THE LEGEND OF PEARLY WHITE

“I sure am glad I bought this new safety harness,” I thought to myself as I dangled 10 feet up a tree. It was opening morning of Ohio’s gun portion of deer season, and I should have known how the day would end by the way it began.

I made my way to the tree where I hung my tree-stand just two days before, hoping I could find my way through the pitch black of the predawn hours. I found the tree with no problems. I hopped up onto my climbing tree stand and began to shimmy up the tree. The next thing I knew, my feet slipped out of the bottom half of my stand as it tumbled back down the tree, coming to rest just a couple feet out of the reach of my desperately stretching toes.

I looked down and realized I was hanging ten feet off the ground, with half of a tree stand and not strapped into my tree. I couldn’t reach my stand and I was too high to jump. How would I get out of this mess? Arms burning, I pulled myself up onto the upper half of my stand and balanced myself in the web seat. I strapped into my new full body safety harness and lowered myself as far as the crotch squeezing straps would allow. My foot finally found its target. I finished my ascent, settled in and breathed a little easier – until about six hours later.

As the sun began its downward journey, Wayne and I decided to hunt the wood lines in hopes that the deer would be moving back out into the fields. He went one way and I went the other. A barrage of gunfire rang out. I quickly hunkered in the tall grass as a large herd of does and a couple small bucks crossed the power line clearing and back into the woods. As I started to get up, another deer caught my eye. A nice 8-point.

The woods were only about 500 yards wide before the next clearing. If I could get to the clearing first, I might get a shot. I made my way through the woods and nestled down beside a lone oak on the hillside. I watched, as just a couple minutes later, part of the herd came out and walked by. It would be a long shot, but makeable. I waited. After the does cleared, my buck came out. He took a different patch. I watched in my binoculars, but I had to let him go.

There was an hour and a half of daylight left, and I knew I was in a high-traffic area. A large rosebush rose above the grass and would get me within 50 yards of any other deer that came out of the woods, so I moved. I sat there watching the woods. As time passed I began to be really pleased with myself. It was the first time I’d really hunted. Usually I waited for deer to come to me. This time I took the hunt to the deer. Even if I saw nothing else, it was a great day.

As I sat there gloating, I was startled by rustling in the grass. I turned and looked. It was the biggest buck I’ve ever seen. His rack was at least 12 points. Very high…very wide…and very white – like two teeth growing out the top of his head. He was standing less than 50 yards away, pawing at the ground and bucking as if putting on a show for me. It stopped. As he turned and looked to his left, I raised my gun. I clicked on my red-dot and clicked off my safety. I tried to sit still, but I was shaking too badly. He turned again and looked right through me. He started walking straight at me. All I could see was a narrow chest, thick neck, small head, and giant pearly white antlers. I sat there trying to breath deep, but he was coming right at me. At twenty yards, I decided he was close enough. I squeezed the trigger. He jumped four feet in the air. I pumped another shot as he ran off to be hunted another day.

I looked for blood or hair like a small kid foolishly thinks he’ll really find the pirate’s treasure. I slung my shotgun over my shoulder and walked back to tell Wayne I’d missed the buck of my lifetime. He tried to reassure me, but the only reassurance I found was knowing that one wiser and more experienced than myself came out on top. He will be there another day, and so will I.

THE PULPIT: giving his gifts so his work can be done

The last three weeks, we have been looking at the great why question. We believe the why question is answered for us in four words: bow, share, grow, give. Last week we looked at the metaphor of the church as the volunteer fire department. They have a purpose, a mission and training. Their purpose is to protect people and property in the City of Toronto from loss due to fire. Their mission is putting out and preventing fires. And they must be trained to carry out their mission and fulfill their purpose.

Likewise, the church has a purpose, mission and training. Our purpose is worship: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father. Worship is all about God and God’s story. We gather together, we hear the Word of God, we respond to the Word, and we are sent into the world in mission. Our mission is outreach: sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. We care for and meet the needs of the bodies and souls of our neighbors. Our training is discipleship: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Discipleship is a Spirit-led community that equips, encourages and empowers worshippers to be whole and holy persons.

Let’s say those three phrases together, again they are bowing our lives at the feet of the Father, sharing salvation from the cross of the Son, growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Let’s say those three together.

However, our metaphor is missing a piece. How are the firefighters to put out the fires? They have tools! But how do they get those tools? This morning we will be again be turning to the early church as an example of our church. Hear the Word of the Lord from Acts chapter 2.

READ ACTS 2:41-47

There once was a great king. As the king was preparing for a great journey, he called his most trusted servants to his throne room. He told them of the great adventure he would be undertaking in the very near future. They were stunned. “Who,” they asked, “will look over your kingdom while you are off on such an adventure?”

“Well,” he responded, “I am glad you asked. Really, that is exactly why I have called you here tonight. While I am gone, you will be in charge.” He divided his resources among them so that they each had ample resources to care for the kingdom. Then he left. The two stewards stood there pinching themselves, wondering if it had all been a crazy dream.

The first began chomping at the bit. She could not wait to start implementing some of the plans she had always made. She was a dreamer and her dreams were titanic. She left immediately with a spring in her step. She went to her half of the kingdom and began working. She had roads built and invested in many small businesses. She brought in experts to help the people learn better ways to farm. Since the sky was the limit, she aimed for the stars.

The second was far less decisive. He was very conservative. He was not a risk taker. He knew much could be done, but was afraid he might fail and squander the Kings great kingdom. So quietly, the second steward went to his half of the kingdom. He noted how it looked so he could make sure that when the king returned he found everything just as he had left it. He kept up on all the maintenance, made sure things didn't become too run down, and did a great job protecting the king’s valuable resources.

One early morning, the two stewards were again summoned to the king’s throne room. The king asked them how things went while he was away. The second steward spoke first. “I think you will find things exactly as you left them.” He gave back to the king the same resources he himself had been given some time ago. The king thought for a moment and replied, “Thank you for your service, you can go now.”

Then he turned to the second steward. “And how are things on your half of the kingdom,” he asked. She simply gave a whistle and two servants entered the throne room carrying ten times the resources the steward had been given. The king’s jaw hit the floor. “Where did all this come from?” he asked her. “Well, your majesty, I took what you gave and put it to use. We built roads and industry, agriculture and trade.”

“Very well done,” the king said as his smile beamed from ear to ear. “You will continue to oversee your half of the kingdom…and you will begin overseeing the other half!”

Last week we looked at the church as a volunteer fire department. This week I’d like to shift gears a bit and look at the church as a common clover. Clovers are fairly simple with just three leaves, and are yet very profound. St. Patrick made them famous as an illustration of God’s three-in-one nature. I think they serve us as a very good image of the church. The clover has three leaves, the church has three ministries: worship, outreach and discipleship. Our text is found in 1 Peter 4. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. 1 Peter 4:7-11. Hear the word of the Lord.

READ 1 PETER 4:7-11

Clovers are simple and beautiful, but they are not that way magically. They become three leaves…they become beautiful. They get that way through a life nourished by the nutrients in the ground. They become clovers by the sustaining resources of the ground. And how do those nutrients and resources get to the clover? They get to the leaves, through the stem. We can’t just show up and expect worship or outreach or discipleship to happen any more than we expect the three-leafed clover to just float around. Worship, outreach and discipleship don’t just exist. They happen only by the resources God gives. God doesn’t just pour his resources into worship and outreach and discipleship, God pours his resources into people. We are the roots that receive God’s many blessings and stewardship is the stem by which we give His gifts for His use. God’s resources are only used for ministry when we practice good stewardship. The church is only the church when we are giving His gifts so His work can be done. Again, giving His gifts so His work can be done. Say that with me three times: giving His gifts so His work can be done, giving His gifts so His work can be done, giving His gifts so His work can be done.

The first thing we notice about stewardship is the source. Every gift has a giver. Peter talks specifically about God’s words and God’s strength. Abram was not just somehow made great; rather God made him great. God is the source and owner of all things. The second thing we notice about stewardship is the receiver. Every gift is given to someone. Peter notes gifts given to each of [us]. In Genesis, God was not randomly blessing, but rather God blessed Abram. This concept of giver and receiver is the primary foundation of any biblical understanding of stewardship. Nothing we have is ours. Everything we have is God’s. I have been asked, more than once since coming here, about tithing. How much should we give? Should we give 10% before taxes or after taxes? Can we give more than 10%? The problem with such a question is that it assumes we are giving away our money. We are not giving our money; we are giving God’s money. The question we should be asking is, “God, how much of your money do you need?” We should not be trying to find out how to give as little as possible while still meeting some kind of standard, but rather we should be working hard to figure out how we can give as much as possible. It is ALL God’s. Stewardship begins with a thorough understanding that EVERYTHING is God’s and NOTHING is ours.

The third thing we notice is the gift itself. So often we hear the word stewardship and think to ourselves, “Here he goes again. Why does the preacher have to always go meddling in my money?” Stewardship is about money, but it is not only about money. It is about gifts. It is about blessings. It is about resources. Peter specifies only, “whatever gift each of you has received.” Abrams blessing is not specified. Only that he would be made great. Other places we find lists of gifts, but none are exhaustive. None is a complete list of gifts. Gifts are many and we each have a unique set of gifts.

Two of my roommates in college were business majors and I learned much from them. I recently was talking to one of them about this very issue. It was mentioned that in business there are many types of resources: capital resources, or money; real resources, or property; and human resources, or people. They also deal with time resources. For a business to do good business they have to manage all of these resources well. They have to use the money wisely. They have to put their properties to wise use. They have to have the right people doing what they are best suited for. They have limited time and it has to be used efficiently. The church can learn much from this view of stewardship. We have a set amount of time, property, money and people. Good stewardship asks how we can best use what we have been given. We must find our niche. We must determine what our gifts are and be the best at what we can be good at. Stewardship certainly includes money, but it is really all encompassing. ALL we have is a gift, a blessing with which God has entrusted us.

The last thing we notice is why the gift is given. If ALL we have is a gift, and it is a gift entrusted to us, then why was it entrusted to us? How should we respond to being entrusted with so many of God’s resources? We respond by giving – giving His gifts so His work can be done. ALL we have is a gift, a blessing with which God has entrusted us for the building of God’s kingdom.

Peter shows us that good stewards us their gifts to serve one another. Good stewards give God’s gifts back to others so that God may be glorified. Abram was promised a blessing. He was promised greatness. But he was not promised a blessing of greatness so Abram could be great, but that others, through Abram might also be great. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing to others.” We see this concept lived out in the early church. “All were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” They all held all things in common. All their gifts were used as needed for the work of Christ.

While we have all these teachings and examples, this idea goes beyond teachings and examples to the very person of Christ the King! Christ is our King. Christ is a benevolent and gracious king putting all his gifts, blessings, and resources to use meeting the needs of the people of his kingdom. This is seen most clearly in His death. The most precious gift Christ has given is his very life. He did not hoard even his life. He gave it for our benefit. Stewardship is rooted in the very nature of Christ. It is understanding neither I nor my gifts are my own. They are God’s – for God to use as God sees fit. Stewardship is the stem of the clover that moves the necessary nutrients from the roots that receive them to the leaves that grow. Stewardship is giving His gifts so His work can be done. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: what i'm thankful for

Ah, I just got finished cleaning the house, doing laundry, and cooking a turkey. The yearly ritual has begun. Cookie dough, pumpkin pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey...all the ingredients necessary for a weekend binge resulting in too much food, too much napping, and too much weight gain. Before I become too distracted by the pure sinfulness of my gluttony, I should at least attempt a valient rationalization. It might not make my behavior right, but at least I will feel better about it.

So why all this frivolity? It is Thanksgiving! Which means I am obliged to tell you what I'm thankful for. I thought I'd get it out of the way now because we all know that the party can start once the thanks have been said. Man law? Man law! This year, I am thankful for - drumroll please - FICTION! Now ordinarily I would have given the standards: family, wife, dog, health, world peace, etc., but this year I have made a great new friend. My new friend is fiction. Not fictional, but fiction. You know, the genre.

Fiction is new to me. My analytical mind usually prefers history, or theology. There is nothing better than a little philosophy or ethics to get my mind working overtime. But here recently my mind has been working plenty hard, and I wanted a friend to help me get away. A friend that would disenage my mind and engage my imagination and my emotions. There is nothing better than good fiction to free the mind and to help me wade through weekly sermon writing.

So here's to fiction, man's best friend - well...right after his dog anyway - and to you Little Pete, Camerlengo, Buckbeak and the many great friends I've met. May this year be one full of space adventures, time travels, mystery monsters, and sinister plots...all in the safety of my EZ chair. Well there you have it. I have said my two cents ... now pass the gravy!

PS If any of you want to refer me to some good fiction I'd be abliged. I just finished the Harry Potter series my youth group got me reading, so I am look for something to fill Harry's place. If you have some favorites, please pass them along.

FYI

Just in case you've noticed, I haven't been including the text in the sermons. I will be putting a link to BibleGateway up soon. You can click it and look up the text. That easy!

THE PULPIT: growing in grace by the power of the spirit

The last couple of weeks, we have been looking at the great why question. We believe the why question is answered for us in four words: bow, share, grow, give. The first week we saw that the purpose of the Church is to worship God. Worship is the defining characteristic that makes us more than another ministry group. We are the church because we gather together to worship God. In finding the purpose of the church’s existence, we also found the meaning of human existence.

We found that worship has God alone as the content, follows the structure of gathering together, revelation, response and sending out in mission. Worship is done in a willing posture of submission, bowing our lives at the feet of the Father.

Worship calls us into ministry. If worship is our purpose, then outreach is our mission. We are called into the world to proclaim, “This is God’s year to act in your life.” We are to be the means by which Christ preaches good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed. Our outreach must seek to meet the needs of the bodies and souls of our neighbors. In meeting their needs, we are sharing salvation from the cross of the Son.

When we put together the first two weeks we find ourselves: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. Say those two phrases with me: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son.

This morning we will be again be turning to the early church as an example of our church. Hear the Word of the Lord from Acts chapter 2.

READ ACTS 2:41-47

Growing up in the church, I remember a time when people actually came to church on Sunday just for the Sunday School. People would come for class and then either linger while discussing some aspect of life or lesson so long that they were late for worship or even missed it completely. Some would even come and then leave after Sunday School ignoring worship all together. I remember when Sunday School was the place to be! Sadly, over the last decade, it seems that Sunday School has almost become a footnote in many congregations, and I have often wondered why.

As I have observed churches, I have found the issue is not really about Sunday School, but about discipleship. The question is how well we disciple one another. Our tradition teaches us there is more to our faith than a one-time decision. We must go on from salvation to sanctification, and yet we must never settle for where we are because where we are is never where we need to be. Christianity is not about a destination, but it is about the journey. We must always be growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Discipleship is our ministry to one another making sure that we are all growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Say that phrase with me three times – again, the phrase is: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Together now, three times: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit.

This morning’s text is from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel. Luke 2:41-52. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. Luke 2:41. Hear the Word of the Lord: READ LUKE 2:41-52.

“And Jesus grew up, not only in body, but also in wisdom, and in God, and in others.” I am always reminded of my Caravan days when I hear this verse. We had the four different colored candles that stood for the four ways Jesus grew: mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. He grew up as a healthy and whole person.

As I reflect on the dilemma of Sunday School, I am convinced the failure of Sunday Schools is directly related to the limiting of discipleship to a mental learning of information. Students come in sit at their table and learn the lesson. Then they go home and come back again next week for more information.

However, there is another side to the Sunday School coin. Many discipleship programs thrive. I believe they thrive precisely because they are not about in-formation, but rather about life-formation. Successful discipleship encompasses the whole person. In an effort to make discipleship life-formational, successful discipleship looks beyond the peripheral questions like when and where, to the heart of the matter: why, who, and how.

Why? Why is discipleship important? Why is life-formation important? We have established worship as the purpose of the Church, and outreach as the mission of the church. Where then does discipleship fit into the puzzle? Discipleship is our training. Any group can have a purpose. Imagine if the volunteer fire department existed for a purpose: that purpose is to protect the lives and properties of the people of Toronto from devastation and loss due to fire. That purpose is perfectly admirable, but what if there were never any fires? They exist with a purpose, but that really doesn’t do anyone any good does it?

Now imagine they have a purpose and there are fires. Now not only do they have a purpose, but they have a mission. Not only do they have both, but also their purpose calls them into their mission. They cannot exist for their purpose of protecting from fires without having the mission of fighting and preventing fires. We see then purpose and mission working together. Now imagine if your house was on fire and they responded to their call to mission and they did it with the admirable purpose of saving you from loss, but they had no idea what to do when they arrived because they had no training. What good are a great purpose and a brave mission, if no one is equipped to be a firefighter?

I’ve been around our public servants enough to know that training is not a one-time thing. You are not certified and that’s it. Training is continual. Good training also includes discipline, accountability and debriefing. It helps prepare us, but it also helps us deal with the stress of doing the mission. Purpose, mission and training must work together if any are to be of value. The writer of Hebrews tells us tells of drawing near to God and to one another that we may be prepared, that we spur each other toward love and good deeds, that we might encourage one another, that we might endure. This is why we must be disciples: to be prepared, to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, to encourage one another, to endure.

Who? Who is discipleship for? Who should be involved in discipleship? I mentioned remembering a time when Sunday School was more highly attended than worship. Today it seems quite the opposite. People come for worship and then go home. There should not be a disparity between those who attend worship and those who enter into discipleship. They work together and all who call themselves worshipper should also call themselves disciples.

As we return to the story of the early church, we find that Christian life – discipleship – is for all who believe. The story begins with 3,000 who are the fruit of mission. They find their life’s purpose in worshipping God and enter into Christian living, or a life of discipleship. The great commission teaches us to make disciples of all nations, and that those who join the church through worship should be taught to obey all Christ has taught – to enter a life of discipleship. Additionally, the reading from Hebrews encourages us to all be in the habit of meeting together regularly for discipleship. The writer goes so far as to call out those who fail to meet together regularly! Discipleship is the expectation for all whose lives are lived in worship to God, just as all whose lives are lived in worship to God have the mission of outreach.

How? How are we discipled? How do we grow into healthy, well-rounded Christians? If the Christian life can be summed up in the idea of serving, then worship is serving God; outreaching is serving our neighbor: the poor, the oppressed, the captive; and discipleship is serving our brothers and sisters in Christ. In worship, we submit our lives to God; in outreach, we submit our lives to our neighbors; and in discipleship, we submit our lives to one another. Discipleship is all about growing in grace.

Growth in grace only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we survey the landscape of Biblical writings and Christian history we find a number of roles the Holy Spirit plays: breathe, conceiver of life, empowerer, guide, intercessor, equipper, convictor, comforter, refiner, sanctifier. These things are all related directly to growth. By the spirit we have the breathe of God that gives us life. We have the power to grow and live as disciples. We are guided through a life of growth. We are prayed for as we grow. We are equipped for a life of growth. We are convicted and held accountable when we stray. We are comforted in our grief. We are refined, purified and sanctified. Discipleship is growing in grace by the power of the Spirit.

We also see that we do not live a Christian life alone. A life of discipleship is only possible in a life of community or fellowship. Even God exists in the community and fellowship of the Holy Trinity. Christ, when he lived among us, surrounded himself with a community of believers. Discipleship only happens when it is a Spirit led community of believers.

A Spirit led community is not bound by time or place. It is a way of life. It is a way of living that produces healthy, well-rounded, whole and holy disciples. Sunday School, I believe, fails when it becomes a class instead of a community. In a class, there is one teacher and many learners. In a community, all are teachers and all are learners. None of us has arrived. Our teens have sweatshirts that say, “please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet.” Perhaps they are wise beyond their years. Who of us is God finished with? Who of us does not have something yet to learn? Who of us does not have something to offer to a brother or a sister? There are not teachers and students but only disciples.

