May 30, 2010
Romans 5: 1 – 8; John 16: 12-15
As Christians, we believe as Paul did that Jesus, saved us from sin, death, and the power of evil. His death on the cross and resurrection on the third day is proof positive.
Because of everything Jesus has done for us, we can be thankful to God each day by the way we live our lives. But even though we are safe from evil it still exists in this world, and bad things sometimes happen.
Yet, even at the worst of times, we know that Jesus stands beside us, and that God always wants us to pray.
Paul will continue, beyond today’s reading, to tell us that the life of faith is not easy, but those who have found the faith of Jesus the Christ, which is the faith of Abraham, will win.
Many Christians have suffered gladly for Christ throughout the years because they knew God was with them in both bad times and good.
This sureness of the presence and grace of God makes us stronger and often causes things to go better. We know that God cares about us, and that we are not alone in our troubles.
As Christians, we believe that because of Jesus, we live at peace with God.
Some would read Paul and say, “Suffering is necessary, even good. Suffering helps us to endure; endurance builds character; character gives us hope.” And so it becomes a ‘prized,’ identifying mark or ingredient of our ‘Christianhood.’
But is that really the case? Others would point out that hardship can produce endurance - and often does. After all, most of the good and important things in life, you have to work hard for. And character can be shaped by endurance and by withstanding the ordeals of life with ‘grace’ and our ‘head held high.’ After all, movements for social change in this country have been built on the shoulders of people who have modeled such endurance. But there is also something called fortuitous (or unexpected) grace – like an unexpected kiss or hug. The capacity to be surprised by a God, who loves lavishly even though we've done nothing to warrant it, also results in the very same hope. It's not a pay back for anything – suffering, endurance or character. It's a free gift! And it, too, is real.
Paul then goes on to say we should even boast about our suffering for Christ. Does anyone besides me have a problem with that? We accept the idea that suffering can produce endurance, and endurance can produce character, and character can produce hope. But is it suffering that is good or God working to use it for good that is important for us to believe? And what about boasting, is that a good thing?
Remember, when we were growing up, what our parents told us about bragging? So when Paul says suffering is a good thing and that we should brag about it – I have a hard time getting my mind around it – even if it is true. Perhaps Paul is trying to say, “Take pride in your suffering for Christ, own it, it’s yours, because you know, your life as a follower of Christ is not going to be an easy thing.”
So, yes, it is hard when it doesn't come easy. But it's also a good thing when it does. Because, I believe as the Rev. Edward Beck writes, “God is like that. Kissing us unexpectedly. Hugging us warmly in ways we don't always anticipate.”
In the words of Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr of the Beatles, “You know it don't come easy.” Ringo, in a song by the same name, commented on life to be lived, offering an alternative to the apostle Paul’s bragging when he wrote:
“(You) “Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues,
And you know it don't come easy.
You don't have to shout or leap about,
You can even play them easy.”
And when you listen to the words of the rest of the song, it is really quite a spiritual song – a song of love and grace sung by God to God’s people.
Forget about the past and all your sorrows,
The future won't last,
It will soon be over tomorrow.
I don't ask for much, I only want your trust,
And you know it don't come easy.
And this love of mine keeps growing all the time,
And you know it just ain't easy.
Open up your heart, let's come together,
Use a little love
And we will make it work out better.
Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues,
And you know it don't come easy.
You don't have to shout or leap about,
You can even play them easy.
Peace, remember peace is how we make it,
Here within your reach
If you're big enough to take it.
I don't ask for much, i only want your trust,
And you know it don't come easy.
And this love of mine keeps growing all the time,
And you know it don't come easy.
Jesus promises his disciples that, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; … he will declare to you the things that are yet to come. He will glorify me.” Jesus has provided the Holy Spirit to stand by us in our suffering and time of loss, to strengthen us when we are tired and our energy is spent; to empower us for all the work that needs to be done; to dream dreams remembering the past and those saints who have served before us; and to envision a future when all we do will glorify God.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pentecost
May 23, 2010
Romans 8: 14-17; John 14: 8-17
The first disciples gathered in a room to worship together on the morning of Pentecost. Perhaps, in the back of their minds, they were thinking about the Spirit Jesus had promised – about when would it come and what would it be like? They were given no time line for when, so they really had no idea. It was all very vague, so all they could do was to go about their lives as faithful followers of their Lord until then. Today their lives called them to worship.
They were celebrating the Jewish festival of Pentecost, also called Shauvot, the third of three major festivals. It is a celebration of the harvest and the giving of the first fruits to God. It’s significance in Acts is its connection to Jesus declaration that “the harvest is plenty but the labors are few” (John 10:2) and to Joel’s prophecy that “the threshing floors shall be full of grain.”
It is Pentecost, where the first fruit of the community proclaims a renewed covenant and commitment for all people. Those in the room were faithful Jews looking for a Jewish messiah, and John tells us when the Spirit came, they all became representatives of a more universal experience of God and what it was to be a follower of Jesus. The first Pentecost, brought about a rebirth – not a new covenant, but a renewed covenant – that would change the hearts and minds of those present and renew the face of the earth.
