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Posts Tagged ‘Spirituality’

Click here for a link to YouTube vid to “Wake Up” with lyrics posted

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Installment #7 was my assignment for this weekend’s worship services. My title for this message was “Preventative Maintenance: Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Biblical Community.” As is my custom, I have included the manuscript, sermon outline, and small group discussion questions along with the audio file. I am always interested in constructive critique and feedback.

download manuscript (.pdf file)

download outline and sm.grp. discussion (.pdf file)

2010FEB14 ChristianJourney 7jb by valleychapel

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As I mentioned in previous posts, I’m trying to be more intentional about my meditation through Scripture and focus on the liturgical year. We are currently in the season of Ephiphany as we rapidly approach Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season. My posting on the blog regarding my meditations has tapered off a bit, but my personal devotions have not… It may sound weird or contrived, but I have never felt so spiritually alive and awakened in all my life; with each new day it seems this awakening becomes even more profuse. This is not to say that I don’t have times of fatigue, doubt, frustration, sorrow, grief, anger…etc, but I’m learning that God, the Holy Spirit, is leading, teaching, and revealing Himself in the midst of every nano-atom of matter, life, time, space, and eternity. If I am alert and intentional in seeing Him in every instance of life…in every moment of time…I do; see Him. I “hear” Him. I am instructed, and discipled, by Him all through my day. This is truly Ephiphany; the great “awakening” and walking in this heart, soul, mind, and strength attitude seems that each day is even more ephiphanous or epiphanic.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16)

And isn’t this what an “awakening” or revelation (epiphany) is about; showing it and revealing it to others? New life. Awakened. Reborn. Recreated. Redeemed. Reconciled. Restored. Reunited. I get excited just writing these words. How much more should our excitement be to reveal the HIM in us to the world around us? Honestly, can we keep HIM in us from being revealed? I don’t think so.

It was with great delight then when I read the following excerpt from this post from my “new” friend, John Armstrong’s blog:

“But apparitions, in the sense of purely private revelations intended for private use, seem to me to be unknown in Scripture. All epiphanies include a message for the whole community of God, underscoring the nature of Christian faith as personal and communal but never private and gnostic.” ~~John H. Armstrong

I “discovered” John through one of the blogs (euangelion) that I regularly read. This particular post was reviewing his upcoming book, Your Church is Too Small. I am thrilled to say that I will be reviewing and posting my thoughts from this book in the near future. Until then…continue to live in the revelation and let the LIGHT of HIM in you be revealed and displayed before the world. Praise Him!

and for your “earworm” pleasure that will do your “heart” good…try this from the CD “HYMNED” by Bart Millard of MercyMe

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Here is a collection of quotes that I have read over the past few weeks.

“God is a clever designer of crosses. Some are heavy as iron or lead. Others are as light as straw…In spite of their great variety, crosses have two things in common. They are hard to carry and they crucify.” ~Francois Fenelon

“Blessed are those whom God corrects; …For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.” (Job 5:17-18) “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; He has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” (Hosea 6:1)

Then I read this “jaw-dropper” from Martin Luther today…

“When God wants to build people up, He first tears them down. When God wants to heal, He first breaks in pieces. Whom God wants to bring to life, He first kills.” ~Martin Luther

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Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Hmmm…what to say, what to say…

LOVED IT.

A book like this requires some degree of back-story, and it was provided, so it was a little long for me to get to the nitty gritty of what I was searching for in the story. It was around chapters nine and ten that I found myself getting “sucked in” to the heart of what Hugh Halter was driving at. I am incredibly excited about the community described in the tangible kingdom. It brings great joy to me to hear that people are living the life that Jesus taught…and not some cheaply interpreted facsimile of it.

Chapters ten through around fourteen were mostly about deconstruction from the “way we have always done things.” I appreciated that Halter was not overly critical toward the methods he was deconstructing; in fact, he seemed very sensitive to the people entrenched in those systems.

Chapters fifteen through eighteen were rebuilding chapters; teaching the foundational elements of this “incarnational community.” Everything that was shared in these chapters just seemed to make such beautiful sense… I found myself saying over and over; “yes, yes, yes, yes…!!!”

The final chapters, nineteen through twenty-one, were about the focus and outcome of the three primary components of the community once people decide to “join” the community. This focus hinges on togetherness, oneness, and otherness…and I’ll stop there. The teaching and the illustrations used by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are very clear and easy to understand. It would be my great desire to see this community with my own eyes. I would love to get some one-on-one leadership development from an existing-healthy-functioning community.

In my opinion, this is another 5-star book and another must read for those people and leaders desiring to live missionally and incarnationally (buzzwordsy I know, but I don’t know how else to describe it). Personally, I don’t know that I’d follow everything from this book… I have some personal convictions that differ from the authors, but I understand the heart of his passion and with that I agree 100%. I recommend this book very highly. I’m glad to kickoff my 2010 reading year with this one; a great way to start it out.

