RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: when things don't turn out the way we planned

Antonina went to her new school yesterday. It is so different than her old one. For one thing they have a much more "professional" dress code. We have to do some shopping because Friday's are dress down days when you can wear polo's and khakis. The rest of the week is not dress down! Also, kindergarten starts school a week late so the teachers can do home visits. She said, "Can you image me trying to find homes out there?" It really was a culture shock for her.

When she got home we went to make dinner. We were going to make croissant sandwiches and soup. The problem was that the croissants didn't get put in the refrigerator after shopping the other day and went bad. We had to improvise. We used tortilla shells instead and they turned out just fine. She asked the blessing and prayed, "Lord, thank you for what we have to eat, even though it didn't turn out the way we had planned..."

I din't hear any more. How often do we all need to pray that prayer. Life hardly ever works out according to plan, and yet God still takes care of us. Just another reminder to keep our lives focused on His work, not our plans!

AROUND TOWN: Soldiers and Sailors

I would be remiss to leave you with the town square and not show you our veterans memorial. It was erected in 1919. It envisions Lady Liberty with a WWI soldier and a WWI sailor on either side. On the memorial are the names of the Toronto soldiers who served. It was restored in 2004 and now serves as a memorial to all who have served. The names of all who died in service are etched in brick surrounding the memorial. Five Toronto men just left a few weeks ago to go to Iraq. Let's just pray that this mess is over soon and that we won't have to etch any more bricks.

THE PULPIT: the world in which we live

James 3:13-4:10

13If you are wise and understand God's ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don't brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! 14But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don't brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. 15For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. 16For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere. 18And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

1What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? 2You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. 3And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong--you want only what will give you pleasure.

4You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God. 5What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful[a]? 6He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

"God sets himself against the proud,
but he shows favor to the humble."[b]

7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. 9Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.


Have you all stopped and looked around lately? Have you taken time to notice the world in which we live? One day this week I checked a media web-site to see what newsworthy stories found themselves on the front page. Here are a couple of them:

Thai Military Launches Coup, Takes Power From Prime Minister Thaksin. In Thailand this week, the military, supported by the king, launched a coup to overthrow the elected Prime Minister. Coups are not uncommon in Thailand, according to the article, but it has been a while since the last one. The Prime Minister has been under fire recently as he has alienated much of the middle and upper classes, the intellectual community and the pro-democratic activists by his policies and work with the poor in rural Thailand. While he was out of the county, the military moved in, declared marshal law, and has threatened to arrest the Prime Minister if he should choose to return. This is the world in which we live.

Israeli Ambassador Criticizes U.S. for Receiving Ahmadinejad. “Israel's ambassador to the United Nations criticized the U.S. administration on Wednesday for granting an entrance visa to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and allowing him to address the U.N. General Assembly… The Israeli delegation to the General Assembly, including Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, boycotted Ahmadinejad, who has said he wants to wipe Israel off the map and dismissed the Holocaust as a myth. "We didn't think it was correct to honor this man with our presence. I am very sorry that he was even allowed to speak at the U.N.," Danny Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., said. "I ask myself if the American administration didn't have an opportunity, even at the expense of violating its agreements with the U.N., not to give an entrance visa to this man," Gillerman told Israel Radio.” This is the world in which we live.

The articles discussing the number of lives lost in Iraq were astounding: U.S. and allied troops, Iraqi troops, Terrorist forces, and most disturbingly the astounding number of civilian citizens, women and children. This is the world in which we live.

On a more local note, perhaps you’ve noticed the way political advertisements pervade the local media. Lines are being drawn in the sand every day. Sides are forming against one another. Even churches are not immune from the trend. It was not long ago that all the discussion was about how the Episcopal Church USA would deal with the ordination of a homosexual bishop. Now the big news is the Pope’s comments about Islam. I just read an article about a major congregation with a very influential pastor who had 20% of his congregation walk out of the service because of something he said. This is the world in which we live.

Those discussions are quite abstract though. They don’t really touch where we live. We are not Episcopalians; we are not Roman Catholic or Muslim; hopefully none of you will be walking out. But controversy and conflicts like this happen in the local church too. A friend just told me about loosing a quarter of her congregation because of a decision she made (a decision supported by most on the board and the DS!). I was right in the middle of a mess in a previous church with good friends on both sides. I have even seen mountains made out of who gets more money in the budget, or gets to use the church’s kitchen (or even better, since I was the janitor, whose job it was to clean it up after a big event!). Everywhere we look, it seems that sides are forming and lines are being drawn. This is the world in which we live.

Conflict like this, however, is not unique to just the world in which we live. It has been a problem much longer than that. In fact, much of how the church exists today is a result, for better or worse, of internal conflict. Judaism in Acts is full of this conflict. Consider the treatment of the Hellenistic Jews versus that of the Hebrew Jews. Stephen, a Hellenist, was condemned to die, while the Hebrew Apostles were flogged and let go with the request that they not preach anymore. The Hellenistic widows were neglected, while the Hebrew widows were cared for.

Even the early church, that many love to idealize as “the way it ought to be,” was ripe with conflict. Christianity and Judaism have not always been two different religions. For much of its childhood, the Christians saw themselves as Jews. Jews believed that one day the Messiah would come and fulfill the Scriptures. Christians were Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah. They continued most of the Jewish customs. They continued honoring Sabbath on Saturday, but added a resurrection celebration on Sunday. They continued the 2-day fast for repentance. It had been observed on Monday and Tuesday, but the Christian Jews honored the fast on Wednesday and Friday to remember the betrayal and death of Christ. The first Christians, including the great saints we honor today: Paul, Peter, John, James, etc., considered themselves Jews!

