Thanksgiving Week Sermon

This is the sermon I preached at both my local church and at a community Thanksgiving service held at the county high school auditorium.  Mind you, this is what I planned to preach...the Holy Spirit took it beyond...far beyond.

Philippians 4: 4-7

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  It is a special time of the year when family draws close and spend time together in fellowship, dining on a great feast, reminiscing about times past, and just making it a great time together.  I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family as I hope everyone here is as well.  Today I want to take a moment to look at what giving thanks really means as well as get a little clinical about what this holiday truly means to us as Americans. 

Adam Lawrence, the youth minister at our church, shared a quote last Thursday night from Max Lucato, that is:  “Thanksgiving is never-ending praise to God”.  Not the holiday, but the term…means giving praise.  Just as teachers do their research in order to present a lesson, preachers do their research for sharing a message about God’s word.  I use a wonderful resource called Naves Topical Bible, where all scripture relating to a particular topic is indexed.  When you look up “Thanksgiving” it says:  “See Praise: thankfulness”.  For us Christians, thanksgiving is a time of praising God.  Today’s scripture tells us to present our requests to God with thanksgiving…with praise.  Perhaps we should rename the 4^th Thursday in November “Praise God Day”. 

Across America how many households will gather together and forget to praise God on Thursday?  Taking God out of Thanksgiving is like taking Christ out of Christmas.  No one should celebrate either day without acknowledging God is the very reason for the celebration.  I’d like to share from President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:

The Thanksgiving Proclamation

New York, 3 October 1789 

By the President of the United States of America (George Washington): a Proclamation. 

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me `to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.' 

Did you get that?  “…A day of public thanksgiving and prayer”!  This is what the president said after both houses requested the establishment of a day of thanks. 

Brothers and sisters, the foundation of this nation is built upon praising God.  We cannot thank Him without at the same time praising Him.  Praising God is something that stems from having joy in our hearts.  Some of us hold back on the praises…perhaps because we lack the joy in our lives from which the praise stems.  

At a conference for the Presbyterian Church in Omaha, people were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say, "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go.

We're not a bunch of Presbyterians with balloons but I'm feeling the joy this morning.  If you are too, can you join me in a praise God?  PRAISE GOD!

It can be difficult to give praise if we’re not feeling the joy that comes from loving The Lord.  Today’s scripture begins with the command to rejoice!  That is, re-experience joy.  Not once does Paul say to rejoice, but for emphasis, a second time he says, “I will say it again, rejoice.”  It is through the cultivation of a sense of joy in our hearts that we grow to praise and thank The Lord.  

Let me share the story told by author Leo Buscaglia. He tells about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm's funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family.

We can't wait for joy to come into our lives, we need to invite it; pursue it; cultivate it.  We need to make it a mindset or lose the opportunity to experience it.  Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar has a couple of good sayings that we can lean on when it seems that things aren’t going our way.  He says to “Get a check up from the neck up” and if we find that we’re not able to create a genuine sense of joy that we “fake it ‘till we make it”. 

As we go into the holiday season, let us do so with joy, so that our praises, our thanks, are genuine and powerful. 

Oh, what joy there is in knowing that God sent his only son to take on the sins of the world. 

What joy comes from knowing that the Holy Spirit is here to be our comforter, and helper.

What joy there is in knowing that we could have been born anywhere other than in America, where we’re blessed to live so well.

Simply having a roof over our heads and food in the refrigerator makes us wealthier than most of the people alive on the planet.

Being free to worship our God when and where and how we want makes us truly blessed, and worthy of wanting to give praise.

A helpful way to bring about a true sense of thanksgiving in our hearts is to pray the ACTS method:

A is for Adoration, where we express our awe at the greatness of Almighty God.

C is for confessing our shortcomings and failures at being like Jesus.

T is for thanksgiving; thanking God for forgiving our sins; thanking Him for his son, Jesus; and thanking God for all we are blessed to have.

S is for supplicating The Lord for the things that matter in our lives; for the needs of others; for the desire to grow more in the Spirit; for the future of our nation - whatever we turn to God for, we ask only after adoring, confessing and thanking Him.

May we all have a blessed Thanksgiving Day, remembering that the reason for the day is to praise and pray to God Almighty.

 

I'm From Detroit....Bail Em Out!

My friends, family, and acquaintences are from Detroit...and the surrounding area.  I vote for a bailout of the industry.  I do this from a Christian perspective.  There are literally millions of people who depend upon the health of the auto industry to live from day to day.  

When I say a "Christian perspective" I do not say so with a faint heart.  The dollars are enormous and the predicictability of it being successful is dubious.  Nonetheless, I support it.  Why?  Because so many people's security is at stake.  Lee Iococca bailed out Chrysler.  Successfully, I might add.  It was with the help of good ole Uncle Sam...but he did it.  I think that the scrutiny placed upon the current leaders of the big three will make them change their ways.  Traveling to DC on private jets sent the wrong signal to the rest of America.  They feel it and will change.  They will change...they being the very leaders of the automobile industry.

I believe that the very fundamental notion of survival will influence those in charge to change their ways.  I also believe that the unions will be more understanding in what it takes to run a successful business.  Thier security lies in the viability of the companies for which they work for ( I know...ending a sentence with a preposition is a no no...did it anyway).

These are trying times for the automobile industry, which employes millions.  Uncle Sam can help, and help, I pray he will.  These fine folks will rise to the challenge and do a great turnaround.  They will sacrifice, foregoe previous arrangements, and break through with great products.  I believe in the American dream...as does those in Detroit and other cities that feed this great machine.  

Just my two cents worth.

Marty

My Boss Stopped By

In the United Methodist faith we have an hierarchy. My boss, the District Superintendent, came by for worship with us. He was on his way to a group meeting in the same town so he stopped by my church on the way to capture the essence of our worship. I think it went well. As it would happen, we had no piano/organ player, so the first part of church was ah Capella, till one of our piano players came in and finished out the service with piano and hymns. But the flavor of our worship was evident.

I had numerous interruptions to my sermon (which I always love) and I think it hit home on the topic of being hypocrites, as was the lectionary passage today from Matthew 23. Got a firm handshake from the boss afterwords and a compliment. So, I won't read anything into that. With or without the boss there, it was really good worship. Tears were shed, smiles and frowns shared, and the Word was spoken. Can't ask for a better medley of events at any worship service, let alone one where the boss was there. T'was good!

Funeral and Fellowship

Today I attended a funeral.  I, along with a previous pastor, administered services for a funeral for a 95 year old who had held a position of prominence in the church many years ago.  It was an honor and privilidge to participate in this event.  This church member had lived a good, long life and was loved and reverred by both friends and family.  

In the process of being contacted to conduct the funeral I developed a wonderful relationship with the son.  His respect for the role his father had played in the life of the church I now serve flavored our every conversation.  Sometime between that initial contact and the meal after the funeral I had come to grow to love and respect the entire family.  It was truly a joy.

There were many conversations regarding the late father's love of the church and life in general that brought a smile to my face.  In the interactions between myself and the extended family there were great fun, happy memories, and just plain good Christian fellowship.  The contrast between this funeral and others is great.  It was truly a joy to help bury this wonderful man. 

When one lives a good, long life in Christian love, sending them off to be with lost loved ones in paridise is an honor and privilidge.  Today I was thus honored and privilidged.

Healing Miracle #3

Healing Miracle #3
(Note: Questions at the bottom do not always fit every gospel passage.)

Matthew 8:14-15 (New International Version)

See also: Mark 1: 29-31 and Luke 4: 38-39

Jesus Heals Many

14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

1. Who was the person in need?
2. What was the immediate, obvious need?
3. Who took the initiative in effecting the healing?
4. How and by whom was faith involved in this healing?
5. What were the reactions to the healing?
6. What led Jesus to minister healing to the person in need?

Healing Miracle #2

Healing Miracle #2
(Note: Questions at the bottom do not always fit every gospel passage.)

Mark 1:21-28 (New International Version)

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil^[a] spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Questions:

1. Who was the person in need?
2. What was the immediate, obvious need?
3. Who took the initiative in effecting the healing?
4. How and by whom was faith involved in this healing?
5. What were the reactions to the healing?
6. What led Jesus to minister healing to the person in need?

 

26 Gospel Accounts of Jesus Healings

I will be posting 26 healing passages as inspiration for daily devotionals. Beyond these first 26 gospel accounts I'll post other gospel healing passages. For anyone who wishes to reflect upon these, each post will end with questions for reflection.

John 4:46-54 (New International Version)

46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."

53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.

54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

 

Questions:

Who was the person in need?

What was the immediate, obvious need?

Who took the initiative in effecting the healing?

How and by whom was faith involved in this healing?

What were the reactions to the healing?

What led Jesus to minister healing to the person in need?

 

Church Attendance UP! Where'd That Come From?

I have to admit, I'm utterly awed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our Sunday worship.  It is awesome!  With that said, since I started as pastor at Midway UMC in early June, Sunday worship attendance is up 100%!  To what do we attribute this rising level of attendance?  The answer is simple...those who attend say to others, "come to church".   And when they come, they stick.  The presence of the Holy Spirit is strong in our worship time.  The membership is so wanting to be led in The Spirit, and God doesn't fail those who truly seek Him.  

This is a primarily mature congregation, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, their children and grandchildren come to appease their elders, and find something for them in the process.  We're far from first class in our worship chaple...but have a first class fellowship hall.  In there is bonding...but in church, is development.  It is apparent in the eyes of those who come to worship on Sunday morning.  I would ask fellow pastors...do you see their eyes?  Do you see their emotions raging through your message?  Do you see them wanting to know Christ as never before?  If not, what are you doing about it?  What are you doing that will change the relationship of every individual with the risen Christ?  I am preaching...but there is something else at work.  Do we see that "something else"?  I pray the the Holy Spirit comes into each and every congregation where The Word is truly spoken.  I'm not there yet...but they struggle with me to find it.

I don't know what to make of the surge in attendance, but I stand in awe of Our Lord. We're a body of believers...and that in and of itself...is an awesome testimony.

Dern Mother Nature

Some who may read my other blog will be acquainted with my love for the water. For those here, I LOVE the water. I live near a river and whenever I can I go and swim in that river. It is one of the most clean rivers in the entire USA. I live only 100 yards from it and it is often the choice for cleaning oneself up after yard work and the such. When covered with grass, dirt, and whatever comes from the weedeater, the river is the best choice for a bath. I love it.

Tonight I went to the river for cleansing after putting in a yard...all the seed, fertilizer, and straw debris was all over me. I went to the river for cleansing. It was awesome! If you can hold your breath longer than a minute, you can go to the bottom and cling on a rock and get lost in the weightlessness, enjoying that wonderful moment that comes from being suspended in time and space...in the depth's of the waters. It was a "God" moment.

Do you have "God" moments? If so, please share. This, for me, is one of them. Totally Awesome!

The 'Puter Ate My Sermon!

Tropical storm Fay rained down upon our rural area all day and night this previous Saturday. I had worked up most of the text for Sunday's sermon and had only the finishing touches to put on it prior to heading to church Sunday morning. The storm knocked out the electricity at our home and much of the surrounding area overnight Saturday. I got up in the dark and tried my best to find clothes that didn't need ironing. With no water (we have a well), no lights or electricity, I headed to the door. My sermon was stuck inside my PC and I couldn't print it out.

When I got to church some had said they saw me drive by earlier. Yep, I headed uptown to get a sausage biscuit as we couldn't cook anything at home that morning. I told those gathered about our dilemma and went on to say that I couldn't print out my sermon due to no electricity. I was assured that the sermon would be just what The Lord wants to be said.

