Transfiguration and Mr Weasley

This coming Sunday is 'Transfiguration Sunday" One of the few places you may discover the word 'Transfiguration' outside of the religious sphere is in the Harry Potter series of books. 

 

At Hogwarts Academy 'Transfiguration' is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. Humans can be transfigured into werewolves, objects in the seen world can be come invisible. And, as this video clip demonstrates, animals can be turned into objects... though not always with 100% success when it comes to Ron Weasley.

The Gospel account of Transfiguration can be found in Matthew 17:1-9 and it's veracity is testified to in one of the later New Testament writings in 2 Peter 1:16-21. The author of 2 Peter insists that the mountain-top appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountain-top, was no magic trick, but a milestone moment in the disciples pilgrimage to come to terms with the significance of the person of Jesus Christ.

For many of us, such strange events on mountaintops seem to have about as much reality to them as a scene in a Harry Potter movie. We may even fear that rather than making the gospel account more believable, they make it seem even further removed from the reality of our daily lives. And should we even attempt to replicate such an event we probably fear our efforts would be about as successful as those of Mr. Weasley!

 

So maybe it is helpful to ask why the gospel authors (and the author of 2 Peter) felt that this was such an important story to tell. Traditionally three aspects have been pointed out.

Firstly, that the story reveals to us a Jesus who is a bridge between the world of the temporal and the eternal. Heaven connects with earth and earth with heaven. For a brief moment in time the mist of separation is cleared and the story moves outside of time. No wonder that one of the disciples, Peter, wanted to capture the moment and stay on the mountain.

Many of us are fortunate enough to have had those experiences when we felt a strong connection to something much larger than ourselves. It can be on a mountain top. It can be through a conversation. It can  come when we're watching a movie, listening to a piece of music or reading a book. For a moment the mist clears and we feel we are seeing something in a totally different way. Call it an epiphany... or a transfiguration... or even just describe it as magical... such are moments to accept the goose bumps and be thankful.

Secondly, there is a voice that is heard inviting us to "Listen"... in particular to listen to Jesus. Amongst all the words in the world (and even all the words in the biblical books) we can neglect to give the words of Jesus the particular significance they appear to demand. His teaching is the heart of the gospel. Instead of becoming bogged down in the intricacies of theological interpretation, maybe we could just focus on a few of His BIGGIES... like "Love God", "Love Neighbor" and "Love your enemy". It would be magical if we could simply embrace those three!

Thirdly, the appearance of Moses and Elijah stresses that God is God of the living, not of the dead. I love the notion that every time we worship, despite the often empty pews, we are in the presence of a great cloud of unseen witnesses. Saints and angels of every generation! 

If you are able to join us Sunday... and be part of the seen cloud of witnesses - then that would be... magic! If not then whatever you are up to may there be those moments when eternity breaks in and you get a glimpse that there's more to this life than the mundane.

And of course...this post would not be complete without  A TRANSFIGURATION SONG

 

Body Temples

This coming Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin we'll be concluding our series of messages from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians and taking a look at 1Corinthians 3:10-11 & 16-23. 

The theme for our sermon will be 'The Temple of You'... and we'll be reflecting on what it might mean to be a walking, living, breathing temple of God. I was intrigued by the video below... which is about the 3rd temple mentioned in Scripture... the one Ezekial saw in a vision (but which was never actually built) and how it was to be built in the shape of a person. (You'll have to watch it to know what I'm talking about!)

Body temples. Then there's the whole idea of the community of the faithful being together a 'temple' or 'Body' ... and the biblical image of the church as being the 'Body of Christ'. And then there is Jesus talking about His body as being a temple that if destroyed would be rebuilt in three days time. Mind boggling stuff when you start allowing all those different temple related images to percolate in your mind! 

Paul writes in the passage we are considering : ^"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" (verse 16). So... body temples... here's some questions to consider as we approach Sunday.

•  How are we taking care of our personal or communal temple?
• What's the mission statement of our temple?
• What does Paul mean when he writes  'that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst'. 

I searched for a song on this theme... and found this on the YouTube... Temple Restoration. by a lady called Janet Morrison. Certainly fits well with the theme and is based on verse 16.


Hope to see some of you Sunday... and maybe connect with others in different ways :-)

Eating Solid Food

Some of my peers are reaching grandparent age. As they observe their siblings-siblings transitioning from being babies to toddlers they are reminded that eating solid food for the first time can be quite an experience! Some babies love it, some shudder, some cry... as this video amply demonstrates.