This obviously caused much conflict. Imagine today if someone burst onto the scene and claimed to be the second coming of Christ. That person preformed many miracles and attracted quite a following. Many claimed to be his or her disciples and believed that he or she was the second coming. The catch is that it did not really happen the way we thought it would. There was no splitting in the eastern sky. There was no trumpet blast. There was no anti-Christ and no Armageddon. But Christ had returned. Would it be a little contentious? Would it be a little controversial? Would it stir up a little trouble? You bet!

One of the bigger controversies surrounded the idea of missions with the Gentiles. Because part of the Messiah’s ministry was to unite all the peoples under His name, many Jews felt they should evangelize the gentiles. Many Gentiles converted. But remember, Christians were Jews, so they must convert to Judaism. That included circumcision…or did it? Could a person be a Christian and not a Jew? Could a person be a Jew and not be circumcised? Would this be a little contentious? Would this be a little controversial? Would this stir up a little trouble? You bet!

Much of this controversy was centered in Jerusalem where James was the leader of the Church. In this context, his words resonate loud and clear!

In James’ very Jewish thinking, there are two kinds of wisdom: earthly wisdom, and God’s wisdom. It seems in James’ world and in ours, the earthly wisdom controls life. We look around and all we see are wars and rumors of wars, violence and threats, death and destruction, disorder and wickedness, conflicts and disputes, the reckless pursuit of personal pleasure and gain. In typical James thinking, these outward atrocities are a direct byproduct of inward things. “For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness. … Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? … You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” If there is division and disputes, conflict and competition even within these walls, then we must begin by look within.

The problem, James says, is this double-mindedness. We are the Church, disciples of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We say we follow Christ and God’s wisdom, yet we all too often are motivated by our own selfishness. The war that goes on within us must stop. This is no way for the world to behave. This is certainly no way for the Church to behave! “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.”

In Christ Jesus God has provided for us a solution to our double-mindedness. To bring an end to this, “he gives all the more grace.” Grace upon grace upon grace is lavished upon us. God desires not fractures and dissention. God desires not for us to take sides. God desires not for double-mindedness and division. Rather God desires us to be pure. God desires us to be whole. God desires us to be holy.

I remember going shopping for Antonina’s engagement ring. I knew I didn’t know much about jewelry and I knew I knew even less about women, so I asked my mother to go shopping with me. Who would have even thought so much goes into choosing a ring. First you have to decide what it will be set in: white gold, yellow gold, platinum. Then, do you want a solitaire or multiple diamonds? Then is the hard part: the diamond. What shape? What size? What color? What quality? It really surprised me that when looking at what I thought was a magnificent diamond under the microscope, I could suddenly see all the not so beautiful contaminations: defects, bubbles, foreign deposits. The less defects there are, the more pure the diamond is. Or consider precious metals such as gold. The goal is to have pure metal. They heat it and melt it. The foreign matter is skimmed off. All that should be left is gold.

Something is pure when it is only one thing. It is pure when it has not even a hint of outside contamination. Heart purity is when one’s life is totally surrendered to the grace of God. Heart purity is when one’s whole being is in Christ. Heart purity is the unification of all parts of life by the grace of God for the worship of God. The way of the world is division, fractures, dissention, envy, selfishness. But the wisdom of God is purity, without any hint of hypocrisy.

This process by which we are made pure we call sanctification. We are set apart for God’s worship and God’s work. We are cleansed from all impurities. All of our motives, all of our actions, all of our desires, all of our life is unified, and purified, and transformed by the love of God. The tension in this text is between double-mindedness and purity. The resolution of this tension is only by the sanctifying grace of God.

If sanctification is the process by which we are made pure: whole and holy, then holiness is the life lived by the sanctified disciple. It is the life made possible only by our total submission to God, God’s love and God’s ways. Paul and James both describe the holy life. Paul’s list has become more well known, but James’ list is just as solid: purity (wholeness and holiness) produces a life of peace, gentleness, yielding, merciful, and productive of good fruit.

Brothers and sisters, when others look at us…better yet, when we look in the mirror…do we see a people whose life is characterized by the seeking of peace, by being peacemakers in a violent and warring world? Do we see a people known for their gentleness, for caring about the feelings and well-being of others? Do we see a people who loves God and others so much that they yield their desires, their dreams, their success, their rights, even their very way of life to God and to others? Do we see a people who stand out in a world driven by retribution and revenge, as a people who extend mercy? Do we see a people who produces good fruit?

The wisdom of the world so easily entangles us. It so easily drags us down. It makes it so easy for even the church to be drawn in to petty squabbles. It makes it so easy for us to rationalize attitudes and actions not consistent with the purity God desires for us. It tries to get us confused and to loose our focus on the One True God. It works hard to break the unity we must have within ourselves, with our God, within our Church and within our World. The wisdom of the world works against us, and we are helpless against it. But God gives all the more grace. The Wisdom of God, the grace of God in Christ Jesus frees us from all that entangles us. All that ties us down melts away like a cobweb in a fire. The wisdom from above is a bright light in a very dark world. Christ came to give us life and to give it more fully and abundantly than we can ever imagine.

Oh, Holy one’s of God, look at the world in which we live. It is desperate. It is dying. The world is looking for a light, and we are the light bearers to the world. The world is looking for freedom from the evil that so pervades it. The world is looking to the Church for answers. The world is looking to us for hope, for grace. What do they see when the look to us? What answers to we have for them? Dear people of God, we must “submit [our]selves therefore to God.” We must “resist the devil.” We must “draw near to God.” We must “cleanse [our] hands … and purify [our] hearts.” We must “lament and mourn and weep” for our world that is such desperate need. We must “humble [ourselves] before the Lord, and he will exalt [us].” He will purify us. He will sanctify us. He will make us whole and holy; a light to the world. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE PULIPT: the sign of the cross

OK...I almost didn't post this because it didn't turn out as polished as I'd've (bonus points for a double contraction, right?) liked. However, since it was good enough to preach it was good enough to post.

It would soon be a bright, sunshiny morning on the African planes. Simba, who was still little more than a fluffy fur ball was up before the sun. Like all good cubs, it is no fun to be up all-alone, so he bounced around a bit before finding his kingly father fast asleep in their palatial cave. He ran toward Mufassa, and with the precision of a bowling ball picking up a 6-10 split, he crashed into his father waking him from his sound slumber.

Begging him to keep his promise, Simba finally drags his father out of bed. They begin their journey in the early dawn hours, while the birds sing announcing the arrival of the majestic sunrise. They follow the narrow trail that leads to the top of a nearby rock outcropping and venture dangerously close to the edge. It is there that father and son sit together, watching the sunrise while gazing across their expansive domain. The scene is vividly surreal. Broad swatches of color paint the early morning sunrise as Mufassa explains to Simba that everything the sun touches will one day be his kingdom.

It had been a long and tough stretch for Jesus and His disciples. They found themselves in a village on the outskirts of Caesarea Philippi. Now Caesarea Philippi was a town in the foothills near Mount Hermon. The view to the south stretches panoramically across Galilee toward Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus chooses to sit with his disciples, dangerously close the edge of the future, and gaze toward the horizon. As they cast their eyes they looked out upon Galilee, the land of Jesus’ miracles and ministry: casting out demons, healing diseases, preaching, the feeding of thousands with little more than bread and fish. As they reflect on Jesus’ ministry, He wonders if they have learned anything yet. He asks them about His true identity.

Like the view, the conversation does not stop in Galilee. There, way out against the horizon is Jerusalem. It seems so far away, and yet Jesus knows that it is far closer than it appears. As their gaze moves from Galilee to Jerusalem, so does their conversation. It is a conversation we simply must hear for ourselves. The scene is vividly surreal, and Mark captures it elegantly in his Gospel 8:27-38. Would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word: Mark 8:27-38.

27Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
28"Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets."

29Then Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?"

Peter replied, "You are the Messiah." 30But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

31Then Jesus began to tell them that he, the Son of Man, would suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and three days later he would rise again. 32As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and told him he shouldn't say things like that.[b]
33Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, "Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."

34Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 35If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 36And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul[c] in the process? 37Is anything worth more than your soul? 38If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels."

“Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world,” or so the saying goes. At the center of every good lever is a fulcrum. In a diagram, it is the triangle right in the middle. On an old fashioned scale, it is the chain in the middle of the bar. On a teeter-totter, it is the bar in the middle of the plank. In the Gospel of Mark, it is 8:27-38. All of Jesus ministry has built up to this point.

Up until now, Jesus has done some teaching, but mostly has preformed miracles. For the most part, He let his actions speak. Did the disciples hear? He puts them to the test. “Who have you heard that I am?” he asks. He gets several responses. Mostly people seem to think that he is a very important person. Perhaps he is a great teacher, or even a great prophet. The people put him in very elite company: Elijah and John the Baptist are both tremendous heroes. But Jesus is far more concerned with who his close friends think he is. As they all sit there together, looking out across the land, Peter, in one of his most brilliant moments, suggests that Jesus is the Messiah.

“Woo-whoo!” “The Messiah!” “Finally!” Today, we cannot even begin to imagine the elation the Twelve must have felt. To understand their eruption of joy we must realize the situation that the people of Israel found themselves in time and time again. From the very beginning, they were promised to be a great nation. They were promised to be the people of the ONE TRUE GOD. Yet, despite being chosen, they repeatedly found themselves taken into slavery…taken into exile. Even when they were not enslaved or exiled, they were always overshadowed by more powerful nations. Every Jewish child grew up dreaming of the day when the Messiah would come. He would gather all Israel together. He would unite Israel and lead her into battle. They would conquer all of their enemies. They would finally be free forever from the oppressive dark cloud that seemed to follow them wherever they would go. All of the world would bow before the feet of their God. Now the Messiah had come! Gone were their days of trial and tribulation. Gone were the days of ridicule. Gone were the days of playing second fiddle. The Messiah was here.

What is more, if Jesus was the Messiah, then what would that make the Disciples? An almost sinister smirk adorned the faces of the twelve. It was almost too good to be true! No…wait…it was too good to be true. All this talk of the Messiah had them all so excited. They were so beside themselves that they were not prepared for what came next. “I am the Messiah, but…” O how we hate to hear that little word, “but.” “I am the Messiah, but,” Jesus said, “I am about to undergo a great amount of suffering.” “I am the Messiah, but the rulers and the leaders will reject me.” “I am the Messiah, but I am going to be killed.” By this time, their exuberant joy and turned to unbearable sadness, anger and confusion.

How can this be? How can the Messiah die? How can the Messiah suffer and be rejected? The Messiah is a great leader: charismatic, visionary, strong. General George Patton would have cowered in the shadow of the Messiah. He was going to lead Israel into the land of bright promise. He was going to finally be their deliverer. But he is going to be rejected, suffer and die. They went from ecstasy to despair. From the highest possible high, to the lowest possible low…or so they thought.

Peter had had enough. He was going to put a stop to this crazy talk, and in one of Peter’s most bone-headed moments, he rebuked Jesus. Jesus would not stand for it and told Peter to fall back into line. He turned to address the whole group. Just as Jesus began to speak, they realized what he was about to say. The thoughts popped into their minds, just as the words popped out of Jesus’ mouth. Just when they thought it could not get any worse, it did.

