A Holy Week

This week is Holy Week. It is the week from Palm Sunday leading up to Easter where we remember the last week of Jesus’ life before his death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter Sunday). This is an important week in the life of the church. This is also an important week in our lives too. This is also a neglected week.

               Not neglected as in forgotten. We know it’s coming, we are getting the new Sunday outfits bought and the eggs dyed and the baskets stuffed with candy to replace what the kids are still eating Halloween. I mean it is neglected in what it means, and what it can do for us.

               Many churches, including the one where I serve as pastor, have Holy Week services each night. If you are only used to attending church at most once per week and more often a couple times per month, then a full week of church stuff can seem daunting. How in the world could you possibly fit in church every single night for an entire week? Don’t they know how busy you are?

               Hear me in the love I am saying this, those are excuses. The reason I say this is because I really believe that taking an intentional approach to Holy Week this year will help you take a few steps of growth in your faith and will bring a new awe and excitement to Easter Sunday (and the subsequent Easter season that leads up to Pentecost Sunday on May 15).

               This whole season of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) has been a time reflection and prayer and giving. Maybe you are fasting from something. Maybe you are trying a new spiritual discipline. There is no better way to culminate this Lenten season and prepare for Easter than to come together with a local church and journey Holy Week together. Experience the stories of Jesus’ last week, the stories of his great love and his mighty power.

               Slow down this Holy Week. The craziness of your schedule will still be there Monday March 28.

               I know that not everyone is physically able to get to church every night next week, so I want to include here some readings to help guide your Holy Week also.

               Sunday: Luke 19:28-40

               Monday: John 12:1-11

               Tuesday: John 12:20-36

               Wednesday: John 13: 21-32

               Thursday: John 13:1-17

               Friday: John 18-19 (yes, both chapters)

               Saturday: Matthew 27:57-66

               I also want to encourage you to attend a community Good Friday Service which will be held at First Baptist Church, 201 East Main Street, Jonesborough at noon on March 25.

               Stretch yourself a little this Holy Week. Give a little more this Holy Week. Love a little deeper this Holy Week. Forgive sincerely this Holy Week. And come together with other people here in your community and walk this week together. And as you do, may you grow in the grace and love our Lord and Savior. 

Getting ready for Feb 7

This Sunday we will finish up a worship series called "The Line Between Good & Evil". We have spent weeks working our way through Scriptures dealing with good and evil. We have spent weeks remembering horrible evil atrocities that have occurred in our world, and the evil that we see right in our own communities. We have spent weeks coming back to the fact that evil and good are not just in other people, but as Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, "the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being". We have, at our core, an inclination to do some good, and a great propensity to do evil. And we have spent weeks on this battle between good and evil that is at war within all of us.

George Bernard Shaw told the story of a Native American who was talking to his grandson about this internal struggle. "There are two wolves inside of us," he said, "one good wolf and one evil wolf. They are constantly fighting each other." The grandson asked, "which wolf wins?"
"The wolf that you feed" was the answer.

The apostle Paul said it this way, "when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me. I gladly agree with the Law on the inside, but I see a different law at work with my body. It wages a war against the law of my mind and takes me prisoner with the law of sin that is within my body. I'm a miserable human being." (Romans 7:21b-24a).
Then Paul asks the question that each of us must ask and that each of us must answer..."Who will save me?"

The answer, of course, is Jesus. That is what Paul goes on to explain in the letter of Romans. But how does Jesus save you and me in our day to day lives in this battle of good and evil, sin and holiness that is within us and surrounding us?

This Sunday, Feb 7, we finish this series by looking at "Evil's Ultimate Defeat".
Read this to get ready for Sunday: Revelation 19; 20:1-2; and 21:1-6
This is a future picture of the defeat of the evil. But we still face evil...so what do we do in the meantime?
We overcome evil with good.
We do this together as Christ's holy church.

So, join us Sunday as we seek to light up the world a little more, as we seek to push back the darkness a little farther, as we come to a table prepared just for us...all of us...every single one of us...and we share together in Holy Communion.

If you want to catch up on any of the messages in this series so far, you can watch them here:https://www.youtube.com/user/telfordumc

Have a blessed week, stay strong in the Lord!

Pastor Michael

The 7 Deadly Sins

(Below are notes from Pastor Michael's 1-24-16 sermon)

-Part 3 of the 4 part "The Line Between Good & Evil" sermon series-

The list we have of the 7 deadly sins is not found in the Bible as a list of 7, but was originally listed as such by Ponticus (desert father from the 4th century) who found that even being away from everyone he still had a tendency to sin in thought, in his mind.

The 7 deadly sins:
1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Sloth (Indifference)
5. Wrath (Anger)
6. Envy
7. Pride

Later this list was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, and then popularized in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (where hell is shown as having separate circles for the seriousness of sin. That’s a fictional account of hell!)

Any sin is a “deadly” sin because sin separates us from God. These were called deadly for 2 reasons.
First from Gal 5:19-21; this list called “mortal sins”
Second because they were viewed as gateway sins-each one would lead down a path to other sins in a snowball effect.

Each is a distortion of something that is good, that’s the way that the devil often works in our lives, twisting a truth of God that is good into something that is evil for us:

1.Lust is a distortion of sexuality—God’s gift for a man and a woman in the confine of marriage
2.Gluttony is a distortion of food and drink—taking a basic need and focusing solely on it, or using it in place of other things
3.Greed is a distortiona of working hard & taking care of families—want more wealth and things—Love of $$ root of all kinds of evil evil-1 Timothy 6:10; (context of passage is we come into world w/nothing and leave w/nothing and if in the meantime we food, clothing, and Jesus that should be enough)
4.Sloth (Indifference) is a distortion of rest and leisure—honoring the Sabbath a good gift, not willing to do things that stretch us
5.Wrath is a distortion of appropriate anger—Ephesians 4:26-27—holding onto anger gives the devil an opportunity to work
Anger—bitterness—hate—revenge
6.Envy is a distortion of admiration—beauty is meant to be admired, envy leads to resentment—1st murder was b/c of envy over offering
7.Pride is a distortion of a proper self-image

The first 6 sins put other things on the throne as gods in our life, pride puts ourselves on the throne. That is why I would say that this is quite possibly the most dangerous of these deadly sins, or at least it is for me. It is also the first of recorded sins. We think of the first sin as happening in the Garden of Eden, that was the first human sin, but sometime before that there was Lucifer’s sin of pride resulting in his banishment from the presence of God and his motives for enticing the same for us.

Read James 1:13-15 again.
James doesn’t blame this on the devil (like Geraldine did in the video clip we watched last week—the devil made her buy that dress!)

Conceive=give birth like in childbirth, there is this gestation period of thinking, of wondering… “a moment of the maybe”—that’s where the suggestive tricks/schemes of the devil works

How do we overcome?
In response to the 7 Deadly Sins, the Church had outlined 7 Virtues to stand in the armor of God and battle the temptations:

7 Virtues:
1. Faithfulness defeats lust
Promises, accountability, openness, transparency, don’t hide things in your life or in your marriage
2. Temperance defeats gluttony
We think “just a little more won’t hurt me” but it can. Moderation, not over indulgence, and maybe abstinence
3. Generosity defeats Greed
Thinking of others and giving something away to them
4. Sacrifice defeats Sloth
Comfort zone/expectations
5. Forgiveness defeats Wrath
Letting go and letting God, before resentment and revenge set up cold fortress in your heart, be set free through offering forgiveness
6. Kindness defeats Envy
1 Corinthians 13:4- love is kind, love is our law, love is our life
7. Humility defeats Pride
Philippians 2:3-4 (live like Jesus)

It’s not that you just say you are humble, b/c as soon as you start saying you are 100% humble what does that say about yourself?
It’s about practices that strive for humility in our life.
The parking spot at my first appointment was marked “Reserved”. I was later told that premier spot was for the pastor! When I came here I saw the closest spot marked “Guests”. So, I park in the last spot in the corner the farthest away now. I don’t park there because I am a naturally humble person, I park there because I am hoping that one day by doing this it can help make me a little more humble. It gives me a chance to pick up trash as I walk, and maybe if I can be a servant in a practical way at times that it may rub off on my soul.

