A Christmas Eve Prayer 2008

Lord of all lands and peoples,
We gather here to pauses and reflect on your nature, your goodness.

Our agenda feels barren of goodness,
And your agenda, dripping like chocolate, is rich and pleasing.

We admit, O Lord, the essence of our lives cannot be purchased in any store.
We do admit our continuing attempt to purchase life.
Only to, once more, experience the emptiness that our love for lavish gifts offers.

Dear Jesus of the lowly manger, give us ears to listen to the music of the falling snow,
Give us eyes to see the majesty in creation as you have created all things and called them good.
Give us noses to smell the presence of the Spirit moving in our days.
Give us hearts to feel the pain of sin and the joy of new life in and around us.

Let our hands move to receive you and then offer peace.
Let our feet run to you in the breathless passion of the shepherds.
Let our mouths speak of love, as even the words we speak become tools of reconciliation.

This night, Father, allow us to share what we have experienced of you,
Allow us to remember your ways as higher than our own,
Allow us to sing your carols of gladness and praise.

May you hold your people from all lands in your care
as you breath upon us once more your words of life.

As we together recall the words of prayer you taught us to pray saying:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is on heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

Merry Christmas

My prayer is that you all will have a grace and peace filled day with our Lord.

Notes for Sunday January 04, 2009

Read: Ephesians 1

Christmas has been described as a “one size fits all” holiday. Today we make Christmas be whatever we need it to be at the moment. And frankly Christmas is quite athletic, in that it can do many things and change plans on the go to accommodate the needs of a particular situation.

The Apostle Paul seems to not have heard about our modern idea of Christmas and the many ways we can make it change to meet our needs. He had only one focus, one message. His letter to the church in Ephesus outlines that message.
1. We are destined for adoption as his children.
2. In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance.
3. Believers are marked with a seal of the promised Holy Spirit.

Try as we might to change the message of the season to meet our needs at the moment, isn’t this word from Paul the real message of the season? I think so. I like to think of it like a “magic marker.”


Worship Next Week
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
Sermon Title: “Magic Marker”

Notes for Sunday December 28, 2008

Read: Luke 2

Has Christmas grown larger than Jesus? Is it possible for Christmas to grow beyond the savior’s birth? Were we to reinvent Christmas, would we cause the thing to look and act like it does today? How would we change Christmas? What parts or pieces would we keep and hold in high esteem in secure places? And what would be thrown out, to be trod upon underfoot, lost forever in the midst of a world hungry for more?

Wow, all I wanted to do was have a nice easy little sermon this week. A sermon we can rest our weary souls upon. I was looking for a sermon to cheer us as we have sought new life in the midst of the hustle of the season. I was looking for a sermon to offer grace in the midst of ungrateful grabbing. I titled the sermon, “Surviving Christmas.” Some years, and for some it is every year, mere survival is our goal through the season.

I want to take a surprising look at Christmas. December 28 will put us right in the midst of the Christmas season. Our anxiety and depression surrounding the season is almost always found leading into the season, not the season it’s self. We worry about a multitude of possible things which never happen. They concern us far more, take far too much of our energy and resources, than the real possibilities for life knocking on our doors.

Can we laugh at ourselves and those around us? Can we find new life by taking a fresh look, even a humorous look at the story following Jesus birth? I would keep joy and laughter in Christmas. I will try.


Worship Next Week
Scripture: Luke 2:22-40
Sermon Title: “Surviving Christmas”

Notes for Sunday December 21, 2008

Read: Luke 1

A person said to me the other day, “the devil is in the details.” It is a common way of sharing feelings of uncertainty and disorder in the world around us. Being a big picture guy, I often struggle with details. If you are like me you simply want to move forward and not hassle with the fine print. I get bogged down, feeling like I am just hacking my way through the rain-forest of life. Fine motor skills were never given high marks on my report card.

