Nikos

Sunday Worship Preview - February 5

2012-01-29T06:41:00.000-05:00

Sunday, February 5 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, February 8 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Encouraging Words"

Features - 5th Sunday After the Epiphany; Holy Communion; & Unbinding Your Heart Small Book Give Away/Lent Small Group Sign-Up

Scripture - Isaiah 40:28-31 & Mark 1:32-39

Theme - Encouraging words from the bible sustain us as we go through the ups and the downs of our journey through life. They offer us great comfort and strength just when we need it the most because God promises to be with us always. We can even rise up with wings like eagles!
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Bible Study Summary - Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

2012-01-26T07:16:00.002-05:00

Sermon(Jan. 29) – “Teacher Man”

Deuteronomy18:15-20

- Knownas the Book of Instruction, the Torah. Emphasizes teaching/learning for all generations. Moses speaks for Godas they prepared to enter the Promised Land.

- Mosesis telling the people to not follow the practices of the surrounding religions.This was probably written during the post-exilic period (early 500’s B.C./400’sB.C.) It was written to help Israelreform following their exile.

- V.15 – What is a prophet? God’sspokesperson. Not just foretelling thefuture, but warning and challenging God’s people to be faithful to thecovenant. Jesus is in line with theprophetic tradition.

- V.20 – The dangerous life of a prophet!

Mark1:21-28

- How’sthis for a full day? Jesus teaches andheals, then heals Peter’s mother in law, then heals during the evening, goes toa deserted place, and then concludes the day by healing a leper. Wow!

- Thistakes place in a village called Capernaum. Jesus’ astounds everyone with his teaching because he doesn’t refer towhat Moses said. Jesus uses his ownauthority.

- Jesuswas a great teacher. He instructed,comforted, and challenged his listeners to be prepared for God’s in-breakingkingdom and where God was about to fully reign.

- Reflecton the teaching ministry of the church. Sunday School, bible studies, small groups, Unbinding Your Heartinitiative, Disciple Bible Study, sermons, counseling sessions, BicentennialYear (both our local church history and our United Methodist history ingeneral.)

- Whywas it important for Jesus to be a teacher? Why is it important for the church to teach?

- Mypersonal teaching ministry: Preparing for sermons, bible studies, and reading books. Presently I'm reading "Simply Jesus" by NT Wright which explores who Jesus is in his 1st century Jewish context. I'm also reading, "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth" by Gordon Fee. It emphasizes the importance of reading scripture passages in light of the particular genre and in the context of the larger biblical narrative.

Who's Your Trainer? - Dave's Deep Thoughts

2012-01-25T15:19:00.000-05:00

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

I guess it depends what end of the leash you are on.

I am a big believer in daily exercise.

I try to get in 6 workouts a week.

I like the results.....

it gives me that endorphin rush,

it helps me to focus,

it often becomes a time for prayer,

and it is good for my health.

Some days are harder than others

to get started.

In the past,

I have used the services of a personal trainer

to motivate me and to push me

to reach goals that I might not otherwise attempt.

That's why he caught my eye.

I see him in the morning

as I drive to work......

He is an elderly man.

He comes into my vision as he crosses the street

on his electric scooter.

I call him Scooterboy.

That wouldn't be that unusual

except that Scooterboy also has his dog on a leash.

To the casual observer,

it looks like this tiny dog is pulling the scooter

much like Rudolph pulls Santa's sleigh.

The only problem is that Rudolph

has 8 other reindeer to help tow the line.

Meanwhile, this little Rudolph is on his own

and Santa wants to go at warp speed.

Now this little pup is tiny

and the scooter wheels are large.

I am not the best at algebraic equations,

but my best estimations

are that this little pupster is taking 7 frantic steps

to every one rotation of the scooter wheels.

Essentially,

every morning this little canine

wakes up to a tyrannical Pharaoh trainer

who chases him with an electric chariot.

It might be a great way for the dog to get some exercise........

not so much for Scooterboy.

I'd like to think Scooterboy is taking on some fresh morning air himself,

except that while he is playing jockey,

he is smoking a cigarette.

So much for fresh air.

Meanwhile the little pooch is huffing it,

moving his little legs frantically,

trying to avoid the writing of a pet obituary

that describes how he was run over by a scooter.

Up the hill they go.

The little tyke is now on a 30% incline

and the treadmill showed no signs of slowing down.

They may be only going around the block,

but in miniature dog terms,

Fido is running a marathon

and the finish line is no where in sight.

Soon though,

Scooterboy and his dog disappear out of my sight.

I say a prayer for the little guy,

praying that his little legs hold up for the journey.

I believe that trainers can be a great help

in helping one achieve fitness goals.

But it's hard to listen to a trainer's instructions,

if the trainer himself is out of shape,

or is found behind the gym

trying to appease his nicotine fit.

We listen to trainers

when they practice what they preach,

and we agree with the sermon.

In a sense,

God is our personal trainer,

just not with a leash,

but with a shepherd's crook.

He has goals for each one of us

that are beyond our own comprehension.

Goals that will allow us to

be more than we ever thought we could be.

But they are goals that come from experience.

He understands what it's like to be on both ends of the leash.

He has seen the view both from heaven and earth.

I know I need a trainer.

And so do you.

May we allow the most personal of personal trainers

to take our lives and let them become

all that they were intended to be.

Let Him reveal where you need to exercise.....

prayer, fasting, study,

solitude, simplicity, submission, service,

confession, worship.

It may hurt, and it will cost you,

discipline always does.

But I promise you won't get run over by a scooter.

I will instruct and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Psalm 32:8

This Happy Valley

2012-01-23T20:14:00.003-05:00

Just after Coach Paterno passed away in the hospital, the family issued this statement: "His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled. He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them."

In the church, we call life after death, "heaven" but I think "happy valley" describes it even better. State College, located in the scenic mountains of central Pennsylvania is aptly named. I can see why Coach Paterno chose to stay there for his entire coaching career, even turning up tons of money to coach in the NFL. It is a beautiful place.

I'm thankful that I was able to make a trip to Happy Valley this past fall to watch the Iowa game. Sitting in the upper deck, the view of the sunset near the end of the game was breathtaking. Penn State was wrapping up another win, it was a gorgeous day to watch a college football game, and all was right in my world in that moment.

It was always a thrill for me to watch Paterno on the sideline. My favorite memory was back in 1998 when I was able to be in Happy Valley for JoPa's 300th career win. Besides it being near 100 degrees with high humidity that day, my best memory was to hear Coach Paterno thank the crowd for their love and support and then he yelled as loud as he could into the stadium microphone, "Now let's beat Pitt!"

After that game, I watched Coach Paterno leave the stadium in an old beat up pick up truck. It was a thrill to watch him drive right pass me as he looked out the window. It was a very happy day.

Because of the child abuse scandal and Coach Paterno's recent death, it doesn't feel like Happy Valley right now. But I thank God for a faith that points me to another Happy Valley, a place where there will no longer be any pain, suffering, sin, or death. We get glimpses of that valley in the here and now. All we need to do is have open eyes, hearts, and minds to see it.

For now, during this time of grief and sadness, this picture of the sun setting over the beautiful mountains this past Fall gives me all the comfort I need.

God is still present in this Happy Valley, thankfully.
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Sermon (January 22) "The Good News of the Good News"

2012-01-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

A family had twin boys whose onlyresemblance to each other was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, theother thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the otherclaimed the volume needed to be turned up. Opposite in every way, one was aneternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins' birthday their fatherloaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist'sroom he loaded with horse manure.
That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amidhis new gifts crying bitterly.

"Why are you crying?" the father asked.

"Becausemy friends will be jealous, I'll have to read all these instructions before Ican do anything with this stuff, I'll constantly need batteries, and my toyswill eventually get broken." answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin's room,the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. "Whatare you so happy about?" he asked.

To which his optimist twin replied, "There's got to be a pony in heresomewhere!"

Some people can be positive in any situation!

I think it’s interesting that the first four books of the New Testament thattell the story of Jesus are called, “Gospels.” The word, “gospel” literally means, “good news.” The story of Jesus is a story of goodnews. Our faith is a good news faith.

And really, the entire bible is one big story of how a loving God who createdthis world is bound and determined to rescue it from sin and death. The bible is a story of good news.

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus begins his ministry byproclaiming this good news. And noticethat Jesus isn’t saying that this good news is something that will only be forthe future. This good news has alreadybeen launched in the here and now. Listen to the past tense. Jesussays, “The time is fulfilled, and thekingdom of God has comenear.”

This is the good news of the good news! The good news is that the good news is already happening. And it has been happening because of thelife, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Can you think of any gooder news than that? J Pardon my grammar! The good news is that the good news isalready happening!

Where do you see the good news of the good news at work? Where do you see the good news of the goodnews in your day to day living?

We live during a time where there seems like there’s nothing but badnews. Lack of jobs, increasing poverty,negativity abounds in politics – the list goes on and on. You can see why somebody would choose to be apessimist over an optimist.

But the good news of the good news is that God’s kingdom has alreadycome near. The signs of God’s gracesurround us in any given moment even in the midst of the struggles, pain, anddifficult transitions that we face in our daily living.

Jesus certainly knew how difficult life can be sometimes. Mark tells us that just before Jesus began toannounce the good news of God’s kingdom, that John the Baptist had beenarrested. By referring to this sadevent, Mark wants us to know that in the midst of life’s struggles anddisappointments, there is hope. Thekingdom of God has come near.

Speaking of transitions, just think about Jesus calling those firstdisciples. They were fishermen. In Israel, fishing was often a familybusiness going back several generations, even centuries. And Jesus called them to leave not just ahobby, but their livelihood, their family business of being fishermen in orderto follow him.

When you have a family business that has any history to it, there’s anexpectation that this will carry on with the next generation if possible. And here, these disciples were willing to saygoodbye to the world as they knew it. Ican’t think of a more daring step of faith.

When you read this scripture, you wonder if Mark wasn’t also thinkingabout Abraham from the Old Testament. Like the fishermen in Mark’s Gospel, God called Abraham to leave what hewas doing, his home, his whole way of living in order to follow God into anunknown future.

About a year and a half ago, a member of our church, Stephanie Warnerdecided to serve in the Peace Corps in Botswana, Africa. She will be coming home this summer. She has been helping to stop the spread ofAIDS through the medical clinic in her village. I remember meeting Stephanie when I first came here to the church. She was teaching Sunday School for our HighSchool youth.

Recently, Stephanie was reflecting on her decision to leave the comfortsof her home and her familiar way of life, almost questioning if it’s all beenworth it. But then she writes, “You only have one life to live so youbetter make sure you are living it to the fullest.”

When she shared those thoughts, it reminded me so much of the disciplesand how Jesus called them to leave everything and follow Him. The good news isn’t just something that’s wayout there in the future. It’s alsobreaking into the present. As Jesussaid, “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

Even in the midst of life’s transitions, God is with us. This is the good news of the good news.

Many of you know about my mother who has dementia and lives inPennsylvania. This past fall, mybrother, sisters, and I decided that it was time for our mom to move from herfarm house where she has lived all her life. All four of us were raised there and we all have strong emotional tiesto the house and the farm. But we knew that it was time for our mom to move toa place where she would get much better care.

We had a big task in front of us. The four of us met at the farm house this past November to prepare mom’sbelongings for an estate sale. Becauseof all the memories in the home we grew up in, the four of us had an agreementthat we wouldn’t spend time reminiscing since we only had a week to get thingsready for the sale. For the most part,we kept to our agreement.

In the attic were several large pieces of furniture, boxes and looseitems that needed to be carried down two flights of stairs, and then sorted,and tagged. The cellar which hadexperienced flooding from a lot of rain this past year needed to be emptied andaired out. The farm buildings needed tobe cleaned and organized.

Things that we didn’t want to keep or think would sell needed to bethrown into a large dumpster that we had rented. At the end of each day, I noticed that allfour of us were limping from all of the carrying, lifting, and cleaning. We were quite a sorry sight to see.

Toward the end of the afternoon of the last day that I was in for thetrip, we had finished all our work. Myone sister and I were standing in front of the barn when my brother and myother sister drove up in dad’s old pick-up truck.

My brother said, “Let’s make onefinal trip out to the pines.” Thepines referred to a place on our farm where our dad would go to chop down aChristmas tree each year. Dad had diedin 1989 and so his memory was constantly with us throughout that week.

The pines was that place that served as a pet cemetery for our dogs whohad died. The pines was that place wherewe would go as kids just to be quiet and listen to the sounds of nature. We drove back to the pines on the same paththat our dad would often take on his tractor, a path that was between twocornfields along the sloping farmland of south central Pennsylvania.

When we made it out to the pines, we got out of the pick-up truck. The sun was just beginning to set, providinga glow over the recently picked golden cornfields. It was an unusually warm and calm Novemberday.

We remarked on how beautiful it was to be back to the pines. I took a short walk through the woods wheredad and I had hunted many years. So manymemories of that beautiful farm. We feltlike kids again as we remembered stories from our childhood. A large graceful deer interrupted ourconversation as it came out of the woods and darted through the cornfieldtoward the pines.

And then we were silent, not saying a word, as we savored that holymoment. I thought about dad and how muchI missed him. And then I thought aboutmom and how she would soon be leaving the home where she had lived all herlife.

Just at the right time, as my heart was feeling the ache of the pain oftransition, one of us offered to say a prayer. And the four of us, joined hands and made a little circle. We thanked God for giving us parents wholoved each of us and passed the faith on to us. We thanked God for giving us the farm as a great place to be raised andthat we had these beautiful shared memories that would stay with us forever.

That holy moment of prayer caught us all off guard. I was reminded that this is the good news ofthe good news. God was present in thatmoment even in the midst of that time of change and transition for ourfamily.

I’ll never forget that one last trip back to the pines. God is with is us in times of transition.

Before coming to Lancaster, I pastored achurch in Xenia, a county seat town near Dayton. Xenia is unfortunately known for the large1974 tornado that destroyed much of the city. In 2000, I arrived at the church just a few months after Xenia had beenhit by another tornado. The church washit and suffered a lot of damage and I was there during the rebuilding phase.

