from my message on Oct. 26, 2014, from I Thes. 2:1-8
Good news. Could you use some good news today? Have you had enough bad news to last you for a while? I have only good news for you today. I have noticed that the TV newscasts have started ending their presentations with an uplifting story, a story of courage, or a story of generosity or sacrifice. I wish the whole newscast was that way! I promise you my message today--first, middle, and last--is only good news.
The good news is that God loves us. God created us and called us very good. God sends his Son, Jesus, as the fullest expression of that love, living, dying, and rising again for us. Jesus promises his Spirit to be with us forever, encouraging us, strengthening us. We have been empowered to share this good news with others.
Last Sunday, we got to practice this, as we called off worship services here in order to be in service to others in something we called ReThink Church Plus One. Let's watch this video of how we witnessed to God's good news at work in us. (go to our website, www.westlake-umc.org to watch the video).
You can look at the back page of the worship bulletin to see all of the different projects and the leaders who headed them up. I want to thank you. I am proud of you and how you witnessed to God's good news.
I want you to hear from one project, a youth who helped with kickball at Odom Elementary. (go to website to listen to my message and the youth witness).
In a moment, I am going to have you share in 2's or 3's some of God's good news. It could be about what you did for ReThink Church Plus One or it could be another God-sighting or how God is moving in your life. You may not have something to share; you may be the one who needs to hear good news today. That is perfectly fine too.
To prime the pumps, I want to share some stories from last week. The cookie baggers packaged 3,424, cookies, or 856 servings for Mobile Loaves and Fishes. This does not count the Oreos that were sampled for quality control! The blood drive received 17 pints of blood, with 9 others willing to give, but could not donate for a variety of reasons. Twelve persons registered with the National Tissue Registry. 28 learned CPR and First Aid techniques. The instructor said how great it was to teach a group who "wanted" to be there, instead of "had" to be there. 37 attended the Which Way Home movie from the year 2009, which showed us that the problem of children desiring to enter the US from Central America was not a new phenomena. There are 393 unaccompanied minors in Travis County in 2014 so far, that Justice for Our Neighbors is helping. We had a guest family attend the English Conversation Class at Parker Lane UMC last Sunday, and the whole family, adults and children, got involved enthusiastically. Our senior game day party saw intergenerational participation. One older couple who was given a ride had not been out of their house in the last 2 weeks.
Talk among yourselves now and share God's good news.
You can do it! You can share God's good news! The word for good news here is in Greek, euangelion, from which we get the word evangelism. We sometimes translate it as gospel.
I read an article this past week that asked why it is only "good" news. Why not "great" news or "extraordinary" news? I like it that it is understated, kind of like us. We are not pushy. The letter from Paul to the church in Thessalonika says that we share good news out of genuineness, not greed or trickery. I like how it says that we share not only God's good news but our very lives. I believe that this is countercultural. We have become too accustomed to expecting bad news. We followers of Christ practice healing in the midst of hurt, offer shelter in the midst of homeless, give food in the midst of hunger, and offer relationship in the midst of loneliness.
There is a world out there that is dying to hear God's good news.
You know how I like to end my messages: That's the good I have to share with you today. The thing is: you have good news to share also. Amen.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
JOY
from my message on Oct. 12, 2014, from Philippians 4:1-9
Sing with me, I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart, down in my heart.
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
Is that true? Do you have that joy...in your heart?
Joy....life in Christ is marked by joy. Joy is much deeper than any passing emotion like happiness or sadness. You can have joy even though the scores from the football games of yesterday didn't go your way.
Paul writes to the church in Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia. He calls them "my joy and my crown." He tells them, "Rejoice in the Lord, always; again, I say, Rejoice."
Next Sunday, Oct. 19, we will observe ReThink Church Plus One, a time when we will go out into the world to serve others. We will do this not out of guilt or obligation, but joy.
