A Message to the Church Part 5

Sardis: A Church Essentially Dead—Isaiah 52:1-10; Rev. 3: 1-6

            On Monday I attended the closing sale of a church building. For around 40 years this church celebrated hopes, joys, baptisms, funerals, dinners, faith and fellowship of all kinds. But as the congregation dwindled, it was time to re-think ministry and merge with another church. This is becoming an all-too-familiar refrain for churches these days. I subscribe to a Facebook group for appreciating old homes. At a rate of almost 2 per month there are churches being sold on there, and the churches are being converted into condos or private homes. 

            In the past year, we have witnessed an acceleration of the decline that everybody knew was happening. With COVID closing churches, businesses, and gatherings, it became clear that folks could either watch online, or they found something else to do on Sunday mornings. There was a grimly titled article on one of my clergy email lists which said, Dear Church, They’re Not Coming Back. The depressing and dire news is not just fond on television anymore. And yet, all this misery and concern leaves us asking a simple question? What now? Is the church in her dying gasps? Like Sardis, is the modern church essentially dead? We consider that question today in our series on the seven churches of Revelation and what the modern church can learn from them. 

            When John writes to the church at Sardis, he offers a rather awful message: “[Sardis], you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.” How exactly could they have this good reputation, but problematic assessment? There were many lively things going on—the church at Sardis was always doing stuff. This was by no means a declining congregation. But they were spiritually as good as dead. So many people came to Sardis, and they all lacked a spiritual depth. It reminds me of the rebuke Jesus gave to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27, “You are whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.” In modern times I think we struggle with this, for we look at numbers as a mark of growth and strength. But thousands of people make no difference if there is not a spiritual foundation and depth of faith within. The church must grow in faith and understanding of mission before it can ever consider growing otherwise. 

            In essence, there are three things a church does: maintenance, ministry, and mission. We can define maintenance as keeping up the physical location and a center for church work. Ministry is the work that a church does to grow in and of itself and develop its members. Mission is the way the church reaches out and connects to the community. Most churches are quite good at the ministry portion—there is a sense that they take good care of their members. And so long as the money holds out, churches are good at maintenance. But the real struggle in or churches today is this idea of mission. Mission is what we are lacking. 

            John, in Revelation 3, tells the church at Sardis, “Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again.” If we go back, we can find this call to mission in Matthew 28 where Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all the nations,” with further instructions to baptize and teach the world. Go out into the world and make disciples—it’s a mission for the church. The words of Isaiah echo this idea, saying, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation.” Even now as it was then, there is beauty and rejoicing at those who bring good news to a weary people. 

            Why do we have this good news? What is this push to “go into all the world?” The church at Sardis appears to have been busy—what were they doing? The short answer to that, is “who know?” All of their busyness lacked substance, and it was killing them because they had no deep roots, no real depth of faith. If our faith is going to blossom and grow, then we have to grow in the depth of wisdom, knowledge, and faith. The church at Sardis had lost its depth and the total collapse of the church was not far behind. 

            So, can this dire prediction for the church be avoided? The short answer here is yes. When we think of the Christian faith, there is one central overarching theme stands out as the core of what we believe: resurrection. What our faith comes down to is a belief that Christ died and was resurrected from the dead. You’ve been to enough Easters to know the story. Either we fundamentally and truthfully believe in resurrection as the hallmark of our faith, or we don’t. And if we believe that Christ can live again, then we must also believe the same of Christ’s church. We do this by reclaiming our mission—to go out into or communities, neighborhoods, towns, and cities proclaiming good news and living out that good news of Jesus’s love. 

            The Rev. Fred Craddock told a story of an old church he pastored many, many years ago, which I’m going to generally paraphrase. This church had an incredible opportunity to minister to folks who were seasonal visitors to the community—making them part of the church and capitalizing on their presence for the several months they were there. Instead, the church moved to block these people completely and totally from coming in and joining in ministry, and Rev. Craddock left as pastor soon after. In telling this story, he says that he came back to this isolated, unyielding, and unwelcoming church many years later and was surprised to find a beautiful white-painted building, perfectly maintained. The picket fence was still intact, and there were dozens of cars on Sunday morning. The place was packed. The warm, welcoming sign said to everyone who came there, “All you can eat buffet. $9.99.” 

            What the modern church is missing is this passion for mission and for God’s people. We ask our friends to church, but they’ve attended another church for 50 years. We ask our kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews to come back and visit from their churches. But John did not tell Pergamum, Sardis, Ephesus, and others to share folks around as needed. Jesus did not tell the disciples to visit a few synagogues with their friends. The church, instead, got a much harder mission: go into the world preaching the good news to all people. Make disciples. 

            Statistics say that our churches are declining. There is no way around that cold, hard fact. Like Sardis, there’s a lot going on, but much of it is full of sound and fury signifying nothing as Faulkner so eloquently said. There is a cold, hard realization that the universal church, all the denominations together, are nearing a crisis point. But God’s people have been here before. Isaiah is a prophetic word to a people suffering in exile, slavery, oppression, and decline. And Isaiah 52:10 reminds both them and us that, “The Lord has demonstrated his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God.” Are we, then, going to be a people tethered to a statistic of decline, or are we fundamentally, at our core, a people who believe in a God of resurrection and life? 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/239475264821382

A Message to the Church Pt. 4

Thyatira: Missing One Piece—Psalm 1; Rev. 2: 18-29

            This week, in our series on the seven churches of Revelation, we look at the church at Thyatira. This church reminds me of the harrowing experience of doing puzzles, and why I struggle with such pastimes. I will never forget this beautiful, 1,000 piece puzzle of a nightscape I was working on with a friend. We agonized, worked, toiled over this puzzle for weeks. It all came down to one piece in the middle-right. But the remaining piece was a bright orange color…which didn’t fit in the middle of a tree…in a nightscape. Thyatira was much the same way. So much was going well for them, but the were struggling with one missing piece. The lessons we, the modern church, can learn from Thyatira are these: listen to good counsel and hold steadfast to the faith you have when all the pieces fall into the right place. 

            Now you may want me to get right to the answer: what were they missing? But that’s not how a puzzle works because first you have to get the other pieces in place. In this word from Revelation, we see the importance of listening to good counsel. There is much debate on what the sin at Thyatira was. It appears to be two-fold. They were eating food dedicated to idols and false gods. As this was a city of tradesmen with a number of guilds, it was likely a mix of foods at business dinners. There is also a reference to sexual sins. Scholars believe that Thyatira, like the church at Corinth, had listened to prophets and preachers who were not connected the original apostles and were far too permissive in their behaviors.

            Psalm 1, though, gives us the most important piece here: “Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,” we are told. This demands that we are educated, discerning, willing to dialogue, open to learning and growing as God leads. But the Psalm does not stop there. It adds to that list, “Or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers,” in Psalm 1:1. As hard as this is to hear, the Psalm condemns guilt by association. It’s not enough that you avoid doing bad things—don’t be found even be found going along with bad ways! You don’t have to cut people completely out of your life, but compromise your walk with God for earthly things either. 

            I’ll give you an example that is also a bit of a confession. Years ago, I was confronted by an intern at the office. It appears someone had said to her that I was bad-mouthing her, gossiping, about her, and putting her down. She confronted me about whether or not I had said these things. I told her honestly that I had not. But as I thought about it, there was still a sense of guilt. So, I explained further that, while I did not say anything about her, I was present when it was said, and I had neither defended her nor removed myself from the situation. “Oh, the joys of those who do not stand around with sinners or join in with the mockers,” says Psalm 1. I promised in the future if something was said, I would properly tell them to stop and defend her against those hateful words. We must remember that if we do not stand with courage against sinful behaviors in this world, we send the message that we tacitly approve of what is being said or done. 

            Now, in a slightly different take, we must be careful how we analyze this biblical guilt by association. It was easy for people in John of Patmos’s day to say, “Oh those liberal Corinthians and Thyatira Christians…they’ll let anything go…overly tolerant, permissive, no morals, eating whatever. You know they even got some Jezebel up there leading them around.” But it is equally as easy and hateful for others to say, “John and those Jerusalem Apostles don’t know what they’re saying. It’s a culture thing. They’re all weird and conservative about what they eat and how they live. They still follow all those Jewish rules that they had back before Jesus. Wake up y’all, it’s a new day in Christendom!” I know that back and forth sounds nothing like today, at all, right? 

            And yet, it’s a reminder that we must listen to wise counsel. There is no liberal truth to faith, and there is no conservative truth to faith. There is the biblical truth which bids us to be conservative in our dealings, thoughts, and actions, but also to be liberal in love, welcome, and grace to others. Thyatira had many of these things. They were filled with love, with faith, with service, and with patient endurance. In perhaps the biggest compliment of all, they are told, “I can see your constant improvement in all these things,” in Revelation 2: 19. This was, by no means, a floundering congregation or hopeless cause. The Church at Thyatira was a beautiful depiction of church growth in numbers, faith, and Christ-like ways. But they still had one missing puzzle piece. 

            So, what were they missing? The hint is in Revelation 2: 24 where John addresses those “of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching.” The problem is they followed a philosophy based on Christ, but they did not fully follow Christ. They understood the apostles’ teachings on this rabbi who talked of love, hope, and a new way of life. They grew in these teachings and in the life-philosophy found in the example of Christ. But they also listened to false teachings because many hadn’t found that Holy Spirit which comes from following Christ. 

            The Psalm reinforces this idea instead of “chillin’” (as the kids say) with the sinners and joining in with mockers, blessed are the ones who “delight in the law of the Lord” and meditate on it day and night says Psalm 1:2. When we meditate carefully on God’s truth, we will be more careful to avoid this Thyatirian sin of following the idea of Christ without actually following Christ. I’ll give you an example. You can eat a plate of vegetables, but that does not necessarily make you a vegetarian. You can meditate in the mornings, but that does not necessarily make you a Buddhist. You can appreciate the wisdom and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, but that does not necessarily make you a follower of Christ. There’s a commitment a surrender that has to happen as well where our whole being: all that we were, all that we are, and all that we will be must be attuned to God’s grace given to us through the love and work of Jesus. I guess more simply, the question is this: do you admire Jesus or do you follow Jesus? 

            To those who have committed to the faith, John has a message from God as well. God will ask nothing more than to hold tightly to what you have until the end. If all the puzzle pieces fit together well, God says, “hold tightly to what you have until I come.” The question we must ask, then, of ourselves is whether all the puzzle pieces fit together. Do we listen to the good counsel of God’s truth? Do we hold fast to that holy word instead of looking for a political, societal, or just plain wrong answer? Have we committed to following Jesus with or whole hearts? If so, then may we continue to hold fast to the faith which sustains us. If not, let’s start putting the puzzle pieces of faith together today. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1243044836160114

A Message to the Church Pt. 3

Pergamum: Loyal But Not Faithful—Exodus 32: 1-16&19; Rev. 2: 12-17

            As we continue or study of the message to the modern-day church from the prophetic words of Revelation uttered to the seven churches, we come to the church at Pergamum this week. Pergamum reminds me of a church I played organ for only briefly as interim It’s a church I rarely speak about because of its briefness in my life. I was only there a few weeks filling in as the church had found a new organist after an exhaustive search nationwide. They were welcoming a fantastic musician who was excited to come to this church with a full-time music director position. 

            Unfortunately, a senior member of the congregation was not happy and let it be known. He came into the pastor’s office fussing one day while I was making copies. This organist was not the person he wanted, he declared. He knew someone who was local and could do the job without bringing in this fancy, new person. As a side note, the person he wanted was a former night club Hammond organist from the 1950s and his cousin. She had never actually played for churches before. The pastor politely explained that the search committee and board had made a decision, and that was the end of the story. 

The man, enraged, promised it was not the end. He began a phone campaign to the board behind the pastor and board chairperson’s back. He wanted to lead the rest of the church leadership down a path of in-fighting and turmoil. The pastor, to his credit and having learned what was going on, stood up in the pulpit and told the whole story to the congregation. The man, now exposed as a troublemaker, stormed out of the service slamming the door and took his generous tithes with him. He was loyal to the church and would do anything asked, but that loyalty came with the price tag of control because he was not faithful to God in following the mission and ministry to which that church was called. 

            Pergamum had a similar problem. The people were loyal. Though they had faced great pressure from a city described as the “throne of Satan,” they had not waivered. They even proclaimed their loyalty to God when one of them was martyred. But what was strong from the outside was rotting on the inside. It reminds me of when I cut into an apple recently. The outside was beautiful, but with one slice of the knife, I learned the whole inside had rotted to goo. Pergamum had allowed idolatrous teachings. They had allowed leaders to guide them into sin. This was a church which could stand against persecution but was on the verge of imploding should they not repent and repent quickly. The remedy was a strong and truthful word naming their bad deeds and calling them back to repentance. 

            The problem at Pergamum is often difficult to wrap or heads around. We assume that if a church’s faith or practice is wrong, then it will be clear from their coming downfall and demise. But that’s not necessarily true. Some of the biggest churches have some of the most questionable teachings. Pergamum looked like the best of the best as far as the churches go; however, they had already started down a slippery slope with allowing bad teachings, sinful practices, and wrong influences into the core of the church. There are people who come into churches with the best of intentions and the strongest of loyalties, but those loyalties are based on power and control and not on faithfulness to the leading of God. The writer says that the remedy is this: “Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against [the wrong leaders] with the sword of my mouth.”  

