Seven Days of Prayers

During this weekend’s worship opportunities, we will be sharing with our congregation an invitation to join with United Methodist churches throughout the United States in praying for the renewal of our denomination. These prayers come to us from a gathering that our Senior Pastor recently attended in Atlanta of the pastors of the top 100 United Methodist Churches in America. There were several commitments made by the pastors that attended that event which our leadership is currently considering how we will implement in our local community, but one of the most important commitments made was to share these prayers with these 100 congregations.

In the coming week, I want to invite you to join with our pastoral staff, our congregation and thousands of our United Methodist sisters and brothers in lifting up these prayers for the future of our church and our denomination. I will post each prayer here over the next seven days, but as you will see, there are seven areas we want to emphasize during this week of prayer

• That our churches will be filled with passionate Worship.
• Calling 2000 young people into ministry
• Starting 400 New Churches in communities where there is no vibrant witness for the Gospel.
• Ministry to the poor including the alleviation of poverty, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. 
• Renewed vitality of the Church
• Unity of the United Methodist Church
• The Spiritual growth of all those who participate in a United Methodist Church. 

Stormy Finances

I forgot to post this earlier in the week. For those who might have missed it or would like to see it again, this is the video from our third message in the, “Surviving the Storm” series entitled, “Stormy Finances.”

More Sermon Series for 2009

A few weeks ago, I shared two sermon series that I’m putting together for 2009. I’m excited to have the rest of 2009 lined up! Something always changes when I plan this far out, but it’s great for me to at least have an idea of what’s coming up. Again, I’d love to hear any and all feedback. Leave me a comment below, and don’t worry about hurting my feelings. My goal is to address what people want to hear about so feedback is always good. Thanks for taking the time to look this over. 

Here are the two I shared a few weeks ago. 

And here are some more… 

The Biggest Loser [January 3rd - 24th]

At the center of our faith story stands a man willing to become the biggest loser the world had ever seen. In so doing, Jesus offers to us a “life-altering” perspective on what truly living really means. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says it this way. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” In  a world where we are often defined by the significance of our success and the amount of our possessions, perhaps we should be asking ourselves a different question… 

How big a loser are you?

The “I Do’s” and the “I Don’ts” [May 16th - May 30th]

Our lives are built on our promises. We make promises to our boss. We make promises to our families. We make promises to our friends, and the quality of every relationship in our life depends on our ability to live up to the promises that we make. How are you doing with your promises? Join us during this series as we look at three simple promises that can transform every relationship you have. 

The Gospel According to Moses [June 20th - July 11th]

Have you ever wondered what Genesis and Exodus have to do with the Gospel of Matthew or the book of Acts? If the message of Jesus changed everything, why should the Old Testament matter to someone seeking to follow Jesus? Moses was a great leader of Israel, but what does he have to do with the Good News we find in the second half of the Bible? If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, this series is for you. Join us as we unpack the Gospel according to Moses. 

Focus on 5 [September 19th - October 17th]

Stuck in a rut? Wondering what the next step for you might be? Have you dreamed of a life of higher purpose, greater joy, and more meaningful impact only to find yourself stalled out on the journey of faith? As we kick off the fall, we’ll spend five weeks looking at five simple practices that can transform your life, help you focus on what’s really important and discover what the next right step of faith for you might be. 

Stormy Feelings

Tomorrow [Saturday], Mike will continue our “Surviving the Storm” series with the message “Stormy Feelings.” The following video is a sneak peek of the video interview we will be showing in connection with that message.

Wonder and Awe

One of the resources that I am constantly looking for is liturgy/poetry/prayers that I might share in worship. I have several books that I really like including Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth by Walter Brueggemann which I highly recommend. I have also found a few blogs including one called [hold :: this space]. It is described by the author as, “the story of an alternative worship project in the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.”

I found the following poem there this morning and I’m thinking about reading it in worship tomorrow night during our prayer time. I think I found it especially moving given the topic of the Disciple Bible study class I facilitated yesterday where the key word was Wonder. I hope you find it meaningful for you today as well. If you know of any additional resources like the ones I mentioned above or if you yourself are in to writing prayers/poems/liturgy, I’d love to hear about it! Just leave me a comment. 

there are some moments
at which we should only look sideways
because to face them head on will blind us

moments where words like wonder
and awe
are completely inadequate;

where we search in vain for new words
as yet uninvented
to tell of the truth

moments where it seems impossible
that we will ever forget
how extraordinary,
how remarkable
this life is.

until we do

so in this moment,
when we stand blinded by fragility
and wonder
we pause

and for all those moments we forget,
we take a breath
and say

thank you.

Storms beginning this Saturday

This weekend, we will kick off our “Surviving the Storm” series, and just in case you are wondering, we did not intentionally plan this series to coincide with hurricane season. In essence, this is what the series is all about… 

For most of us the question of whether we will experience a “stormy” season in our life is not if that will occur, but when. Every weekend the pews of our sanctuary are filled with individuals and families who find themselves knee deep in the difficulty of circumstances that are often outside their own control. 

Some are struggling with a personal illness or the health issues of a loved one. 

Some are dealing with depression, the grief of losing a loved one, or the insecurity of their current financial situation. Some are worried about their jobs… their kids… their marriage… 

During this series, you will have the opportunity to hear real stories of individuals in our church who have weathered some tremendous storms. You will hear about their struggles… their heartache… and their difficulties, but most importantly, you will hear about their faith….

The kind of faith that can enable real people to “Survive the Storm.”