I have a memory device for you. JOY will be an acronym. The J stands for Jesus. Our joy is rooted in him. Notice how many times in the passage Paul says, "in the Lord." Stand firm ...in the Lord. Keep your hearts and minds... in Christ Jesus, in the Lord. Rejoice...in the Lord.
I don't discount that there are other revelations of God and other world religions, but we have a particular revelation in Jesus Christ. When I was sharing this idea of ReThink Church Plus One this summer with some focus groups, Kevin said, "I really like it. It is exactly what Jesus did. He didn't say, 'Here's a bunch of theology or here's a lot of rules to memorize.' He said, 'Follow me.' When they followed Him, they saw him heal people, teach people, feed people. Then later, they asked Him, 'What happened there? What did it mean?' Then Jesus could tell them about how the Kingdom of God had come close to them. Their lives were changed."
This is joy, following Jesus and seeing lives changed.
The O stand for Others. We realize that we can gain wisdom from others, even as we are called to serve others. The list of admirable qualities that Paul quotes from, things that are true, holy, just, pure, lovely, worthy of praise, actually comes from Greek philosophy. We can find Jesus everywhere. We can take the best insights from anywhere.
Paul says that we are to show gentleness or generosity or consideration to all people. We begin right here in community. You are not going to believe it, but there was conflict in the early church! Do you know something about conflict in church? If you don't, you will. It is bound to happen.
Apparently 2 leaders in the church, 2 women were in disagreement. Paul invites others, an unknown person, Clement, and other co-workers, to help them resolve this.
Gerard, a member of this church, has been the leader on some 31 builds for Habitat for Humanity homes. I like to work on his Friday crew. I like to take my hammer and hit things. Once upon a time some years ago, 2 members of this church were in conflict and were part of the Friday crew. I noticed that Gerard paired them up, intentionally I think, to build cabinets together. Lots of little screws, nuts and bolts to put in. It was amazing how the differences dissolved as they worked together. There is much joy in resolution.
ReThink Church projects for others will help us overcome our conflicts too.
Y stands for You. You cannot do this Christian walk alone. You cannot know who you are except by being in relationship with Jesus and Others. There is great joy in knowing who you are and your purpose here.
ReThink Church Plus One will give you an opportunity for joy. You can fill out the hard copy insert in your bulletin, go on-line at our church website, or call the office. Join us in joy next Sunday.
Watch the video to see some more ways you can get involved.
I am encouraging you to invite someone to serve alongside of you, your Plus One. I have a story from a hero of mine, Fred Craddock, a professor of preaching. I will quote it almost verbatim to bring Jesus, Others, and You together.
When I was pastoring in Tennessee, there was a girl about 7 years old who came to our church regularly for Sunday School, and sometimes here parents let her stay for the worship service. They didn't come. We had a circular drive at that church. It was built for people who let their children off and drove on. We didn't want to inconvenience them, so we had a circular drive. But they were very faithful, Mom and Dad. They had moved from New Jersey with the new chemical plant. He was upwardly mobile; they were both very ambitious; and they didn't come to church. There wasn't really any need for that, I guess.
But on Saturday nights, the whole town knew of their parties. They gave parties, not for entertainment, but as part of the upwardly mobile thing. That determined who was invited: the right people, the one just above, and finally on up to the boss. And those parties ere full of drinking and wild and vulgar things. Everybody knew. But there was their beautiful girl every Sunday.
One Sunday morning I looked out, and she was there. I thought, "Well, she's with her friends." but it was her Mom and Dad. After the sermon, at the close of the service, as is the custom at my church, came an invitation to discipleship, and Mr. and Mrs. Mom and Dad came to the front. They confessed their faith in Christ. Afterward I asked, "What prompted this?"
They said, "Well, do you know about our parties?" And I said, "Yeah, I have heard about your parties."
They said, "Well, we had one last night again, and it got a little loud, and it got a little rough, and there was too much drinking. We woke up our daughter, and she came downstairs to the 3rd step. She saw that we were eating and drinking, and she said, "Oh, can I say the blessing? God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. Good-night, everybody.' She went back upstairs.