In a class, there is a beginning and an end. A community never ends. It may grow – it may change, but it never ends. I am a son and a brother. I don’t get together with my parents or brother nearly as often as I should. I don’t see them as often as I’d like. Sometimes we go months without seeing each other. Sometimes it seems like forever between our times together, but they know no matter what, if any of them needs me, I will be there. In a community, we do not start and stop being the community when the bell rings, but rather there are no bells, and we never stop being community. We are always there. We always live for one another. Community has no end.

In a class, the focus is on learning. In a community, the focus is on living. We’ve all been in school. We all sit through lessons and lectures. However, community is not about sitting, but rather about active participation. It is about walking together through life. Sometimes that means we have lessons to learn. It is vitally important that we have a solid understanding of our faith and our scripture. It is equally important, however, that in community there are times when we have to put our minds aside. There are times when we must be the role of guide, or convictor, or comforter, or intercessor.

We all need to be a part of a community of disciples, who know us most intimately, that can call us onto the carpet when we are veering off course. We all need people in our life to encourage us when we are depressed. We all need people in our life to comfort us when we mourn. That we can confess to when we fail, that can pray for us when we just can’t pray any more, that will provide for us when food and money run out. We all need a community where we can laugh and play and have fun together. Discipleship is about life…all of it. Jesus grew not only physically but also in wisdom and in favor with God and with others. If we are to produce healthy disciples then we must create communities, led by the Holy Spirit, where we can follow Christ in being whole and in being holy, and where we can find soil fertile for growing in grace by the power of the Spirit, to the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE PULPIT: sharing salvation from the cross of the son

Last week we began a four-week look at the great why question. Last week we saw that the purpose of the Church is to worship God. Worship is the defining characteristic that makes us more than a ministry group. We are the church because we gather together to worship God. In finding the purpose of the church’s existence we also found the meaning of human existence.

Whether understood corporately in the church or personally in the person, we discovered that worship can be summed for us in one brief phrase. Do you all remember what that phrase was? Let’s say it together.

We also found that worship, whether corporate or personal, has God alone as the content, follows the structure of revelation and response, and is done in a willing posture of submission, bowing our lives at the feet of the Father.

If worship answers the why question, then we are left to discover the implications of being a worshipping community. We will again be taking our cue from the early church as it is described in the 2nd chapter of Acts. Hear the Word of the Lord.

READ ACTS 2:41-47

There once was a woman. This woman had no name. This woman had no face. She was just another woman living a seemingly average life. But this woman had a secret. For quite some time, she had been living a double life. At home, she was a great wife and mother, but fairly regularly she rendezvoused with her lover. The weight of her double life was really getting her down. She wasn’t sure how she could get out of this life that ensnared her.

One night she was with her lover at the local hotel. She finally got up the nerve to tell him it was over and he became enraged. When they began yelling, the neighbors heard and called the police. When the police arrived, the couple was caught completely by surprise and there was no way out of this crime of adultery. They were hauled to jail where they would wait to be brought before the judge.

The woman’s day finally came. The prosecution brought her before the judge. They told of her double life and of how she’d been caught in the act. They said she must be put to death immediately, according to the law. The judge thought for a moment and broke his silence with a question. He looked around the courtroom and asked, “which of you is without sin?” No one volunteered. When no one spoke up, claiming to be sinless, the gracious judge forgave the woman and sent her on her way to live in freedom from the weight of living in sin.

If the purpose of the church is to worship God, then the mission of the church is to help others bring their lives into a worshipping relationship with God. This is accomplished by sharing salvation from the Cross of the Son. Say that with me three times: sharing salvation from the cross of the Son; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son.

This morning’s text is from the fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel: Luke 4:14-21. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Many have pointed to this passage as Luke’s summary of Jesus’ life and ministry. While it serves as a summary of Jesus’ ministry, it becomes for us a pattern of our outreach. The first thing we see about Jesus’ ministry is that it is rooted in his worship. It was Jesus’ custom to worship in the synagogue. He didn’t just attend, but he was an active participant. It was the reading of Scripture, empowered by the Spirit, that called Jesus into a life of ministry.

Worship and outreach are vitally linked. Last week we look at the two aspects of revelation and response in worship. But historical worship has two further components: the gathering of the community and the sending out of the community. The beginning of worship calls us out of the world, and sets us apart for the purpose of worship. At the conclusion of worship, the people of God are sent into the world with the mission of bringing others into the worshipping body.

We see this connection in Jesus’ life and we see it in the early church. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” It is no coincidence that the passage begins with a summary of worship and then moves to a description of life. Worship always calls us into ministry. While worship is always directed at God, God always directs us toward others. Outreach must always be deeply rooted in our corporate worship.

In the worship setting, Jesus reveals his heart. It is a heart for outreach. From the prophet Isaiah, He proclaims, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!

