Reflections From Sunday Evening

We have experienced a wedding weekend in the Breon family. Our son Bobby married Leslie Jones yesterday evening. I had the opportunity to officiate the service. That was a very unique thing to do! Thankfully by God's grace I got through it fine. Weddings have certainly changed over the years. I have heard the story of my mom and dad's "wedding". They went to the Methodist preacher's house (parsonage) for the wedding. It was dad, his brother, mom and her best friend and the preacher. After being pronounced man and wife they went to mom's house where my grandma had fixed lunch! When Cindy and I got married we had a nice but simple service in Cindy's home church, Ohio Street United Methodist in Butler, Mo. Cindy's pastor and mine shared in the ceremony. From the service we went down to the church basement for a cake and punch reception. Things are different today. We had the ceremony and reception in the same place. It was a downtown K.C. venue. It certainly made it easier on the grandparents! It was a true celebration of marriage. I really appreciate what the best man had to say about my son. I loved the part about his true friendship and character. Good to hear! I suppose wedding ceremonies are different all over the world. They have changed down through history. Hopefully there is a common thread that runs through Christian marriage through the ages. "We are gathered together to unite this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. Which is an honorable estate. Instituted by God and signifying the mystical union which exists between Christ and his Church, which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence in Cana of Galilee..." Whether in ancient times in a place called Cana, with a family that has had their story told for centuries yet remain unnamed; or a ceremony in a parsonage in 1952, or a church wedding in 1972, or a modern wedding in 2014, the common thread remains Jesus Christ. Last night was another reminder to me that Christ "adorns and beautifies" marriage. For you who live in this "holy estate of matrimony" I pray you experience a renewal of Jesus Christ in your marriage. He continues to "adorn and beautify" today. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I had a great trip to Guatemala. For the past 25 years Dr. Marty Kanne has travelled to Guatemala and Honduras to work with the poor and be a catalyst for mission projects among these wonderful people. It has been a joy for Platte Woods UMC to share in this work in many places. We have had a part of school, church, medical and even a sewer project! These projects continually touch people and change lives. On our recent trip we shared in a community dedication of a school. It was a joyous occasion. Now children will not have to walk miles to get an education or miss out all together. We were also able to share in a celebration with a church that now has a roof over their heads. We took a trip to the John Wesley School where young people are provided opportunities they would never have without this work. We saw other churches and met many people. It was a full few days. It amazes me what a church can do when someone has a vision and others join in. You make a difference. On another note... Great worship today. Our own Jennifer Simms put together two great videos that contributed greatly to worship. The Royals video to "Centerfield" stirred everyone. (Go Royals!) We ended up today with an offering of the best we have to share. "Give Me Jesus." Thanks again Jennifer for putting images to music and touching our hearts! On yet another note... Did I say GO ROYALS? This has certainly been a fun few weeks. I got to watch the last two innings of the clinching game 4 on a little tv in a room at a hotel in Guatemala that had only 1 set in the whole place! Believe me, cheers went up! It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

When you need a break from your diversions and leisure...This playoff season for the Royals has been pretty crazy. All of Kansas City has missed sleep and that includes me. Night after night we have been watching and hoping and being amazed. I must admit on the Tuesday night Wild Card game I about gave up. At the end of the seventh inning with the Royals behind by four runs I turned to Cindy and said, "I'm going to bed." She said, "you can't go to bed now." I said "if anything happens wake me up." About five minutes later she was shaking me and saying "you've got to see this!" I watched until midnight and celebrated that unlikely victory. I am glad Cindy did not let me miss the excitement. I wonder how many times people find themselves on the verge of giving up on something and no one there to say, "you've got to see this!" I could put a spiritual spin on this. The fact is we all need someone who will not let us go to sleep and miss the adventure and excitement of the Christian life. Who keeps you alert so your prayer life remains vital? Who keeps you awake to the Word of God in the Bible? Who shakes you out of your spiritual sleep? Who cares enough about you to refuse to let you miss the joy and adventure of following Jesus Christ? We share the Christian life with others. We are intended to live our faith in community. We need someone to walk with us in the life of grace. I pray you be that somebody. Together we live the adventure of faith. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