It was a very difficult time for that congregation. Before the tornado hit the church, they hadjust completed a one million dollar building expansion. The tornado destroyed a lot of the newaddition. It was a very stressful timefor everyone. Sunday worship servicesneeded to be held at the local High School. Sunday School classes met at a Senior Citizen building as well as inother places in the community. And thecongregation was faced with yet another stressful rebuilding project.

A member of my church wrote this journal entry about her experienceduring that difficult time in the life of our church.

“I am discouraged and sad. Our church was hit by a tornado severalmonths ago. Much of the building was destroyed; the rest was badlydamaged. It will take a year to rebuild.Everyone pulled together through the clean up and the start of the rebuilding.

Now, six months later, the weariness ofliving with construction has hit. We’vehad flat tires from nails in the parking lot, and the strains of meeting in adozen places around town have worn our spirits thin.

We are caught in a conflict over thereconstruction – should we rebuild what we had or redesign for futureneeds? We have differing hopes, a deepsense of loss, and competition for inadequate space.

Fierce disagreements among people who holddifferent priorities make this a tense and ragged time. I am beset by ugliness and conflict. I find myself in tears, wanting to run awayfrom it all. I desperately want God togather me up like a sobbing child, hold me against his shoulder and comfort me.

As I sit in the living room, the catclimbs onto my shoulder, snuggles down and purrs. I let go of fears and strife and I settleinto the peaceful joy of cat-cuddling.

God gently whispers into my ear, ‘This ishow I love you.’

My anguish diminishes as I understand; aspainful as this is, it will pass. I amnot alone. I am in the embrace of God.”

For Barb, she was able to embrace the good news of the good news even inthe midst of the rubble and the chaos. She was reminded of God’s love for her in a moment when she needed itthe most.

Barb eventually included this entry in a book she wrote called “RoadGrace.”

Our Gospel reading tells us that as Jesus begins to share this good newsthat the kingdom of God has come near, he calls on some fisherman to drop whatthey’re doing and follow him. “Repent and believe in the good news,”he tells them. And they followed.

Jesus’ announcement of the good news isn’t only for thosefishermen. It’s also for the woman whosechurch has been hit by a tornado and is now facing the stress of rebuilding. It’s for the four adult children of themother who aren’t quite ready to let go. It’s for the young woman who is far from home in Africa. It’s for theoptimist AND the pessimist.

The good news of the good news is for you and for me.

Sunday Worship Preview - January 29

2012-01-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 29 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, February 1 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Teacher Man"

Features - 4th Sunday After the Epiphany & Unbinding Your Heart Small Group Facilitators' Commissioning/Book Give Away/Lent Small Group Sign-Up

Scripture - Deuteronomy 18:15-20 & Mark 1:21-28

Theme - Jesus was an amazing teacher and it was through his teaching that the disciples were able to take what Jesus had shared with them and offer the good news of God's kingdom to the people around them.
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Want to Know How to Read the Bible?

2012-01-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

Just started to read the book, How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. It has sold a lot of copies over the years, a classic primer to aid in the understanding and interpretation of scripture and to see each verse/passage/book in in it's proper context.

Based on solid mainstream bible scholarship, the authors help the reader to appreciate the different genres of the bible and to read them accordingly. Here's one example early in the book as to why we need outside sources such as this book if we want to understand scripture in the way it was intended.

When Paul says, "Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14), people in most English-speaking cultures are apt to think that "flesh" means the "body" and therefore that Paul is speaking of "bodily appetites." But the word "flesh" as Paul uses it, seldom refers to the body - and in this text it almost certainly did not - but to a spiritual malady sometimes called "the sinful nature," denoting totally self-centered existence. Therefore, without intending to do so, the reader is interpreting as he or she reads, and unfortunately all too often interprets incorrectly.

I'm also reading a couple of other books, but I do want to have future posts on some other examples of being aware of the biases we often bring to the scriptures and how we can interpret it more accurately.
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Bible Study Summary - Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

2012-01-19T06:56:00.000-05:00

Sermon– “The Good News of the Good News”

Jonah3:1-5, 10

- Manyscholars see this book as more of a parable regarding God’s grace toward peopleoutside of the Jewish faith. It takesdiscernment to be able to tell what kind of literature each story of the bible/bookof the bible is rooted in actual historical events. This is troublesome to people who equate“truth” only with historical events.

- V.3 – Nineveh was a very large city based on archaeological finds.

- V.5 - The large city which contained a lot of sin/evil shows how incredible itwas that the people actually repented! This is contrasted with the reluctance of the prophet to offer God’sgrace!

- V.8 – When even the animals are confessing/repenting, you know the city isexperiencing total transformation!

- Whyis it difficult for us to see God extending grace to people we are angry withor believe don’t deserve God’s favor? Dowe forget God’s grace in our own lives? How can we guard against being “holier than thou?”

Mark1:14-20

- Itis likely that the Zebedee family had a family business of fishing for severalgenerations that went back centuries! It’s pretty amazing that they dropped this to follow Jesus into anunknown future!

- Thisstory reminds us of the Abram story when God called him to leave his home andway of life.

- Atthe center of Jesus’ call is the “kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God means 1) Turn away fromany worldview/ideologies that are not in line with Jesus’ understanding ofGod’s kingdom. This was the difficultthing for Jonah to do! 2) Give total loyalty to the God of Israel. 3) Embrace the good news that God is trulythe king over all the earth.

- Whatis the good news? God is about to rescuethe world from sin and death. And thegood news of the good news is that we can leave our nets and embrace this goodnews in the here and now!

Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup - Dave's Deep Thoughts

2012-01-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

First it was a fireman.

Then it was an astronaut.

It wasn't until I matured to the age of four,

that I realized my true calling was to be a cowboy/sheriff.

I think it might have been the boots.

According to my mother,

I wanted to wear my boots everywhere......

and that included to bed

(secretly placed back on after being tucked in)

My bestest birthday

occurred that year when I got

a leather gun belt & gun

(okay, looking back it was probably fake leather,

but at age 4 it seemed really real)

For about a year

(probably about 3 weeks in adult time)

I wore my cowboy outfit everywhere......

everywhere, except to church.

For some reason, they did not like

children bringing munitions to Sunday School.

I remember reluctantly agreeing to go and worship God,

as a civilian.

I was a top notch cowboy/sheriff.

I must have performed at such a high level

because at Christmas I received a shiny sheriff's badge.

This badge was well deserved.

As much as I can remember,

our ranch was never robbed during my watch.

Stagecoaches always made it safely to their destinations.

Citizens felt safe walking the streets.

The only shortcoming I had

might have been a brief incident on the cowboy side of things.

That's when I tried to brand the steer.

That didn't go exactly as I planned,

but that's another story.

I have wonderful memories of my career as a cowboy/sheriff.

Last year when my siblings and I

were cleaning out our mother's home for sale,

we came upon many memories of our childhood years.

Many things were discarded,

but each of us kept favorite mementos.

And that's when I found it.........

No not the boots,

not the shiny badge,

not the munitions......

I found IT,

my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup.

No, this wasn't your average

Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup....

Nooosirrrreee !

This was my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup

complete with spur.

I loved my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup.

It was the only way any self respecting cowboy/sheriff

could start his day.

I would fill it up to the very top.

Sometimes I would fill it so close to the brim

that this cowboy/sheriff's mom

would attempt to give me a straw to safely drink.

As any cowboy/sheriff would,

I always refused the straw.

Have you ever seen a cowboy/sheriff use a straw?

Over the years,

as I moved onto other careers,

I gave up my boots, badge, & bullets,

but I kept my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup close by.

For a while,

it became the perfect place to store my marbles.

Later on, it was the quintessential pencil holder.

Somehow, in the confusion of my adolescence,

I lost track of my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup.

Adolesence does that.

I didn't see my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup again

until this year, some 40 years later.

Time has a way of changing one's perspective on things.

Things rarely look the same, or have the same significance

40 years down the road.

That's why my final career is so important to me.

During those adolescent years,

I surrendered my life to Christ's lordship.

I remember that first moment of surrender

as if it were yesterday, but oh how different I am now.

Unlike my first career as a cowboy/sheriff

which was self chosen,

this career as a follower of Christ

was initiated by God,

and I only needed to respond.

Unlike my childhood passing fancies,

this career is for a lifetime.

And instead of a costume,

I need armor.

No need for cowboy boots.

I wear the breastplate of of righteousness.

No need for a shiny badge,

give me the shield of faith.

No cowboy hat for this one,

I have a helmet of salvation.

No gun nor ammunition anymore,

for I have the sword of the Spirit.

Each one of us has a Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup

in our lives.....

something that remind us of when we were a child.

But we are told in His Word,

to put away childish things*

as we take on that which is eternal.

I plan on keeping my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot Cup nearby.

Not because I need it,

but because it reminds me of who I have become.

Just don't give me a straw.

*I Corinthians 13:11

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to resist in the evil day,

and having done everything to stand firm.

Ephesians 6:13

My Faith Journey (Part III)

2012-01-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

Lost and directionless, I got down on my knees and said a prayer. "Jesus, I need you. I've been trying to do things my way and it hasn't worked. I want to put your first in my life. From this point on, I'm going to do what you want me to do, whatever it may be. Forgive me for how I have strayed from you. I rededicate my entire life to you, Jesus. Amen."

As I stood up from that prayer, it was the most unbelievable feeling, like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I now had an assurance, an unshakable confidence that Jesus was truly my Lord and Savior.

It was my sophomore year of college and I was really struggling with bad grades, a relationship break up, the sting of being cut from the baseball team, and not knowing what to do with my life. As my knees began to bend to pray that life changing prayer, I realized this was something I hadn't done in quite a while.

Another result of that prayer was that God also spoke to me during that prayer! It was like God was telling me, "OK. That's great. I will guide your every step. But here's what I want you to do immediately. Start studying! Give your best. Don't worry about what your major should be. Just study. Trust me and I'll take it from there. And here's the 2nd thing. I want you to begin a bible study and invite your friends from High School so that they too can be my followers. Got it? Good. Begin today!"

From that point on, I began to set aside at least two hours every day to study. I also sent out a letter to as many of my old High School friends that I could think of to invite them to my house for a bible study which I would lead.

As far as the studying part went, Jesus helped me to make the Dean's List which was a pretty impressive accomplishment since I was getting D's and C's. And people responded to my bible study invitation. About a dozen people attended on a weekly basis and most of them were not actively part of any church. Through that bible study, some accepted Christ, some would enter the pastoral ministry, and many got involved in their church again.

Jesus had made his point. "Always put me first and I will lead you in the way you should go."

If God's grace was extended to me before my conscious awareness claiming me as his child in my infant baptism (prevenient grace) and was extended again so that I could accept this grace while on a playground at recess (justifying grace) this grace being extended to me while in college was God's (sanctifying grace.)

Sanctifying grace is the grace that continues to mold and shape us following God's prevenient and justifying grace. It's the grace that reminds us that we're all "a work in progress." We're never done growing in what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I am constantly learning and discovering what it means to say that Jesus is Lord of my life.

As I reflect on my life long faith journey, I realize that it's all about God's grace. God's previent grace is still at work in my life seeking to wake me up to claim God's grace. God's justifying grace is still at work in my life reminding me that God's grace has claimed me. And God's sanctifying grace is still at work in my life rooting out sin and perfecting me in love.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound!
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MLK Quote on the Church

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state." Strength To Love, 1963
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Sermon (January 15) "When God Calls Your Name"

2012-01-15T17:49:00.001-05:00

Anotherpastor and I were sitting at the gate waiting to board our plane when I think Iheard these words over the loud speaker: “Robert McDowell, please come to thedesk.” Since it was noisy in our gatearea, it was difficult to hear the words clearly.

My friend was seated next to me and so Iasked him, “Did my name just getmentioned over the speaker?” And hesaid, “You know, I’m not sure, but it didkind of sound like your name was mentioned.”

Just then, there it was again, but it wasstill kind of difficult to hear. Ilooked at my friend and I said, “I thinkI heard my name again.”

So I decided to go up to thedesk. I told her that it sounded like myname was called over the loud speaker. And she said, “No sir. I didn’t call for your name.” And I said, “But I think someone called my name and I just want to make sure thateverything is ok.” She again assuredme that my name wasn’t announced.

She told me to check with security whichwasn’t that far from our gate, which I did. They gave me the same story. Nobody had called my name over the loud speaker. I checked to make sure that I still had mywallet and my car keys which I did.

When I got back to the gate and sat downnext to my friend, I said, “I’m positivethat someone was calling my name.” Andhe said, “Yeah, I know. That’s really strange.”

I never did find out why I heard my namecalled in that airport. It’s still amystery to me.

Does it make you a little nervous to thinkabout the possibility that right now, even in this very moment, God just mightbe calling out your name? It can be alittle unsettling when we hear our names spoken. And we might wonder, “Did I just hear someone calling out my name?”

I say this because of our scripturereadings for this morning. In the OldTestament, we read about the young boy, Samuel who was under the care ofEli. One night, Samuel hears his name. I wonder if when he heard this voice that hedidn't just pull up the covers and hide under the sheets.

But then he thought. "Heywait a minute. Maybe Eli called myname. Maybe that voice that sounded likeit was right above my head was really Eli.”

When we're scared, that's what we do,don't we? Look for a good reason whywe're hearing voices. So Samuel jumpsout of bed and runs as fast as he can down the hallway hoping that Eli will sayto him, "Yes. That was me you heard.” But no. Eli says, "What are youtalking about Samuel? I didn't callyou. Go on back to bed.”

I'm guessing that Samuel didn't like thatanswer from Eli. Can you imagine poorlittle Samuel? I don’t think I’d want togo back into that room after hearing voices!

Maybe you heard of the story about thelittle boy who couldn't sleep because of the loud thunderstorm one night. He woke up crying in the middle of the nightand his mom came to his bedroom. And hewas holding the covers close to his chin and with his voice shaking, he said, "I want you to sleep with me tonight,mommy.”

And his mom said, "Oh, you'll be alright sweetheart. I need to sleep with your daddy." After a short pause, the little boy said, "The big sissy!”

If I would have been Samuel in thatsituation, I would have said to Eli, "Let'ssee you go into that room and see how you like hearing your name called in themiddle of the dark night with all of the other spooky sounds.”