We begin this weekend with the topic of “Stormy Jobs” and in worship we’ll be hearing Dan’s story. For a sneak peek, check out this video.

Sermon series in 2009

This weekend we will begin our first series of the Fall season. I’m really looking forward to this series because I really think it’s going to be great and because our Senior Pastor will be sharing during all our weekend services throughout this series. The time off from preaching for me is giving me the opportunity to design some classes for visitors and new members to our church which we will be implementing in the spring. I am also getting the chance to put some extra time into the sermon series we are going to be doing in the spring on Saturday night. Much of what I’m working on is in response to the recent survey we did in our church about our upcoming series. Here is a sneak peek at two series I am working on. I would love to hear your feedback on these ideas. Leave me a comment below if you have a thought. 

Daughters & Sons
Nurturing and supporting our daughters and sons in faith is one of our most sacred responsibilities. It is also one of the greatest gifts we give to our children. Throughout the Bible, we hear God’s call to model and pass on the faith. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 instructs, “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” What gifts are you giving to your kids? Join us during this first series of the year as we explore this holy task of raising daughters and sons in the faith.

Living Biblically
Have you ever found yourself reading a section of the Bible and wondering, “Am I really supposed to live this way?” From the seemingly bizarre instructions we sometimes find in the Old Testament like, “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard,” to some of the more radical ideas that Jesus offers, all of us are sometimes left to ponder, “what does it really mean to “live Biblically?” New York Times best-selling author, A.J. Jacob’s book, The Year of Living Biblically, explores this question. Join us during this series as we look at some of his discoveries and unpack what it means to truly live a “Biblical” life.

A new series begins…

This weekend we are showing this video to tease the start of our next sermon series, “Surviving the Storm,” which will begin the weekend of September 13th & 14th. During this series, we will be focusing on six stories from individuals in our church who have walked through a storm in their life. Our Senior Pastor, who has had the honor to walk through thousands of storms with individuals and families in our church and others he has served previously, will be sharing each week of this series with our entire congregation. It’s really a “can’t miss” series.

 

You can always keep up with each of our series online at www.firstmethodistmansfield.org.

A Father’s prayer

Five days before my son was born, I wrote this prayer in my journal. I was thinking about Jack’s arrival and expressing my anxiety about everyone being OK. I’m blessed to say that those concerns are fine. Jack and mom are doing great. I didn’t write this to share it, but perhaps it will be an encouragement to someone else. 

God, thank you for the gift of my children. Help me to always recognize the great trust and faith you have placed in me to be their father. Give me wisdom to guide and direct them and the patience to stay in step with your grace working in their lives.

Help me to love their mother and care for her in such a way that my daughter will know what it looks like to be cherished and my son will recognize what it means to be a true husband, partner and friend. I ask your blessing God fully aware of your call on my life to be a blessing to others. Amen.

Coming out of the stands…

Tonight at worship, Mike will be preaching the fourth message from our We Believe message series. I have a half-written sermon that I’m looking at here for tonight. Jack’s birth put me out for this Saturday which is focused on “The Problem of Sin.” The following video was one that I was planning on showing tonight because I think it so clearly illustrates the “condition of frailty” that we all deal with and the response that God has to our recognition of our weakness. 

I am often drawn back to the first few chapters of the Bible in terms of expressing the relationship I believe that we have with God. Following the first sin that takes place in the garden, Adam and Eve’s eyes are open and the text says that they “recognize their nakedness,” and decide to hide from God. When God comes for his walk with them in the Garden, Adam and Eve are nowhere to be found. They are hiding from God and when God asks them why they are hiding they reply, “because we are naked.” God immediately knows what has happened but when Adam and Eve are questioned further, rather than owning up to their mistake, they decide to blame the other one. So, to sum up, the effects of sin we see in Genesis 3 are: 

1. Sin exposes our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. 
2. Sin causes us to hide our true selves. [Fundamentally altering our relationship with the creator of our true selves]
3. Sin causes us to blame. [Fundamentally altering our relationship with one another. 

This is our “condition.” 

I think this video captures God’s response. 

Derek Redmond was a world class runner whose career was plagued by injuries. The 1992 Olympics is the most well-known example of Derek’s injury woes. With his dreams of Olympic glory at their peak, Derek’s hamstring gave way on the track in Barcelona. Most believed he was going to medal and claiming the gold that year was certainly within reach. On the back stretch, those dreams died, and for a moment all Derek could do was sit on the track overwhelmed by the knowledge that once again he had fallen short. 

You’ve been there, and I have too.

Face in your hands…

Tears streaming down your cheeks…

Wondering how you seemed to trip up this time… 

But something tells you to get up. Dust yourself off, and keep going… 

And so you do. 

And then something truly amazing happens. A father fights his way onto the track. Several security officials seek to stop him by letting him know that he is not welcome on the track… that the help he seeks to provide is “out of bounds,” but the father can’t be stopped. “That’s my son,” he says, “and he needs me.” 

And before you know it, suddenly strength comes from somewhere you didn’t expect it. The father has embraced you and calmly speaks in your ears, “I’ve got you child. I’m here. We’re going to finish this race together.” Again, others come into the picture to let the father know that what he is doing isn’t appropriate, but the father replies sternly, “I will not let him go.” 

The strength that you lack is the strength that he gives… and though your body finds itself broken, your heart is lifted because Dad is carrying the weight of the pain…

Everything is OK…

because the Father has come out of the stands…

and you and I are not alone anymore.

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