Reflections From Sunday Evening

Most of us find it difficult to be in two places at the same time. We wish we could be. It seems there is always more to do. But we are limited to one place at a time. We may be limited to one place at a time but we are capable of being different things. That is consistent with Christianity. Christian faith includes multiple expressions of life in the same people at the same time in the same places. For instance Christian faith includes people who are a mixture of good and bad. We express a faith of justice and righteousness. We are saints and sinners when we gather together. We are part of a kingdom that is present and not yet. In the whole experience we worship a God who is three in one. To our God we offer ourselves. We bring our mixture of hope and anxiety, faith and fear. We bring all of who we are and the entirety of life to the God who is all in all. We marvel at the love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. As we enter this Advent season we bring all we are to the God who is all. We are beginning this season of preparation with hopeful expectation. We have this expectation that God takes us with all our hopes, dreams, fears and anxieties and pulls us together in a redemptive way. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Like most people I have been reading about and praying for Syrian refugees. This has become a central part of our national conversation as politicians read polls and opinion surveys. There seems to be an emerging sentiment among the American public that would call on our nation to not receive Syrian refugees. It goes without saying that no one would want Islamic terrorists to be brought to live among us. Many of the people fleeing Syria are Muslim and there are also a number of Christians seeking to escape the war and oppression in Syria. Another commentary suggests that Muslims do not share our American values. This is a reason to keep the Syrians away from America. At this point I need to interject that while there are certainly Muslim values that are not consistent with American values the same could be said for Christians. As Christians we know that our first and single allegiance and loyalty is to Jesus Christ. Our nation was founded on Christian principles and vestiges of these principles continue to be woven into the fabric of our American experience. We always worship God and not nation. There are economic values where Christianity challenges the America values of consumerism and accumulation. Christians value generosity. Our value of free speech where we claim the right to say anything could be challenged with the Christian value to let praise come from our lips but not cursing. We have the right to say what we believe but Christians guard what comes from us. Another value we seem to hold as Americans is safety and security. I am not sure about everyone but I place a high value on safety and security. I would go so far as to suggest this is the primary purpose of government. With that said I realize that the values of safety and security do not seem to rise from the scriptures or the heart of God. I definitely pray for protection and God's hand to hold me firmly. But our Christian value is to live for others. When Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples he did not promise security but rather his presence. I circle back to the Syrian refugees. I believe our Christian value of hospitality and welcoming the stranger is a higher value than protecting us from potential threats. That is difficult for me to say but it is true. We must guard ourselves against making decisions based on fear. We are people of faith. That may be the largest value difference for us to recognize. blessings, steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

This has been a tough week in many ways. Racial strife at the flagship university in Missouri. Leaders of a great university resigned in the midst of racial unrest. A football team stands with fellow students. A game is at risk. An uneasy truce seems to come forth. The coach of the football team announces he is fighting cancer and will retire at the end of the season. That is a difficult week in Missouri. In the whole scheme of things our issues pale in light of things that happened in Kenya, Nigeria, Baghdad and Paris. Lives were lost in terrorist attacks. There have been no negotiations. There is no uneasy truce. How will the free world respond to the evil threat of terrorism? There are other things that have happened in the past days that have not made the news. People have felt a strange uneasiness. There is a gnawing sense of anxiety over who knows what. Where do we turn? There are some other things that have happened. A person came to church and reported that they had their best church experience in two years. A newly relocated widow found her way to church and perhaps is finding a new family. Youth after youth served 750 people at a turkey dinner. What do we make of all this? Horrible terror. Joyful celebration. Perhaps if we were to walk through the New Testament with Jesus we might encounter one who walked in a real world. He lived under an oppressive political power that was ruthless in maintaining power. There were terrorists in those days who planned and plotted acts of violence to turn things in their favor. In the middle of all that Jesus talked about loving your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Then he went out and actually did what he preached. I wonder what I will do this week? steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

It seems like ages ago that we were watching the KC Royals in the World Series. So much has happened in the past week. Game five was another reminder to never quit. Always anticipate something good happening. (Unless you were a Met) Perseverance pays off. There is always hope. Wow. All the things we seek to impress upon people seemed to play out before our very eyes. Less than 48 hours after the final game everyone who ever thought about going to Kansas City showed up for a parade! What a celebration. Again we witnessed a piece of life. Celebration! Royals players show up on late night tv shows. Sports writers keep writing about the amazing year. Already plans are being made for next season. So even World Champions must prepare for tomorrow. Some men who played on the 2015 team will not be with the team in 2016. There will be others to take their place. The game goes on. I suppose we will be making comparisons between the Royals and life and the spiritual life in particular. Most of those comparisons will be a stretch. But if there is a great spiritual lesson to be found in this past week perhaps it is the hope and possibility of unity. Even people who do not know or care anything about baseball got caught up in the joy. People of all economic situations, faith perspective, ages, gender and any other demographic joined together to support the boys in Blue. Here is a lesson. We who are people of faith believe Jesus Christ is the one who truly unites all people to God. We become one in Christ. Yet we who follow Jesus keep putting up roadblocks and barriers. For some reason we get the idea that our particular views and beliefs are right and all others are wrong. So we split up. We are convinced that our actions reflect the path of Christ and any other is out of bounds. So we divide. We like the way we baptize, communion, structure the church, administer the finances, govern, lead, serve, vision...If you don't do it my way we go our separate ways. But there is hope. Hope in Christ. One day...One day the Holy Spirit will move in amazing ways. One day Jesus will gather His Church together. One day we will be one in Christ. Hey, if the Royals can unite a city Jesus can unite the Church and the world. Something to seek after. Something to pray for. Something to think on. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a great day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Let's talk baseball! Baseball is an absolutely great game. We start playing when we are little kids. I think of playing baseball when I was a little guy. We played and had fun. We learned everything about the game. It was all new to us. We learned how to hold the bat and swing correctly. We learned how to catch the ball and throw it. We learned how to get in the right position and what to do when the ball came our way. As we get older the game gets more difficult. The pitcher throws harder. They start to throw curve balls. We adapt. We grow with the game. On a summer day we may remember days when a bunch of kids got together and played until dark or we lost the ball. I remember throwing a ball against the barn door. There is no way of knowing how many rocks I hit with various ball bats. Maybe we find ourselves at the "K" on a late July or August afternoon. It is a lazy day. We find the ballpark to be a place to relax. We look at the well manicured green grass. Our mind wanders. We hear the crack of the bat and the crowd cheers. We watch the play unfold and then settle back in to enjoy the pace and the peace of baseball. Today we see a big difference in July baseball and October baseball! In October every pitch holds a grip on our attention. Every pitch, every play has the potential to bring delight or despair. My heart beats faster just watching the World Series. I actually tried to NOT watch game four. It is Saturday night. I get up early on Sunday. I have things to do. I decide to go to bad after the sixth inning. I actually fall asleep for an inning. Then the Royals come to life. I hear a cheer from the living room. Cindy is cheering for our team. I hear a notification on my phone. Tie game. I hear another cry of joy from the living room. Royals take the lead. I lay there but my mind is now engaged. Another cheer from the living room. Another run for the Royals. I get up to watch. The idea of a two run lead with six outs to go is too stressful. I still have to get up in the morning. I lay there trying to not think about the game. Finally I hear one more sound from the living room. I check the game. One out and two on base. Then I hear this cry of delight from the other room. Cindy is celebrating the win. I go watch the celebration. Baseball. I said all that to think about the church. For many church is a place of nurture and comfort. It is a place where we find peace. It is like a summer afternoon. Then I think of church as October baseball. There is intensity from the heart of God. There is so much more at stake than there is in a baseball game. There is eternal significance in everything done. The Holy Spirit drives us to the Cross. The Holy Spirit sends us into mission. There are new discoveries in the life of grace that jump into our hearts. There is an intensity of Spirit that is absolutely life changing, community changing, nation awakening and world altering! The Church is alive with the Holy Spirit. It is even more exciting - even better than October baseball. It's been a great day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we were looking at Genesis 22. That is the story where God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. I was looking at traditional and alternate interpretations of the text. I won't go into all that now. But I want to go back to the idea that we might focus on verse 11. This is the verse where just before Abraham goes through with sacrificing Isaac God intervenes. He stops Abraham from going though with the sacrifice. We generally focus on Abraham's response but here we look at God's action. This is a significant moment in the story of redemption. Abraham is leading God's people. They will become a great nation. Later a new leader named Moses will arise. There will be ups and downs for the people of Israel. Prophets will come forward. Later God will come in Jesus Christ. Apostles will carry the message of the Gospel. Through history the faithful will continue the message and untold numbers will believe in Jesus Christ and continue the people of God initiated so long ago. When God called out to Abraham I see him beginning a new way. The people where Abraham's people were going had many practices such as worshiping many gods, child sacrifice, sexualized religious practices and other things. When God says "stop" a new way is introduced. The people of God will be distinct from the cultures and nations of the world. They will not practice those acts the others took for granted. A new way is beginning. When Moses brought the 10 Commandments they were counter to the practices of others. In a world with a multitude of gods the Lord says you shall have One God. In a world of idolatry there is a prohibition of graven images. The list goes on. The people of God continue to this day. We may forget some of this but we still carry the distinctive mark of the people of God. The people of God live differently from the prevailing culture. We think different. We live different. We are different because Christ lives in us. ...Something to think about. We are the people of God. What does that mean to us? On another note... Today PWUMC held our Trunk or Treat at Chin Elementary School. We partnered with the school and were able to share with many who are not in our church. I thought it was a great witness. So proud of our Children's Ministry and whole church. It's been a good day. (Chiefs win?) - (Go Royals!) steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we were talking about faith and how it produces hope. Hope is an interesting word. Some time when you are with some friends ask how they define hope. If they are like many people today the definition will include words like "wish" and "desire". Frankly we have developed an understanding of hope as wishful thinking. A Biblical understanding of hope is much different. The scriptures speak of our "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). This refers to our hope of the appearing of Jesus Christ. In our Christian understanding hope is much more than wishes and desires, it is grounded in faith and is sure and certain. I shared what I learned from Rev. Nanette Roberts who serves the UMC in Olathe, Kansas. The Indo-European, Hebrew and Greek root words end up being translated hope and the same root word leads to a word translated curve. The image emerges of a bend that changes direction and provides a new way. A change in perspective is always possible. The bottom line is we can have a more informed definition of hope. Hope is a strong and confident expectation that change is likely to occur. When faith rises and hope follows we may find ourselves having a strong and confident expectation that change is likely to occur. Feel free to apply that idea to your faith life, your relationships, your health, your finances or any circumstance in your life. We might also apply that idea to our hopes for our church, community, nation and world. People of faith have been entrusted with something that is life changing and world changing. Faith produces hope and hope leads to a strong, confident expectation that change is likely to occur. God is likely to step into our lives and make a great change. God is likely to step into our lives and forgive us, redeem us and change our hearts. God is likely to move in the Church and bring forth a revival of faith that will rock the world. God is likely to get involved in the community, the nation and the world in a very redemptive way. Let faith arise and hope follow. Live with a strong, confident expectation that God will move in your life. It is very likely to occur. It's been a great day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve