e-Soundings

God's Love Letter 3) "U-Turns Allowed Here"

Part three of our series on the Bible explored one of the most (if not the most) important theme of our scripture: Sin.

 

Sin can be defined many ways, but is most simply put as "anything that distracts, discourages us from or pulls us away from God."

 

This means that even good things could be sinful if we hold them above God and consider them more important than God.

 

In the Bible, we find this pattern over and over again: 

    Sin –> Repentence –> Forgiveness –> New Life. 

 

  Sin is part of our human nature.  We want it our way.  We have a 'bent to sinning' that John Wesley wrote about in the famous church hymn: "Love Divine All Loves Excelling."

 

  God gives us the opportunity to repent, which allows the full force of God's Forgiveness to come into our lives, offering us new life.

 

  The 12-step tradition has this as their first step to recovery: 

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction,

that our lives had become unmanageable.

 

And so we all need to say:

"Hi, I'm Terry.  I'm a Recovering Sinner."

 

And follow that up by saying that we are relying on a higher power, the power of God through Jesus Christ.

 

This kind of repentance, honest and deep sharing of our darkest corners and crevices of our hearts allows God to heal us and make us whole.  Giving us a new life to live and an eternity to live it in.

 

Our church fellowship is a place where such "U-Turns" are not only allowed, but encouraged.

 

3^rd Week Homework:

1)   Read the Beatitudes: Matt. 5 (and perhaps Matt 5-7 too.)

 

2)    Read Psalm  51 (or 59)

 

3)    Question to ask of yourself:

"How could you be more like God wants you to be today?"

 

4)    Questions on card will be collected next week.

 

How do we educate our hearts and spirits?

While most parents welcomed the start of school , the early start dates for our Antelope Valley area caught me somewhat unawares.

I'm used to a little more leisurely August in order to "ramp up" the fall season. This year, I've had no such luxury. 

What we must not lose in our "Back to School" activities is the need for all of us as adults to turn toward learning and new classes as well.

Our current sermon series is focused on a "back to school" approach to the Bible, but I hope and pray that it only whets your appetite for more spiritual study and growth.

Our inner spirit responds to the same kind of training that our minds and bodies need.  The regular, ever challenging thoughts and actions of love and reflection on God put our "faith muscles" into a "training cycle" that we need to truly live an abundant life.

The Christian movement has a long history of such activities and we as United Methodists are especially focused on education, mission and outreach in a combined and coordinated way.

It is my hope that we can develop a stronger

Through the eyes of another...

Have you ever wondered what a Christian fellowship looks like through the eyes of a new person?

May of us have been around church long enough that we know how to act, what to say, what to wear and what to do / not do.

Here's a blog entry that sums up a lot of feelings and experiences of people who show up to church for the first time.

Have you felt any of them?

Should I go back?

Posted in thought by nakedpastor on the August 26th, 2009

On my vacation I met with many people who have left the church. They are people I know and love. So from the start I want to say that these are generalizations. I do realize others might have more positive things to say. But what I hear from the people I talk with is pretty consistent. This is not my opinion. I’m not making judgments. This is just what I hear:

1. When they’ve been gone from church for a while and return they are all shocked by the strange lingo that people talk. It is a coded and getto-ized language that no one else understands but insiders.
2. When they go back more than once, suddenly there is a huge feeling of expectation that weighs down on them. They know that if they commit at all, they are going to have to meet certain expectations.
3. Although few admit it, shame is an important and powerful tool used to keep sins, weaknesses, struggles and differences concealed.
4. One quickly learns that although indulgences ended officially many years ago, money is still an effective means to earn rank, privilege and allowances within a community.
5. One discovers almost immediately what the belief system to be embraced is. Critical and inquisitive thinking is generally not welcomed.
6. Although it is rarely ever explicit, competition and the disdain for other religions and even other churches percolates through the attitudes, language and actions of the community.
7. Orientation, condition and status (examples: divorced, single mom, living together, gay, addict, etc.) are the equivalent of brands that are accepted or not.
8. If you come and go, in the end no one really seems to notice or care.
9. You are expected to grow only if it enables conformity.
10. Even though, if you keep going, you feel you are being knitted into the community, there is a strange feeling that there is something conditional about your acceptance and membership.

http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/3680

God's Love Letter 2) "Ordinary People with an Extraordinary Love."

In the second part of this series, we have looked at the honest but clearly flawed people of the bible.  

God has gone way out of the way to find the most ordinary people and fill them with an extraordinary love! 

And we learned that in addition to the Spiritual Truth of the Bible that we explored last week, there is a fundamental and important level of factual truth that we must also contend with.

1.  That there is One God, loving and creating the world and all the universe.

2. People in the bible were real, ordinary people, chosen by God for an extraordinary love.

3. Jesus lived, taught and died.

4. Jesus was resurrected from the dead and appeared alive to many witnesses.

5. The Holy Spirit of God is with us today.

Homework for this week includes:

1) Read Luke 15 (The Lost Chapter) and  Matthew 16 all the way through.

When you come to a puzzling or challenging scripture, stop and let it sink in.  Dwell on what it means to you.

2) Finish with an ending praise Psalm:  145, 146 or 150

3) Initiate a discussion with someone who is not close to you about their experience with the Bible.  

Has it been good or problematic?  Has it been helpful or hurtful.  What do they remember about the bible.  And just listen, don't argue with them or try to convince them about something.

Just listen.  Show them some extraordinary love.

4) And continue to jot down some questions you may have about the bible.  We'll be collecting them soon for an "Ask the Preacher" Sunday.

God's Love Letter: 1) "Wad'ya Know?"

Back to School:

God's Love Letter Sermon Series

"Whad'ya Know"

about the Bible?

• About it's "truthiness?"   

What we all can agree upon is that the Bible is clearly inspired by God and transmitted through human minds, hearts and hands. 

And that underneath every verse of scripture is a spiritual truth that sometimes needs more work than we think in order to get to its heart.

 

• That it's "God's Love Letter"

A.           The Bible is an encounter with God that reveals God's own loving heart (a revelation)