“Jesus is the Messiah…he is going to be rejected, suffer and die. We are the Messiah’s disciples. Will less happen to us?” Just as they thought it, Jesus said it. “If any wants to follow me, then take up your cross and follow.” “I have to die. So must you.” Jesus words have reverberated in the hearts and minds of his followers ever since.

Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder with those early disciples. Not so much shocked that Jesus must die, but we are still shocked and confused about what it means to take up our cross. For those early Christians, following Christ frequently meant experiencing physical death. There are places in the world today where following Christ still means taking a bullet, hanging, being beaten or burned. But how do we, here in America make sense out of this pivotal teaching?

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will loose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

This passage is pivotal because for the first time we are told who Jesus is, what he must do. He is the Messiah; he must die. We are also told for the first time who we are to be, and what we are to do. We are to be followers; we too must take up our cross. But what does it mean to take up our cross? Often we hear that we must take up our cross, and we associate it with a burden we have been given. In my semester working as a hospital chaplain, I heard this understanding more than once. “Chaplain, I don’t know why God has given me this cross to bear.” “Reverend, I hate having to go through all these procedures, but it is the cross I must bear.” Understanding our cross as something that we are forced to endure is a woefully inadequate understanding of a life of discipleship. It is certainly tragic that we must deal with these types of things, and it certainly requires a great deal of strength and faith to endure them well, but this is not what Christ is talking about here. Christ chose to go to the cross. He could have walked away and not endured it if he so desired. Christ voluntarily picked up his cross. We too are asked to pick up our cross. The question is not how we will carry a cross we have been given, but rather if we will choose to take up our cross.

Others understand the cross to be something we must choose to pick up. They also understand the connection between the cross and death, so they choose to live an ascetic life, i.e. a life marked by suffering. It may be giving up some convenience, like the television. It might be something more substantial like giving up food regularly, living without technology or electricity, or it perhaps it is choosing to live a celibate life. Many have forsaken the things of this world to live a solitary life with no conveniences so they can live closer to God. This is much closer in understanding, but it too falls far short of Jesus command to take up our cross and follow.

Taking up the cross, being a disciple seems to best be explained in Jesus’ reply Peter’s rebuke. He responds, “Get behind me…” One author noted Jesus was really saying, “get back in line.” Peter was out of line. He was not being a good follower. How can one follow if one is not behind? Peter was trying to lead…not be led. Jesus’ response was not so much a condemnation as it was a correction. It was a call to discipleship. It is a call to us all. “Get behind me” is simply a more forceful call to follow. It is a quick, clear, concise corrective.

Jesus goes on to explain his response. In this brief explanation of discipleship, Jesus also explains what it is to take up our cross. “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter’s problem was that he was still looking at life through human eyes, not through Christ’s eyes. Peter still was thinking based on his understanding and his plan for Messiah, not God’s understanding and God's plan for Messiah. To take up one’s cross is not to bear something we have been given; it is not to give up what we have or what we want; it is to give up who we are.

We are no longer our own, we are Christ’s. Our ways are surrendered to His ways. Our stuff is His stuff. We are Christ’s. All we have…all we are…is Christ’s. That is our cross. That is the death we must choose. This is a tough calling. As long as we are our own, we can pick and choose what we give. As long as our stuff is our stuff, we can choose how much we give. When we choose to put our very life to death, it is resurrected, a new creation, and it is all God’s.

Baptism captures this life of discipleship perfectly. This is why it is so important we take the sacrament of Baptism seriously. The historic baptismal ritual is so rich and vivid. When we enter the waters of baptism, we enter the very mouth of death. Our life is being given; we are taking our cross. “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live.” As we are brought up out of the water, we are resurrected, new creations. We are no longer ours, but we are God’s. All of us is God’s: our life, our future, our hopes, our dreams, our wealth, our cares. We retain no control. We are God’s. “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live. But it is Christ who lives in me.” To make sure we understand exactly who we are, we are anointed with the oil of the Spirit. We are marked as God’s. We have the seal of God placed upon our head and upon our life. There is no mistaking whose we are. Historically, we are even given a new name at our baptism. I am no longer Eric; I am God’s child. I am a new person with a new identity. “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live. But it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and game himself for me.”

Baptism happens to us only once, but it is something we must daily choose to embrace. That is why if you attend a church that practices this historic pattern of baptism you will likely see Holy Water. People dip their finger in it and make the sign of the cross. It is a embracing of their baptism; a re-marking of their life. They are taking up their cross. A life of discipleship is a life of daily embracing who we are and whose we are. It is a life of daily death and resurrection. It is a daily choice to live life not as if it were Eric’s, but as my life is God’s.

To follow Christ to death may have different consequences for each of us. For some it may mean physical death. For some of us it may mean a life full of great blessings. For all of us it means falling in line behind Christ who is our leader and our head. For all of us it means daily embracing our baptism. For all of us it means daily choosing to keep making my mind, even my very life, even my very identity in Christ.

Our responsive hymn is Where He Leads Me: #489 in Sing to the Lord. Who are you today? Are you the Peter that sees Christ for who He is and is willing to follow, or the Peter that needs to get back in line? Being in line, following is not always an easy place to be. None of us know where our God is leading. None of us know what each new day may bring. Make this song your prayer and give Him everything.

Perhaps this morning you are a follower on the way. We praise the Lord with you as we pray this song together. Perhaps you, like Peter, have chosen to follow, but Christ seems to be leading in a direction you are not sure you want to go. We pray this song with you as you recommit to following. Perhaps you have never embraced the call to follow before. You have heard it so many times before, or maybe today you are hearing it for the very first time. All this talk about crosses and death is a little intimidating. You know you should respond, but you do not know if you want to. We pray this song with you as you submit to following Christ.