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As I spend time in Scripture reading and prayerful meditation this morning, I am moved to pray for Haiti this passage from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah (chapter 62). God has promised healing and blessing to the nations from Abraham through Messiah Jesus. May it be so for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as the world watches. Spirit of the Most High God, help us to be revealing Light to the world for the glory of Your Name and Kingdom. Amen.

¹ Because I love Zion (Haiti),
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem (Haiti),
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
² The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
³ The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
⁴ Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem (Haiti),
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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It’s always a joy to share God’s Word…

It was my privilege to “kick off” the first message in our new series The Christian Journey this past Sunday. My message topic was to share the goal of the Christian Journey and to set the stage for the remaining eight weeks of this study. My manuscript can be downloaded here and I’ve included a link to the small group discussion and sermon outline here. As is my practice, I am including the audio file here for streaming or for download.

2010JAN03 ChristianJourney 1jb by valleychapel

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Christmastide Reflections: LIFE and The Great Light…

John 1:1-18

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The LIGHT shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it… ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –

“He was made man that we might become God…” St. Athanasius

John 17:20-26

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³ I in them and you in me…”

Ephesians 3:1-12

² Assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you… ³ God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. ⁵ God, by his Spirit, has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. ¹⁰ God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

“Come and see…” “Go and tell…” Jesus

~Pay attention ~ Be astonished ~ Tell about it ~ Mary Oliver

My soul is exploding…my intellect cannot contain the revelation of the Great Light that has come to us. I do not pretend to fully understand the Incarnation…but my soul knows that it is real! I am alive at the core of who I am in Him. The prayer of my God and Savior, Jesus, is alive in me. His Life gives me life; I can feel His heart beating as my own and I am filled with incomprehensible, indescribable, and infinite joy! But then the paradox of Love wraps its fingers around my throat and begins to choke my joy…while His Kingdom of wisdom, power, peace, and love is as kindled embers in my heart, the bonfire of His Eternal Kingdom is something “remembered forward.” The Kingdom is here, but it is not here. And, tears come to my eyes. I know people who don’t know the Great Light. I know people who are still stumbling in the darkness…and I feel like a traitor. How is it that I can rejoice and celebrate in the Light when so many are blind to this joy? I only stand on the promise of my Savior, the Light, who said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… and Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I pray for comfort. I pray for the Kingdom in full. I pray for boldness to proclaim the Truth of the Great Light who is my Lord, my Savior, me Jesus…the God who Saves. Come and see the Great Light. Go and Tell about the Great Light. May the words His Spirit gives me awake deafened and blinded hearts to this wonderful and glorious Light that has come into the world.

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Christmastide Reflections: The Passionate Commitment…

Isaiah 9:2-7

⁴ You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders… ⁶ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… ⁷ His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The *passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen.

*Passionate Commitment is a translation for the New Living Translation. In other versions it is translated as “zeal.” Looking up the definition of zeal in several online dictionaries was enlightening to me. The following reflects the sum of my findings:

Zeal: Fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor

Synonyms: intensity, passion

I love that… passionate commitment; zeal; enthusiastic diligence, intensity…passion. This is the description of our God, the Creator-Savior-Redeemer, Jesus. The Rescuer who has come to save, reconcile, and restore us. He does this with passionate commitment. He determined that HE WOULD MAKE THIS HAPPEN with enthusiastic diligence and ardor (intense devotion, eagerness, and/or enthusiasm; burning heat). I love this!!! He would see (and did see) that the burden of sin, the yoke of slavery to the broken flesh, would be lifted! His peace and our reconciliation would never end! Our redeemed and restored relationship would extend ETERNALLY! Why? Because HE WAS-IS Passionately Committed to His creation and His children. Thank God! Immanuel. God is with us!

“Each day proclaim the good news that He saves…” (Psalm 96:2b)

At His birth the world changed. The pregnancy of Hope and the conviction of divine possibility were joined. God is with us…Immanuel. The physical birth of Jesus is exponentially larger than a baby in a manger. Christmas marks the coming of a whole new world. As modern day Christians we know that Christmas is the precursor of the cross. Christmas and the cross are truly a single event. With the fulfillment of God’s promise for deliverance come in Jesus, humanity was invited to coexist with deity for eternity… Immanuel… God with us, God among us, and God in us: Redemption, Reconciliation, and ultimate Restoration. Hallelujah! He Has Come. Immanuel.

“God makes the first move, one of sheer grace; the next move is theirs (ours)…” –Bobby Gross

“Christmas is meant to take us to the level of spiritual maturity where we are capable of seeing in a manger the meaning of an empty tomb.” –Joan Chittister

Isaiah’s prophecy describes the character, conscience, and countenance of Jesus…”The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…” This is the Image by which we were created (Genesis 1:27) and it is the Image to which we are being transformed (Romans 8:29). Christ himself, has prayed (John 17:22-23) that we (the sons and daughters of God) would be instruments and reflections of His Glory. The image we should radiate and reflect is the same description as depicted by the prophet Isaiah; wisdom, power, love (agape), peace (shalom). As I reflect upon these truths and meditate upon all that it holds for us as “awakened” children of God, I am stricken with a somber dose of reality… I think about the quote from Bobby Gross (above) speaking about the lowly shepherds to whom God announced through His angels the arrival of Messiah Jesus. God did make the first move and the shepherds responded with joyful obedience. I wonder about those who do not respond to God’s move… Ironically, the arrival of Jesus in the flesh of humanity not only signaled life-eternal, but brought with it death as well (Matthew 2:13-18). So, to this end, I ponder… the fulfillment of Promise and Life sealed darkness and death for many. Sadly, I think it does still for those who decide to ignore “God’s first move.” I am reminded of an observation made by the ancient church father, Jerome; “The Lord is born on earth, and he does not have even a cell in which to be born, for there was no room for him in the inn. The entire human race had a place, and the Lord about to be born on earth had none. He found no room among people…” O, Dear God, please…please may this not be the case about Your people today. My prayer today is for us who know you and for those who do not…

Almighty and everlasting God, you have revealed the incarnation of your Son by the bright shining of a star, which the wise men saw, and offered costly gifts in adoration; let the star of your justice always shine in our hearts, that we may give as our treasure all that we are and all that we posses, to your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

From before time was, Your plan was to manifest Your image in all you create and now You have provided us the way and the means to this completion through rebirth and re-creation. May we be as the shepherds and respond boldly to Your move; Your invitation to grace and shalom. I pray, O Lord, for the blindness and arrogance of my brothers and sisters…that their hearts might not be hardened, but they would be melted to joyful submission and receive this great gift of salvation from Immanuel… You, who are, God With Us. It is your passionate commitment and merciful magnificence that brings men to repentance… I pray that darkness is dispelled and death destroyed for the sake of those who still do not know or refuse you… may they greet you with adoration and joy, responding to Your “first move” and passionate commitment.

Christ is born: glorify Him. Christ comes from heaven: go out to meet Him. Christ descends to earth: let us be raised on high.

– prayer written from my own words, the words of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Gelasian Sacramentary

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Book Review: Tales of a Mad Mystic – New Parables to Amuse and Confuse Seekers of Truth

A few weeks ago I received for review a copy of the book, Tales of a Mad Mystic: New Parables to Amuse and Confuse Seekers of Truth. The book is a self-published work and written by “John the Methodist,” a nom de plume or penname of the author who (presently) wishes to remain anonymous. The book is available for purchase through Amazon marketplace.

First impressions:

The book is arranged into eight groups of parables. The groups are cleverly titled to reflect the nature of the parable(s) they head. Most of the little narratives are less than ten pages in length making the book a relatively quick read. While a reader could easily read this collection in a single sitting or two, I wouldn’t recommend doing so. The parables invite consideration and reflection in order to fully appreciate what the author offers to the reader. Personally, I found reading one group of parables at a time to be the most beneficial practice allowing me time to consider several lessons within a theme before moving on to the next subject group. Overall, I liked the book and found it thought-provoking on many levels.

Highlights:

Before the reader begins the first group of parables, John the Methodist includes ten articles of religion (actually he calls them The Ten Great Laws of Organized Religion). While I found these “great laws” humorous, often chuckling out loud as I read them, I was also saddened by the truth of them. Interestingly, I do not think these articles of religion were random, but they served as a backdrop for the parables themselves…

The synopsis from the back cover of the book states that, “All the stories in this book are amusing and childlike in their simplicity, but, look a little deeper and you may find much more.” I think this claim is fair and accurate. I did not encounter any great and profound truth, but I was stirred to think and I agree that the stories included in Tales could be an excellent tool for discussion groups.

I think each person will find their favorites from this little collection of narratives; I landed on a few that I particularly liked. The parables that appealed especially to me were; The Bishop and the Begger, The Reluctant Ruler, Heirlooms, Jaws, Speak No Evil, and ALERT LA318… I can’t tell you why, you’ll have to read the book and come to your own conclusions and favorites.

Final Thoughts:

A parable is supposed to be brief and succinct…even simplistic in order to portray a simple, and often universal, truth. The parable is often devoid of back story and character development, but this does not mean they are not skillfully and intricately woven in their simplicity of meaning. If I have any criticism of the Tales (constructively intended), it would be the intended “aha” moment for some of the stories. In several of the parables, John the Methodist, drew me into a narrative; my curiosity piqued…anticipating the next turn of the page…when suddenly the story dropped very flatly and abruptly. In these instances I was left unfulfilled and slightly disappointed. I think, gauging from the delight I found in some of the other parables, and given a little more thought…these lackluster stories could have been much more invoking and insightful. All in all, I give the book a “thumbs up” approval. Tales of a Mad Mystic is a good read and most readers will find something in this collection of tales that bring them enjoyment.

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