Unleashed – As You Go – Pray

The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. — Jesus, (Mark 2:7, NLT)

America – the home of the free, the brave, . . . and the stressed.  According to a Gallup Poll in 2019, Americans were among the most stressed people in the world. In 2011, Norman Anderson, American Psychological Association CEO wrote, “America is at a critical crossroads when it comes to stress and our health.”  A poll conducted in late April of this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a majority of adults, 56%, report that worry or stress due to the pandemic has affected their mental health and well-being.

“People often don’t realize that their difficulties with focus, memory, sleep and relationships can all be related to anxiety,” said Amelia Aldao, clinical psychologist and founder of Together CBT in New York City.

Stress and anxiety are nothing new to this nation or this particular time in history. Every age, every culture, and every nation has found its citizens struggling with issues of life that caused stress. Different names and different circumstances – but the same outcome: a stressed-out society.

God gave us a precious gift that speaks to the soul of the current crisis of stress but is often overlooked or downplayed.  It is the fourth of what we call the Ten Commandments, “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy….” (Exodus 20:811) A simple yet profound teaching that changes one’s perspectives as the focus moves from self to God.

Sunday – the beginning of the week or the end of the weekend. How one looks at Sunday determines much of what the day means. If I see it as the end of the weekend, it is just the partner day of Saturday – a day to get the yard work done, the final shopping completed and maybe a quick nap.

If I see it as the beginning, it is the renewing day, the Sabbath. I see it as a gift from God and it is a day preparing me for what is ahead. In the midst of the storms, we receive the day as a gift to worship and rest with our focus on God.

Robert Morris writes “The Sabbath is a gift and our observance of it is a bold declaration of our trust in God’s goodness and ability to provide what we need.” Same day – Different perspectives. The calendar doesn’t change but my soul changes greatly.

Worship and rest are the trademark of the Sabbath, blended together to allow the body to rest physically and the soul to be renewed spiritually. Psalm 92 is the beautiful “song for the Sabbath Day” as the Psalmist captures the essence of rest and corporate worship. The sabbath as God intended was to be a delight rather than a burden.

Jesus pushed hard against the religious leaders for turning the sabbath into a laundry list of rules and regulations. Instead of allowing a beautiful gift to be enjoyed, they had made it into a burden. Today many have totally forgotten the day, neglecting the wonderful gift of the sabbath.

It is a challenge to make the Sabbath a priority and protect it but as Isaiah shared, “If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interest, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (58:13-14)

We will still face all the same stressors of life; feel the same anxiety of this pandemic. The difference is we will face them having been refreshed and renewed as we enjoy the Sabbath as a day of delight, allowing God to meet us in a powerful and refreshing way. “The Christian needs to walk in peace, so no matter what happens they will be able to bear witness to a watching world.” (Henry Blackaby)

I would enjoy hearing from you on how you make the sabbath a day of delight.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

C.E.M. Highlights

We had just started to become familiar with the books of the Bible in Children’s Worship before the implementation of the shelter-at-home directive. Now, with social distancing still in place, I believe we should continue learning important information pertaining to each book. Also, be sure to practice reciting the books of the Bible in the right order.

 

I would like to have parents continue this with their children while we are still at home over the next several weeks. Our goal is to become familiar with one book per week. Please help your child to learn the books of the Bible (we’re doing them in order) and the brief description of each book that will be supplied in the eNews each week. (Hint, hint, hint! Don’t be surprised if your Sunday morning teacher calls you to ask a couple of questions about the book of the Bible listed in our weekly eNews.) Let’s start with the New Testament.

 

The Book Of Matthew 

  • Who wrote this book? – Matthew, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples.
  • Why was this book written? – Matthew shows the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
  • For whom was this book written? – The Jewish people.
  • What happens in this book? – It tells us about Jesus’ birth, His life as an adult, His teaching, death, and resurrection.
  • Who is the key person in this book? – Jesus
  • When did this happen? – These events took place between 6 B.C. and A.D. 30
  • Where did this happen? – Most events took place in towns in Galilee.