No matter where you are this morning there is grace to be found in Christ Jesus our Lord. He has already died; He has already risen; He will be coming again to gather those who follow. The Good News this morning is that for those who follow Christ, the Cross is not a means of death, but rather a means of life! To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Oh I never shall forget how the fire fell!

So yesterday I told you a little about the town, well here is a picture of the brand new fire truck the city has. I met the fire chief at the 9/11 ceremony and he said that if I ever needed him he'd be right out, so I thought I'd put him to the test. This morning, Antonina was walking the dog when a neighbor yelled at her to get out of there. The electric pole right beside our house was on fire! Antonina hollared at me and I got out. The fire department came out, but had to wait for AEP, but in the mean time we got to watch the pole fall and the wires start sparking when they hit each other! It was quite a sight and we are happy to say that other than a disturbed schedule there was no harm. All is well and we had an exciting morning!

AROUND TOWN: the town square

Like every small town we have town square. It is just off the main drag. To the west is downtown, and to the east is "the landing." The landing is a boat ramp with a shelterhouse and a nice lawn. At the town square there are three notables. First is the Gazebo. The gazebo is the place where many town memorials are held. Yesterday was the Patriot Day celebration where I was asked to give the invocation. I don't know if I should take that as a sign of respect or that they think the new guy is the only one naive enough to do it. I was the only clergy there. The fire chief, the EMS director and the County Emergecy Response Director and our county commissioner all spoke. It was a fun time. They also have a Memorial Day service, a Veterans Day service and I think a Fourth of July celebration there. Across the street, there is a World War memorial. Don't ask me which one, I can't remember. It is a nice statue with a section of names for all the Toronto natives who were killed in battle. Just adjacent to that is the original fire station. It is no longer a fire station, but you can tell just by looking that it was.

Well that is a little glimpse of our town. I hope you all enjoyed your vist...come again real soon.

THE PULPIT: of dogs and children

Have you ever been in an awkward spot? Have you ever found yourself in a situation that just made you squirm? Have you ever been faced by a predicament when you wish you could have just wiggled your nose and you would have vanished?

Many of you know I grew up in the church. I remember looking forward to being able to vote at church elections as much as I looked forward to driving. One Sunday the pastor called a special election. The issue was this: we had a pastor of Christian Education, and we also had a Sunday School Superintendent. Because the Pastor of Christian Ed. did most of the work required of the Sunday School Superintendent, it was proposed that we do away with the superintendent position all together. I did not think this was a very good idea. I still do not. Just because there is a youth pastor, churches do not get rid of NYI Presidents. In my mind the best case scenario was that the two work together. When all the discussion had taken place, there was a vote. “Everyone in favor say ‘I’.” The entire congregation, except me of course, said “I.” Then, just because it had to be formal, the pastor asked all opposed to say “I.” He barely even paused before declaring the motion carried, but even the briefest of pauses allowed my vote to be cast. When I broke the silence, everyone stopped and stared. I shrunk in my pew!

Have any of you ever had a hero, whose luster was tarnished? Any of you been around someone you looked up to when they fell? Anyone been around a close friend when they did something you knew they should not have done?

Pete Rose was, in my estimation, the greatest hitter of all time. He did not have the power (or the juiced balls, or the smaller parks, or the “supplements”) that today’s superstars have. If you needed a hit in the clutch, there is no one in the history of the game you would rather have at the plate. Pete was my boyhood hero. I still love Pete, and to this day, I refuse to go to Cooperstown, because the greatest…my hero…is not there. Pete has been reduced to camping outside parks selling his autograph. I remember the day the news broke that he was suspended for life for betting on the game. I was crushed.
I bring these feelings up because today’s Gospel lesson brings these feelings up. Would you stand with me for the reading of God’s word: Mark 7:24-30…Hear the word of the Lord.

READ MARK 7:24-30:

The Faith of a Gentile Woman

24Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre.[a] He tried to keep it secret that he was there, but he couldn't. As usual, the news of his arrival spread fast. 25Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet. 26She begged him to release her child from the demon's control. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family, the Jews.[b] It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."

28She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children's plates."

29"Good answer!" he said. "And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter." 30And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

OK, lets recap for just a minute. Basically what happened is this. Jesus and his apostles had a pretty busy day. They were starting to find it difficult to be left alone. The Pharisees were harassing them constantly. There was a crowd around them everywhere they went. They had just finished with one particularly difficult day, and so they tried to escape to find some peace and quite. They found themselves in Tyre. You know this as modern Lebanon.

Now Tyre was not really a place a Jew would want to be. It was outside of Israel, and there were just too many gentiles for this to be a comfortable place to be. Perhaps this is why Jesus and the 12 retreated to here. Surely, the Pharisees and the crowds would not follow them into Tyre. They find a house there where they are welcome and they duck in. Hopefully, they would finally find peace and rest. Hopefully Jesus would be able to find sanctuary from the tumultuous traps that life was springing on them.

But Jesus’ fame had spread more quickly than any of them would have thought. They were not in town long when there was a banging at the door…knock…knock…knock. Before they could answer the door, it came flying open. In rushed a woman who ran straight to Jesus and bowed at his feet. The disciples stood with gaping mouths as they realized whom this woman was. She was no Jew. She was a GENTILE!!! Mark seems to have cleaned the story up quite a bit, but it seems clear that there was no love lost between these Jews and this gentile woman. Not only was she a gentile, but also she was a woman. That is two strikes, and in the disciples eyes that was plenty.

I can imagine their verbal barrage against her…she trying to explain to Jesus that her daughter was possessed…Jesus is sitting there wishing for peace and quite. “Enough,” he said, and everyone was quiet. He had no intentions of granting her wishes. He was a Jew; she was a gentile. He came here to rest; she came for his help. What was Jesus response? A bunch of junk about Jews being better. He even resorted to name-calling (and they weren’t very nice names either).

