from my message on March 30, 2014, from James 5:13-16
I have some questions for you. Are any of you suffering? Anyone here cheerful? Is anyone here sick? Has anyone here ever sinned? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then God's response back to you is "Pray."
Today, we continue our Lenten series on Prayer Practice by focusing on Prayers for Healing. I believe that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is a Healer. If you come to the altar rail today to be anointed with oil, I will pray with you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Great Physician. I believe God wants us to be whole and holy. God wants us to be well in our bodies, minds, spirits, memories, and relationships.
In biblical times, the priest did it all: chief medical officer, counselor, religious representative. Today, we sometimes compartmentalize. But I want to claim that God wants us to be not in parts or pieces, but whole human beings. I want to claim that all those who practice the healing arts are on the same team, after the same goal.
It is National Physician Day. We recognize all the ways God heals through the doctors around us. We have just about every medical discipline represented in this congregation. We give thanks to God for you. I also give thanks for nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, counselors, and all the others. If you consider yourself to be part of the healing team, let us recognize you now.
I also give thanks to God for the healing that comes through surgery, radiation, pharmaceuticals, counseling, and other therapies. Furthermore, I give thanks for the healing that comes through recovery groups like AA and other 12 step programs.
We use best practices. In our passage today, sick persons were anointed with oil and prayed over. That's about the best medicine they had. Today we have so many more tools.
They touched. They laid hands on. We still know the power of touch today. A story I got from long ago involved a baby in the Neonatal ICU who was born premature and drug dependent. The mom had been a heroin addict. The mom deserted the child. A nurse there knew the child needed more than the breathing tube and IV's. She began to hold the child. Then as the child got better, she began to carry the child around like a papoose. The child thrived. She adopted the little girl as her own. The child grew and became full of life. She would run, and jump, and push the boundaries. The mom would say, "Ruby, be careful." Ruby would reply, "Oh, mama, I was born to dance." And so we are. Touch is powerful.
They prayed in biblical times. We do today. Prayer changes things. The first thing prayer changes is us. There have been all kinds of studies done that show prayer lowering blood pressure, lowering anxiety. There have been studies done that show how prayer rewires the brain, creating new neural pathways. Prayer changes us first.
Prayer also changes others. Many of you know this. You have experienced it. We have many examples of healing that we have celebrated over the years here in worship. That's why we put all of these names and situations on the blue prayer sheet each week. That's why we pray on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in the library. We believe that our prayers matter and change others.
Prayer also changes God. We read many examples in the Bible of how seems to wait to act until we pray. God is in relationship with us. It makes a difference to God when we pray.
Always our prayers for healing are in the realm of mystery. The prayers themselves don't bring about the healing. We don't heal others. The oil or the touch doesn't have the healing power. Only God heals. It is a mystery how God does this.
I have been in the hospital with the family gathered around. The doctor was there to remove the life support....and she lived! In fact, when I went to see her the next week in her care facility, she ran over my foot in her wheelchair as she was on the way to art class.
I have also been there with Ellen in San Saba, who had cancer. Wife, mother of a young son, artist, with cancer. We banged on heaven's door. We begged, we pleaded for her to be healed. She continued to decline. It wasn't right. I grew discouraged. I was doing a prayer exercise, taking people who needed healing before Jesus. The meditation involved me carrying people one by one down into a pool of water to Jesus. When I carried Ellen down into the healing water with Jesus, I heard a voice in my spirit. The voice said, the voice of God said, "She belongs to me." All of my anxiety left me. That's right. She belongs to You, O God. She always has, always will. In life, in death, in life beyond death, she belongs to you. Even death can be our final healing.
You can practice praying for healing for others by lifting up persons on this blue prayer sheet, by remembering them when you go by their house, or calling their name out in prayer when you wake up at night.
Stephen Ministers are persons trained to listen and care for others. Stephen Ministers learn a great phrase in their training: we are the caregivers, Christ is the cure giver. That's the good news I have to share today.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Prayer Practice: Jesus, Remember Me
as part of a Taize' worship service, based around Luke 23:39-43, on March 23, 2014
Do you have to be baptized in order to be saved? Do you need to be baptized in order to go to heaven? The answer is No. I often use this passage as scriptural evidence. Here we have a thief, dying beside Jesus, who asks, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." Jesus replies, "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." This is hardly the time or place for a baptism.
Baptism, like we have had today, is the usual way that the church acts out God's desire to save all persons. In the prayer of thanksgiving over the water, we rehearse how God has saved humankind all throughout our history, from Noah and the flood, to the Exodus of bringing the Hebrews out of bondage through the Red Sea, to the baptism of Jesus. God's arms are wide open, welcoming all people.
So I have performed baptisms in the Neo-Natal ICU and in the nursing home...and at every point in between, for little babies to the elderly dying ones.
God's desire to save everyone is illustrated in another way in this passage. Jesus saves a man, a convicted thief, just before his dying breath. Jesus is among the outcasts, the forgotten, the downtrodden, the sinners. When they, when we cry, "Jesus, remember me," he does remember us and promise us salvation.
The thief is helpless and hopeless. He cries, "Jesus, remember me." The answer is immediate, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."
What seems to be the most helpless and hopeless place in your life? I would have you go there and offer it to Jesus. "Jesus, remember me." What seems to be the most helpless and hopeless place in our world today? I would have you go there and offer it to Jesus. "Jesus, remember me."