As You Go – Pray

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” Psalm 138:8

“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” are the haunting words beginning Psalm 137. This powerful yet very unnerving Psalm of anger, frustration and lament moves the prayer to a heightened level of emotions. The Psalmist asks the penetrating question, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song?”  There are nine verses as the writer laments the loss of home and all the familiarity that makes up life. The Psalmist sits by the waters and weeps over all that is lost realizing everything that is remotely familiar is gone.

At some point in life each of us have found ourselves sitting beside the waters lamenting how we can sing a song to the Lord. Though we are not quite in the same place as the Psalmist, in some ways we have all experienced much of the same loss and disruption of life. The coronavirus pandemic can feel as if an enemy nation has laid bare the land and left us struggling to find our footing. Yet as the Psalmist did in 137, we find the words of hope and our future in our faith. Our faith allows us to move from the riverbanks of despair to the sanctuary of praise.

Adapting to change of any kind is often a challenging and even frightful exercise of life. Change comes as we leave home as young adults.  Change comes as we find our first job or move to a new one. Change comes as we marry and create our own family. Change comes when we move from what we have known to the unknown. The ultimate change comes at the gateway of Heaven.

Oliver Sacks in his book, “Everything in its Place” shares the story of his Aunt Len coping with her life of change. Sacks writes, “My favorite aunt, Auntie Len, when she was in her eighties, told me that she had not had too much difficulty adjusting to all the things that were new in her lifetime—jet planes, space travel, plastics, and so on—but she could not accustom herself to the disappearance of the old. “Where have all the horses gone?” she would sometimes say. Born in 1892, she had grown up in a London full of carriages and horses.”

Normally we find adapting to change not really an overwhelming problem. We adapt to new technology even though it can, at times, be frustrating. Never the less, we progress from flip phones to our iPhones. We learn to adapt to a new home and find it is OK once we’re familiar with all the light switches. No, what we find as the greatest challenge is the loss of what we had before the change.

In the same way that Oliver Sack’s aunt learned to drive a car, the loss was found in never seeing the horses and carriages on the streets again. We may enjoy the new, recently built restaurant but we reminisce the loss of the old café that previously stood on the corner. We enjoy the words of the new worship songs but we still find ourselves missing some of the old hymns.  We enjoy the new methods of communication but somehow there is a loss when we walk by the place where the old phone hung on the kitchen wall.

Yes, we walk through the emotions of anger and loss as the Psalmist did in 137. We vent our loss to God and yet through our lament we come to the place where we can pray, “I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” Psalm 138:1-3

We learn to adapt to the changes. What is hard to adapt to is the loss of what can never be again. Yet it is in the loss that we are able to begin writing a new storyline.  Gratefully, we come to the place where we can answer the question, “How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?” It is with friends, family and most importantly, God that our new storyline comes alive.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn Burton

A Discipleship Moment

Re-Ordering the Church for the Future:
Looking In, Looking Back or Looking Forward

by Dr. Craig Hamlin

Throughout my years of ministry and throughout my life, I have observed the Church with a mainly “come and see” mentality. We have built large buildings, developed complex programs and sent missionaries all over the world to replicate the success of our ministries. While we have done an okay job in the community, most of our churches are filled with people who would rather cross the pond to do ministry than develop it in their own community. The need among the nations is great, don’t get me wrong, but we are losing generations in our own communities because many within the church have never taken the time to exegete their neighborhoods or developed a heart to see their neighbors discipled.

When COVID-19 hit, churches began to scramble for ways to continue their ministries. Some churches pivoted well and others not so well. What churches are discovering is that if they want to be deemed irrelevant coming out of this crisis, they need to simply go back to the way they were doing ministry. Doing things the way we have always done them is comfortable. Why make any shifts or look in a different direction? Richard Blackaby, son of Henry Blackaby, an author and in demand speaker around the world, made this statement:

“I spend half my time working with Christian CEOs from corporate America. I have been on numerous Zoom calls with them as they seek to navigate COVID-19. Doing so has provided a fascinating contrast of how business and church leaders are preparing to lead in the future. Business leaders know they can never return to the way things were. They don’t look back; they look forward. They don’t bemoan lost opportunities; they search for new ones. Church leaders could learn much from this approach.”

