Sunday, October 25, 2009

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Thanks to Mara Andrews for showing me how to hit a basket on a PlaySchool basketball goal. The point was emphasizing Nothing But Nets. We've done this before. It's a program that got started a few years ago. Medically treated malaria nets are purchased for $10 and sent to Africa where they are distributed to families. Each net has the effect of literally saving scores of lives. It's amazing.

This year when people return their 2010 pledge cards indicating their financial support for the church we are going to buy a net. Everyone who pledges will have a net purchased in their name. I hope this is incentive for many people to be very intentional about their tithes and offerings for the coming year.

We want to communicate that Platte Woods UMC intends to be an outward-focused church. We want to communicate that we want to be a mission-minded church.
Tithes and offerings do more than pay operating costs, salaries and things like that. Your tithes and offerings change lives - save lives - literally.

When Mara made the basket I used that to illustrate a net bought and lives saved! Furthermore when she made one (she actually made 2 out of 3) she showed what God expects - 1 out of 10. A tithe. A miracle of what God is able to do in and through the people of God.

It's been a good day - now off to Trunk or Treat.

I hope you've had a good day too.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Reflections From Sunday Evening

It's been a good weekend. Busy day at church this morning - baptism of 7-year-old Ben. Welcome to the family of God. 27 third-graders received their Bibles - music, spirit - we sensed the presence of God.

Yesterday Cindy and I (among many others) walked in the Ian's Flu Foundation walk. It is an annual event. Glen and Julie Moise have responded in an amazing fashion to the loss of their son. I encourage you to go to the Web site and get acquainted more fully with their story. But what I want to say is this.

At 11:00 the walk was beginning. 200 people were joining together to support the effort to educate and vaccinate children so no other child need die from the flu. As I joined with others I thought of another event taking place at 11:00 a.m. yesterday.

Bishop Eugene Frank's memorial service was taking place downtown. Bishop Frank was elected bishop in 1954. He served 16 years as the bishop of Missouri. Everyone in the church knew Bishop Frank.

I remembered a time over 30 years ago when I was a seminary student. Cindy and I were home one weekend and we went with my dad to a one-day retreat and heard Bishop Frank. In his message he made the statement: "God plants the seed of redemption at the heart of every tragedy." I've repeated the insight many times.

Yesterday as we were doing the walk and Bishop Frank's service was taking place at the same time I thought of that moment. And I realized that what he said was so true. I found myself participating in the seed God planted at the heart of the tragedy of Ian's untimely death. Glen and Julie are truly being used by God to make a tremendous witness for the redemptive power and grace of Jesus Christ. It's been a great moment of finding ourselves in the midst of what God is doing.
Blessings.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I love fast pased days like today. Sorry if I was talking too fast but we had lots to do and there were some things to say! When we have Christ in our hearts we are experiencing the transforming power of God. Part of the transformation is the peace of Christ in our hearts. The idea is we then are empowered to take the peace of Christ into the workplace and God will use us as agents of transformation. Pretty good news. So the peace of Christ molds our Attitudes (a get to attitude as it relates to the workplace) Ambition (do all we do as unto the Lord) and Achievement.
There was something else that happened today. It made me think of the story Jesus told about having 100 sheep and one of them wanders off. The Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes in search of the one that was lost. It is a great story that describes the searching and finding nature of God. God came to seek and to save the least, the last and the lost.
But I digress. As I was shaking hands with people on the way out of church and extending greetings a lady said something that stopped me. She indicated she expected a call from the church. I inquired as to what the call would be related to. She said membership. I said I'm sorry and I'll take a look but by that time she was past me. I did not get her name. I don't know if she was planning to join the church today but had a miscommunication. Maybe she checked something on a connect card and felt the folllow-up was lacking. I really don't know.
What I do know is I'm going to try and find the one that I allowed to slip away. If Jesus would go in search of the one that was missing and I am a follower of Jesus there is nothing else I can do!
It really has been a great day - in spite of missing one. Now I look forward to being the one who goes to seek and find - anyone care to join me?
I hope you've had a great day.
steve

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today I had a different experience. Cindy, Bobby, Leslie, Andrea, Marcus and I all sat together in church. I remember a Christmas Eve service a few years ago when we had a similar family worship experience but those are rare for us.
The view from the balcony is pretty good. I loved the sermon. (Even though I had not heard about the bees.) The worship put us in a spirit to experience God's presence. Communion was meaningful as I was able to join with others in receiving. It was a meaningful experience of worship.
In the balcony you get to interact with people. Preaching makes a connection (on a good day) but it is different. From the balcony you get to see how others engage in worship. This is more difficult to discern from the front. In the balcony you can reflect on what is going on in people's lives as they gather in the name of Jesus to find a touch of grace for their lives.
It is a good reminder of why we do what we (preachers) do. Weekly we seek to hear from God and be able to bring a Word from the Lord that will encourage you in your daily lives. It is a tremendous joy to do so.
Next Sunday I plan to be back in the front. I doubt our whole family will be together then. But we will all be somewhere. And wherever we are the certainty is that God will be with us. God is with us when we preach. God is with us when we listen. (I believe God is even with us when we go to the Chiefs game - like we did today - but I'm not sure the Lord enjoyed it!)
The point is we seek to live our lives in the presence of the Living God. God is with us in and through all the experiences of life. But it is in church - whether the balcony or the front - that we give our most intentional focus on the purposes of God.
I was glad to be able to worship with you today. I hope you've had a good day enjoying the Lord.
blessings,
steve