Is Christianity Hard?

There's a perception that religion should come naturally to us.  Even though we need to work and put time and effort into other aspects of life like our jobs, school work, errands around the house, paying bills, taking care of ourselves, we sometimes leave our faith off the list.

In our scripture reading for this Sunday (May 8), the Apostle Paul is writing to the Thessalonians and he tells them, "We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith..." - I Thesssalonians 1:2-3a  Your work of faith?  We don't often associate faith with work.

Methodism got its start when some members of the Church of England began meeting in small groups on a weekly basis to read scripture, pray, confess sins, hold each other accountable, and serve the needy.  They believed that in order to have a growing and vital faith in Jesus Christ, they needed to be organized, methodical, and intentional.  Sunday worship alone wouldn't cut it.  They needed something more.  They needed to work at their faith.

Yes, God's love is offered freely to us, but our response to this extravagant love can cost us as we seek to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  If we feel that we are languishing in our faith, it just might be that we need to wake up an hour earlier than usual and spend that time working on our faith by reading the scripture, prayer, and think through how we are going to offer God's love throughout the day.

At a wedding I conducted yesterday, the couple had chosen Colossians 3 as one of their scripture readings.  This passage focuses on love and it tells us that we are to "put on love" much like we need to put on clothing to begin each day.

I then told the couple that to love in this way means that we need to do the hard work of intentionally preparing to offer God's love to one another on a daily basis.  I didn't share this at the wedding but to carry Paul's analogy a little further, if we don't work on our faith, it would be like if we leave our homes without any clothes on.  What an image!

So, we are to work at our faith and put on love everyday.

Christianity is hard.
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Sunday Worship Preview - May 15

May 15 - (8:15 A.M. & 11:00 A.M. Traditional Services & 9:45 A.M. Praise Service) & Wednesday, May 18 (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Every Time I Think of You: Your Faith Known Throughout the World"

Features - 5th Sunday of Easter & Crossroads Fund Drive Commitment Sunday

Scripture - Romans 1:1-9 & Matthew 5:13-16 

Theme - We are in looking at the opening of four of Paul's letters to various churches in this sermon series.  Today, we focus on Paul's letter to the Romans and we celebrate how First UMC is making a difference in our community and world through our many ministries.  This is an important day for us to be encouraged at how God is working through us.
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Bible Study Summary - Sunday's Upcoming Scriptures

This Sunday’s Sermon – “Every Time I Think of You: Your Work of Faith”

The Apostle Paul begins several of his letters expressing words of affirmation of how that church is either being faithful in living out their faith or has been blessed by God in a particular way.  This is a four Sunday sermon series which will focus on four of Paul’s letters.

I Thessalonians 1:1-10

-          Probably earliest of the NT books written – early 50’s, just 20 years after the death & resurrection of Jesus.

-          Thessalonica was and is a thriving seaport city in northern Greece, 200 miles north of Athens. 

-          Paul came to Thessalonica after preaching in Philippi where he had been imprisoned.

-          This church was mostly non-Jewish.  They readily embraced the message of the gospel.

-          When Paul wrote this letter, he was probably in Corinth.  Paul is reflecting on his time with them. 

-          v. 4 – God had called this church for a special purpose in their particular location.

-          v. 2 – Paul tells them that he prays for them.  He thanks God for their particular faith – a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

-          Paul’s opening thanksgiving continues on through half of the letter (chapter 3!)  Since this church is only a few months old and they  have faced persecution, Paul wants them to know that he is praying for them and thanking God for them. 

-          Paul affirms this church for 3 things that are evident of their new life in Christ: 1) Faith 2) Love 3) Hope – Reminds us of the end of I Corinthians 13 and “faith, hope, and love.”  Paul wrote that too!

-          Faith – Paul says this is something we have to work at which is the focus of my sermon – “Your Work of Faith.” 

-          What does it mean to work at your faith?  Should faith come naturally?  In what ways do you work at your faith?

-          John Wesley knew of the importance of having the early Methodists work at their faith.  He formed them into societies and classes which meet on a regular basis to help people grow in their faith.  We need to have “little churches” within the big church!

-          This “Every Time I Think of You” sermon series is about encouragement.  Paul was good at encouraging the churches.  In the French language, the word, “encourage” means to “put the heart in.”  To discourage means to “tear the heart out.”  How can we follow Paul’s example and put the heart in people?

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Thank You for Giving to the Lord

Thank you for your gift of $1,122 to go toward the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) spring storms relief.

We also gave $4,672.70 through our special Easter offering to support our missionaries and the upcoming West Ohio Annual Conference miracle offering.

Thank you for giving to the Lord!
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Dave's Deep Thoughts

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.

It is said for weddings....

something old, something new,

something borrowed, something blue.

I like weddings.

Officiating at them is one of my

favorite parts of my work as a pastor.

It is probably because I often have

close ties with either the bride or groom.

Recently, I had the privilege

of performing an outdoor wedding.

Outdoor weddings in this neck of the woods,

during the month of April can be a bit tricky.

It can be sunny and pleasant,

or cold with chilling rains.

This couple was blessed with 74 and sunny skies.

As a pastor,

I like to make everyone in the wedding party

feel as comfortable as possible.

To do this, I make sure everyone

knows what they are to do and when they will do it.

Now my track record is not flawless.

There was the fainting wedding,

not to be undone by the sound feedback wedding.

