Salt & Light

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Salt and Light
Series: Called - Part 4
Matthew 5:13-16

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth…

 … Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.”

- Matthew 5:13a, 14a (MSG)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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In Jesus’ day salt was a precious commodity necessary for life, but not nearly as accessible to everyone as the salt shakers on our own kitchen tables.  Light, also, was crucial, especially in an agricultural society, but was of course limited primarily to set hours of natural daylight which changed throughout the year.

I wonder if something has been lost in Jesus’ metaphor in today’s culture where we are oversaturated with both salt and light.  An abundance of artificial light disrupts our circadian rhythms and can suppress our natural melatonin levels by up to 50%, causing trouble with sleep and a number of related health disorders.  Similarly, the CDC reports that nearly 90% of Americans 2 years old or older consume far too much sodium, with 70% of our salt intake coming from processed and restaurant foods often beyond our control.  Given the increase of high blood pressure and risk of heart attacks, strokes and other issues, doctors would rarely suggest that someone should consume more salt. 

Jesus says we are salt and light in a metaphorical sense, but cultural realities shape and change the way we understand such metaphors.  Could it be that in our world, people are craving a bit more darkness, an escape from light pollution, and a place to rest their eyes and their bodies?  Could it be that there is a movement to turn away from processed foods and lower salt intake to lower our blood pressure and increase our overall health?  If this is true, what implications might such a cultural oversaturation of salt and light have on our role as Jesus’ followers to be salt and light in the world?

I suggest that one of the biggest problems is that salt and light are found in overabundance in some places while lacking in others.  As Christians we tend to stay close to our own kind.  We gather all of our lights together in brightly lit sanctuaries, Christian concert venues, and other places those outside the faith would rarely come.  Perhaps these places have become so “bright” that most people simply avert their eyes as they would from a solar eclipse.  Instead of the welcoming light of a warm fire or candlelit space, they turn away squinting their eyes as we shine the spotlight on their differences or their “sin.” 

In the same way, we must remember that there is a big difference between being “salt” and being “salty.”  Too often the world finds Christians “salty.”  Rather than bringing out the natural beautiful flavors in this world God created and loves, we over salt and over season to the point where the feast of love and grace we have to offer becomes unrecognizable and unpalatable. 

Salt is valuable where the food is bland or where something needs to be preserved, but it does little good in the middle of the ocean when someone is dying of thirst.  Light is necessary to guide someone through the dark, but it does no good to shine a flashlight at the sun to help someone find their way. 

If we are to be useful as salt and light, perhaps we need to spend more time in the places it is most lacking.

#Blessed

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#Blessed
Series: Called - Part 3
Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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Blessings are tricky things.  We live in a culture where #Blessed is more about feeling lucky or fortunate in various circumstances ranging from a miraculous medical recovery all the way down to getting the latest pair of designer shoes.  It’s so commonplace it has almost become a joke, or at the very least a form of false humility when we really want to boast about something but publicly attribute it to some external blessing, presumably given to us by God.

The Beatitudes turn this idea of blessings on its head. 

Why? 

Precisely because those who Jesus calls blessed are the last people who would ever post #Blessed on their social media feed.  Consider the following contemporary framing of those Jesus calls blessed: 

• "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

  • Empty yourself and become humble, then receive a share in the responsibility for God's kingdom.

• "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

  • Out of care for God's world, mourn for the suffering of others and you will find comfort for your suffering.

• "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

  • When you are comforted, become comforting to those who are suffering in your midst and you will inherit a share responsibility with God for those who are suffering.

• "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

  • When you inherit responsibility for those who suffer, you recognize when suffering is unjust. You will not be satisfied with what is unrighteous in the world until righteousness wins and God satisfies you with it.

• "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

  • In being filled with righteousness and meekness, you will temper your zeal for righteousness with mercy, and in turn will be shown mercy.

• "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

  • When you receive mercy, your heart will be made pure and free from judgment and selfish intent, then you will experience the true nature of God.

• "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

  • When you experience the true nature of God, you will have peace and will share it with the world, then you will be called a child of God.

• "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

  • When you are called a child of God, you can withstand all manner of pressures to swerve from the path of righteousness, you will experience beatitude.

When we consider the many ways we feel “blessed,” how do they compare with the way Jesus sees those who are truly “blessed”? 

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(source: The Beatitudes: An Eight-Fold Path - https://tcpc.ipbhost.com/topic/3644-the-beatitudes-an-eight-fold-path/)

Follow Me

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Follow Me
Series: Called - Part 2
Matthew 4:12-25

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” Right away, they left their nets and followed him.