The other side of the same coin reflects those who not only enjoy, but encourage interaction with the details of life. These folks are wonderfully made to work within a project, moving with the moments of a season. They reflect the fullness of God in the handiwork of God’s glory. As much as I struggle with the details, these persons soar in the same environment and it is beautiful to watch.

God is surely in the midst of the details, not the devil. For I find that when I am willing to let go of my fear and need to control the details of the environment around me, I experience God. Over and over my experience of Christmas has been one of God’s in-breaking through or even over the top of the mountain of details to offer peace, grace, and hope.

I pray this is also your experience of Christmas. Not so much one of a baby in a manger, but of a risen Christ who calms the wind and waves. Not so much of a present colorfully wrapped under a green tree, but of a sense of belonging and hopeful anticipation for God’s reign on earth to reclaim all that is born of the darkness. After all, God is in all the details.

Here are my sermon points for next Sunday based on writing by B.W. Johnson, 1891:
"In the angel's message we have, (1) An assurance, Fear not. (2) A promise, Thou shalt bring forth a son. (3) A command, Thou shalt call his name Jesus. (4) A prophecy, He shall be great, the Son of the Highest, sit on David's throne, reign forever."


Worship Next Week
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
Sermon Title: “God is in the Details”

Remembering

Remembering always offers hope.

The Light Has Passed

The light has passsed
into the night of tomorrow
into the fragrance of flowers
into the day of dreams
without a smile or good word
for the light has a mission
to return another day.

The light has passed
I gave my time away
even in the darkness now
I never will forget
for my eyes betray my steps.

The light has passed
with the first snowfall
The light has passed
on a cold November evening
to return at winter's ending.

-D.A. Weesner

Oddly Betrayed

Isn’t this what the people wanted
all hope and truth and revelation?
Yet the longer the gift becomes given
the receptions grows less than warm.

Seems the arrival of something new and unexpected,
something long hoped for,
more than we have prayed, longed,
wanted for our children or neighbors
has led to disillusionment, unsettled lives,
and a feeling of broken trusts.

Is it always like this?
It is always like this!

The gift, more than our wildest,
presents us with more issues, reveals our humanness.
We stumble under the weight,
it is too much for us,
we are not worthy,
we are not ready
we are just not.

Strange the response …

We feel oddly betrayed
the Giver feels oddly betrayed
the Gift is oddly betrayed.

- D.A. Weesner

Sermon Notes for Sunday December 14, 2008

Read: 1 Thessalonians

Rejoice always is the word from Paul to the early church. What is happening does not matter. If your life is wonderful or difficult, rejoice. Rejoicing comes along with sharing. I can not recall experiencing a time of sharing without some rejoicing along side. Advent should be the easiest time to rejoice as we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ.

There are however two places of rub as I see it. The first is that we are not called to be happy Christians, rather ones who rejoice. There is a difference here and it is not particularly subtle. As you have been around me you have probably heard my rant about Christmas smiles and happiness that is so false it could be scrapped off like frosting on a cake. Happy all the time, is not in the Bible. However, a deep foundational joy is in the Bible. I want that unmovable rejoicing which comes from the knowledge that my savior lives. I have joy because I know that God’s amazing grace offers a perfection into my life. I am happy because my mother-in-law makes amazing pecan pie. See the difference?

The second rub is like the first in that our lives are not always pleasant. As pastor Bill Tenny-Brittian says, "Jesus was not born in Bethlehem to make the darkness more manageable." Jesus comes into our lives to make a change, not just to help us cope. Most of what we see of Christmas preparations around us are about helping people get along easier with the world as it is. However that is just not the case for Christmas. Jesus comes into the world and the world will no longer be the same again. Everything changes. This message is just as counter-culture today as it was 2000 years ago. It is also just as true and life-giving.

Now based on that kind of savior and the passage at hand for direction, how is your Christmas season rejoicing going?

Unclaimed Grace

To know not and
Be out for
More than self
Is to find
The prize most valued.