But Eli just sends Samuel back to hisroom. And when he gets back into hisroom, and probably just praying that he wouldn’t hear anymore voices, there itwas again! “Samuel. Samuel.” So he jumps out of his bed again, runs downto Eli’s room, and Eli tells him for the 2^nd time, “Little Sam, go back to your room. It wasn’t me. Just go to sleep.”

Well, as we’ve already heard from ourscripture reading, Samuel went back to his room after hearing his name calledout for the 2^nd time & then a 3^rd time. And it was after this 3^rd time,that the wise elderly man of God, Eli, realized what was going on. God was calling Samuel’s name. And so, this time, Eli does a very wisething. He simply tells Samuel to go backto bed and this time, if he hears that voice again, to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Isn’t this one of the best things that wecan do for one another in the church? Tohelp each other not only hear God’s calling, but to respond to God’scalling. We need each other to listenfor God’s voice because hearing our name called out in the middle of the nightcan be a scary thing.

Listening and responding to God’s callmight cost us something. Later on inSamuel’s life, he will realize the high stakes that are involved in saying yesto God. Such is the life of a prophet ofGod.

I think of the twelve disciples of Jesusand how they responded to his call to come and follow him. Little did they know that the road ofdiscipleship would lead them to a wooden cross on a hill called Golgotha onwhich the one who had called their names to follow him would die, but it wouldalso lead them to an empty tomb of victory.

When Martin Luther King Jr., heard Godcall his name to become a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, I wonder justhow much he realized the danger he would face in responding to this call. Herehe was with a wife and a young family. So much to lose. And how much would be gained?

In his pursuit of nonviolent means tobring racial equality to all of our country, he was arrested, his home wasbombed, and he was subjected to personal abuse.

Over an eleven year span from 1957 to1968, Dr. King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 times,appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action. He also led massive protests in Birmingham,Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world providing what he calleda coalition of conscience.

He is perhaps most remembered for thepeaceful march which he directed to Washington, D.C. which consisted of aquarter of a million people and at the end of that march he delivered hisfamous “I Have a Dream” speech.

During the evening of April 4, 1968, Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee. Even though Dr. King was killed by a bulletthat night, his dream for equality lives on. His dream for a just America and a just world lives on.

Did you know that Dr. King’s dream isrooted in God’s dream? A world wherethere is no hatred. A world where thereis no hunger. A world where there is noracism. A world where there is noinjustice. A world where all people aretreated with respect. A world wheremedicine is available to all people. Aworld of hope. A world of promise. A world of God’s love. A world of forgiveness. A world where all things are made new.

Can you imagine such a world? This is the world that God has intended fromthe very beginning. This is the worldthat God is calling you and me to build and reclaim for God.

And God does this by calling each of us byname. It might not be an audible voicein the night as it was for Samuel, but God does call out our names to come andfollow Him and make a difference in the world. To bring hope where there is no hope. To bring light to where there is darkness. To build a better world. A just world.

Several years ago, I had a conversationwith a young man who was visiting someone at a hospital. I noticed that he was reading a bible and soI said to him, “It looks like you are aperson who has a strong faith.” Andhis eyes lit up as he told me a little of his faith journey and how he had beenbaptized in his early teens.

He said that when he got older, he kind oflet his faith slide, but now he was really close with the Lord.

And then he told me something reallyinteresting. He said, “You won’t believe what happened to me thispast summer.” He went on to say thathe was driving down the road when he said that he felt that God was calling outhis name.

He said, “It was the strangest thing. Icould tell that God was trying to get my attention. It was like God wanted me to stop at a churchsomewhere. But I kind of shrugged it offand kept driving. And I drove past thislittle church. But the more I drove,the more it became clear to me that I should have stopped at that church. Andso, I turned the car around and went back but the only person that was therewas this painter. He was painting theoutside of the church. And I asked himif the pastor was available.” And he said, “You just missed him. He left.”

And so I was pretty down because I feltlike I missed out on something big that God wanted me to do. I got in my car and kept on driving down theroad when I felt God calling me again. And this time, I could sense that God wanted me to cash a check that Ihad in my wallet and give $20 of that check to somebody who really needed it.

You should have seen this man’s eye’slight up as he continued his story. Hesaid, “I know this all sounds farfetched, but honest to God, this is exactly what happened to me that day. After I cashed my check, I got in my car andstarted to leave when I noticed this handicapped woman and her son on thesidewalk along the road. And I couldtell that God wanted me to help them.”

“And so I stopped at the next parking lot and parked my car. As soon as I got out of my car, this littleboy had already run up to me. Withouteven saying a word, this little boy gives me this big hug and says…He says tome… ‘Thank you for helping us. Thank youfor helping us.’”

“AsI was being hugged by this little boy, I kept asking myself, ‘How did thislittle boy know that I was going to help them?’ And Igave this boy’s mother the $20 and I said to her, ‘I believe God wanted me togive this to you. God bless you.’”

After he told me this incredible story,this man paused, looked right into my eyes and said, “If that isn’t strange enough, after I got in my car and drove away, Ifelt that the Lord was telling me to tell a pastor about what had justhappened. I felt it so strongly. And come to think of it, you are the firstpastor that I have told this story. Ithink you’re that pastor.”

I just kind of smiled and nodded. And I thought to myself, “Here’s someone who truly believes that God called his name, andsomehow I got drawn into his story.”

But isn’t it true, that we oftenbecome part of each other’s stories as we listen and respond to God’s callingin our lives?

We get swept into this story. Our name is called. We’re nervous and we’re scared. The stakes seem high. And we’re left with a choice.

Do we dare follow this God?
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Spiritual Peripheral Vision

2012-01-15T07:24:00.003-05:00

Today's lectionary text from I Samuel reminds us of the importance of having "an Eli," someone who can help us discern God's calling. All Eli did was tell Samuel to listen for God's voice and respond with "Here I am." This story reminds me that we need each other if we want to truly hear God's voice.

Several years ago, a member of my small group shared with me that he felt I said something during a recent worship service that was ungracious toward a mutual friend. When he first mentioned this, I remember feeling shocked and horrified that my comments were interpreted in a way I hadn't intended. Looking back on my comment, I can see how someone would have taken it that way.

We all have blind spots in not being able to see how our words and actions are having a harmful impact on someone or a situation. By having a trusted friend or small group, we can become more aware of our blind spots expanding our spiritual peripheral vision. I also appreciated how he graciously shared the truth in love.

Thanks to my friend in that small group, I ended up apologizing to our mutual friend. I also sought to be more intentional with the words I choose to use and how I use them.

Who is your Eli?
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Sunday Worship Preview - January 22

2012-01-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 22 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, January 25 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "The Good News of the Good News"

Features - 3rd Sunday After the Epiphany; Bahamas Mission Team Commissioning; & Unbinding Your Heart Book Give Away/Lent Small Group Sign-Up

Scripture - Jonah 3:1-5, 10 & Mark 1:14-20

Theme - We live in a time when it seems like all we hear is bad news and sometimes it's difficult to take notice of the good news God is offering us in the midst of life's transitions. This is the good news of the good news!
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Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

2012-01-12T06:15:00.000-05:00

Sermon(January 15) – “When God Calls Your Name”

ISamuel 3:1-10

- Atone time, I & II Samuel was one book instead of two. They were separated in the development of theGreek translation of the Hebrew scriptures.

- ISamuel is the first of four books which tell the story of Israel’s monarchy.

- YoungSamuel was 12 years old at the time of his calling, the same age of Jesus whenhe stayed behind in Jerusalem which is an interesting parallel.

- Thedanger of this story is to see it as a cute story of how God called him. But look what God is calling Samuel todo. See Verses 11-14.

- Verse2 – The reference to Eli’s eyesight might also serve as a metaphor for his andIsrael’s blindness to seeing how God is at work. In what ways are we blind to God’s presenceand work in our lives?

- Verse7 – Samuel did not yet “know” the Lord. Question: How could this be? Didn’t Eli teach him about God and serve as a mentor for him? Or was it normal to not have a sense of Godprior to age 12? What are your earliestmemories of God as a child? What agewere you?

John1:43-51

- TheGospel is John is not part of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, &Luke.) It uses a lot of separate storiesabout Jesus and is commonly believed to have been written a little later afterthe synoptic gospels.

- Verse38 – Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” That’s a good question. What areyou looking for when you seek out Jesus?

- Verse39 – Jesus says, “Come and see.” ForJohn, this means, come and believe. Whata great way to invite people into a faith journey by simply saying, “Come andsee.”

- Verses46 – 47 – I see this in a humorous way. Nathaniel is kind of poking fun at people who are from Nazareth. Notice how Phillip uses Jesus’ phrase of“Come and see.” To continue the humor,Jesus pays Nathaniel who he has yet to meet, a compliment by saying that he iswithout fault. Was Jesus aware of howNathaniel was prejudging Jesus with his Nazareth comment?

- Verse50 – Jesus raises expectations by telling Nathaniel that he will see greaterthings than just being able to know of Nathaniel before meeting him. This raises the question: Do we have highexpectations for our church and for our future or do we just accept the statusquo?

- Verse49 – When Nathaniel identifies Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel,he isn’t necessarily referring to Jesus as part of the Trinity. His belief is that Jesus is the long awaitedKing who might finally kick out the Romans and restore Israel to independencewhich was the common expectation for the Messiah in the 1^stcentury. Throughout his ministry andespecially through his death on the cross, Jesus will demonstrate a differentunderstanding of what it means to be the King and the Son of God.

"Jesus & Colds" Dave's Deep Thoughts

2012-01-11T12:59:00.001-05:00

I am aways wary of old tweezers.

Sometimes, I am suspicious of old geezers.

But it's really the old sneezers that frighten me.

She's usually there on the late night shift.

On the rare occasion that I find myself in the grocery store after 11pm,

it's just her and her cash register.

Produce people have long since gone home,

deli workers are far away from their meat slicers,

and bakers are nestled in bed

dreaming about their next recipes.

It's just her.

For 8 hours,

she's the keeper of the castle,

matriarch of the manor,

grand lady of the grocery.

She looks to be about 143.

She always appears to be lacking energy,

but who doesn't at 11:45pm?

Her words are few.

Her body is thin and frail.

Her hair is unkempt.

Each move is slow and deliberate.

I rarely say much to her

as it appears she'd rather work in silence.

But this night was different.

I was just starting a week-long vacation

and I was filled with excitement.

As I approached the checkout,

I noticed that she had a cold.....

a bad cold.

Her eyes were watery,

Her nose was runny,

and her breathing was heavy.

I looked to see if I had any other options....

there were no other checkout lines open.

The self-checkout line had long since closed for the night.

She was the gatekeeper,

the lone gatekeeper.

I had prided myself on getting this far into the season,

without getting sick,

quite a feat when you work in a church at Christmas......

but here she was,

my sternest test to date.

I had five items.

I thought about holding my breath,

but I knew my lungs couldn't make it through

the weighing of produce.

Purell was nowhere to be found anywhere

and disinfectant sheets were at the entrance,

not the exit of the store.

No, it was me and Miss Influenza.,

face to infection,

customer against cold sore,

man against malady.

I didn't have a chance.

I said a prayer as I handed her my rewards card.....

that would be the hand that held

several moist, crumpled tissues.

She handed it back.

It was at this moment that I wished I had tweezers.

I was doomed.

She grabbed the grapes.....

She sneezed over the snacks.

She coughed on the cupcakes.

She wheezed at the whipping cream.

I was already mentally planning a post midnight hosedown

of all grocery items when I returned home.

Realizing that I had stared directly into the eyes of disease,

I threw in the towel

and grabbed a final item........

some nasal spray,

conveniently available at the checkout.

I had a feeling that by the end of my vacation,

I was going to be needing it.

We run the other direction

at that thought of catching a cold or flu bug.

No one wants to be sick,

When the flu season arrives,

we become more aware of things that are spread.

I did come down with a cold by the last few days of my vacation.

But I had the comforts of a warm home to recuperate.

Unlike my elderly cashier,

I did not have to work a night shift

while not feeling well.

I am sure there could be many theological discussions

about whether or not Jesus would catch a cold,

in the years when he walked this earth.

He certainly didn't shy away from contagious people.

Lepers and laity alike were welcomed into His presence.

It could be argued that since He is Lord over all infirmities,

He didn't run the risk of infection.

But my perception of my Lord

sees Him coughing and sneezing

as He takes on ALL the infirmities of mankind.

Whether or not you can envision a sneezing Jesus,

can you envision a Lord who lovingly embraces

all who are sick and diseased,

essentially all of humanity?

I don't think Jesus bothered with

disenfectant wipes and antibiotic lotions.

Whether or not He needed them on this earth

isn't the crucial point.

What is crucial is that the great gatekeeper of heaven's doors

is willing to embrace the sick and the dying.

And He asks His followers,

sick and diseased as they are,

to do the same.

May you embrace those who sneeze through your life,

as your Lord loving takes on your infirmities.

ANd He called the twelve together and gave them power

and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,

and He sent them out to mpreach the kingdom of God, and to heal.

Luke 9:2

My Faith Journey (Part II)

2012-01-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

This is the 2nd part in the sharing of my faith journey. In the 1st part, I shared about my baptism as an infant and how God claimed me before I could be consciously aware of God's grace and love. In the Wesleyan tradition, we call this "prevenient grace" the grace that "goes before" our awareness.

Prevenient grace is a beautiful thing because it reminds us that God's love is so incredible that it is always being extended to us in any given moment whether we are aware of it or not. As we grow and mature, there are moments when we are invited to respond to this grace and claim this new life in Christ. This is known as God's "justifying grace."

Since I was involved in the life of the church throughout my childhood, there were many moments when I felt the love of Jesus Christ reaching out to me. One day in particular stands out for me. When I was in elementary school, my best friend and I were outside for recess when he said to me out of the blue, "Do you know that God loves you and that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you so that you can live with God forever?"

My friend had obviously taken to heart something that was said by his pastor or Sunday School teacher at the church he attended and now he was sharing this good news with me. He then invited me to say a prayer and invite Jesus into my heart which I gladly did. Who wouldn't want to live with God forever especially the way he described how wonderful heaven will be? After I said that prayer, he said, "See, you're saved."

I always look back on that moment as the time when I consciously received the love of Jesus Christ in my life, but I can also point to several other moments that were meaningful as well. When I was in my church youth group, we went to a summer retreat at the ocean. Our youth leader had us think about God's love and what Jesus Christ has done for us. For a youth who would often doubt himself and feel alone, this feeling of God being close to me was a wonderful thing! When I got home from that retreat, I would sing those retreat songs over and over again because they reminded me of that sense of being close to God.

In addition to those experiences, I can also point to people in the church like Sunday School teachers who helped me to know how much God loves me. Wow, now that I think about it, that was a pretty special church since I can reflect on dozens and dozens of times when people through the church helped me to become aware of God's love in my life.

So, this is the 2nd part of my faith journey. At an early age during elementary school and through my teen years, I was consciously receiving the love of Jesus Christ in my life.

God's prevenient grace claimed me at my baptism. I responded to God's justifying grace on a playground. Stay tuned for part III of my faith journey.
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Sermon (January 8) "The Baptism Barrier"

2012-01-08T16:17:00.002-05:00

Have you ever thoughtof yourself as an evangelist? You know, an evangelist.

Someone like thisdeacon named Philip in today's Scripture reading. Someone who

shares the gospelwith people who don’t know about Jesus. Have you thought of

yourself as someonewho tells others about Jesus?

I'm betting thatshockwaves just went through your body. Very few of us warm to the wordevangelism. It seems to either make us feel guilty because we're not doing it,or turn us off because there's no way we would ever want to do it.

A very large studyhas just been done on evangelism in churches like ours. The conclusive findingwas that the vast majority of people would rather go get a root canal than talkabout, much less DO, evangelism. For the last forty years, most churches have beenin decline. It seems we’ve developed a life-threatening aversion to evangelism!

Right now, at thisvery minute, we may want to put our fingers in our ears and sing “la, la, la.”Anything to drown out the “E” word!

Why do so many of ushave such a visceral reaction to evangelism? There are all kinds of reasons whynot much evangelism is happening in most congregations. I'll give you some ofmy own reasons.

I don't want to beanything close to the stereotype that comes to my mind when I think of an"evangelist."

I don't want to weara fancy white suit every Sunday

or bilk people out oftheir money.

Nor do I want tooffend people by pressuring them with rhetoric

about where they'llspend eternity.

Besides that, Iwonder sometimes what business I have telling people what they ought to bedoing or believing. I have enough trouble in my own life doing and believing whatI should.

I'd rather just dothe best I can, being the best Christian I can be, and hope that is a goodenough witness to others.

After all, St.Francis of Assisi said, “Preach thegospel at all times. Use words if

necessary.” I do fine talking faith language withyou here at church. But when I’m

with people whoaren’t churchgoers, words fail. I flounder. I hope words aren’t

necessary.

But what happens whenwe meet someone who obviously needs to hear some words about God’s love?Someone like the Ethiopian eunuch. He is an African man with an important jobthat came at a high price. Most likely, he had been castrated at some point inhis life so that he could serve the queen of Ethiopia. That’s why he's called a"eunuch." He was unable to be married or have children.

Religious law kepthim from participating in worship services. Yet, somehow, he had heard of Godand wanted to know more about God. What do you do when you don't think ofyourself as an evangelist but you come across someone like this man?

Someone who bearsdeep wounds inflicted by the world . . .

Someone who is notwelcomed by traditional religion . . .

Someone who lookssuccessful but feels empty . . .

Someone who issearching for God, searching for something besides what he has . .

Someone who needs tohear about God’s love.

Someone like Rick.Rick was a successful businessman. He attended a church in the “Bible belt” ofthis country. He came because he saw an ad they had placed on TV. The ministerof the church had been opposed to putting ads for a church on television. "Only fundamentalist mega-churches dothat," he said. "It coststoo much anyway. We should be using that money for caring for the poor.Besides," he said, "Whatkind of people pick their church from ads on television?"

But the church did itanyway. They got dozens of visitors who had never before been to any church intheir lives. One of them was Rick. Rick brought his 8-year-old son, Andy, tochurch one Sunday. The children's Sunday school happened to be studying Esther thatday, and Andy was part of the class.

Monday morning theminister got a call from Rick. "Myson is so excited about this story he heard at church," he said. "He said the story is from the 'book of Esther.' Can you tell me where I can get acopy of that book? I want to read itto him at home. Can I buy it at Barnes and Noble or somewhere?'"

Rick, a collegegraduate and successful businessman, had never owned a Bible. He had no ideathat Esther is a book in the Bible.

Here’s thereality. There are many people in ourcommunity who do not know that

Esther is a book inthe Bible. This is increasingly true. In 1910 only 3% of

Americans weregrowing up with no faith training, but in the 1980s 14.5% were

growing up with nofaith training. And the number of people coming to adulthood in the U.S. withno faith training at all continues to increase.

In our own county, accordingto the Association of Religion Data Archives, the latest demographic studyshows that 68% of our neighbors have no religious identity. They are notMuslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or Christian. They are not connected religiously atall.

"What is to prevent me from being baptized?" theEthiopian man asked. That’s a good question.

For people like Rick,the obstacle to being baptized, to becoming a

Christian, is simplythat no one has ever told them about God. Let me say that

again. No one hasever told them about God. Friends, I wonder if we are

preventing peoplefrom hearing about God. Are we keeping people from hearing about God’s love?Are we constructing barriers between the gospel and the people who desperatelyneed to hear it?

Is our fear of beinglike a stereotype of a bible thumper a barrier?

Is our lack ofconfidence in ourselves a barrier?

Is our desire to givepeople their "space" about religion a barrier?

Could it be that formany people like Rick, we are actually preventing them from

knowing more aboutGod? Are we keeping people from becoming followers of

Jesus Christ?

You know how tightlids on sport’s drink bottles can be sometimes? These grip things arewonderful, aren’t they? [Hold one up] Can you imagine standing there with oneof these in your hand, keeping it to yourself, while someone, even someone youknow really well, struggles to get to that refreshing drink? Of course not! Youwould gladly share what you had to make things better for someone else. Youwouldn't just keep it to yourself if someone needed it!

But this is exactlywhat the church does when we do not share the gospel with those in need. We sitwith the keys to the waters of baptism in our hands. Meanwhile, neighborsaround us are desperately thirsty to know that God loves them through Jesus Christ.Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Maybe that is easiersaid than done. It certainly seems that Philip had it easier than we do. Afterall, the Spirit of God seemingly transported him to the Ethiopian man's side andcompelled him to share the gospel! It seems like all Philip did was show up andGod did the rest. If we were to be evangelists, do you think it would be like that for us?How could we partner with God? How could we be authentic to who we are, nottrying to be some stereotype or push something over on someone?

How would the Spiritwork with us? Where would the Spirit of God send us?

Who would be on ourpathway?

Friends, I invite youto come on a spiritual adventure with me. What would it look like for us to beevangelists? This is what we'll be exploring together as a church for 6 weeksbeginning on Sunday, February 19^th and going all the way through theend of March.

You are invited topray, to study, to question, and to think about how God might be sending us outto share the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a church, we will be reading the shortbook, Unbinding Your Heart. It came out of the study I mentioned earlier.

And guess what? Thanks to a generous financial donation by acouple in our church, we have a book for every single person in churchtoday. Not one book per family but onebook per person! People in our churchhave prayed over each of these books, knowing that it will have atransformative impact for our lives and for our church. Several of these booksare on our altar this morning as a symbol that God wants us to have this giftand that people have been praying for us.

The purpose of thebook is for you to read and use as a resource as you participate in one of manyUnbinding Your Heart small groups that will meet for six weeks beginning theweek of February 19 and throughout the Season of Lent leading up toEaster. You can pick up your gift bookin our church parlor where we gather for fellowship time or as you leave thebuilding today. Someone will be there toassist you.

As we join in this“Unbinding Your Heart” journey, we will be inviting God to show us what itwould look like for us to become evangelists. What would it be like for us toshare God’s love in our own unique ways?

A family shared oneof the most memorable Christmases they ever had. It was

the last Christmasthey spent at their grandparents' house. The grandfather had

Parkinson's disease.Soon, they would move to an assisted living center. It had been their family'stradition to gather around the Christmas tree and listen to the granddad readthe Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke.

This year, whenGranddad tried to read, he could barely move his Parkinson’s-locked jaws. Hejust couldn’t manage to speak the words aloud. The family sat there and watchedhim struggle. No one seemed to know what to do. Should they say something?Would it hurt his pride if someone helped him?

No one did anythingfor what seemed to be a very long time. But Emily, the 6-year-old granddaughter,had just learned to read. She knew exactly what to do. She quietly tiptoed overto his chair and plopped herself beside him. Then, taking his finger into herhand, she helped him point to each word, saying them out loud with him as they readalong together:

“Unto you is born this day

a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

"Do you know what you're reading?"Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch. The man

nearly begged, "How can I unless someone guidesme?"

So Phillip went andsat beside him.

Who will God lead youto sit beside?

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Based on the resource, "Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism," Chalice Press, 2008
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Baptism of the Lord Prayer (Week of January 8)

2012-01-08T07:08:00.001-05:00

Living God, when the Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in Jordan’s water you revealed him as your own beloved Son. You anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Grant that all who are baptized into his name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior now and forever. Amen.
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Sunday Worship Preview - January 15

2012-01-08T06:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 15 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, January 18 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Name Calling"

Features - 2nd Sunday After the Epiphany & Unbinding Your Heart Book Give Away/Lent Small Group Sign-Up

Scripture - I Samuel 3:1-10 & John 1:43-51

Theme - Today's scripture readings help us to consider what it means when God calls us by name. Is God calling your name? What is God calling you to do?
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Baptism of the Lord Sunday - A Poem

2012-01-07T06:37:00.002-05:00

THE BELOVED

It was a voice out of nowhere.

It was a voice from everywhere.

It was the voice of love.

It was the voice from above.
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“You are my beloved,” came the words;

“You are my beloved,” was what they heard.

“You are my Son;”

“You are the One.”

The words were spoken at the river

By One, who of all life, is the giver.

The words were spoken to identify Jesus;

The words were spoken that God might touch us.

Down through the centuries of life,

Through war and pestilence and strife,

The faithful lose all fear,

When “You are my beloved” is what they hear.

The words are meant for all;

The words are God’s call.

“I love you without reserve.”

“I love you more than you deserve.”

And then there comes a time in each soul

When we embrace our God and commit our whole.

We say we will follow Jesus’ way

And in his path we will stay.

But sometimes we forget that we are the beloved.

Sometimes we fail to seek the way of love.

Sometimes we think that on our own we can win.

Often we must repent of our life of sin.

And again we pledge our hearts and vow

That we want to make a difference now.

We hear the challenge to reach out –

We look beyond our walls and that’s what Christianity is about.

We remember that Jesus would not be in our midst.

He would be among the people whom we try to miss.

He would walk with the homeless, sit with the sick –

The poorest of the poor would be his pick.

When we do likewise, our soul is eased

And God says of us, “With you I am well pleased.”

And in the squalor of our sinful life, God continues to love

And speaks to the people of the ages that we, too, are the beloved.

- Rev. Terry Heck, Bellbrook UMC, Bellbrook, OH

Having an Epiphany

2012-01-06T09:01:00.001-05:00

In the West, we celebrate Epiphany (the visit of the Wise Men) on January 6 which is the twelfth day of Christmas. It's a day to reflect on the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, his presence with us as our Emmanuel, and the manifestation of Christ to the world. Epiphany is also a time for us to think about how we are manifesting the good news and light of Jesus Christ in our community and world.

Earlier this week, a member of the church invited me to attend an Ohio State men's basketball game with him and another member of the church. As we were driving to the game, we were talking guy things like ESPN, the bowl games, and what we might expect from the game that we were going to see. In the middle of one of those conversation, all three of us paused in our conversation as we noticed one of the most vivid and beautiful sunsets that we had seen in a while.

The deep orange and yellow glow from the Western sky got our attention as we got a glimpse of the beauty of God's creation. On this Epiphany Day, may we be open to the glimpses of God's beauty and majesty as we conclude the Christmas season. And for the days ahead, may we manifest the love of Jesus Christ in all that we say and do.

Epiphany Prayer:
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Bible Study Summary - Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

2012-01-05T07:17:00.001-05:00

January8 Sermon – “The Baptism Barrier”

Baptismof the Lord Sunday

Acts8:26-38

- Likethe nudge that Phillip felt from the Holy Spirit, have you ever felted nudgedto go to a certain place?

- TheEthiopian Eunuch was trying to understand the meaning of Isaiah 53.

- Aeunuch was someone who had been castrated to serve in a state position, in thiscase, the court of Queen Candace. He wasthe finance minister. He was a Gentilebut curious about the Jewish faith. Thisis a story of a church leader who takes the risk of becoming anevangelist. The Book of Acts is a bookof how the church reached out to the non-Jewish world.

- Isaiah53 Questions: Who is the lamb who is led to the slaughter? For Jewish people in that day, this textreferred primarily to Israel in exile and the hope that a Servant would finallyfulfill God’s purposes for God’s people. Isaiah was writing a job description for what would be required toaccomplish this task! The SufferingServant would bring a new covenant (Isaiah 54) which would lead to a newcreation (Isaiah 55) that would extend to the non-Jewish “eunuch” world (Isaiah56!)

- Jesusis that candidate as the suffering servant!

- Beingan evangelist includes telling the biblical story and how Jesus fits into thatstory.

- Thisstory from Acts 8 is a story of how the first non-Jew was baptized. The church is to reach out beyond its wallsand share the faith!

Mark1:4-11

- Whatthe Father said to Jesus, the Son when he was baptized is what God says to eachone of us, “With you, I am well pleased!” Baptism reminds us that we are loved and claimed by God.

- Mystory of being baptized as an infant.

Praying for Our West Ohio Russia Mission Trip (January 1 - 9)

2012-01-04T07:18:00.000-05:00

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Our church is praying for Dee Stickley-Miner & the West Ohio mission team to Samara, Russia (Jan. 1 - 9.) They will be giving over 150 Christmas cards to the orphanage which were made by our Sunday School children! Dee joined us for our December 11 focus on Russia as part of our "Christmas Around the World" Advent worship services.

To read daily posts on their trip, follow their mission trip blog. The video below is Dee helping out with an art class during the trip this week.

Pray with me: "Sending and equipping God, surround Dee Stickley-Miner and our West Ohio Volunteers Mission Team as they strengthen our partnership with our United Methodist brothers and sisters in Samara, Russia during this first week of January. Thank you for the joy they are experiencing in these initial days of their trip. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

My Faith Journey (Part I)

2012-01-03T09:33:00.001-05:00

This year, our church will be spending a lot of time thinking about our faith journeys. To help us identify and share our individual faith stories, we are encouraging everyone to participate in one of forty "Unbinding Your Heart" small groups which will meet weekly during the season of Lent (February 19 through March 25.)

We all have a faith story. Faith stories have some similarities but each one is unique since we all have had our own experiences in life. I have discovered that we don't really know someone until we have heard their faith story.

In preparation for our faith sharing focus, I'd like to share bits and pieces of my own faith journey. By doing so, it helps me to celebrate how God has been at work in my life and it helps others to know me in a deeper way.

I can trace my faith journey to my pre-birth years thanks to my parents who followed Jesus and were active in their church. After my mom and dad came back from their honeymoon in 1950, my mom asked my dad which church they would be attending as a couple. The choice was between my mom's Presbyterian Church and my dads' Methodist Church. I'm a United Methodist pastor so guess which church they chose!

Before I was a year old, Rev. John Wesley Stamm (how's that for a good Methodist name?) baptized me in the Stewartstown Methodist Church in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. I was told that I was really fussy the day of my baptism!

For Part I of my faith journey, I draw attention to my baptism when I was only months old because it reminds me that God's grace is offered to us before our awareness of it. God claimed me as his child long before I could even respond to this amazing and wonderful gift of grace. It's very humbling for me to know that I was claimed by God before I was even aware of it. It's also very humbling to think how my life could have been so much different if I would have had parents who didn't have a strong Christian faith and a commitment to a local church.

In our Wesleyan/Methodist tradition, we refer to infant baptism as a sign of how God's prevenient grace goes before us, even before our awareness that it even exists or that it's being extended to us. Sometimes when I struggle with my faith, it helps when I remember my infant baptism and how God is at work and reaching out to me even though I may not understand or perceive it.

Through baptism, I was grafted into a faith community which would go on to nurture, love, teach, and guide me throughout my journey. As I grew and started to become aware of God's grace in my life, I began to respond to this grace and love and grow as a disciple of Jesus, but I'm getting ahead of myself. More of that later.

When I was born, mom and dad turned our downstairs dining room into a temporary bedroom to make it easier on my mom. As I look at this picture (see above) and notice how my mom lovingly cared for me, I think of how God's grace was reaching out to me from the very beginning of my life and claiming me as a child of God.

And so any talk of my faith journey always begins with my baptism and God's grace that claimed me before my conscious awareness of it. When I remember this early part of my faith journey, I am humbled at how God's grace enfolds us like a loving mother who holds her newborn baby with pride and joy.
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The Bible & The Ancient Near East Summary - Part II

2012-01-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some more gems from the book I've been reading, "Ancient Near Eastern Thought & the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible" by John H. Walton.

The Book of Genesis reference to humans being made in the image of God. The surrounding religions viewed their king as the representative of the gods. For Israel, all human beings bear this image. We embody God's qualities and do God's works.
Seeking direction from the gods through omens was a common ancient Near East characteristic. The Joshua 10:12-15 passage that refers to the sun standing still can be interpeted through this understanding of omens. Rather than a physical standing still of the sun which is the common interpretation, it really refers to the Israelites and Amorites battling on a "bad" day according to the Amorites' belief in omens. The Amorites would have had low morale because of the "bad omen" day of battle.
The Israelite's focus on covenant and the relationship YHWH desires with Israel is a unique understanding in the ancient Near East.
The Jewish understanding that there will be a day when God will make the world right again is a unique understanding in the ancient world. The beliefs of ancient Near East religions centered on striving to keep the status quo which was a worldview of, "this is as good as it gets."

Sermon (January 1) "A New Year's Covenant"

2012-01-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

How many of us have made resolutions forthe New Year? I was reading what some ofthe top New Year’s resolutions people make each year. They are pretty much what you wouldexpect.

In order of most popular, here are the resolutions we make from year toyear. Spend more time with family andfriends, exercise, lose weight, quit smoking, enjoy life more, quit drinking,get out of debt, learn something new, help others, and get organized.

All of those are really good things.

If those are really good things, why do find it difficult to stick tothese resolutions throughout the year? It seems like we make it through January and maybe even February butthen things go downhill from there.

It’s not easy to stick to our resolutions.

This is why I like to think of New Year’s resolutions in a differentlight. Instead of calling them“resolutions,” maybe we should call them, “covenants” instead. I think the language we use can make a hugedifference in helping us to go after these worthwhile goals during the year.

What do we mean by the word, “covenant?” Well, first of all, it’s a biblical word. I did a word search in my bible concordanceand I discovered that the word “covenant” appears 380 times in the bible. And by the way, for comparison sake, the word“resolution” appears zero times.

We even divide the bible into two parts that we call “covenants.” We use the word “testaments” but it’s reallyreferring to the word “covenant.”

We have an Old Covenant and a New Covenant. The Old Covenant begins with the creationstory all the way up to the time before Jesus was born. And the New Covenant begins with the birth ofJesus and goes all the way to when the church had spread throughout the Roman Empire. We’re not talking about two covenants. It’s one covenant, but it’s through JesusChrist, that God’s covenant is fulfilled.

Here’s a biblical definition of the word, “covenant” so that wheneveryou hear this word, this should pop into our minds. A covenant is God’s promise to always befaithful. I really like thatdefinition. A covenant is God’s promiseto always be faithful.

And this is why I like the word “covenant” over the word “resolution”because a covenant means that we always have someone that we can rely on andthat someone is God. By its verydefinition from a biblical perspective, a covenant is thee most dependablething you can ever have in your life.

Let me give a contrasting example. When our kids were in school, there were a few years where Penny and Ihad to take turns picking them up at the Middle School. And so I resolved to pick up my son afterschool on my designated days.

Well guess what happened? Iforgot to pick him up on one of my days! I was like 30 to 45 minutes late. And my family just loves to remind me of that one day when I waslate. Ok, maybe there were two or threedays I was really late. But even if Iwould have been late only one day, that’s still shows the difference betweenthe meaning of the word, “covenant” and the word, “resolution.”

A covenant is God’s promise to always be faithful. With God, you can never lose. God will always be faithful. Resolutions are based on our good intentionswhich are not always reliable.

This word, “covenant” first appears in theBook of Genesis when God establishes a covenant with Noah that his family andthe animals will be saved from the flood. And just a few chapters later, God forms a covenant with Abraham inwhich Abraham would become the father of many people. And from there, God formed a covenant withAbraham’s descendants who were known as the people of Israel. God promised to be their God and that itwould be through them that God would bring salvation to the entire world.

This covenant of God’s faithfulnesscontinued when God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. Jesus suffered and died on the cross tofulfill God’s covenant so that our world would be made new again, and that wemight have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.

I John 1:9 reminds us of God’s covenant faithfulness when he writes, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithfuland just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The key word in that verse is the word, “faithful.”

In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they are invited toparticipate in this new life with him. Jesus uses the image of a vine and branches. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.

And because of God’s faithfulness in Jesus, we are given these words ofassurance, “Those who abide in me and Iin them bear much fruit.” A littlelater he says, “If you abide in me, andmy words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

But that’s not all. Jesus thensays, “I have said these things to you sothat my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

How would you like your 2012 to be filled with joy and an assurance thatGod will be totally faithful in your life? It almost sounds too good to be true. All of this is possible because of God’s covenant that we see throughoutthe bible. God is consistent and God isalways faithful and will never ever let you down.

Whenever I meet with couples for pre-marital counseling, we talk abouthow important it is to know that God will always be faithful. And I say, “Whenever you face a difficult situation in your relationship, knowthat you always have God to turn for guidance and direction. God will always be there for you.”

I have a beautiful framed art design of a cross in my study and I pointto it and say, “That shows you just howfaithful God is. Jesus was willing todie on a cross for you because that’s how much he loves you and will befaithful to you to the very end.”

And then I tell them that it’s becauseof God’s faithfulness that they can take the risk of sharing difficult thingsthat need to be shared. They can do thisbecause their marriage is based on God’s faithfulness.

Knowing that God is always faithful can make a huge difference in ourlives and how we approach this New Year.

But there’s more than just knowing that God is faithful. There’s another dimension of this word“covenant” that’s important for us to consider.

Like Abraham, Israel, and the disciples, God invites and calls each oneof us to intentionally be in covenant with him. In other words, we get to choose if we want to accept God’s invitationto be on the receiving end of a life that is filled with joy, forgiveness, andGod’s purposes.

In the Old Testament, there’s a wonderful scene in the book of IIKings. Josiah, was the King of Israel atthe time and he was one of the good kings because he was committed to followingand trusting in God, unlike many of the other kings of Israel.

Living during a time when the people of God were following after othergods, Josiah was amazingly able to bring the people together and make anagreement that they would obey and follow the God of Israel only.

We are told that everyone went into the house of the Lord and Josiahread all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the houseof the Lord. And it’s the final part ofverse 3 of this passage that really stands out. It says, “All the people joined inthe covenant.” “All the people joined inthe covenant.”

If you’re familiar with the Bible, youknow that the people of God didn’t always live out their part of the covenantthat they made that day. And there aretimes when we don’t keep our end of the agreement. But here’s the difference. God is always faithful. God never gives up on us. Even when we don’t keep our end of thecovenant, God continues to be faithful.

We’ve already mentioned the many common resolutions that people make forthe New Year. Getting more exercise,eating right, paying off bills, just to name a few. Those are all important resolutions we canmake for this New Year. Instead ofcalling these resolutions, what if we would use more biblical language and callthem covenants instead?

I don’t know about you, but I like my chances a whole lot more if I knowthat God is faithful and will give me the strength to hold up my end of thecovenant. Knowing that God will neverfail me and will give me the strength to live out my commitments can make allthe difference in the world.

If you’re still thinking about your New Year’s resolutions or as I’dlike us to call them, our New Year’s covenants for this year, here is asampling of covenants that some Christians have made. They have made these covenants knowing thatthey need to depend on God’s faithfulness and strength to live these out. Here’s a sampling.

I will practice daily devotions, including reading scripture and prayingfor myself and others.

I prayerfully pledge to practice responsible stewardship of my God-givenresources: my body, my artistic graces, my finances, and my intellectual gifts.

Knowing that my body is the temple of God, I will prayerfully plan mywork and leisure time.

I will be faithful in attendance and participate in worship each Sunday.

I will witness to my faith in Christ at least once each day.

I will spend four hours each month helping disadvantaged people in mycommunity.

I will express genuine appreciation to at least one person each day.

At least twice weekly, I will seek to offer compassionate service andencouragement to those outside my normal circle of contacts.

When I go to a restaurant, I will encourage those who are serving me.

I will intentionally invite friends, neighbors, and co-workers to attendworship with me.

I will get to know at least one person of a different ethnic backgroundat my place of work.

I will express disapproval of racial, social, and sexual prejudice amongmy relatives and friends.

I will seek to help a family in need somewhere else in the world.

Those are just a sampling of many covenants that we can make for2012. What are your New Year’sCovenants?

In our Methodist tradition, we have a way of renewing our covenant withGod each year on New Year’s. It’s calledthe Wesleyan Covenant Service. JohnWesley, the founder of Methodism encouraged those early Methodists toparticipate in this service on New Year’s Day. In that service, there is a prayer which Kathy sang for us thismorning. It’s called the Covenant Prayerin the Wesleyan tradition.

Today, we have the opportunity to allow this prayer to become our prayerfor 2012. It’s a prayer of surrender aswe invite Jesus Christ to be first in everything we do this year. It’s a covenant prayer in which God promisesto be faithful and we respond by offering our very best to God.

Go ahead and silently read this prayer to yourself and then we’ll prayit together.

Let’s pray this pray together:

I am no longer my own, but thine. Put meto what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee orbrought low by thee. Let me be full, letme be empty. Let me have all things, letme have nothing. I freely and heartilyyield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thouart mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Sunday Worship Preview - January 8

2012-01-01T06:33:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 8 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, January 11 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "The Baptism Barrier"

Features - Baptism of the Lord Sunday & Unbinding Your Heart Pre-Launch

Scripture - Acts 8:26-37 & Mark 1:4-11

Theme - Sometimes we get sweaty palms when we hear the "e" word. Phillip wasn't intimidated by the "e" word when he shared the good news of Jesus Christ with the Ethiopian Eunuch. He broke through the potential barriers and baptized him. Together, we'll learn what the "e" word is and how we cann overcome our fears when we hear that word.
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New Year's Greetings from Bishop Ough of West Ohio Conference UMC

2011-12-31T09:44:00.001-05:00

I greet you on the eve of a New Year with the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ whose coming among us we have just celebrated.

Culturally, the New Year is a time of resolutions. This is the season when many quickly resolve to make themselves over. Occasionally, our resolutions are for 'extreme makeovers' or extraordinary transformations. This is the moment we seize to begin anew, to do over, to redefine ourselves.

But, for disciples of Jesus, the New Year is a time to renew our covenant with God. It is a season to recall that we do not make ourselves over, but we are made over through Christ alive in us. It is a time to acknowledge that God is our covenant Friend:

the One who gives us life and hope,
the One who fills our hearts with hunger for truth and righteousness,
the One who is our light in darkness,
the One who remembers us when we forget God.

For followers of Jesus, this is a season of renewal, not resolutions.

As a local church pastor, I would invite my congregation to participate in our United Methodist Covenant Renewal Service every New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. John Wesley, primary author of our "methodist" revival movement, developed and published several versions of a Covenant Service. The very first real celebration of the Covenant Service in the Methodist movement was held on Monday, August 11, 1755. Around England, the Covenant Service was conducted whenever John Wesley visited the Methodist Societies. In short order, covenant renewal services were being held on New Year's Day in the class meetings and societies of the Methodist movement.

Many United Methodists can recite all or portions of Wesley's invitation to his Covenant Service as deftly as they can recite the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed or Psalm 23. The words are powerful and provocative. They invite a measure of humility, denial and surrender that is often discomforting. They clearly remind us that we belong to Christ, and that to give up ourselves to Christ in all things is the only "resolution" we need to make.

So as you prepare for the New Year and all the blessings it will hold for you, I invite you to renew your covenant with God and to join with me and Methodist people throughout the ages as we pray:

Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands;
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,

let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and with willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal. Amen.
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New Year's Resolutions Or New Year's Covenants?

2011-12-31T09:26:00.001-05:00

Another New Year is upon us which means the opportunity to make another set of resolutions for us to break by the end of January. Sorry for this cynical comment but I think most of us share in the frustration of matching our good intentions with year long follow-through.

For example, every year one of my resolutions is to read more books to stimulate my thinking and knowledge base. Guess what? The books look great on the shelf at Barnes & Noble and after I buy some they don't look as sparkling on my desk covered with dust!

One of the strengths of John Wesley and the early Methodist movement was in their emphasis on covenants rather than resolutions. By using covenant language, those early Methodists were drawing on the scriptural understanding of God's loving faithfulness. God is always faithful! And because God is ALWAYS faithful, we can draw on a strength to help us keep our commitments.

We modern day United Methodists often forget that Wesley and the early Methodists had a very strong emphasis on the importance of the Holy Spirit. We don't speak much about the Holy Spirit today but we should since it's through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live out our faith from day to day. Without the Holy Spirit guiding and directing us, it's all up to us. And we know how relying on our own strength works for us!

So this year, instead of New Year's resolutions, think about New Year's covenants. Pray about the lifestyle changes that are needed in order to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ in 2012. Enter into covenant with God and invite the Holy Spirit to give you the strength and guidance to live out these changes. Give thanks for God's faithfulness which will sustain you throughout the year. And if you really want to live out your New Year's covenants, participate in a small group, class, or bible study, where people you trust can encourage and pray for you throughout the year.

"Dear God, for 2012, help me to remember your faithfulness and depend on your Holy Spirit as I read more books that will stimulate my thinking so that I can be a more dedicated follower of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen."

Now, where's my Kindle?
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And the Christmas Gifts Keep Coming!

2011-12-29T15:11:00.004-05:00

During these days following Christmas gift giving day, I have experienced additional Christmas gifts during this holiday season. These are gifts that remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.

The first gift is the beautiful green Christmas tree ornament (see above) that a friend of mine sent me recently. We served together on a mission trip to Guatemala in 2009. This past summer, he felt nudged by God to return to Guatemala on his own this fall to help one of the families build a much needed home. The ornament was something he bought for me while he was in Guatemala.

In the card, my friend wrote, "Worked hard for six days. It was a great success! Alroldo will soon have a new house! I am fortunate to have the privilege to help!" - Mike

The second gift came to me today via an e-mail. A staff member received a note from a shut-in member of our church and wanted me to know about it. The note refers to our monthly Second Saturday outreach ministry to our community. Here's the note:

"I had a pleasant surprise from my church on the 2nd Saturday; a delicious package at my door. I am very thankful, all the things I can use. It was such a blessing to me. Really made my Christmas for life gets hard some times alone. I am grateful for you and yours. God bless."

The third gift came from my brother. It was a package that arrived late (five days past Christmas.) He kept asking me last week if I had received it and I kept saying, "No, it hasn't arrived yet." Well, it finally came today with a big message on the package that said, "Don't open until Christmas!" I sure hope he didn't mean next Christmas!

The package contained a family calendar with pictures from our family farm house in Pennsylvania along with several old family photos. My brother has a gift for creating these special Christmas gifts that connect with your heart.

I got more gifts than I needed last week on Christmas morning. But these gifts that I received this week remind me that Christmas is about a God who never stops giving. May we continue to offer the gift of Christ's love to those around us.

Merry Christmas...again!
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Celebrating a 2nd Christmas this Year!

2011-12-28T06:30:00.001-05:00

Our church, First UMC will be celebrating a 2nd Christmas this year. We will be praying for our West Ohio Conference mission's team as they prepare to leave for Samara, Russia (January 1-9.) They will be spending time at a United Methodist orphanage. Since Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, through our prayers, we can celebrate a 2nd Christmas with the team!

Dee Stickley-Miner who is leading this mission trip offered greetings to our church during our "Christmas Around the World" Advent sermon series on Sunday, December 11th as we focused on our mission partnership with Russia. Some of our children presented Dee with Christmas cards that our Sunday School classes had made for the team to take with them for their trip. The cards will be given to children at an orphanage in Samara, Russia.

Thankfully, Dee has a web blog which will offer highlights of each day of the mission trip. I will be posting her daily web blog here on Nikos to help us to continue to pray for her, the team, and our partner United Methodist Church in Russia.

As they say in Russia, S Rozhdestvom!

Merry Christmas!
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Sunday Worship Preview - January 1

2011-12-26T12:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 1 - (9:00 A.M. Traditional Service & 10:30 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, January 4 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "New Year's Covenants"

Features - New Year's Day; Holy Communion; & Commissioning of 2012 Church Leaders

Scripture - II Kings 23:1-3 & John 15:1-8

Theme - The new year is a time to think about making resolutions. The bible doesn't talk about resolutions. Instead, it uses the word, "covenant." When we allow Jesus to be our vine and remember that we are his branches, then we will be able to bear fruit through the covenants we make. Join us on this Sunday as we make some important New Year's covenants for 2012. Happy New Year!
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Sermon (Christmas Eve) "The Time Came"

2011-12-25T00:56:00.002-05:00

Leave it to Jesus to burst into the worldat the most awkward of times and in the most awkward of places.

Mary and Joseph are miles and miles fromtheir home up north in Nazareth. Theyare now in Bethlehem but not because of choice. Luke is careful to tell us that “allwent to their own towns to be registered.” This was census time. We do thisevery ten years. During biblical times,the Roman Empire liked to do it every 14 years. And this was the 14^th year.

No questions about what is your religiouspreference or how far do you commute to work. No. This census was to make sureof one thing – that they knew you had a pulse so they could tax you to supportthe mighty Roman Empire and King, Augustus. If we think our holiday preparations have been crazy, think about apregnant woman forced to ride a donkey 80 miles.

So you try to check in at an inn. I remember reading somewhere about hotelhospitality. Hotels, most of themanyway, work really hard to meet your needs as soon as you walk into the doorof their lobby because they know that you’re probably tired, maybe disorientedsince you’re in a different place, and maybe even a little grumpy from the longdrive.

I was out of town at a seminar with afriend of mine and I asked him where he was staying. Immediately, this disgusted look came to hisface, and with a scowl, he said the name of some inexpensive and cheapmotel. He said, “I can’t believe I did this. Iwent on-line and found this motel and when I saw the price, I decided to try itand save a little money.”

I said, “Well, what’s it like?” Lookinglook he didn’t get much sleep the night before he said, “Well first of all, I have to sit on my bed the whole time because theonly chair in my room has a terrible smell to it. There’s no lobby and the worst thing of allhappened this afternoon. I got back fromour sessions, and when I got to my room, the door was wide open and I knew thatI had shut it earlier in the morning. Iwent to the person sitting at the desk and his response was, ‘Oh, don’t worryabout it, it was probably just the maid.’” He said, “It was all I coulddo to not reach over the counter and strangle the guy.”

And then my friend asked me what I wasafraid he was going to ask me, “What’sthe place like where you’re staying?”

I felt bad for him but Icouldn’t lie. And so I told him about myspacious room with the refrigerator and how I enjoyed talking with some friendsin the lobby the night before and how every morning, they had a nice breakfastof eggs, toast, and pastries.

For some reason, he didn’t share in myhappiness.

But Mary and Joseph had it a lot worsethan my friend. Instead of a cheap motel,they had to sleep in a room where the animals were often kept for thenight.

And Luke tells us that it was while theywere in that room that “the time came.” And Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands ofcloth, and laid him in one of the feed troughs since that’s all there was.

“Thetime came,” the Christmas story tells us. Whether you’re ready or not, “the time came.”

Is there every really a good time to givebirth?

For Penny’s first pregnancy, we keptwaiting and waiting for the time to come. We were so excited. Our firstchild!

Now, Penny and I are both planners. We like to prepare ahead and have everything inplace.

But guess what? Having kids will mess with your neatlyorganized life. At 12:35 P.M. on aSaturday, our daughter was born. And in just an hour and a half, I was to officiate at a wedding! I had just enough time to drive the 30minutes back to the church and be ready to go. It was the only wedding where I was more jittery than the groom.

But our beautiful daughter was born. Like St. Luke tells us, “The time came.”

And so, for our second time around, we couldn’thelp but wonder when the next one would be born.

This one needed a little coaxing and ourdoctor told us that we were to go to the hospital so that Penny could beinduced. The doctor couldn’t have pickeda worse time. That was my church basketballnight. I suggested that if there was nohurry, that we just delay this for another day or two?

This guy had absolutely no sense of humor.

So anyway, we go to the hospital and ittakes forever for our son to be born. He was born 7:30 in the morning on April 10^th.

It was that morning that I had my bigordination interview meeting in Columbus – the meeting where they decide if youare ready to be ordained. The meetingwhere they ask you all kinds of difficult theological and ministry typequestions. The meeting where you need toget 7 to 8 hours of sleep the night before – not 1 to 2 hours. The kind of meeting where both socks shouldprobably match. The kind of meetingwhere you use coherent sentences and you kind of know what Holy Communion isall about. That kind of meeting.

Here’s why we should all believe that Godis real. I passed that interview! I nailed it! God is real, friends. God isreal!

But the really great thing was – our sonwas born. Like Luke said, “The time came.”

When Luke sneaks in this little phrasethat the time came, I think he’s pointing us to an important expectation andhope that we find throughout the bible. This hope that is rooted in the Old Testament was that someday, somehow,God would be faithful in fulfilling the covenant to bring salvation to theworld.

This hope which begins with the covenantthat God had made with Abraham and later with the people of Israel was toremove sin and death once and for all. This baby who Mary placed in a manger would be the one who would fulfillthat which God had in mind from the very beginning of creation – for this worldto be a place of joy, peace, and love.

And this is why we celebrate tonight,because Luke tells us, “And the timecame.”

This time of good news is available toeach and every one of us on this Christmas Eve, just like it was for Mary,Joseph, and the shepherds that night so long ago.

The time came for me during my sophomoreyear of college. Lacking direction andpurpose, I was struggling with my grades and wondering what possible futurethere was for my life.

I remember one day, I was feeling reallylow and discouraged and I decided to try something I hadn’t done in quite awhile. I prayed. And it was because of that prayer that Icould sense that God was calling me to surrender and to start putting God firstin my life.

I got down on my knees and told God thatfrom that point on I was going to put him first in every decision. As I stood up from that prayer, it felt likethis huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew that I wasn’t alone. I knew that God had created me for a purposeand that I wasn’t a failure. I knew thatJesus Christ was my Lord and Savior.

The time came. Thank God. The time came.

This past summer, I was attending aseminar on evangelism with other pastors and lay people. The speaker was talking about how importantit was for people in the church to share their faith story with others eventhough that can feel intimidating for many of us to do. During that session, the speaker had us getinto groups of two to three people to very briefly share our faith journey andpray for each other.

Later that summer, just this past August,a friend of mine who had attended that same evangelism seminar was at a meetingwith me. Knowing that he had attendedthe seminar, I asked him what he thought about it.

And he said, “Something really incredible happened to me at that seminar.” He said, “Doyou remember when the speaker asked us to break into small groups of 2 to 3people? Well, before she asked us tobreak into these groups, I overheard a conversation of two people who weresitting right behind me. And the onewoman was upset about something and she was asking questions about God.”

“Sowhen it was time to break into the small groups, I decided to see if I could beof help. I found out that this womanwasn’t a Christian and that out of curiosity she had wandered into ourevangelism seminar.

She was going through a difficult time in her life and she was feelingpretty low. So I shared my faith storywith her and told her about Jesus.

And there, in the middle of that evangelism seminar, she accepted JesusChrist as her Lord and Savior. I said aprayer for her and encouraged her to find a church near where she lived. It was the most incredible thing I’ve everexperienced. I helped someone to knowChrist at an evangelism seminar.”

Like Luke said, “The time came.”

A few years ago, I was on a flight fromAtlanta to Kansas City to attend a church event when the pilot made anannouncement that I’ll always remember.

“Ihave some bad news to share with you,” he said. And then there was a long and veryuncomfortable pause. It’s amazing howquickly those little beads of sweat can form on your forehead in a matter ofonly two seconds.

Finally, the pilot began his nextsentence. “We’re going to need to land in Memphis because our weather radar isn’tworking. When we get to Memphis, we’llswitch planes and be on our way again. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

After I offered a quick prayerof thanksgiving to almighty God, I looked at the person who was sitting next tome, and we both agreed that this pilot could have thought of a much betterlead-in sentence. Anything but, “I have some bad news to share with you.”

Tonight, St. Luke says, “I have some good news to share with you.”Good news of great joy for all thepeople.” “What’s the good news, Luke?”

“Thegood news is, the time had come.”

Tonight, as you hold your lit candle as wesing, know that this good news is meant for you. God has a purpose and a plan for yourlife.

Tonight as you hold your lit candle, knowthat this good news is also meant for those around us. For the hungry, the homeless, the lonely, theperson who is discouraged and wanders into an evangelism seminar, the collegesophomore who feels like a failure.

Friends: I have some good news to share with you.

It’s Christmas Eve. The time has come.