Matthew 4:19-20 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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Whose job is it to make disciples?  The prophets?  The preachers?  The Sunday School Teachers?

We are quick to read between the lines in Mark 1 and Matthew 4 as Simon, Andrew, James and John leave their nets and follow Jesus like a group of children who have nothing better to do than join in a playground game of follow-the-leader.  We struggle to find ways to excuse ourselves from such unreasonable demands.  We have jobs and mortgages and kids and aging parents and pets.  We have responsibilities that in our minds, are far more crucial than the lowly fishing business these early disciples walked out on.  What exactly does it look like to “Come and follow Jesus,” in our day?  The story is so brief it hardly does justice to the level of sacrifice these “ordinary fishermen” truly made.  If we’re truly honest, most of us tend to think it was a much easier decision for them than for us.

There are much larger implications, however, when we consider the timing of this call.  “After John was arrested…” (Mark 1:14, Matthew 4:12).

John was the prophet of the day.  John was the mouthpiece of God.  John was the first person in nearly 400 years to hold such a crucial religious position.  No one alive at the time had ever heard the voice of God so directly and neither had their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents.  “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he declared, and then he is arrested.

Jesus picks up right where John leaves off, except he is not just another prophet.  He is something much more.  He is the very presence of God in the flesh.  And what’s more, God is not hanging out in the synagogues or even with the prophet’s followers in the wilderness.  He is hanging out in the marketplace around the Sea of Galilee.  He is eating and drinking and laughing with the tax collectors, the occupying Roman soldiers, the sick and the lame, the women and the children, and yes, even the lowly hard working fishermen. 

“I’ll show you how to be fishers of people,” he says (Mark 1:17). 

The nature of following Jesus and being “fishers of people” looks different for everyone.  Some may leave everything behind and others are needed to proclaim the Good News right where they are.  Regardless of what shape our call takes or where Jesus leads, the point is that Jesus is leading “us”.  He’s not training people for the office of  “prophet” to replace John.  He’s not offering a continuing education course or a doctoral program for Pharisees and Sadducee's so they they can update their methods and theology to fit the changing times.  He is not saying everyone has to quit their jobs and go into full-time ministry, though that may be true for some.

Jesus calls you and me, ordinary people, to be “fishers of people,” to take up the mantle of the prophet and proclaim the Word of God not only in the wilderness, but in the marketplace, at our jobs, in our schools, at the restaurant, in the public square, with our friends and neighbors, in our homes and our families, and yes, even in our churches. 

The more we try to plan out exactly how we will follow Jesus, the more we will find Jesus changing our plans.  We are not Jesus’ GPS to make sure everything he calls us to do just happens to be on our route.  If we stop to think about it too much, we will likely be overcome with anticipation and anxiety about the unknown.  We might remember that John was just arrested and wonder if the same might happen to us.  Our fear may get the better of us.  We will surely come up with a million other things we have to do “first.” 

Where our culture says, “trust yourself, trust your instincts, your intelligence, your abilities, your wealth, your plans, etc.” Jesus simply says, “Trust me. Step out of the boat.  Drop your nets.  Let’s go. Follow Me!”

The Star Still Shines

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The Star Still Shines
Series: Happy Holy Days - Part 7
Matthew 2:1-23; Luke 2:31-32

When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.”

Matthew 2:13 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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The story of the magi, or wise men, makes a beautiful addition to any Christmas play or nativity.  The problem is that these men from the east were never at the manger.  More importantly, when we cut off the story at verse twelve to fit neatly into a single Christmas story, we completely miss Matthew’s point in bringing up these wise men in the first place.

The magi are not just another group of people like the shepherds who show up to Jesus birthday party and just happen to be able to afford nicer gifts.  Matthew uses them as a means to draw attention to another perhaps more important character in the story who is almost always overlooked… King Herod. 

Keeping Herod in the Christmas story is crucial to understanding who Jesus is and what his ministry is all about.  When we move past the sentimentalized story in Matthew 2:1-12, we find a dark scene of the Holy family fleeing as refugees to Egypt to protect the baby Jesus from an extreme authoritarian ruler who is willing to kill every child in town to rid himself of the threat of a potential new king.  On one hand, this should not be surprising given Herod’s history of killing his own child out of paranoia in order to protect his throne.  On the other hand, there is no historical evidence that such a mass slaughter of infants in Bethlehem ever occurred.

Biblical writers are writing theology, not literal history.  Matthew is retelling a familiar story in Israel’s history, the story of an Egyptian Pharoah who seeks to kill all the male Hebrew children in order to prevent his slaves from becoming too strong and potentially rising up against him.  When we get caught up trying to fit Luke’s and Matthew’s stories together historically, we completely miss the point.  Jesus is the new Moses.  Jesus is the one who comes to set the people free.  Jesus, like Moses, is a potential threat to the powers and authorities of the empire, whether in Egypt, Rome, or any other nation throughout history including our own.  And finally, those who hold onto power by force will do almost anything, even sacrificing children, in order to protect their status and authority. 

Somehow the writers of “We Three Kings” and every other Christmas carol missed this part of the story.  Or more likely, they left it out intentionally.  It’s so much easier to add a few good “Kings of Orient” to the Luke narrative alongside the shepherds and the lowing cattle, even if they are not from the Orient and not really kings at all.  By elevating these astrologers or star-gazers to royal status and featuring them bowing before the baby in a manger, we naively assume that Jesus’ position as King of Kings is easily established even at his birth.  It’s a beautiful story, but it’s simply not reality, for Jesus and his parents or for us today. 

Power and wealth still rule the day, and powerful people like Herod don’t give up easily.  Jesus, like Moses, shows us a very different kind of power, the power of humility and love. 

The question we must keep asking is whether we prefer a king who will kill for us, or a king who will die for us?

Sadly, even among followers of Jesus, most would still rather kill like Herod than be killed like Jesus. 

If we’re truly honest, what kind of king do we really prefer? 

Like A Child

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Like a Child
Let the Children Come - Part 1
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Mark 10:13-15, Matthew 18:1-5

Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.

 Matthew 18:5 (The Message)

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Can I be honest?

I didn’t really like being a child. I’m not sure I was ever really good at it.

Even in my earliest memories I hated kids games, I hated the silliness, I hated arts and crafts projects., especially ones that involved paint, glue, and worst of all, glitter! I hated having to run outside, especially in the heat. And most of all I hated having to dress up as a clown for a circus themed Vacation Bible School at a church that wasn’t even my own. The only saving grace was that at that church nobody knew who I was.

Most of the time I would much rather sit down with an adult over a game of chess or read a book in my room by myself than hang out with other kids.

So if I’m really being honest, today’s teaching from Jesus is tough for me.

No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they become like a little child?

What!?!?

I have spent my whole life trying to be seen as an adult. Even as a younger or almost middle aged adult, it seems some people will always treat me like a child. The last thing I want is to actually be like a child again. I never even liked it the first time around.

There is one part of childhood, however, that I cling to dearly, and hope I never outgrow. It’s the need to question everything, to keep exploring and to get lost in wonder and amazement. It’s the hunger for learning and the thirst for wisdom and understanding. The one thing I loved about being a child is the one thing so many children seem to hate… school. I love learning so much I keep finding new ways to stay in school. I just finished my Doctorate Degree from Duke and I’m still wondering what other educational opportunities I can find to keep exploring, learning, growing, and becoming more of who God created me to be.

I find it interesting that when people say you should have the “faith of a child”, what they often mean is, “Don’t question, just accept what we tell you. Don’t doubt, just believe,” or as I was taught more explicitly, “be seen and not heard.” As a child you don’t have an opinion, at least not one that matters to anyone. Funny that as an adult, and even as a well educated pastor, I find that to most people my opinions still don’t matter much, no matter how well informed.

Those who say that having childlike faith means not asking questions or expressing doubts or opinions clearly haven’t been around a lot of children. One of my favorite things about my 8 year old daughter is the questions she asks. In fairness, she asks a lot of silly questions too. She’s a lot better at being a kid than I ever was. But she is also wise beyond her years and she asks the kinds of questions so many adults are afraid to ask. Questions about who God is and about the nature of humanity and why people do the things they do. Questions about the differences between people and the ways people believe and disagree on so many issues. She asks the kinds of questions that quite frankly would make us all better human beings, less angry and judgmental and more empathetic and understanding, if we would only be open enough to ask and bold enough to hear someone else’s answer.

I can’t help but wonder, and hope, that this is at least part of what Jesus means when he says we must become like children.

Never stop being curious. Don’t lose your sense of wonder. Keep exploring. Keep asking questions. Keep learning. Keep growing. The mysteries of God’s love are endless so if you ever think you know enough, remember… you are still just a child. Have a teachable spirit. You can never know it all. Dive deep into the mysteries of the universe, the mysteries of life, the mysteries of the human mind and soul, the mysteries of grace, and the mystery of the Eternal One.

Maybe I missed the point. Maybe I am just supposed to be silent, obedient, have no opinions or thoughts of my own, and be seen and not heard the way children are so often treated in this world.

But I really hope not. I hope with all my heart that Jesus is inviting us to childlike wonder, to joy, to eyes and hearts wide open to beauty, to mystery, and to love.

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With the service this week being geared toward children, we did not have a formal sermon to share. Feel free to enjoy a video of the full Back to School Worship Experience below…

Treasures in Heaven

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Treasures in Heaven
Burning Questions: Week 5
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Luke 12:13-34, Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

 Matthew 6:24 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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John Wesley’s Three Rules
for Faithful Stewardship of Money

 (excerpts from “Use of Money”, a sermon by John Wesley)

I. “Gain all you can.”  We ought to gain all we can gain, without buying gold too dear, without paying more for it than it is worth. But this it is certain we ought not to do; we ought not to gain money at the expense of life, nor (which is in effect the same thing) at the expense of our health… We are, Secondly, to gain all we can without hurting our mind any more than our body... We are. Thirdly, to gain all we can without hurting our neighbour… Gain all you can, by common sense, by using in your business all the understanding which God has given you.

II. “Save all you can.”  Having gained all you can, by honest wisdom and unwearied diligence, the second rule of Christian prudence is," Save all you can."… Do not waste any part of so precious a talent merely in gratifying the desires of the flesh; in procuring the pleasures of sense of whatever kind… or in gratifying the desire of the eye... Lay out nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain the admiration or praise of others.

III.  “Give all you can.”  But let not anyone imagine that one has done anything, barely by going thus far, by "gaining and saving all he can," if one were to stop here. All this is nothing, if one go not forward, if one does not point all this at a farther end. Nor, indeed, can anyone properly be said to save anything, if one only lays it up. You may as well throw your money into the sea, as bury it in the earth…  If, therefore, you would indeed "make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness," add the Third rule to the two preceding. Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then "give all you can."… As you yourself are not your own, but God’s, such is, likewise, all that you enjoy. Such is your soul and your body, not your own, but God's. And so is your substance in particular. And God has told you, in the most clear and express terms, how you are to employ it for him, in such a manner, that it may be all an holy sacrifice, acceptable through Christ Jesus. 

No more sloth! Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might! No more waste! Cut off every expense which fashion, caprice, or flesh and blood demand! No more covetousness! But employ whatever God has entrusted you with, in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree to the household of faith, to all people! This is no small part of "the wisdom of the just." Give all ye have, as well as all ye are, a spiritual sacrifice to Him who withheld not from you his Son, his only Son: So "laying up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that ye may attain eternal life!"

Questions for Self-Examination:

• How am I guarding against greed instead of obsessing over fairness?

• How does my awareness of my own mortality affect my relationship with money? 

• What makes me feel secure or insecure.

• In what ways do I acknowledge that even my hard-earned, well-earned, self-earned wealth comes from God and belongs to God. 

• How am I prioritizing my connection with others over personal gain

• How often do I dialog with God about my financial resources instead of relying solely on my own planning?

Return of the King

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Return of the King
Burning Questions: Week 3
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Matthew 12:38-40, Matthew 24:35-42, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man.

 Matthew 24:35-42

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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Popular modern teachings on the end times center around ideas of “rapture” and escape from this world.  There’s only one problem.  Until the late 1800’s, nobody in any Christian denomination had thought of such a theology. 

Consider Matthew 24:35-42.  The idea is that those who are not prepared for the return of Christ will be “left behind” when the “rapture” comes, while true believers are caught up into heaven.  The misunderstanding here is in the passage itself.  Jesus says it will be as it was in the days of Noah.  Those who were “left behind” included Noah and his family on the ark.  The rest were “swept away” in the flood.  If it is truly like the days of Noah, then we should want to be left behind and not swept away in the flood.  To be left means to be rescued or “saved.”

The problem with modern versions of End Times Theology, Brian McLaren writes, is that they are

 ...desperate, escapist and globally hopeless…. The world is going down the toilet, they say. There is no hope.  It’s all going to burn.  So we should jump into the life rafts and paddle away like mad away from the sinking ship.  We should retreat into our  Christian enclaves, listen to Christian radio, watch Christian TV, pray, study the Bible, tell drivers what we believe with bumper-stickers that say, ‘in case of rapture, this vehicle will self-destruct,’ keep our contact with the world at a minimum, concentrate on our personal righteousness, and anticipate heaven, a supernatural life beyond history - instead of anticipating the just society [of the Kingdom of God fully manifest on Earth as it is in Heaven].

