Thanks A Lot!

This time of year we hear a lot about all of the things we have to be thankful for but sometimes life has us saying, "Thanks for NOTHING!" We find ourselves in situations we never asked for or dealing with circumstances (sometimes through our own choices and sometimes not) that leave us feeling scared, anxious and doubtful. Is it possible to be thankful even when life doesn't make sense? I think it just might be.

Let's take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and see if we can break it down into manageable parts.

Rejoice always…
-The idea of being joyful always sounds like a fantasy world
-It's important to recognize there is a difference between joy and happiness
-Happiness is fleeting; joy is deep
-True joy comes from a consistent relationship with Christ which helps us maintain consistency despite life's crushing lows or deceptive highs
-Psalm 31:7
-These ups and downs are meant to be shared within a community (1 Corinthians 12:25-27), if you don't have one, find one

Pray without ceasing…
-For some of us, we think of praying as the thing that happens when our heads are bowed, eyes are closed and hands are folded and only then
-Prayer is attitude over posture
-What if prayer is simply keeping God in mind?
-The early disciples were devoted to prayer
-Do not underestimate the power of prayer (James 5:14-16)
-We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. When a man is at his wits' end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with Reality. ~Oswald Chambers
-I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. ~Abraham Lincoln

Give thanks in all circumstances…
-You're kidding right Paul?? This seems absolutely impossible
-Everyone knows hard times will come
-We have the hope that God can create something out of nothing; turn dead ends into open doors
-In my opinion this is easily one of the most difficult aspects of discipleship, giving thanks when it doesn’t make sense or even when it hurts
-I think this is part of the reason Jesus said the gate is small and the road narrow
-The ability to give thanks despite the circumstances comes down to a trust issue, believing that God is truly in control

...this is God's will for you through Christ.
-This is God's desire for you and you don't have to do it alone...because you can't.

#ChurchWORDS - Worship

We started a new sermon series at Renovate (our Saturday Evening Contemporary Service you can read about here) entitled #ChurchWORDS (which you can read about here) a couple weeks ago. Here is my sermon outline from the fourth sermon in this series from 9/11.

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#ChurchWORDS - Worship
Psalm 95:5-7

The Hebrew word for worship describes it in these ways...

(fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully

serve by carrying out religious duties

religious service, worship (of God)

"When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without
heart." ~Lamar Boschman

God must be the object of our worship
-God alone is worthy of worship
-Deuteronomy 6:13 says to “serve him only”
-The 1st of 10 commandments is to have no other gods
-"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." ~C.S. Lewis
-Worship is humbly recognizing it is not about me, which allows us to worship on a day like 9/11 or when life doesn’t make sense
-Keeping God as the focus of our worship keeps us from worshiping our traditions

Worship begins in our hearts
-Worship must be sincere
-Isaiah 29:13
-2 Kings 17:40-41

Our life is the action of our worship
-Romans 12:1
-This means worship can happen anywhere at anytime
-Worship is serving, and as Jesus said, “whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me”
-"As worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. Holy obedience saves worship from becoming an opiate, an escape from the pressing needs of modern life." ~Richard Foster

Thoughts for Lent Part 4

As the journey continues...

Prayer
O God our Father, renew our spirits and draw our hearts to thyself, that our work may not be to us a burden but a delight, and give us such love to thee as may sweeten our obedience. Help us that we may serve thee with the cheerfulness and gladness of children, delighting ourselves in thee and rejoicing in all that is to the honor of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~From The Book of Worship

Scripture
-Psalm 32 (how are you handling the weight of sin in your life? don't miss that confession & forgiveness can lighten the burden of guilt.)

-Colossians 3:1-17 (what is your source of life?)
-Romans 8:31-39 (find hope in the fact that Jesus is in the presence of God interceding on our behalf.)
-Philippians 3:8-14 (are you allowing Christ to take hold of your life?)

Thoughts

An act of pure faith is the death of what we love most so it may be offered to the loved one because only love is stronger than death...

At the ultimate moment of trial, when we try to pierce the invisible, with the sharpened spear of every possibility we can find, we realize that the three theological virtues - faith, hope, and charity - are really only one, and they have such a power of penetration that they could disrupt the entire universe.

~From The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto

Thoughts for Lent Part 3

Hoping that your journey to the Cross and empty tomb is proving to be meaningful for you. Here are a couple resources and thoughts you may find interesting along the way.

Prayer
Lord God, you who are the source of all truth, wisdom, justice, and love, lead me through this time of worship and throughout this day of service to you. Help me constantly to rest my life upon the eternal foundations of your love and presence. Save me from haste and confusion, from wrongful desire, and the net of evil. Through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, enlighten, instruct, and guide me all the day long. In the name of Jesus. Amen

Scripture
-Hebrews 2:1-18 (how often we forget that we have a savior who can relate to us, even to the point of sharing in our sufferings. how might your sufferings be bringing about perfection in your faith?)
-Psalm 103:1-13 (what might your life look like without Christ in it? what might your life look like with Christ in it?)
-Isaiah 55 (are you spending your time, energy, and resources on the things that really matter?)

Thoughts

The question, you see, is not to prepare but to live in a state of ongoing preparedness so that, when someone who is drowning in the world comes into your world, you are ready to reach out and help. It may be at four o'clock, six o'clock, or nine o'clock. One time you call it preaching, the next time teaching, then counseling, or later administration. But let them be part of your life in God--that's ministering.

~From "Time Enough to Minister" by Henri J. M. Nouwen in Leadership (1982)

In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself, "How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?" The point is that each person's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride. It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive--is competitive by its very nature--while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.

~From The Joyful Christian by C.S. Lewis

Other Resources
-"2 Stories": A daily devotional from Asbury Theological Seminary

Thoughts for Lent Part 2

A few thoughts that I pray will encourage and challenge you on your Lenten journey. As always, feel free to share.

Prayer
Lord of life and love, help us to worship thee in the holiness of beauty, that some beauty of holiness may appear in us. Quiet our souls in thy presence with the stillness of a wise trust. Lift us above dark moods, and the shadow of sin, that we may find thy will for our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~From The Book of Worship

Scripture
-Psalm 42 (what does your heart thirst for? do you seek God to quench that thirst?)
-John 6:22-40 (when people look at your life, do they see bread of life or bread that is stale?)
-James 1:2-18 (are you finding joy in the development of perseverance? what if, we used the sufferings we faced as ways to connect with others? what message might that send about the Gospel?)

Thoughts

There is no Christian who is not in the same case as the disciples. Every Christian ought to say to the Savior as humbly as they: 'Lord teach us to pray.' Ah! If we were only convinced of our ignorance and of our need of a Teacher like Jesus Christ! If we would only approach him with confidence, asking him to teach us himself and desiring to be taught by his grace how to converse with God! How soon we should be skilled in it and how many of its secrets we should discover! Do not let us say that we know how to pray the prayer they learned from him. We may know the words, but without grace we cannot understand the meaning and we cannot ask or receive what it expresses.

~From How to Pray by Jean-Nicholas Grou