Put on Christ

Put on Christ

This sketch is from one of the earlier sermons in our church by Evan Westburg. He preached on this verse.

 Colossians 3:9-14, -Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another of any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

This sketch is how I interpreted a church that embodies this verse. Here are people holding each other up, working at being humble and kind, bearing with each other and forgiving.  

          

What would happen if we really did this within our churches? What if when we disagreed with leadership we didn’t take our ball and go home? What if when the music wasn’t our taste, we had patience? If the songs were too fast, or too slow we didn’t run off to another church hoping it would fulfill our laundry list of needs? 

Say the older generation made room for the styles of the younger and the younger left a place open for music familiar with another generation? By the way, this doesn’t necessarily mean a battle over using hymns. Both sides seem to like hearing a classic hymn now and then. It is mostly modern vs 90’s style music.

Oh yeah, and what if when we didn’t agree with how the money was being spent, we didn’t try to disrupt the entire church by talking in secret meetings to get our own way? Then leave taking many with us. Only to find another imperfect church, one that we will leave again somewhere down the line.

If someone hurts our feelings, or a Sunday School teacher is not up to our standards can we be examples of commitment and stick it out?

Then cover it all with a deep, consuming love for one another. A love that overlooks, forgives, and has compassion. This would strengthen individual churches by not having a constant stream of strangers flowing in and out of its doors. We could get to know each other, and really be a family.

Wow! I want to be in that church. Where do I go? Oh, yeah, I stay right here in my lovely, but imperfect church, and commit to dearly loving, forgiving, and being compassionate to my own church family.

Colors of Life, rainbows of faith

Joseph

          When Pastor Evan preached on Joseph he spoke about each event in the life of this patriarch of the Bible. Joseph was given a multi-colored coat as a present from his father. I have drawn Joseph in his coat, but in each patch of color I put an event that occurred in his life.

          On both sleeves I have written the lesson Joseph teaches us. Follow God no matter the results. Even when Joseph was thrown into a cistern and left to die, he believed in God. He was sold into slavery, but this did not cause him to lose trust. His faith stayed strong after he was thrown in prison for something he didn’t do. In the end God used Joseph to save his people, and the Egyptian people, from mass starvation.

          Don’t give up! Continue to trust. God has a plan.

Holy Smokes, Holy ground!

Holy Ground

          When our little church was given the land where we now have our building, we stood on that property and sang “We Standing on Holy ground.”  We stood in a circle and held hands, knowing God had called us to this place. My friend poked my arm and pointed to my middle school son. He had taken off his shoes and socks, and stood in the dirt with bare feet as he sang.

          When God called Moses to free His people He came in the form of a burning bush. God spoke to Moses from the bush and told him to take off his shoes for he stood on holy ground.

          When God calls us to serve Him, to a ministry, or even for the first time to be His child that place becomes holy. The dirt doesn't tremble, the rocks don’t start to glow, but when He calls, and we answer, that place becomes charged with the Holy Spirit and we are “standing on holy ground.”  

No Other Gods

No Other Gods

          As Pastor Greg spoke about God’s commandment “have no other god’s before me,” in my mind I could see a cleared path leading to the Almighty. Pushed to both sides are the things that have taken over my thoughts and time in front of God. A lot of these things are good in themselves, even wonderful, but if they get in the way of God being the center of our lives then we have an idol. 

          If worrying about your children takes over from the trust you have in God, then you need to give them over to Him. Praise God for what He has planned for them, and trust. He really cares more about them than even you do, anyway.

If church ministry prevents you from spending alone time with God, then you need to put it in its place.

Even pain can take over your mind, filling it with negativity and depression. Actively pushing these thoughts aside may take great effort. Get others to help by praying for you.  

There are so many things that take your eyes off of God. Push them out of the way with a purposeful shove. God is a jealous god. Not jealous of other gods, gods that don’t even exist, but jealous for you, in wanting you to experience the very best of the love and care He wants to give you.

When Did We See You?

When Did We See You?

          This sermon, preached by Greg Ralston, came just after he spent time with his parents, helping his mother move into a nursing home. It allowed him to remember the commandments about honoring our parents, and how we treat each other is how we want to be treated. His daughters tease him about, “Be nice to me. I will choose your nursing home.”

          In Matthew 25:31-36 Jesus talks about heaven and how The Son of Man, Jesus, will separate those that really knew God, from those that just said they did.  Some come feeling certain they will be recognized right away. But God doesn’t know them.  Others God know does know immediately. Why?

He tells them they gave Him water when He was thirsty, food when He was hungry, clothes and a home when needed. The others did not. Both were confused. Jesus said whenever you have done these things for someone in need, you have done it for me.

This made me think what would we do if we truly saw Jesus in the sick bed, on the street destitute, or in prison? Maybe we would act quicker, think about it less, and reach out more. 

Contentment

Contentment

          This day’s sermon, by Evan Westburg, was from Psalm 30 and contained a prayer to be content. For us not be so poor that we are worried and distracted from God. Yet not too rich that we forget our need for Him.  

          How do we get there? What is too rich, too much? Is the list of food, shelter, entertainment, comfort, friends and family in our lives, enough? If you do have the above and more, there are others around the world that wouldn’t even rise to, enough.  Maybe we could share as much, and as often, as we can.

          If we are struggling to have enough, we need to not let these worries distract, but allow it to teach us to keep going, even in fear. I lived for two weeks in a poor village in Thailand last year. There they had no kitchen sinks. They washed dishes in the yard with a hose. They had little furniture, sleeping, eating, and sitting on the floors. Chickens and dogs wondered in the streets. My friend Moses lived in a one room bamboo hut with his family of nine people, sleeping on the floors. Yet both he and his sister shined with the love of Jesus. Both were content. 

          Pray this prayer with me from Psalms 30:7-9:

Two things I ask of you Lord: do not refuse me before I die. Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal and dishonor the name of my God.   

Generousity

Generosity

          This sketch came from two sermons on generosity. The first was preached by Evan Westburg, the second by Greg Ralston. The words in the picture tell the sermons. Fear keeps us from being able to give freely. We need to let go of the worries, “the what if’s?” and the questions of “what about me?”  Those fears cause us to hold our possessions with a death grip. They keep us from receiving the joy of being able to trust God, and having the privilege of blessing another.

          Here are the verses that are printed inside the word “Generosity.” Mark 12, Matthew 57:30, Psalm 50, 1 John 3:18, John 18:6, Acts 44-47, Psalm 24. These references help us understand several points. That God already owns it all but grants us the honor of being able to return a portion back to Him.  They show that God desires for us to be a giving and generous people. Not to show how great we are but to shine the light back to His Glory.