Sunday, October 27, 2013

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Baptism. We use water. That little guy Pastor Curtis baptized today had a look on his face like "what are you doing?" I really like it that way. When a person identifies with Jesus Christ and the Church water is involved. I think it is good to use plenty of water. We really do not practice "dry cleaning." The Church is different from other organizations. Civic clubs have dues and/or fund raisers. Civic clubs and community organizations provide services to communities. They clearly make a positive contribution to the world. You might offer an application and an initial contribution and you are in. The Church is different. Oh, we contribute to the communities where we serve. We do so many good things it is impossible to remember them all. But our initiation process is different. We come to the church and somebody pours a boat load of water on your babies head. We might have you kneel in front of the church and we will douse you with water than falls over your head and onto your shoulders. We might even take you somewhere and half drown you in a pool of water. What do we make of all this? Baptism. It is the sign of a covenant. God makes a covenant with people. God provides you with forgiveness for all your sins and then treats you like you had never done anything to offend Him. God gives you His Spirit to empower your love, witness and service. God promises to be with you in all things at all times and in all ways. God gives everything we could hope for to live an abundant life of grace and eternal life as well. In return God calls for us to believe in him. It is not believe in just the right way. It is an expectation that we believe in God. We find our faith best located in Jesus Christ. So there is your part. Believe and baptism becomes the sign of a covenant God establishes. We witnessed God's part today. We do so fairly regularly in our church. People come and find themselves covered with the waters of baptism. We are people of promise. I pray you discover the joy of living in the promises of God. I pray you discover the joy of living on the blessings of God. I pray you experience the joy of being in a covenant relationship with the Lord. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Ebenezer! It could be simply Scrooge's first name. I suppose someone might actually name a child Ebenezer. It could be the name of a town. Actually there is an unincorporated community in Green County Missouri, six miles north of Springfield that is named Ebenezer. There is even a church there. The Ebenezer United Methodist Church worships there. But today I had another emphasis on "Ebenezer." When we sang "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" we sang verse two..."Here I raise mine Ebenezer..." Some of us have been singing that hymn most of our lives. Did you ever stop and wonder "what is an Ebenezer?" Take a moment and look up I Samuel 7:12. Now that you have done that...you know Ebenezer is basically a pile of rocks. But the meaning is significant. "Stone of help" sounds good. In the Bible story the Ebenezer stone reminded the people of the fact that "thus far the Lord has helped us." So today we did a little activity in church. There were all these dusty, dirty pond rocks placed all over the communion rail. We talked about issue number two in our HAUNTED series. It is a fact that there are people haunted by "guilt." Something was said or done in your past and every once in a while it pops back into your mind. People carry around guilt that they need not carry. But I am doing my message again. Suffice it to say it is not satisfactory to merely suppress guilt. We need our guilt removed. That brings us to a couple of "good news" ideas. Isaiah 6:7; "...your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Dare to believe that as a child of God's, in relationship with Jesus Christ your guilt is taken away. Going back to the dusty stones on our communion rail today. We sang "Come, Thou Fount" and invited people to come and take a stone. A trade was offered. Leave your guilt and receive God's grace. I trust many experienced a really good deal today. I would always give up my guilt in favor of God's grace. It's been a good day. I trust you've had a good day too. steve

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Reflections From Sunday Evening

There is so much to think about this evening. I could talk about the $6,390,807.16 committed to our Home Campaign as of this evening. I could talk about the K.C. Chiefs being 6-0 with their best start to a season since 2003. I could talk about a great youth weekend of SHIFT. I could talk about a really neat boat ride around Weatherby Lake this evening. I could talk about MIZZOU football off to a great start. I could talk about the lives touched and encouraged by the grace of the Lord Jesus today. I could talk about the potential of our upcoming First Fruits offering the first weekend in November. I could talk about the children staying after church to learn how to be acolytes. I could talk about the hospitality training that took place today. There is a lot I could think about and reflect on today. But what I think I'll do is simply let all these things and ideas rest in God's hands. We all have so many things going on in our lives. We may easily find so many things going on that we meet ourselves coming and going. We move from one activity to the next. Our minds hardly ever turn off. We wake in the night thinking of what we need to do next. We scurry from one meeting to another. I think rather than try to share with you all the neat things going on I will invite you to join me in resting before the Lord. Life is filled with so much that has the potential to bring deep joy. Why not enjoy these gifts God places in our lives? So rather than let my mind fly around all that has been going on today I believe I will say a simple "thank you" to God. It's been a good day - a joy-filled day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Saturday Mom and Dad held an auction. By the end of the day they had sold the house they have lived in for the past 43 years. We moved there just before the beginning of my senior year of high school. Still that is the house we always went back to when we went "home." That is the house where our kids discovered Christmas and getting up early to share the joy. That is the house where my mom hosted countless family dinners, meals for her students and who knows how many other gatherings. That was the house where we had our rehearsal dinner the night before Cindy and I were married. Many memories. When the day was about over my dad said he guessed he'd better walk through the house one more time. I went with him. Wow. For just an instant there were family members long since passed. There were our kids frozen in childhood. There were memorable moments of laughter and joy. Then we walked out the door and moved into our future. Mom and Dad are enjoying life in the residential care facility in the town where they have lived practically all their lives. Soon another family will move into the "home" we have all know for many years. Other children will experience life in that place. New experiences will be enjoyed. In reflecting on the sale I think about the church. We are coming to the "commitment weekend" for our "HOME" campaign. Perhaps we will think about the experiences of those who have gone before us. We may certainly give thought to the meaningful experiences of the Spirit we are having today. And we make way for the next generation that will make this place their "home." It's been a good day. I trust you've had a good day too. blessings. steve