January 16, 2011 - Life Worth Living: See God in the Ordinary

***The following is a draft copy of the message prepared for Sunrise UMC, 01/16 2011.***
Over the last couple of days, my family has been reviewing my dad’s life through sharing stories, looking through papers and perusing through mountains of photographs. We have been finding even more evidence of the extraordinarily full life he lived.

I guess that is something that most everybody does with the passing of a loved one. But it got me to thinking, why do we see the fullness of life in retrospect? Why can’t we do that for the present?

Today, we continue this new series that will hopefully help us to do that – to help us gain the spiritual, mental, and emotional understanding of a Life Worth Living

Let’s start off by taking a look again at a passage of scripture that will serve as the basis for this whole series

John 10:10b

My purpose is to give life in all its fullness

That’s a verse that we will not commit to our memories but more importantly our hearts. We need to weave this proclamation because it is easy to forget it when all the stuff of life starts piling up.

It is easy to forget Jesus’ promise of life in all its fullness when:

- we’ve got to pay the bills and our checkbook says it’s not possible

- we’re having conflict with our spouse, parents, children, or best friend

- we’re out of a job and there’s no good prospect of having one soon ?

- all the stuff in life keeps piling on relentlessly to the point we feel alone or under pressure?

It’s so easy for us to lose sight of God’s long-term dreams when we’re wrestling with nightmares now!

One of the ways we can keep God’s promise of a life worth living is to see God’s present involvement in our lives, even in small ways. That’s sometimes easier said than done.

- Sometimes we’re so busy looking for God in the “big deal” that we miss him in the ordinary.

- Sometimes we are so busy trying to see God in the spotlights that we miss him in the shadows.

- Sometimes, we’re looking for God in the sensational; we miss him in the everyday.

You never know when you will encounter God.

Our biblical text gives testimony to this fact as well. Let’s look at a portion of the story of when a man named Moses had a dramatic and surprising encounter with God.

Exodus 3:1-5

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

[Prayer]

EVIDENCE OF GOD’S PRESENCE

1. Answer to Prayer – God heard the cries of the Hebrew people.

- Actually have to go back a bit in the book to understand this.

- Exodus 1 – Hebrews enslaved in Egypt

- Exodus 2 ends with these verses:

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

2. Unusual Timing of Events – Moses minding his own business (not looking for any divine encounter)

3. Transformation from Ordinary to Extraordinary

- Bush as a theophany (manifestation of God).

- Normal ground to Holy Ground

When have you experienced God in any of these?

[Allow Response]

THINGS TO DO

1. Go on a God Hunt

Sometime things happen we believe are mere coincidences – but are they?

Do we want to believe in a God who created us and then just let us go at life all alone, or in a loving God who is intimately involved in our daily lives?

Who here has ever had a secret admirer? How did you know?

Don’t you think God admires you? God created you, breathed life in you! Jesus gave his life for you! Of course God admires you – God loves you!

So, we need to be intentional in looking for God at work in our daily lives. At first, it may be like looking for Waldo

All the stuff of life often obscures our vision and make it difficult to see God at work – but that doesn’t men God isn’t at work. It means we have to be intentional about looking for God.

Okay, I can see that some of you haven’t heard a word since I put this picture up, so let me help you out

There’s Waldo.

2. Record Your God Sightings

Write these events down to help jog your memory when the stuff of life starts getting you down.

A journal is a great way to help you remember how God was at work in your life (even when you think you were alone).

3. Share Your Experiences

As we talk about and hear about God’s interplaying in our lives, we become even more aware of those divine times that are so often hidden (Just like I did when I showed you where Waldo was)

A Life Worth Living will include the ability to See God in the Ordinary. Are you ready to give that a try?

What will be like the next time we find ourselves in the presence of the One who knows us best and loves us most? I can only imagine.

January 9, 2011 - Life Worth Living: Let Go!

The following is the message that was prepared by Tim Roberts, but a slightly different one was delivered by Tim Bralley, who filled in so that the pastor could be with his family.

It’s been a difficult week for me – that’s for sure. A couple of days ago, we moved my Dad into the Hospice unit at Presbyterian Hospital where he continues to steadily gravitate downward. Then we found out that the tumor that was removed from Mom’s brain three weeks ago is back and even larger than it was before the surgery.

That’s just a snapshot because each day brought some good news and a good bit of bad news. Needless to say, over the last month or so, my family and I have just been living day-to-day

While that’s what we all have to do from time-to-time, it is not the kind of life God has created for us to live our whole lives. I know there are some who have messed up lives and that they will never be able to live what most would consider a normal life (one that most of our contemporaries live). But, whatever our situation, there is hope for a full life because there is a God who loves us…deeply and intimately.