This is good news for us today because the same Spirit of God that warmed the hearts of those first disciples in Jerusalem is looking to inspire a rebirth within us. The same Spirit that led Isaiah to envision the holy mountain for all people, and John of Patmos to witness a city with no walls and no temple, is breaking into our small circles and sending us out as agents of a renewed earth.
In her book, The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle (a founding editor of the Religion Department of the PUBLISHERS WEEKLY) reflects on what she sees as the regular "garage sale" that the church experiences every 500 years or so. Looking at the church today, she and others see the possibility we may be in the middle of one of those cosmic inspired, rummage sales - when we can refocus our hearts and minds on what the good news means today, while honoring the contributions of those who have gone before us. For her and others, this can be a time of great renewal for the church and an opportunity for a re-examination of fundamental questions and a re-commitment to a renewed living of our faith. They see this as a time for us "to dream dreams and to see visions," and for an outpouring of the Spirit that calls us to set aside our preconceived notions and neat perceptions in favor of an expansive and inclusive reign of God?
Our reading from Acts says such a “day had come.” The time was fulfilled; it was actually lived out for the early disciples who were gathered together in that room. A sound, like a violent wind, filled the house. The wind saturated everything, the house and everyone in it. The entire house and all the people inside were “filled by the Spirit.” This Spirit “rested on each of them.” No one was left out. Imagine the Spirit doing that here, today. What an overwhelming impact on the people who would be inside.
It was so overwhelming that it spilled out into the streets. People outside had noticed something was going in the house and they began to gather close by. It was a crowd of people of all nationalities – Parthians, Medes, and Elamites just to mention a few – formed outside.
When the Spirit came upon those first disciples, they started speaking, but the language they spoke wasn’t Roman or Greek or Hebrew, nor were they speaking in tongues that only their fellow disciples could understand. They spoke in the native languages of all the people in the crowd outside so that they could hear the good news of rebirth and renewal spoken in their own native language – a language they could really understand. Thus the Holy Spirit makes possible the sharing of the gospel to all people, everywhere. Thus on Pentecost the driving force and mission of the church are spelled out.
Even in an age of mass communication, the Internet and social networking, we are not in any less danger of acting more like the Roman Empire than the renewed Community of God. In our lives and in our churches we can experience a kind of hardening that comes from a faith that is stuck in time. It is just as hard for us to find a way to be faithful to a covenantal relationship we first entered into, while inviting and seeking a new experience of Spirit that would save us from our having put on a pedestal the thought and expression we have become accustomed so to. The Spirit breathes new life to the community. Tongues touched by the Spirit can now be heard in a language people understand. We can rejoice that God has chosen to speak to us in the deep and many languages of our hearts, and not the monologue of a world marching in lock-step?
For us, then, what might a Pentecost moment look like? Would it include our “hearing” God in a way we would understand? And would that message go viral as each of us shared it in ever widening circles. After all, we are not unlike those who were gathered on that Pentecost day. The Spirit can enter into these church walls blowing among us and settling upon us and unsettling our thinking, empowering us to be renewed and bringing renewal for the world – just like she did in John’s account. We believe that, don’t we?
19th Century theologian Friedrich Nietzsche wrote concerning a life lived in the Spirit: “A sedentary life is the real sin against the Holy Spirit. Only those thoughts that come by walking have any value.” Perhaps, if we have been sitting for too long, it is time to now get up and start walking.
On this day of Pentecost, may all of us within these walls find our hearts singing with the Spirit of God, our ears humming with the Spirit’s voice reaching deep into our souls, and wisdom dawning in our minds to set us free. May this community and this church experience the coming of God's Spirit, now. And may we welcome it with joy and hope, give in to it with love, so that when the day is over, the entire world will know the love of God because of us!
Romans 8: 14-17; John 14: 8-17
The first disciples gathered in a room to worship together on the morning of Pentecost. Perhaps, in the back of their minds, they were thinking about the Spirit Jesus had promised – about when would it come and what would it be like? They were given no time line for when, so they really had no idea. It was all very vague, so all they could do was to go about their lives as faithful followers of their Lord until then. Today their lives called them to worship.
They were celebrating the Jewish festival of Pentecost, also called Shauvot, the third of three major festivals. It is a celebration of the harvest and the giving of the first fruits to God. It’s significance in Acts is its connection to Jesus declaration that “the harvest is plenty but the labors are few” (John 10:2) and to Joel’s prophecy that “the threshing floors shall be full of grain.”
It is Pentecost, where the first fruit of the community proclaims a renewed covenant and commitment for all people. Those in the room were faithful Jews looking for a Jewish messiah, and John tells us when the Spirit came, they all became representatives of a more universal experience of God and what it was to be a follower of Jesus. The first Pentecost, brought about a rebirth – not a new covenant, but a renewed covenant – that would change the hearts and minds of those present and renew the face of the earth.
This is good news for us today because the same Spirit of God that warmed the hearts of those first disciples in Jerusalem is looking to inspire a rebirth within us. The same Spirit that led Isaiah to envision the holy mountain for all people, and John of Patmos to witness a city with no walls and no temple, is breaking into our small circles and sending us out as agents of a renewed earth.
In her book, The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle (a founding editor of the Religion Department of the PUBLISHERS WEEKLY) reflects on what she sees as the regular "garage sale" that the church experiences every 500 years or so. Looking at the church today, she and others see the possibility we may be in the middle of one of those cosmic inspired, rummage sales - when we can refocus our hearts and minds on what the good news means today, while honoring the contributions of those who have gone before us. For her and others, this can be a time of great renewal for the church and an opportunity for a re-examination of fundamental questions and a re-commitment to a renewed living of our faith. They see this as a time for us "to dream dreams and to see visions," and for an outpouring of the Spirit that calls us to set aside our preconceived notions and neat perceptions in favor of an expansive and inclusive reign of God?
Our reading from Acts says such a “day had come.” The time was fulfilled; it was actually lived out for the early disciples who were gathered together in that room. A sound, like a violent wind, filled the house. The wind saturated everything, the house and everyone in it. The entire house and all the people inside were “filled by the Spirit.” This Spirit “rested on each of them.” No one was left out. Imagine the Spirit doing that here, today. What an overwhelming impact on the people who would be inside.
It was so overwhelming that it spilled out into the streets. People outside had noticed something was going in the house and they began to gather close by. It was a crowd of people of all nationalities – Parthians, Medes, and Elamites just to mention a few – formed outside.
When the Spirit came upon those first disciples, they started speaking, but the language they spoke wasn’t Roman or Greek or Hebrew, nor were they speaking in tongues that only their fellow disciples could understand. They spoke in the native languages of all the people in the crowd outside so that they could hear the good news of rebirth and renewal spoken in their own native language – a language they could really understand. Thus the Holy Spirit makes possible the sharing of the gospel to all people, everywhere. Thus on Pentecost the driving force and mission of the church are spelled out.
Even in an age of mass communication, the Internet and social networking, we are not in any less danger of acting more like the Roman Empire than the renewed Community of God. In our lives and in our churches we can experience a kind of hardening that comes from a faith that is stuck in time. It is just as hard for us to find a way to be faithful to a covenantal relationship we first entered into, while inviting and seeking a new experience of Spirit that would save us from our having put on a pedestal the thought and expression we have become accustomed so to. The Spirit breathes new life to the community. Tongues touched by the Spirit can now be heard in a language people understand. We can rejoice that God has chosen to speak to us in the deep and many languages of our hearts, and not the monologue of a world marching in lock-step?
For us, then, what might a Pentecost moment look like? Would it include our “hearing” God in a way we would understand? And would that message go viral as each of us shared it in ever widening circles. After all, we are not unlike those who were gathered on that Pentecost day. The Spirit can enter into these church walls blowing among us and settling upon us and unsettling our thinking, empowering us to be renewed and bringing renewal for the world – just like she did in John’s account. We believe that, don’t we?
19th Century theologian Friedrich Nietzsche wrote concerning a life lived in the Spirit: “A sedentary life is the real sin against the Holy Spirit. Only those thoughts that come by walking have any value.” Perhaps, if we have been sitting for too long, it is time to now get up and start walking.
On this day of Pentecost, may all of us within these walls find our hearts singing with the Spirit of God, our ears humming with the Spirit’s voice reaching deep into our souls, and wisdom dawning in our minds to set us free. May this community and this church experience the coming of God's Spirit, now. And may we welcome it with joy and hope, give in to it with love, so that when the day is over, the entire world will know the love of God because of us!
Monday, May 17, 2010
“One”
May 16, 2010
Acts 16:16-34; John 17:20-26
Last week, in Acts, we met Lydia, the gentile woman of considerable means who brought herself and her whole household to faith in Jesus Christ, all baptized in the midst of joy and celebration. Paul, Silas, Luke and those traveling with him, must have been feeling pretty good about how things were going after that - except for one thing.
On their daily trips to the place of prayer, Paul and those with him, keeps crossing paths with a woman very different from Lydia. While Lydia was a woman of position and great wealth, with her own household and a business to run, this other woman, a young slave-girl to be precise, was not only a possession of others but was held captive by a spirit that gave her special powers. It isn’t a bad ‘demon’ causing problems per se; it is a beneficial ‘spirit’ giving her a special gift – the ability to “divine” or discern things - to see more deeply into the realities of a person’s life that the rest of us might miss. In the Greek world at that time, people would come to women like her, to ask questions that were answered while in a trance, speaking "in the spirit." In the society of which she was a part, what she did was not only commonplace but, was highly valued and appeared to meet a definite need. For her this is the way life was.
