January 27, 2013 - 12 Habits of Holy Living

****The following is a rough draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on January 27, 2013****

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Good morning! I am Tim Roberts, the pastor here at Sunrise Church and I am so happy that you are here this morning. I know you could be warm in bed this morning, milking every last bit out of this winter storm we had, but you didn't and I believe that is making God happy too.

We are continuing today with a series of messages and study based on some of the disciplines that many people have found useful to help them in their faith journey that we are calling holy habits. This morning we are looking at a particular discipline that gets right to God's heart - worship.

Hold on folks; please give me just a second. I have had just one of those weeks.

It started a little over a week ago when I turned on the TV and saw this:

If that wasn't bad enough, just a few days later, this came across Facebook:

I was so tore up about that, I couldn't even watch my beloved Blue Devils play Wednesday night, though I know it couldn't have been much of a game.

DIALOGUE WITH SOUND BOOTH

SB: Tim, we have some highlights from that game for you since you didn't get to see it

Tim: Hey, that's great! Thanks for doing this. I really need a pick-me-up right about now.

NOOOO!!!!  What is going on in the world? Did the Mayans just get it wrong about a month? How can these people let me down like this? Don't they know how much I love them, how much I respect them, how much I worship them?

Okay, I really don't worship Lance, Beyonce, or even Duke (although I am a fan). But this wasn't too much of an exaggeration for some people.

You've seen it. You have seen people who are very caught up in idolizing someone of something else. Take a look and see if you can tell me who these folk worship?

(Various pictures of people dressed up as, mimicking, or highly promoting musicians, politicians, and sports teams)

When we worship we take on the characteristics and attributes of what we worship. We begin to identify with what we worship.

But what is the problem with focusing our worship on people, teams, characters, politics,...? They are not infallible - at some point, they will fail you.

But simply by you being here today, you are acknowledging that some people believe there is something, someone that is worthy of our worship - God.

Who in here knows who Rick Warren is? Rick is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, California. Even if you did not recognize his name, you may have heard of his best selling book that came out about ten years ago, The Purpose Driven Life. Something that you may not know is that that book actually followed up another book that was written for church leaders called, The Purpose Driven Church.

I bought this book not too long after it came out in 1995 and it opened my eyes to a fundamental truth about worship. Worship is our primary function; it is why we exist. Here is how Rick explains it from Mark 12:28-31

Mark 12.28-31

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

While this is one commandment, which part comes first? Love God.

How do we love God? Through worship.

But how do we worship?

The word worship means this:

worship - verb, to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion

Back in 1976, Dr. S.M. Lockridge, a preacher from San Diego, was preaching in Detroit when he got to a point that he wanted to make sure everybody understood who he worshipped. Here is what he said:

You know friends, if there weren't any other reason worship God, any one of those would be enough. But I want to offer up another reason.

Do you remember when I stated that we identify with what we worship? How would you feel to know that God identifies with you?!

Take a look at this statement from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians:

30b Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

Think about that for just a moment. God finds value in you! The whole New Testament is a witness to that. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God takes on flesh, becomes fully human to get to know us better. In Jesus, God experiences the very real emotions of fear, sorrow, grief, anger, joy, laughter, anguish, pain, suffering, and death. God did not have to do any of these things, but did because he found value in us and wanted to identify with us so that we could know him better.

Mark 12.28-31

29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Now if you remember a few moments ago, we talked about what is known as the Greatest Commandment. The first part is to love God. We do that through worship. But another way that we love God is through the second part of the Greatest Commandment - love our neighbors as ourselves.

How can we love them? We help them. We help them not just with their physical needs, but we help them also with their spiritual needs. In other words, we help them to worship too.

It's not just within us, but within every person a deep and longing need to express devotion to something greater than ourselves. So, we help our neighbors to fulfill this innate need to worship God. Friends, this pleases God tremendously.

I don't know if you have noticed it or not, but in the last few months, we have started experiencing a problem here. God has been bringing more and more people to worship him here at Sunrise, to the point that we are getting a bit crowded some Sundays.

We are responding to this blessing. Beginning on March 3rd, we will begin another opportunity to worship God here at Sunrise Church. While we are still working out some of the details, we have been fervently praying about this and are excited to what God is doing here and will be doing through us to help others worship.

What I am asking you today, is to take some time this week to pray with your church leaders. We are not asking God to bless what we do, but to let us be a part of what he is blessing. Sunrise is responding to that with an additional worship service. On a personal level, pray and ask God, "How can I be a part of this blessing? How can I be a blessing to others through this new service?"  Friends, we are blessed to be a blessing. Let's make a habit to bless through our worship.

January 20, 2013 - 12 Habits of Holy Living: Accountability

****The following is a draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on January 20, 2013****

Good morning! I am Tim Roberts, the pastor here at Sunrise and I want to thank each of you for being here this morning. I know that there were many other things and activities that were beckoning you to skip coming to church, but you made a conscious effort to be here today and I pray that you receive a blessing from God for being here. Join with me in a moment of prayer.

[Prayer]

Before we get started, I also want to thank Leigh Anne Shore, our leader of Spiritual Formation for bringing us the update on some of the exciting directions in which God is leading us as we continue to experience growth. Over the course of the next several weeks, you will hear about some other changes and different ways that we'll be experiencing here at Sunrise.

Now, let me take just a moment to assure you that none of these changes or new plans are spur-of-the-moment ideas that a few of us thought, "Hey, why don't we try this?" No, I can attest that they have been prayed over, agonizingly thought through and have been scrutinized through our

renewed focus on our Mission, Vision, and Values, of which Valerie Glass gave a quick overview last week. These statements also are now posted out in the Commons Area for you to see and as a reminder to all of us who Sunrise is and will be.

You know, it would seem that since we have a more focused understanding of our direction that it would be easier to do ministry and mission. It would seem that way, but you know friends, things aren't always like they should seem.

Just last Sunday afternoon, I and the whole Church Leadership Council was starkly reminded of this fact as we began to discuss some important and radical plans for the church.  Before the meeting, I thought that we were prepared to move on some plans that I believe to be God inspired, but I neglected to remember one critical truth:

Change creates stress. It matters not if the change is for bad or even for good, all change creates some measure of stress, because we have to adapt to it.

How about helping me clarify this point. What are some examples of bad changes?

[Allow responses]

Now what about examples of good changes?

[Allow responses]

With each of these examples, you probably can see how adaptations have to be made, and we have to change from what we have interpreted to be the norm and that cause some level of stress.

Sometimes, we can quickly adapt to the change without much thought, but at other times, we are thrown into a state of turmoil. When that happens, we have to find some way to relieve the tension.

What are some of your ways to "de-stress"?

[Allow responses]

One of the more used ways to de-stress and gain clarity on a situation is simply to talk it out. But more specifically, with those people we trust, our friends.

I find it amazing that God has ordained this concept of friendship. We know from the onset of humanity, God has said that it is not good for people to be alone.

The 17th century English metaphysical poet and priest, John Donne, also capitalized on this concept with the opening lines of his well-known poem:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

So, it is without question, people need people. But sometimes, we need to be careful with those we choose to be around.

Over the course of my life, I have surrounded myself with many sets of friends. Early on, some of these groups only seemed to bring out the worst in me and I, in turn, tended to bring out the worst in them. We were like crabs in a bucket and had that mentality.

Have you ever heard of "Crab Mentality"? This is a Filipino expression based on the observation that crabs in a bucket behave in a predictable pattern. If one crab begins to escape from the bucket, other crabs will latch on to it and pull it back down rather than allow it escape.

That sounds a lot like some of the groups that I know exist out there. People in the group would rather all to wallow in collective misery than allow anyone to escape. But friends, it does not have to be that way.

Today, we are looking at the third discipline, or what we are calling a holy habit that many people have used over the last few thousand years to help them to grow closer to God and live out better lives. This habit we are looking at today is accountability.

If you are engaged in the daily exercises that go along with these habits, you will note that accountability comprises a couple of other smaller disciplines - community and confession. It is my belief that these two cannot be separated but in fact are indelibly linked with each other and form this greater discipline of accountability.

Now, I must admit, that word, accountability, does not strike many of us as the most pleasant concept, does it? When you first hear it, it almost causes a brief twang of dread. Accountability -  makes us think of laying out all our failures and what's not so good. It conjures up thoughts of having to explain why we have done some things and haven't done others. It doesn't allow for much pleasantry, does it?

But what if accountability was a positive experience? What if instead of eliciting faults, it enticed growth? Instead of focusing on failures, it promoted success? Wouldn't it then be a more worthwhile endeavor?

This concept should be what fuels small group ministry. Most all of us have one or more circle of friends, but how many of those circles exist to help us grow spiritually and live fully into our God-given potential?

Needless to say, my circle of friends has changed over the course of my life and for the better. But in recent months, I have rediscovered the immeasurable value in surrounding myself with people who hold each other accountable. "Accountable to what?" you may ask. Well, here is the neat thing about my current group; each of us chooses to what we want to be held accountable. For me, I seek improvement in five areas in life: Body, Mind, Spirit, Family, and Profession. When we meet, these are the areas into which I have given permission to ask and probe.

For instance, remember a few minutes ago, I told about the stress and tension the Church Leadership Council experienced last week? I called a couple of my confidants about it to which they quickly responded, "Tim! How did you do in following through with your leadership goals?" In other words, they were not chastising me, but were reminding me of the very basis I wanted them to hold me accountable.

You see, most of us know the areas that we need to work on, but alone, we often fail at meeting our self-imposed standards. But when we surround ourselves with others whom we trust and have each other's best interest at heart, we find that it is possible to grow and be transformed.

The writer of Hebrews seemed to understand this concept well as he wrote:

Hebrews 3.12-13

12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

I love that phrase there, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today..." In other words, let's not dwell on the faults of yesterday, let's work on the matters of today together. What a concept! By fully being with each other, in the present, we shape our tomorrow.

Here at Sunrise, we have some small groups that do that and we have some that could use reminding of that. Yet, as we did some self-examination in our God Into Focus campaign, we discovered a certain segment of our population that deserves some attention in helping to foster this type of community - men.

As we talked about this, we started asking ourselves, "What could bring men together?" Without almost any pause, two of our female participants said - Beer!

Hence, this afternoon, Sunrise is hosting a Beer Exchange. Now, I will be honest with you, I had a bit of hesitancy with this concept until I thought through it and realized a couple of important elements to it:

   1. Beer is not the emphasis. The emphasis is creating an authentic community for authentic men. We are not asking anyone to be anything different than yourself. If you drink beer, you know you're welcome. If you don't, then you can join me eating some chicken wings.

   2. The purpose is not just fellowship, but to be an entry point for beginning small groups where men can freely share their struggles and encourage each other to live the lives that God has created for us.

Think about it this way, what if around a bar table a group of men began to hold each other accountable to being the husbands and fathers that God created us to be?

Friends, that's what I believe God is inspiring us to do and be here at Sunrise Church. I believe God is calling us to grow deeper as a community of Christ followers who have found smaller groups of fellow believers in which we can share in each others sorrows and joys, always encouraging each other to grow deeper in our love for God and for one another.

But it will require change and as with any change, it will bring about a level of stress. We will have to learn to see accountability not as a liability, but as a means of grace. That is a significant change in perception. But it is only from change, that our lives are transformed.

Take a few moments to talk about what you've heard today.

January 13, 2013 - 12 Habits of Holy Living: Bible Study

****The following is a draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on Jan 13, 2013****

Good morning! I am Tim Roberts, the pastor here at Sunrise Church and I want to join in with the rest of the church and welcome and thank you for being here this morning. Your presence makes an indelible impact as we come to worship God together.

If today is your first time worshipping with us here at Sunrise or if you missed last week, we are in the second week of a series of looking at twelve different spiritual disciplines that many people have developed over the last few thousand years to help them come to know and love God more. We are calling these disciplines Holy Habits.

Now, if you want to participate in this study more than just once a week, I invite you to pick up a copy of the Daily Study Journal or you can subscribe to an online version at this web address.

www.12holyhabits.blogspot.com

Thinking about habits, does anyone know how long it takes to either start or break a habit?

There has been some research in this field and many of the studies tend to suggest that it takes somewhere at least three to four weeks.

I have found in my life that it seems to take longer to start a good habit than a bad and less time to break a good habit than a bad one. I wonder why that is, but I think it is probably because to do something good requires a greater amount of will and determination than the bad, so it is just naturally easier to live with bad habits. But then again, that's me. Hopefully, you may find it easier the other way.