Today, we begin a new series that will take us through the end of February. The series is about helping us to gain the spiritual, mental, and emotional understanding of a Life Worth Living

Let’s take a look at a passage of scripture that will serve as the basis for this whole series

John 10:10b

My purpose is to give life in all its fullness

Today, we begin with the first part of a Life Worth Living with the premise of “Letting Go.” This topic was planned out for a couple of months now, which just heightens the irony of it all. For me, this principle to “Let Go” is ironic considering all the stuff I have been going through with my parents. Then again, I am beginning to see that it’s not so much irony as it is providence, God’s diving intervention.

To let go is to understand and accept that there are certain aspects of life that, as much as we would like the otherwise, we don’t have any control of. Sometimes, bad things happen. Sometimes, wrong things happen. Sometimes, simply horrible things happen. Sometimes, we just feel at a loss.

In those times, whether they are at the simply annoying stage or the extreme end of debilitating proportions, we have to let go in order to move forward in life.

So, in other words, the purpose of today’s message is to live life with endurance.

Let’s take a look at today’s passage for some insight in today’s proclamation.

Hebrews 12:1-2a

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. [In his translation, The Message, Eugene Peterson calls this parasitic sin] And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.

While there is no real indication of who wrote this epistle (a churchy word for letter) or really who it is written for, there is a clear sign that this letter was written sometime during the first century (by addressing that Timothy was to be released from prison soon). So, through this, we come to get some idea of some of the mindset of the early Christian community.

What is surprising about this is that the author is very cognizant about the fact that, at least in this community of believers, there is some apathy or apostasy (falling away) from the promise of God’s grace and mercy.

That really isn’t all that hard to imagine though, is it? Many times in life, we are faced with situations that simply shake us to our core, and we begin to question even the very tenets of faith.

Let’s take just a moment to journey down this road, okay?

Today, we don’t like to think that we are overwrought with pain, do we? In general, we think those who are wrestling with pain (and we’re talking more than just physical pain) are weak. That’s the way our culture has taught us.

So, whereas not to seem weak, we have changed the terminology – we call this…stress.

Think I’m kidding? Who would like to give me definition of stress? [Allow responses]

Who is under stress now or experiences it at some point or other?

Now, if you want to check out my assertion, go find an old dictionary, one somewhere around seventy years-old or older and look up the definition. You’ll find that stress was then an engineering term, relating to the load or forces that acts upon an object. There was little inference about psychological influence.

Stress comes from multiple areas in our lives

- Pain

o Painful childhood

o Painful Present

o Shame

- Loss of Control

Then, to complicate matters, there is a myriad of ways that we respond to stress.

- Denial – We proclaim the following kinds of statements

o “I can’t believe this is happening” (trying to convince ourselves that what we are experiencing is all a bad dream)

o “It’s alright” (denying that pain is present and acting upon us)

- Then, often, many good-hearted individuals who are not directly involved in the stressful situation (but who are passively dealing with it) will attempt to theologize about it and say something like, “God doesn’t give us more than we can bear” (But that’s crap and unscriptural. Do we really want to believe God is doing this to us?)

Then comes the inevitable Venting stage.

- - Anger (often misdirected)

- - Depression/Desperation (feeling of hopelessness and isolation)

- - Unhealthy ways to cope (spending money needlessly, indulging in drugs, sex,…)

Okay, enough of the psychology course, I think you get the picture. So, let’s look at the theological aspect of letting go.

I believe the author of Hebrews has a good understanding of faith for us to relate to today that will aid us in “letting go” in order to propel us toward a life worth living.

If we go back, just a bit, in Hebrews, we find this verse that encapsulates the essence of the author’s understanding of faith.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

To let go is to deepen our faith in God and allow for healing to take place.

Here are some steps to help us with this healing process:

1. 1. Honesty with yourself – Be open and honest with yourself about what you are going through. Admit to yourself that you are hurting, angry, frustrated…whatever emotion you are trying to hide

2. 2. Honesty with God – Again, be open and honest, this time with God. Express your anger, fear, frustration, even if it means you lay the blame on God. All these emotions are given by God. God’s not going to be surprised or mad at your venting. Get it out. Get it out so you let it go and start healing.

3. 3. Share with others – Too often we try to hide our emotions and close ourselves off to the rest of the world. This isn’t good and it isn’t right. God created us to be in community with one another and to share our burdens and our joys. Coupling this with being honest with God, and thinking of the church as the body of Christ, maybe we can get a new sense of understanding from that old Gospel song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Do yourself a favor, when you get home, Google that song and then live into it.