Sure enough, to my amazement, the sermon was just what we needed to hear. The Lord spoke things through the scripture that I had not planned and I was as inspired as the congregation. After church a small group came to me and said that I should let my computer eat my sermon every Sunday! I don't know if I'm going to follow that advice but I'll certainly be more willing to let the Holy Spirit guide the message more than me.

New Youth Minister....Yippie!

We (I) hired a new youth minister as a result of placing an ad on the conference classifieds. He comes from Church of God, but is lead to minister to youth anywhere...from any denomination. I welcome him.

Tonight was his debut service and he got the elders in attendance to be motivated to do more to support the youth. More importantly, he ministered to the youth and let them know that they were a part of a movement of God in the community, county, and state. They were overwhelmed by his message. I was as well.

God puts people in our lives for us to minister to, learn from, and move forward in Christ through. I feel, as a pastor, that I have to minister to our new youth minister. More importantly, I have to take a back seat to his ministry. Together we can accomplish things that neither of us could do alone. Does this make sense?

Empowerment is a big deal. Many pastors lack a sense of desiring to empower someone else to make a move in Christ. I, as a budding pastor, see this as a move that is to be embraced, cultivated, and heralded. If it comes back to bite me in the face...so be it. But for the meanwhile, I'm supporting our new youth minister. He comes from a Church of God background...but aren't we all in a church of God? We'll see where this venture takes us, but for now, I'm supporting our new youth minister! Tonight's message he brought made us all come to tears in following Christ.

Just a rural pastor's perspective. Whaddya city slickers think? ( I used to be a city slicker.)

Sunday 081708 Sermon

Weekly Sermon Posts

What Fruit Do I Bear

Matthew 15

Clean and Unclean

1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'^[a] and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'^[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father^[c]' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'^[d]"

10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

13He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.^[e] If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "

What was Jesus telling his disciples, and the Pharisees? In a nutshell, it isn’t what we eat, or how we eat it that matters, rather, it’s what we say, think, and do that determines whether we are holy in God’s eyes.

In those times, the Pharisees ritualistically did everything. They prayed the way that they had been instructed to pray, they would eat, drink, and do all they did according to doctrines and traditions…and the law. The disciples weren’t cut from the same cloth.

When preparing for a meal the Pharisees would go through a cleaning ritual the was as follows: They’d pull their garment back on their arms to above the elbows, then wipe off any visible dirt on their hands. Next they would take an eggshell sized amount of water and pour it over one hand. Then, making a fist, they would rub the water against the open hand cleaning the one hand first. They would repeat the procedure with the other hand. Next another dose of water was poured over each hand until the water ran off the arm at the elbow. That was the ritual they followed in preparation for a meal.

Jesus tells them they are hypocrites! All this ritual does nothing to purify them, for it isn’t what goes in – or for that matter, how it goes in – that makes one holy, rather it is what comes out from the heart that makes one holy. This ritualistic cleansing the Pharisees did was for the benefit of those who saw them eating. It was to make a grand display as to how righteous and holy they were in the eyes of others. But this is a dangerous thing to do because it is only for appearances sake that they do it.

It wasn’t just the Pharisees who tried to give the appearance of piety. Look at Acts 5, and what happens when someone in the early church does things for appearance sake, rather than for the Lord:

Anannias and Sapphira sell their property but keep some of the proceeds for themselves before presenting the gift to the church. Both are stricken dead because of it.

They wanted to be made to look holy, but they were actually being greedy. Appearances lead others to see us a certain way.

Please let me share with you a story.

Illustration:

After WWI there was a rugged man - a man of the sea - who was taking treatments for a skin disease on his face. His appearance was very disturbing. He traveled great distances to get his treatments and had to stay for a few days whenever he had his treatments. He sought out a place to stay near the hospital, but whenever anyone saw his face they refused him a room.