In our reading this Sunday, from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Paul chastises the church for having many folk who, when it came to the gospel message, preferred spiritual milk to solid food. " Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready."

Paul's fear is that, unless they developed a taste for the meatier things of Christian life they would remain in a permanently malnourished state. Amongst the things he identifies as being immature behavior are partisanship, jealousy and quarreling. He is horrified by the fact they are still comparing this teacher with that teacher and never for a moment actually getting a grip of the lessons they were trying to teach them.

Of course, as the video above illustrates, solid food can make some folk shudder. I have heard people say that they didn't like it when preachers spoke about developing a deeper relationship with God. That wasn't what they were used to, and it made them nervous. They would rather just turn up at church, mumble a few hymns, put some money in the plate and go home for dinner thankful that another service had been endured. Solid Food? 'Not for me!'

We always have more to learn. We are never invited to a form of belief that is static, underdeveloped and going nowhere. We are designed for spiritual growth. Unlike physical growth, which reaches a plateau and then turns into a decline, sprritual growth just keeps  moving on up. There are greater levels of maturity ahead of us.

So... questions to ponder as we approach Sunday. 

• Are you growing in your faith? 
• Are there particular areas in your Christian experience that need more attention? 
• What are the fears or circumstances that prevent you moving forward? (And what can you do about them?)

And for some music MOVING ON UP (not entirely related as it talks about the breakdown of a relationship... but I hope you get the idea that our faith is meant to be something that is 'moving on up'... and away from things that are holding us back!)

See you Sunday? (And if not, check back or follow online. The sermon will be posted sometime Tuesday.)

The Deep Things of God

In our service this coming Sunday we are looking at 1 Corinthians 2:1-12. In verse 9 we read "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

I recall as a youthful believer that such a verse would discourage me rather than encourage me. When you are in your late teens you want clear answers with no grey areas. I was attracted to the kind of evangelical certainty that I now regard as being unhelpful. I still maintain the books of the Bible offer us answers. But I have often found they are not those that we expect. There is often ambiguity and tension. This text calls us to consider that we may not even be asking the right questions.

In the previous section Paul made great contrasts between the wisdom of the world and the foolishness of the gospel message (and if you missed last weeks sermon 'Field of Fools' then here it is!)  He begins this passage by speaking about his own inability to proclaim it. He implies that if they are receiving anything from him, than it's due to the work of God's Spirit, not his skills.

He launches into words about the mystery and 'un-knowabilty' of God's ways. 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love Him'  All of this is a far cry from the kind of religious certainty that we often crave.

I recall a preacher years ago (and forgive me that I forget who and where) saying; "The Holy Trinity is not Father, Son and Holy Scripture' but 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'." If we are expecting to be able to simply open up our bibles and find an instant answer to some pressing concern, we may be setting ourselves up for disappointment. 

But if we are prepared to carefully and prayerfully approach scripture, aware that the whole process of revelation is depending upon the action of God's Holy Spirit, then maybe treasures from the deep will be revealed. Why limit that process to Scripture? That same attitude can color our approach to worship, to fellowship, to our work, our leisure, to our relationships, our private and our public times (to name but a few)!

Our passage closes with the words 'What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.". There is something wonderfully dynamic and experiential about Paul's view of the gospel. Something that blind insistence on regarding any text as being 'The last and only word on this' can obscure.

I love the Celtic image of the Holy Spirit as being 'The Wild Goose'. Unpredictable. Free. In Transit. I'm glad that there have been those alongside me in my spiritual journey who have had the patience to say, "Yes, you can look at it that way, but look, here's another perspective". I am glad for those who encouraged me to see that the depth of God was not something to be frustrated by, but rather something to dive deep into. And I hope that you may find those around your life who encourage you to do the same. 

 
Some questions as Sunday approaches. 

• Why does Paul tell the church in Corinth "I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling"? 
• What would it mean to have a faith that didn't "Rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power"? 
• What role does 'mystery' play in our lives?

Finally, here's an enjoyable version of William Cowper's classic hymn  "God moves in a mysterious way"

Superbowlingmusinglisticexpeaallydocious

If you are near N.Y.C. then you will be aware that there is going to be a football game of interest taking place in New Jersey. I have no particular fondness for either team this time around, but I am glad for the annual opportunity to raise some more funds for our local Food Pantry in Freeport.

