Dr. Seuss Wisdom

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

Dr. Seuss

Loving Your Community

Most churches want to be outward focused and show the love of Jesus in practical ways to their community.  Stephen Viars' new book, "Loving Your Community," is the handbook every pastor should have in his library and every outreach team should read and study.

This is not only a book of theory; Viars has been a pastor for 30 years and has put into practice every thing the book touches on.  

Viars' sets the stage for the book by offering the Biblical foundation for doing community outreach ministry.  It is summed up in three phrases: Loving in the name of Christ; Meeting Your community's pressing needs; Caring for the welfare of your Community.

What are some of the strengths of your church.  Do you have a facility that could serve as a gathering place for the needy? Chapter five - Accessible Facilities - describes how your church can be a blessing to others.  One great idea - create a date-night babysitting service.

Chapter eight - Outreach Events - describes how Passion Plays and Living Nativities are things that can be done, no matter the size of your church.  Such outreach events offer something special for the community to enjoy while witnessing the love of Jesus too.

Let this book help your church identify ways your community can be served and then get to it.  "Loving Your Community" can be your guide.

Book provided for review by Baker Books

Remembering my friend, Renee

My friend, Renee, passed away on Saturday morning after a long illness.  She will be missed by her husband and daughter, many family members and hundreds of friends like me.

She was a member of my first congregation.  Renee faithfully worshipped the Lord and served His people.  She transformed our Sunday school and VBS programs.  Excellence is what Renee always strived for.

Some people have this indefinable quality called, for lack of a better descriptive word, "it."  Renee had "it."  You couldn't help but be drawn to her.  I will always remember her warm personality, her beautiful smile and her love for the people around her. People just wanted to be with her. Her leadership skills were unmatched.  I doubt you could have had a better friend.

Thanks to Facebook I was able to keep up a little bit with her life.  It was a life well lived.  Even when she became ill, you just had the sense that Renee would shake it off and resume doing all the things she loved.  Even when it appeared the end was near, I had this feeling that God would act and heal her.  And God did.

God brought an end to her suffering by calling Renee to His side.  Now, she rests, but only for awhile.

In the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed, we confess that we believe in "the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting."  Those words give us great hope, especially when we mourn Renee.

We wait for the Last Day, the day when Jesus will come again - in power and with great glory - to pronounce final judgement of the living and the dead.  

Those who confessed Christ Jesus as the only Savior of the world will receive the gift of eternal life.  We will also be gifted with new, spiritual bodies,  The aches and pains, the illnesses and suffering of this life will never visit us again.  We will know God.  We will know one another.  Offering praise and giving glory to God will be our everlasting joy.

Renee will be missed -- but only for a little while.  Jesus is coming soon.  And when he does, believers will gather around His throne to offer an endless chorus of praise.  Renee should be easy to spot.  Look for the woman with the beautiful smile.  She'll be looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of her faith, the Savior of her soul.  

Come, Lord Jesus.   

God always remembers you. Always.

Some in our church are having a very difficult time right now.  Several are suffering from serious illnesses.  Others are mourning deeply the loss of loved ones.  And others are dealing with discouragement and depression.  Life can be so hard.

Michael W. Newman's book, "Hope When Your Heart Breaks," was one of the best and most helpful books I've recently read.  The words below offered some real comfort and hope for me one day when I needed it.  If you are struggling or if you know someone who is going through a hard time in their life, maybe Newman's words will bless you:

God always remembers you.  Always.  And He is always present, always close.  If you can't locate Him in your loss, His comforting presence can be found in His Word.  If you can't see Him as you suffer sadness, His promised presence prevails in you through your Baptism.  If you feel He is too far away when your heart is broken, He steps into your life over and over again in His holy Meal, inviting you to "take and eat, take and drink," His body and blood for your strength and forgiveness.

Page 135

God's "Yes" to you

     

Earlier this week I read a story about President Thomas Jefferson and some friends who went on a horseback ride.  Their scenic trip was interrupted when they came to a river with a fast moving current.  The swollen river had washed away a bridge which left each rider with the challenge of fording the river on horseback.  Several riders plunged into the dangerous waters, fighting for their lives against the rapid currents.  One of the riders was afraid and asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river.  Jefferson immediately agreed to do so.  Jefferson expertly navigated the choppy waters and the two of them made it to the other side.

     When the fellow slid off Jefferson's horse, a number of the other riders quickly asked, "Why of all people did you select the President to ask this favor of?"  The fellow replied, "When I looked I saw on your faces the answer, 'no.'  But when I looked on his face, I saw the answer, 'yes.'  He had a 'yes' face."

     Romans 8:1 is God's "yes" to you.  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Through Jesus Christ we have been set free from the guilt of sin and the power of death.  That which would have brought about God's eternal condemnation has been removed by the Lord's sacrificial death and resurrection.  In Christ there is forgiveness and new life.  Live each day in the forgiving gaze of God the Father who says "yes" to you for the sake of His Son, your Savior! 

Does your church offer help, hope and a home?

Have you ever wondered what it is that draws people to a church?

According to church consultant and author, Ken Callahan, "In this post modern age we live in, people are looking for three things in a church: help, hope and home."

People who decide to attend a church do so because they believe it is a place where they might receive help in a time of need and, also, because they believe they can be of help when someone else suffers trial or difficulty.

People are attracted to a church where there seems a spirit of hope.  They hear the message of hope in preaching and teaching of the Word of God.  The writer to the Hebrews described hope as "an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."  People cannot live without hope; Jesus' forgiveness and salvation gives hope to the discouraged and hopeless.

People look for a church where they can build relationships. People want to love and to be loved.  We want to develop relationships with people who care for us and for whom we care.  This gives us the feeling that church is home.

It's believe that what people want in a church is a modern new building, lots of programs for adults and kids, a slick, hip preacher and a band that can rock the house, so to speak.  And that is exactly what some people really want in their church.  

But when a person is hurting, feeling lost, or longing for relationships, your church can give such people what they really want and need - help, hope and home, all in the name of Jesus Christ! 

Fearfully and wonderfully made

For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Join us tomorrow at Life in Christ for Life Sunday - 8, 9:30 and 11 am.  Find out more at licl.org

Which one are you?

Amateurs practice until they get it right.  Professionals practice until it cannot go wrong.

Words from a voice teacher to Julie Andrews

I mean it! How are you doing?

Many years ago I sat through a rant by a pastor who said he was sick of the question, "How are you doing?"

"Why do people ask that question? Do they really care? Do they really care how I'm doing? What if I tell them how I'm really doing? What if I tell them that I'm depressed or angry or unhappy? Do they really want to hear how I'm doing or are they just being polite?"

After his rant, I resolved to never ask him how he was doing.

I'm working my way again through Max Lucado's book, "You'll Get Through This."  It is one of his best works and I've given away copies to people who found reassurance that God would see them through their trial or trouble. 

In reading page 30 the first time, I was a bit surprised to read a personal story about Lucado's wife, Denalyn.  Seems that there was a time when she was dealing with depression.  It was a very difficult time in her life and going to church was challenging because most everyone wants to ask the pastor's wife, "How are you doing?"  Lucado writes: ...she armed herself with honesty and went to church.  If people ask me how I am doing, I'm going to tell them.  She answered each...with a candid, "Not well.  I'm depressed.  Will you pray for me?"

Causal chats became long conversations.  Brief hellos became heartfelt moments of ministry.  By the time she left the worship service, she had enlisted dozens of people to hold up her arms in the battle of prayer.  She traces the healing of her depression to that Sunday morning service.  She found God's presence amid God's people.

There is no doubt that some folks ask, "How are you doing?" without much thought.  They're just making chit-chat.  And there are some people who have such difficult or pressing problems of their own that you probably don't want to share with them a particular problem you're dealing with. 

But I've learned that most of the time, when someone asks me, "How are you today?" they're asking because they're concerned.  They want to know.  They're interested.  And I'll bet if I answered, "Just between you and me, I'm really frustrated today.  Would you mind praying for me? I need the Lord's help getting through this service," that person would pray with me and for me. 

And it's comforting to know that people are praying for us, isn't it? It's a blessing to know that we are loved and that others care for us.  It seems to me that it's worth the risk - at the right time and with the right person to answer with honesty the question, "How are you doing?"

The Maker of the Universe

The Maker of the universe, As Man, for man was made a curse
The claims of Law which He had made, Unto the uttermost He paid

His holy fingers made the bough, Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow
The nails that pierced His hands were mined, In secret places He designed

He made the forest whence there sprung, The tree on which His body hung
He died upon a cross of wood, Yet made the hill on which it stood

The sky that darkened o'er His head, by Him above the earth was spread
The sun from Him that hid its face, by His decree was poised in space

The spear which spilled His precious blood, was tempered in the fires of God
The grave in which His form was laid, Was hewn in rocks His hands had made

The throne on which He now appears, Was His from everlasting years
But a new glory crowns His brow, and every knee to Him shall bow

The Maker of the universe

Words by F.W. Pit
Hear Phil Keaggy's arrangement as he sings "The Maker of the Universe" on his album/cd, "Way Back Home"

What to do on a "dumb" day

The funny papers don't seem to be so funny anymore.  But I can always count on "Peanuts" to give me a good chuckle.  Here's one that for some reason resonated with me.

Charlie Brown: This is going to be a dumb day.  This is going to be one of those dumb days when I say dumb things and do dumb things and everyone tells me I'm dumb.

Linus: Maybe you should go back home and go to bed.

Charlie Brown: I never do anything that smart on a dumb day.

This is a busy day for me.  Need to practice the sermon I wrote on Thursday.  Our group is playing at the 9:30 am service tomorrow so I need to spend some time with the songs we’ll be playing.  Tonight I’ll do the first of four services this weekend.    And I’ll be on the phone checking up with some members who are ill or recovering from surgery. 

It could also be a dumb day too.  I have a tendency to be like Charlie Brown, saying and doing dumb stuff, disappointing myself and others. 

Fortunately, we Christians can practice repentance and faith.  I can confess my dumb stuff to the Lord and trust His Word that He will not hold my dumb stuff against me but, instead, show me mercy and forgiveness - the very things I need when dumbness strikes.

And I can practice the same with those I offend with my dumb stuff.  I can seek out those with whom I said a thoughtless word or did something unkind and say those six words that are hard to speak but can bring healing to relationships - "I was wrong...please forgive me."

That's the way to take some of the dumbness out of a dumb day. 

Here goes nothing! Hope you have a blessed day in the Lord!

Want to get something done?

I couldn't help but add this quote to my journal:

And if there's a sure fire way to take a long time to accomplish very little, it's to appoint a committee to do the job.

Kent Somers, Arizona Republic Sports Page, January 3

A table blessing from Father Tim

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all You have done for us.  We thank You for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care that surrounds us on every side.  Above all, we give You thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whose name we pray.  Amen

From Jan Karon's book, "At Home in Mitford" (page not noted in my journal)

Learning hope from a fisherman

According to author Paul Quinnett, you can learn a lot about Christian hope from talking with a fisherman.

Quinett writes: "Fishing is hope experienced.  To be optimistic in a slow bite is to thrive on hope alone.  When asked, 'How can you fish all day without a hit?' the true fisherman replies, 'Hold it! I think I felt something.'  If the line goes slack, he says, 'He'll be back tomorrow'."

"When it comes to the human spirit, hope is everything.  Without hope there is no yearning, no desire for a better tomorrow, and no belief that the next cast will bring the big strike."

Quinett is right, of course.  It is impossible to live without hope.  The apostle Paul points to Abraham as a man who exhibits hope.  Romans 4:3 - Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.  

Abraham was a man who had every reason to give up.  He had been promised by God that his wife, Sarah, would bear him a child.  Years and years Abraham waited but that happy day never arrived.  Still, Abraham's faith did not waver.  "Against all hope," he trusted God's Word.  The more impossible his situation seemed, the more Abraham believed the Word of promise.

Our hope for daily living, our hope for eternity is rooted in God's precious Word.  On this first Monday of the new year, and every day thereafter, let's faithfully take God at His Word!

The Joyous Exchange!

Martin Luther called it, "The Joyous Exchange."  This is what the apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might receive the righteousness of God.

Imagine yourself bundled up in a jacket that you've owned for years.  The lining has come out, the fabric is worn out and it looks like it was run over by a herd of buffaloes.  A stranger walks up to you, wearing a brand new coat and says, "Hey, let's make a trade.  I'll take your coat and you can have mine.  My coat is perfect, flawless.  You'll look like a million dollars wearing this coat.  Come on, what do you say?  Let's trade!"

A far fetched scenario? I suppose.  But that's how rich the grace of God is for people like you and me, clothed in the unrighteousness of our sin.  God the Father sent the Son to make that very exchange.  That exchange was the solution to our sin problem.  Now, all those clothed in the perfect, flawless righteousness of Jesus can stand before God, confident that there is a place for us in paradise.  All because of the Joyous Exchange.

Johann Gerhard, in Sacred Meditations, picks up this theme so well: Wonderful, indeed, is the exchange You make; our sins You take upon Yourself, and Your righteousness You impute to us; the death due us for our transgressions You Yourself suffer, and in turn You bestow eternal life upon us.  Therefore, I can no longer doubt Your grace or despair on account of my sins.

On the reading of many books

24.  37.

24 is the number of books I set out to read each year.  37 is the total number of books I polished off in 2019.

I do a lot of reading every week.  It's usually connected to preparing sermons, Bible studies, devotionals and stuff like that.  On top of all that I set a goal to read 24 books that are entertaining, of a specific interest of mine or increase knowledge in subjects that are of importance to me.

Last year I discovered author Daniel Silva.  He writes action-packed, espionage thrillers that are next to impossible to put down.  Silva's books, in some way, mirror events taking place in our world today.  He pulls the curtain back a little bit to give us an understanding of what spy craft is all about.  His title, "The Rembrandt Affair" is on my reading stack for 2020.

Being a crazed Beatles fan, I discovered an author who satisfies my appatite for insights on what made John, Paul, George and Ringo the best rock and roll band in the history of popular music (confident aren't I?).  Kenneth Womack is one of the top two or three authors who writes about the Beatles with authority.  This year I read three of his books - "Maximum Volume" and "Sound Pictures," two volumes on the life of music producer, George Martin and "Solid State," which tells how new recording equipment gave life to the Beatles final project, the great "Abbey Road."  I anxiously await more from Womack.

A couple of books made me laugh out loud.  Dave Berry's book, "Lessons from Lucy," offers sweet reflections on aging as gleaned from Berry's dog, Lucy.  Berry writes with his usual wit and humor but also provides encouragement for making the most of what some call, "The Golden Years."  Also, the folks from the satirical website, "The Babylon Bee," caused my side to split as I laughed my way through "How to Be a Perfect Christian."  They grill some sacred cows like praise music and those who play it, churches who have thrown out the Bible in order to concentrate on alleged church-growth methods, and a possible an entry or two about Joel Osteen (if you've read the Bee then shots at Osteen are no surprise).

I was blessed to read a couple of books by Concordia University Wisconsin prof, Dan Paavola - "Grace, Faith Scripture," & "Patience and Perfection;" Sarah Baughman's "A Flame in the Dark," a fictional piece set in the days of the Reformation; "Faith is For Weak People," by Ray Comfort. shows how to use Law and Gospel in speaking to people about Christ and faith and new life; Andrew Brunson's "God's Hostage," the story of how an innocent Christian pastor was used as a pawn by the Turkish government to gain leverage in American-Turkish relations.  A powerful and honest book of one man trying to rely on faith in God while facing the worst of circumstances.

At this time each year I wonder if my goal of 24 read books is too great to accomplish.  But I always exceed the goal.  What's exciting to me is that I have no real idea of what will end up getting read in 2020.  What I do know is that it is a joy to read a good book.  I hope you find one or two in the coming year too!