Christmas Prayer

2011-12-24T09:13:00.001-05:00

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Sunday Worship Preview - December 25

2011-12-23T08:57:00.000-05:00

Sunday, December 25 - (10 A.M. Service Only)

Features - Christmas Day

Scripture - Isaiah 9:2, 6-7; Micah 4:2-5a; Luke 1:26-35, 38; Luke 2:1-7; Luke 2:8-16; Matthew 2:1-11; & John 1:1-14

Theme - The youth of our church will lead us in a festival of lessons and carols. This traditional service began in England and continues to be a wonderful way of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
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Holding CBS & Dan Bernstein Accountable

2011-12-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

Here is my response to CBS regarding the inappropriate comment made by journalist, Dan Bernstein in a recent article. While offering a needed critical perspective on the response of former Penn State football players in support of their former coach, Mr. Bernstein went out of bounds with his comment about Joe Paterno (see below.) Please note how my outrage doesn't include any statement regarding my opinion on how long this journalist should live. :)

If you would like to express your thoughts regarding Dan Bernstein's article, contact CBS at Comments@670thescore.com

Dear CBS,

As a sports fan I was very surprised that a comment by Dan Bernstein regarding Joe Paterno was allowed to be printed. The specific comment, “Paterno is almost dead, thankfully” is unethical for a professional journalist to use in an article.

As a United Methodist pastor, I am even more outraged that such a comment would be included. Mr. Bernstein should be held accountable for this very unprofessional statement and a public apology should be issued.

Sincerely,

Rev. Robert McDowell

Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Lancaster, Ohio

King Size Bed

2011-12-22T06:05:00.002-05:00

This sums it up pretty well.
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Dave's Deep Thoughts - Where Is Baby Jesus?

2011-12-21T15:01:00.001-05:00

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

Personally, I prefer my Jesus to be detachable.

Now don't get me wrong,

I like having Jesus around.

But during the 4 weeks of advent,

I prefer an empty manger, please.

I have several nativity scenes

that I place around my home during the season.

They vary in style and look

but they all have one thing in common.....

a detachable Jesus.

When it comes to creche (nativity) scenes,

I am very mindful of protocol and order.

Week one of Advent, there is only a lamb in the stable.

Week two, the cattle shows up

According to the carol, Away In A Manger, they are lowing.

If you assume the title is true in Silent Night,

then I don't really know what the cattle were doing.

By week three,

the rest of the animals wander in.

Week four,

the innkeeper (that's the guy holding the lantern)

starts hanging around.

On Christmas Eve afternoon,

just before I leave for church,

Joseph and Mary come a knocking

The detachable Jesus makes His appearance

only after I return home at midnight.

The shepherds usually crawl in about 1am.

Let's not even talk about the Wise Men.....

they best not show up til Jan 6,

long after the shepherds go back to abiding in the fields.

No, I Iike my Jesus detachable.

There's only one problem with a detachable Jesus....

where do you put him during advent??

Last year, when I came home from church services at midnight

I did my usual routine

and slipped into my pajamas and slippers

(sorry, no cap for me, no kerchief for mama either).

I turned on a Christmas broadcast from a

world-renowned cathedral,

and let the music bathe the house.

Then I went in search of the Alpha & Omega.

Now I am sure that you have your special place that you put your Emmanuel.

Mine is in the silverware drawer of the hutch,

cradled in the slotted spoon.

I'm not sure why the slotted spoon,

except that it kind of looks like a good place

to cradle a baby Jesus.

I opened the drawer

as I very appropriately sang Joy to the World.

As I reached let earth receive her king,

I gasped.

There was no king to receive.

The Savior was not in the slotted spoon.

I looked under the ladle for the Lord of Lords.

under the pickle fork for the Prince of Peace

under the butter knife for the Bright Morning Star.

The King of Kings was no where to be found.

The Christ Child had escaped from the cutlery.

I was devastated.

As a pastor,

you learn to adapt

when things don't go as you planned in worship.

But as a common man

in search of my ceramic Jesus,

I was lost.

After several minutes

of searching every nook and cranny of the hutch,

I accepted Christmas Eve news that was even worse

than being placed on the naughty list.

My Mighty God

was missing in action.

I did the next best thing.

Since my Rose of Sharon was no where to be found,

I pulled a cloth rose out of a nearby decoration

and laid it in the manger.

I went to bed saddened that

I had somehow misplaced the Wonderful Counselor.

While it is true that the Everlasting Father

never abandons His children,

it is true that His children

often walk away from Him.

Apart from having a liturgical correct creche,

having a detachable Jesus

is not a good thing.

If I couldn't detach Him,

then I couldn't walk away from Him.

If I couldn't walk away from Him,

then I wouldn't fall into the darkness of my sin.

Instead,

I closed my eyes and slept into the darkness of that night.

Christmas morning last year was a beautiful, sunny morning.

As an adult,

my first instinct Christmas morning

is to go to the kitchen for a hot beverage.

The days of running down the stairs to the Christmas tree

are long since gone.

As I waited for my tea to boil,

I remembered that my Lion of Judah was missing.

The sadness of the night began to return.

Then as surely as the light of Christmas morning

filled my home,

light filled my head and I remembered.....

I had polished the silver last month.....

at the beginning of advent.

4 weeks before there was no room at the inn for the great I AM,

there was no room in the cutlery draw for my Messiah!

I remembered.

The Bread of Life was lying in the bread basket!

The Hallelujah Chorus erupted

as the Word become flesh took His rightful place in a humble manger.

As we approach another celebration of Christmas,

many of us are saddened by the rampant commercialism

and the inordinate distractions

that the season brings.

Let the cash register continue to ring up its purchases,.....

Meanwhile the Good Shepherd continues to account for each of His flock.

Let the electric meters continue to whirl out of control......

Meanwhile the Consolation of Heaven continues to pray on our behalf.

Let the ovens continue to bake up confectionary delights........

Meanwhile the Bread of Life had been offered to the world.

Let the world do what it has always done,

it is no less busy or distracted then it was in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

What matters the most

is our attachment to Jesus.

This year, I know He is safely cradled in the slotted spoon for a few more days.

More importantly, He is cradled in my heart.

May He be cradled in yours

and may your celebration of Christmas stir your heart and soul.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the fields,

keeping watch over their flocks by night.

And an angel of the Lord stood before them

and the glory of the Lord shone around them

and they were terribly frightened.

And the angel of the Lord said to them,

do not be afraid;

for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be for all people;

for today in the city of David, there has been born for you,

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:8-11

Christmas Greetings from Bishop Ough

2011-12-20T06:34:00.000-05:00

This Christmas Eve, as you gather in your churches and homes to again read, hear and, perhaps, even enact the nativity account from Luke's Gospel, I invite you to pay particular attention to the manger. Like the shepherds we are called to the manger to witness and experience the "good news of great joy for all the people."

The manger is one of the most important elements in Luke's Christmas story. Three times the narrative in Luke chapter 2 tells us that after his birth Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger:

[Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the guestroom. (verse 7)

This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.
(verse 12)

[The shepherds] went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
(verse 16)

We generally associate the manger with a lowly, impoverished birth. It is true, God chose to become flesh and make His home among us in the most uncommonly common way. A manger is a trough for farm animals -- a place to feed them hay and grain. But, in scripture, it is more. In Isaiah 1:3, the manger -- the crib -- of the ox and donkey is the place where creatures know their benefactor. The manger is a place of sustenance, solace and security. A farm animal, let out in the morning to freely roam, will always return by day's end to the manger.

Isaiah laments that God's people no longer know their benefactor. They have forgotten and no longer understand what God has done for them. They wander afield and do not return to their manger.

In the Christmas story, the manger is the symbol of God's compassion, nurture, salvation. It is in the Bethlehem manger that God's incarnation is cradled. It is to the Bethlehem manger that the shepherds -- the nobodies, ruffians and marginalized -- are called to witness and acknowledge their Lord. It is from the Bethlehem manger that the message of God's redemptive presence in the world goes forth to all people in all generations. It is Emmanuel -- God with us -- that fills the Bethlehem manger with love, forgiveness, joy.

This Christmas, each of us is being called by the angel of the Lord to come to the manger. We are being called to return to the source of our salvation and shalom. Like the shepherds, we are being called to the manger where the unlimited love of God enfolds and nurtures us. And, like the shepherds, we will receive our mission at the manger: to go and tell everyone what we know about the child of Christmas -- God with us!

Let us dance with delight in the Lord

and let our hearts be filled with rejoicing

for eternal salvation has appeared on the earth --

in a manger!

I pray that each of you and each of our congregations will return to the manger this Christmas to remember, once again, what God is doing in our lives and in all of creation. May it be so!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bishop Bruce R. Ough
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Christmas & Easter

2011-12-19T16:37:00.000-05:00

I'm confused. It's the week before Christmas and I'm reading about the resurrection in John's Gospel. This happens every year. I like to begin preparing sermons several months in advance which at this points puts me around Easter Sunday (April 8.)

Some of my friends think I'm a little too forward thinking in my planning and they'll say things to me like, "So, Robert, do you have your 2014 Christmas sermon ready yet?" It seems like a lot of pastors like to use the college term paper timeline, although I hope they aren't pulling all nighters on Saturday night!

There are some real advantages to planning this far in advance. For one thing, it helps me to dream ahead to how God wants to speak a word of grace to us. It's exciting to think how God is already ahead of us preparing the way. Secondly, if I think of an idea that will need advanced preparation time, planning ahead allows this to happen. And finally, planning ahead, gives me a sense of peace in knowing that there's been a lot of time put into the planning of a worship service.

But even with these advantages, it's still a little weird to be thinking about Easter this week when I still have last minute Christmas shopping to do. Even so, I recall something the Scottish New Testament scholar, William Barclay stated about the Christmas Story. Evidently there is a painting of the baby Jesus and the sun is shining on him in such a way that a shadow of a cross is cast in front of him on the ground.

The meaning is clear. Jesus didn't just come into the world as a cute and cuddly baby. Jesus came into the world to be our Lord and Savior. So this Christmas Eve, as we sing Christmas carols and hold up our lit candles in a darkened sanctuary, let's not forget that the cross and the empty tomb are not that far in the future.

Merry Christmas and Happy Easter!
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A Christmas Miracle

2011-12-18T20:05:00.002-05:00

Celebrating the burning of one of two Crossroads building loan notes during worship this morning (Dec. 18) at Lancaster First UMC. Miracles happen! Let's do this again with the final loan note in May, 2016 when we cross the finish line.

Picture: Randy Williams, Chairperson of Church Council & Lay Leader
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Sermon (December 18) "Christmas Around the World: Vietnam"

2011-12-18T13:03:00.000-05:00

One year just before Christmas, I pulled up to a traffic light, and as Ilooked toward my left I noticed some steps leading from the sidewalk down to avery modest apartment. I rememberthinking that I had never realized that an apartment had ever existed in thatsection of the street.

And there it was. And on the doorof this hidden apartment was a sign that had the words, “We Still Believe.”

A smile came to my face as I thought about the child or the children whowere living in that apartment and who wanted to make sure that Santa wouldn’tforget them.

That sign reminds me of the unbridled and confident faith that thescriptures tell us that we can have as we go through life. A faith in a God who knows all about us –where we live, our hopes, our dreams, our joys, and our deepest longings.

The Christians in Vietnam have a lot to teach us about what it means tokeep believing against all odds. TheVietnamese artist, Le Van Tai painted aNativity scene with encouragement from the Hong Kong Fellowship of Christianartists while he spent four years in a Hong Kong refugee camp.

Why did Le fleeVietnam to endure 4 years in a refugee camp? Why was he separated from hisfamily for 11 years? How did he get to Hong Kong?

During the late1970’s and early 1980’s, Le, along with nearly 2 million South Vietnameseescaped their new communist rulers by risking their lives on rickety boats thatdeparted into the South China Sea at night, evading communist gun boats.

About one thirdof the escapees died at sea, by drowning, exposure, or piracy. The morefortunate ones eventually got to places like Hong Kong, where they hoped foreventual resettlement in America, Australia, or elsewhere in the West.

Presumably Le escaped capture, had a sturdyboat, avoided pirates, and arrived in Hong Kong safely. But he still had tolanguish for 4 years in a camp. And he endured an 11 year separation from hisfamily in Vietnam, whose communist tyrants were not always eager to allowwives, parents and children of capitalist-loving escaped boat people to rejointheir loved ones in the West, except for a price. What would compel aVietnamese to risk the nightmare of unsafe travel on the South China Sea, with a30 percent chance of death, not to mention an uncertain future in a camp andyears of separation from family?

From a little of our modern history, we remember how in 1975, what wasthen North Vietnam took control of South Vietnam and they set up a very viciouscommunist dictatorship. The new regimeimprisoned over a million people and murdered tens of thousands of suspectedcounter-revolutionaries. They were now aone party state that banned all political opposition, took away any right toprivate property and free speech, and prohibited the Christian faith. The Catholic Church which represented about 8to 10% of the population thanks to the French influence in Vietnam was forcedto celebrate Christmas privately during that time.

The story of Christmas in Vietnam has some similarities with theChristmas story we find in the bible. Both stories speak of danger, uncertainty, and fear. Jesus was born within the Roman Empire whichhad control over the people of Israel. And Rome wasn’t about to welcome any newborn King. There was only room for one King.

The Christmas story isn’t just a story about a baby born in amanger. It’s a story of a young woman whodiscovers that she will conceive and give birth to this newborn King. Because of the nature of this pregnancy, shewill have to endure the ridicule and the hurtful rumors that will mostdefinitely surround her at every turn. It’sa story of a King doing everything in his power to try to kill this newbornKing. And like Le, the Vietnamese artistwho was forced to flee for his life, the Christmas story is a story of a familyfleeing to Egypt and becoming refugees in seek of safety.

As I mentioned earlier, the Christians in Vietnam have a lot to teach usabout what it means to keep believing against all odds.

Around the same time that Le, theVietnamese artist who I was talking about a little bit ago was finally reunitedwith his family after spending several years away as a refugee, two VietnameseAmerican UM pastors, Ut To and Karen Vo To, had a dream and that dream is now areality. The Lord laid on their hearts the vision of starting up the UnitedMethodist Church in Vietnam.

In 1998, the United Methodist Churchbegan its work in Vietnam when a small team traveled to Vietnam to visit withChristians there and especially to visit and learn about the ministry of Rev.and Mrs. Ma Nguyen, who were persecuted for their faith. Having experiencedUnited Methodism in the United States, the Reverend Ut and Karen Vo To wantedto take the church to their people. And in February 2002 the United MethodistChurch in Vietnam was born when they were sent to the nation of their ancestorsas General Board of Global missionaries!