4. Build New Coping Skills – As we learned earlier, when we go through some trying times that really wear on us, whether we call it stress or whatever else, we will vent or frustrations at some time. The thing we must do is to figure out what’s best for us. I believe the first three steps is helping to fulfill this fourth one. But there may be some others ways and means too.

a. Journaling – Actually, I found just writing this message as a means of catharsis. Writing down your gut feelings is a good way to let go.

b. Other New Habits – What’s some of yours (Allow people to respond)

Letting go is often hard. It might be compared to peeling an onion – through tears, you go one layer at a time.

Let Go, my friends and go for that Life Worth Living. And may God be with you in the journey.

January 2, 2011 - Who Am I?

**The following is a draft of the message spoken at Sunrise UMC on 01/02/2011**

Ephesians 2:11-13, 19

11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "circumcised." But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands. 12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.

19 So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family.

A few years ago, my wife, daughters, and I went on a car trip to Canada. It was for the first time the girls had left the United Sates, so we really weren’t sure that they would understand that things would be a bit different (like no American flags flying). But what really surprised us was the process of crossing the border. We thought, because we were Americans and we have a relatively open border with Canada, that crossing over would be rather simple. Well, not quite as simple as we though. Here’s what we discovered.

A border patrol officer comes to your window, looks into your car and proceeds to ask you four questions: (1) Who are you? (2) Where are you from? (3) Where are you going? (4) What is your purpose?

Although Lewisville isn’t a border town, I believe that these questions also apply to our spiritual life as well. Let’s look at them.

1. "Who are you?"

Who are you? We could answer this relationally. In part, we are either brothers or sisters, husbands or wives, fathers or mothers, sons or daughters. But that identity is not all we are.

We could answer this vocationally. In part, we are what we do. We are doctors or business managers or auto mechanics or teachers or farmers or waiters or police officers. But that identity is not all we are.

Our identity is further piecemealed if we attempt to define ourselves as a conservative or a liberal, a Democrat or a Republican, an optimist or a pessimist, a Leo or a Capricorn, a Protestant or a Catholic. All those facets of your identity can be shaken away.

Our identity has to be more than who we associate with though. When we get down to it when you look in the mirror, who do you see looking back?

A few weeks, I went to the doctor for a check-up. The doctor looked me over and asked if I had any concerns. I said, “Well, every morning when I get up and look in the mirror, I see thinning hair, bags under my eyes, sagging jowls, a bilging stomach, broken teeth, and bloodshot eyes. What’s going on with me?” The doctor replied, “Well, I’m not sure, but I can tell you this…Your eyesight is perfect!”

We may not always like what we see in the mirror, but unless we have a magic mirror like in Snow White, who we see is who we are. Or is it?

Who are you? On the surface that may sound like an absurd question for me to ask, but you and I know so many people who reach a point in life where they throw up there hands and say, “I don’t know who I am anymore.” How sad is that? When you have done so much to make a name for yourself and no longer even recognize who you truly are.

We’ll come back to that later.

2. "Where are you from?"

The next question is, “Where are you from?” Instead of looking at this in geographic terms, let’s look at it on the spiritual realm.

Where are we from? I don’t know about you, but I know there have been plenty of places that my journey through life has taken me that I am not proud of. Places of deep sin. The problem with that is that often the sin gets hold of me and keeps me from moving forward – just keeps holding me right there with it, in the presence of sin and I feel trapped and all alone. And when I finally am able to break free enough to escape its clutches, by then I’m so disoriented, that I wander around aimlessly.

3. "Where are you going?"

Thus, this brings us to the third question, “Where are you going?” I don’t know about you, but I like maps. I can sit and look at maps for hours. But maps don’t always help (and a GPS isn’t always ver accurate either)

Now along our life journey, sometimes we need something or someone to gets us back on track. So we need to listen to the voices that are pointing us in the right direction.

4. "What is your purpose?"

The fourth question is “What is your purpose?” Actually, this question goes back to the first, “Who are you?” For those who call themselves Christian, these two questions are indelibly linked together.

Some years ago, Dr. Thomas Langford was up for election to the office of bishop, which you know is the highest office that clergy can hold in the UMC. After several rounds of ballots, it became clear that he would not win the position and so he stood to give his withdrawal speech. Instead of saying what most were expecting, Dr. Langford said this, “There is no higher calling than to be Christian.”

Friends, some of you have forgotten who you are. If you find that to be you today, then listen to me

– You are the unique and precious child of the Most High God. And this God has not forgotten you, nor forsaken you. You just have to remember who you are.

All of us need to hear and remember these words, “You are more than you have become.” Did you hear that? “You are more than you have become.” That means that your journey continues, you still have much to do and much more perfecting to do.

Remember. Remember who you are and whose you are. Amen.