It all comes flooding back, doesn’t it? You want to talk about awkward situations. Imaging being a fly on the wall for this encounter. Imagine if you were in the room with them that day. This is just a little too awkward. I asked earlier about being embarrassed by something a hero does. This is a story none of us really like too much because we do not know what to make of Jesus’ comments. How do we handle the name-calling, the disregard for a woman’s hurt? We are embarrassed by Jesus’ response and we try to explain it away. We want everything about Jesus to be shiny and rosy, but how do we handle his moments of obvious humanity…like when he cleanses the temple…like this? It is just a little too much for us.

It is interesting that these moments are often called crisis moments. How we handle these crises, makes a significant statement about our life, our faith and our character. In Chinese, the concept we translate as crisis is composed of two characters, representing two concepts: Danger and opportunity! How true that is. Every crisis is particularly dangerous. Inherent in every danger is the opportunity to overcome, succeed, conquer and grow. How we respond in these crises of life have a significant impact on life.

If you do not think it was a crisis, then just put yourself in His shoes. You are a hard worker. You bust your backside everyday. On top of your regular job, you have several apprentices that you are responsible for training. Now you are not just another worker, you are the best at what you do and everyone knows it. Everyone at the plant wants to learn from you. You seem to know exactly what needs done, and how to do it. Management does not particularly like you because you teach things differently and more efficiently than they want things done. In addition to your work and your teaching, you have all the workers at the plant trying to ask advice and get help, and you have management always looking over your shoulder, questioning you and trying to get you to slip up just enough that they can fire you.

Are you exhausted yet? No, OK then this is what life is like everyday…you get no break from the attention and the pressure. Day after day, week after week, month after month the pressure is building. You finally have had enough, so you plan a vacation. It will be just you and your handful of apprentices. It will be a good time for rest and also an opportunity to teach where you are not bothered or distracted.

Just as you are getting settled in, in barges someone trying to get your attention…trying to ask your advice…seeking your help. This is not just another steel worker needing help, it is someone who is a competitor. It is not just any competitor, they are Asian. They work in a Chinese steel mill where the workers are underpaid and the conditions are less than safe. They want your help, but they are the enemy. They have invaded your space and intruded on your vacation. Would you consider this a crisis?

This crisis in Jesus ministry was perhaps the most important of his life. Until now, Jesus’ entire ministry had been with and for the Jews. Jesus was a Jew. He taught in the synagogues and he fought with the establishment. He grew up following the law. He was a Jew through and through. Jesus was the messiah of the Jews and for the Jews. Now, however, he has a crisis moment, and the fate of the world rests in the balance. He has a choice. He would certainly be justified in turning the woman away. She was a gentile, and she was a she. She was lower than low in the Jewish worldview. She was scum. She was no one. She was filthy and unclean. Helping her could make him unclean! She was a dirty, mangy dog! That is it. That is his choice. After all, it simply would not be fair to give the bread to the dogs, and let the children go hungry. This is Jesus’ decision.

Then she responds. “But master, don’t the dogs at least deserve a few of the children’s crumbs?” Jesus stopped to think. I am sure that his mind raced…straight back to his last encounter with the Pharisees. “Isaiah was right about you hypocrites. You worship me with your mouths, but your hearts are far from me…it is not what goes into the mouth that makes you unclean, but what comes out from the heart.” He began to sweat. And I am glad that he did, because it was my life that hung in the balance. It is our lives that hung in the balance. Would Jesus extend his ministry to those outside of Israel? If not, then what meaning is there in his incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection. If he chooses to turn his back, then there is no hope for you or me. He makes no difference to the people outside of the tribe of Israel. He accomplishes nothing other than to build higher the walls between the chosen people and those not chosen.

Jesus chooses on the side of mercy, love and grace. Despite the apparent impropriety of his actions…despite the possible unpopularity of his actions…despite the difficulty and his tradition and his upbringing…despite what the others Jews might think of him…Jesus chooses to extend the hand of healing to one in need. In so doing, he provided healing to the woman’s child, but he also provided healing to each one of us! Jesus changed the history of the world by being willing to step outside of his personal and cultural comfort zone to heal the hurting.

It is incredibly clear that there is a feeling of crisis among the people of this town and this church. In nearly all of my conversations, both inside and outside of the church, there is a feeling of anxiety. What does the future hold for Toronto? What does the future hold for the Church of the Nazarene in Toronto?

If it is not clear yet, then did any of you read the article in this week’s paper about the great things Toronto used to have? It was quite an interesting article because I am not from here and I do not know our history very well. The author told stories about train stations, hotels and nice restaurants. She told stories of streetcars and busses. There was entertainment at the two theaters, the opera house and the horse track. She told of a time when there were plenty of places to work, and plenty of places to eat, and plenty of places to play. It was an All-American town…a place where the American Dream came true every day.

As fascinating as it was, it was quite troubling to me. The article had no story of redemption. There was no “but.” It offered no hope for a bright future. It was simply remembering the past so we can complain about the present and be pessimistic about the future. Remembering the past is wonderful. It is necessary. It tells us who we are and how we got where we are. It helps us to chart our course for the future. It helps us to learn from both our successes and our failures. But we cannot live in the past.

I do not have a crystal ball, I do not have the gift of telling the future but I do know this: the bigger the need, the bigger the opportunity. The greater the need, the greater the miracle. I was talking with Hedgie at the hospital on Friday. You all should ask her about all the kids in her part of town. Can you imagine a whole trailer park full of kids needing a place to which they can turn? I went to the football game Friday night. There were many people there that need to experience the grace of God. There certainly is no shortage of people needing the love of God. There certainly is no shortage of ministry opportunities. Many things have changed, but despite all the change, there is one thing the same: There is a world full of people knocking at our door, calling to us for help.