Just this past year, Vietnam has grantedlegal status for the United Methodist Church to exist in Vietnam. Today there are over 200 UnitedMethodist Churches representing over 11,000 church members and the church inVietnam continues to grow!

Let’s watch a video that shows how theUnited Methodist Church is making a difference in Vietnam. (Show video.)

Like the family who had that sign on thefront door of their modest apartment, “We Still Believe,” the Christians inVietnam remind us to not stop believing, especially as we draw close to theChristmas celebration.

This belief against all odds has rubbedoff on the United Methodists of our own West Ohio Conference.

April 19, 2010 was an historic day. It was on that day that our Bishop along withrepresentatives from our West Ohio Conference joined the United Methodists inVietnam to dedicate a 7,800 square foot ministry center in Ho Chi Minh City. It was a day to remember.

One of the miracles in our conference’spartnership with this ministry center was in the money that was raised to makethis become a reality. Shawnee Valley isone of the eight districts of our West Ohio Conference. Located in the southern part of our statewhere there is very high poverty and unemployment, this impoverished districtraised what they called a “miracle offering” to be used for this ministrycenter in Vietnam.

This one district of mostly small, rural churches on the edge of Appalachia haspulled together to raise nearly $295,000 for the conference’s support ofVietnam churches through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

The district has held four “Rally in theValley” events for Vietnam. Key to theirfundraising success has been the decision to treat the 159 churches in thedistrict — which spans nine counties and 4,700 square miles — as one largecongregation.

Their motto during this miracle offeringhas been, “If we’re going to move amountain, what would happen if we put all our shovels together on one singleinitiative?”

It’s like each one of those churches had asign on front of their church that said, “We Still Believe.”

This past week, a pastor in our West OhioConference told me that she will be traveling to Vietnam with our Bishop torepresent our conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry. Through our partnership with the UnitedMethodist Church in Vietnam, our Bishop is serving as their Bishop. They will be making this trip to credentialnew Vietnamese pastors to serve the new churches.

They already have several churches thathave over 200 hundred members. PraiseGod that the United Methodist Church is growing in Vietnam!

Well, so much more could be said about thechurch in Vietnam and what they can teach us about believing against allodds.

On the Vietnamese United Methodistwebsite, they talk about how they enjoy making lanterns to use to decorate forChristmas and that’s why we have several lanterns in our sanctuary today. We celebrate how the light of Christ alwaysburns brightly at Christmas and how miracles are just around the corner.

Speaking of miracles, I want to share aChristmas miracle that has happened right here in our own church just threeweeks ago. Many of us know about ourbeautiful Crossroads facility located on West Fair Avenue, just three milesfrom here. Opened in May of 2007,Crossroads provides space for weekly worship, creative ministries, events foryouth and young families, and meeting space for numerous community groups.

This past October, we had over 500 peoplefrom our church and community attend our Halloween Carnival Outreach where wewere able to share God’s love and invite people to Sunday worship and futureministry and outreach events. Crossroadsis helping us reach people for Jesus Christ.

This past May, we began a new aggressivefive-year campaign with the goal of totally pay off the remaining 2.4 milliondollars building debt, which was a huge step of faith for us. A little over a year ago, our church membershipvoted to go with this five-year pay off strategy rather than continue to makeminimum payments on our two loans over the next seventeen years.

During the first few months of our newfive-year campaign, it looked like we were still only going to be able to makethe minimum payments required on the two loans. We are able to make those minimum payments through your pledged gifts toCrossroads and through the rental income from groups that use our Crossroads facilityduring the year. By the way, we receiveapproximately $60,000 in rental income on an annual basis through communitygroups who use Crossroads. Crossroads isa busy place!

So here’s the Christmas miracle. As of November 30^th, we havetotally paid off one of those two loans.

Thanks to over $600,000 from undesignatedendowment funds, $94,000 from our Board of Trustees, and over $30,000 of pledgeand rental surplus funds, God has put us in a position to pay off all of thisdebt by 2016. This is now an attainablegoal.

Withthis Christmas miracle, and knowing that you and I will continue to be generousfinancial givers to Crossroads in these remaining four and a half years of ourpledge commitments, we are in a much better position to cross the finish linein May of 2016.

If you believe in Christmas miracles, canI hear an “Amen?”

To help us celebrate this recent pay-offof one of our two loans, I have asked Randy Williams, our Church CouncilChairperson and our Lay Leader, to do us the honor of burning the loan note.

(The loan note is burnt over a pan in front of thealtar.)

Christmas miracles still happen!

I want to close by sharing from a UnitedMethodist Vietnamese pastor who writes these words of Christmas greeting to allwho have partnered with them over the years.

“Amongthe many highlights we thank God for the many who came to Jesus over the pastyear and for the spiritual and numerical growth in our United MethodistChurches in Vietnam; for eighteen new United Methodist Churches in Vietnam; forseveral professors who came from United Methodist seminaries to teach at WesleyTheological College in Vietnam; for several wonderful teams who came tosupport, encourage, and bless us; for the funds to purchase the UnitedMethodist Center building; and for the aid for hundreds of orphans, widows, andchildren with food, medical care, clothes, eye glasses, and clean drinkingwater.

Hundreds ofthousands more continue to wait for somebody to love them. Children, widows, and orphans wait forhelping hands that would come to their aid. As people wait in villages, towns, and cities for somebody to bring themthe gospel. We want to be thatsomebody. We are planning and preparingourselves to do more in the coming year.”

“Thankyou so much for your faithfulness in prayer and support. May the Lord grant you peace and joy thisChristmas and throughout the year.”

The Christians in Vietnam remind us thatmiracles still happen not only in Southeast Asia, but also right here inLancaster, Ohio! Thanks be to God!

Christmas Eve Worship Preview - December 24

2011-12-18T06:44:00.001-05:00

December 24 - (5:30 P.M., 8 P.M., & 11 P.M.)

Sermon - "The Time Came"

Features - Christmas Eve Candlelight Services

Scripture - Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14: & Luke 2:1-20

Theme - The gospel writer, Luke offers a brief phrase in his Christmas story when he says that "the time came." Is Luke only referring to the time when Mary was to give birth or is there also a deeper meaning behind this phrase?
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4th Sunday of Advent Prayer (Week of December 18)

2011-12-18T06:26:00.000-05:00

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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The Bible & The Ancient Near East

2011-12-17T12:06:00.004-05:00

Here are some gems from the book I've been reading, "Ancient Near Eastern Thought & the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible" by John H. Walton.

The cultures of this time period had no dichotomy between natural and supernatural. Everything was supernatural regardless if you were an Israelite or some other religion. Religion was life. This different worldview has so many implications for Christians today since we tend to think of God who intervenes once in a while (miracles.) Actually, the ancient mindset was that God is constantly interacting within creation. This makes me think of how we tend to view miracles as only special events when they really happen all of the time since God is always interacting within the cosmos.
The Garden of Eden story is really a story of the garden being like the holy of holies in the Temple. The created world served as God's Temple. The actual Temple had symbols of the Garden of Eden like the menorah which is a symbol of the tree of life. In short, the Garden of Eden story uses Temple language.
When Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, the biggest loss wasn't paradise but losing out on God's presence.
The Tower of Babel story which I always assumed was a story about humans trying to get to God is really a story of trying to get God to come down to them. The ancient Near East is filled with stories of towers that serve this purpose. Bible translations misinterpret this story because of a lack of understanding of the ancient worldview.

Christmas Message from Rev. Barb Sholis, Capitol Area South District Superintendent

2011-12-16T06:44:00.002-05:00

As This Year Draws to a Close

I was one of those children. Maybe one lives under your roof right now. Or maybe you were a 'kindred spirit' of mine. It actually started when I was quite young. About 4:30 a.m. tiptoe, tiptoe...a finger poking the arm of my sleeping mother:

"Mommy, I think Santa's been here."

"No honey. Go back to bed; it's not time to get up."

That was not the right answer! I was far too excited! The next year, I grew braver - creeping down the stairs until I hit that one step-you know the one - three steps from the bottom that always creaked.

"Go back to bed; it's not time to get up."

The following year, my ballet lessons began paying off. I practiced balancing along the baseboards that ran down either side of the stairs. Yes! I finally made it all the way to the living room. There in the darkened room, over in the corner, stood the unlit Christmas tree. I could make out the shapes of presents, why I could even figure out a toy or two, but I stopped and stared in the silence. Something was missing: my family. It wasn't the same without them. So I quietly snuck back upstairs and waited-for what seemed like eternity-but it wasn't the same without my family. They were part of the joy of the special day.

As I reflect back on these first five months as your District Superintendent, the joy I feel is because I am getting to know you, the Capitol Area South Family. Some of you I've known for many years, and some of you I've just met. Nonetheless, there has been true joy for me in renewing my connection with our UM connection. There is something quite essential and formative that comes from spending time listening to the stories of one another, what you hold dear. I also listened to you express challenges and the hope/dreams that lie ahead. Isn't that the point of this season in some ways?

As James Sharrett wrote, "God pitches his fleshly tent in silence on straw, in a stable, under a star. The cry from that infant's throat pierced the silence of centuries. God's voice could actually be heard coming from human vocal cords. That's the joy of it. God has come to be with us. Nothing in this world can separate any of God's children from his love. Not even our prodigal rebellions, nor our adult indifferences; our sins nor our sufferings. No experience goes unattended by God. Cradles of insecurity -- he is there; deserts of temptation -- he is there; gardens of indecision -- he is there; crosses of suffering -- he is there. He is in them all. This is the God of Christmas!"

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." Oswald Chambers wrote: "There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life."

This is Good News dear colleagues and friends. As 2011 draws to a close, we at the District Office wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! May you be filled with wonder and touched anew by the miracle of the in-breaking of the kingdom through the birth of the Christ child -- Emmanuel-- God with Us!

Merry Christmas from the Staff of First UMC!

2011-12-15T16:05:00.003-05:00

Our staff team extends a Merry Christmas to the everyone and especially to the great people of First United Methodist Church in Lancaster, Ohio. This is a picture from our Christmas staff lunch today in which we enjoyed a great meal and exchanged gifts.

I ended up receiving an inedible fruitcake, some great fudge, a tiny elf, a snow-maker, and a Christmas DVD. Lots of fun!

May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you all as we prepare to celebrate the joyous season of Christmas!

Back Row: Robert McDowell, John Coen, Clarence McCoy, Jill Warner, Peg Parker, & Tim Warner
Middle Row: Hank Uther, Deb Silvia, Pam George, Sandra Yerian, & Sandy Roberts
Front Row Center: Cheryl Foulk
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When Re-Gifting Is OK

2011-12-15T07:22:00.001-05:00

I know that re-gifting is not a socially acceptable custom around Christmas time. What if the person who gave the gift finds out that the gift has been given to someone else? What if the person who gave the gift doesn't see the gift in your possession making him/her wonder what was done with it? For all these reasons, re-gifting is not OK.

This leads me to say that I recently re-gifted a present. This past Sunday as I was leading our first worship service, I noticed a surprise gift inside the pulpit. My eyes lit up and a smile came to my face when I saw that it was a box of TastyKakes, my favorite cupcake treat when I was growing up in Pennsylvania.

I have fond memories of buying a twin package of TastyKakes after being dropped off the bus in town as I waited for my mom to pick me up. Here's how I would eat a butterscotch TastyKake. First thing after peeling off the clear wrap, I would lick off the icing that had stuck to it. And from there, you savor every bite.

Whenever I travel to Pennsylvania, I bring back several boxes and they don't last long. Once in a great while, I will spot these heavenly treats in a grocery store but not very often. So imagine my delight when I saw a box of TastyKakes inside the pulpit this past Sunday. An anonymous gift giver had given me an early Christmas present!

During worship, the children of our church presented a mission trip team with gifts to give to the children of an orphanage in Russia. This mission team will be celebrating Christmas with these children.

Now, I don't know how God tries to get your attention to do something. For some, it's a little nudge and for others it's more like a push, but it was during this presentation of gifts that I felt a shove from God! "Remember when you were a kid and loved to lick the icing off those clear wrappers? Just think of how much the children in Russia will enjoy that same experience. Re-gift your TastyKakes and give it to those children. Give it away!"

And so, I handed over those heavenly delights to the mission trip team leader and I said, "Give these to the children. They'll love these."

Christmas is about receiving the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ not so that we can keep this gift for ourselves, but so that we can also share this good news with others. I actually felt good when I handed that box to the mission trip leader.

Sometimes, re-gifting is perfectly acceptable.
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Bible Study Summary - Upcoming Sunday's Scriptures

2011-12-15T06:27:00.000-05:00

Sermon(Dec. 18) – “Christmas Around the World:Vietnam”

Luke1:46b-55

- Whatnews would make you celebrate with dancing and singing? That’s what is going on with Mary and thisMagnificat scripture. (Latin word for magnify)

- Whysuch happiness? The birth of Jesus is thebeginning fulfillment of Israel and God’s salvation story.

- Almostevery word of the Magnificat comes from the Old Testament which Mary andElizabeth would have known by memory from their Jewish upbringing.

- Echoesfrom the Old Testament include Samuel and the Hannah story.

- Thestory of Christmas is a story of the beginning of God’s good news in Christ!

- Question:When we celebrate Christmas, is our focus only on a cute baby story or on the biggerstory of the launch of God’s good news through Christ?

Luke1:26-38

- Thisis an amazing story. Mary conceives through the Holy Spirit. Just as this story is amazing today, it would have been equally amazingfor them. Even without modern dayscience, the ancients knew that thisconception was beyond explanation.

- Unlikeancient myths of virgin birth stories that lack purpose, this virgin birthstory happens because of God’s love and God’s desire to redeem the world.

- Thevirgin birth story sometimes gets more attention than thecrucifixion/resurrection stories. Justlook at how popular Christmas is in our culture! The Apostle Paul never mentions the virginbirth story and it only appears in two of the four Gospels.

- Themain message of this story is that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised King ofIsrael. And this King is also God’s Sonwhich reminds us that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. See II Samuel 7:14, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 89:27

- Farfrom a heart-warming baby story, this is an explosive story of how this newbornKing is the launch of God’s kingdom in rescuing the world from sin and deathonce and for all.