Practice the virtues to defeat the vices.

Being aware of the sins help us be aware of what can happen if we put something else on the throne where God alone should be.

Martin Luther spoke of “simil iustis et peccator”- that we are both saved and sinner somehow at the same time.
I think that is because our sanctification isn’t complete yet.
God is still working on and in us, still transforming us, still holding up the mirror of truth and making us look at ourselves.

But there is also the quiet conviction that gradually, day by day, little by little, decision by decision God is with us, leading us, coaxing us, bringing us home.

Who/what is going to sit on the throne in your life?

A More Beautiful Song

Indulge me in a little Greek story.

               Once upon a time there was an island on the coast of Greece. On this island lived many beautiful sirens, who were mythical mermaid women with the most exquisite and enchanting physical beauty as well as the most splendid voices that humanity has ever heard. When ships passed by the island at night, the sirens would sing their songs, and the sailors would become so enthralled and seduced by the song that they would veer their ships into the darkness toward the lovely singing. The jagged rocks that surrounded the island tore apart the ships, sending the sailors to a watery demise.

Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, knew the stories of the siren’s legendary song. As his ship prepared to pass the siren’s island one night, he placed beeswax in the ears of everyone on board his ship so that they would not be able to hear the enchanting song of the sirens. But he was too curious himself, so instead of plugging his own ears, he had himself tied to the mast of the ship. As the ship passed the island the sailors continued to man the ship in the direction away from the craggy and rocky shore line, oblivious to the siren’s sultry call. Odysseus heard their song, and struggled to free himself from his binds. He tried to get his men to free him, but deafly they only pulled his ropes tighter. If he had been able to, he would have careened the ship toward the island immediately, so strong was the lure of the siren’s song. Eventually the ship was past the island.

Odysseus was hailed as a hero for his ingenuity in passing the siren’s island and being the only man to ever hear the alluring song and not pulled into a ship wreck death.

Orpheus was a skilled musician and legendary poet. When he masterfully played music on his lyre, forest animals were tamed, streams would stop flowing, and trees would bend down towards him, all in an effort to simply hear a part of his beautiful song and sublime voice. As Orpheus led the Argos by the siren island he began playing his lyre and singing his song. Everyone aboard the ship was entranced by the majestic Orpheus, and were charmed by his song. The sirens began singing louder as the Argos passed by, but to no avail. The ship continued on its journey past them, and Orpheus sang louder so that his men would not hear the sirens. And in the end, even the sirens were tamed by the beguiling of Orpheus and his enchanting song.

It is said that Orpheus led his men to safety past the sirens because he played a more beautiful song.

I am sure by now you are probably wondering what any of this Geek mythology has to do with anything. You might be reading this in a newspaper “Religion” section, or reading this on a “pastor’s” blog and might be thinking, “What does this have to do with Christianity?”

“A more beautiful song.”
That is what I want us to think about.

Today there are many seemingly beautiful and appealing songs that are luring people into dangerous and rocky places filled with death and destruction. The tempting songs that are drawing people from the church, their faith, and attempting to pull them away from God.

As Christians what are we to do? As a church what can we do?

Well, we could moan and groan about the other worldly songs being too loud, and flashy and how we just can’t compete with all that.

Or, we could stuff our ears full of beeswax and go about our holy merry way oblivious to the destruction happening all around us.

Or perhaps there is another way. Perhaps we could sing a “more beautiful song” than the songs of the world.

After all, we know the most beautiful song of all, the song of God with us, the song of the Creator adorning flesh and being born in Bethlehem. The Most High God submitting to torture and ridicule, not because of weakness, but because of love. The Most Powerful being nailed to a cross and dying a criminal’s death, not from His wrongdoing, but for ours. And then Adonai, the Lord Jesus, raised from the dead and ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, the Father, Almighty. And in the name of Jesus, we are freely offered grace, forgiveness of sin through his death and resurrection, and eternal life in the everlasting presence of God.