The good news of the Gospel this morning is that God’s grace is for all: Jew and Gentile. There is no one too different, too unclean or too sinful to be reached by God’s grace. I have heard it said, and maybe you have too: God never requires us to be successful. God simply requires us to be obedient. God simply requires us to be faithful. God simply requires us to be willing to meet the needs presented to us.

As I said before, I do not have a crystal ball, nor am I a fortuneteller. I have no way of knowing who or what God will send to us. I do not know who will be knocking at our door. I do not know who will be calling to us for help. I do know that there will be many sent into our lives looking for healing. How will we respond? Will we hide behind our traditions? Will we look for excuses? Will we be too busy? Or, will we follow Christ in placing priority on the needs of people? We are each here because Jesus chose to meet the need of the Gentile woman. Will we be known as a church that meets needs? Will we follow Jesus?


Today’s responsive hymn is #490: O to Be Like Thee. As we sing, make the words your own. Let this be the prayer of your heart. As we go forward together, into whatever future God sends our way, may we faithfully follow Jesus, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it is scary, even when it seems dangerous to our normal way of life. The grace that was extended to us, by Jesus’ willingness to step out on faith, must be offered to the world around us by our willingness to step out on faith. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

AROUND TOWN: home is where the heart is...

This is our new home. I must admit that it has been difficult calling this place home. I have many homes, and catch myself calling different places home: Circleville, Mt. Vernon, Kansas City, and St. Paul's. I have noticed that when I speak I often find myself referring to these places by saying, "at home," or "back home." It has been a hard thing to make myself not say those things and to call this place home. I think it is important that these people know that this is our home. Not some place from the past. It is tough, and I think we have all been there, but I think it is a worth while endeavor to always refer to the place where we are as "home." If we are to take John 1 seriously, then being incarnational in the world means making our dwelling...our home...with those around us. Jesus was not just a visitor, or a jouneyman on his way to another destination. He became flesh and dwelt among us. He made our home His home. Ministry must being with an affirmation that I am one of you...that you are my people. Go today making where you are, the people you are with, your home.

SDG,

Eric

PS I hope the pic files are not too large. I am affraid they are. They are strait off my camera. If any of you know how to make the file smaller, please send me an email and let me know so I can save you all time downloading these images. Thanks!

THE PULPIT: mobius strip christianity

Mark 7

1One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. 2They noticed that some of Jesus' disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3(The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands,[a] as required by their ancient traditions. 4Similarly, they eat nothing bought from the market unless they have immersed their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to--such as their ceremony of washing cups, pitchers, and kettles.[b]) 5So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."

6Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
7
`These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away.
Their worship is a farce,
for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.'[c]

8For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions."

9Then he said, "You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions. 10For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: `Honor your father and mother,' and `Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.'[d] 11But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, `Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I could have given to you.'[e] 12You let them disregard their needy parents. 13As such, you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others."

14Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. 15You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do![f]"

17Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. 18"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you? 19Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)

20And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."

---

It is said there are two sides to every coin. This is good because if there were only one side then how would we settle our disputes? Paper, Rock, Scissors is an option but there are just too many variants. Some people add other elements like dynamite. It blows up rocks and burns up paper, but scissors cut the wick and diffuse it. And there are draws. Both people throw out the same sheet of paper. That is just too much work. There is always the oldie but the goodie, Eany Meany Miney Moe. However, everyone knows that the one saying it can rig it to land anywhere he or she wants. Tossing a coin is just the easiest and most reliable method of decision-making we have. So I guess we will have to stick with it.

Today’s scriptures bring to light one of the biggest coins in our world: Religion. This debate has gone on for centuries. What is the most important aspect of religion? Beliefs or behaviors? Relationships or Rituals? Works or Faith? Within modern Christianity this debate continues. It is often the argument Protestants use to distinguish between their view of salvation and a Roman Catholic view of salvation. We see the tension in the Epistles. Paul is all about justification by faith and freedom from the law. James, on the other hand, seems to present a compelling argument emphasizing works and behavior. This dispute has been around as long as there has been religion.

Jesus was not immune from this two-sided coin either. In today’s gospel lesson, we find Him and His disciples eating. “Finally,” they thought, “we’ve finally caught them blatantly breaking the law.” And indeed they had. You see, Jesus’ disciples forgot to wash their hands before eating. In today’s world, we cringe at the thought of all those yucky germs getting on our food and into our system. We could get sick. But for the Pharisees, any number of things could render a person unclean. Certainly eating unclean food could make a person unclean. It was all about the law and ceremony and traditions.

And so they challenge Jesus, but thought they would be sneaky. Instead of accusing him, they asked him, “why do you all not wash your hands before you eat? Why do you think you are above the traditions of the faith?” Jesus, as always, had a provocative retort. He quotes Scripture. “You honor me with you words, but your hearts are far from me; you worship me in vain, teaching your laws as God’s laws.” O how the tables turned. What began as an issue of behavior became an issue of belief…what started as a discussion of ritual, became a discussion of relationship…what was initially a discussion of works, was now a discussion of faith. The coin has flipped and the Pharisees are not too comfortable.

But Jesus did not stop there. When he was finished with the Pharisees, he gathered the crowd around him. He wanted to make sure that no one missed the point. He said to them, “it is not what goes into your body that defiles you or makes you unclean, but what comes out of your life that defiles you or makes you unclean.” He still was not done, as he continued teaching the disciples once the others had left. “Food,” he said, “just enters the stomach, is used up. It is what comes out from the heart that is a problem.”