One night he went to a boarding house near the hospital and asked only to be able to take up a place on the porch for shelter and rest. The woman who ran the place was repaginated when saw him. He said that people look at him and are afraid because of his appearance, but he assured her that he wouldn’t be any trouble. She said that it would be ok. A little later in the evening she went out to the porch and invited him in to join them for dinner but he said that he’d be fine where he was, as he had some food with him. After dinner the woman came out to the porch and visited with the man. He was sweet and very nice to talk with. She told him that she would make up a cot inside and he could sleep there.

The next morning when the woman got up she saw that the man had left and the bed linins were folded up neatly and the cot put up. A little later in the morning a neighbor saw her and said that she noticed the guest leaving early in the morning. She said, “I can’t believe you let him stay at your place. He came to my place and I refused him.”

The next time the man came to the hospital for treatments he went to the boarding house and presented the woman with some fish and the largest oysters she’d ever seen. He said that he caught them earlier in the morning so that they would be as fresh as they could be. This man had to catch a bus at 4am in order to get to the city for treatments later in the day. Imagine what time he had to get up to go catch those fish and oysters.

Over the next year that man would send flowers, fruits and vegetables that he grew himself simply as gifts to the lady and her family who showed him hospitality. It wasn’t anything about what went into this man, his appearance, or what others thought that made him who he was…it was what went out from his heart.

So what things come from our hearts? We get so caught up in things of this world – the flesh - that we don’t realize what’s coming from our hearts. What we feed our spirit with is what will come from us. Do we get enough spiritual food to make our actions bear spiritual fruit?

This book, the Holy Bible, gives us spiritual food.

This time of worship today, gives us spiritual food.

Prayer every day, throughout the day, gives us spiritual food.

Bible study; small group meetings; prayer groups, all give us spiritual food.

And if we take enough in, we become what it is all about. If we’re to have someone who knows us write an essay about who we are, what kind of person we are…if they can’t say first that we’re Godly or loving or have a servant’s heart…we’re not much better than the Pharisees.

It isn’t what people see in us because of a position, title, job, grade or anything else that matters. Our actions reflect what’s in our hearts and if they don’t result in the world seeing Christ in us, then we really, really need to see if the title “Christian” truly applies.

The "Johnny Box"

When I began pastoring my church in June this year I was told about passing the "Johnny Box" after the children's sermon. It looks like a treasure chest with a slot in the top. The children walk through the congregation and people make a donation to the box. It was made by a previous (now deceased) pastor and he encouraged the congregation to deny themselves at least one little pleasure during the week (like a soft drink, dessert, candy, etc.) and donate that money to the box for the pastor to use when a person in need comes for assistance. It's awesome!

Just last week a woman in need contacted the church. I was able to help her with her power bill with funds from the Johnny Box. Add that to the food we were able to glean from our pantry and it made a difference in at least one person's life.

Many pastors don't have a well funded discretionary fund to draw upon. Our very giving church keeps adding to and adding to this fund with only myself and one other person knowing how much money is in it (she converts the coins and dollar bills into more manageable denominations). I've shared this idea with some other pastors and they all say that it's something that would help in their church. I'm truly blessed to have been preceded by someone with such a great idea.

Small, Rural Church Preaching

Being a rural preacher it is somewhat different from being in highly populated urban environments in many ways. Most rural congregations are small. When one visits there to deliver the message, there is a sense of "invitation to join our family" that doesn't present itself in larger environments. It is something that those from an urban background sometimes wrestle with.

More than that, you will meet and shake hands with every person there, making a special connection that doesn't quite come about in a large congregation. The folks in these small churches want to know about you, your family, and why you are there. Contrasting that with larger congregations, in these there lacks that personal interaction (perhaps merely due to the numbers). It is something to be missed and yearned for by the big city preacher.

I like the rural preaching assignments. These days I have my own congregation in a rural area and my focus will be more about them than rural preaching at large. Nonetheless, I cannot forget the small church experiences that brought me to where I am today. Today I'm serving ONE congregation. Lord willing, this small rural congregation may grow to be a large rural congregation. But a rural congregation, it will remain.

Brother Marty