And may we never forget the vomit wedding of '05.

Now most couples,

particularly brides,

often plan their wedding day down to the smallest detail.

Everything needs to go just right.

This wedding was no different.....

Planned with meticulous detail.

That would be, except for Grandma.

Here's a new rule for wedding planning:

If your Grandma is coming to the wedding,

have a chauffeur under the age of 80 bring her.

It seems that Grandma and her driver were late.

The wedding was to begin at 5pm.

5pm No Grandma.

I consult with the Father of the bride (son of Grandma)...

Let's wait a few minutes, we agree

5:10pm No Grandma.

Anxiety levels have been ratcheted up a few notches.

5:20pm Still no Grandma in sight.

Cell phone calls going out to the octogenarian chauffeur.

They are in the area, we are told

I'm not sure if they meant immediate area or area code.

5:30pm An all points bulletin has been put out to find Grandma.

Now, most wedding crowds have a fairly high threshold of patience,

but when you hear Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire for the third time,

things get a bit cranky.

5:35pm A Grandma sighting has been reported in town

The crowd is now beginning to get up to stretch their legs.

5:40pm Grandma arrives seemingly oblivious

that the DJ has worn out 3 CDs on her behalf.

She is escorted to her seat

We can start.

No, not really.

The chauffeur needs to park the car and be seated.

Not an easy task.

Parking on these narrow streets in this quaint little town,

makes parking in New York City seem like a piece of cake.

Speaking of cake, we should all have been eating cake by now.....

5:45pm I decide to take the bull by the horns.

I talk to the DJ. I let him know that when I am given the cue to begin,

I will motion to him to stop the music

so that I can lead the groom's party to their positions.

Once we are there, he can crank up the Pachelbel canon to start the bridesmaids.

5:50pm The father of the bride says we are ready.

I motion to the DJ.

He proceeds immediately into Pachelbel,

thus forcing me and the Groom's party into a full sprint to get to positions.

5:51pm The groom's party and I are catching our breath.

Pachelbel is serenading throughout the neighborhood.

We are ready to go, except for one thing....

no bridesmaids.

5:52pm Still, no bridesmaids.

5:53pm I have heard of runaway brides,

but runaway bridesmaids??

5:54pm There is movement at the rear of the garden

Things are on cue now, I think.

Except it wasn't a bridesmaid,

but the chauffeur,

who is now walking down the aisle,

totally unaware that she is not crashing the wedding,

but crashing the wedding procession.

I lean over to the groom and whisper,

I hope for your sake, they get younger by the end of the line.

We'd like to think that we are in charge of each of our days.

But the truth is, we aren't.

A car crash that comes out of nowhere,

a trip to the doctors that ends with an unexpected diagnosis,

a sudden job loss, a relationship that goes sour.

All we can really be sure of

is that God walks with us through every aspect of our day

and is in control.

Once we recognize that simple spiritual truth,

our anxiety levels drop.

Additionally, we find that all the things

that need to unfold in our lives, do indeed happen,

just in God's own time.

I'm not sure about the new, the borrowed, or the blue....

And by the end of the day,

there was still time for cake.

Commit your way to the Lord,

trust also in Him,

and He will do it.

Psalms 37:5

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Osama Bin Laden & Justice

The news of Osama Bin Laden's death is an opportunity to view justice from a biblical perspective.  Most of the headlines of Osama's death include the word, "justice."  Certainly, justice is served whenever a mass killer on the run or in hiding has been apprehended. 

Biblical words like "justice" and "righteousness" are used frequently throughout the scriptures.  These words are to always be seen in the larger context of a good creator God who created the world and called it good.  God created humankind to be good stewards of creation but because of human rebellion, sin and death entered the world. 

When the bible refers to Adam and Eve disobeying God in the creation story, it also has a more generalized meaning of all humanity.  In Romans 3:23, the Apostle Paul writes, "Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  This includes us!  We are part of the problem to varying degrees.

The good news of the Christian faith is that God cares about rescuing the world from sin, death, and injustice.  Ever since the book of Genesis when we first sinned, God has been on a rescue mission to ultimately restore God's good creation the way it was always meant to be.  Through the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future second coming of Jesus Christ, this time of reckoning will be accomplished.

The bible is also clear that even though we know the end of the story (that a day is coming when God will make all things new), we are called to participate in the renewing of God's creation through the strength of the Holy Spirit in the here and now.  We are to live in such a way that anticipates that future time of justice and peace.  This includes systems of justice and holding people accountable for their actions.

While we may cheer at the news of the capture of Osama Bin Laden, Christians need to remember that the presence of evil in the world still exists.  Yes, justice has been served, but if we use this news story to fill some type of appetite for revenge, we will miss the whole point of those biblical words, justice and righteousness.

In my previous church, a member of the congregation lost her brother in the 9/11 attacks.  This member loves the Lord, her church, her country, is very patriotic, and believes in justice.  But, she also is a woman of tremendous faith.

She did not allow this terrible terrorist act to turn her into bitter person.  Instead, a year after her brother died, she and her family traveled to a poor community in Mexico to build a home for a needy family in loving memory of her brother.  This is how she responded to 9/11.

Knowing this church member, instead of putting her energy into cheering the news of Osama Bin Laden, she is probably thanking God that justice has been served and quietly making plans for her next mission project.

She understands the true meaning of the biblical words, justice and righteousness.
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New Crossroads Fund Drive - Nativity Display