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B I G I D E A
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).
Pastor Bob
C H U R C H M E D I A
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31
Oct '19
A NOTE FROM PASTOR BOB: AN INVITATION … TO LET POETRY SPEAK TO YOUR LIFE
31
Oct '19
During the month of November, I will be taking a month-long sabbatical. This will be an intentional time away from the daily routines and obligations of life and an immersion into the presence of God – a time to give it all to God and let God speak to my life in a deeper and exclusive way. The sabbatical will be a time for God to “melt me … mold me … fill me … and use me,” as the lyrics of one of my favorite hymns, “Spirit of the Living God,” go.
But I’m not sure that is an adequate explanation of what this sabbatical is all about. You see, things of God are hard to put into words. It seems that our normal way of speaking and using language isn’t capable of fully describing the way God works in my life and what it all means for me. This is the “ineffable” part of God, the part that is truly beyond words.
But I have discovered a little secret way of speaking about God … and God’s creation … and life in God’s world … that I would like to share with you. It’s a form of writing known as poetry! Poetry is a way of using words that in some curious and unexplainable way, are able to touch the truth of things that normal language just cannot do. I am not a poet –at least in the formal sense of the word. But I have a group of real poets that I keep nearby in books of theirs. They stay close to me because they are able to explain things about God, and reveal other things about my relationship with God, that I just can’t find anywhere else.
So, I thought I would offer this little gift to all of you — that might be a better way of explaining what this sabbatical is really about. Let me be clear: I am not going on sabbatical because I am worn out or spiritually empty. In fact, it’s just the opposite. My 2 years plus at Vine Street have energized me and stretched me spiritually in ways I knew it would. God led me here to be with you, and I am convinced God has a great plan for us. So in order to be the best Pastor I can be – for God and for you – I am withdrawing for a month so that God, and God alone, can do his work in my heart and on my soul … so that I am best prepared spiritually to serve you in whatever it is God has in store for us up ahead.
And while I am out, you also, as a congregation, will be examining God’s next call for Vine Street. I hope you will make it a point to attend the “Vision Luncheon” on November 10th after church. The Holy Spirit moves in powerful ways when 2 or 3 … or more … are gathered in the name of Jesus! But in addition to that, I also encourage you to take some “withdraw” time for yourself. Create your own Sabbath retreat or mini-sabbatical. Yes, it may be the hardest thing to do given your schedule – but it may also be the most important thing to do given your schedule. When I return for the First Sunday of Advent, we can talk about this further.
But for now, I ask for your prayers – sincere, intentional, and focused prayers to God on behalf of your Pastor. I know that prayer works, and I will be asking God often to share with me the prayers that are coming from this congregation.
And now, here is my little gift of poetry to you. This poem is by one of my great spiritual guides, the late Mary Oliver. (If you want to know how wonderful she is, just ask my mom!) The poem is called “Invitation” – and better than I ever could, it explains the invitation I’m responding to during my time away.
“Invitation”
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy
and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles
for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air
as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,
do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
Mary Oliver, “Invitation,” A Thousand Mornings (New York: Penguin Books, 2013).
Peace to all … and may the grace and love of Jesus Christ fill your heart this month!
Pastor Bob <><
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23
Oct '19
ABRAHAM: A LIFE OF FAITH Read Genesis 12:1-9 for Sunday
23
Oct '19
It takes 12 chapters in the Book of Genesis to get to the kind of life that we are called to in the 21st Century – a life of faith. Up till that chapter, we have had:
Adam and Eve – the life of trusting self over God
Cain and Abel – the life of works to earn God’s blessing
Seth – the life that calls upon the name of the Lord
The Generations In-between – the life of disregard for God
Noah – the life of the righteous family, who obey God for self – preservation
The Descendants of Noah – the life of competing with God for greatness
That little summary is probably not something I would turn in for a Ph.D. dissertation, but I think it is a logical and useful way to summarize the kinds of relationships with God the people of the 1st 11 chapters of Genesis had. And as you will notice, each of those “lifestyles” still exist today in God’s people: Many of us still trust ourselves before trusting God; Many of us live our lives trying to earn God’s favor through good works; Many of us call upon the name of God, but have no intention of trusting God with our lives; Many of us have little, if any, regard for God in our lives; And many of us turn to God when we have nowhere else to turn and our lives are in a desperate mess.
The 1st 11 chapters of Genesis tell me that God knows all about those various kinds of relationships that God’s people preferred, but still God was working in those lives: Picking up the messes; putting back together the pieces; cleansing the world and giving us a do-over. But it isn’t until Chapter 12 of Genesis that we learn about a way of life that can save us from ourselves and save the world as well!
Meet Abram – soon to be renamed by God – Abraham. Seemingly from out of nowhere, with no hint of foreshadowing other than a genealogical lineage, this verse appears in the Book of Genesis: “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’”
Not unlike God’s request of Noah, God wants a particular person to do something very specific. For Noah, the underlying motivation was to save himself and his family – and, by the way, civilization! But God’s call to Abram is different – significantly different. This time, God wants the person receiving the message to trust God entirely … no questions asked.
Yes, there is a promise – a covenant – which God makes with Abram: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” And while that promise today may sound glorious … imagine Abram hearing it for the first time and thinking, “Well, that and a nickel will get me a cup of coffee!”
I’m sure that thought, or something like it, went through Abram’s mind. But it didn’t stick. The trust that Abram had in his heart for God overwhelmed any doubt that emerged in his mind, so “Abram took his wife … his brother’s son … all the possessions they had gathered … and the persons they had acquired … and set forth to go to the land of Canaan.”
This is one of those moments in the stories of the Bible when we have to stop … draw in a deep breath … and take a good long look at what is going on here and why. We are just 12 chapters into the first book of the Bible, and God shows us something new that will become the basis for people’s relationship with God till the end of the Bible, and beyond. God introduces the concept of FAITH … trusting in God’s word just because it is God’s word!
From this point on, faith becomes the measuring stick whereby all those who appear in the Old Testament stories, and all who appear in the New Testament as well, will have their relationship with God defined by this one concept: faith.
In the Old Testament, those who lived by faith in God were blessed in their lives, and those who did not were cursed. And just about everybody that appears are both! Their stories show us the great cycle of having faith and lacking faith, and our inability to overcome our self-trust to completely trust God with our whole life.
In the New Testament, God presents a remedy for the predicament we are in. Not being able on our own to shed the sin of self-worship, God comes into our world as one of us, only sinless, to show us how to live according to God’s way and to lift the curse of sin from our stained hearts and tangled lives and nail it to a cross. Only God could do this for us, and so Jesus becomes the bridge between our life of faith, such as it is, and finally reaching the promised land of God’s Kingdom.
Faith becomes the key to life … and trust unlocks the door. With that, as Jesus says repeatedly, our faith has saved us. From a man named Abram … through generations of history, to this very day and your one “wild and precious” life, God still calls. God calls you today, and says to “Go” to a place where I will show you … it’s a promised land that I have prepared for you … and all I ask in return is that you trust me.”
Let us begin the journey of faith together … today.
Following in Abraham’s path, I am,
Pastor Bob
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16
Oct '19
Prayer: A Lifelong Pursuit
16
Oct '19
Prayer is an issue for everyone. It is perhaps the most constant and persistent topic among all Christians. Prayer is something we all “do” – each in our own way – and yet we always are seeking more. Prayer takes us to God … but hardly ever satisfies the need we have to become one with God. We are often left wondering if God has “heard” our prayers; if our prayers really make any difference; if we’re praying correctly; and, of course, if God is answering our prayers.
Prayer is the one spiritual practice that most of us do on a daily basis, and yet we still have plenty of questions about how and if it really works.
In order to fully appreciate the miracle of prayer, we must first be willing to accept the mystery of God. If we keep waiting on God to respond to our prayers like other people respond to our requests, our needs, and our pleas, then we will probably miss most of what God gives us in response to our prayers. The truth is: there is never a right-way, or a wrong-way, to pray. But if you really want to connect with God and God’s living spirit, then some techniques and practices seem to work better than others. Yet even then, prayer is still a highly unique and personalized method of communication (communion) between you and God.
This weekend I was browsing through a book on prayer that we studied in Seminary. The book, “Beginning Prayer” by John Killinger, claims to be a book on prayer for beginners. But I found it useful to re-read this weekend. Perhaps the truth is – we’re all beginners when it comes to prayer, and we’re all lifelong learners – wanting to learn as much as we can each and every day.
Here are some tips from Killinger, from the Conclusion of his book:
- Do not take prayer “techniques” too seriously. They are only techniques. They are a means to an end.
- It is the presence of God that you are really after. To “put yourself in the presence of God” – that is what you are after. The rest is straw.
- Never stop looking for methods and techniques that help you pray better. Prayer is real. It is worth learning. Don’t let anything … take you off track.
- Our unconscious mind is a big part of praying. There is much more to us than our egos, our conscious minds, our rational beings. We are also dreams, emotions, fears, anxieties, hopes, love, and hate – all kinds of non-analytical things.
- If we belong to Christ, we must belong to Him entirely, below the level of consciousness as well as above it. Christ, who drove out demons, knew this well.
- Therefore, prayer must spill into all of our life, and all of our life must get into our prayers. There must be no holding back. Everything belongs: our nervousness; our aggression; our sexuality; EVERYTHING. God can handle it! We need not fear being honest with God.
- The reality is — it is ourselves we are afraid of. We don’t trust ourselves – we endeavor to deceive ourselves. If we can just get through that barrier – the barrier of the self – life can be what it is meant to be.
- God is waiting! And it is prayer that will get us through. Don’t give up! God is waiting!
- Once you experience a breakthrough and begin to sense the joy and excitement of living in the presence of God, then you can’t get enough of it! Prayer becomes a way of life. It moves into every area of your life. And one day, you find yourself, as the Apostle Paul put it, “praying unceasingly.”
- It’s the greatest feeling in the world!
Source: “Beginning Prayer” by John Killinger
Praying for God’s will to be done … I am
Pastor <>< Bob
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