That settles it. The life of holiness is all about a heart relationship with God. We do not have to worry about the Law. We do not have to be tied up by the traditions of the Church. All we have to have is a good relationship with God in our heart. This sounds great, but it posed a small problem for the Pharisees, the crowd and even for the disciples. What should they do with all of their rich history? Should they just ignore it and make a new history? And what about all of their deeply meaningful traditions? Just throw them away? It was all they knew. It was a way of life. It guided them, it taught them, and now Jesus comes along saying it is all worthless. All that matters is that they have a personal relationship with him.

We often find ourselves in the same sticky situation. Our theology is built predominantly on a reliance on personal relationship. Often holiness is equated with nothing more than a state of the heart. “I believe and therefore I am a Christian.” We teach our children that going to church does not make a person a Christian. Giving a tithe does not make a person a Christian. Even daily devotions do not make a person a Christian. All that makes a person a Christian is a right belief, a right relationship. Faith is all that matters.

This idea is even thoroughly ingrained in our denominational structure. Our Church structure is grounded deeply in the free church movement, where the basic idea is that it is up to each individual church to decide what is best for it. We are skeptical of anything that smacks of tradition. We often speak of rituals as empty and meaningless. Tradition is the archenemy of vibrant, living, relationships. As long as we have a loving, personal relationship with Jesus, all else is OK! Relationship is all that matters, ritual is of little importance. Faith is what saves us, not our works.

If we really believe that, then what do we do with going to church? It does not save us, but can we be Christian and not part of a worshipping community? Can we receive the grace of God and not be active ministers of the grace of God? Can we be forgiven and yet not practice forgiveness? These questions arise as long as we insist on viewing faith and works, ritual and relationship, belief and behavior as a two-sided coin. Scripture paints for us a different picture. True holiness is found only at the intersection of inward being and outward doing.

In the gospel lesson, we see Jesus confronting the very notion that it is either heads or tails. Jesus, when addressing the Pharisees quotes Isaiah. “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” He clarifies his point as he shares with the crowd and with the disciples. The things that come out are what defile. What comes out comes from the heart. There is a direct connection, for Jesus, between inward being and outward doing. He is not upset that they give God honor with their lips, but he is upset that the condition of their inner being lacks consistency with their outward doing.

He in no way invalidates the law. Rather, he reinforces it. He is simply correcting a misunderstanding and misuse of the law of God. Meat does not defile a person. A person is defiled by the fact that he or she is disobeying a command of God. Disobedience, action, behavior, is what defiles…not the thing itself. Jesus is not speaking out against tradition, or works, or behavior. He is not saying that one is more important than the other. What he is saying is that when our lives are properly aligned they are one and the same thing!

He is giving us a new metaphor, rejecting the image of the two-sided coin. I have a strip of paper for you all. Could I get one of you to help me pass these out? …. This is a typical strip of paper. Like the coin, the strip of paper has two sides. If you have a pen or a pencil, go ahead and write on one side the word “FAITH.” On the other, write the word “WORKS.” Here we have the same metaphor as the coin. The problem is that the coin is inflexible. It cannot be bent, and shape. Our lives are bendable and shapeable. The Holy Spirit is working all the time to bend us, to shape us so that we will reflect the holiness of Christ. The Spirit is working constantly that our lives might be aligned properly to God.

Take that strip of paper, holding it at each end. Give it one half of a twist. Now bring the ends together so it makes a loop. Hold it together with two fingers. Everybody got it? Now you have a strip of paper that has been bent and shape and brought into proper alignment. Now with your free hand, place your pointer finger on the faith side of the loop. Now trace that side of the strip until you come to the end. Having difficulties finding where one side stops and the other starts?

Jesus introduces this new metaphor. Not a two-side coin, but a one sided life. We cannot separate our inner being from out outward doing. We cannot be saved by our actions, nor can we just take care of our inner being and not be doers. James understands very well the importance of being and doing. Many accuse James of preaching a works righteousness, but that simply is not the case. James echoes his big brother in this morning’s Epistle lesson. “…Your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.” Here we see clearly that James sees the importance of inner being. Do not be angry. It does not produce righteousness. Rather be meek…receive the word. Salvation lies in receiving the Word.

James wisely does not stop there. He goes on to argue that we simply CANNOT be just hearers or receivers. We must also be doers. James too finds a vital connection between our being and our doing. Those who fail to do, forget what they heard. They forget what they received. Faith must be reinforced…faith must give birth to works. Relationships must express themselves in ritual. Beliefs must manifest and confirm themselves in our behavior.

Our lives cannot be two-sided coins. Rather our lives must be bent and shaped by the Spirit so that there is unity in our being and doing. One author commented, “Life for disciples involves both ‘hearing’ and ‘doing.’ … ‘ Doing the Word’ means, that ‘in’ and ‘through Christ,’ God has given Christians new life! That life unfolds itself in practical everyday living. It means there is a necessary connection between accepting the gospel, and acting according to it! The faith of disciples of Jesus involves a way of life which can and must be practiced!” True holiness is found only at the intersection of inward being and outward doing, to the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The closing hymn today is #308, Come Holy Spirit. As we sing it, consider the Word and consider your life. If you have considered the Word this morning and found that your life is a two-sided coin, pray that the Holy Spirit of God would bend and shape your life that your life might find the unity and the wholeness demanded of the Holy People of God. Perhaps this morning you feel the Spirit tugging at your heart asking you to have a relationship with him. Perhaps you have found that you are a person of deep faith, but your life is producing little good fruit. Commit to letting your life be bent and shaped until your life comes to proper alignment. This bending and shaping is a daily choice. It is a daily commitment, but this is a great place to start. Today is the best time to submit to the Spirit’s work. If you need to get your life bent and shaped. Come forward this morning. Start the shaping of your life by kneeling here at the foot of the cross.