            The only way to stop bad influences within a church and its leadership is open, clear, truthful words which call out the problem and gently rebuke it. Biblically we are called to meet first with the person in private, then with the congregation if they won’t listen. The same struggle is seen in the Old Testament for today. The people knew God had led them out of Egypt. They knew God had parted the Red Sea. They saw the cloud and pillar leading them. However loyal they might have been to the idea of God, they struggled to be faithful to the true God. So, while Moses was away, they turned to other gods. Moses had been gone for some time and they had been camped there waiting. Perhaps they reasoned that God was done and they needed some new god to lead them? Whatever their wrong motivation, they were loyal to the idea of a god, but not faithful to the one true God. 

            But Moses did return after begging God not to destroy the unfaithful people. And he threw the truth of God’s words at them…literally…as the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments came hurtling down at them. The people quickly learned the power of the “sword of God’s mouth.” 

            It is actually quite easy to avoid the disaster that awaited Pergamum. First and foremost a church must be led by the Bible as the Living Word of God. II Timothy 2:15 says, “Work hard [or some versions say ‘study’] so you can present yourself to God and receive…approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” This means both reading your Bible and having a good commentary to make plain where the Bible is confusing. 

            It is also important to remain in open, honest communication in a church both with God and with one another. Proverbs 1:5 tells us, “Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance,” and James 1:19 reminds us to be “quick to listen.” In our modern society, we have lost the desire to listen to understand and truly communicate. We only listen now to argue, and that is a bad habit. James 1:19 goes on to say “quick to listen [and] slow to speak.” We, instead, are filled with this spirit of “I hear you, but..” or “I hear you; however,…” If Pergamum had stopped to listen to wise counsel, perhaps they would not have been led astray by fancy teachings which sounded nice but confounded the truth of God’s word.

            Much of this struggle comes from faithless loyalties. We become loyal to or ideas, or social norms, our history, our politics even. The Hebrew people were enslaved to Egypt and an entire generation or more knew nothing else. But God was calling them on a new and different journey to a promised land. Pergamum had all the strength, loyalty, and spiritual power of a truly strong church, yet both had to be faithful to God even if it challenged ideas they were loyal to for many years. In order to stand on God’s promises, you must first be faithful to the God who never breaks a promise to us. So let us pray that God will take the strong foundation of or loyalties and make us faithful in all things God calls us to, for what is the point of believing if we are unwilling to follow the God in whom we believe? 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/4686327734766201

A Message to the Church Pt. 2

Smyrna: A Church that Overcomes—Isaiah 41:8-13; Rev. 2: 8-11

            We continue this week looking at the seven churches in Revelation. We consider this week the church at Smyrna, a church which God proclaims will overcome the trouble and opposition against it. Smyrna was a large city of 100,000 people or more right on the coast of modern-day Turkey. It was the closest to the Island of Patmos where the writer of Revelation was exiled. Smyrna was a city with a small Jewish population, was very politically and religiously close to Rome, and was wealthy from commerce. Because of those close ties to the Roman Empire, the city would have been very hostile to a Christian presence that stood in opposition to Rome. John, who is writing from his exile on Patmos, would have felt a close kinship with this church as he, too, was oppressed by Rome. 

            This church was a church of overcomers. They faced opposition and were not destroyed by it. Indeed, John says they would inherit a crown of life for their suffering here. His words draw upon the Beatitudes which say that blessed is the one who is persecuted for righteousness’ sake.  There are two big lessons on suffering and oppression the congregations of today can learn from the church at Smyrna: first, do not let suffering and oppression consume you with fear; second, let faith move you from the hope of overcoming to a mission of overcoming. 

            There’s an old saying in my family I’ve shared with you before, “When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream, and shout.” Very often when we encounter opposition, turmoil, or suffering in life, we are tempted to respond this way—with fear and worry. The same is true of the church at Smyrna. The letter in Revelation warns them, “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” Our instinctive mental and physical responses to opposition are often fear, fighting, or flight. But God’s message to the church at Smyrna is to hold fast without fear or worry for what would come. They are further reminded that “if you remain faithful even when facing death, [God] will give you a crown of life.” 

            The prophetic words of Isaiah echo this encouragement: “Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Over and over the Bible give stories, reminders, and lessons that run counter to this fight, flight, and fear response. Instead, we are told to stand fast, not give up the faith, and remember that whatever powers of hell or scheme of man might come our way that in the end a crown of life awaits us. 

            How do we do this? How do we hold fast in the face of struggle and turbulence? We must let faith move us from the hope of overcoming to a mission of overcoming. I often hear people who are about to face a great struggle say, “Well, I hope I get through it.” Now this is not a biblical hope, like hope in Christ, or the hope rooted in God’s power. This is a hope which says, “I’m already resigned to total failure, but maybe something miraculous will happen.” That’s not how we approach struggles and oppression. There must be a sense of resolve in us. The letter in Revelation says to the Smyrna church, “But if you remain faithful even while facing death…I will give you a crown of life.” That is, if you remain faithful. 

            When faith is at work in us, the maybe, the possibly, the hopefully becomes a certainty. Faith should move us from a place of simply hoping for the best to a mission that we will overcome, succeed with God’s help, and find the strength to lift up others in the process. The church at Smyrna faced strong opposition. The writer here notes that they are suffering and live in poverty. They are blasphemed and spoken of harshly. They are oppressed by false religious authorities who use their religious positions to win political favor and clout. The writer even predicts that they will be imprisoned and face death. This was a grim reality for the early church. 

            In our Sunday School we talked about the martyrdom of Stephen and how this set off a wave of oppression of the early church. They faced imprisonment, false trials, illegal death sentences, cruelty, suffering, and all manner of terrible things. And yet the found a mission to overcome through their faith in God. You know sometimes my smart mouth gets me in trouble. I had someone whine to me a couple weeks ago that the church was under attack and persecution. I responded, “Until you have stood opposite a lion in an arena or a burning stake, please don’t say you’re persecuted. It cheapens what our forebearers suffered for Christ’s sake.” I can tell you the rest of that conversation did not go well. 

            But that doesn’t mean we don’t face struggles, suffering, and pain in our daily lives whether it is religious persecution or personal struggles. These nitpicky, irritating, incessant things will rob you of joy and suck the very life right out of you till there’s only anger and frustration. Revelation’s message to the church at Smyrna celebrates their ability to stand firm in the midst of turmoil and attacks. They are commended for a faith which makes overcoming a mission for them. And in that overcoming they will testify to the strength and power of God as seen in them through the risen Savior who is with them each step of the way. 

            In the 1950s and 1960s a gospel song became the rallying cry of the Civil Rights movement. That song said, “We shall overcome someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome someday.” As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drew on the words of that hymn he said in a sermon four days before his assassination, “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” There was a resoluteness and strength in his words. Overcoming life’s struggles was a mission, and it was a mission that would not be deterred. 

            The words of Isaiah ring true when we live in faith and have a mission to overcome like the church at Smyrna, “You will look in vain for all those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God.” To the ones who suffer and strive and face such things with strength, steadfastness, and faith, God promises a crown of life. But ultimately we can find a hope beyond wishful thinking that is grounded in God’s promises that (as the hymn says) because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow. Whatever toils, troubles, and struggles come your way, lean into your faith, and know that God is with you and will hold you up. 

            Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/416759503127079

A Message to the Church Pt. 1

Ephesus: A Church Without Love—Jeremiah 29: 1-14; Revelation 2: 1-7

            In ten years here, I have miraculously avoided delving into Revelation. It’s one of the most mysterious and misunderstood books in the Bible. People ask questions about all the wild and fantastic imagery of the book, and for the most part, preachers pretend to have answers. It is complex, difficult, prophetic, and personal to the author and his anger at Rome. But one part which is clear is God’s message to the seven churches. Each one of them receives a word of encouragement, critique, or reprimand. And, I believe, that message to the churches still holds true in a very prophetic way to our churches today. 

            In this first part of God’s message, the Book of Revelation addresses the church at Ephesus. While there are many positives for this church, there is one very strong and overwhelming rebuke: they have forgotten their first love, God. The book gets right to the point saying in verse four, “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first.” God calls to them to “turn back to [God] and do the works [they] did at first.” It’s a call for the church at Ephesus to return to their first love, and that love is God. 

            Now, as I was preparing this sermon, I tried hard to think of hymns, songs, and praise music which might fit with the sermon. Though I think the hymns fit well with theme, there’s one song which kept coming back into my mind, and it’s not exactly a hymn. The chorus says this, “I was looking for love in all the wrong places, lookin’ for love in too many faces…lookin’ for love.” And while this may fit well with the theme, I don’t think God would approve of me fully including a 1980s country song about a single man philandering around till he finds his true love in a church service. 

            This was the problem of the church at Ephesus. They had right doctrine. They did not tolerate evil. They stayed true to the apostles’ teachings. They had suffered for the sake of righteousness, and truly one could think this was a solid institution of faith. But the writer of Revelation points out their shortcoming. They were, if you’ll pardon the reference, looking for love in all the wrong places, and God says they must back to their first love—God. Love is a very powerful force in faith and the life of the church. 

            Look at what Revelation says. Though they have done almost everything right, the fact that they have misplaced their love of God and one another has them fully in danger of God’s full wrath, for their lampstand will be removed from its place among the churches. But we know the importance of love. For Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, Our God, with all our heart, soul, and mind, and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. I Corinthians 13 puts it even more clearly: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and angels, but did not love others, I would only be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.” And the final verse of that chapter says, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 

            Yet the church at Ephesus had lost their love. They loved neither God nor one another as they first did. A church and the people of God can have everything right and perfect as much as they want—doctrinally, educationally, programmatically—everything can be right and perfect, but if a church or God’s people fail at love, they fail completely. You cannot make substitutes for God’s holy love. But I read my Bible, we say, and know every book in fact! But I go to church every Sunday! But I’ve studied and figured out what church is supposed to be about! “Too bad!” God says. The church at Ephesus did these things too. 

            Still nothing can substitute for this love which God sent to us to learn and know in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for us. Ephesus did everything technically correct, but they still failed completely in their faith. God warned them that they would be finished if they did not turn back to loving God and one another as they first did when the church began. 

            In many ways, our modern churches are like the church of Ephesus. We bring people in, plug them into a program, a youth group, a small group, a Sunday School, a hundred different programs. We see churches that have everything a person could want right down to a petting zoo, but there’s something wrong, something amiss. Too many of our churches are looking for love in all the wrong places. Too many have forgotten their first love. Today, just like in Revelation, God is calling to the church to return to her first love—the God who saves, loves, and redeems. 

            The church has gone off looking for love in the strangest of places. First and foremost, these days, the church has lost herself in political battles. Of all the places God’s holy church should not be is in the sinful waste of politics. The church is so consumed by arguing over the next political topic on the news that it has forgotten to feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for the broken and hurting, preach good news in a weary world. These things are rapidly losing ground to the theology of political commentary, and the church has lost its mission and its witness as a result. That lampstand is teetering on thin ice, just like in Ephesus. 

            For the people of God, the two questions by which we should weigh our decisions go right back to what Jesus said are the two most powerful commandments: does it show our love of God, and does it show our love to our neighbor, whom we should love like ourselves? No matter how right we are about something (or wrong, perhaps), if what we say and do, how we act and live, does not show love then all we can offer is the noise of a gong or clanging cymbal. 

            God is saying to Ephesus, and in a prophetic way to us as the modern church, that we must go back to what is our first and primary calling, to the mission which Christ gave us: preach the good news, care for the least of these our brothers and sisters, love God with our whole heart, and love our neighbors as ourselves. There’s an old story of a tiger and a donkey having an argument over the color of the grass. They donkey insists that it’s blue, while the tiger says green. They go to the lion as the king to sort it out. The donkey blurts out that he believes the grass to be blue then asks the lion to punish the tiger because the donkey was right. The lion tells the donkey if he believes it, it must be true, then punishes the tiger with three days of silence. 

            The dumbfounded tiger asks why the lion told the donkey what was wrong, and then punished him. The lion says, “This is not about the color of the grass. You are punished because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent, powerful creature like you to argue with a donkey. If you allow yourself to be led on a fool’s errand, you will wind up yourself a fool.” 

            Do not be led astray. Do not go looking for love in all the wrong places. Do not try to substitute what is second best for the perfect, grace-filled love of God that has the power to transform all of humankind through faith in a risen Savior who showed us exactly what it means to show God’s love. As the hymn says, “My Jesus, I love Thee; I know Thou art mine,” and may we never, ever forget it. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/592217715265376

Shocking Grace--Final

Nicodemus and Learning: Numbers 21: 4-9; John 3: 1-17

            Many years ago, I got to visit London and go to a few shows at West End of London. It’s basically their version of Broadway in New York. Now, because I’m an American and was with a bunch of other Americans, we decided to do a very American thing—watch a musical—specifically Wicked, which retells the Wizard of Oz in a new way. One of the songs has a line, “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” The audience is left to wonder whether “for good” means for goodness, permanently, or both. 

            In our final installment of Shocking Grace, we see a man who, many years before Broadway or West End musicals were invented, came to Jesus looking for something. He truly got the shock and the grace. But it is evident that, whatever Nicodemus took away from his encounter with Jesus, he was changed for good. That is the power of Christ, when it meets us, there’s something overwhelming, unexplainable, breathtaking, even. It comes to us and changes us as well. 

            Nicodemus was a respected Jewish leader who had become curious about Jesus and the miracles, signs, and wonders that Jesus displayed. In our Gospel, he comes to meet Jesus in the dark of night to avoid being caught. It clearly was not a random meeting for Nicodemus had sought out Jesus to talk with him. And the first words out of his mouth should knock the socks off any reader. We gloss over them, I think. Nicodemus says, “We all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” They knew. They all knew of Jesus’s power and authority. Nicodemus outs his fellow Pharisees. They weren’t worried about the law, what was right, or anything. They were afraid of Jesus, the change his preached, and the way he welcomed people, yet they had him killed despite knowing all of the holy power he possessed. 

            Jesus, for his part, speaks powerful words to Nicodemus which confuse him. He is shocked at this teaching, these ideas that Jesus is saying. “You must be born again.” This is followed with, “You must be born of the Spirit.” It’s one of the first times Jesus references the Holy Spirit. He is basically laying out the roadmap of all of God’s plan to Nicodemus, who is still at a loss. But then, Jesus makes it plain, saying, “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” This is a reference Nicodemus would know well. We’re not told what Nicodemus’s response is. Jesus’s teaching ends abruptly at verse 18, and in verse 19 he and his disciples leave Jerusalem. 

            But, I believe we can get the answer a little later on in the Gospel of John. Nicodemus is heard from two more times. In chapter 7 he defends Jesus to Sanhedrin or temple court. And after the crucifixion, it is Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who help bury Jesus. Nicodemus brings the myrrh and aloes for Jesus’s body. Who can say what Nicodemus took away from his meeting with Jesus? However, it appears he was changed for good. 

            The first big thing we see here is the grace of a Rabbi who patiently taught the teacher. Jesus gives a confused Nicodemus the full brunt of a message, “You must be born again.” Finally, Jesus makes it plain. In Numbers the people griped, complained, and turned against God and Moses rejecting them both and cursing the manna God provided. They had become filled with evil and poison in their hearts, minds, and words. So, God sent poisonous snakes to show them how filled with venom and poison they were. Then God provided a way for them to be healed when they called out for mercy. 

            What Jesus is saying is that people have become filled with poison again. It’s our humanity, or corruption. To cure that, to take that poison out, Jesus would be lifted up on a cross like the bronze serpent. With that act of love and grace, we would be healed like the Israelites. Jesus put it into words Nicodemus would know and understand. For us it’s the same. I get tired when people talk about “born-again Christians.” Jesus isn’t making distinctions here. There’s no such thing as “born-again” Christians and other Christians. Either you follow Christ and have the Spirit or you don’t. There’s not some layers or levels to this, and it’s wrong for people to make false divisions over whether there is one type of Christian or another. It’s simple: do you believe in and follow Jesus or not? 

            But there’s an even bigger lesson here—that of Jesus’s act of love to welcome. Verse 16, so often quoted, tells us that God loved the whole and entire world, and if you believe in this, you have life. But even more powerful is verse 17—that our God is about giving salvation over suffering, life over death, grace over judgment. This is our God, and our God did not come to judge or condemn. We seem to do it a lot, but God does not. 

            Jesus appears to welcome people as they were. Nicodemus was welcomed in the dark of night with all his questions and doubts. Zacchaeus the tax collector was welcomed despite his sneaky, cheating past. The woman at the well was welcomed despite her messy love life. The sanctimonious, the sinner, the would-be saint, the betrayer, the wicked, and the unwashed masses of people all searching for something new were welcomed to come to Jesus. 

            Unfortunately, Christ’s church has not always been so good at this. In the past the church drew a line to keep African Americans out, but Jesus said, “For God so loved the world.” In the past, the church drew a line to keep gifted women out, but Jesus said, “For God so loved the world.” In my formative years, the church drew a line to keep LGBT people out, but Jesus said, “For God so loved the world.” In times past the church has looked down on people with criminal records, who didn’t seem to fit, who looked different, but Jesus over and over again brought people into his presence to pull them upright and show them God’s miraculous and life-changing, unexplainable love. 

The truth of the matter is that not one of us, and not any single person was ever condemned, refused, or turned away by Jesus. He welcomed everyone who came to him. The church cannot and should not ever keep anyone out. This is exactly where people need to be: here, welcomed to find love beyond human understanding and God’s grace for whatever burdens are carried. Yet, none of us can come to Jesus without expecting to be changed by that holy power and presence—that grace which makes us new, gives us life, gives us hope now and forever, and gives us purpose.  

            And how does this happen? For all of us, no matter what we’ve done, we hear those words of our hymn, “My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, O my soul.” But we are also, in a sense, born again because Christ gives us a new life, a new way, and a new direction in our walk here on earth. We lay down our old ways of being and thinking, and we find this new way where Christ leads us through God’s Spirit in us. It’s unexplainable, but no less miraculous and powerful. When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was looking for an explanation. Instead, he got something completely different—he was changed for good. The same is true for us: Jesus still loves the whole word and yes, you and me too. But that love calls and tugs at us challenging us to be changed by the power of our loving Savior Christ—and changed for good. 

          Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/544022290234351

Shocking Grace Pt. 2

Ezekiel: Weariness—Ezekiel 37: 1-14; John 14: 15-20

            I saw a joke the other day that said, be careful how much you leave your kids with their grandparents. I asked my nephew the other day how old he was going to be. He replied, “I’m going to be 7 if the Lord sees fit to let me live that long.” Although in our day and age, that 6-year-old is probably just as weary as the rest of us, I imagine. As we continue our series on Shocking Grace, we look today at how God’s grace inspired and stirred the weariness in Ezekiel as he was led into the dry and desolate place of the valley of dry bones. We see in this scripture that God made life happen there, that Christ lives in us to make life happen in us, and that we must change our mindset of frailty to one of faith. 

            First, we read in Ezekiel that God brought the prophet to the valley filled with bones. It was a dry and desolate place where no life was found. I imagine the valley was a desert filled with sand which could fully dry out the bones. God then asks Elijah, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” Every morning when the alarm goes off, I ask that same question, “Lord, can these dry bones live again?” Usually after a couple cups of coffee I get close enough to shuffle out the door. Ezekiel, the valley, and whoever the bones belonged to were all weary. But out of that weariness, God brings life. 

            God first tells Ezekiel to speak a prophetic word, then God makes life happen from that word. Our God is no stranger to the power of the spoken word. In the beginning, God spoke the earth into existence. God called Moses with words from a burning bush. There is power when God’s word is spoken. Ezekiel, tired himself, goes out with what energy he can summon up and prophesies to dead bones as odd as that sounds. 

            But then the miraculous happens. God’s power pulls the scattered, weary, dry bones together and creates whole and complete humans. Then with another, more excited prophetic word, the breath of God enters the bodies and breathes life into them. The same God who created the heavens and earth can breathe life into our weariness and help us to live again. It’s not just words spoken to bones. You can chatter over your rack of ribs at the barbecue joint all day long, but they’re not going to leap up from the plate and become a human. It’s the power of God’s prophetic word coupled with the power of God to make life happen out of nothing. The Bible is filled with instances where God brings the dead back to life, where God creates out of nothingness, where God proves over and over again our calling, our faith, our hope is in a God who gives life. 

            In particular, it’s even easier in our situation. God’s words of life and strength do not have to trickle down through a prophet. John 14:16 tells us that God “will give [us] another Advocate who will never leave [us].” Verse 17 goes on to remind us that this Advocate, the Holy Spirit lives in and works through people of faith. It’s as if God is right here all the time. Even as we become weary, tired, and worn out by the world, God is saying, “Over here! I’m ready to give you strength and power and life in your dry bones!” This is the same God who reminds us of that perfect strength given to us when our strength is gone…that even when we are weak, in Christ, we are actually strong. 

            When we pray, when study and spend time with God, do our prayers ask for this strength, this life? Do we say in our prayers, “O Lord speak to me so that my dry and weary bones can live again!” Or are the prayers we say as bleak, dry, and dreary as our own outlook on life? We cannot come and sing that we’re “leaning on the everlasting arms” if we’re still tethered to crutches of insecurity, instability, and weariness. 

            I remember substituting for the music director at the Presbyterian Church in Danville, Kentucky, and the pastor told a story. A man went to church one Sunday. It was an old and well-established monument of a building with an old and well-established congregation who were just as much fixtures of the church as the historic pews. When the preacher made the first point, the man said audibly, “Amen!” Everyone looked around, shocked. On the second point, the man said, “Hallelujah!” There were notable sighs, gasps, and looking around. At the last point, the man loudly proclaimed, “Glory be to God!” Finally, an exasperated Deacon got up and asked the man what was wrong with him. The man said, “I can’t help it—I got the Spirit of God!” The deacon replied, “Well you didn’t get that here, so stop it!” My friends, Christ, through the Holy Spirit, lives in us to give us life. 

            So, then, we must change our words and attitudes from that of frailty to words and attitudes of faith. God tells Ezekiel to say to Israel that God knows they’ve lost hope; God knows they have become old, dry bones—weary, tired, and seemingly done for. But God has a prophetic word for them, “O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. I will put my Spirit in you and, and you will live again.” Mark those words! You will live again! But if we live convinced of our own frailty and weariness, that hope of life will escape us. 

            Now I’m not talking about being tired. We all get a bit tired sometimes. I’m talking about a weariness, a dry devastation that empties us of our faith, our hope, and our will to plunge forward into God’s spectacular calling. There’s a lot to make us weary. Any time I turn on the news these days I grow weary enough to pass out on the couch. Faith and this breath of life from God call us to look beyond the circumstances in front of us. Think of it like a big rainstorm. You have two choices: you can sit down and go nowhere, or you can put on your raincoat, get your umbrella and boots, and go out to forge ahead to where you need to be. God is like the rain gear. You may still get a bit wet, but you face the storm with protection. That’s what it means to lean on the everlasting arms that hold us up, give us strength, and save us from drowning in the weariness of life. 

            First it begins with our words spoken together with God’s Holy Word. How do we pray? How do we speak? How often do we convince ourselves we are too weary to live out God’s calling? How often do we let difficult circumstances overtake God’s hope in our lives? This isn’t a question of sin or bashing saying you’ve done something wrong. We do that too, don’t we? We compound our struggles with the belief that because we have struggled, we’re so sinful that there’s no way back from the deep, dark pit we’ve dug for ourselves. 

            This isn’t a question of sin or conviction. It’s a question how deep the roots of God’s words are. God promises, and indeed has proven, that in and through God there is life. The Spirit lives within us to make sure we can pray for that strength. And, if we change our minds and hearts from this focus on weariness and frailty to that of faith, perhaps we can find that hope again. God asks, “Can these dry bones live again?” The answer is yes, but the choice to say, “Yes, these dry bones can live again,” is yours to make. So, what do you say? “Child of God, can these dry bones live again?” Amen. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/162054359402224

Shocking Grace Pt. 1

Shocking Grace: Jacob the Fighter—Gen. 32: 22-32; I Tim. 6: 11-14

            In the early 1960s, Sonny Curtis wrote a song which would later become famous. In about 20 minutes, while watching a Texas sandstorm, he penned the words to this now-famous hit, “I Fought the Law, and the Law Won.” When asked about his inspiration for the lyrics to the song, he told the Tennesean, “Well, you can tell by the lyrics, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist,” followed up with, “I don’t remember what inspired me, or I’d write another one.” Over the next three weeks we will consider three examples of Shocking Grace, moments in Biblical characters’ lives that they will most definitely remember. What, exactly, is shocking grace? Perhaps the best description is this: God’s grace that is filled both with a harsh, painful reality or lesson, followed by redemption, newness, or wholeness for whomever is experiencing it. 

            That song, “I Fought the Law, and the Law Won,” is a pretty good description of Jacob’s life. Jacob had a long history in life of being very, very self-reliant and in control. He did this, usually, through some manner of conniving, trickery, or deceit. Jacob exploited his brother’s hunger to steal his birthright. He had gauged that Esau didn’t really care about the birthright, and he convinced Esau to trade it for a bowl of soup. Jacob then dresses up like his hairy, outdoorsy brother, and tricks his father into blessing him instead of Esau. He steals both his brother’s birthright and blessing. 

            Jacob then goes to live with his Uncle Laban and eventually tricks him into giving the greatest share of his herds and flocks to Jacob, essentially plundering what was owned by this uncle. He then takes his two wives (his uncle’s daughters) and sneaks out in the night. All throughout his life, Jacob fought and strived with others: his family, himself, and everyone he ever dealt with learned the deceitful and fighting ways that defined Jacob. But ultimately, Jacob was wrestling with God and refusing to give God control. 

            Here, in our story today, we see the end of Jacob’s fighting with God. As Jacob is alone in the camp, the rest of the group sent on ahead, a stranger comes to meet Jacob. They fight all night long on and on raging together. But as dawn comes it’s time to end the fight. The stranger, whom Jacob describes as having seen the face of God, touches Jacob’s hip and permanently disables him. This is Jacob’s big lesson about the power of God. He was only able to fight against God because God let him. When we fight and quarrel with God as well, it is only because we are allowed to. Look how easy it was for God to simply touch Jacob’s hip and win the fight. It took no effort on God’s part at all. It is impossible to win against God’s power. You are fighting against holy perfection. You will ultimately wind up like the song— “I fought the law, and the law won.” 

            After God renders Jacob helpless, we see a different Jacob. He’s no longer fighting, struggling, and showing off his own power. He’s left helplessly clinging to God, praying for a blessing. In essence, Jacob had nowhere else to go. He’s lost, defeated, and overwhelmed by the power and majesty of God. All he has left is to hold on to God for dear life. But God is good, so God doesn’t just cripple him and disappear, like Jacob did his uncle. God is just, which sometimes hurts, but God is not cruel. Jacob is blessed by God. His name is changed to Israel. When Jacob stopped fighting with God, and instead relied and clung on to God, his whole life was changed including his name, his outlook, and his wisdom in dealing with situations. God’s grace both shocked him and changed him forever, from one who wrestled with God, to one who has seen the face of God and been blessed. 

            But now, not all fighting is bad. Sometimes we are called upon to stand firm in this life. Our New Testament, I Timothy gives us such an example. Paul is commending and charging his protégé, Timothy, in a letter to him. His biggest lesson to Timothy is in verse 14, “obey without wavering.” Paul tells Timothy what he is to obey is this: “Fight the good fight for the true faith.” Paul tells us that when we fight, we are to fight with God, not against God. Now, fighting doesn’t mean exactly mean get your gun, your plaid flannel, and hardhat and roll off on an ATV. I’ve lived in the South long enough to offer this clarification. It means we stand firm in the faith, stand firm in the power of God love and grace, stand firm that hope exists over despair, stand firm that love, peace, and mercy are worth fighting for. 

            In a way, I think we are all fighting like Jacob. Each and every one of us have struggles whether they are internal fights or whether they’re actual, daily fights we endure. We all try to struggle, bargain, ignore, or slide our way through situations in life. It’s not as bad as it seems, when it is. I feel fine, when we don’t and really need help. I can manage things, when life has become overwhelming. My relationship is fine, when someone is taking advantage of us. In so many ways we fight with God and with reality. Jacob fought his whole life. He ruined his relationship with his father. He lived in fear of his brother for 20 years. He made it so he could never return to his Uncle Laban’s. He never saw his beloved mother, Rebekah, again before she died. Jacob got what he wanted in life, but all that fighting, conniving, struggling, cost Jacob dearly—a very high price. 

            His life did not get easier until he changed from wrestling with God to clinging to God. Like, Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight. I promise you that when God says to give your life over to God, it’s not to make a mess of things, ruin your plans, or goof up what you want. God asks for your devotion and your life to work out what is best for you and what is best for others through you…the good fight. 

            I remember when I was little, I often could be headstrong and a bit like an adult. Mainly this was because I grew up around adults and not children. My mom used to often give me a reminder of how I needed to behave by saying, “I’m the parent, you’re the child.” I guess it’s my own youthful version of “I fought the law, and the law won.” Remember that there is no need to wrestle with God. God loves you and wants what is best for you. Jacob had to learn through shocking grace, but it’s much easier to come to this realization without the shocking part. When we say to God, “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee,” God can work in and through us for our good and for the good of others. Give up the fight. Let God lead you and guide you, for then you can truly find a blessing. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/816495009048107

Be Kind--Final

Be Kind—Forgiveness: Psalm 86: 1-6; Mark 11: 22-25

            One of my favorite things in life is cooking shows. As a child, I watched Saturday morning cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Popeye, and so on. But as an adult, I watched Food Network religiously usually while revising and finishing my sermon writing. One of the chef’s not on there, but whom I’ve come to like is a guy in Greece, Akis Petretzikis. When it comes to seasoning food (or adding cheese) he has a catchphrase: “Don’t be cheapy with it.” 

            That’s probably good advice when it comes to forgiveness as well. Don’t be cheapy with it. You see, Mark’s Gospel is pretty clear that forgiveness is a bit of a quid pro quo, or comes with an expectation, in the realm of faith. That expectation is that you and I will also forgive also. So, as we see in our scripture today, God is ready to forgive; we should forgive and not hold grudges, so that God will forgive you too. Now, as we wrap up our series on practical ways of kindness, we look at probably the hardest today—the importance for forgiveness. 

            First, we see in the Psalm that God stands ready to forgive. Psalm 86:5 tells us, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” God is ready to forgive because of God’s love for us. Love and grudges cannot coexist because holding a grudge leads to bitterness and never a deepening love. Too often we feel like forgiveness is an excuse or “get out of jail free card” for someone who has done wrong. That’s simply not true. Forgiveness is all about the wronged party, or the victim, releasing that burden. That’s exactly what happens as God forgives us—that burden of sin between us and God is released. That’s why God is so ready to forgive because it clears the way for that holy love to make a change in us. 

            Unforgiven wrongs are like an infection in our souls and spirits. As they continue to set, they become more and more toxic. If it’s our own sin and wrongdoing, it becomes easier and easier for us to be comfortable with sin. Do it the first time and you feel guilty. Do it the 100th time, and you may not even think about it being wrong. If we are the victim of someone else’s sin, letting that burden weigh on our souls makes us mean and bitter. I can guarantee that someone who does not care that they did you wrong also doesn’t care that you are holding it over them without forgiveness. The only thing hurt by withholding forgiveness is you and your relationship to a God who is all-loving and all-forgiving. 

            When we forgive others, it clears the pathway for God’s love to make a change in them as well. You’re not the one trying to fix things anymore; God is. Holding on to bitterness and grudges is toxic and spiritually poisonous to us. It will ruin our hope, our joy, and keep us from the fullness of love. Forgiveness doesn’t magically make things fine, because God will still deal with the one who has done the wrong. But forgiveness releases that poison and bitterness from us, and it’s an act of kindness that comes directly from the work of Jesus himself. Christ died to give us forgiveness, and, as we are told, not necessarily because we deserve it or earned it. That forgiveness is because of God’s love and makes room for God’s love. 

            Thus, we must forgive and not hold on to grudges, so we can receive that forgiveness from God. Mark 11 talks about prayer and how we should approach our time of prayer. In verse 25, the Gospel says this: “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against…” That’s a pretty direct command, isn’t it? First and foremost, when we pray, we are to forgive whomever we are holding a grudge against. And if it doesn’t work the first time, do it again….and again. Now, most modern translations stop here at verse 25 because it is believed verse 26 is simply a double translation of the same passage into English, just a slightly different way. (That’s the short non-seminary essay explanation.) 

            But in the older King James, New King James, and a few other translations, they still have verse 26, which says more sharply, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” That’s kind of a hard pill to swallow. If you are unwilling to forgive, don’t come asking God for forgiveness. God is essentially saying, “Forgive, and don’t be cheapy with it.” 

The lesson is more pointedly made in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18. A man was forgiven his many debts by the king after begging and pleading for mercy. Yet that same day, that same forgiven man turned around and showed no mercy to someone indebted to him. Instead of forgiveness, the forgiven man threw his own servant into prison until the debt could be paid. The other fellow servants, bothered by this unkindness and cruelty, went and told the king what had happened. When the king found out that the one he forgave was stingy with his own mercy and forgiveness, the king punished him severely. 

The end of verse 25 of Mark 11 confirms this, “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” There is nothing in life to gain from holding a grudge or keeping all of that resentment inside of you. Let it go, hand it over to God who knows how to heal, help, and mend what’s broken. 

Another show I used to watch with my mother was Golden Girls. Now I’m sure you’re not exactly expecting a good theological lesson from Golden Girls, but just hold on. In one episode, Sophia’s son dies. As the show rounds out there is a confrontation between Sophia and her daughter-in-law, whom she has been bitter towards for years. At first, she claims it’s over $47 she’s owed by the daughter-in-law, but as the story unfolds it becomes more apparent that over the years she has blamed herself and by extension her daughter-in-law for what she saw as her son’s shortcomings. As the daughter-in-law reminds Sophia what a good man her son was, all that resentment, bitterness, and years of anger wash away as the two embrace. 

Forgiveness allows us to let go of the burdens we hold onto. Sometimes that’s forgiving others who have wronged us, and sometimes that means forgiving ourselves and our own past. As someone who likes to control things, I know that forgiveness is hard. There’s no formula, no magic way to get there. It’s a process, a work within our soul. Forgiveness happens when we intentionally choose to turn our focus towards God rather than dwelling on the people and situations which have hurt us. The reason this Gospel warns us so strongly to practice forgiveness to obtain God’s forgiveness is that God can’t work in a heart and in a soul where there’s no room for that holy presence. We have to come to God just as we are but be prepared to be changed in God’s power and presence. So today, let’s begin this work of un-burdening ourselves. It starts by practicing forgiveness, and remember, don’t be “cheapy” with it. 

    Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1259309084520449

Be Kind--Pt. 3

Be Kind—Pray: Psalm 5: 1-3, 11-12 and James 5: 13-18

Growing up, I remember singing little songs during Children’s Church. Sometimes they were fun and a bit silly, like “Father Abraham,” where you end up swinging your arms and legs wildly. Sometimes the songs we sang were simple hymns. But one often stuck out—a cross between the solemn and charismatic. It was popularized by Johnny Cash… “Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me. Way, beyond the blue.” As we continue in our series on being kind and practical ways to live in kindness, we look today at prayer. Prayer is that time where we both listen and call out to God, “Do Lord, remember me.” 

But even as we ask for God to look upon us and remember us, we must also understand what it means to pray and what is required of us in the process. We can pray all day, “Do Lord, remember me,” but if our hearts are not ready for our prayers or God’s response, we will struggle with being able to pray. What it takes from us is the faith to believe, the courage to confess, and the wisdom to know. Even as we call out to God “way beyond the blue” what do we do here on earth when we pray? 

First, we must have the faith to believe that God hears us. The Psalm starts out with this call, “O Lord, hear me as I pray, pay attention to my groaning [;] listen to my cry for help.” Prayers do us no good if we lack faith. If we cannot imagine our prayers making it beyond the roof, then why pray at all? It takes this faith to know and believe that God hears us when we cry out to Almighty God. James strongly advocates for prayer in all situations and all things: if you are suffering hardship—pray! If you are happy, sing praises! If you’re sick, call the elders to come pray over you and anoint you! Prayer is much more involved than just a quick blessing over lunch. Look to Jesus in the garden before the cross, or to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Prayer is a time when we enter, spiritually, right in front of God and pour out our hearts. 

I remember talking with a church member who was very confused at the prayer behaviors of a good friend of hers. She told me that her friend would come and pray with her when she was sick, and that was it. There would be no follow up, no asking if more prayer was needed, nor checking back in to see how she was. After some thinking and pondering on it, she said to me, “You know, at first I thought it was because she didn’t care, but then I learned she had the kind of faith to believe God heard her, so it was unnecessary to check back up on God.” Have the faith to believe God hears you…even way beyond the blue. 

Second, we must have the courage to confess what is in the way of our time with God. James has a somewhat uncomfortable note on confession. In verse 15 he writes, “And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.” How reassuring to hear, but the discomfort starts in the next verse: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” It’s almost as if we were to sing, “Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me…BUT WAIT not that part, whoa, whoa God, not that part of my life…remember something else!” 

We have lost the ability to confess in prayer because we’ve tied confession to shame instead of forgiveness. Confession should free us, bring peace and wholeness, lead us on the pathways to forgiveness. But in our times and days, confessing anything is shameful, ugly, and haunts us for life especially when it’s poured through the pipes of gossip and the worldwide audience of social media. Perhaps that is because we’ve come to care more what people around us think than we care what God thinks? God already knows what you’ve done wrong. God’s only waiting for you to bring it up and deal with it to find peace and move on. Confession, for our time, unfortunately, is seen as weak, not an act of courage. 

But James calls on us to confess both to God for forgiveness and to one another for healing and wholeness. I wonder how different the hatefulness of our world would look if we were loving and gentle with confessions, offered forgiveness, and practiced healing and Christ-like grace to one another? Prayer is meant to wash away guilt and shame. Confession and forgiveness are meant to restore relationships not become fodder for future arguments. Confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, pray for the guidance to do better—for this is how prayer strengthens you in your walk. 

Last, we must have the wisdom to know and accept God’s answer. The Psalm and James both speak to this. Psalm 5:11 says, “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice…for you bless the godly, O Lord, you surround them with your shield of love.” James adds in verse 17 that Elijah, though human, prayed for over three years that rain would fall, and none did. Then at some point, he prayed again, and rain fell. What do we make of this? God hears our prayers—this much we know. But God doesn’t always answer prayer on our timeline. Elijah prayed for years for rain during a drought. But it wasn’t time. 

This was part of the ongoing saga between the wicked King Ahab and Elijah, the prophet calling the people back to God. A drought was sent to both push the people back to faith and punish them for turning their backs on God. Elijah tried to pray them through it, but it wasn’t the right time. When the time was right, God sent rain to help the struggling people. Sometimes we must wait, and that’s hard. Sometimes God answers immediately, so we rejoice. Sometimes, God says no, and we must find the peace to live that response. 

But God always answers us when we pray. This week I’ve been doing quite a bit of praying. I have time to do that again now that I get a couple of months break from seminary. I prayed hard about my worries with the rising COVD numbers again. Out of nowhere a random Macon phone number called me this morning. The lady left a message said she was calling with a group of local pastors to encourage them with the scripture, “Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be anxious for I am your God. I will fortify you; yes I will help you.” She rounded out with, “We can always petition God for comfort, peace of mind, and things of that nature.” It takes the wisdom to know that God hears us and will respond. 

People often ask, “How do I pray?” It’s actually very easy. You simply come before God with an open heart, listening ears, and willing spirit. When you pray, have the faith to believe that God hears you in all that you ask. Have the courage to confess and ask for forgiveness, for God’s grace is abundant. And lastly, have the wisdom to know that God will answer you. And as you ask, “Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me…” be reminded: God always does.  

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2990709734476260