For those of you who don't know the story of how the annual 'Souperbowl of Caring'  began well... back in 1990, a Presbyterian youth leader, Brad Smith finished his youth meeting with a prayer that asked God to make them mindful of those who didn't even have a bowl of soup to eat, whilst the rest of the nation gathered to watch the game on TV. Since 1990, this fund raising drive, has spread from church to church, and community to community, and has raised more than $98 million for people in need. Which brings me to Mary Poppins and our reading for Sunday which can be found in 1 Corinthians1:18-31

A huge hit at the box office right now is 'Saving Mr Banks' inspired by the story of how the classic movie "Mary Poppins" almost never made it to the screen due to author P.L.Traver's mistrust of corporate giants like Disney. As the movie develops details of her background reveal her reluctance, whilst Walt attempts to persuade her to allow him to make a Mary Poppins movie, something he has promised his daughters he would do.

(If that isn't accurate I am taking the rather foolish step of commenting on a movie I have yet to see...but it's on pre-order at Amazon... and did you know you can order goods from Amazon through our church website and they give us some money?)

My point of contact between the movie and the scripture reading comes through the word 'foolish'. Some people would suggest that writing children's books may be a foolish endeavor. There were those who suggested such to P.L.Travers (and to J.K. Rowling). Others that drawing cartoon mice wasn't exactly the best way to invest your time. Animation was just too time consuming and expensive! It took twenty years for Walt to persuade Mrs. Travers to allow him to make a movie of her book. Some suggested that he just gave up... it was never going to happen.

In our scripture reading we find Paul writing "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles". There were those in Paul's day who thought he had bitten off more than he could chew. People of different cultural, religious and philosophical understanding were not going to treat the message he proclaimed with any seriousness. 

Today we find there are folk who belittle folks attempts to feed the hungry and bring justice to the poor. What difference can collecting a little bit of money and saying a few prayers make? It's just a drop in the ocean. Foolishness abounds. So let me state it quite clearly. I'm content in my foolishness. As content as the kid who once dreamed he could throw a football and will on Sunday be running out to play in the Superbowl. 

To all the naysayers, detractors and negativity merchants I say ...'Superbowlingmusinglisticexpeaallydocious!' And if you wish to indulge further foolish musings, then you could be fool enough to join us in worship on Sunday morning ... or simply be part of the foolish Web conversation and reflecting.

And... finally... yes we will be singing in our Sunday service Bill Clinton's favorite country song.  Follow this link and our foolishness will be revealed!

Have a great Superbowl weekend, even if you couldn't care less about football or country music!

Church United

We begin a journey this week through lectionary passages that are from the First Book of Corinthians. Paul’s letter addresses numerous issues that plagued them then… and continue to be issues in today’s church. Amongst the themes addressed are Church Unity, the foolishness of the Gospel, the Wisdom of God, the need to dig deep into what believe, and how to make decisions in the light of all the conflicting voices in our world. We start with 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 and the topic of church unity. 

Personally I've always thought it was a total scandal that there even exists such things as denominations. What a glaring testimony to our intolerance and inability to be the people God called us to be! Jesus prayed that we may be One as He and His Father were one. End of story right there. In as much as we turn away from that ideal, we build our own little empires rather than build God's kingdom.

Of course that sounds idealistic and unrealistic . Yet... and here's the kicker... do we honestly believe that in eternity there is going to be a segregated heaven? Do we think there will be a Catholic enclave, a Presbyterian paddock and a big old building for Southern Baptists? Do we honestly believe that our different doctrinal understandings and emphasis, our structures and ways of worship, our books of order and decisions of church councils over who is 'in' and who is 'out'... are going to matter one iota?

If ... not only Jesus prayed that we may be united, but our destiny at the end of all things is to be united... shouldn't we be working towards such ends here on earth? Don't we even pray every Sunday that 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?"

Yes. We know this. But then it becomes difficult. We have so much invested in our history and our buildings and our heritage. We know people fought and died to establish some of our traditions. And... to be honest... we like the way WE do things. If we wanted to sing those songs, or worship in that way... then we'd go to that church.

Meantime the world looks on and says "See how these Christians love one another. What a joke!" Our witness is compromised. The prayer of Jesus that we may be 'One' goes largely unheard. Our eternal destiny as one people of God is something we are quite happy to put off till then. 

So some questions as we approach Sunday... related to our reading from Scripture.

• Is Christ divided?
• Why is Paul thankful that he didn't baptize anybody?
• What will we do to promote unity amongst our fellow Christians?

I am so grateful to those who have not become so jaded by the disjointed church that they have lost the vision for us being together again. Some of my greatest experiences of worship have been at events where people forgot about their differences and focused on the unity they have in and through Jesus Christ. A memorable milestone in my own spiritual journey was attending the Greenbelt festival way back in 1979. (Yes.. all those years ago).

Thanks to the wonder of the internet, here is one of the performers from way back then, Bryn Haworth, singing 'We're all One'. CLICK HERE. I love the optimism of his last verse "I know that God has saved me, saved me for the day, when I'll hear the people singing, and everyone will say, We're all one..." And you just got to love that seventies fashion sense, the cars, the tents, the hair, the flared trousers...

Here's the lyrics in their totality...

WE’RE ALL ONE by Bryn Haworth

Listen to me children, Can't you hear the call
Can't you see the writing, That's written on the wall
It took so long to write it, Then they passed it through the age
Telling all creation, Everybody can be saved.                                                                                              We're all one …….

Well I was riding on the railway, I took a look around
All the different people, Couldn't find no common ground
Well we've got one Maker, And we're under one roof
And if you've got love, Then you need no other proof
We’re all one...

Crazy people fighting, Fight in other lands
How you kill for Jesus, I just don't understand
I said tell me Lord tell me, What are you gonna do
He said when you point the finger, Then the finger points at you
You’re all one...

I like to play the music, It gets me on my feet
I need to play it loud, because I want to hear the beat
And I know that God has saved me, Saved me for the day
When I'll hear the people singing, And everyone will say
We're all one...

Simply Serve!

 

 Following on from last weeks message (Character, Compassion and Conviction)  this coming Sunday (Jan 19th 2014) we continue to examine the characteristics of a Servant of God. This time we'll be looking at passages from 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and Isaiah 49:1-7.

To paraphrase Isaiah 49:1-3, the prophet  addresses us with a word from God : – “I called you mine when you were still unborn, I knew your name before your parent’s even thought of it, I’ve guided you over the years and protected you, I have selected you for a particular purpose, and you are my servant, through whom I desire to reveal my glory”.

 This coming weekend also sees our annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. In a famous quote (featured above) he said: "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Isaiah encourages us to work for the fulfillment of our dreams for peace and justice in measurable steps. Just because some of them may be steps into the unknown, that doesn't mean that we should hesitate from taking them!

In both our personal lives and the life of our faith communities we are not given a crystal clear picture of where our journey may lead us. How do we deal with that? The best way is to just get on and do the things that we know. To do what servants do best. Simply serve. 

To remember that, from the prophets perspective, we are those through whom God has selected for a particular purpose and through whom God desires to reveal God's glory! Such thoughts may offer us a little extra confidence. To paraphrase an old cliche KISS... "Keep it simple stupid" and launch out in faith!

Prompted by the reading from Isaiah, here are a few questions to consider as Sunday approaches. Hopefully we'll address some of these!

• Where do we find our identity as servants of God?
• What causes us to become disillusioned in our service of God, and how do we get over those hurdles?
• How can we have a positive influence on the daily world in which we live and move and spend our treasures?

  To further stimulate (and maybe even entertain) how about some Adrian music?

Many, many, many moons ago I composed (or to speak more realistically 'plagarized'  from Dan Hicks and his Hot-Licks) a song that was titled 'Simply'. If your browser allows it then you can give it a listen here. 

"Simply you've got to love Him,
Simply you've got to care
Simply you've got to trust in Him
Without Him you'll get nowhere

Simply give your life to Him
Simply just let Him care
Simply give all your love to Him
Without love you'll get nowhere

Simply just tell Him what you think
Simply just let him know
Simply let Him take your life
That's the only way to go"

Hope you can either be with us on Sunday, or if not, then can interact through our web portals! Great to have you onboard. God Bless.

Growing into Baptism

This upcoming Sunday (Jan 12th) is 'Baptism of the Lord' Sunday. Our readings will be from Matthew 3:13-17 (in which Jesus comes to John to be baptized as He begins His servant ministry) and Isaiah 42:1-9 (in which the prophet speaks of the characteristics a servant of God... part of a section known as the 'Servant Songs').

Baptism always marks the beginning of a Kingdom relationship. In the Baptism of a child it is the beginning of a life in a Christian family. In traditions that practice adult baptism it marks the beginning of a new relationship with a particular faith community. For Jesus it was the start of His public ministry.

Following on from last weeks sermon the 'Word' (in Hebrew 'dabhar' - the creative energy of God) is very much present as a voice is heard from heaven declaring "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased."

Martin Luther was said to have urged his congregants to 'Grow into their baptisms'. Baptism was not seen as a sign of having arrived somewhere but of having started something. How do we measure our baptismal growth? Maybe the servant song passage can help us.

One area of growth we are expected to move forward in is growth of character. We are not supposed to stay the same but be transformed by God's love. That can only happen as we become less reliant on self and more reliant on God. What marks the servant out as distinctive is the servants ability not to lift themselves up, but rather to allow God to work through them. Contrasts are made between the way of power and domination in comparison to servant-hood and seeking peace. We can ask ourselves, "How am I growing more reliant on God? How much am I prepared to let God fight my battles rather than self micro-manage every crisis?"

A second area of growth can be seen in the area of compassion. As the days go by are our hearts become harder or more tender? Endless knock backs, let downs and frustrations can cause us to become cynical and cold. Such was not the way of Jesus. Despite all the abuse and hostility He endured, He was able to look beyond the individuals hurts and prejudices, and still see His oppressors as beloved children of God. No where is this more evident than His words on the Cross 'Forgive them Father, for they don't know what they are doing!'  How are we doing when it comes to dealing with those who don't agree with us, maybe even threaten us and oppose us? How aware are we of the hurts and needs that may be driving them? Do we deal with others 'harshly' or 'gently'? Isaiah 42:3 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

A third area of growing into our baptism concerns conviction. The Servant is not a quitter. Many folk give up on their churches. For some their church is the last thing on their list of priorities. If something else comes along, that they feel is more worthy of their (or their families) time, talents, treasures and influence, then the 'church thing' is pushed further and further down the list or dropped altogether. To remain fully engaged with something you have to be convinced that it has value.  How deep is your conviction that Christian faith remains a pearl of great price, a treasure to be shared and the greatest hope for needy folk ... like you and me? If we are truly convinced that the gospel is good news, we'll be prepared to roll up our sleeves and get stuck into the life and witness of our churches!

So there you have it... a few thoughts to ponder as Baptism of the Lord Sunday approaches! May God help us all to "Grow into our baptisms".  See you Sunday! (Or check out the sermon online after then). Comments welcomed!

Video of John's Gospel.

The Gospel of John in video format.
Watch the first part of this for Sundays reading and prepare to reflect on 'THE WORD"

THE BLOG RETURNS!

It's 2014. So I'm thinking... why not give the Blog another fling. According to church guru Tom Ehrich the day of churches being all about worship on Sunday mornings has come to an end. To quote his article in January's Presbyterian Outlook.. 'Leaders should be blogging, nurturing small groups, looking for ways like video to reach more people and using technology to pursue 'touches' and 'leads'..."

To be honest that all seems rather daunting, but I can at least start with the first thing on the list! 'Blogging'.  So the Baldwin Presbyterian blog has returned. In it's previous incarnation this little corner of the web reflected on the previous Sundays sermon. This time, I'm thinking that maybe some pre-emptive thoughts as we approach Sunday worship may prove more fruitful.

However, if Tom is correct, and Sunday worship is no longer the BIG thing, (but rather part of a larger picture) then maybe I'm not thinking far enough out of the box as yet. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE if you are reading this, leave an occasional comment, share it on your Twitter/FB whatever spaces. One of the major reasons I abandoned this blog was the lack of response from all but a handful of wonderfully faithful folk. It seemed to take up a lot of time to reach very few people. But I'm trying again!

Our topic for this upcoming Sunday will be 'Words, Words, Words', based around the prologue to John's gospel.  "John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Joh 1:1 NIV) 

To offer a little preview; 

"On television, on radio, chatter, chatter, chatter and on and on and on, till we get to a point where the TV is left on and the radio is left talking, but no-ones watching and no-ones listening, just a constant murmuring going on in the background.Words to songs. We sing them. We sing them again. but often they don't mean anything. As a pop tune once declared "Video killed the radio star". 

Even in church with our hymns. Some don't bother to pick up the book yet alone open their mouths. And when they are sung it is sometimes without imagination and without understanding. "Nice tune, but what's it all about?". Where there is no engagement of the mind it becomes just empty noise. 

Words from pulpits. How many words have floated over pews, but have never been received, never been chewed upon nor contemplated. The Words of the Bible. "Oh, I know that passage... but I'm not sure I like it in that translation, not sure what it means either, but I do like it."

So some thoughts to ponder as Sunday approaches:-

1. The 'Word' for John was something active, something that caused things to come into being. Incredibly creative and powerful. How can we, within our own experience, embrace such a concept?

2. The 'Word' was also incredibly tied in with John's notion that 'God so loved the world.' Love is an action, not a sentiment."The Word became Flesh and dwelt amongst us". There is a profoundly 'unphilosophical' edge to this notion. This Word gets down and dirty. The Word is not a randomly posted comment, but a personal in the flesh visitation. The challenge here seems to be that it is easy to stand by and talk about something, but to get stuck in and DO something... well that's another story altogether. One of my pet hates is our Presbyterian tendency to believe that because we have formed a committee and talked about something, the problem is therefore solved.

3. The 'Word'  is hard to capture with words.Words often let us down when we are trying to express what is most important.

So there's some thoughts to get us going. If you are not able to be in Baldwin Presby church this Sunday...or have no desire to be ... then you are still invited to be part of the conversation. The sermon is usually posted sometime Monday morning, and engagement is invited. GO HERE and click on the 'most recent sermon' link to find it after Sunday.

God Bless for 2014!

Blog Vacation

Thanks to all my blog followers :-) Be aware that I'm taking some vacation time and will not be updating posts during August. However the sermons will still be available (at least the couple I'll be preaching) at http://presbysermons.blogspot.com/

Hope that wherever your summer is taking you is a good place to be. Regular blogs will resume in the Fall. God Bless.

Adrian.

Jacobs Wrestling Match

Jacob met an angel by the river. They get into a fight and wrestle until dawn. Jacob walks away bruised but blessed. Not the average bible story! But it just happened to be the story behind our sermon this past Sunday, which can be found here.

I like this story. It gives me hope. Because like many people (even ‘Pastor’ people) I find that faith does not come easily. I struggle with the inconsistencies of what I believe. I listen to the arguments of those that see no need for God and often find myself agreeing with what they say. I struggle with the actions and mistakes that the church has made and will make. I struggle, not only with my own beliefs, but to recognize as genuine the beliefs of others that also claim the name Christian.

That is why this story gives me hope. Because Jacob’s struggle is very physical and very real. It involves his whole being. This is not some early morning prayer on a beautiful mountaintop just as the sun is rising and the birds are singing. This is hands on struggling to find a way through the darkness and grappling with the unknown.

And the reason I like this story so much is that in the midst of the struggle is God. A God representation that does not seek to justify itself or explain itself or rationalize itself, but a presence that gets hold of Jacob and challenges him; “Go ahead. Make my day”. A presence that will not let him pass by.

And when Jacob does walk away, he limps. He is hurting. Yet he also has a new name. Israel. A name that indicates the striving of God. The God who will seek to bless us even as we seek to usurp His place.

So, I guess where I’m going with this is to say; “Don’t be afraid of the struggles. Believing was never meant to be a breeze. Faith is fire. “

Prayer: “Lord, we come before You with all our doubts and struggles. In the midst of them, help us to find Your presence. We thank You that You are the God who strives to bless us. And even though our walk of faith can truly be quite lame, let us never give up our seeking after truth. Amen.”

Jacobs Wives

Jacob was tricked by Laban into marrying two wives. Is there anything we can learn from such a story? Well it turned out to be the topic of our sermon last Sunday, which can be found here.

At the heart of the story is the love that Jacob has for Rachel. It is an experience of human love and longing that seems to transform Jacob. Instead of getting mad or getting even (as he previously seemed inclined to do in situations of conflict) Jacob is prepared to sit it out and accept that sometimes landing your dream girl took longer than you expected.

Such seems to be lesson that applies to many areas of our lives. We all have our hopes and dreams. But we are nor masters of our own destiny. We need patience. We need to accept that things may not turn out exactly as we had expected. We need to keep trusting that God is on our case and for that reason, whatever transpires is ultimately in God’s hands!

That is never easy. Jacob learnt that lesson the hard way! Affairs of the heart have a tendency to be complicated. Circumstances can change in a heartbeat. We never quite escape our past. We can never be sure of the actions of those around us.

For our part the best we can do is trust in God, and prayerfully seek the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit in the different situations that come our way.

Prayer: “Lord, we do not always understand Your ways! Stories from the past challenge us and invite us to rethink our attitudes. Yet Lord You blessed Jacob, and You blessed both Rachel and Leah. Help us to understand that You desire only our best, no matter what others do to us or the mess we get ourselves into! Amen.”

Jacob’s Ladder

Whilst Jacob sleeps he dreams of a ladder reaching to the heavens. A sermon reflecting on Jacobs experience can be found here.

One of the phrases from the story that resonates with myself is Genesis 28: 16 when Jacob ponders “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it”

Finding God in the midst of our everyday lives can take us by surprise. I know that as Christians we give lip service to grand theological phrases like ‘omnipresence’ (meaning ‘always there’) but it still throws us a curve ball when that presence is discovered in tangible ways.

As summer congregations dwindle and folks have more significant things to do with their time than attend church services, it can raise all sorts of questions in a pastor’s mind.

But then I remember, thank God, that it’s not about me. It’s about that presence of God that often we don’t recognize. Jacob had a deep sense of awe when he awoke from his dream. God was going to bless others through his compromised life.

Remembering that ‘The Lord is in this place’ can save us from feeling our efforts are futile or insignificant. We love because Christ first loved us. We serve because Christ came to serve. We believe because God believes in us.

And though attendance may well be down during the summer months the most important focus of any worship service remains our Lord Jesus Christ, who promises that wherever even two or three gather in His name, He is going to be in the midst of it all.

Prayer: ”Lord remind us that it is never about the numbers, but all about the grace You have revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ. As Jacob dreamt of a ladder teeming with angels, help us to be aware of the unseen cloud of witnesses always surrounding our lives. May we know like Jacob that ‘Surely the Lord is in this place’. Amen.”

Jacob and Easu

Jacob and Esau. The conflicting twin boys who came out of the womb fighting each other. They became the subject of our sermon this past Sunday, a sermon that you can find here.

I admit to enjoying these Old Testament stories of family conflict and rivalry. They seem to ring so true to contemporary life and appear to be mirrored in every age. From the rivalry of Emperors’ of Rome, to the struggle of European monarchies, from Popes to Reformers, maybe even in the conflicts of Republicans and Democrats, there are those underlying structures of family and power.

And then in our own lives, as so well expressed by Paul, there are our personal struggles. The singer/songwriter Garth Brooks comments, “The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself.”

As I read these stories I am reminded of our urgent need for the Grace of God to redeem us and for the Holy Spirit to recreate our lives. And I don’t mean just in some abstract way, but in a daily way that touches on the way we approach our routine tasks and how we speak and act with one another… in the present.

Thankfully the promises of God’s grace towards us are universal in application. Let us reach out and make them ours this week!

Prayer : “Lord, help me find my way in Your way! Amen.”

Lives of Faith.

We began our summer sermon series on the life of Jacob by taking a look at one of the Patriarchs who came before him, namely Abraham, the great Father of Faith. A sermon reflecting on two of the folk he interacted with, namely Hagar and Ishmael, can be found here.

The soap opera like account of the dysfunctional family that gave birth to Jacob does not make for easy reading. Lies, betrayal and a capacity for doing it all wrong are consistent character defects. The voice of God is often not heard, until after the situation that could have been avoided has taken place.

Yet, the wonder of it all is that the grace of God wins every time. This gives me some hope. I see the mess we often make of things, and realize that over and again we display a great inability to rightly discern the voice of God.

These Old Testament stories carry the simple truth that God is greater than we are. As we face problems both at an individual and corporate level, we do well to remember that!

Prayer: ‘Lord, it is often the simple things that we fail to grasp. That we do better when we follow Your leadings. That though we miss up, you offer forgiveness and a chance to get it right through Jesus Christ. That Your Holy Spirit is there to be the strength in the midst of our weakness. Remind us often of these simple truths we pray. Amen.’