I am very happy that there are several of you who have joined Leigh Anne Shore, our Spiritual Growth Team Leader, in committing to reading the entire Bible in a year. That is definitely a commendable effort on your part and I encourage all of us to pray for those who have taken on this endeavor. Reading the Bible is a something that I hope all of us will look to do more of this year and hopefully, make it a habit.

This morning though, the Holy Habit that I am presenting for your consideration involves something more than just reading the Bible; it is studying it. But, before we go any further, let me say this, if just reading a small portion of it is more than you have been doing, please do that. I would much rather you do a bit of engaging in the Bible on a daily basis than to start something more stringent and then stop because it is too much.

 

Now, to understand this Holy Habit of Bible Study, I feel we need to ask this question, "What exactly is the Bible and why is it important to study it?"

I remember back in the early 90's, Karen and I were just beginning to get into this whole church thing in earnest and I was reading the Bible for the first time all the way through. It was about that time that Mike Ditka was fired as coach of the Chicago Bears and I remember that news story. Watch this:

When I saw that, I started thinking, "I don't remember reading that anywhere." It sounded like it could be biblical, but as I found out, it's not. It is actually from an old Jewish folklore and popularized by Abraham Lincoln, but it is not in the Bible. This event helped me to see that there are a lot of misconceptions about the Bible and I wanted to be clearer on exactly what this Book is and what's it all about.

This morning though, I want to just whet your appetite just a bit about it. So, let's begin.

What exactly is the Bible?

The word Bible comes from the Greek word biblia, which basically means books.

Another term we sometimes use for it is Scripture. But do you know what, this "churchy" word in essence means "writing."

So really, there is nothing holy about the name Bible itself, as we look at the translation of those words, yet there is something very extraordinary about it.

Probably most of us either have a copy of a Bible or have a Bible app on our smartphone or tablet. If we were to go and look at it, we would probably discover that it is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Simply put, the difference between the two is that the New Testament is about the life and following of Jesus and the Old is the history prior to Jesus.

But as you look closer, you will probably discover that it is further divided into sixty-six smaller units. These are actually books of the Bible (notice the translation of what Bible means). So the Bible is not a single book, but a collection of books.  You may note that I said probably sixty-six and I say that because I am referring to the Protestant Bible. Our Roman Catholic kin have an additional seven books that they consider authoritative and other branches of Christianity vary in the number too.

Just as there are different number of books that comprise the Bible, there are even more different ways to look at it. Take for instance the number of translations.

I have here with me this morning several different translations that I personally own.

 

The thing about the different translations is not that they say different things though. Actually, it's the other way around. A translation says the same thing, just in a different way.

Just a few moments ago, we saw in the video that a couple of the respondents said that over the years that the Bible has been translated so much that it no longer is correct. Friends, that's not an accurate statement. A translation of the Bible is translated from either the original source or as close to the original as possible. For an example, the King James Version is not the source for our modern English translations. Scholars do not look to the KJV and then take what it says and make it more palatable for our modern day language. That would not be a translation - that would be a paraphrase - and there is a difference. Instead, in any of these versions you see here, scholars look to the available manuscripts that are the oldest and closest to the original and then translated from those. Now the funny thing is, this means that some of the newest translations are probably more accurate than some of the old translations, like the King James Version.

Here's an interesting note about the accuracy: when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in late 1940's to early 50's, scholars were surprised to find that our translation deviated very little from these scrolls that had been hidden for over two thousand years. Some of the scrolls were over a thousand years older than the oldest manuscripts that were known before. So, the argument that the meaning has been lost over time is based best on personal supposition and not on any credible evidence.

Another difficulty which some have with the Bible is how to take it. For most people, we either understand it literally or as inspired.

Literal means just that - without question, doubt, or error. For those who believe the Bible is literal, it is the infallible and inerrant word of God. An easy way to understand this is to imagine God dictating the Bible to the writers and them writing exactly what was said. This is a widely accepted approach to understanding the Bible. A couple of verses that many literalist cite for justification for their stance are these:

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

and a portion of the last lines in the Bible

Revelation 22:18-19

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The next most common view is that the Bible is the inspired word of God. This understanding takes in account that the Bible was written by human hands, and though while God inspired it's composition, it does contain some inconsistencies. This understanding does not negate the accuracy of the Bible though; instead it leads to the understanding that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The essence of the verse is without doubt.