And yet, this young woman was a captive needing to be freed. Sometimes we humans are captive to forces more powerful than we are. The girl was captive to her gift of ‘discerning reality’ – but what about us, what are the ‘gifts’ holding us captive? What do we need to be freed from in how we go about living our lives? Our answers are no doubt varied. We think that slavery is something from a time long ago, at least here in the United States, something from a more unjust culture; but some would suggest today’s text should make us think about the reality of our own captivity and the need for chains to be broken. In other words, like the young woman in this story, we are all in need of God’s liberating grace.
And we know the power of the Gospel to free and transform lives. What happens next – the judgment against Paul and Silas, their being locked up in jail, the earthquake – illustrates this, doesn’t it? Experiencing the power of the Gospel, the jailer’s life is changed and (like Lydia and her household) he and his family are baptized into the faith. These are outsiders coming in, responding to the good news Paul preaches, a gospel of grace that includes everyone – “we are no longer Gentile or Jew, no longer slave or free, no longer male or female; but one in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
We all have lives that can be transformed. Lawrence Farris observes that everyone in this story needs to be freed from something – it’s not just the slave girl but also the men who used her (who are possessed by greed), the men who judged Paul (who are possessed by fear and a hunger for power), the jailer (who is owned by the empire), and even Paul and Silas, who need to be freed from more than a prison cell as their minds are opened to including all. As a church, what is the surprise that awaits us on our way to ministry, the obstacle that has something important to teach us, or the set back that may offer the opportunity for us to do something really wonderful for the sake of the gospel? Having experienced God’s grace, what will allow us to follow Christ more completely, more faithfully, and more effectively?
At the heart of following Christ is our oneness, our communion together in God’s grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “Christian unity is not an ideal which we must realize [understand]; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” Our oneness is to be lived. In the end, that is what Jesus asked for – that the Father would allow us to experience what he had – to live the life of faith he lived, and that it be something we would all do. He asked that we be one with God.
Jesus’ main concern for his followers, and for us, is oneness, both oneness with God and oneness with each other. Its foundation is that God’s glory is to be seen and shared in him. This unity is rooted in Jesus’ life that opened a window on God’s being. His life is to be seen as an offer of relationship, a relationship of love. William Loader writes concerning the unity found in Christ as, “an invitation to generosity based on a simple and inclusive understanding of faith: in Jesus we identify God’s generous hand stretched out (to all who believe).”
In John 17, Jesus prays that we might all be one (as Jesus and the Father are one). We were to be one for a reason – so that the world (Jew and Gentile alike, slave and free, man and woman) might know of God’s great love for them. He’s not talking about an organizational unity. Jesus knew God to be a God of love and wanted all his followers know God in the same way. Our experience, our relationship, is to be his. That is the oneness he speaks of – that we are one in Christ, and our oneness become a shared witness allowing us to take the gospel of grace to the whole world. It is in that ‘oneness’ others will truly know and understand Jesus was indeed sent by the Father.
Our experience of baptism and sharing of Holy Communion are outward and visible signs of that grace. Through Baptism we are initiated into the body of Christ and through Holy Communion, we are made “one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” In this act the Church is united across time and space. It is – there and then, here and now – “a communion of the saints” one with its Lord. It is that promise of oneness that gives us hope today – two thousand years later, in a world still captive, and a world still hungry for the good news that will set us free.
Acts 16:16-34; John 17:20-26
Last week, in Acts, we met Lydia, the gentile woman of considerable means who brought herself and her whole household to faith in Jesus Christ, all baptized in the midst of joy and celebration. Paul, Silas, Luke and those traveling with him, must have been feeling pretty good about how things were going after that - except for one thing.
On their daily trips to the place of prayer, Paul and those with him, keeps crossing paths with a woman very different from Lydia. While Lydia was a woman of position and great wealth, with her own household and a business to run, this other woman, a young slave-girl to be precise, was not only a possession of others but was held captive by a spirit that gave her special powers. It isn’t a bad ‘demon’ causing problems per se; it is a beneficial ‘spirit’ giving her a special gift – the ability to “divine” or discern things - to see more deeply into the realities of a person’s life that the rest of us might miss. In the Greek world at that time, people would come to women like her, to ask questions that were answered while in a trance, speaking "in the spirit." In the society of which she was a part, what she did was not only commonplace but, was highly valued and appeared to meet a definite need. For her this is the way life was.
And yet, this young woman was a captive needing to be freed. Sometimes we humans are captive to forces more powerful than we are. The girl was captive to her gift of ‘discerning reality’ – but what about us, what are the ‘gifts’ holding us captive? What do we need to be freed from in how we go about living our lives? Our answers are no doubt varied. We think that slavery is something from a time long ago, at least here in the United States, something from a more unjust culture; but some would suggest today’s text should make us think about the reality of our own captivity and the need for chains to be broken. In other words, like the young woman in this story, we are all in need of God’s liberating grace.