The overarching movement of scripture is toward restoration and re-creation, not destruction, toward a call to building the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven rather than escaping to some other heavenly realm.  Christ will indeed return, and as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, we have a hope of being caught up with Christ.   But the early writers and hearers of this text would never have considered being caught up to go to another place.  Rather, they had in mind a common military image of going out to meet the King who is coming to rescue their city.  Then together they return to take back the city and restore the throne to it’s rightful ruler.  Christ did not conquer death only to be run out of creation by some devil in the end, taking only a few chosen ones with him.  When Christ returns, he will rule a new heaven and a new earth as one, and he has made us heirs of this kingdom.  More than that, he has given us the responsibility to start building it here and now.

… on earth, as it is in heaven.

We Believe

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We Believe
Church - Part 2
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Acts 2:14-41, Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:13-16 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks us.

Or as we say in our third vow of baptism and membership:

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races?

In other words:

Do you affirm the declaration that has been made about the person of Jesus and testified through the Holy Scriptures?

Do you believe Peter’s foolish words; that this man is indeed the Son of God, that he was crucified, dead and buried, yet on the third day God raised him from the dead?

Do you believe that by his sacrifice for us, you can experience the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life?

If your very life was on the line, as were Peter’s and the other apostles’, would you declare this truth, that Jesus is Lord, over all of the powers and rulers of this world, and that he is the Christ, sent to save us from the power of sin and reconcile us with God our Creator, not as servants, but as children of the most High?

Do you trust wholly in his grace and promise to serve him with full and joyful obedience?

Today we will renew our baptism together.  We will reaffirm our belief in Jesus, which is revealed to us by the Father through the Holy Spirit.

May the declaration of faith spoken by Peter under the power of the Holy Spirit cut us to the heart once again, as it did the crowds that first Pentecost.  Let us pray for the faith to overcome our doubts in this foolish message, for as Paul writes:

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed.  But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved…

- from 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

 Lord, we believe.  Help us in our unbelief!

Form Without Power

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Form Without Power
Church - Part 1
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Acts 1:2-5; Matthew 12:43-46

“When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the place vacant, cleaned up, and decorated. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and make their home there. That person is worse off at the end than at the beginning. This is the way it will be also for this evil generation.”

Matthew 12:43-45

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

In this vow we declare our belief that God not only saves us from the consequences of sin, but from the power of sin itself.  Like the person in the scripture above, we are often quick to cast out the unclean things from among us, but we do not fully allow God’s Spirit to take up residence in its place.  We do not accept the freedom and power God gives us to overcome sin and darkness.

John Wesley once wrote,

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast to both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.

It’s easy to develop a like-minded club or group of people who like each other and want to live good lives and keep themselves separated from the world around them.  It’s easy to have worship services and read the bible together in Sunday School and share fellowship meals.  It’s even easy to do a few community service projects… We are very good at “playing church”. 

But without the fire of the Holy Spirit and the power He gives us to live out the discipline and commitment of our Baptismal Covenant, we are not The Church.

If we have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and by fire, God has consumed all evil and wickedness within us.  If we allow the His fire to burn within us, no evil can return and we will experience freedom from sin, guilt, and shame. 

Will we vow again, to live the Holy Life to which we were called, out of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus, the Christ?  Let us pray:

Lord, I come, and I confess,

there are things in me, that are not of you

and I lay down my mess. 

I replace it with your love,

I replace it with your peace. 

I surrender all that is holding me back

from all you have for me.

Cheryl Vought, “Replace It”

For Thine Is The Kingdom

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For Thine Is The Kingdom
Our Father - Part 6
Sunday, April 10, 2022 - Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11; 1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Matthew 6:9-13

Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

1 Chronicles 29:11 (CEB)

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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For Thine is the Kingdom...

 “Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

 … and the power…

 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

 … and the glory…

 “Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes
        in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 … forever.  Amen.

 … But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.  When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(excerpts from Matthew 21:1-11 & Philippians 2:7-11)

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An Invitation to a Lenten Breath Prayer Practice -

As we sit with the “Our Father” Prayer Jesus taught us, I invite you to take one line each week and use it as a breath prayer throughout your day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty or by gratitude, by pain or by joy, take a moment to breath a line of this sacred prayer. You may want to set a silent alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to pause and pray at least 3 times each day. Regardless of when you do it, be sure to let the prayer truly fill the depths of your soul. Repeat it, sit with it, meditate on it, until it becomes part of you. Allow the Spirit to transform your heart and mind as you pray.

Week 6: Breath Prayer Exercise

• Breathe in: “For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory…”

• Breathe out: “…forever and ever.”

Amen.