A couple of passages that are used to support this stance are:

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

and

2 Peter 1:20-21

20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

One way to illustrate the difference between these two opinions is to look at the parables that Jesus told. A strict literal understanding is that these stories that Jesus told are accurate accounts of historical events. The inspired point of view would say that the "truth" is in the essence of the story, it's meaning, and not if the account actually happened or not.

Most people come to identify with either of these camps or a melding of the two in their understanding of the Bible.

So, you may have a bit more appreciation by now for what the Bible is, but still may ask, "Why is studying it important?"

If you remember the video earlier about Mike Ditka misquoting the Bible, you may need to know that misquotes are a commonplace. I am astounded by the number of times that the Bible is either misquoted or twisted by politicians and others who want to manipulate it to give credence to their platform.

But misquotes are not always so nefarious. Actually, I find many people unintentionally falling in this trap and I do to from time-to-time.

Let's try this to illustrate my point. I am going to call out some pretty well-known quotes and you tell me if they are biblical or not.

Q1. "This too shall pass."

A1. No. (Just checking to see if you are still with me)

Q2. "Wives should submit to their husbands"

A2. Yes, Ephesians 5.24. But this is just a part of the whole. The next verse goes on to say that husbands must love their wives as Christ loves the Church and gave his life for it. 

Q3. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

A3. No. But it closely resembles Proverbs 13.24

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." which has a totally different connotation.

Q4. “God helps those who help themselves.”

A4. No. This is from Benjamin Franklin. Actually, as you study and understand the Bible, you come to see that this is about as opposite as it gets from who God helps.

As maybe you can see, there is often confusion as to what is something God says to us and what isn't - and that can make a huge difference.

The Bible serves to shape our theology, that is our understanding of the nature of God. For us United Methodists, we have this system of testing various beliefs and discern if they meet our theology. This methodology is often referred to as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

It is comprised of four filters that we use:

- tradition

- experience

- reason

- scripture - and this is primary. "Why?" you may ask. It is primary because of all of these, it is the one that remains constant. All the others are based either on our personal concepts or our collective understanding. But scripture is from God.

Over the last little while, I have laid out for you briefly what the Bible is, how it is interpreted and understood, and why studying it is valuable. In all of that, I was speaking basically to the intellectual side of you. Now I want to speak from my heart to yours.  

Probably the verse that best sums up why studying the Bible is important in my life is this:

Psalm 119.105

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

This book is no ordinary book.

In its pages I have found reason for some of the most troubling questions, hope in the midst of crisis, and direction in times of great uncertainty.

I have found that these are not just merely printed words, but that they are indeed the Living word of God.

Each time I read the Bible, it strikes me differently and causes me to grow and look beyond myself.

It is the source of my transformation thus far and the catalyst that continues to perfect me.

The Bible is not just a history book of some people that are unidentifiable to my life today. It is a testament of a God who loves all people and is continually acting in and responding to those universal problems all people find themselves dealing with, which transcend time and space.

I find the Bible to be an instrument that helps me to know better my God, who took time to form me from nothing, to breathe life into my lungs, who has entrusted me with a family I do not deserve and church I am humbled to serve.

It allows me to come to know and love better my Lord who lived a life as a servant so that I can know how to love others better and died an excruciatingly painful death, as an atonement for my sin.

It goes on to offer me the promise that not even death can separate me from the love of God.

Finally, I study the Bible because I know of no other way to come to know God better, know God's plan for me or know how to truly love others. 

That's why I make studying the Bible a Holy Habit.

January 6, 2013 - 12 Habits of Holy Living: Sacraments

Good morning! I am Tim Roberts and I have the great honor of being the pastor here at Sunrise United Methodist Church. Before we go any further, I want to also welcome you here on this first Sunday of the year. As you have made your way here, I am sure that there were many other opportunities that were beckoning you to pull you away from being here, but maybe it was by providence, sheer determination, or maybe just by habit, you are here today and I pray that you receive a blessing from God by being here.

You know, it's not by accident that I used that word just a moment ago, "habit," because that is exactly what we are going to be considering for the next several weeks. Being the first of the year, many people throughout the world will be resolving to either end some bad habits, start some new ones, or maybe a combination of both. In any case, maybe it would be a good idea to first consider exactly what a habit is.

Webster's Dictionary gives several definitions for "habit," but for our purpose here today, we are going to concentrate on this one:

a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.

Now with that being said, many people look at habits as being something bad, either because we may focus on the negative ones or we may identify habits as being "stuck in a rut." But, friends, what if we changed our paradigm and started seeing them as something positive and as a means of growing and deepening our faith? Wouldn't that be a worthwhile endeavor?

Well today, we begin a series of twelve different spiritual disciplines or Holy Habits, as some people call them, which have been used throughout the centuries to do just that. Probably none of these are new to you, but over the course of a few weeks, it is my hope and prayer that you find a few of these that you can incorporate in your daily lives that will help you in your journey to grow closer to God.

In addition to the weekly messages, I also invite you participate in the daily exercise of meditation by either purchasing a Daily Journal, which I currently have eight copies not spoken for or by participating online

http://12holyhabits.blogspot.com

The daily study is a personal but can also be used as a guide for small group study as well.

Our first holy habit is sacraments. Now, I know that is a rather curious one to start with and for good reason. Would anyone like to take a shot at defining what a sacrament is?

[Allow response]

We are much better at giving examples of sacraments than we are at defining the term. The word itself is derived from the Latin word, sacramentum, which roughly translates as "Holy Mystery."  Humh, well, that doesn't help a whole lot, does it? I mean, after two thousand years of theologizing, it appears the best that we can come up with to try and define this term is that it's a mystery.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, set our doctrinal understanding of it as: "a means of grace" and in that meaning "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."

Now, throughout Christianity, denominations vary on the number of sacraments they observe, such as our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters observe seven different sacramental acts. In The United Methodist tradition, we observe two acts means of grace - those being:

1. Baptism

2. Communion

So, what makes these two sacraments? As we understand them, these are acts that were instituted by Jesus as a way of bestowing God's grace and also commanded by Jesus for his followers to continue to do.

The first, Baptism, is kind of strange to be considered a habit for United Methodists though. This is because we believe in "one baptism." Unlike many of our other Protestant siblings, we believe that we are baptized only once, because baptism is all about the act of God pouring out this amazing grace and not about the act of us seeking it. So, it's about what God does and not about what we do.

Well, with this being the case, you may be asking, how do we make baptism a holy habit? We do this by participating in the baptism of others. If you will recall, when we baptize people, of whatever age, we reaffirm our baptism thorough remembrance and reconfirming God's love poured out for us.

We do this through this curious term that not a whole lot of people are familiar with, but is one that helps explain a bit more this Holy Mystery of sacraments. This term is anamnesis, which means "actively engaging in remembering."

Friends, let's take a few minutes to think about this for just a moment. How do we normally go about remembering events?

Normally, when we remember some event, we may start recalling some visions, which may then bring to mind some of the dialogue that was exchanged. If we take the time and share recollections, we may remember more than we thought we could. But, usually, that's the extent of remembering - an act of passive recollection.

But with anamnesis, that's not the case. In this fashion, we relive the act to the extent of actively participating in the event again. If we were to engage in anamnesis over our graduation, we would put one the cap and gown, go through the whole pomp and circumstance of the ceremony, and even have the graduation party afterward. At no time would it be passive, but always active.

Now, using this understanding, let's think about how it applies to our second sacrament, Communion.

 

In Luke's gospel, we read an account of Jesus sharing the Passover meal with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. Let's take a look at this passage.

Luke 22.14-19

14 Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, "I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won't eat it again until it comes to fulfillment in the Kingdom of God." 17 Then he took a cup of wine, and when he had given thanks for it, he said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come." 19 Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

Take a look at that last line: "Do this in remembrance of me." Looking at it through this new lens of anamnesis, we can see that the "Do this" part is just as crucial as the "in remembrance of me." This is why the liturgy we participate in is very active. We take the bread, we give thanks to God, we break the bread, we share the bread, we take the cup, we again give thanks, and then we share the cup.

Some other Christian traditions consider communion as a "memorial meal" in which the participants merely remember the story of the Last Supper. But with our understanding of anamnesis, we are not just recalling the event that happened some two millennia ago, we actively share in the meal with the other disciples and "the REAL PRESENCE" of Jesus is with us.

Today, we come together to participate in Holy Communion, which we do about each month. But today as we come together, we come armed with a new understanding and appreciation for why we do it and ready to make it not just a habit, but as a holy habit.

[Communion]