And we know the power of the Gospel to free and transform lives. What happens next – the judgment against Paul and Silas, their being locked up in jail, the earthquake – illustrates this, doesn’t it? Experiencing the power of the Gospel, the jailer’s life is changed and (like Lydia and her household) he and his family are baptized into the faith. These are outsiders coming in, responding to the good news Paul preaches, a gospel of grace that includes everyone – “we are no longer Gentile or Jew, no longer slave or free, no longer male or female; but one in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
We all have lives that can be transformed. Lawrence Farris observes that everyone in this story needs to be freed from something – it’s not just the slave girl but also the men who used her (who are possessed by greed), the men who judged Paul (who are possessed by fear and a hunger for power), the jailer (who is owned by the empire), and even Paul and Silas, who need to be freed from more than a prison cell as their minds are opened to including all. As a church, what is the surprise that awaits us on our way to ministry, the obstacle that has something important to teach us, or the set back that may offer the opportunity for us to do something really wonderful for the sake of the gospel? Having experienced God’s grace, what will allow us to follow Christ more completely, more faithfully, and more effectively?
At the heart of following Christ is our oneness, our communion together in God’s grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “Christian unity is not an ideal which we must realize [understand]; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” Our oneness is to be lived. In the end, that is what Jesus asked for – that the Father would allow us to experience what he had – to live the life of faith he lived, and that it be something we would all do. He asked that we be one with God.
Jesus’ main concern for his followers, and for us, is oneness, both oneness with God and oneness with each other. Its foundation is that God’s glory is to be seen and shared in him. This unity is rooted in Jesus’ life that opened a window on God’s being. His life is to be seen as an offer of relationship, a relationship of love. William Loader writes concerning the unity found in Christ as, “an invitation to generosity based on a simple and inclusive understanding of faith: in Jesus we identify God’s generous hand stretched out (to all who believe).”
In John 17, Jesus prays that we might all be one (as Jesus and the Father are one). We were to be one for a reason – so that the world (Jew and Gentile alike, slave and free, man and woman) might know of God’s great love for them. He’s not talking about an organizational unity. Jesus knew God to be a God of love and wanted all his followers know God in the same way. Our experience, our relationship, is to be his. That is the oneness he speaks of – that we are one in Christ, and our oneness become a shared witness allowing us to take the gospel of grace to the whole world. It is in that ‘oneness’ others will truly know and understand Jesus was indeed sent by the Father.
Our experience of baptism and sharing of Holy Communion are outward and visible signs of that grace. Through Baptism we are initiated into the body of Christ and through Holy Communion, we are made “one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” In this act the Church is united across time and space. It is – there and then, here and now – “a communion of the saints” one with its Lord. It is that promise of oneness that gives us hope today – two thousand years later, in a world still captive, and a world still hungry for the good news that will set us free.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
“Lydia: A Life of Generosity and Hospitality”
May 9, 2010
Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-29
In our service today, all of us will have the opportunity to consecrate our personal commitment for the next twelve months. A few days ago, you were invited to prayerfully consider what your offering to God might be. At the conclusion of our lesson today, so that it might become a blessing to God, I will ask you to bring your commitment forward.
Our text for today introduces us to one woman’s commitment. Lydia was a successful woman. She appears to be financially well to do, owning both a home and a business. She is a “dealer in purple cloth” (16:14), the material used in the clothing of the wealthy and influential Romans. Her livelihood depended on their lifestyle and their success.
Our text though is not about her business, but rather about her response to the preaching of the gospel and its call on her life. Hearing Paul speak, Lydia is motivated by faith, not by fear; and she is moved to action.
In today’s passage, Paul and Silas arrive in the city of Philippi, a Roman colony in the district of Macedonia. While in Troas, a port city on the Aegean Sea, Paul sees a vision of a man of Macedonia, that convinces him God wants him – that God is calling him – to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the Macedonians. So Paul and Silas go from Troas to Philippi, by way of Samothrace to Neopolis. On the Sabbath, they go outside of Philippi by the river, looking for a place of prayer, and they sit down with a group of women who have come to visit with one another. They begin to talk to the women, and Lydia who is there, eagerly listens to what Paul says. (v.14).
Lydia could have been skeptical, but she wasn’t. She could have been cautious or afraid of what he was suggesting, but she wasn’t. She doesn’t try to hold on to what she has. She doesn’t take any of these fear-based actions. Instead, she responds with faith, generosity and hospitality, which she feels is what God wants her to do.
Lydia asks for baptism for herself and her household, and then insists, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home” (v. 15). Lydia is persistent. And so, Paul and Silas, seeing no way out, follow her home. In time, Lydia’s house becomes a center of Christian worship and outreach in Philippi, and Paul develops a close and loving bond with the church members there.
Later, when he writes his letter to the Philippians, Paul expresses his gratitude in this way – he says, “…when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone” (Philippians 4:15). No church shared with him and supported him … except the Philippians. They were the generous ones… the hospitable ones… the faithful ones. And it all started with Lydia, a woman who chose faith over fear.