In humbleness be
Yet without the need to hold
Is the wealth
Of kings and pirates.

Folly the struggle
Lost between reason and wisdom
While unclaimed
Sighs the grace
Of love and sacrifice.

- D. A. Weesner

YaHoo!

A big thank you to all my followers on this blog, all one of you. YaHOO! I must add that you are my favorite follower at this point.

casinos and hooters

How long can a society exist with a main focus upon casinos and Hooters? I do not believe the essesnce of life is to identify and then consume the correct light beer. I do not belive the goal in life is to have sex with as many differnt parteners as possible, or even to have sex, for that matter. Real lives need a deeper refrence point. Honest living require a renewal of hope. I only find these needed things in unexpected places, like companionship, prayer and silence. How about you?

Notes for Sunday October 26, 2008

Read: Matthew 22 - 23

Our world clamors for a word by which we can live. Our world demands a thought, a sound bite, which offers the fullness of life in one digestible morsel. Over and over in my pastoral life persons have begged for the correct path, the best way, to travel for the next few days or weeks. My answer usually leaves folks under whelmed. And I feel much like Jesus must have felt when he told the rich young ruler to go and sell all his possessions and then come and follow. The path, the word, the thought to live by is simple, not complex. It is quite accessible and not some hidden secret code. There is no conspiracy theory leading us to a yet unknown conclusion.

Jesus was asked by some leaders of the church, who were trying to trap him, what he believed to be the greatest commandment. Jesus responded by offering back to them a saying known as the Shema. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and your entire mind.” Now that was the correct answer for those who would trap Jesus with words, however, this was the correct answer and so they were silenced.

Words, however important they might sound, were not what Jesus was offering for an answer. He was telling them that the actions the words attempt to describe are the real commandments. To speak with grace is one thing, to act gracefully is quite another. Which do you think God honors, our words or our actions? Or perhaps the better question, which honors God more? Can you see the subtle, but important difference? When we act with God in our hearts, we are moving just a little closer to home.

Worship Next Week
Scripture: Matthew 22:34-46
Sermon Title: “The Great Commandment”

Wisdom and Knowledge

Wisdom and knowledge two sides of the same coin. One will answer questions, the other will question answers. Now, which is which?

It is Fall

I rate fall as one of my favorite seasons. It has color and crisp feeling frosty mornings. It comes right after summer and I tend to get bored with summer after a while. Green, green, green. How many green and growing days in a row can a guy take? I like my late summer tomato’s however. And the entire gardens produce. I will miss the smell of an early morning summer showers and the wonder of full summer sunsets. Yes, summer is good too, one of my favorites. Spring now there is a strange season. Mud everywhere and the weather is so unpredictable that I never know what to wear for sure. Spring has flowers shooting through the last snow, and an explosion of new life colors upon the bare landscape of grey dull winter. Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Winter is hard, cold, and basic. Survive or else. The snow can be so brutal and unforgiving. But have you ever noticed that when those cold hard storms come, they are also breathtakingly beautiful? I like to get cozy and rest during a winter storm. For sure, winter is also one of my favorite seasons. But this is fall; and did I tell you it is one of my favorite seasons?

Notes for Sunday October 12, 2008

Read: I Timothy

Some have asked if I was planning to preach on upcoming presidential election. I said no. They wondered about my preferences and ideas. I said it would not be in the best interest of the kingdom of God to use the pulpit to share my personal thoughts. Our non-profit status also assumes we will not choose sides in the political debate. However, just because we are considered a non-profit, I sincerely hope we are also not considered a non-prophet organization. As I considered my role, our congregation, and the national figures on voter registration, I have changed my mind and decided to preach about the election.

Now before you go red or blue on me, let me assure you I will be attempting to offer a prophetic voice in regards to the Christian responsibility in voting. I will not be lifting one party or one candidate over another. As Christians, there are just some things we should be clear about before we go into the last weeks of an election which will lead us into a new place in our history as a nation.

I am looking forward to an interesting sermon. You can e-mail or text me your thoughts to the following question this week as I prepare. As a Christian, what is our responsibility in voting? I trust God the answer will bring us all just a little closer to home.

Worship Next Week
Scripture: I Timothy 2:1-2
Sermon Title: “A Word on Voting”

Notes for Sunday October 05, 2008

Read: Luke 15

When we think of the empty nest we instinctively think of the parents and their adjustment to an empty bedroom. Our first thoughts are about the family when one member leaves and the changing dynamics of schedule and space. We consider the primary unit as the most important part. However, the one who has moved, left the family nest, is also in stress. Just perhaps we are missing the real need if we look only to the parents and the family unit.

To leave home is stressful. It is also exciting and full of promise. Most of us were scared out of our wits about leaving our homes. I remember standing on the Iowa State University campus looking out at the moving mass of people during a class break thinking to myself, “What am I doing here?” I was afraid of failure, but was also just as afraid of success. I experienced some of both. We all do.

A word from home, a note of encouragement, home-baked cookies in a foil lined box can mean the difference between lost and found. What would it cost you to write a note to the kid down the block who has left home this fall? What would it cost you to offer a note of encouragement to a young person whom you may have never met, but understand because we are all human in our feelings and emotions. Has it been so long since you were the new chick pushed out of the nest that you have forgotten the anxiety and fear that accompanies this step in life?

In the story of the lost son, there are actually two sons who are lost. One has physically left home; the other has stayed physically, but left home in his heart. Now let the sermon begin, bringing us all just a little closer to home.

Worship Next Week
Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Sermon Title: “The Empty Nest II

Notes for Sunday September 28, 2008

Read: Ecclesiastes 3

Your son or daughter has gone to college, joined the military, or just moved out of the house into their own apartment. You find yourself in a new place in life. Others have walked this path before; they have named it the “Empty Nest.” All you know is that your gut is tied in knots and you weep, at the drop of a hat, like you have lost your best friend.

The empty nest is real. As we care for and love our children, we also send them off and grieve the distance we experience in this new season in our relationship. What does God have to say about this particular place in life? I am looking to the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes which speaks of relationships and seasons. I find that what is good in one season may not be so good in the next. What is appropriate in one season many times lacks any function in a new season. And so it goes that we must reconsider our lives in the midst of a new day. Any change of children in the home places us into a new and sometimes emotionally difficult season.

This sermon is designed particularly for one entering this season of change. I expect a powerful service with deeply felt emotions and feelings. This is a wonderful time to invite a friend or neighbor who may be experiencing some type or change or new season in their life.

Worship Next Week
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Sermon Title: “The Empty Nest”

Notes for Sunday September 21, 2008

Read: Isaiah 43 Tool Time: Witness

Your witness gathers all your gifts into one place. In witness you make known that which is your passion. Through witness you share your goals and dreams for yourself and others around you. Everyone shares a witness. Good or bad everyone shares a witness with the world.

Think of a great big tool box. Every good work you will ever want to accomplish will have a tool, ready for you, stored in the tool box. As we reach to open the drawers, we will find tools to accomplish amazing tasks. There are always more tools than there is energy for the day. These tools allow us to accomplish our work with integrity and precision.

The prophet Isaiah shares the power of God to renew and restore all things. This God is the creator, the master builder, the keeper of the tool box. God has called us and named us. God breaks the bonds which hold us captive. We are a witness to this amazing power. We see, and then share. We experience, and then proclaim. We receive a witness, and then share a witness.

The power of witness is the power of the Spirit in at work in the world. Our witness is a tool chest brimming with potential. Let’s go to work.

Worship Next Week
Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-12
Sermon Title: “The Tool Box”

A Word on Service

To serve is to put love into action. Serving others offers a means of grace.

Serving may be the final lesson learned in the life of a disciple. As we serve others we become selfless and mirror the actions of our Savior. Seems to me all others actions of a disciple, like giving or praying, can be confused with a building of the self. Serving empties the self, focusing on the need of the other. Sacrificial service is the action of a mature, or at least attempting to mature, disciple.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, "...the greatest of these is love." The word here in greek is "Agape," which means a love which serves the other. Paul knew that "to love/to serve" is the greatest gift of the disciple.

What did Bob Dillon sing about in the 60’s; “You got to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you got to serve somebody.”

Notes for Sunday September 14, 2008

Read: Ephesians 5:1-20 Tool Time: Service

Your service to others is a light to the world. By serving, we offer grace which shows the love of God in action. To serve is to love. To serve the stranger is to love even the unlovable. When we do not choose who we are serving we offer the non-judgment of Christ Jesus.

Serving may be the last lesson learned in the life of a disciple. We can gather and have it be about us, our relationship, and our need being met. We can grow and still it is our maturity, our focus toward life which changes. However, when we sacrificially serve, without reservation, our focus becomes the good of the whole, the life of the body. It is no longer we who live and work, but Christ who lives in us. Service, more than any other of the tools of discipleship, may offer maturity in Christ.

Paul shares we should walk as children of the light. We are to expose the darkness by shedding light, the goodness of God upon the world. He says this like we are asleep and then wake up to a new day of new possibilities. Christ will be our light; we need not worry or be confused.

Serving acts as a light. Serving illumines the path toward the kingdom of God. Why work in the dark, stubbing our toes, stumbling on the uneven ground, when all we need is a little light for the journey. What did Bob Dillon sing about in the 60’; “You got to serve somebody.” You know light when you see it, so does the world. Why not let your light shine?

For Sunday September 07

Read: Luke 20 & 21 Tool Time: Gifts

Our gifts are tools we can use in building the Kingdom of God. Gifting can offer the oomph needed to move forward in grace. Gifting can give us a safe place to stand and see the future. Your gifts can mean a meal for the hungry or a bed for the homeless. It is true that by offering gifts we become the gift. Even stranger is that the one most blest by our giving is ourselves. Giving changes and cleans our hearts. Nothing else has the same capacity for transformation of the soul like giving. My experience is that givers never complain, and complainers never give. The selfish person says, “I do not need to give. They have enough, I need more for myself.”

We are confronted with the widow who gives all she has to live on as a gift in the temple. She is following the wealthy who have made quite a show of their giving, making sure the coins clink and clang for all to hear their respect for the ways of God. Jesus simply turns to the disciples and offers the obvious. The woman has given more than her wealthy neighbors. Be careful with the working in this passage. She did not give everything she had, but rather, all she had to live on. There is a difference. She was willing to put her trust in God for her daily needs. Would I be so bold, so willing? It seems Jesus is offering the idea that giving is about the need of the giver to trust God and give, not the needs of the temple to receive. If the church had all the money it needed to meet the budget, would you still give? Would you sacrificially give like the widow?

Giving acts like a level. Giving puts us on a good and level place in the kingdom of God. We can fight uphill our whole lives, wondering why God has not seen fit to give us an easier path. When all we really need is to learn to give and the then path levels out. The path never really changes, however our perception of the path changes and that makes all the difference.

Worship This Week
Scripture: Luke 20:45 – 21:19
Sermon Title: “On the Level”

Next Week: Tool Time: Service

Notes for Sunday August 03, 2008

Read: John 14 Biblical Mythbusters: God Needed Them

I never again care to hear the words, “God needed them.” Repeatedly in ministry, I have stood by grieving families as a well-meaning friend or family member has uttered these words. I try hard to not puke on my shoes. The words you just read are not strong enough to convey my disgust of this ill conceived, yet popular theology.