Yes, we have a more beautiful song, we have THE most beautiful song.
But, are we singing it?

               “Encourage one another, and build each other up”- 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Genesis 9:3-5

Genesis 9:3-5New International Version (NIV)

³ Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

⁴ “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. ⁵ And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

The context here are commands given to Noah and his covenant with Noah. Noah is told to multiply the human race on the earth, and that the animals of the earth will be subject to humanity. There is a responsibility here and authority here in this covenant.

V3- I believe that Adam & Eve were vegetarians in the Garden of Eden. There was no need to kill and eat animals. That changed when sin entered the human/divine relationship. And here with Noah God is expanding the once only vegetarian diet to be now supplemented with meat, but there are restrictions here also imposed by God:

V4- Blood was considered to be synonymous with life. When Cain killed his brother Abel God came to Cain and said “your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground”. When the “blood” was spilled it was considered taking the “life”.  Animal blood must be drained from the animal before eating it.

Many ancient civilizations had practices of drinking blood in their religious ceremonies, and in thoughts that this practice brought fertility. This is forbidden by God in the covenant that He is making with Noah. Since God is the creator of life, this life source (blood) should not be consumed by us. This would also guard against the concern for needless killing, since once an animal was killed then the blood would be drained and then the animal would be consumed/used for clothing/tools/etc.

V5- The focus shifts from killing animals to killing another human being. The “life blood” (or blood that gives life) should not be shed at all, let alone consumed. God will “demand an accounting” for killing another human, in essence that a murderer is accountable to God first and foremost, but that a penalty is required and that is the life of the one who murders (killing in cold-blood).

V6- This is due to the high demand that God places on human life as we are made in His image.

List of Things I would Really Like to do But Won’t Beat Myself up if I Don’t Do Them All List

               Well, it’s here. Another New Year is upon us.

               I like New Years. I don’t really feel that much older, and I don’t really feel regrets about what I did or didn’t do this past year. What I do feel is excitement. I sense all these new possibilities. I think about all the new ways that God is going to be at work in our lives in this next year. And I think, what if this will be the year that our Lord returns?

               Pretty cool stuff to think about!

               So, yeah. I like New Years.

               I usually start each year with a list of things I would like to accomplish over the next twelve months. I don’t always complete them all, but that’s OK. I like having goals to look forward to. So as we are now in January 2016, I thought I would ask your indulgence to share my list with you. And, maybe you could even help keep me accountable for when I start to get lazy on my list (usually this happens around Jan 5).

               Keep in mind, these aren’t really New Year’s Resolutions. Most of the things on my list don’t qualify in the “resolutionary” category such as “join the gym”, “lose 10 lbs”, or “quit drinking Mountain Dew”…Resolutions like that last one are simply crazy non-sense.

               So, here goes….my 2016:

 List of Things I would Really Like to do But Won’t Beat Myself up if I Don’t Do Them All List

1.    Get closer to Jesus

This is a daily goal of mine every day every year. If you don’t talk to Jesus every day throughout the day, you should try this in 2016. Amazing how everything else shapes up when this relationship is the #1 priority.

2.      Love my wife and my children more fully and completely

These six people are the greatest blessings God has placed in my life. I want to be the best husband and father that I can be with God’s help.

3.      Read the Bible all the way through in the New Living Translation

Each year I try to a reading plan to read the Bible cover to cover. This year I want to read again the NLT, this is one of my favorite translations for my personal reading.

4.     Help someone every day

I honestly believe that God gives us the opportunities, and I honestly believe for every person I stop to help that I miss several others. I pray that I will see with God’s-Eyes in this New Year.

5.     Date night every week

If you know Heather and I, then you know this is a priority already. Friday night is date night. But in January there are five Fridays this year, and I am out of town four of them. So, we will need to be creative and have date night on other nights. If you’re married let me say that I believe that Date Night is imperative to a healthy marriage (thanks for the adjective help there Heather—that’s why we’re a great team!)

6.     Publish my first book

Getting pretty close on this one. I started a humor book about 10 years ago. I am a big Dave Berry and Lewis Grizzard fan so the writing style is as similar to those great writers as a simple guy like me can get. It should be in print by March at the latest. “The Great All-American Dad Misconceptions”—check it out (and by that I really mean please buy a copy or the Kindle version!)

7.    Write regularly for a publication

I love to write. I can say that this is one of the gifts that God has given me. I can use a bunch of words, both when I write and when I speak (just ask people that have sat through my sermons).

8.    Preach

Yep, I love this too. God is good, all the time. And I get the chances to share what God is doing in my life and teaching me with other people. I am blessed to be serving at an amazing church, Telford UMC, and look forward to another exciting year here sharing the Good News and impacting the community for our Lord.

9.    Mission trip

I hope to be going with one of my children to the Czech Republic this year on a mission trip. I have never been out of the country, so I am excited about this!

               So, that’s my list. Take a minute and think about a few things that you want to do this year, or better yet that you feel that God is calling you to do this year. It’s exciting, and a little scary sometimes. But what a great way to live!

               Happy New Year friends. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

Advent: The already and the not yet

Advent: The Already and Not Yet

Things are getting ready. In fact, they have been getting ready for a while now. The day after Halloween the wreaths went up on the street lights downtown. And now, every local shop is decked out in glitter, glitz, tinsel, and lights. And for good reason, Christmas is coming!

               But it’s not here yet.

               And if you have decorated your house with garland and lights, put up a tree, and hung ornaments, there is a good chance that some of the ornaments or keepsakes that you have sitting out for Christmas you have had for years. Maybe even decades. And those ornaments bring back memories of past holidays. Of course you aren’t reliving the past, but you are remembering the past. And for good reason.

               But the past has already happened.

               And that is Advent.  These four weeks leading up to Christmas are called Advent from an old Latin word (I guess all Latin words a kind of old though) which meant “arrival”. So during Advent we are remembering the “arrival”, or “advent” of the Messiah. We look back to when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and we read the prophecies from Isaiah and the Psalms.

               But this has already happened.

               And that is Advent. These four weeks leading up to Christmas are also a time to look forward to when Jesus comes (arrives) again. One day He will do that. Here’s what Jesus said about himself; “then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and glory. And he will then send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, and from one end of the heavens to the other…But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:30-31, 36)

               Advent is about the first “arrival” of Christ, as well as being about the second “arrival” of Christ. Advent is about the past, but also about the future. But Advent is also about the present. It’s in the present, in there right and right now, that we can look back and look forward. It’s today that we can both remember and anticipate.

               That’s a good Advent word too: Anticipate. It means to wait for something to happen expecting that it will happen, and to be ready.

               I know that part of Advent is waiting for Christmas Day to get here. But that’s not really what it has to be all about. Yes, Christmas Day is an exciting day that we have set aside in our calendars to remember the day that Perfect Love came down from heaven and donned flesh and bones to live as a man and die as a man for us, all of us. But Advent is about being ready. Advent is about anticipating something. Advent is about knowing that what you are waiting for will one day happen, even though you don’t know exactly when that will be.

               Advent is about the already and the not yet.

               So during this Advent, this in between time, what are you anticipating? What are you getting for? How are you getting ready?

               Take some time this week to read John 1:1-18 and Luke chapters 1 and 2. Both of these accounts are about Jesus’ First Advent. Then read Matthew 24-26. All three of these chapters are about Jesus’ Second Advent.

               And enjoy this Advent season. Don’t get so caught up in the rush to Dec 25 that you miss everything else going on. Go to church. Sing Christmas carols. Decorate a tree. Kiss someone under the mistletoe. Light a candle. Relax and think about the fact that Jesus came the first time was all because of His love for you. And when He comes a second time, it will be to bring us all home.

               Happy Advent!