His comments came in the context of sharing the story of Lewis and Clark as they navigated rivers plotting their way toward the Pacific. Things were going well until they ran into the Rocky Mountains. How they did things would no longer work when they got to the Rockies. For them to continue they had to adjust and work within their new environment. The same is true for the Church and for your church. If we embrace the new possibilities and opportunities afforded through this crisis, we may come out doing things differently but seeing greater fruit than ever before. Could we see a reversal in the trends of college students who are leaving the Church at alarming rates as they start to come back? Could we see neighbors who stay at home on Sundays and are indifferent to the Gospel begin to open up to you and what you have to say? Could we see followers of Jesus intentionally take their faith into their neighborhoods to birth, host or lead a LIFE Group that studies the Bible, creates a safe place to share life, and develops future leaders who will do the same in the next neighborhood over? Could we see a generation of Christ followers concerned more about going to their communities rather than expecting their communities to come to their church or their church’s programs?

This is a time for us to ask the hard questions and consider finding new ways to fulfill the goal that every LIFE group should pursue: the radical TRANSFORMATION of every person in their group.

Might you be the catalyst to participate, host, launch or lead a community group that multiplies all over where you live? It would not be about giving up something or giving up relationships, but about expanding them, expanding your influence and expanding the kingdom of God.

A Final Word…

Richard Blackaby concluded his argument for the church to consider ways to look forward and the dangers of waiting for things to get back to normal, by bringing up the story Jesus told in Luke 19 about the Master leaving His servants in charge and giving them each 10 minas. When the Master returned, one of the servants had hid his minas out of fear. Jesus rebuked him and took it away. Blackaby drew a parallel to churches who do the same versus churches who look for more creative, uncomfortable and necessary ways to do ministry. He said, “I believe the future calls for entrepreneurial leadership in both business and the Church. It demands creative, future-oriented, courageous leadership. Outdated methodology must be discarded, and new, more effective means implemented. Effective leaders know what matters. They hold tightly to the mission and the message, but they hold loosely to the means. They clearly recognize that the means are just the means. They’re not the ends.”

COVID-19 has been a wake-up call to leaders everywhere. Some have responded brilliantly. Others have buried their mina in the sand and dourly waited out the storm. Such leadership will not see God’s kingdom expand, and it certainly won’t be rewarded by the King.”

 

Craig

 

As You Go – Pray

“Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” Hosea 6:3 NLT

 

Growing up in a fairly traditional small-town Oklahoma Baptist church, we had lots of church services during the week, which meant many opportunities to sing. The words of the hymn, “I Surrender All” still echo in my mind:

“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence  daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Savior, wholly Thine. Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

“I Surrender All” challenged me each time to live a surrendered life for the sake of Jesus. I came to my first understanding of “I Surrender All” as a young third grade child moving away from the comfort of my church pew during a revival service, as I surrendered my life to Jesus. Somehow, I found it easy to say the words but not always easy to live out a surrendered life.

I wish I could say I surrendered everything, every day but unfortunately that wasn’t nor is the case. Thankfully, I live in God’s grace. Living a surrendered life is a daily commitment that spans a lifetime. However, it is in the surrendered life that real living takes place.

“Readiness for God means that we are ready to do the tiniest little thing or the great big thing, it makes no difference…. Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready when God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul, it is ablaze with the presence of God.”  (Oswald Chambers)

Moses didn’t fully understand what surrender would look like for him standing before the burning bush but most likely he knew his life would never be the same when he responded to God, “Here I am.”  (Exodus 3:4)

Hannah’s emotions were probably raw and tender that morning as she extended her arms to surrender her toddler son to the priest making the decision, “For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.” (I Samuel 1:27-28)

Samuel didn’t know the challenges of a surrendered life that night when he heard God’s voice and as he responded, “Speak, for your servant hears.” (I Samuel 3:10)

David could never have imagined what the surrendered life would be for him as the oil flowed over his head as Samuel obeyed God’s instruction to “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” (I Samuel 16:12)

Isaiah responded to God’s call of “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” by giving up everything with the simple words, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Jesus understood fully what the surrendered life would mean for Him as He earnestly prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that night and reverently spoke the words, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Moses would leave the burning bush to lead a people out of bondage. Hannah would grow old with other children out of God’s blessing. Samuel would anoint the head of the future king. David would become a man after God’s own heart. Isaiah would write of the future Messiah. Jesus would surrender all for us to be redeemed and restored to life with God.

I may have sung off key during “I Surrender All.”  I may have lived occasionally out of tune. However, God has taken my poor singing and turned it into a beautiful harmony as we sing a duet together in life. “I Surrender All” is worth every stanza of life.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

IT’S NOT A QUIET RIOT!

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Day 20

IT’S NOT A QUIET RIOT!

READ:

Acts 19.1-41

Paul labors on his journeys and he now comes to Ephesus, one of the churches that he loves and cares for a great deal. As always, Paul’s teaching and preaching meets with opposition. Here in Ephesus, Paul witnesses miracles of the Holy Spirit taking place. People are speaking in tongues, while others are prophesying. There are numerous healings and evil spirits are cast out; all kinds of things are happening because of Paul’s obedience to God. In fact, there were so many conversions that those who made false gods and sold them to the people of Ephesus became angry because they were losing customers! They met in a public meeting place and turned the whole city in total uproar. Two disciples were dragged into the public square and local townspeople who were friendly with Paul warned him not to go there! The residents of Ephesus who loved worshiping idols, and the merchants who sold them, worked themselves into such a frenzy that for two straight hours they kept chanting in protest, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” (v 34). It was a crazy time, but the Holy Spirit’s work was done, and God’s message spread all across Asia.


REFLECT:


Can you imagine facing as much opposition as Paul did, for standing up for God? Are you clamoring to retain your “idols” when God’s Spirit asks you to remove them from your life?

PRAY:

Jesus, the world always seems to oppose you and your Word. Lord, when opposition comes in my life, I know that you will give me the grace that I will need to go on.

PAUL HANGS OUT IN CORINTH AND GETS A BOOST FROM GOD

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Day 19

PAUL HANGS OUT IN CORINTH AND GETS A BOOST FROM GOD

READ:

Acts 18.1-28

Paul finds himself now in Corinth, a city where he spent a lot of time. He wrote two long letters to the church there. Paul was encouraged by the conversions of many people around him, including Crispus, the leader of the synagogue. Many Corinthians who heard his preaching believed on the Lord and were saved. But God knew after so many arduous journeys, that Paul himself would need some encouragement directly from God. We hear God encouraging Paul with these words, “…Don’t be afraid to keep on preaching. Don’t stop! I am with you and you won’t be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me” (vv 9, 10). Wow! As a result, Paul was encouraged and continued to minister in Corinth. Afterwards, he moved on to several other places.


The chapter concludes with a man named Apollos in Ephesus who was a convert of John the Baptist’s teachings, and who was openly declaring the love of Jesus. Where there were gaps in his knowledge, two other followers, Priscilla and Aquila, took Apollos into their home and taught him about the message of Jesus. Apollos received this message with a humble heart.

REFLECT:


Do you spend enough time in God’s Word so that it sinks deep in your heart? Are there things you don’t understand? Ask God to lead you to a godly individual who can explain God’s Word to you.

PRAY:

Sometimes in my walk with you, God, I get so discouraged. I get lonely, depressed, sad. Encourage my heart, O God!

NEXT STOP—ATHENS. PAUL PREACHES THE WORD-UP!

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Day 18

NEXT STOP—ATHENS. PAUL PREACHES THE WORD-UP!