Today is Mother’s Day, so it’s tempting to direct this message to the mothers who are here today. But that would be wrong, since the fear of ‘what tomorrow may bring’ touches more than just mothers — in fact, it hits all of us, men and women alike. Each of us can be terrified of something – of losing stability and security in our life. It doesn’t have to be a financial fear, it could be the fear of losing our health, fear of losing our independence, and fear of, well, losing almost anything.
But the solution is not to hold on more tightly to what we have or our lifestyle. What we need is not a better ‘investment’ for our money or a ‘bigger barn’ or more storage units. No, the answer is to choose faith over fear. The way to find real peace and security in one’s life is to practice generosity and hospitality.
In our text today, Lydia listened eagerly to Paul and responded by her generosity and hospitality. She did what God had put her there to do. So, what is it that God has put you here to do? Where is God at work in your life … right here, right now?
Lydia embodies someone who senses there is more to life than her present experience - more than money, more than success, even more than her influence on others. This is a woman who was willing to go beyond the boundaries set for her in a time when women were definitely ‘second class citizens.’ Yet Ronald Cole-Turner describes Lydia as being both “…Mary and …Martha, her heart set on God even while her work gets done." And when Lydia encounters the gospel in the preaching of Paul and Silas, she responds with action and commitment, not only asking to be baptized but also in insisting on exercising the virtue of hospitality.
What is the one thing you should be doing as you put your faith into action?
Lydia found herself moving from anxiety to serenity, and from a life ruled by fear to a life shaped by faith. The particular path we follow will be different for each of us. Her path was to practice hospitality and generosity, in line with what God was doing in her life. What is our path today?
As we involve ourselves in God's mission today in this time and place, we must remember we are the Body of Christ active in the world that God loves. Like Lydia, we must be open to what God wants for us, opening our hearts to God's leading: where we should go, even if it's to the most unexpected places.
Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-29
In our service today, all of us will have the opportunity to consecrate our personal commitment for the next twelve months. A few days ago, you were invited to prayerfully consider what your offering to God might be. At the conclusion of our lesson today, so that it might become a blessing to God, I will ask you to bring your commitment forward.
Our text for today introduces us to one woman’s commitment. Lydia was a successful woman. She appears to be financially well to do, owning both a home and a business. She is a “dealer in purple cloth” (16:14), the material used in the clothing of the wealthy and influential Romans. Her livelihood depended on their lifestyle and their success.
Our text though is not about her business, but rather about her response to the preaching of the gospel and its call on her life. Hearing Paul speak, Lydia is motivated by faith, not by fear; and she is moved to action.
In today’s passage, Paul and Silas arrive in the city of Philippi, a Roman colony in the district of Macedonia. While in Troas, a port city on the Aegean Sea, Paul sees a vision of a man of Macedonia, that convinces him God wants him – that God is calling him – to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the Macedonians. So Paul and Silas go from Troas to Philippi, by way of Samothrace to Neopolis. On the Sabbath, they go outside of Philippi by the river, looking for a place of prayer, and they sit down with a group of women who have come to visit with one another. They begin to talk to the women, and Lydia who is there, eagerly listens to what Paul says. (v.14).
Lydia could have been skeptical, but she wasn’t. She could have been cautious or afraid of what he was suggesting, but she wasn’t. She doesn’t try to hold on to what she has. She doesn’t take any of these fear-based actions. Instead, she responds with faith, generosity and hospitality, which she feels is what God wants her to do.
Lydia asks for baptism for herself and her household, and then insists, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home” (v. 15). Lydia is persistent. And so, Paul and Silas, seeing no way out, follow her home. In time, Lydia’s house becomes a center of Christian worship and outreach in Philippi, and Paul develops a close and loving bond with the church members there.
Later, when he writes his letter to the Philippians, Paul expresses his gratitude in this way – he says, “…when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone” (Philippians 4:15). No church shared with him and supported him … except the Philippians. They were the generous ones… the hospitable ones… the faithful ones. And it all started with Lydia, a woman who chose faith over fear.
Today is Mother’s Day, so it’s tempting to direct this message to the mothers who are here today. But that would be wrong, since the fear of ‘what tomorrow may bring’ touches more than just mothers — in fact, it hits all of us, men and women alike. Each of us can be terrified of something – of losing stability and security in our life. It doesn’t have to be a financial fear, it could be the fear of losing our health, fear of losing our independence, and fear of, well, losing almost anything.
But the solution is not to hold on more tightly to what we have or our lifestyle. What we need is not a better ‘investment’ for our money or a ‘bigger barn’ or more storage units. No, the answer is to choose faith over fear. The way to find real peace and security in one’s life is to practice generosity and hospitality.
In our text today, Lydia listened eagerly to Paul and responded by her generosity and hospitality. She did what God had put her there to do. So, what is it that God has put you here to do? Where is God at work in your life … right here, right now?
Lydia embodies someone who senses there is more to life than her present experience - more than money, more than success, even more than her influence on others. This is a woman who was willing to go beyond the boundaries set for her in a time when women were definitely ‘second class citizens.’ Yet Ronald Cole-Turner describes Lydia as being both “…Mary and …Martha, her heart set on God even while her work gets done." And when Lydia encounters the gospel in the preaching of Paul and Silas, she responds with action and commitment, not only asking to be baptized but also in insisting on exercising the virtue of hospitality.