The question of our day was "Are there things so small and so insignificant we should not bother God with them? There are many people who would imagine God not caring or perhaps even being offended were we to bring Him some of these "insignificant" things. Since the Age of the Enlightenment it seems this attitude has grown. It comes down to our image of the nature and character of God. If God is distant and impersonal a case could be made for not bothering God with the supposed insignificant things. But we think differently of God. We believe God to be a personal God and deeply concerned with ALL things in our life. God is very interested in all the circumstances and situations we face. God cares. If this is true we not only may but should involve the Lord in all things in our lives. The option offered is found in a prayer of surrender. "Lord Jesus, be actively and redemptively involved in all areas and aspects of my life." How would your life be different with Jesus Christ deeply involved in all areas of your life? I invite you to give it a try this week. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Several of our staff attended the Church of the Resurrection Leadership Institute this week. As always there were great insights to glean. I appreciated a number of things I heard but in particular some things Leonard Sweet shared. In particular I resonated with his statement: "As I grow older my theology is getting more complex but my faith is getter more simple." In essence he shares that his faith is summed up with "Give Me Jesus." I appreciate the simplicity of faith in Jesus. Is this not where most of us begin our faith journey? "Jesus love me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." We learned about Jesus in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. It seemed so simple. Accept Jesus and he will forgive your sins. (That is an odd concept for an 8 year old but we learned that.) With Jesus in our heart we are promised eternal life in heaven. That is not bad theology. As we grow older it becomes apparent that our childhood faith does not always stand up in the furnace of life experiences. Grown up issues are much more complex. That is why we develop more complex theology as we live life. We find ourselves needing to develop a theology that speaks to economic matters, war, death, loss, fear and the list goes on. We make the discovery that the more we know the less we know. This especially relates to God. The more we learn about God the more we realize how little we understand. Then we find ourselves moving back to faith. It is a simple faith. It is a faith that rests at the heart of our theology. It is faith in Jesus. We continue to look for ways to serve God. We want to be in mission. We want to do justice. We seek to understand. But at the heart of it all is Jesus. "Jesus love me this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. We are weak but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so." It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

We have been talking about Compass Point the past three weeks. This is our initiative to enhance spiritual growth. Sometimes we call it intentional faith development. We look for a pathway of discipleship. Here is a little different take on the points of the compass. N - Think of the North Star. Think of what we orient our life around. For us it is Jesus. So the North Point of the compass points to Jesus. He is the object of our worship. We become more and more Christ centered through the North Point of the compass. E - I think of the "wisdom from the East". The magi were "wise men" who travelled from the east to see Jesus. When we think of the E on the compass we think of learning. We will learn how to read and apply the Bible. We will learn how to think about God. We will become more informed followers of Jesus through the East Point of the compass. S - We move around the compass to the South Point. With this one I use my imagination. Think of a southern breeze that refreshes and renews. In our Christian life connecting with other followers of Jesus and living the faith in community is intended to bring that freshness of Spirit that renews. The South Point is one where we connect with Christ and others along the way of Christ. W - The West Point of the compass points toward serving. I imagine the adventure of moving westward in an earlier age. I see the West Point representing mission, service and witness. The W develops us as we serve. These are some different ways to think about what we plan to accomplish in Compass Point. Do not miss out. Use this spiritual compass to plot your course for living the faith. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

The Holy Spirit plays a huge role in our Christian life. Some basic points along this line remind us that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and trust him as our Savior the Holy Spirit creates what we refer to as the New Birth. That means when we believe in Christ we are born of the Spirit. This is the entrance into the life of grace and sows eternal life in our soul. We do not believe that once a person professes faith in Christ that concludes the story. As a matter of fact we believe that "conversion" is but a first step in the Christian life. We immediately enter into a relationship with God where we will continually be transformed and renewed in the image of God. The Holy Spirit produces divine love in us. We are always experiencing the love of God growing in our lives and gradually we will be perfected in God's love. Contemplate that for a moment! The Holy Spirit also produces holiness in our life. There are more things taking place in our relationship with Christ that we attribute to the work of the Holy Spirit. We are being continually filled with the Spirit. Picture a river of living water that never runs dry. We are being continually filled with this river of life. The Holy Spirit is fashioning us in the love of God. We are filled with love. Our character is being formed. The fruit of the Spirit are becoming defining characteristics of our life. The Holy Spirit is producing holiness. With holiness comes the power of the Holy Spirit as we serve through various spiritual gifts that are given. The Spirit leads and directs our conduct as followers of Jesus. That should give you something to think about as you give thought to your Christian experience and how life in Christ is lived. Recently I thought about the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has power to change our lives. The Spirit gives grace and gifts. There is a power available that is astounding. This calls attention to an important point. Power without love and holiness is not something I want. Power with holiness and love will empower us to make a difference and do our part in transforming the world. With holy love the power of the Spirit is a wonderful thing. So receive the Spirit and continue to nurture God's love and holiness in your life. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve