I wrote a little poem which didn't make it into the message on Sunday.
A Christian without fellowship is like:
a student without school
A carpenter without a tool
A Christian without fellowship is like:
A salesman who never sells
A school with no bells
A Christian without fellowship is like:
An author with no books
A restaurant with not cooks.
A Christian without fellowship is like:
A parent with no kids
An auction with no bids.
A Christian without fellowship is an oxymoron.
SMJ
I only touched upon it briefly in the message, but those two men in white offer an interesting study. Throughout the scripture we see angels communing with mankind. Often they are telling us not to be afraid. What these two angels ask is such an appropriate question - why are you standing here doing nothing? Seems like a good question to ask our selves! SMJ
This is an intriguing book which I am working through. It sure does make you think! Today's gem:
"People need vision and they need hope. Their very souls seek some conduit for meaning." (p.41)
Vision, hope and meaning. I am challenged to see that our church is pointing people in a direction where they gain all three in a God honoring manner. SMJ
I Peter 1:3 says: "In his great mercy he has given us new birth..."
It seems as though the longer I have been a believer, the less I feel the need for his mercy. I mean, let's face it, I've learned sin management techniques. I avoid the situations which tempt me to sin. My dependence upon mercy is reduced as I seek to live a righteous life. And yet, that is a significant part of his mercy. As "righteous" as I may at times feel - I am always in need of his mercy. I think it could be argued that I may be more in need of his mercy the more righteous I feel.
When I begin to believe the lie of my own righteousness (of course I was made righteous by faith in Christ - but somehow begin to feel that after his initial work was done it is up to me to maintain that righteousness) I think that I become like Buzz Lightyear int he movie Toy Story. When Woody seeks to convince him (Buzz) that he is just a toy, Buzz responds "You are a strange little man, and you have my pity." Yet is was Buzz who had it wrong. (A fact he discovers later in the movie.)
God is perhaps most merciful towards me when I get a little full of myself! SMJ
Preparing sermons demands that a large number of decisions be made. Any text - particularly a historical text - has a number of directions it can take you. Our text for Sunday provided three distinct directions I could have headed. I could have emphasized verses 4 and 5, and talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Another direction we could have headed was from verse 8 and the whole issue of the great commission.
This of course would have been further broken down to understanding the power of the Holy Spirit as it relates to our witnessing, what being his witnesses entails, and an understanding of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.
I chose to look at the impact of the kingdom because it provided an opportunity for me to give an overview of Acts, and also fit well with our discussions of the past three weeks where we also spoke of the kingdom. SMJ
It seems as though people adopt particular words or phrases which get used over and over again so as to dilute their meaning. Things like:
"Absolutely"
"I'll be honest" (do you usually lie?)
24/7
LOL
"For sure"
"Make it happen"
"It is what it is"
"Know what I mean?"
I think most of the times those who insist on overuse of such phrases are either trying to be cutting edge or have completely stopped thinking about what they are saying. "Just saying..." SMJ
One rabbit trail I considered taking was into the passage immediately preceding the text for this Sunday's message. In it Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. It is a parable which speaks strongly to our society. Someone once defined true wealth as the ability to sustain your present lifestyle without ever having to work again. That your investments are able to produce, without much oversight, enough income for you to take life easy, to eat, drink and be merry. Of course that is exactly what the rich fool was set to do.
And Jesus challenges that manner of thinking through this parable. We strive so hard to accumulate wealth (I want to have $2,000,000 in the bank before I retire....) and when we do so our focus is messed up.
Well, I decided no to go down that rabbit trail because it is a topic which deserves a full message in itself! SMJ
One of the books I am reading presently is "Church Unique - How Missional Leaders cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement" by Will Mancini. In it he says this: "On the needs-based slippery slope, leaders are constantly trying to meet people's needs and expectations within the church. With the leaders' cruise control set to "react," thoughtful leadership becomes unnecessary because there is always a persistent parade of needs to be answered. The vision of the church is reduced to making people happy."
Wow. SMJ
Reading some Psalms makes me thankful for where we live and the incredible provision God has made for us. Psalm 88 is one of those Psalms. "I cry out before you...my soul if full of trouble...I am set apart with the dead...my eyes are dim with grief..." And it goes on, finally ending with "the darkness is my closest friend." No real resolution in this Psalm. Just crying out to God. And while it makes me glad for my life situation, it also reminds me that there are times in life when we remain in the emotional hole. In our Burger King world, where we can have in our way right away, we want God to rescue us from our despair immediately. But sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes we go to bed still in distress - and that is okay - when we do, Psalms like this resonate with our souls as we continue to call out to God even when it seems as though he has abandoned us. SMJ
Each Christmas season I am amazed at the words of virtually every angel who takes part in the Christmas narrative. They almost always say "Do not be afraid." It seems as though we have so many things in our lives which create fear. We go to the doctor for our annual check-up. The blood test shows our cholestoral is high, or our blood pressure is higher than the present norms. So we fear the effects. There are so many physical issues which could arrise - cancer, diabetes, the list seems endless.
Then there are the non-medical issues we can worry about. The health care system overhaul. The economy. Will our job still be there next year? Will we be able to afford the basic necessities of life? And our reputation - what will people think of us? Will people love us if we get fat? Or disfigured? We are afraid of an aweful lot of things.
And yet the angels say: Do not be afraid. It is good advice. If we believe that God is really in control - even if we don't particularly like the way he exercises his control, we ultimately choose to trust. And trust helps eradicate fear. It doesn't take fear away completely, but it certainly helps. If God is in control, and God is loving and kind, the fears which so often control our lives ought to be temporary. We can get through it. We do not go through the issues of life alone. Christmas reminds us that we do not need to be afraid - God IS with us. SMJ