What is the one thing you should be doing as you put your faith into action?
Lydia found herself moving from anxiety to serenity, and from a life ruled by fear to a life shaped by faith. The particular path we follow will be different for each of us. Her path was to practice hospitality and generosity, in line with what God was doing in her life. What is our path today?
As we involve ourselves in God's mission today in this time and place, we must remember we are the Body of Christ active in the world that God loves. Like Lydia, we must be open to what God wants for us, opening our hearts to God's leading: where we should go, even if it's to the most unexpected places.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Defined By Generosity
May 2, 2010
1 Timothy 6:17-19; Luke 6:38
During the past few weeks, we have examined some of the financial challenges facing us as a nation, and we have looked at our own spending, saving, and giving habits. We have examined the biblical principles of financial management, and we have learned about ways to assess our financial situation and develop a financial plan that will allow us to experience the true joy that comes through simplicity and generosity. We continue today in learning how we, as followers of Christ and participants in the kingdom, are defined by generosity.
Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
What is the biblical - the Godly - foundation for a generous life?
It is that we have all been created to be generous, while at the same time tempted to hoard. God created us with the willingness to give—to God and to others. This design is part of our makeup; we actually have the need to be generous. Yet there are two inner voices that work against our God-given impulse toward generosity, tempting and warning us to keep or hoard what we have.
We hear both voices – one of fear, the other of self-gratification – that keep us from being generous. We are afraid of what might happen to us if we don’t have ‘enough’ for ourselves and so, place our security in hoarding what we have. But hoarding provides no real security at all. Our culture tells us that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions and pleasurable experiences. So we find ourselves thinking, If I give, there won’t be enough left for me.
What we have to do is overcome these voices. When we give our lives to Christ, invite him to be Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to begin changing us from the inside out, we find that our fears begin to dissipate and our aim in life shifts from seeking personal pleasure to pleasing God and caring for others. Although we still may wrestle with the voices from time to time, we are able to silence them more readily and effectively the more we grow in Christ. And the more we grow in Christ, realizing that our lives belong to him, the more generous we become. Generosity is a fruit of spiritual growth.
There are many Biblical reasons to give to God and others, among them, these two:
• We find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. (Acts 20:35)
• Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God. (Psalm 24:1; Leviticus 25:23)
And there are Biblical guidelines for giving, as well. From the early days of the Old Testament, God’s people observed the practice of “giving a portion of the best of what they had to God.” This gift offered to God was called the first fruits or the tithe, and it equaled one-tenth of one’s flocks or crops or income. Abraham was the first to give a tithe or one-tenth of his wealth. Jacob followed suit in Genesis 28:22, saying: “and of all that you (God) give me I will surely give one tenth to you.” And it was included in the commandments given Moses on Mount Sinai writings Moses: “All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30)
Is giving a tithe outdated? As Christians, who live under the new covenant, no longer bound by the Law of Moses; for us, it is only a guide. Yet most Christians agree that the tithe is a very good guideline for our lives and for our giving - one that is pleasing to God. (Suggestion: Use the video clip “Tithing and the Ten Apples.”) Though tithing can be a struggle, it is possible at virtually every income level. If you cannot tithe right away, take a step in that direction. Perhaps you can give 2 percent or 5 percent or 7 percent. God understands where you are, and God will help you make the adjustments necessary for you to become more and more generous.
What about giving beyond the tithe? Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow even beyond the tithe. We should strive to set aside an additional percentage of our income as offerings for other things that are important to us, such as mission projects, schools, church building funds, and other nonprofit organizations.
What does our giving mean, exactly? Early on in the Bible, people’s giving was seen as part of their worship of God as they placed the first fruit of their labors upon the altar. Doing so, they expressed their gratitude, devotion, and desire to honor God. Their offering expressed their love, faith, and the desire to please and honor God. Such offerings were a blessing to the Lord. They are just as much a blessing today. We can find God’s response to our giving in Luke 6:38, which says,
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
We find it also in the story of the faithful servant from Matthew 25:
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (21)
Our generosity also has an affect upon us. Through it our hearts are changed. When we are generous—to God and to our families, friends, neighbors, and others who are in need—our hearts are filled with joy. Our hearts are enlarged by the very act of giving. When we give generously, we become more generous.
And in our generosity, we find the blessings of God. (Malachi 3:10) Many Christians have it wrong. They say that if you give, then God will give more back to you. But that is not how it works. We do not give to God so that we can get something in return. The amazing thing is that when we give to God and to others, the blessings just seem to come back to us. Of course, there is no guarantee that if you tithe you will never lose your job or never have other bad things happen to you. However, we do know when we give generously, the unmistakable blessings of God flow into our lives.
