Meet Me at the Well

Women at the Well

"How can you a Jewish man speak to me, a Samaritan woman?" When Jesus asked for a drink from this woman she was floored. Not only did men not chat with strange woman, but never a Jew to a Samaritan. In particular this woman who had a hard time getting friends for her children among her own people. The so called good and righteous ones had cloistered themselves into a click that she could never have broken into. Yet she was the one most in need of love.

Our church and christian clicks are still strong to this day. We huddle together in Bible Studies, and church pews. Events that use to be for anyone often have the added "Christian" label slapped to it. After all we want our children to have good influences, right? 

We have to step away from the comfort of what we know, step out of our holy huddles, and spend some time at the water well. Make friends, share your story, love, listen and care the way Jesus did.. 

Start or Start Over

Start or Start Over

When I hear the story of the prodigal son, I see this picture in my mind. I realize there is much more to the story, but I know the love a parent experiences for their child,  A child lost to the world comes home, not to judgement or condemnation but to the overwhelming love of his father. No ridicule, only a hugs and celebration. 

Every year Pastor Greg takes on a Sunday to emphasize our church mission statement. To start or start over. He does try to change the sermons up, but I have gone here for 20 years, You can imagine I have heard them all. But this time he brought out the Prodigal Son story and my heart caught this image. Our church tries to be a place where one can begin their walk with Christ or start it over again. We've found many people have been hurt by the church and need a place to heal. Sometimes we are the church that has hurt and that makes us very sad. 

If you have left the church or God, please know He is watching the road for your return. He will welcome you home with hugs and tears. All is forgiven, come home.

In The Image

In The Image

We were made to be in the image of God. Our purpose in this world is to reflect Jesus. I've heard this type of sermon before. I always imagined an image of a shimmering glowing being, with golden sparks flinging around Him. The image of Jesus, clothed in a robe so white it hurt your eyes. How do we become like this Jesus? It seemed impossible. But during this sermon I realized to be the mirror image of Jesus, to reflect who He is, I needed to do more than wait for a spiritual car wash. To reflect the image of Jesus, I needed to study His life on this earth. What was He like? How did He live and die? Therefore in this sketch I made Jesus represent, humility, forgiveness, generosity, sacrifice, love, no condemnation, fearlessness, selflessness. What can we be doing to reflect these things? We need to DO! We need to give, pray, be courageous, have fellowship, be selfless, speak love, seek God, continue to hope, and love the poor, disenfranchised, the marginalized and the ones furthest from Christ. How are you doing with your reflection?

Justice and Love

Justice and Love

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Why doesn't God just get rid of evil? Wipe it all out? To rid the world of sin and evil someone must take on payment, or retribution for the evil done. The problem with that is, we all contain evil. When we are perfectly honest with ourselves, we know this. Therefore all humanity would be wiped out. Payback for wrongs is only just. Jesus came to take that judgement, to bring justice, not to condemn us.To show his unfathomable love, He took this on Himself so that we don't have, too. I hope this picture expresses what Christ did for us.

Treasures of the heart

Treasures of the heart

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, where thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up treasures in heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy and thieves don't break in and steal."  Matthew 6:19-20.  So, how do we do that? Pat Dorbin preached this sermon for us. The treasures you build in heaven you cannot hold in your hand, unless you are holding a frighten child's hand to comfort. You can't wear these gems, unless it is the smile you give, even when you've dragged yourself to bed after volunteering to help children read, when you've already had a full day at work. 

These riches are not for yourself, but given to a culture of people that is in dire need of food, shelter, or safety. If a quarter tossed in the Salvation Army pots is all you will spare, than your heavenly treasure will be sparse. But if you fill you heart's treasure box with precious times of prayer and Bible reading, jewels of loving sacrifice, and pearls of selfless giving then your treasures will never be taken from you. Dress yourself in the fruits of the spirit. love, joy peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, They will never rot, and no one can ever steal it from you. 

No Condemnation

No Condemnation

This summer Pastor Greg has been teaching on Romans 8:1. "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." So, what does that look like from my sketch pen? Well, one way is to remind us that as Christians we don't need to carry the burdens of our past mistakes, sins, and fears. Many of us still carry them on our backs in the form of guilt, worry, and striving with our own strength. We are fighting a war that has already been won.

We need to throw off the heaviness of fearing that any moment God will say, enough, you've gone too far. You've lost my love. God does not stop just short of your sin, sister. You are not the one that God says, nope can't do it, brother.  Remind yourself daily about His unfailing love. Don't lecture yourself about how this was not good enough, or that sin too evil for God to demolish. 

Put your mind on Him. Seek out holiness. What does holiness look like? Singer/song writer, Rich Mullen says we need to come to the place where we are not even tempted by sin. Where we are not trying to white knuckle our nature into obeying. We can walk past sin and not be affected by its pull. 

Wow, how do we do that? When we become so close to Jesus we couldn't even think of betraying Him. That's freedom. That's peace. 

Start by quitting, and begin resting in His strength, not yours. 

            "For the the law of the Spirit has done away with the law of 

                                                                                            SIN 

                                                                                                     and DEATH.

                           For what man could not do, because human nature is weak,

                                                                                                                           GOD DID!

                      He came with a nature, like man's nature, to do away with

                                                         SIN and DEATH!

And how do we get that close to God? More sketches to come. 

                                                                                                        

Power in Pentecost

Way back in May, I got to go to Wisconsin to visit my son and my DIL. Since the new grand-baby was born, I've gotten behind in posting. This is Todd's sermon from that week. 

Power in Pentecost

The same spirit who was active hovering over the waters before creation, the same spirit  that made Moses do that all he did, that empowered David, and descended on Jesus himself is the same Spirit poured out in Acts. Pastor Todd's sermon speaks of the Pentecost. This advocate, this power, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, speaks truth, performs miracles, and empowers. He is closer to us than our own breath. God poured gas on a fire, and His message exploded across the world. 

The poor were helped, people were healed, lives were changed. The Spirit inspired generosity. Psalm 121:1 "Unless the Lord builds the house the labors work in vain." The Holy Spirit made them extraordinary disciples of God. The Spirit would take enemies of God and turn them into servants of God. 

This event was a huge turning point, a hinge pin in Christian history. The Holy Spirit comes in Power and in Truth. This even affects us today. In my sketch I tried to show how His coming gave power then, and He does today. 

As Todd's mom, I can attest to the fact that he hated going to the dentist. His fear, as he explained, was that they would find something wrong. That he would try to ignore the pain, eat on the other side of his mouth, or try excuse his pain away, all to not have to go and hear what really needed to be done. This is like the cup and bowl that is clean on the outside, but filthy on the inside.  

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Saul, in that moment on the road to Damascus, was confronted by Jesus. He had to admit he had been wrong. He was sure he had been clean and right, and doing what God wanted. He was pretty sure he had been doing all that was right. But he was confronted by Jesus on the road. He was hit on the head with the fact that he was doing it all wrong. What does he do? Does he pretend he didn't hear, or does he change? Saul makes the choice and surrenders to the truth. Even though he had to admit he had been apposing God. At that moment he let the Holy Spirit break in and guide him in truth.

Are we going to listen or ignore what the Holy Spirit is telling us? Ask the Holy Spirit is there anything you need to change in me? Is there anything you need me to do?