Eugene Peterson translated this in The Message as “to announce, ‘This is God’s year to act.’” I like that translation: This is God’s year to act! This message of Christ certainly draws our mind to one very specific act: The cross of the Son. If we understand this as a reference to the cross of the Son, we must ask what that action accomplished. Isaiah’s words speak of release, and healing. It is this theme of freedom that characterizes Jesus’ ministry. Paul writes, “Christ has set us free to live a free life.” The message of the cross is freedom from whatever binds us.

Luke reminds us that freedom in Christ is from many snares. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” Who are the poor? Who are the needy? What are they in need of? “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.” Who are the captives? What are they captive to? “…and recovery of sight to the blind? Who are the blind? What do they fail to see? “…to let the oppressed go free.” Who is oppressed? What oppresses them?

From our seats in the church, these questions seem easy to answer. We know freedom is only truly found in the cross of the Son. We know the poor are those who do not have the lavish wealth of God’s love in their life. We know the poor are those who are outside of our walls of fellowship. We know the only remedy for their poverty is the riches of Christ. We know the captives are those who live in sin. We know they are captive to sin. We know the blind are those who cannot see Christ working so fervently on their behalf. We know the oppressed are those who have the weight of the world keeping them from the worshipping relationship with God.

Our mission, as the holy people of God is to proclaim to those around us that this is God’s year to act in their life: to set them free and to heal their life. Our mission is sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. But Luke also shows us that Christ NEVER separates the spiritual person from the physical. A person is a person is a person. To suggest that Jesus words here refer only to the spiritual realm is terribly irresponsible. As spiritual as this passage is in nature, so too is it physical in nature. We cannot love our neighbors’ spirit – we cannot seek their spiritual freedom – if we do not love them enough to work for their freedom from the things of this world.

The gospels are full of stories of Jesus caring about the physical needs of people. He healed them, he fed them, he restored them. Jesus cared about the physical needs of life. In Acts, we see the disciples in the early church committed to providing care for any who had need. As a result, we see God adding to their number those who were saved.

Outreach is sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. But how do we do that? We cannot ignore the tangible needs of people. If people are going to experience the love of God, then they must experience the love of the church! If people are going to find spiritual freedom in the cross of the Son, then they must find tangible freedom in the compassion of the body of the Son.

Our outreach must address the real needs of the people around us. As is so often the case in faith, we only come to understand the spiritual by means of the ordinary. We’ve talked about the sacraments as ordinary things that connect us with the extraordinary love of God. The ordinary helps us to understand the spiritual. If we ignore the ordinary needs of people and never show them the love of God in their ordinary, every day needs, then how can we expect them to see the love of God in their extraordinary spiritual needs? The good news we must proclaim is that the Spirit changes people’s lives, their situations, their environments, and their needs. In meeting their needs, their hearts are turned to God. Outreach is all about meeting the needs of people. Often it is because they feel loved by the meeting of physical needs that people are open to having their spiritual needs met. In meeting their needs they too can be set free, by salvation from the cross of the Son, to live a free life.

The use of Isaiah is so interesting the final verse of this passage often gets overlooked. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Today the scripture has been fulfilled! Today the Spirit of the Lord is upon me! Today I bring good news to the poor! Today I proclaim release to the captives! Today I grant sight to the blind! Today I set the oppressed free! TODAY IS THE DAY!

So many times I’ve heard things like: my church isn’t ready to reach out yet. We don’t have a strong enough discipleship structure and they will just fall away again. My church isn’t healthy enough yet. We need to get ourselves healthy before we start thinking about getting others healthy. This is just not a scriptural position. This is not a Christian option! TODAY IS THE DAY!

We don’t have to be experts in evangelism. We don’t have to be theologians. We don’t have to have fancy things. All we need is love. In fact, I’ve seen supposed “experts in evangelism” that lack love and their best intentions fall fruitless because their efforts were loveless and did not meet needs! Love for God – worship of God – compels us to love our neighbors. Love for our neighbors compels us to see their needs and meet their needs. We feel their hurt and heal their hurt. Christ became human, lived, died, and was raised from death so that we might have life – that we might live a free life. This message of freedom – release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed – is the central message of the church.

Go therefore (not next year, not next month, not next week, or not even tomorrow, but Go TODAY) and make disciples (meeting their needs) baptizing them (making them a part of the worshipping body ) to the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Amen.

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: icons

In the wake of his death, Pope John Paul II has intrigued me greatly. What was it about this man that drew so many’s love and adoration? What was it about this man that captivated the ears and hearts of so many around the globe? Naturally, I turned to a book: Witness to Hope. It is the closest thing there is to an “official” biography and it was re-released with a special preface following His Holiness’ death.



The first thing I noted was that this man was, above all else, a pastor. He was unique in this respect. For centuries, the position of Bishop of Rome was synonymous with CEO of the Church. But Carol Wojtyla’s call was to be a pastor. At every step, he was a pastor. The only difference was that his parish became larger.



It seems that central to his identity as a pastor is the concept of “icon.” So many hear icon and think of an odd form of Christian art. Many love it for its beauty, many love it for its spirituality, and many hate it because they do not understand it. But icons were so much more for JP2. For instance, in his thought, the marital relationship – especially as it is expressed in sexual union – is an icon of God the Holy Trinity.



In a protestant world where we struggle to find appropriate language for the mysteries of God, perhaps resurrecting this concept of “icon” would be helpful. What do we do with things that capture the mystery of God in such a way as to reveal God to us: the birth of a child, the changing color of leaves in the fall, a marriage or a funeral, ordination. What do we do with those things that are “outward signs of inward grace and a means by which receive the same” but lack Christ’s endorsement? that are private? that don’t qualify as sacraments for one reason or another?



They are icons. They are things so infused with God’s grace that their very image ushers us into the presence of Almighty God, connects us mysteriously to God, and in so doing infuses us with grace to live another day.

Are you an icon to those around you?

THE PULPIT: bowing our lives at the feet of the father

It was such a beautiful beginning to the week. Monday was the best of the week. Almost 70 and sunny. They said Tuesday would be a little cooler with rain, so when I woke up and there wasn’t any rain, I packed my computer in my briefcase, along with a Bible and a couple books. I got the dog and took a ride down to the landing. The bright sun made the murky water shimmer. The leaves danced as the breeze blew across the West Virginian hillside. To borrow from Travis Tritt, it was a great day to be alive!

As I sat there, I thought of the many days before I’ve spent in some other place, but breathing in the same beautifully created air, and asking “why?” It seems like the most foundational question of life. It is one of the first words children learn, “why?” It is certainly the oldest question: “why live?” There’s got to be some purpose, some explanation, some reason why. The pursuit of this question alone helps people either find life, or prompt them to take their life. No other question is so important as, “why?”

Over the next four weeks, we will be looking at that very question…and its implications. We will look at the purpose of the church and what it means to be the church. Why bring the church into the question? Because it is only in the church that we learn what it means to be Christian. Apart from and outside of the community of faith there is no “Christian.” We will be looking at four key words that will for us define our church: bow, share, grow and give. In these four words, we will learn the answer to the why question. We will learn what it means to be the church, and in so doing, what it means to be Christian and will find the meaning of life.

The overarching text for the next four weeks is Acts 2:41-47. Acts is volume 2 of Luke’s history of Christianity. It picks up right where his Gospel leaves off. Quickly it moves from Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to God’s fulfillment of that promise. The Spirit is poured out at Pentecost and 3,000 persons became Christian. It was quite a day and lives and history were forever changed. Hear the Word of the Lord:

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[a]), and to prayer.

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity - all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

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It was the first day of a new semester. I had a professor I really admired, but that was very tough. I was not sure if I should be excited or afraid! It was a class I thought I would do OK in, after all, I was raised in the church and I’d been doing it all my life. We all sat joking and carrying on, but then it got quite when Dr. Sanders came in. “Clear your desks, get out a pencil and a sheet of paper,” he said as only Dr. Sanders could, “we’ve got a little quiz!” He paused while we grumbled. It was the shortest and hardest quiz I ever took. There was only one question: define worship. I was surprised how difficult it was to define then, and I am still amazed how difficult it is to define now. However, since that day, I have been committed to understanding worship as the defining characteristic of the church.

Some argue that the church’s real purpose is to get people saved. Some argue that the church’s real purpose is to care for the poor. Those are important, but there are organizations that do those things that are NOT churches. What makes a church a church is that it is a worshipping body. The first thing we see in our Acts story is the early church’s commitment to worship. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The early church was committed to worship, but not just the early church. Worship was the purpose of creation, it was central to Israel’s identity and it will be our single task in eternity. This morning’s text is the fourth and fifth chapters of John’s Revelation. Stand with me for the reading of God’s word.

READ REVELATION 4-5 (I'm not going to instert that lengthly of a passage here...you can look it up)

They fell down and worshipped! They bowed their lives at the feet of the Father! Worship is bowing our lives at the feet of the Father. Say that with me three times: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father, bowing our lives at the feet of the Father, bowing our lives at the feet of the Father.

John certainly paints us a vivid picture of heavenly worship. Can you imagine worship like that? Can you imagine finding yourself in a throne room as expansive as the sea, with a crystal floor? Everything is solid gold, with the rarest and most beautiful jewels encrusted upon them? The beauty and grandeur of these treasures pales in comparison to the one seated on the throne!

Then you look around. You are surrounded by every imaginable creature and many you could not have ever dreamed of in your wildest imagination. They all do nothing but tell of the greatness and sing the praises of the one on the throne. Beside the throne, there is a lamb, and all manors of creatures tell of its greatness and sing its praises too! It is almost too much to even imagine. Yet John tells us this is what heavenly worship will be.

Earthly worship can never live up to heavenly worship, but John’s picture of heavenly worship has always helped us to understand what worship is. If you’ve never been to a worship service in an Eastern Orthodox Church, like Greek or Serbian Orthodox, then you should. They take most seriously this image of worship. Everything is exquisite: from the architecture, to the artwork, to the incense, to the solid gold altar table…their theology of worship attempts to make earthly worship an icon or an image of heavenly worship.

We don’t all take the passage quite that seriously, but it informs our understanding of worship none-the-less. The first thing we notice about worship is its content. What is worship all about? What is the object of worship? I talk frequently of summing up Christianity in one word: service or ministry, which ever word you prefer. Both of those words require an object. Just like I cannot simply throw, I must throw and object, a ball for instance. I cannot just throw; I must throw something. Neither can I simply serve or minister; I must serve or minister something. In worship, the object of our service or ministry is God. God alone is the object of our worship. God alone is the content of our worship.

In making God the content of our worship, worship become all about God. Many want to ask what worship should accomplish. It should nourish me. It should make unbelievers welcome, it should be entertaining, and on and on the list goes. These are all simply wrong because worship is about nothing but God! John shows us worship should proclaim God. Most foundationally, God is Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Worship proclaims God as Trinity. 4:2 shows us worship is in the Spirit. The rest of the chapter shows us worship is of the Father who is seated on the throne. Chapter 5 shows us worship is by the redemption of the Son.

Also, God being the content means worship tells the story of God. God who always has been and God who always will be. God who created all things. God who became human and lived, died and was raised that we might live. God who will come again to redeem all of creation. It is a story that must be told in many ways in our worship: in our music, in our preaching, in our art, in our actions. God alone is the content of worship.

In Luke’s account of early church worship, we see that God is the content of the worship as well. The apostle’s teaching is what became for us the scripture – the preached Word of God. Fellowship was not understood as casually as it is today, but it was an expression of unity and reconciliation – a statement that we are one in God. The breaking of bread is a direct allusion to Christ breaking the bread. It is the reenacting of the story of Christ’s body being broken for us – God’s self-giving sacrifice. The prayers are communication…open and honest – conversation with God. The story of God may take many forms in our worship, but it God and God’s story that is alone the content of our worship.

The second thing we see in John’s revelation is worship has structure. It is not just that worship has structure, but that worship has a structure. That structure is: revelation and response. Worship is not just the telling of the story of God, but it is also our response to God’s story. It is our participation in God’s story. The response is just as important as the story. John constantly swings back and forth from a revelation of God – the telling of God’s story – to an act of response. He begins with the story of the throne room, but then goes straight to the response of the creatures and elders. He tells the story of the lamb, and then goes straight to the response of the creatures and elders.

We see this structure of story and response quite clearly in Luke’s description of early church worship as well. The first and foundational part of worship is the apostles’ teaching. The preaching and hearing of the scriptures is always foundational to worship. But Luke continues listing three responses of the early church to the preaching of the Word.

Fellowship as a statement of unity gives time for reconciliation. We cannot take seriously the reconciling work of Christ and not be reconciled to one another. We cannot bear grudges or harbor unforgiveness, so early church worship included an expression of Christian unity. Fellowship also likely included the taking of an offering for those in need. How can we be together and unified if I am well off and my brother is starving?

The breaking of bread is a second response. Now that the word has been proclaimed and everyone is in a right relationship with God and one another, the early church responded with the highest act of unity. In the Lord’s Supper, they put the words of the gospel into action and participated in it.

The prayers are a third response. The offering of praise and thanksgiving for the revelation of God in the preaching, reconciliation and the celebrating is a fitting conclusion. At every level, worship has the structure of proclamation and response. Words must be followed by actions!

The final thing we see in John’s Revelation of heavenly worship is the posture of worship. We have looked at the content and the structure, but now we must examine proper posture. Twice we are told “the elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne.” We have all been in worship services where it felt like everyone was mindlessly going through the motions. That is not worship! As much as worship is what we do, it is also how we do it.

John paints for us a picture of a throne room. When one comes before the throne, the proper position is one of falling flat on my face – of bowing. When we bow to another, we give them respect and honor. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.” In bowing, we ascribe to God glory and honor and power! Beyond that, however, we make a statement about our own position, not just God’s. Bowing is a posture of obedience and submission. To truly worship God is to be obedient to God. To truly worship is to willingly submit our lives to will of God. We are never forced to bow, we are asked to bow. We are asked to submit our lives to God, and worship is our willing response. This is true worship: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father. To the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Amen.

NEW LINK!!!

I put a new link on the sidebar...check it out:

The Problem with Sola Scriptura

RIVERSIDE REFLECTION: my other love, part 2

OK, I know I didn't get many comments publicly about my last political piece, but I got enough email comments that I want to respond a little. First, did you all know that in North Carolina you cannot run as a third party or an independent? How crazy is that? Anyway, the question I want to address before leaving politics is how do we do this democracy thing without a party system? Simple.

The biggest issue is financing. The solution is simple: all campaign money's must come from the Fed. All donations must be made to the Fed and are distributed equally between all qualified candidates. Now the playing field is leveled. In the primary election all the candidates are listed and all of us can vote for any of them. The top two vote getters move on to the general election. Again moneys are raised through the Fed and distributed between the two finalists. The person who gets the most votes wins. It is that simple. The root of the problem is money. One overarching financier will assure all have equal opportunities. By the way, this will work at all levels, not just Fed.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I know 2 cents isn't worth very much, but there it is.