I am saddened to hear about the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in AZ this afternoon. Latest reports are that at least five were killed including a child and a federal judge.  I’m not against gun ownership (don’t own one though) but it seems to me that people are using guns and other forms of violence to settle disputes or strike out at someone who doesn’t believe the same way.  The man who allegedly did this is in custody and there are various reports as to his background and state of mind and I can’t speculate on that anyway.

My biggest concern is the use of guns and other forms of violence to settle issues and problems or to get revenge.  We see it all around us from TV shows and ads to games, music and movies, anywhere there is a problem, the portrayed way of dealing with it is usually violence.  I don’t know if there are people  who can’t distinguish between real life and movies or pretend, but it has been shown that when exposed to violent media, people lean more toward violent behavior.  Sometimes it is perceived as the only response; sometimes there is a following of example.  Now another example of violence agaist someone who, looks like held a different political view.  I don’t have an answer that will solve everything.  I am mourning the loss of those who died and praying for the wounded.  I am mourning the loss of a bit more of the normalcy that we feel that we have in our country.

I pray for peace, I pray for protection and healing, I pray for our country and our leaders, I pray for the peace of God in the hearts of all. . .

Part of our text for our evening Renew service tonight is from Isaiah 43:

18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.

As I have thought about this text, I wonder what we need to let go of in order to receive what God is preparing for us. Many times we dwell in the past because we consider it the “Golden Age” of something and we wish we could go back.  We can also dwell in the past because of a hurt that we are having trouble letting go of for a variety of reasons.  If we are not willing to let go of the good and the bad, how can we receive?

A quote that I recently came across:

“Another reason why [we] feel alone is because Churches have been taken by surprise and gripped by panic and they often think that the way to save themselves is by looking to the past instead of marching towards the newness of God with the trust of children.”

 – Carlo Carretto, “The Desert in the City”

What are some of the things that you need to let go of from the past, good or bad, to receive the new that God is prepared to give?

Below is an entry from Henri J.M. Nouwen’s Bread for the Journey.

Letting Go of Old Hurts

One of the hardest things in life is to let go of old hurts. We often say, or at least think: “What you did to me and my family, my ancestors, or my friends I cannot forget or forgive. … One day you will have to pay for it.” Sometimes our memories are decades, even centuries, old and keep asking for revenge.

Holding people’s faults against them often creates an impenetrable wall. But listen to Paul: “For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see. It is all God’s work” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Indeed, we cannot let go of old hurts, but God can. Paul says: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s fault against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is God’s work, but we are God’s ministers, because the God who reconciled the world to God entrusted to us “the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This message calls us to let go of old hurts in the Name of God. It is the message our world most needs to hear.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen’s Bread for the Journey.

I thought this was appropriate for the ending fo 2010 and the beginning of 2011.  I have seen and experienced so much hurt and brokenness that sometimes it is overwhelming.  Some I can address, some I can only watch; some are personal, some are communal and even worldwide.  What I do know is that I need to work as I can, to let go of my hurts of the past years because carrying them around does me no good.  I also need to work, as I can, to bring reconciliation where I experience brokenness and hurt.  We have been reconciled by Jesus and have been given the task of reconciliation in our world.

That is my task for the new year.

I wanted to take a few minutes and offer you this simple Christmas invitation and blessing. As we go through the days leading up to Christmas, they are filled with the concerns of our life, shopping, presents, family and friends, decorations and the many other things that can make up this time of year. Too infrequently, do we really stop and really try and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Remember the stable was plain, dirty and quiet, the visitors were kings from the east, but were also shepherds from the fields, Jesus received gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but was also wrapped in simple blankets and laid in a manger filled with hay.

The words of a Christmas hymn read –

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him.
Christ the Lord.

I invite you to come to the stable, just as you are, smell the smells and hear the sounds of the animals, feel the hay under your feet, see the baby Jesus laying in the manger filled with hay and the young mother and father sitting nearby. Bring everything you have as a gift to the Christ child and simply adore Him. Worship the Baby who is God and King who left the glories of Heaven for the simple life on earth. Adore the child who would grow to die on the cross to reconcile us with God.

I invite you to set aside the traditions of our contemporary culture, and relive the birth of the savior. A simple birth that changed the course of history. God entered the world through a tiny baby, Immanuel – God with us, and things have never been the same. Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the baby Jesus. Prepare your heart. Take time to receive the blessing that is Immanuel and let Him change your life forever. Amen.

Ok, so the text for this week’s morning worship at Hampton Christian comes from Luke 20:27-38 where a bunch of religious leaders ask Jesus a question about marriage, resurrection, and the Mosaic Law.  This is actually a strange story if you think about.  With out going into a lot of detail (you will need to hear the sermon), Jesus basically tells them, you are asking the wrong question.

Ironically, Dick Hamm from the Columbia Partnership, put out an article entitled, “Asking the Right Questions” this week.  In it he addresses some of the things that I have been thinking about in regards to the church and the questions we ask of ourselves.  No question is stupid, but when we don’t ask the right questions, then we don’t have the opportunity to get the right answers or the more complete answers that we need.

When I think of the questions the church is asking itself today, they really seem more related to survival of the current status quo, instead of asking questions that are framed in such a way that we hear God’s calling and can see the needs around us.

Here are some of the questions I think we should be asking ourselves:

• Do we know the needs of our community, and if we do, are we willing to work to meet them?
• Are we speaking in word and action the love of God in ways that is heard and understood?
• Are we open to people who are different from us?
• Does the church point people to God through Jesus and are we growing individually and cooperately through the Holy Spirit?
• Are we more concerned with what we “like” or what God has called us to?
• Are we being good stewards of what we have as resources within the church and in the world?
• Are we holding on to the past instead of faithfully following God into the future?
• Are we discerning God’s call or doing programs?
• How are we engaging the culture of the 21st century?

These are just a few of the questions that I feel are important to ask within any local church.

Read Dr. Hamm’s article and think about what questions are the right ones we should be asking or you would like to ask the church?  Leave a comment with your question.

The following is from Hampton Christian Church’s newsletter for November and December.

Late one evening in late September, I ran into the local K-mart after RENEW to pick up some things for the next day and saw something that made me stop and stare.  Next to the Halloween and fall displays, was a section that did not have shelving, but was filled with decorated Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations were being set up and available for sale.  My first thought was “I missed the whole month of October”.  Then I remembered that it really was just the end of September and that the stores (not just K-mart) are getting ready for Christmas earlier and earlier each year.  Another example of this is that there are several companies that have already released their Black Friday ads and some have even started their Black Friday sales a month early and we’ve been seeing TV commercials about sales and lay away programs for Christmas!

The stores are preparing for Christmas, their biggest sale time of the year so that they can get the biggest impact. 

The church too, has a time of preparation for Christmas and for some of the same reasons.  Advent is the time in the church where we begin our preparations for Christmas, the coming of Jesus as a baby.  Advent includes the four Sundays prior to Christmas day and this year begins on November 26^th.  This is also the beginning of the Church Year.  Advent is the time to begin to prepare our hearts and lives for the recognition of the coming of Jesus.  We participate in different experiences, sing certain songs, read the Scriptures that talk of Jesus’ coming and generally begin to look at the world in a different manner.  We do this to get maximum impact from this holy day.

The focus of Advent, the church’s preparation, is not financial like the stores, but one that changes our heart, our mind and our world view.  Matthew 1:23 says, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”  With the coming of Jesus, His ministry, death and resurrection, we can and should have a different out look on life, different focus on what is important and in reality a different way of living that takes into reality that God is with us.

At Hampton Christian Church, we will have several different opportunities that will help individuals, families, and the entire congregation to prepare for the birth of Jesus.  These will range from personal and family devotionals, to special services and special events at our regular services, as well as opportunities to serve and show God’s love.  Check the newsletter, bulletin and website for more information during the next two months.  I encourage everyone, wherever you may be, to find some way to participate in Advent in your local congregation and really prepare for “God with us.” and the difference that it makes today.

“May this Advent season bring us a new birth of hope in the ancient promises of God” (2010 Advent Calendar from Creative Communications)

I admit it and for those who know me, know that I’m a Eric Clapton fan.  He can really make the guitar sing with the blues and rock and has had a wonderful career.  I’m a fan of almost all his music but there are some that just stand out for me.  One of those is “In the Presence of the Lord” originally written and recorded when Clapton was with Derek and the Dominos.  The history is a bit confusing and if you can clarify it for me, please do so.  Below you will find some of the lyrics and a link to a 2007 performance at his Crossroads Festival.  There are several different versions on YouTube, but I like the live version.

In the Presence of the Lord

I have finally found a way to live,
Just like I never could before.
I know that I don’t have much to give,
But I can open any door.

Everybody knows the secret,
Everybody knows the score.

Chorus:
I have finally found a way to live,
In the presence of the lord.

Click the link to see the live performance on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98XqT4kBWT4

You may not like this style of music but look at the chorus lines again.  To me this is a great way to say what Paul is talking about in Romans 8, especially verses 8-10 which is the text for our RENEW Service on Sunday.  Paul is saying that when we live under control of the Spirit of God, that we have life.

Living in the presence of the Lord can be difficult because there is so much to pull us away.  Living in the presence of the Lord means to be aware of God’s presence with us and around us all the time and to live accordingly.  Easy, No; what we are called to, Yes.  When we stumble, we have grace and forgiveness through Jesus.

Let us recognize and live in the presence of God each day.

For those who have grown up in the church and heard the many stories from the Bible, the story of Zacchaeus is one that is probably familiar to us.  I can even remember the song that a dear Sunday School teacher taught me, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he, he climbed up in a . . .”  Anyway, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day. 

For those who may not know the story,  here it is:

Luke 19:1-10 – “Jesus was going through Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich.  Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like. But Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree.  When Jesus got there, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down! I want to stay with you today.”  Zacchaeus hurried down and gladly welcomed Jesus.  Everyone who saw this started grumbling, “This man Zacchaeus is a sinner! And Jesus is going home to eat with him.”  Later that day Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated.”   Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today you and your family have been saved, because you are a true son of Abraham.  The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.”

With out going into a lot of the details, Zacchaeus was a tax collector.  They regularly cheated the people and became very rich and because of this, were not well liked.  Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and ultimately welcomed Jesus’ self invitation to his house.  Now we don’t know what they talked about, but we know the result.  Zacchaeus was changed and not just inside.  As a result of Jesus being in his home and the conversation that they engaged in, Zacchaeus gave half of his property to the poor and four times back to those he cheated.  Wow, this is a transformation that is not just internal, but external and affected those around him.  There are several different traditions as to what became of Zacchaeus, all pointing to becoming a leader of the early church, but it begins here.

His transformation was so complete and what he gave up and gave back hurt him and his family, but knew it was the right thing to do.  Jesus’ presence and call to him made such a difference, there was an extraordinary transformation that there was really nothing else he could have done.

Jesus’ presence and call and our willingness to follow brings transformation, both inside and out.  At times we may need to give up or give back until it hurts, we may need to make restitution dealing with some past issue or offense, our lifestyle may need to change to become more inline with the call of Jesus.

What transformation has happened or is happening in your life because of Jesus?

We say that we love a lot of different things – football, pizza, the mountains, our family, our car and the list can go on and on.  The word “Love” in our culture is often over used and many times miss used and may have lost it’s true meaning.

In our RENEW service on Sunday evening, we continue to talk about building community and will be focusing on the following text from 1 John:

Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another.  No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.  This is how we know that we abide in him and he in us: he has given us his Spirit.  We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  God abides in the one who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, and he abides in God.  We have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  This is how love has been perfected among us: we will have confidence on the day of judgment because, while we are in this world, we are just like him.  There is no fear where love exists. Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love.  We love because he first loved us.  Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates his brother is a liar. The one who does not love the brother whom he has seen cannot love a God whom he has not seen.  And this is the commandment that we have from him: the person who loves God must also love his brother.    1 John 4:11-21

The bottom line with this passage is that God has loved us first.  God loves us in our failings, in our weaknesses, in our good and bad times, when we do the right thing and the wrong thing, God’s love is always there.  If we are to love as God loves us, we are to do the same.  Unfortunately, many times we don’t and we love others only when they are like us, believe like we do, do good to us, etc.  This is called conditional love, ‘I will love you if . . .’ and is not the example that we have in Scripture and modeled by Jesus.  Jesus was not afraid to love people, even if they were different than He or if society said He should not or they were not lovable.

Love is also a choice and an action and not just a feeling.  Feelings come and go but each one of us can choose to treat all we come in contact  with in a loving manner.  We have the choice to treat our family, friends, neighbors, even strangers, in a loving manner that is described in the following words, “

Love is always patient, Love is always kind, Love is never envious Or vaunted up with pride. Nor is she conceited, And never is she rude, Never does she think of self Or ever get annoyed. She never is resentful, Is never glad with sin, But always glad to side with truth, Whene’er the truth should win.  She bears up under everything, Believes the best in all, There is no limit to her hope, And never will she fall.  Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

We can probably all do better at loving those around us.  Especially the church, who say we love God, does not always show love to those around us and even those of us.

Why do we love others, we love them because we are first loved by God and how are we supposed to love others, we love them the way that God loves us.  definitely a big order but one that will change the world, a relationship, a family, a community, a church, a neighborhood at a time.

Paul is given credit for writing many of the letters in the New Testament.  Most are written to churches, First and Second Timothy are personal letters written to Timothy whom Paul is a mentor and a friend.  Near the end of First Timothy, Paul gives to Timothy some encouraging words for his life.  As Timothy grows in his faith and ministry, Paul reminds him of what he needs to be doing by the following words.

But you, man of God, must flee from all these things. Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight for the faith. Keep your hold on eternal life, to which you were called and about which you gave a good testimony in front of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I solemnly charge you to keep this command stainless and blameless until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.  At the right time God will make him known. He is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him!   Amen.  1 Timothy 6:11-16

These words  to Timothy (and to us as well) remind us of the importance of having someone in our lives to encourage us and move us forward, but also to live  out  our faith each day.  These encouragements help us in times of hurt and hardship and struggle.  We know we are not alone, we know that we have support and people cheering for us each day.

There is a song called “The Words I Would Say” by the Sidewalk Prophets that has the chorus:

Be strong in the Lord; And never give up hope; You’re gonna do great things; I already know God’s got His hand on You; So don’t live life in fear; Forgive and forget; But don’t forget why you’re here; Take your time and pray; These are the words I would say

What are the word you would say to someone to encourage them?  Yes those words will be person specific, but even words that are given to one, can be for others too.  I look forward to hearing your responses.

Darren

PS – This is the text for Sunday morning at Hampton Christian and I’ll have the text for the RENEW Service up by tomorrow morning.