People started saying, "Oh, my land, it's time to go. We've got to be going. We've stayed way too long." Within 2 minutes the room was empty.
Mr. and Mrs. Mom and Dad began cleaning up, picking up crumpled napkins and wasted and spilled peanuts and half-eaten sandwiches, and taking empty glasses on trays to the kitchen. And with 2 trays, he and she met on either side of the sink, they looked at each other, and he expressed what both were thinking: "Where do we think we're going?" The moment of truth.
There is more joy in heaven over one who repents that 99 that have no need of repentance. Joy comes in relationship with Jesus and Others. That's the good news I have to share with you today.
Sing with me, I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart, down in my heart.
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
Is that true? Do you have that joy...in your heart?
Joy....life in Christ is marked by joy. Joy is much deeper than any passing emotion like happiness or sadness. You can have joy even though the scores from the football games of yesterday didn't go your way.
Paul writes to the church in Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia. He calls them "my joy and my crown." He tells them, "Rejoice in the Lord, always; again, I say, Rejoice."
Next Sunday, Oct. 19, we will observe ReThink Church Plus One, a time when we will go out into the world to serve others. We will do this not out of guilt or obligation, but joy.
I have a memory device for you. JOY will be an acronym. The J stands for Jesus. Our joy is rooted in him. Notice how many times in the passage Paul says, "in the Lord." Stand firm ...in the Lord. Keep your hearts and minds... in Christ Jesus, in the Lord. Rejoice...in the Lord.
I don't discount that there are other revelations of God and other world religions, but we have a particular revelation in Jesus Christ. When I was sharing this idea of ReThink Church Plus One this summer with some focus groups, Kevin said, "I really like it. It is exactly what Jesus did. He didn't say, 'Here's a bunch of theology or here's a lot of rules to memorize.' He said, 'Follow me.' When they followed Him, they saw him heal people, teach people, feed people. Then later, they asked Him, 'What happened there? What did it mean?' Then Jesus could tell them about how the Kingdom of God had come close to them. Their lives were changed."
This is joy, following Jesus and seeing lives changed.
The O stand for Others. We realize that we can gain wisdom from others, even as we are called to serve others. The list of admirable qualities that Paul quotes from, things that are true, holy, just, pure, lovely, worthy of praise, actually comes from Greek philosophy. We can find Jesus everywhere. We can take the best insights from anywhere.
Paul says that we are to show gentleness or generosity or consideration to all people. We begin right here in community. You are not going to believe it, but there was conflict in the early church! Do you know something about conflict in church? If you don't, you will. It is bound to happen.
Apparently 2 leaders in the church, 2 women were in disagreement. Paul invites others, an unknown person, Clement, and other co-workers, to help them resolve this.
Gerard, a member of this church, has been the leader on some 31 builds for Habitat for Humanity homes. I like to work on his Friday crew. I like to take my hammer and hit things. Once upon a time some years ago, 2 members of this church were in conflict and were part of the Friday crew. I noticed that Gerard paired them up, intentionally I think, to build cabinets together. Lots of little screws, nuts and bolts to put in. It was amazing how the differences dissolved as they worked together. There is much joy in resolution.
ReThink Church projects for others will help us overcome our conflicts too.
Y stands for You. You cannot do this Christian walk alone. You cannot know who you are except by being in relationship with Jesus and Others. There is great joy in knowing who you are and your purpose here.
ReThink Church Plus One will give you an opportunity for joy. You can fill out the hard copy insert in your bulletin, go on-line at our church website, or call the office. Join us in joy next Sunday.
Watch the video to see some more ways you can get involved.
I am encouraging you to invite someone to serve alongside of you, your Plus One. I have a story from a hero of mine, Fred Craddock, a professor of preaching. I will quote it almost verbatim to bring Jesus, Others, and You together.
When I was pastoring in Tennessee, there was a girl about 7 years old who came to our church regularly for Sunday School, and sometimes here parents let her stay for the worship service. They didn't come. We had a circular drive at that church. It was built for people who let their children off and drove on. We didn't want to inconvenience them, so we had a circular drive. But they were very faithful, Mom and Dad. They had moved from New Jersey with the new chemical plant. He was upwardly mobile; they were both very ambitious; and they didn't come to church. There wasn't really any need for that, I guess.
But on Saturday nights, the whole town knew of their parties. They gave parties, not for entertainment, but as part of the upwardly mobile thing. That determined who was invited: the right people, the one just above, and finally on up to the boss. And those parties ere full of drinking and wild and vulgar things. Everybody knew. But there was their beautiful girl every Sunday.
One Sunday morning I looked out, and she was there. I thought, "Well, she's with her friends." but it was her Mom and Dad. After the sermon, at the close of the service, as is the custom at my church, came an invitation to discipleship, and Mr. and Mrs. Mom and Dad came to the front. They confessed their faith in Christ. Afterward I asked, "What prompted this?"
They said, "Well, do you know about our parties?" And I said, "Yeah, I have heard about your parties."
They said, "Well, we had one last night again, and it got a little loud, and it got a little rough, and there was too much drinking. We woke up our daughter, and she came downstairs to the 3rd step. She saw that we were eating and drinking, and she said, "Oh, can I say the blessing? God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. Good-night, everybody.' She went back upstairs.
People started saying, "Oh, my land, it's time to go. We've got to be going. We've stayed way too long." Within 2 minutes the room was empty.
Mr. and Mrs. Mom and Dad began cleaning up, picking up crumpled napkins and wasted and spilled peanuts and half-eaten sandwiches, and taking empty glasses on trays to the kitchen. And with 2 trays, he and she met on either side of the sink, they looked at each other, and he expressed what both were thinking: "Where do we think we're going?" The moment of truth.
There is more joy in heaven over one who repents that 99 that have no need of repentance. Joy comes in relationship with Jesus and Others. That's the good news I have to share with you today.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Christ for the World
from my message on World Communion Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, from Philippians 3:4b-14
I got to thinking about it this past week. It was exactly 40 years ago that I found myself worshiping at Niccholson Square Methodist Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Here's how I got there. I was a farmboy from the Panhandle of Texas and hadn't really traveled much. I had been to Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. But I had received a Rotary Foundation Fellowship that allowed me to study anywhere I wanted to in the world. I chose Edinburgh University.
I thought that they talked funny. Ye looking all pealy wally (sickly, ashen faced). If ye can say it's a braw, bricht, moon lit nicht ta nicht, ye all richt, ye ken (if you can say it's a bold, bright moon light night tonight, you're alright, you know). Whooo r yu (who are you)?
They thought I talked funny. "My name is Ly--un." "Pleased to meet your Leon." "No, it's Ly-un." We Texans make one syllable words into two.
I arrived in Edinburgh at the end of September, 1974. I didn't know a single soul. I lived in a bed-sit, a family rented me a room with breakfast for a pound a day, 4 floors up in tenement housing, at 52 Leith Walk. At the end of my first week there, Sunday came around. I was used to attending worship. I found Niccholson Square Methodist Church, only 2 Methodist churches in this city of 1/2 million, next to the campus.
Worship was very similar to here. They sang hymns, had prayers, read scripture, received a sermon. It was the first Sunday of October, and they had the sacrament of communion. The preacher said it was World Communion Sunday. As I knelt there and received the bread and juice, it hit me. People in Littlefield, Texas, 4,000 miles and 6 time zones away, were also taking communion this day. People in Australia, Africa, Asia were also sharing in this meal. What a large table! Christ came for the whole world. Every nation, language, tribe, ethnicity is included.
After worship, I was hanging around talking with the preacher and some other families. One of the families asked if I had lunch plans. I didn't. They invited me into their home. I felt like the sacrament of communion was continued at their dining table as I was accepted there. They didn't ask who my parents were, how old I was, what grades I made, what my political beliefs were, or where I was on the theological spectrum. They simply accepted me as another follower of Christ.
In this passage of scripture, Paul gives his credentials, noting how righteous and educated and holy he is. However, he says that none of that matters at all. All of those accolades are worth nothing compared to knowing Jesus as Lord.
Today, at this table, we won't be checking ID's. All are welcome here. There are many who may not know that they are welcome here. You may be called to extend this sacrament, to take it home, to take it into the world, so all can come home.
Ronnie is doing that with the English Conversation Class with the Matu community in East Austin. Watch the video of one project that you might do on ReThink Church day Plus One, on Oct. 19.
I hope you are feeling called to your particular project where you can extend Christ's love out into the world. I hope you are feeling called to inviting your Plus One, that friend, relative, associate, or neighbor to serve alongside you. Please go online to register how you will extend this world communion feast on Oct. 19. There are many people who are hungry, not just for food, but also for shelter, for relationships, for meaning. The good news is that Christ came for the world, the whole world.
I got to thinking about it this past week. It was exactly 40 years ago that I found myself worshiping at Niccholson Square Methodist Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Here's how I got there. I was a farmboy from the Panhandle of Texas and hadn't really traveled much. I had been to Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. But I had received a Rotary Foundation Fellowship that allowed me to study anywhere I wanted to in the world. I chose Edinburgh University.
I thought that they talked funny. Ye looking all pealy wally (sickly, ashen faced). If ye can say it's a braw, bricht, moon lit nicht ta nicht, ye all richt, ye ken (if you can say it's a bold, bright moon light night tonight, you're alright, you know). Whooo r yu (who are you)?
They thought I talked funny. "My name is Ly--un." "Pleased to meet your Leon." "No, it's Ly-un." We Texans make one syllable words into two.
I arrived in Edinburgh at the end of September, 1974. I didn't know a single soul. I lived in a bed-sit, a family rented me a room with breakfast for a pound a day, 4 floors up in tenement housing, at 52 Leith Walk. At the end of my first week there, Sunday came around. I was used to attending worship. I found Niccholson Square Methodist Church, only 2 Methodist churches in this city of 1/2 million, next to the campus.
Worship was very similar to here. They sang hymns, had prayers, read scripture, received a sermon. It was the first Sunday of October, and they had the sacrament of communion. The preacher said it was World Communion Sunday. As I knelt there and received the bread and juice, it hit me. People in Littlefield, Texas, 4,000 miles and 6 time zones away, were also taking communion this day. People in Australia, Africa, Asia were also sharing in this meal. What a large table! Christ came for the whole world. Every nation, language, tribe, ethnicity is included.
After worship, I was hanging around talking with the preacher and some other families. One of the families asked if I had lunch plans. I didn't. They invited me into their home. I felt like the sacrament of communion was continued at their dining table as I was accepted there. They didn't ask who my parents were, how old I was, what grades I made, what my political beliefs were, or where I was on the theological spectrum. They simply accepted me as another follower of Christ.
In this passage of scripture, Paul gives his credentials, noting how righteous and educated and holy he is. However, he says that none of that matters at all. All of those accolades are worth nothing compared to knowing Jesus as Lord.
Today, at this table, we won't be checking ID's. All are welcome here. There are many who may not know that they are welcome here. You may be called to extend this sacrament, to take it home, to take it into the world, so all can come home.
Ronnie is doing that with the English Conversation Class with the Matu community in East Austin. Watch the video of one project that you might do on ReThink Church day Plus One, on Oct. 19.
I hope you are feeling called to your particular project where you can extend Christ's love out into the world. I hope you are feeling called to inviting your Plus One, that friend, relative, associate, or neighbor to serve alongside you. Please go online to register how you will extend this world communion feast on Oct. 19. There are many people who are hungry, not just for food, but also for shelter, for relationships, for meaning. The good news is that Christ came for the world, the whole world.
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