9/27 worship preview

It's been quite a week in Douglas County. Flooding like we've never seen. Tomorrow morning at 8, folks will begin being helped at The Pantry (if you get the SOTH emails you know the details). A Gift of Love and Faith in Action are also working hard to help those in need and SOTH will support their efforts 100%. The future will hold mission teams and wonderful stories of the way that God works.

Wednesday night we gathered and had a powerful time of prayer for the community.

This Sunday we'll be having services of healing at both 9:30 and 11:00 am. Now really, anytime that Christians gather for worship, what happens should have a healing quality. I'm very excited about this Sunday. God's timing is amazing. We planned this service weeks ago --- little did we know how much healing our community would need after these floods.

So, here's a peek at some of the songs, the scripture, the sermon and a time of prayer and anointing.

See you Sunday!

Adam

James 5:13-15 (NRSV)

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

Sermon thoughts: what's this anointing with oil all about? Do prayers in church somehow work better than when I do it on my own? Why do some folks not get better? How does forgiveness really work? What does it mean to let someone pray for me?

If you've ever had those questions...they're the ones we're diving into this Sunday.

Some thoughts on the United Methodist healing service from Daniel Benedict, former worship resources director with the General Board of Discipleship:

Ours is a hurting and broken world. It is no wonder that there has been a very positive response to opportunities for healing prayer and anointing.

Many United Methodist congregations now include healing prayer in worship services. Some offer healing prayer as part of services of Holy Communion. Some schedule weekly, monthly, or quarterly services of healing, depending on the needs of their particular church and community.

Basic Understandings of Healing and Worship

The Bible affirms spiritual healing.

"Are any among you sick? They should call the elders of the church and have them pray for them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5:14).

When pastors and laity pray for people with the laying on of hands or anointing with oil, they are not claiming that they are doing something for the sick. They are not claiming that God will make everything better. They are seeking to be faithful to continue Christ's threefold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing.

The Bible clearly calls disciples to pray with and for one another, and this faithful ministry of touch with prayer pleads and performs (enacts) the grace of God. This touch bridges alienation, swallows isolation, breaks suffering, and opens discouraged human spirits.

Services of healing are not services of curing. Rather they "provide an atmosphere in which healing can happen." (See The United Methodist Book of Worship, 613-614.) All healing is God's work, and worship settings where God encounters people are intrinsically healing.

When people are hurting, and when there is an invitation to share the pain, people respond. It is very natural and an act of hope in God. The ritual practices of healing prayer in the context of worship do not embarrass or expose people. United Methodist healing services use a simple sacramental approach to healing that expresses compassion, hope, grace, and a quiet confidence in God. There we can bring our insufficiencies to the all-sufficient Christ, who understands our need for wholeness.

Love

A wonderful post from Joy Shaver, disciple of Christ and active member of our church's prayer ministry.

This was written for "affirmation Sunday," a time of encouragement for our leaders, and will be used at our next Church Council meeting.

What great writing! Joy, I'm proud of you! Grace & Peace, Adam

I Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy going or a clanging cymbal.

If I know all the words to all of the songs the Praise Band plays, but have not love, I am only a loud and off key singer.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge such as how we're going to afford everything we need and the answers to all the other budgetary questions, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains trusting that the monies will be there to cover the budget as well as unexpected expenditures, but have not love, I am still nothing.

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

If I tithe 20% of my income, work at The Pantry, serve on three committees, volunteer to feed the youth and pray for turkeys (Thanksgiving mission outreach) but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;

Love is patient and kind even when you prepare the most exciting programs and trainings and nobody shows up. Love is not jealous or boastful, even when you think that you give more time than anybody else in your church.

It is not arrogant or rude. Love keeps no record of wrongs; it is not irritable or resentful;

Love is not arrogant or rude; it keeps no record of wrongs even when you have 8 meetings at church, you are the greeter at both services for a month, and you also bring snacks for the Women of SOTH meeting. Oh...did I mention that we need you to call people for the Listening Sessions?

It does not rejoice at wrongs, but rejoices in the right.

Love does not rejoice when Adam has to be at the hospital with one of our church family because they're sick or hurt, but does rejoice that we have a prayer team and a bunch of members in our church who are ready to love and support, and cover anything that needs to be covered.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things, even a yard sale in the rain or a dunking booth for a cancer drive, and unloading what feels like thousands of dirty pumpkins (Adam's note: that's because it is thousands of dirty pumpkins, and they're coming October 10th ;)

Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Love never ends, but after worship, SOTH families will go home or to Kroger or to Golden Corral. The band will pack up their instruments and rest their voices. Adam will finally get to spend some time with his family.

For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

For our church is imperfect, and our discipleship, ministries, and leadership skills are imperfect (hate to say it, but it's true). But when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

When I was a youth, I spoke like a youth, I thought like a youth, I reasoned like a youth (can you reason with a 13 year old?). When I got confirmed, I gave up childish ways (hmmm, not really!).

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.

For now we see as if we have just shared in Adam's sermon, been in prayer, sung our hearts out and greeted everyone we know and love but soon we will see so much more clearly. Now we know a little, and then will more clearly understand even as we have been clearly understood.

So faith, hope love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Amen!

Cave

Mark 9:30-32 (The Message)

Leaving there, they went through Galilee.

He didn't want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples.

He told them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive."

They didn't know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.

It makes me feel good to know that Jesus sometimes didn't want to be found.

Now, I know that may sound odd.

But it makes me feel good because sometimes, I don't want to be found either.

What about you?

Jesus should always be available and at the ready, shouldn't he? On the one hand, I suppose it's pretty disturbing that he hid from the people of Galilee. After all, they really needed him and they were drawn to him.

But still...there were those moments when he needed space and time.

In this passage, he wanted to be alone with the disciples to teach them. At other times in the Gospels, we're told that he withdrew to a quiet place for prayer and solitude.

Could Jesus have been an introvert at heart?

The picture above is of a very special place. It's a cave on a hillside, just below the "mount of the beatitudes." Legend has it that this cave could have been one of those "quiet places" Jesus liked to go to on his own.

Holly and I got to sit in this cave during our trip to the Holy Land, back in the spring. We looked out upon the beauty of the Sea of Galilee.

What a place, and what a blessing.

And for this introvert, what a comfort to know that sometimes it's ok to be away from the crowd. God is always with us, sometimes we just need a little quiet to hear his voice.

Where's your cave?

Grace & Peace,
Adam

Knit

From Proverbs 31 (The Message)

A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work...

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:

"Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all!"

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!

My wife loves to knit. She really, truly does. I can only imagine that she must love this Proverb about knitters.

I don't know anything about knitting. Well...I know a tiny bit that I've been able to decipher when she tries to share with me about it, but mostly it's like hearing someone speak a foreign language.

I have no idea how it works. To me, it looks like she systematically ties knots in yarn, and then at the end, it comes out as a baby sweater, or a blanket, or socks, or any number of other things, all of them really useful items that will be adored for a long, long time by the lucky people who receive them.

I think she loves knitting because it perfectly fits with who she is. It's useful and productive. It's artistic, and it's a skill that can grow and be continually refined and challenged over time.

Whether I can tell what's happening with all that yarn or not...she "senses the worth of her work."

And that sense can grow, and it pervades every part her life. It can do the same for all of us, knitters and non-knitters alike.

Proverbs 31 reminds us how good it is to get up before dawn. How lucky we are when we rise with a sense of purpose...to go out and "find the best yarn," to produce something of value.

It's how God has made us, and thank God for the women in our lives who show the way.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

Chew

From Psalm 1 (The Message)

...you thrill to God's Word,

you chew on Scripture day and night.

You're a tree replanted in Eden,

bearing fresh fruit every month,

Never dropping a leaf,

always in blossom.

^4-5 You're not at all like the wicked,

who are mere windblown dust—

Without defense in court,

unfit company for innocent people.

In seminary, I was blessed to take a class with Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who was serving as a visiting professor.

I remember many things he said, but Psalm 1 puts me in mind of one in particular: "The Scripture is like dynamite! It can blow apart the things of this world!"

I had never thought of scripture as "explosive" before.

"During our struggle against apartheid," he said, "every time we opened scripture, it was as though God had written the words just for us, and it gave us the strength we needed to continue."

I know that every time I've spent even just a few moments with scripture, I come away with a sense of greater peace and joy.

What is peace and joy worth to you? Give it a try. Here's a good resource: www.biblegateway.org

Grace & Peace --

Adam

Unspoken

From Psalm 19 (The Message)

^1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies,
God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.

^3-4 Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,

But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

I need you to do something. Urgently. Right now. Do this.

Get up and go outside. Look up. Just go.

"God's glory is on tour in the skies."

This seems especially true at sunrise and sunset...but it's true all the time.

We just tend not to look. The things right in front of us demand our attention. But we really, really need to look up.

Find some woods. Walk into them. Listen. Watch. Life is happening, and it happens out there, all the time, no matter what important thing we think we're doing.

The tiniest flowers are in that place, pushing their way up from the forest floor.

Life. Truth. Unspoken.

"Unspoken truth is everywhere."

Grace & Peace --
Adam

Wisdom

Proverbs 1:20-33 (The Message)

Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.

In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.

At the busiest corner she calls out: "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?

About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.

As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.

"Since you laugh at my counsel and make a joke of my advice, How can I take you seriously?

I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!

What if the roof falls in, and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect an answer.

No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
"Because you hated Knowledge and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice and brushed aside all my offers to train you,

Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?

Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?

Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.

First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."

My freshman year of high school, I worked hard in practices (and I went to a really small school), and I landed the job as starting catcher on my varsity baseball team. I was really proud of myself.

Until, early in the season, leading off an inning, my coach gave me the bunt sign.

The bunt sign!

Let's just say that "speed" was not my game. I wasn't a bunter.

But hey, he's the coach. I bunted. They threw me out, of course. I made my way back across the infield to our dugout, pretty proud of myself. It was a good bunt, I thought.

My coach was a deep shade of purple. Veins stood out in his head and neck. He came close to me, straining to keep control. "What kind of idiot do you think I am," he breathed.

No answer from me.

Yeah, I missed a sign. There was no bunt.

After the inning, he took me aside and screamed at me like no coach had screamed before. Obviously, I still remember it. I got the message.

Baseball is a team game. Sometimes, you make mistakes. But if you're not sure what to do, the remedy is simple. Even the pros do it. You stop and ask. You get clarity before acting. You call time and walk down to your coach.

That may seem embarrassing, but it sure beats missing the sign.

I didn't enjoy being called an idiot...but look what happens in this proverb? "Wisdom," personified as a woman in the street, calls out to people...and says that they're idiots because they won't listen to her.

Humility is the beginning of wisdom. It means we can stop and ask directions. It means we can get clarity.

What does God want? What is Wisdom trying to teach us today? Do you know where you're heading, and why?

Let's stop and make sure. Ask for Wisdom's help, and she'll surely reply.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Meet Your Maker, Vol. VII

For some reason this post didnt publish when I scheduled it to on Friday, so here is a happy Tuesday surprise for you!

Ha, I feel as if I should post a warning for you, the reader, as to the contents of this particular sermon of Wesley's. It will challenge your thoughts, I believe; I certainly hope it does. He brings into light a facet of Christianity that we often, according to him, misinterpret and mislabel. Today, he asks us if we really are Christians.

Wesley cites Acts 26:28 from the KJV to kick this one off:

"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

From here, he outlines two implied categories: The almost Christian, and the altogether Christian.

The Almost Christian

Wesley details the almost Christian as someone of "heathen honesty." They have "the outside of a real Christian...and does nothing which the gospel forbids." He then proceeds to present a rather impressive list of activities the almost Christian participates in or abstains from, and the list is what I have termed in my head "hauntingly Christian according to perception." He "profanes not the day of the Lord," "taketh not the name of God in vain," "abstains from 'wine wherein is excess,'" "does not willingly wrong," etc. Then the list gets even more "hauntingly Christian:"

"...constantly frequents the house of God..."

"...approaches the table of the Lord..."

Participates in "family prayer"

Sets time apart for "private addresses to God"

And ALL of this he does with sincerity which Wesley defines here as "a real, inward principle of religion from whence these outward actions flow."

You did realize that we are still under the heading of the almost Christian, right?!

I will utilize none other than Wesley's own transition here:

"Is it possible that any man should go so far as this and nevertheless be only 'almost a Christian?' What more than this can be implied in being 'a Christian altogether?'"

The Altogether Christian

He lists three expressly stated requisites:

1) "First, the love of God. For thus saith His Word: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength.' Such a love of God is this as engrosses the whole heart, as takes up all the affections, as fills the entire capacity of the soul, and employs the utmost extent of all its faculties."

2) "The second thing implied in being 'altogether a Christian' is the love of our neighbor. For thus said our Lord in the following words: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'"

3) "The right and true Christian faith is not only to believe that Holy Scripture and the articles of our faith are true, but also to have a sure trust and confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ - it is a sure trust and confidence which a man hath in God 'that by the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God."

According to Wesley, and I agree with him, Christianity is not merely a model of morality as the almost Christian puts it to use. While it is true that it is part of Christianity, it is not, ultimately, what defines Christianity. Other practicing religions have similar if not more stringent ideals of morality, and yet they are not entitled the same as ours. Christ defines Christianity, and beyond that, our belief and acceptance as truth of Christ - His life, His words, His sacrifice and the implications thereof. As Wesley words it:

"May we all thus experience what it is to be not almost only, but altogether Christians! Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus, knowing we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, and having the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us!"

- Adkins