We join our voices with all those down through our Bible story who called upon the Lord in their desperation: Joseph in jail in Egypt, Hannah who could not have children, Job who was righteous yet struck down, Jeremiah weeping over his people in Jerusalem.
Jesus overcomes the most hopeless situations. When we cry, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom," Jesus responds, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."
That's the good news I have to share today.
Do you have to be baptized in order to be saved? Do you need to be baptized in order to go to heaven? The answer is No. I often use this passage as scriptural evidence. Here we have a thief, dying beside Jesus, who asks, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." Jesus replies, "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." This is hardly the time or place for a baptism.
Baptism, like we have had today, is the usual way that the church acts out God's desire to save all persons. In the prayer of thanksgiving over the water, we rehearse how God has saved humankind all throughout our history, from Noah and the flood, to the Exodus of bringing the Hebrews out of bondage through the Red Sea, to the baptism of Jesus. God's arms are wide open, welcoming all people.
So I have performed baptisms in the Neo-Natal ICU and in the nursing home...and at every point in between, for little babies to the elderly dying ones.
God's desire to save everyone is illustrated in another way in this passage. Jesus saves a man, a convicted thief, just before his dying breath. Jesus is among the outcasts, the forgotten, the downtrodden, the sinners. When they, when we cry, "Jesus, remember me," he does remember us and promise us salvation.
The thief is helpless and hopeless. He cries, "Jesus, remember me." The answer is immediate, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."
What seems to be the most helpless and hopeless place in your life? I would have you go there and offer it to Jesus. "Jesus, remember me." What seems to be the most helpless and hopeless place in our world today? I would have you go there and offer it to Jesus. "Jesus, remember me."
We join our voices with all those down through our Bible story who called upon the Lord in their desperation: Joseph in jail in Egypt, Hannah who could not have children, Job who was righteous yet struck down, Jeremiah weeping over his people in Jerusalem.
Jesus overcomes the most hopeless situations. When we cry, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom," Jesus responds, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."
That's the good news I have to share today.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Prayer Practice: Family Prayer
from Acts 2:42-47, on March 16, 2014
What a week! A plane goes missing .....even with all of our technology, we can't find it. A vote on the Crimean peninsula on whether to join Russia or not. Then here in Austin, in the midst of wonderful celebration of South by Southwest, a man has too much to drink, drives into crowds of people killing 2 and wounding many more. We could use some prayer, couldn't we?
I am inviting you to pray during this season of Lent. Each week we will have a chance to practice some element of prayer. Each week there will be a practical way of praying for you to take home. Please be open to some new way of praying you can practice this week, this Lent, or for the rest of your life.
I know that I have entitled this message as Family Prayer, and some of you have come here as single persons. You are whole and holy in your own right. In fact, when it comes to prayer, each of us is called to our individual prayer life. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew's Gospel, "when you pray, go into your closet by yourself and pray to your Father who sees you in secret." So I don't mean to exclude those of you who have come to worship as a single person.
I call this message Family Prayer because as I read the passage from Acts the early church functioned as a family. You notice how they held everything in common. They ate together in worship and in homes. There was not much difference between the two. They joined together in the teaching, in fellowship, in eating, and in prayers. The church was a place where we became brothers and sisters in Christ, His family.
I will be offering some different ways we pray as His family. The first is Marriage Prayers. About 10 years ago I went to a national training event for men's ministries. We guys are sometimes slow to get things; we can be resistant to spiritual matters. So for one teaching module, they set it up as a game show. Competition, testosterone pumping. We would get points for each correct answer. I don't remember all of the questions, but I got these next 3. The first question was, What is the national rate of divorce among all couples in the United States? I guessed 50%. Wrong. It was 1 in 3, 33%. No points. The next question was, What is the national rate of divorce among Christian couples in the U.S.? I guessed it would be lower. It wasn't. It was exactly the same. Bummer. I thought being a follower of Christ would make a difference. No points. The third question came up, What is the national rate of divorce among Christian couples who pray together? It was lower. It was 1 in 1052! I have a degree in math, but it is from A & M. I had to take off my shoes to do this higher math with fingers and toes. It was less than one-tenth of a percent!
I came home from that conference and said to Cathy, "Honey, let's pray." Now, we had prayed together when we first got married. Then kids came along, and work came along, and we dropped it. But for these last 10 years, we pray most mornings. Not every day, but lots of them. For us, it is in the morning before heading out. It is in the kitchen, standing, holding each other. Sometimes no one says anything. Sometimes, only one of us speaks out loud. Most of the time, we both say something, usually very short, only a sentence or two. How, when, and where would you couples pray together? This may be your take home today.
We also pray with Children. Hilary has wonderful resources at our website for you to peruse. Some simple ones are praying a grace at meals. Parents can say a line, and have kids repeat it. You can sing a grace like the Johnny Appleseed song or the Doxology. You can talk about sad times and glad times of that day, and hold those in prayer.
When our boys were young, they used to run through the parsonage in San Saba naked like wild creatures. To get them to slow down for supper, we used to turn off the lights, and light a candle. They were in awe of that. They would sit down and say grace and eat with us. You can use an icon or another picture to focus on.
At bedtime is another good time to pray with children. Children love routines. They bring comfort and security. You take a bath, get in your PJ's, read a story, say your prayers. Prayers can be "God bless...." and go down the list of people and pets. One really great way of praying is gratitude prayers, to say prayers of thanksgiving. Pastor Jim, our associate, taught me this. Go to bed, giving thanks to God for 5 things. Oftentimes, you will fall asleep before you finish. What a great way to go to sleep--thanking God.
I have some other ways we pray as the family of God. As I prepare these messages I try to listen for the ways God is moving around me. One I heard about from a man in our congregation recently. His fraternity brother from college asked him to come to Houston to celebrate the man's son's 16th birthday. Some 10 men gathered at a restaurant with father and son. The father said to his son, "Son, in the next 10 years of your life, you will be going through some of the biggest decisions of your life: you will be getting your licence to drive, getting a car, graduating from high school, going to college, getting a degree, meeting a spouse, maybe starting a family, starting a career. Son, these men will be here for you. If anything should happen to me, know that you can turn to them for help." One by one, each man said how they could help the young man. They were a Band of Brothers. This may be your take home from this message today.
To practice gender equality, we are trying to start this Mom to Mom program. Here young moms will not only bond together, they will also have mentor moms from the generation ahead of them. We all need the accountability and encouragement of each other. This may be your take home from this message.
I have another way of praying as the family of Christ called the church; that is through sound. It may be the richness of silence, or a breath prayer, or wind chimes. Another person associated with this congregation, who has cancer was telling me about sound as prayer. She goes with other persons who have these singing bowls. The sound washes over her. She said, "It feels like God's healing is flowing over me." It sounds like this (I do the ringing). This may be your take away from this message.
Pause now. How will you be practicing prayer as Christ's family? What is your take away. We were made to pray as individuals. We are made to pray in the family. That is the good news I have to share today.
What a week! A plane goes missing .....even with all of our technology, we can't find it. A vote on the Crimean peninsula on whether to join Russia or not. Then here in Austin, in the midst of wonderful celebration of South by Southwest, a man has too much to drink, drives into crowds of people killing 2 and wounding many more. We could use some prayer, couldn't we?
I am inviting you to pray during this season of Lent. Each week we will have a chance to practice some element of prayer. Each week there will be a practical way of praying for you to take home. Please be open to some new way of praying you can practice this week, this Lent, or for the rest of your life.
I know that I have entitled this message as Family Prayer, and some of you have come here as single persons. You are whole and holy in your own right. In fact, when it comes to prayer, each of us is called to our individual prayer life. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew's Gospel, "when you pray, go into your closet by yourself and pray to your Father who sees you in secret." So I don't mean to exclude those of you who have come to worship as a single person.
I call this message Family Prayer because as I read the passage from Acts the early church functioned as a family. You notice how they held everything in common. They ate together in worship and in homes. There was not much difference between the two. They joined together in the teaching, in fellowship, in eating, and in prayers. The church was a place where we became brothers and sisters in Christ, His family.
I will be offering some different ways we pray as His family. The first is Marriage Prayers. About 10 years ago I went to a national training event for men's ministries. We guys are sometimes slow to get things; we can be resistant to spiritual matters. So for one teaching module, they set it up as a game show. Competition, testosterone pumping. We would get points for each correct answer. I don't remember all of the questions, but I got these next 3. The first question was, What is the national rate of divorce among all couples in the United States? I guessed 50%. Wrong. It was 1 in 3, 33%. No points. The next question was, What is the national rate of divorce among Christian couples in the U.S.? I guessed it would be lower. It wasn't. It was exactly the same. Bummer. I thought being a follower of Christ would make a difference. No points. The third question came up, What is the national rate of divorce among Christian couples who pray together? It was lower. It was 1 in 1052! I have a degree in math, but it is from A & M. I had to take off my shoes to do this higher math with fingers and toes. It was less than one-tenth of a percent!
I came home from that conference and said to Cathy, "Honey, let's pray." Now, we had prayed together when we first got married. Then kids came along, and work came along, and we dropped it. But for these last 10 years, we pray most mornings. Not every day, but lots of them. For us, it is in the morning before heading out. It is in the kitchen, standing, holding each other. Sometimes no one says anything. Sometimes, only one of us speaks out loud. Most of the time, we both say something, usually very short, only a sentence or two. How, when, and where would you couples pray together? This may be your take home today.
We also pray with Children. Hilary has wonderful resources at our website for you to peruse. Some simple ones are praying a grace at meals. Parents can say a line, and have kids repeat it. You can sing a grace like the Johnny Appleseed song or the Doxology. You can talk about sad times and glad times of that day, and hold those in prayer.
When our boys were young, they used to run through the parsonage in San Saba naked like wild creatures. To get them to slow down for supper, we used to turn off the lights, and light a candle. They were in awe of that. They would sit down and say grace and eat with us. You can use an icon or another picture to focus on.
At bedtime is another good time to pray with children. Children love routines. They bring comfort and security. You take a bath, get in your PJ's, read a story, say your prayers. Prayers can be "God bless...." and go down the list of people and pets. One really great way of praying is gratitude prayers, to say prayers of thanksgiving. Pastor Jim, our associate, taught me this. Go to bed, giving thanks to God for 5 things. Oftentimes, you will fall asleep before you finish. What a great way to go to sleep--thanking God.
I have some other ways we pray as the family of God. As I prepare these messages I try to listen for the ways God is moving around me. One I heard about from a man in our congregation recently. His fraternity brother from college asked him to come to Houston to celebrate the man's son's 16th birthday. Some 10 men gathered at a restaurant with father and son. The father said to his son, "Son, in the next 10 years of your life, you will be going through some of the biggest decisions of your life: you will be getting your licence to drive, getting a car, graduating from high school, going to college, getting a degree, meeting a spouse, maybe starting a family, starting a career. Son, these men will be here for you. If anything should happen to me, know that you can turn to them for help." One by one, each man said how they could help the young man. They were a Band of Brothers. This may be your take home from this message today.
To practice gender equality, we are trying to start this Mom to Mom program. Here young moms will not only bond together, they will also have mentor moms from the generation ahead of them. We all need the accountability and encouragement of each other. This may be your take home from this message.
I have another way of praying as the family of Christ called the church; that is through sound. It may be the richness of silence, or a breath prayer, or wind chimes. Another person associated with this congregation, who has cancer was telling me about sound as prayer. She goes with other persons who have these singing bowls. The sound washes over her. She said, "It feels like God's healing is flowing over me." It sounds like this (I do the ringing). This may be your take away from this message.
Pause now. How will you be practicing prayer as Christ's family? What is your take away. We were made to pray as individuals. We are made to pray in the family. That is the good news I have to share today.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Prayer Practice: Lord, Teach Us To Pray
from my Lenten Series, from Luke 11:1-4
You were made to pray. God hard-wired you just for this. Prayer is talking with your closest friend. It is talking and listening. There is nothing weird or unusual about praying. You were made to pray.
Little children pray very well. Maybe it is only as we get older that we get self-conscious about praying. We start rating ourselves. We get intimidated. We say, "I can't pray like Billy Graham." So we stop.
What I teach is this: Pray as you can....not as you can't. There are many right ways to pray. Silence, journalling, art, meditation on scripture, breath prayers, with images/icons, singing, flashing prayers, mission projects, all are wonderful ways of praying.
When we don't know what to pray, there is a prayer waiting for us. We call it the Lord's prayer, but really it is our prayer, the model prayer that Jesus gave us. I am glad to see those closest to Jesus still needed help in praying. "Lord, teach us to pray," they ask. So we do today. It takes the pressure off. It is a learning process. We never finish. It is liberating. It is like a research project.
Today we use the model prayer as a way to get started praying. First, our Address of God. What name do you use to address God? In the model prayer, we say Our Father. Father is one of the most common ones. Father is used 15 times in the Old Testament and 245 times in the New Testament to address God. I went on the internet this past week and looked up names for God. There were 100's. How do call upon God?
Second, we offer praise to God. In the model prayer, we say Hallowed be thy name. Here we praise God for who God is, for what God does, for God's character, for God's attributes. How do you praise God?
Third, we ask. In the model prayer, we say, Give us, forgive us. I know that in other places Jesus says, that the Father knows what we need even before we ask. I also know that Jesus says we are to ask, seek, and knock. I think God likes to hear us ask even though God knows what we already need. It is part of the relationship, the asking. The more we ask, the better we get at asking for the right things.
Let me illustrate with my cell phone. Here I will take a selfie, that is a picture of myself. That is how we often begin our life of prayer, asking for ourself alone. That is not wrong. But it is a beginning place. Now let me turn around and take a selfie with you, just like they did at the Oscars. We are all in the picture. That's how our asking gets shaped, from me to us. Look at the pronouns in the model prayer. Our, us, ....they are all plural. We were made for community. God shapes our asking as we pray. What are you asking for today in your prayers?
Finally, we close. We leave with respect, with politeness. The model prayer does with a benediction. We often pray in Jesus' name, that is, praying as Jesus would have us pray. We often say, Amen. Amen means, So be it, may it be so, I affirm this, or Yes. In Battlestar Galatica, they say, So Say We All!
Take a moment to pray now.
There is another simple way of praying using the acronym ACTS.
The A stands for Adoration. How do you adore God?
The C stands for Confession. Here is something we need to do that we don't always do so well. We need to humble ourselves, to admit that we can't save ourselves. We need to come clean before God. Lent is like spring cleaning for the soul. We need to tell the truth about ourselves before God, trusting that God forgives. We need to make room for God to move in our lives, letting go of hurts and sins. What do you need to confess this day?
T is for Thanksgiving. This is one of our most basic prayers, paying attention to how God is moving in our lives. For what are you thankful today?
S is for Supplication. That is a big word for asking. Another way of talking about supplication is saying, Help. Where do you need help today?
The good news is that when we say, Lord, teach us to pray, He does. Amen.
You were made to pray. God hard-wired you just for this. Prayer is talking with your closest friend. It is talking and listening. There is nothing weird or unusual about praying. You were made to pray.
Little children pray very well. Maybe it is only as we get older that we get self-conscious about praying. We start rating ourselves. We get intimidated. We say, "I can't pray like Billy Graham." So we stop.
What I teach is this: Pray as you can....not as you can't. There are many right ways to pray. Silence, journalling, art, meditation on scripture, breath prayers, with images/icons, singing, flashing prayers, mission projects, all are wonderful ways of praying.
When we don't know what to pray, there is a prayer waiting for us. We call it the Lord's prayer, but really it is our prayer, the model prayer that Jesus gave us. I am glad to see those closest to Jesus still needed help in praying. "Lord, teach us to pray," they ask. So we do today. It takes the pressure off. It is a learning process. We never finish. It is liberating. It is like a research project.
Today we use the model prayer as a way to get started praying. First, our Address of God. What name do you use to address God? In the model prayer, we say Our Father. Father is one of the most common ones. Father is used 15 times in the Old Testament and 245 times in the New Testament to address God. I went on the internet this past week and looked up names for God. There were 100's. How do call upon God?
Second, we offer praise to God. In the model prayer, we say Hallowed be thy name. Here we praise God for who God is, for what God does, for God's character, for God's attributes. How do you praise God?
Third, we ask. In the model prayer, we say, Give us, forgive us. I know that in other places Jesus says, that the Father knows what we need even before we ask. I also know that Jesus says we are to ask, seek, and knock. I think God likes to hear us ask even though God knows what we already need. It is part of the relationship, the asking. The more we ask, the better we get at asking for the right things.
Let me illustrate with my cell phone. Here I will take a selfie, that is a picture of myself. That is how we often begin our life of prayer, asking for ourself alone. That is not wrong. But it is a beginning place. Now let me turn around and take a selfie with you, just like they did at the Oscars. We are all in the picture. That's how our asking gets shaped, from me to us. Look at the pronouns in the model prayer. Our, us, ....they are all plural. We were made for community. God shapes our asking as we pray. What are you asking for today in your prayers?
Finally, we close. We leave with respect, with politeness. The model prayer does with a benediction. We often pray in Jesus' name, that is, praying as Jesus would have us pray. We often say, Amen. Amen means, So be it, may it be so, I affirm this, or Yes. In Battlestar Galatica, they say, So Say We All!
Take a moment to pray now.
There is another simple way of praying using the acronym ACTS.
The A stands for Adoration. How do you adore God?
The C stands for Confession. Here is something we need to do that we don't always do so well. We need to humble ourselves, to admit that we can't save ourselves. We need to come clean before God. Lent is like spring cleaning for the soul. We need to tell the truth about ourselves before God, trusting that God forgives. We need to make room for God to move in our lives, letting go of hurts and sins. What do you need to confess this day?
T is for Thanksgiving. This is one of our most basic prayers, paying attention to how God is moving in our lives. For what are you thankful today?
S is for Supplication. That is a big word for asking. Another way of talking about supplication is saying, Help. Where do you need help today?
The good news is that when we say, Lord, teach us to pray, He does. Amen.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Prayer Practice: Fasting and Prayer
from my message on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2014, from Matthew 6:1:, 16-18
Fasting. Fasting is going without food in order to get closer to Christ.
It is not the Christian diet plan. You may lose weight, but that is not the point of fasting.
It is not to manipulate God...or the government...or another person.
It is not for everybody. If you have a medical condition like pregnancy or a heart condition, don't fast. I don't recommend fasting for children. Don't fast if you are doing it on a whim. Only fast if you are called to do it.
It is not done for show. That's the warning that Jesus gives in this passage. We don't fast in order to show others how holy we are.
For me, it is always fasting and prayer. Prayer and fasting are always linked. The hunger we feel in our bodies reminds us to be hungry for God. One church member here calls fasting, biofeedback. Our body helps us remember to turn to God in prayer. We fast to clear out, to make room for God to move in our lives.
It is an ancient practice. We pick up our Bibles and find Moses the lawgiver fasting, King David fasting, Elijah the prophet fasting, Queen Esther fasting, the people of Nineveh fasting, and Anna the prophetess fasting. Of course, our prime example of fasting is Jesus. As he began his ministry, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days of prayer and fasting. At the end of that time, the Tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, change this stone into a loaf of bread." And Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." What we are really hungry for is a relationship with God.
We get our 40 days of Lent from this example of Jesus. We prepare for the holy mystery of Easter by taking this time for prayer and fasting, to clear out the clutter of our lives, to grow closer to Christ.
I invite you to a season of fasting and prayer. You could begin by missing just one meal a week. That's what our Disciple Bible Study is doing this Lent. Ten people skipping one meal for 6 weeks, we are going to take the money that we would have spent on that meal and pool it together. We will amass a few hundred dollars that we will give to a mission. My wife Cathy reminds me that more than the money, there will a freeing of time. We will save the time we would have spent buying the food, preparing the food, and eating the food. We will find 1 to 2 hours a week that we can redirect to prayer.
You might try a Danial fast. Our associate pastor, Jim, put me onto this a few years ago. You can read about it in the Old Testament book of Daniel, just 12 chapters long. Daniel has been taken captive in Babylon. He wants to show that his God, the LORD, is better than the gods of Babylon. He goes on a 3 week fast, where he eats no delicacies, no meat, and no wine. Basically, he is a vegan, eating only fruits and vegetables, nuts and berries. He comes out much healthier. But the point was to show who really is God.
Cathy and I have practiced a Daniel fast in the recent past. We did with a specific issue in mind. What we found was that we grew less anxious and less invasive about this issue. We were able to let go of our control and give it over to God. It is good to fast with a purpose in mind, something you want to turn over to God, to show who really is God.
You could also fast from some distraction, like forgoing watching TV, or going on the internet, or getting hooked to social media or playing video games. You could use that time for prayer.
You could also fast from some behavior. I once had an associate pastor who used the season of Lent to fast from cursing. You may not believe it, but we pastor can cuss. After 40 days, she found that God had removed that tendency from her.
You may need to fast from overfunctioning, trying to do too much, overbooking. I had a spiritual director who said that for Lent, she was not going to take on any new thing. Of course, she was asked to lead a group to Rome and other holy sites in Italy. She answered, "No." What a powerful word.
Our fasting and prayer may reveal our deeper motives and desire and agendas. It is a powerful spiritual discipline.
You may think that you are giving up something. Thomas Merton came from a wealthy, privileged background. He felt a calling to become a Trappist monk. His friends thought he was crazy, giving up all that money and activity. He thought of it as liberation, being freed up to worship God.
That is the point of fasting and prayer, simply to focus on God, to grow in relationship with Christ. That is the good news I have to share.
Fasting. Fasting is going without food in order to get closer to Christ.
It is not the Christian diet plan. You may lose weight, but that is not the point of fasting.
It is not to manipulate God...or the government...or another person.
It is not for everybody. If you have a medical condition like pregnancy or a heart condition, don't fast. I don't recommend fasting for children. Don't fast if you are doing it on a whim. Only fast if you are called to do it.
It is not done for show. That's the warning that Jesus gives in this passage. We don't fast in order to show others how holy we are.
For me, it is always fasting and prayer. Prayer and fasting are always linked. The hunger we feel in our bodies reminds us to be hungry for God. One church member here calls fasting, biofeedback. Our body helps us remember to turn to God in prayer. We fast to clear out, to make room for God to move in our lives.
It is an ancient practice. We pick up our Bibles and find Moses the lawgiver fasting, King David fasting, Elijah the prophet fasting, Queen Esther fasting, the people of Nineveh fasting, and Anna the prophetess fasting. Of course, our prime example of fasting is Jesus. As he began his ministry, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days of prayer and fasting. At the end of that time, the Tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, change this stone into a loaf of bread." And Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." What we are really hungry for is a relationship with God.
We get our 40 days of Lent from this example of Jesus. We prepare for the holy mystery of Easter by taking this time for prayer and fasting, to clear out the clutter of our lives, to grow closer to Christ.
I invite you to a season of fasting and prayer. You could begin by missing just one meal a week. That's what our Disciple Bible Study is doing this Lent. Ten people skipping one meal for 6 weeks, we are going to take the money that we would have spent on that meal and pool it together. We will amass a few hundred dollars that we will give to a mission. My wife Cathy reminds me that more than the money, there will a freeing of time. We will save the time we would have spent buying the food, preparing the food, and eating the food. We will find 1 to 2 hours a week that we can redirect to prayer.
You might try a Danial fast. Our associate pastor, Jim, put me onto this a few years ago. You can read about it in the Old Testament book of Daniel, just 12 chapters long. Daniel has been taken captive in Babylon. He wants to show that his God, the LORD, is better than the gods of Babylon. He goes on a 3 week fast, where he eats no delicacies, no meat, and no wine. Basically, he is a vegan, eating only fruits and vegetables, nuts and berries. He comes out much healthier. But the point was to show who really is God.
Cathy and I have practiced a Daniel fast in the recent past. We did with a specific issue in mind. What we found was that we grew less anxious and less invasive about this issue. We were able to let go of our control and give it over to God. It is good to fast with a purpose in mind, something you want to turn over to God, to show who really is God.
You could also fast from some distraction, like forgoing watching TV, or going on the internet, or getting hooked to social media or playing video games. You could use that time for prayer.
You could also fast from some behavior. I once had an associate pastor who used the season of Lent to fast from cursing. You may not believe it, but we pastor can cuss. After 40 days, she found that God had removed that tendency from her.
You may need to fast from overfunctioning, trying to do too much, overbooking. I had a spiritual director who said that for Lent, she was not going to take on any new thing. Of course, she was asked to lead a group to Rome and other holy sites in Italy. She answered, "No." What a powerful word.
Our fasting and prayer may reveal our deeper motives and desire and agendas. It is a powerful spiritual discipline.
You may think that you are giving up something. Thomas Merton came from a wealthy, privileged background. He felt a calling to become a Trappist monk. His friends thought he was crazy, giving up all that money and activity. He thought of it as liberation, being freed up to worship God.
That is the point of fasting and prayer, simply to focus on God, to grow in relationship with Christ. That is the good news I have to share.
Monday, March 3, 2014
just imagine: greater things
from my message on March 2, 2014, from John 14:12-14
Great things are still to be done.
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me will do the works that I do, and greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
What did Jesus do? He healed....not just bodies, but minds, spirits, relationships, memories. He fed people, sometimes with bread and fish, and sometimes with his words. He forgave people, and gave them another chance. He even raised the dead.
So do we. We are called to do even greater works. I have been preaching 36 years now. I remember preaching on this passage decades ago when AIDS first came out. I said that I could envision the day when we would find a cure for AIDS. I open up my newspaper this very morning, and there is an article about a vaccine for AIDS in clinical trials. Not just medicines, but therapies, treatments, procedures. Not just physical healing but counseling, listening, praying, recovery programs. We buy mosquito nets, and have food pantries, and support groups, and housing efforts.
We are doing greater things than even Jesus. One, we have the multiplier effect of so many more years. Now, 2 millienia. Two, we have the multiplier effect of so many more people. How many billions of believers have there been over the years.
We realize that these greater works are not a matter of individual efforts. We are the body of Christ. All of our spiritual gifts are added together to do greater things for Christ, in His name.
There is that intriguing language, about asking for anything in Jesus' name, and Him granting it. What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? We had that question last Sunday evening in our Disciple Bible Study class. Is it like magic? If we just say the right words, Jesus makes it happen? Is it manipulation? We just know the right formula to get Jesus to act?
Our Disciple Bible study came to the conclusion that to pray in Jesus' name meant to pray like He prayed, to pray for the things He prayed for, to pray with Jesus what He is still praying for today. We get so in tune with Jesus that His prayers are answered through us.
We continue to pray that our God will be honored, that God's reign will be recognized, that human needs will be met, that sins will be forgiven, and that we will be saved in times of trial.
Our greater works are not to draw attention to ourselves, but that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Is there still plenty of work to be done? Are people still hungry? Are there still hurts in the world? Is there still injustice? Is there still sickness? Is there still loneliness?
Great things are still to be done.
I was at a wedding yesterday involving folks from this congregation. After the wedding, I asked the bride and groom what were their plans for today. I fully expected to hear about their honeymoon. They said, "it's Interfaith Hospitality Network at our church. We are going to be helping those homeless families move into our church for temporary housing." I found that to be very encouraging.
Greater things are still to be done.
Great things are still to be done.
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me will do the works that I do, and greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
What did Jesus do? He healed....not just bodies, but minds, spirits, relationships, memories. He fed people, sometimes with bread and fish, and sometimes with his words. He forgave people, and gave them another chance. He even raised the dead.
So do we. We are called to do even greater works. I have been preaching 36 years now. I remember preaching on this passage decades ago when AIDS first came out. I said that I could envision the day when we would find a cure for AIDS. I open up my newspaper this very morning, and there is an article about a vaccine for AIDS in clinical trials. Not just medicines, but therapies, treatments, procedures. Not just physical healing but counseling, listening, praying, recovery programs. We buy mosquito nets, and have food pantries, and support groups, and housing efforts.
We are doing greater things than even Jesus. One, we have the multiplier effect of so many more years. Now, 2 millienia. Two, we have the multiplier effect of so many more people. How many billions of believers have there been over the years.
We realize that these greater works are not a matter of individual efforts. We are the body of Christ. All of our spiritual gifts are added together to do greater things for Christ, in His name.
There is that intriguing language, about asking for anything in Jesus' name, and Him granting it. What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? We had that question last Sunday evening in our Disciple Bible Study class. Is it like magic? If we just say the right words, Jesus makes it happen? Is it manipulation? We just know the right formula to get Jesus to act?
Our Disciple Bible study came to the conclusion that to pray in Jesus' name meant to pray like He prayed, to pray for the things He prayed for, to pray with Jesus what He is still praying for today. We get so in tune with Jesus that His prayers are answered through us.
We continue to pray that our God will be honored, that God's reign will be recognized, that human needs will be met, that sins will be forgiven, and that we will be saved in times of trial.
Our greater works are not to draw attention to ourselves, but that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Is there still plenty of work to be done? Are people still hungry? Are there still hurts in the world? Is there still injustice? Is there still sickness? Is there still loneliness?
Great things are still to be done.
I was at a wedding yesterday involving folks from this congregation. After the wedding, I asked the bride and groom what were their plans for today. I fully expected to hear about their honeymoon. They said, "it's Interfaith Hospitality Network at our church. We are going to be helping those homeless families move into our church for temporary housing." I found that to be very encouraging.
Greater things are still to be done.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Just Imagine: Rooted In Abundance
from Ephesians:14-21
There must be some mistake. Surely the scribe copied it down wrong over the centuries. Maybe the editor missed it. Maybe it's hyperbole. It sure sounds like a mistake, when Eph. 3:20 says, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all you can think or imagine."
Mistakes happen, even today, like in newspaper headlines. You are going to laugh at these:
Include Your children When baking Cookies
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Panda Mating FAils: Veterinarian Takes Over
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
War Dims Hope for Peace
It Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Local High-School Dropouts Cut in Half
Then there are those from church bulletins and newsletters:
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
The Pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married in October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some others.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Those were mistakes. But it is not a mistake, what we read in Eph. 3:20, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."
We make a mistake when we come from a stance of scarcity. I wanted to get you laughing. Seriousness cuts off options. I wanted to get you laughing, because anxiety cuts off options. When we get afraid that we don't have enough money, or people, or facilities, or spiritual gifts, we are choking off God's abundance.
Much scholarship has gone into who wrote Ephesians. If Paul is the author, Paul who started many churches in the first generation of Christianity, then Paul writes as a prisoner in chains. Just imagine him, saying, far more than all we can ask or imagine, from that viewpoint. If the school of Paul, that is, his followers who continued his thoughts, wrote the letter, then many of them were being persecuted and martyred. Just imagine them talking about God far exceeding all that they could think or imagine.
Our biggest mistake is when we forget to pray. This whole passage we read today is a prayer. It puts us in a place of humility, a place where God might work, a place where God's abundance might be made plain.
I have a story from a sermon by a seminary classmate of mine, John Thornburg, who serves in the North Texas Conference. It is from a sermon he delivered this past year, called, I'm thanking God in Advance.
He says that 29 years ago his life was changed by a crazy, wondrous powerhouse of a woman, named Elizabeth Blessing. What a great name! She was one who rejected common sense in favor of God's possibilities. She was part of a cooperative parish council, 6 churches in East Dallas, all slated for closure. The Bishop and District Superintendents saw more hope in the suburbs than in the central city. Some members thought it best to give the churches a decent burial.
The churches were struggling financially. There was never enough money to do what was planned and prayed for. In Dec. 1984, they were 10 days away from having the payroll checks of the 2 employees bounce. It was life or death.
Being Methodists, they decided to have a meeting. The parish council had 2 groups: one to make plans to continue the ministries if the money could be found and one to make plans for how to gracefully shut down the churches and lay off the employees. John was chosen to head the "shut it down" group.
The 2 groups met. They were quiet and sober. It was not easy.
They reconvened. The chair called on John to report from the "shut it down" group. But before he could speak, Elizabeth Blessing stood to her full height, about 5' 0'', and announced, "I refuse to hear the report of your group. As a matter of fact, I'm thanking God in advance for helping us to find a way for this cooperative parish to thrive."
So if you don't mind, we'll just move on to our report." She then announced the 4 or 5 strategies that her group had fashioned to see them through the end of the year and to launch them into the new year.
Mary Lou Swann, a real estate agent and loyal member said, "Good plan, Elizabeth, but it won't get those salaries paid. I'm passing the hat around. We need $1800 to meet payroll. There are 18 of us here. You do the math." The hat went around. They got the $1800 needed to get through Christmas. Within the next few weeks, they raised $40,000, and never looked back.
It was because Elizabeth didn't believe in common sense. She believed in God, the miracle worker. Those 6 churches would be closed by now if Elizabeth has settled.
Our church is in a process called the Healthy Church Initiative. We are not in trouble, but we could do better. We have been given 5 prescriptions for greater health. They are challenging. I believe with God's help, out of God's abundance, we can meet them. We make a mistake if we try to do it out of our own strength. We need to go to God in prayer. I allow for some time now for us to pray. You may do this in silence. You may journal. You may be led to a song, or a scripture, or a vision. But let's pray. Let's put ourselves before God's abundance. "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine."
There must be some mistake. Surely the scribe copied it down wrong over the centuries. Maybe the editor missed it. Maybe it's hyperbole. It sure sounds like a mistake, when Eph. 3:20 says, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all you can think or imagine."
Mistakes happen, even today, like in newspaper headlines. You are going to laugh at these:
Include Your children When baking Cookies
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Panda Mating FAils: Veterinarian Takes Over
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
War Dims Hope for Peace
It Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Local High-School Dropouts Cut in Half
Then there are those from church bulletins and newsletters:
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
The Pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married in October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some others.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Those were mistakes. But it is not a mistake, what we read in Eph. 3:20, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."
We make a mistake when we come from a stance of scarcity. I wanted to get you laughing. Seriousness cuts off options. I wanted to get you laughing, because anxiety cuts off options. When we get afraid that we don't have enough money, or people, or facilities, or spiritual gifts, we are choking off God's abundance.
Much scholarship has gone into who wrote Ephesians. If Paul is the author, Paul who started many churches in the first generation of Christianity, then Paul writes as a prisoner in chains. Just imagine him, saying, far more than all we can ask or imagine, from that viewpoint. If the school of Paul, that is, his followers who continued his thoughts, wrote the letter, then many of them were being persecuted and martyred. Just imagine them talking about God far exceeding all that they could think or imagine.
Our biggest mistake is when we forget to pray. This whole passage we read today is a prayer. It puts us in a place of humility, a place where God might work, a place where God's abundance might be made plain.
I have a story from a sermon by a seminary classmate of mine, John Thornburg, who serves in the North Texas Conference. It is from a sermon he delivered this past year, called, I'm thanking God in Advance.
He says that 29 years ago his life was changed by a crazy, wondrous powerhouse of a woman, named Elizabeth Blessing. What a great name! She was one who rejected common sense in favor of God's possibilities. She was part of a cooperative parish council, 6 churches in East Dallas, all slated for closure. The Bishop and District Superintendents saw more hope in the suburbs than in the central city. Some members thought it best to give the churches a decent burial.
The churches were struggling financially. There was never enough money to do what was planned and prayed for. In Dec. 1984, they were 10 days away from having the payroll checks of the 2 employees bounce. It was life or death.
Being Methodists, they decided to have a meeting. The parish council had 2 groups: one to make plans to continue the ministries if the money could be found and one to make plans for how to gracefully shut down the churches and lay off the employees. John was chosen to head the "shut it down" group.
The 2 groups met. They were quiet and sober. It was not easy.
They reconvened. The chair called on John to report from the "shut it down" group. But before he could speak, Elizabeth Blessing stood to her full height, about 5' 0'', and announced, "I refuse to hear the report of your group. As a matter of fact, I'm thanking God in advance for helping us to find a way for this cooperative parish to thrive."
So if you don't mind, we'll just move on to our report." She then announced the 4 or 5 strategies that her group had fashioned to see them through the end of the year and to launch them into the new year.
Mary Lou Swann, a real estate agent and loyal member said, "Good plan, Elizabeth, but it won't get those salaries paid. I'm passing the hat around. We need $1800 to meet payroll. There are 18 of us here. You do the math." The hat went around. They got the $1800 needed to get through Christmas. Within the next few weeks, they raised $40,000, and never looked back.
It was because Elizabeth didn't believe in common sense. She believed in God, the miracle worker. Those 6 churches would be closed by now if Elizabeth has settled.
Our church is in a process called the Healthy Church Initiative. We are not in trouble, but we could do better. We have been given 5 prescriptions for greater health. They are challenging. I believe with God's help, out of God's abundance, we can meet them. We make a mistake if we try to do it out of our own strength. We need to go to God in prayer. I allow for some time now for us to pray. You may do this in silence. You may journal. You may be led to a song, or a scripture, or a vision. But let's pray. Let's put ourselves before God's abundance. "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine."
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