What defines your life? Is it wealth? Belongings? Faith? Many of us live with a scarcity mentality, worried that we must gather and hoard as much as possible, saving for some imagined “rainy day.” Or we focus on self-gratification. But the Bible promises both God’s blessings and joy for those who choose to live another way. I hope each of us will take action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year. Take the time right now, as part of our silent meditation and prayer, to complete a “Personal Goals and Commitment” card and place it in your Bible for your personal reference in the coming year.
-- from the series, Enough: Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity by Adam Hamilton.
1 Timothy 6:17-19; Luke 6:38
During the past few weeks, we have examined some of the financial challenges facing us as a nation, and we have looked at our own spending, saving, and giving habits. We have examined the biblical principles of financial management, and we have learned about ways to assess our financial situation and develop a financial plan that will allow us to experience the true joy that comes through simplicity and generosity. We continue today in learning how we, as followers of Christ and participants in the kingdom, are defined by generosity.
Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
What is the biblical - the Godly - foundation for a generous life?
It is that we have all been created to be generous, while at the same time tempted to hoard. God created us with the willingness to give—to God and to others. This design is part of our makeup; we actually have the need to be generous. Yet there are two inner voices that work against our God-given impulse toward generosity, tempting and warning us to keep or hoard what we have.
We hear both voices – one of fear, the other of self-gratification – that keep us from being generous. We are afraid of what might happen to us if we don’t have ‘enough’ for ourselves and so, place our security in hoarding what we have. But hoarding provides no real security at all. Our culture tells us that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions and pleasurable experiences. So we find ourselves thinking, If I give, there won’t be enough left for me.
What we have to do is overcome these voices. When we give our lives to Christ, invite him to be Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to begin changing us from the inside out, we find that our fears begin to dissipate and our aim in life shifts from seeking personal pleasure to pleasing God and caring for others. Although we still may wrestle with the voices from time to time, we are able to silence them more readily and effectively the more we grow in Christ. And the more we grow in Christ, realizing that our lives belong to him, the more generous we become. Generosity is a fruit of spiritual growth.
There are many Biblical reasons to give to God and others, among them, these two:
• We find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. (Acts 20:35)
• Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God. (Psalm 24:1; Leviticus 25:23)
And there are Biblical guidelines for giving, as well. From the early days of the Old Testament, God’s people observed the practice of “giving a portion of the best of what they had to God.” This gift offered to God was called the first fruits or the tithe, and it equaled one-tenth of one’s flocks or crops or income. Abraham was the first to give a tithe or one-tenth of his wealth. Jacob followed suit in Genesis 28:22, saying: “and of all that you (God) give me I will surely give one tenth to you.” And it was included in the commandments given Moses on Mount Sinai writings Moses: “All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30)
Is giving a tithe outdated? As Christians, who live under the new covenant, no longer bound by the Law of Moses; for us, it is only a guide. Yet most Christians agree that the tithe is a very good guideline for our lives and for our giving - one that is pleasing to God. (Suggestion: Use the video clip “Tithing and the Ten Apples.”) Though tithing can be a struggle, it is possible at virtually every income level. If you cannot tithe right away, take a step in that direction. Perhaps you can give 2 percent or 5 percent or 7 percent. God understands where you are, and God will help you make the adjustments necessary for you to become more and more generous.
What about giving beyond the tithe? Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow even beyond the tithe. We should strive to set aside an additional percentage of our income as offerings for other things that are important to us, such as mission projects, schools, church building funds, and other nonprofit organizations.
What does our giving mean, exactly? Early on in the Bible, people’s giving was seen as part of their worship of God as they placed the first fruit of their labors upon the altar. Doing so, they expressed their gratitude, devotion, and desire to honor God. Their offering expressed their love, faith, and the desire to please and honor God. Such offerings were a blessing to the Lord. They are just as much a blessing today. We can find God’s response to our giving in Luke 6:38, which says,
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
We find it also in the story of the faithful servant from Matthew 25:
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (21)
Our generosity also has an affect upon us. Through it our hearts are changed. When we are generous—to God and to our families, friends, neighbors, and others who are in need—our hearts are filled with joy. Our hearts are enlarged by the very act of giving. When we give generously, we become more generous.
And in our generosity, we find the blessings of God. (Malachi 3:10) Many Christians have it wrong. They say that if you give, then God will give more back to you. But that is not how it works. We do not give to God so that we can get something in return. The amazing thing is that when we give to God and to others, the blessings just seem to come back to us. Of course, there is no guarantee that if you tithe you will never lose your job or never have other bad things happen to you. However, we do know when we give generously, the unmistakable blessings of God flow into our lives.
What defines your life? Is it wealth? Belongings? Faith? Many of us live with a scarcity mentality, worried that we must gather and hoard as much as possible, saving for some imagined “rainy day.” Or we focus on self-gratification. But the Bible promises both God’s blessings and joy for those who choose to live another way. I hope each of us will take action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year. Take the time right now, as part of our silent meditation and prayer, to complete a “Personal Goals and Commitment” card and place it in your Bible for your personal reference in the coming year.
-- from the series, Enough: Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity by Adam Hamilton.
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