READ:

Acts 17.1-34

Paul continues his missionary journey as we see him go to Thessalonica and then on to perhaps his most famous and well-known destinations—Athens. There he finds idols all over the city, including an altar on which the people have inscribed the words: “To An Unknown God” (v 23). Paul is taken before the city council. He stands up in the midst of philosophers and learned people and begins to challenge them and their wacky thinking. This is one of Paul’s greatest sermons in the book of Acts. He explains that he knows who the “unknown” God is. He says it is this God, about whom he preaches, who made the heavens and the earth and everyone in it. He even called on all of his listeners to repent and follow the resurrected Jesus Christ. Paul concludes by saying that in order to prove God is true, Jesus was raised from the dead. Some people laughed in his face, but as a result of Paul’s outspoken sermon, many others believed and followed Jesus.


REFLECT:


Do you have any idols in your life? They may be in the form of habits, possessions, or even people. Ask God to lead you away from them.

PRAY:

God in heaven, the message of the apostle Paul was so clear and so bold. Lord, I am young, and you know my heart. Make me authentic for your glory so people can see you in me.

THE JAILHOUSE ROCKS! IT’S A MIRACLE!

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Day 17

THE JAILHOUSE ROCKS! IT’S A MIRACLE!

READ:

Acts 16.1-40

Although you may be in a bad situation, God knows what is best and he will perform miracles if it is to be. Paul and Silas were in jail, and even then they still praised God by singing and praying, even at midnight! These guys must have been good (and loud) because the Scriptures say, “the other prisoners listened” (v 25). Then suddenly there was a huge earthquake. The foundation of the prison was shaken and the chains of all the prisoners fell off! When the jailer woke up and realized what was happening, he tried to kill himself with his sword, but Paul and Silas stopped him. Not one of the prisoners tried to get away. It was an act of the Holy Spirit. It was a miracle!


It was in that dark, cold jailhouse that a man who once chained prisoners was now set free. The jailer and his entire family accepted Jesus into their lives, and were baptized. Even in the most unusual and dangerous situations, God can perform miracles.

REFLECT:


Do you believe God can perform miracles even in the harshest and most difficult times? Have you ever experienced a “midnight hour” when things looked pretty bad, but deep down you knew God would come through for you?

PRAY:

God, when I’m in a spot, let me praise you anyhow. Let me be confident you will answer my prayer.

As You Go – Pray

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13

“God gives where He finds empty hands” is still as true today as when St. Augustine wrote these words centuries ago. It is hard to receive gifts when your hands are already full. We laugh at the little boy who puts his hand into the cookie jar, grabs two cookies, but can’t get his hand out without dropping one of them. Unfortunately, even as adults we keep holding onto “things” preventing God from giving us better gifts.

“A man whose hands are full of parcels can’t receive a gift. Perhaps these parcels are not always sins or earthly cares, but sometimes our own fussy attempts to worship Him in our way. Incidentally, what most often interrupts my own prayers is not great distractions but tiny ones – things one will have to do or avoid in the course of the next hour.” (C.S. Lewis)

I am wondering if we might learn something about open hands during this coronavirus pandemic. Lots of us are realizing how full our hands had gotten in these last several years. We didn’t plan on getting so busy. We never planned to take time away from our family. We never planned to miss church because of other activities. How often have you said to your loved ones about the lack of time because you were so busy? How often as parents did you feel frustrated because of all the activities your kids were involved in at school, sports teams and yes, even church activities. How often have you said it would be nice to have a simpler lifestyle?

I don’t necessarily like the damage this pandemic has inflicted upon our families, communities, nation and world. However, maybe we can learn some valuable lessons if we take time to listen with open hands and hearts. God desires to be with us, talk with us and yes, even give us gifts every now and then. If our hands are always full of “parcels”, it is impossible to receive a gift.

“A little boy and his father visited the country store. Upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. “Get a handful of candy”, the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, “Son, get a handful of candy; it’s free.” Again, the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a handful of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a handful of the free candy. The boy, with a big smile on his face, looked into the face of his father and said, “Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine.” (Source Unknown)

James reminds us in his section on testing of one’s faith that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17) The little boy understood the value of keeping his hands empty because his father’s hand would give so much more. Open hand living is not easy but so much more rewarding as you let the big hands of God place the gifts in your hands.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn