with me..
Oh the B I B L E, oh, that’s the book for me…
I stand alone on the Word of God, the B I B L E.
What a wonderful book. We give it to 3rd graders today. The Psalmist gives thanks for the book, saying call on his name, make know his deeds, remember his works and the judgments he uttered.
I want you to remember your first Bible…or your first memory of a Bible story….who gave it to you…who told you the story…I want you to turn to a partner and share your memory.
This year marks the 400th year since the King James Version was published. That event made the Bible accessible to English speakers. Today, there are so many translations of the Bible, and paraphrases and Bibles directed to special groups. You may even have a Bible app on your smartphone. But I want to know do you read the Bible today?
I was trying to think of a way to get the 3rd graders and in fact all of you to read the Bible. I came across a quote from Ted Wardlaw , the president of the Austin Seminary, that might help. He had a seminary professor who said in class one day, “The Bible is the most dangerous book ever written.”
Can you believe that we give this book to 3rd graders? Annie Dillard in her book An American Childhood talks about growing up in an upscale suburb of Pittsburgh. She wonders about the sanity of those who gave her the Bible, “if they had read it, they would have hidden it. Didn’t they recognize the vivid danger, that we would, through repeated exposure catch a case of wild opposition to their world?”
The Bible is a tell all book. Have you read tell all books where a movie star or sports hero or rock idol will expose everything? Or if they don’t their maid, or driver, or body guard will.
The Bible tells us all about God…who God is, what God does, what God says. We read the Bible to remember this God so that we can be saved from spiritual amnesia. That’s why the Psalmist says we read this book.
But don’t read this book! It’s dangerous. This God favors the vulnerable, the widow , the orphan, the sojourner in the land. OUCH! God opposes the proud, the rich, the powerful. This God welcomes all kinds of people we would never welcome. This God wants Abraham and Sarah and us to be blessed to be a blessing to others. This God wants Jonah and us to preach good news to our enemies. This God wants us to be a light to the nations so that all will be drawn to worship.
Don’t read this book! It’s dangerous. God calls the most unlikely ones. Abraham and Sarah are in their 70’s when God says they are going to have a child and that that child will be the start of a whole new people of God. Joseph is part of a blended family, one of the youngsters. His brothers want to kill him, but settle for selling him into slavery in Egypt. He becomes the #2 man in the land and saves his people. There is Esther who wins a beauty contest in Persia. She uses her natural abilities to save her people. There is a boy who shares his lunch with those who have come to hear Jesus. His generosity sets in motion a miracle by which 5,000 are fed. There is a woman, a foreigner, a Gentile, who pleads for her sick daughter to be healed. Jesus hears her prayer and heals the daughter.
Don’t read this book because it will not only tell all about God, but also all about you. One the second page of the Bible, one man kills his brother over whom God likes best. I know you never fight over toys or over getting attention in your families. Don’t read this book because you will find that we are prone to lyin’, cheatin’, stealin’, and foolin’ around.
Don’t take the class I start next week during Sunday School time on the Bible from Scratch, the New Testament for Beginners. You will only find out all about yourself.
For goodness sake, please don’t underline in your Bible, write notes in it, or highlight it. If you do, then when I come to do your funeral, I will know what was important to you and how the Bible impacted you.
You know I am kidding, right? I really want you to read the Bible. More than that I want the Bible to read you, who you are. A writer from 1734, J. A. Bengel, said, “Apply thyself wholly to the scripture text, then apply that text wholly to thyself!”
Don’t read this tell all book, because if you do, you just might find that
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
singing
9/15/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 105:45, "So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing." I have a lot going on right now. Nothing strange about that--it is the start of a new school year which translates to people being back at church and the start of programming at church. We are also trying to launch a new worship service and a new caring/listening corps called Stephen Ministry. I have responsibilities beyond the local church with my work as the chair of the order of elders which also puts me on the board of ordained ministry. There is routine stuff like preparing for worship services, responding to emails, connecting with various church committees. So I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. This morning on my walk, my prayer was mostly singing. I found myself not singing the old hymns of the faith, but the new ones from contemporary Christian radio stations. "I will walk by faith...even though I cannot see."
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
miracles
9/14/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 105:5, "Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered." Yesterday evening I was talking on the cellphone with a young man who was about to have another surgery to remove a tumor on his brain. Several years ago, he had had a benign tumor removed from the very same spot. The surgery had been invasive, leaving his face and one eye askew. The recovery was long and painful. A new benign tumor had reappeared on his brain recently, so another surgery was called for. In the interim years, a new technique was devised that called for entering through the nasal passage. It is much less invasive and involves much less pain and recovery time. Last night as I was visiting on the phone with Jeff who is having surgery this morning, he said, "It is a miracle."
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
moon
9/13/11 The past two mornings my early walks have been illuminated by the full moon, the so called "harvest moon." In my prayers, I have reflected on how we Christians are like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun/Son. As John the Baptist says, we are not the light (Christ is!), but we are called to witness to the Light.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Monday, September 12, 2011
we are the Lord's
From the worship service on 9/11 from Romans 14:7-9
Welcome to this worship service on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In worship we hold ourselves before God who holds us.
I want to address the children first. Boys and girls, something happened 10 years ago that made some of us very sad, and mad, and fearful. You have no memory of it at all. You may have heard of 9/11 and how many lives were lost that day. Today, I am asking you to pray for those of us who do remember. You may use words, you may pray silently, you may use touch, you may cry. One way of praying is to use that sheet of paper we gave you. I want you to write the word God in the center of that paper. Then around the word God write or draw a picture of others you may pray for—parents, firemen, police, EMS, neighbors, friends. No matter what else happens, I want you to remember that God is in the center of everything.
Now you adults, I bet you can remember how you first heard about the tragedies of 9/11. I invite you to hold those memories before God in worship today. I will tell you about my day to prime your memory pumps.
It was a Tuesday morning. I was awakened very early in the morning by a phone call. One of my leading church members in Portland had died. W. C. Andrews had been the superintendent of schools for 25 years. He was now retired, but still very active in the community and in his mind. He was a pillar of the church, Mr. Credibility. When we did our capital campaign to relocate the church, I asked W. C. to stand up before the church and say, “It’s going to be OK. We need to do this.” He did that for me, and it was OK. After visiting and praying with the family, I went back home to shower and to shave. A little later I was in my office when the secretary came in and said, “You not going to believe it, but a plane has just hit one of the twin towers in NYC.” We turned on the TV and another plane had hit the other tower. It was no accident; this was intentional. I was driving over to the Andrews house to make the funeral plans, listening to the radio of a plane hitting the Pentagon, and then another plane crashing in Pennsylvania. There are no words to describe the horror. What are your memories?
(silence)
I stumbled through the day. I was supposed to lead a workshop that evening on “Futuring for the Church” for the Corpus Christi District for some 25 leaders. The program director for the district called me and asked, “Do you want to cancel?” “Absolutely not! If we ever needed to work on the future of the church , it is today! I will not let terrorists determine what I do or who I am! I will not operate out of fear but faith!”
My associate pastor led a prayer service at the local church. I did the presentation for the district. I did this because I believe God is at the center –not just of that piece of paper, or this message, but of our world. Boys and girls, hear me. God did not want this tragedy to happen and God did not cause it to happen, but God was right in the middle of it trying to bring healing out of it.
The scripture we read says, that whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. We belong to God. We can see the presence of God everywhere.
Where did we see the presence of God after 9/11? On that Sunday, the churches were full. People needed something…Someone bigger than themselves to believe in. The Church has been doing this a long time, finding hope in the midst of hurt. All down through the millennia we can see God right in the midst of tragedy. For some of you, you remember Dec. 7, 1941. My generation may remember also the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov. 23, 1963.
At these times, we ask where are you God? I saw God after 9/11 in the many folks who responded in faith by donating blood. Many gave generously to help those affected by the deaths. Some volunteered to serve in the military. Some Christians made a point to stand by Muslims and go to mosques to say that 19 terrorists don’t define a world religion or a great people. Many helped at ground zero in NYC. I will address the sacrifice of the first responders in just moment.
I know that after 9/11 I will never be the same, our world will never be the same. Today, as you go to board an airplane, you take off your shoes, you show your laptop, you have no more than 3 oz. in fluid containers, you may go through a body scan. We bear it as a small sacrifice to pay for the good of the whole.
On that 9/11, a plane flew into the Pentagon. One plane headed for the Capitol building was taken back from the hijackers and plowed into the ground in Pennsylvania. At the World Trade Center…I want to emphasize that word “World,” people from more than 70 countries lost their lives. Every major world religion was represented in those losses. This was not just something that happened to Americans or Christians; it was a world event. Some 2,977 lives were lost in these terrorist acts.
On that 9/11 many first responders rushed to the scene. As people were running out of the Twin Towers, they were running in. On that day 411 first responders died. They made Ground Zero into Ground Hero. Today we are recognizing first responders here in worship and at a reception afterwards. Few can be here today, because so many are still out on the front lines of fighting wildfires in our area.
I see the presence of God in their heroic actions.
God is right in the middle of all our lives, even in the wildfires. I got an email from Danika, one of our moms caught in the fires of last week. I share it with you now.
I must share with you a story of this weekend and let you know kids do listen and learn during Sunday School.
This Labor Day Weekend with the brush fires in our neighborhood and mandatory evacuation was very scary and intense. All we could do was pray. At one point the fires were getting very close to our house and I can’t even begin to tell you what that felt like. We knew this because from time to time we would get reports of where the fire was heading and how far away it was from certain sections in the neighborhood. The kids were scared but we did our best to keep them calm. (We were worried sick because our dog was in the house. We were not at home when they made everyone leave and our neighbors couldn’t get him out.)
Once we got into a hotel, we found some paper and crayons for the kids. Dawson told Kaylen about the Prayer Paper he learned in Sunday School. Explaining you put GOD in the middle and then write words, names, etc. of those you are thinking about. Examples of things they wrote around GOD, family members names, firefighters, friends, teachers, rain, pets, safety, protection, schools, TEXAS, BASTROP, homes, etc. They had been praying but to have a physical piece of paper to hold and look at really helped!
Just wanted to share to make sure you know that teachers and Sunday School programs do make a difference. Even though it was scary, we never felt alone.
Thanks for all you do,
Danika
God is right in the middle. We belong to God. Whether we live or whether we did, we are the Lord’s. Did Christ live? YES. Did Christ die? YES. Did Christ rise again? YES. So Christ is the Lord over life and death and eternal life. He is the ultimate judge of all. He is our hope. We have no fear. We are the Lord’s.
Welcome to this worship service on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In worship we hold ourselves before God who holds us.
I want to address the children first. Boys and girls, something happened 10 years ago that made some of us very sad, and mad, and fearful. You have no memory of it at all. You may have heard of 9/11 and how many lives were lost that day. Today, I am asking you to pray for those of us who do remember. You may use words, you may pray silently, you may use touch, you may cry. One way of praying is to use that sheet of paper we gave you. I want you to write the word God in the center of that paper. Then around the word God write or draw a picture of others you may pray for—parents, firemen, police, EMS, neighbors, friends. No matter what else happens, I want you to remember that God is in the center of everything.
Now you adults, I bet you can remember how you first heard about the tragedies of 9/11. I invite you to hold those memories before God in worship today. I will tell you about my day to prime your memory pumps.
It was a Tuesday morning. I was awakened very early in the morning by a phone call. One of my leading church members in Portland had died. W. C. Andrews had been the superintendent of schools for 25 years. He was now retired, but still very active in the community and in his mind. He was a pillar of the church, Mr. Credibility. When we did our capital campaign to relocate the church, I asked W. C. to stand up before the church and say, “It’s going to be OK. We need to do this.” He did that for me, and it was OK. After visiting and praying with the family, I went back home to shower and to shave. A little later I was in my office when the secretary came in and said, “You not going to believe it, but a plane has just hit one of the twin towers in NYC.” We turned on the TV and another plane had hit the other tower. It was no accident; this was intentional. I was driving over to the Andrews house to make the funeral plans, listening to the radio of a plane hitting the Pentagon, and then another plane crashing in Pennsylvania. There are no words to describe the horror. What are your memories?
(silence)
I stumbled through the day. I was supposed to lead a workshop that evening on “Futuring for the Church” for the Corpus Christi District for some 25 leaders. The program director for the district called me and asked, “Do you want to cancel?” “Absolutely not! If we ever needed to work on the future of the church , it is today! I will not let terrorists determine what I do or who I am! I will not operate out of fear but faith!”
My associate pastor led a prayer service at the local church. I did the presentation for the district. I did this because I believe God is at the center –not just of that piece of paper, or this message, but of our world. Boys and girls, hear me. God did not want this tragedy to happen and God did not cause it to happen, but God was right in the middle of it trying to bring healing out of it.
The scripture we read says, that whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. We belong to God. We can see the presence of God everywhere.
Where did we see the presence of God after 9/11? On that Sunday, the churches were full. People needed something…Someone bigger than themselves to believe in. The Church has been doing this a long time, finding hope in the midst of hurt. All down through the millennia we can see God right in the midst of tragedy. For some of you, you remember Dec. 7, 1941. My generation may remember also the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov. 23, 1963.
At these times, we ask where are you God? I saw God after 9/11 in the many folks who responded in faith by donating blood. Many gave generously to help those affected by the deaths. Some volunteered to serve in the military. Some Christians made a point to stand by Muslims and go to mosques to say that 19 terrorists don’t define a world religion or a great people. Many helped at ground zero in NYC. I will address the sacrifice of the first responders in just moment.
I know that after 9/11 I will never be the same, our world will never be the same. Today, as you go to board an airplane, you take off your shoes, you show your laptop, you have no more than 3 oz. in fluid containers, you may go through a body scan. We bear it as a small sacrifice to pay for the good of the whole.
On that 9/11, a plane flew into the Pentagon. One plane headed for the Capitol building was taken back from the hijackers and plowed into the ground in Pennsylvania. At the World Trade Center…I want to emphasize that word “World,” people from more than 70 countries lost their lives. Every major world religion was represented in those losses. This was not just something that happened to Americans or Christians; it was a world event. Some 2,977 lives were lost in these terrorist acts.
On that 9/11 many first responders rushed to the scene. As people were running out of the Twin Towers, they were running in. On that day 411 first responders died. They made Ground Zero into Ground Hero. Today we are recognizing first responders here in worship and at a reception afterwards. Few can be here today, because so many are still out on the front lines of fighting wildfires in our area.
I see the presence of God in their heroic actions.
God is right in the middle of all our lives, even in the wildfires. I got an email from Danika, one of our moms caught in the fires of last week. I share it with you now.
I must share with you a story of this weekend and let you know kids do listen and learn during Sunday School.
This Labor Day Weekend with the brush fires in our neighborhood and mandatory evacuation was very scary and intense. All we could do was pray. At one point the fires were getting very close to our house and I can’t even begin to tell you what that felt like. We knew this because from time to time we would get reports of where the fire was heading and how far away it was from certain sections in the neighborhood. The kids were scared but we did our best to keep them calm. (We were worried sick because our dog was in the house. We were not at home when they made everyone leave and our neighbors couldn’t get him out.)
Once we got into a hotel, we found some paper and crayons for the kids. Dawson told Kaylen about the Prayer Paper he learned in Sunday School. Explaining you put GOD in the middle and then write words, names, etc. of those you are thinking about. Examples of things they wrote around GOD, family members names, firefighters, friends, teachers, rain, pets, safety, protection, schools, TEXAS, BASTROP, homes, etc. They had been praying but to have a physical piece of paper to hold and look at really helped!
Just wanted to share to make sure you know that teachers and Sunday School programs do make a difference. Even though it was scary, we never felt alone.
Thanks for all you do,
Danika
God is right in the middle. We belong to God. Whether we live or whether we did, we are the Lord’s. Did Christ live? YES. Did Christ die? YES. Did Christ rise again? YES. So Christ is the Lord over life and death and eternal life. He is the ultimate judge of all. He is our hope. We have no fear. We are the Lord’s.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
my wife has a date with another man
9/8/11 Tonight, my wife is going to go to a high school football game with another man. In fact, he is going to escort her out onto the playing field before the game starts. Here's how it came about. Yesterday, Cathy had one of her male students from 2 years ago approach her. This young man is very shy and barely spoke above a whisper. He asked Cathy if she was going to attend the football game. Cathy said that she hadn't planned to do so. He then asked if she would go with him, as the senior football players were going to be recognized before the start of the game. Cathy asked him if he had any other teacher that he would rather be with him, especially since it had been 2 years since she had him in class. "There is no one else I would rather have than you. You have been my favorite teacher."
So tonight, my wife has a date with another man. I will pick her up after the pre-game festivities and take her home.
Love,
Lynn
So tonight, my wife has a date with another man. I will pick her up after the pre-game festivities and take her home.
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
water from a stone
9/7/11 My breath prayer yesterday came from Psalm 114:8 which says that the God of Jacob "turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water." Around here it has been dry...really dry for a long time. Phrases like "historic drought" and "extreme drought" are tossed about. We have gone without rain for months. The lake levels and aquifer levels are dropping fast. Mandatory water limits are being instituted.
This past weekend we had all of the elements of a perfect storm for wildfires when the winds from tropical storm Lee blew hard and dry out of the northeast. A spark from a highline wire or a cigarette butt or bottle becoming a magnifying glass or from kids playing caused fires all around the Austin area. The local fire departments are stretched to the breaking point with many wildfires still burning out of control. We want to recognized first responders in our community in the worship services this Sunday, but I fear that they may all be out on the front lines of fires.
The psalmist talks about how God can bring water from a rock. God did it for the Hebrew children wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus. I pray that God can do it again since the skies around here seem as hard as iron.
Love,
Lynn
This past weekend we had all of the elements of a perfect storm for wildfires when the winds from tropical storm Lee blew hard and dry out of the northeast. A spark from a highline wire or a cigarette butt or bottle becoming a magnifying glass or from kids playing caused fires all around the Austin area. The local fire departments are stretched to the breaking point with many wildfires still burning out of control. We want to recognized first responders in our community in the worship services this Sunday, but I fear that they may all be out on the front lines of fires.
The psalmist talks about how God can bring water from a rock. God did it for the Hebrew children wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus. I pray that God can do it again since the skies around here seem as hard as iron.
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
all you need is love
from my sermon on Sept. 4, 2011, from Romans 13:8-10
I quote from Paul, not St. Paul, who wrote this letter to the church at Rome, but Sir Paul, McCartney, of Great Britain, of the Beatles, of Wings, and lots of solo work:
( I sing ) Love, Love, Love....Love, Love, Love....Love, Love, Love, Love,,,
All you need is love.....all you need is love.....all you need is love, love, love is all you need.
It is so simple isn't it? Love is all you need. That's what St. Paul was saying too. The whole law is summed up, brought to a head, in one word, love. He quotes Jesus, who quotes Lev. 19:18 in the first testament, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
It is so simple to say, to understand, but so hard to practice. Love your neighbor? It is hard enough to love your spouse. I know we stand before God's altar, we make vows in a marriage covenant for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. We just don't know all the fine print in that marriage contract.
I want to tell you about our 17th wedding anniversary. Please know that I got Cathy's permission to tell you this story. You know what the 25th anniversary is....silver. You know what the 50th anniversary is....golden. But do you know what the 17th anniversary is? It's the toilet!
On Dec. 30 that year, the city of San Antonio, where we were living was having a toilet rebate program. Trade in your old high volume flush toilet and get money to replace it with a low volume flush toilet. I had done some plumbing in my past. I want to take care of the environment. I had the time to do it. I go out to HOme Depot and buy 2 toilets that qualified for the rebate. I came home, turned off the water, pulled the old toilets, put down the wax rings, set the toilets and the tanks, and hooked up the water. Cathy stayed out of my way. At the end she came in, and said, "I am so proud of you. Thank you for a good job." Then she turned on the lights in the coming of evening and said, "They're beige." "So," I replied. "The sink and tub are white...not beige." "You mean?" I said. "Yes," she replied, "you need to replace them."
So I gritted my teeth, turned off the water, pulled the beige toilets, put them back in the boxes, went back to Home Depot, got 2 new toilets, White ones, came back home and put them in. That was our 17th wedding anniversary, the toilet anniversary.
Love is hard. In fact, if you want to know what is the loving thing to do, choose the hard path, not the easy one.
We love our children. We grow in anticipation as they grow in the womb. We are in awe when they pop into this world and we become co-creators with God. We wonder that God would trust us with such precious ones. Along with the wonder comes feeding at 3 a.m., and it's hard. There comes the time when stuff is blowing out both ends at a high rate of speed and the temperature is 105 and you are rushing to the hospital, and it's hard. Love is hard.
Loving others is hard. I had a poster on my wall growing up. It was Snoopy on his doghouse. Snoopy said, "I love humankind. It is people I can't stand." Love is specific, not generic.
Loving your neighbor is hard. I got an email this past week that was forwarded from one of my distant family members who seemed to agree with it. I can erase it from my computer files, but it is harder to erase from my memory. The gist of the message was that the world's problems can be blamed upon accepting Muslims into society. I couldn't believe it. 9/11 is coming up, and we are looking for someone to blame. Who will we pick on? Gays, different races?
It is hard to love. Some would say impossible. Maybe so. Maybe not if we consider that love is not a feeling; it is an action. It is not a noun; it is a verb. I am so glad that familiar verse that we have memorized, John 3:16, doesn't say, "God so loved the world that he.....cried....or felt bad." Probably God does cry and feel bad for us, but God does more, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life."
There are lots of words for love in the Greek language, and the word here is agape. It is the kind of love that we see in Jesus, in his living with us, in his dying for us, and his being raised from the dead for us. It is love that looks like cross and resurrection.
Love is hard, and the only way we can love others, is to know that we have been loved. We have been loved by God in Jesus Christ. I know this, but sometimes I don't practice it. I went to my prayer/accountability group this past Monday. We pastors talk about our souls, about our families,and about our ministries. One of my peers said to me this past week, "How long has it been since you last let Jesus love you?" Well, it had been too long. The remark cut me to my deepest being. I started practicing it in my morning walks, simply being in Jesus' presence, and letting him love me.
Let's practice that now. I know it is hard. You have so many excuses for not allowing Jesus to do this, but we have just confessed our sins and been forgiven in the liturgy. Let's lay anything on this table that would keep us from accepting Jesus' love. Take a minute and simply let Jesus love you.
(silence)
To paraphrase Sir Paul again, "He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, He loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."
The only way we can love one another as ourselves is to let Jesus love us first. We become a conduit, a pipeline of His love to others. The good news I have to share is that all you need is love.
I quote from Paul, not St. Paul, who wrote this letter to the church at Rome, but Sir Paul, McCartney, of Great Britain, of the Beatles, of Wings, and lots of solo work:
( I sing ) Love, Love, Love....Love, Love, Love....Love, Love, Love, Love,,,
All you need is love.....all you need is love.....all you need is love, love, love is all you need.
It is so simple isn't it? Love is all you need. That's what St. Paul was saying too. The whole law is summed up, brought to a head, in one word, love. He quotes Jesus, who quotes Lev. 19:18 in the first testament, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
It is so simple to say, to understand, but so hard to practice. Love your neighbor? It is hard enough to love your spouse. I know we stand before God's altar, we make vows in a marriage covenant for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. We just don't know all the fine print in that marriage contract.
I want to tell you about our 17th wedding anniversary. Please know that I got Cathy's permission to tell you this story. You know what the 25th anniversary is....silver. You know what the 50th anniversary is....golden. But do you know what the 17th anniversary is? It's the toilet!
On Dec. 30 that year, the city of San Antonio, where we were living was having a toilet rebate program. Trade in your old high volume flush toilet and get money to replace it with a low volume flush toilet. I had done some plumbing in my past. I want to take care of the environment. I had the time to do it. I go out to HOme Depot and buy 2 toilets that qualified for the rebate. I came home, turned off the water, pulled the old toilets, put down the wax rings, set the toilets and the tanks, and hooked up the water. Cathy stayed out of my way. At the end she came in, and said, "I am so proud of you. Thank you for a good job." Then she turned on the lights in the coming of evening and said, "They're beige." "So," I replied. "The sink and tub are white...not beige." "You mean?" I said. "Yes," she replied, "you need to replace them."
So I gritted my teeth, turned off the water, pulled the beige toilets, put them back in the boxes, went back to Home Depot, got 2 new toilets, White ones, came back home and put them in. That was our 17th wedding anniversary, the toilet anniversary.
Love is hard. In fact, if you want to know what is the loving thing to do, choose the hard path, not the easy one.
We love our children. We grow in anticipation as they grow in the womb. We are in awe when they pop into this world and we become co-creators with God. We wonder that God would trust us with such precious ones. Along with the wonder comes feeding at 3 a.m., and it's hard. There comes the time when stuff is blowing out both ends at a high rate of speed and the temperature is 105 and you are rushing to the hospital, and it's hard. Love is hard.
Loving others is hard. I had a poster on my wall growing up. It was Snoopy on his doghouse. Snoopy said, "I love humankind. It is people I can't stand." Love is specific, not generic.
Loving your neighbor is hard. I got an email this past week that was forwarded from one of my distant family members who seemed to agree with it. I can erase it from my computer files, but it is harder to erase from my memory. The gist of the message was that the world's problems can be blamed upon accepting Muslims into society. I couldn't believe it. 9/11 is coming up, and we are looking for someone to blame. Who will we pick on? Gays, different races?
It is hard to love. Some would say impossible. Maybe so. Maybe not if we consider that love is not a feeling; it is an action. It is not a noun; it is a verb. I am so glad that familiar verse that we have memorized, John 3:16, doesn't say, "God so loved the world that he.....cried....or felt bad." Probably God does cry and feel bad for us, but God does more, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life."
There are lots of words for love in the Greek language, and the word here is agape. It is the kind of love that we see in Jesus, in his living with us, in his dying for us, and his being raised from the dead for us. It is love that looks like cross and resurrection.
Love is hard, and the only way we can love others, is to know that we have been loved. We have been loved by God in Jesus Christ. I know this, but sometimes I don't practice it. I went to my prayer/accountability group this past Monday. We pastors talk about our souls, about our families,and about our ministries. One of my peers said to me this past week, "How long has it been since you last let Jesus love you?" Well, it had been too long. The remark cut me to my deepest being. I started practicing it in my morning walks, simply being in Jesus' presence, and letting him love me.
Let's practice that now. I know it is hard. You have so many excuses for not allowing Jesus to do this, but we have just confessed our sins and been forgiven in the liturgy. Let's lay anything on this table that would keep us from accepting Jesus' love. Take a minute and simply let Jesus love you.
(silence)
To paraphrase Sir Paul again, "He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, He loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."
The only way we can love one another as ourselves is to let Jesus love us first. We become a conduit, a pipeline of His love to others. The good news I have to share is that all you need is love.
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