Preacher's Post

11/8: Forgive one another...Confess to one another.

St. Augustine called this phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “The Terrible Prayer”: …forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.  (Matthew 6:12)  It’s inspiring to read stories about extraordinary examples of forgiveness like the South African woman who forgave the killers of her husband and son or the survivors of Nazi atrocities who heroically forgave their tormentors.  But that’s not real life for most of us—that’s not where we live.  We’re not superstars when it comes to faith, grace, and forgiveness.  We live with the betrayal of spouses who cheated on us, parents who abused their responsibility as mothers and fathers, Christian brothers and sisters who ripped us off in a business deal, and so on.  These aren’t the kind of hurts that make for best-selling books outlining our feats of spiritual forgiveness that make us worthy of sainthood. 

11/1: The Game Changing Nature of Christianity

Ephesians 4:2: Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

 

Ephesians 5:21:  And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 

Romans 15:1-3, 5:  We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.

10/25: Welcome One Another

I ride bikes with a “tribe.”  We know each other and for the most part like each other.  We always like to have other riders join us, but when other riders join us, we have to check them out to see if they’re “OK.”  Can they handle their bike safely?  Are they too aggressive, or not aggressive enough?  A new guy named Dalton joined us yesterday, and it was fascinating to participate in a ritual that is as old as humanity.  Are we going to allow you to be part of our group or are we going to shun you?  But by the time we rolled back into Sonoma, Dalton was the butt of our jokes and verbal jabs…he was a young guy (30 years old) riding with a bunch of old guys…but we’d decided he was “OK.” 

 

10/18: The One Anothers

“I’m trying to follow Jesus, but the other Christians around me keep getting in my way.”  How many times have I heard the sentiment in one form or another.  We just don’t get it.  The troublesome, irritating, sinful Christian brother or sister is traveling with us on a journey and it’s on that journey of faith that we learn the lessons Jesus wants to teach us.

10/11: Building Cathedrals

For the first time since St. Andrew was formed, we’re closed for Sunday worship.  We have managed to gather during horrendous pacific storms that caused flooding…we even worshipped on our site after the great fire of March, 1989.  But this Sunday, we’re closed because we’re not going to go to church, we’re going to be the church. 

My final words of counsel include the following:

10/4: Work First--Then the Party

We’re ten days from one the craziest things I’ve ever been a part of in my fifty-eight years of church experience.  I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of days ago and just lay there thinking to myself, “This is nuts!  It’s going to be a flop and when people remember the dumbest thing Rich ever proposed, this is going to top the long list of his other goof-ball ideas.”  But as I lay there in the dark, I prayed—I prayed that God would take my worries and shape them into praise and thanksgiving.  (See Philippians 4:6-7)  I can’t say that a sense of God’s complete peace has taken over my life, but I’m confident that something special is going to happen October 11^th, and that the something special is going to be good. 

 

9/27: Little Things Matter

For the most part, I had a great vacation.  But a week ago Wednesday morning I was not having fun, and my frustration was caused by, of all things, a small plastic elbow that broke and disabled the water system in our travel trailer.  It was a very small piece, but it caused a big problem.  I probably spent at least eight hours trying to find a replacement part, get it installed, and then hand carry water from the water faucet at Doran Beach campground over to the trailer holding tank which had drained as a result of a tiny, itsy, bitsy crack in the plastic part.  When I’ve related this story to friends, they all nod their heads with understanding.  We all understand that something relatively small can cause great inconvenience and at times, a lot of trouble.

 

9/6: The Third Almighty Tweet

The first almighty Tweet was, “This is the day I’ve made—rejoice and celebrate it.  Come on out and play.”

 

The second Tweet from God was, “Don’t despair.  I’m still in charge.”

 

Two verses stand out as promises which should encourage us as we live lives in a real world with real problems:

Ephesians 3:20: Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Matthew 6:33:  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

 

Based on these and other biblical promises, The third Almighty Tweet is, “Need a hand?  Just ask.”

 

8/30: The Almighty Tweet #2: Don't Despair...

What difference would it make in your life to open your phone and find this tweet from God:  Don’t despair.  I’m still in charge.”

 

Jesus gathered his disciples in the upper room the night he was betrayed and gave them their last full briefing before he went to the cross.  This was important stuff.  Before he closed their time together with his prayer for unity, he looked them in the eye and made this promise:

 

John 16:31-33 (From The Message):  Jesus answered them, "Do you finally believe? In fact, you're about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I'm not abandoned. The Father is with me. I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world."

8/23: Almighty Tweet: Celebrate the Day

The media is all a-twitter about Twitter.  Twitter is about connecting people through Tweets which  are short communiqués (up to 140 words).   It’s all about, “What are you doing?”  I happen to follow Lance Armstrong’s tweets because I’m interested in what Lance is doing and has to say.  Here’s an example of one of his tweets from yesterday:

Twitterati, check out @globecycle. James is riding around the world (yes, the planet Earth) to raise funds to fight parkinsons. Noble man.

So I did, and read the incredible story of Londoner James Bowthorpe who is indeed riding around the world in an attempt to break the world record and raise money for Parkinson Disease research.  Pretty cool.  But what was really amazing about Twitter is the role it played in the recent street protests in Iran.  People connected and organized using Twitter and when Twitter was planning a routine maintenance shutdown, its role was deemed so vital, the State Department asked that the shutdown be delated several days.  Amazing.