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.