Our God never “needs” a child for a flower garden in heaven or “needs” a young dad for a heavenly choir. The God we serve would never kill or murder to gain fuller access to a life. What are we thinking when we say something like this? Oh yeah, we are not thinking. We are hurting, so we blame God. God did this. God is responsible. God is the heavy. This may also be a backward way of saying that regardless of our commitment to God, we all go to heaven. I do not find that idea in scripture, but it must feel nice to say something like this to someone who is broken in half with grief. Get real. God will be God in justice and in grace. God is not always pretty, but we can live with this kind of God because we know where we stand.

You can see my strong feelings about this topic and I am not very sure how the sermon is going to go. Guess it could be memorable to some. God have mercy.

The Good News is that God loves us and offers a just and graceful freedom into our lives. This complete and honest freedom means that sometimes awful things happen. Miracles also happen and they are a mystery of God; a blessed mystery. When we understand that God weeps with us, walks the lonely path with us, and grieves with us then we find a friend in Jesus like no other. God accepts us.

This is why it is so important to find Christ now and live into the grace of God today. Tomorrow the freedom of God’s grace may find us in a wrong place at a wrong time. It happens every day. Get with God. Bring your family to Christ. Share God’s love with your neighbors. It is all about life and death.

Cubs Baseball

Here is a nice quote that makes me smile from Cub's manager Lou Piniella I found on ESPN.

After Soto's leadoff single, Zambrano popped out on an attempted bunt and broke his bat by slamming it over his knee in frustration.

"I wish I was strong enough to do that when I played," Piniella said. "I had to use a water cooler."

Notes for Sunday July 27, 2008

Read: Luke 6:17-31 Biblical Mythbusters: Money is Not Important

Jesus spoke more about money than any other single thing. Jesus taught about our love of money and the need we have to let go of greed and treat our neighbors like we would treat ourselves.

Unfortunately, I find the church offering thoughts like, “Money is not important” or “Money is the root of all evil.” Yet money is so central to our lives that Jesus talked about our relationship with money non-stop. Lets be clear that money is not evil. Rather in 1 Timothy 6:10 we read it is the love of money which is a cancer in our souls. Money is quite important. However, money is not the Lord our God and we should not worship money and the possessions it affords.

The problem for us is that we must live in the world using money on a daily basis, while shunning a dysfunctional relationship with the idea of wealth. We have to use money to live, however, we must not make money our primary focus or vision for our lives.

Most folks, even in the church, have money as the number one God. Money directs our thinking and our giving. Our missions take a backseat to our pocketbook. What would a proper financial response to God look like? Would we only give when we hear the church needs money? Would we only give when hearts are touched by a tragedy? Or would we place God first in line and openly give a sacrificial-graceful offering because God has blessed us beyond anything 90% of the rest of world would even begin to believe?

Jesus talked more about money than any other single thing. I wonder if anyone is listening?

Worship This Week
Scripture: Luke 6:17-31 NRSV
Sermon Title: “Money is Not Important”

Notes for Sunday July 20, 2008

Read: Matthew 22: 15-22 Biblical Mythbusters: God Bless the USA?

It needs to be said. “God bless the USA,” is not a Biblical text. Most all of us have grown up in the luxury of freedom. We have wonderful access to education, arts, and employment opportunities. We can worship what we want, when we want, and with whom we want. That is a constitutional freedom. What an amazing country we live in today.

The rub comes when we begin at take for granted these wonderful freedom opportunities and assume that God has blessed the USA in such a way that we are different, unique, among all of God’s children. We forget that these freedoms were earned, not given. Freedom is painfully extravagant, even while our society blithely demands regression in the midst of recession without concern for the sacrifice needed to maintain even our current posture of freedom.

Does God consider the USA as the Promised Land, the chosen people, or the revelation of the kingdom of God on earth. I hardly think so. Let us turn that idea on it’s head and consider how the USA might Bless God, rather than the other way around. So is it wrong to sing along with Lee Greenwood, wrong to feel national pride, or wrong to say the pledge a allegiance, salute the flag, or shed tears at the national anthem? No, these are all fine and good. However, also be clear that the kingdom of God is a Kingdom of all of God’s children from all corners of the world.

From the second verse of the great hymn, “This is my Song,”
“My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine, O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.”


Worship Next Week
Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22 NRSV
Sermon Title: “God Bless the USA?”

Next Week: Biblical Mythbusters: Time is Money

Three Things A Leader Remembers

This Sermon was preached at 8:00AM on June 15, 2007 at Salem UMC, Counicl Bluffs, Iowa by D. A. Weesner. The scripture used was Exodus 3:1-22.
A Leader Remembers:
1. Who is the Enemy
2. What You are Trying to Do
3. Remembers the Unknown

World Religions: Christianity

About Christian Marriage

Notes for Sunday June 22, 2008

Read: Acts 7:54-8:1; Romans 8:1-2; I Corinthians 2:1-5 Things a Leader Forgets

1. Forget Your Failures
2. Forget Your Old Hurts
3. Forget Your Ego

We will compare three passages from the life of the Apostle Paul (Saul). His mission was to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the gentile world. God used him to change our world over the last 2000 years. Now that is leadership.

We can learn from the things Paul forgets. He affirmed the murder of Stephen and had to work past the remembrance of his involvement.

Paul was persecuted and shutout from old friends and life long goals. Learning to forgive and forget allowed him to move forward into grace.

I also believe Paul was able to lay aside his ego that he talked the talk but his ego was always in the foreground of his work) and focus only on Jesus Christ. Some pastors and theologians argue this point, but they mistake ego for confidence in Christ.

Paul learned to forget and became an amazing leader.

Worship Today
Scripture: Acts 7:54-8:1; Romans 8:1-2; I Corinthians 2:1-5 NRSV
Sermon Title: “Things a Leader Forgets”

Next Week: Leading Like Jesus

Walk into almost any modern Christian bookstore and there will be a "Self-Help" section.  Does anyone else laugh, or at least shake your head, at this?  

For Sunday June 15, 2008

Exodus 3:1-22 “The Message” Five Things a Leader Remembers

1. Remember who is the enemy
2. Remember everything begins with the individual.
3. Remember what you are trying to do.
4. Remember the un-knowable.
5. Remember who you are.

We will compare Moses’ call by God to lead the Hebrew people to freedom with our present day needs for leadership. I am leaning on Robert Greenleaf’s now classic work, “Servant Leadership.” For the last fifteen years, this book is always nearby.

Intimacy is achieved through forgiveness and acceptance of ourselves and those around us. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is known as "Life Changing."  Just perhaps, it should be better understood as "Death Changing."  Think about it.

Find comfort in the knowledge there are mountain peaks you will never climb, sunsets you will never see, flowers you will never smell.  The world is larger than you and me.  What a nice thought. 

Also find comfort in the experience of climbing higher than expected, seeing further than your imagination, knowing more than you can touch and smell.  Again the world is larger than we might guess.  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see fully, even as we have been fully known." I Corin 13.

Scripture Readings Leading to Sunday April 06, 2008

Read: Luke 24 Walk to Emmaus

Take a walk with Jesus. Visit with Jesus about the days events. Discuss the high and low points. Listen as he offers the story of life once more. Feel peace in our soul as never before. Walk and talk, share and listen.

Only you did not know it was Jesus while you were walking. You assumed it was another traveler, searching for the better part, just like you. You had not considered the person, only your personal feelings of despair, weariness, and frustration. You did not look in the face of the man, only listened, as he shared the stories of hope and courage. How could you have been so blind, so self-consumed? And yet, it was the Christ who had been walking with you all along.

The reason this story pulls at our hearts is that it is also our story. We have been the one walking toward home, full of self-pity and complaints. We have missed the presence of the risen Lord. And for what? You see, I believe God has more waiting for us than we could ever imagine if we only dared to look. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Consider the story differently. What if the traveler noticed the face, recognized the voice, and remembered the stories? What if he understood this was God, rejoiced, and worshiped. What if the travelers’ spirit was renewed in the full presence of Jesus? How might the story have taken on even more meaning and power? Perhaps that is the point. We have the opportunity of a lifetime right before us, which can move us just a little closer to home.

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Luke 24:13-35
Sermon Title: “Opportunity of a Lifetime”

Readings Leading to Sunday March 30, 2008

Read: John 20 Doubting Thomas

Proof; we want proof before we get involved. We want proof of purchase, proof of identity, proof of ownership, and proof of investment. We want proof that we are not going to be ripped off, proof that we are going to have it our way, and proof that our voice is heard and our interests considered.

A fearful and anxious generation cannot trust; simply will not trust. The capacity to trust is not within our power. There are no second options, like, “Please, you go first.” The bottom line is the only line and we are living with our heads just above that line. All because we are taught, we cannot and should not trust “the man.” Who is the man anyway, if not we ourselves? By the way, isn’t the proof always in the pudding?

That is what Thomas thought. Show me the scars, show me the face of Christ, only then will I believe. He is like our Patron Saint because he nails our unwillingness to believe in the small things of Christ, and thus miss out on the big things. Thomas knows what we all know, that seeing prompts our believing.

But here is the funny thing about that. It is not true. Believing almost always comes as a pure faith response, rather than an experience of encounter. We are saved by grace through faith, not through revelation. We go forward in hope and trusting God, not because of what we have seen and experienced, but rather by what we have yet to see and hope to someday experience. It is in this Holy Spirit power that we step forward into the unknown through faith in love and grace for those around us. What will it take to move you just a little closer to home?

Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Sermon Title: “In Search of Proof”

For Easter Sunday March 23, 2008

Read: Matthew 27 & 28
Seventh of Seven Sermons in the Series: Investigating Jesus

Jesus did not play sand volleyball. He did not talk on a cell phone. He did not drive a Hummer. Jesus did not play Texas Hold-Em and gamble for entertainment. Jesus did not hang around with church people. Jesus did not raise hell. Jesus did not fill out a March madness bracket. Jesus did not drink bottled water. He did not eat pizza, ice cream, or hotdogs. Jesus did not listen to iTunes on his iPod. Jesus did not … well you fill in the blank.

A list of what Jesus did not do can go on and on. Our lives are very different from his. However, every difference carries similarities. Jesus was playful, ate the food of the day, traveled in the style of the culture, and sang songs.
Easter is the celebration that Jesus did not stay dead. This is the only thing Jesus did not do which matters. Our task is to believe, accept in faith what Jesus did not do.

To believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a daily event. To say faith is a one-time event and requires we never again question or even feel intimidated by the daily news in relation to life is not our claim as Christians. Weakness is our claim. Confusion is our lot. Daily reaching beyond ourselves is greatness.

Anyone can claim a breakthrough and live his or her whole life based on the “glorious past” of one event. However, the individual of faith is willing to get out of bed every morning and reframe those days’ events within the power of something beyond self. This Easter faith, in what Jesus did not do moves us just a little closer to home.

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10
Sermon Title: “What Jesus Did Not Do”

Scripture Readings Leading to Sunday February 24, 2008

Read: Mark 6 Third of Seven Sermons in the Series: Investigating Jesus

What did Jesus see? This simple question, like the others in this series, appears simple but can quickly become complex. Resist the temptation to get too theological too quickly. We will get there; but attempt to say focused on the Biblical Jesus for right now.

Scripture is full of accounts of Jesus seeing people and situations. He first sees the heavens open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. Mark records this as private revelation, while Matthew offers a more public viewing. Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion upon them, he sees the disciples and calls them to follow. Jesus sees individual after individual and heals them. He also sees human hypocrisy and vanity balanced against his experiences of faith and grace.

One might conclude that Jesus saw just about everything and everybody. We find comfort in this “big picture” view, after all this is God. “But did Jesus see me?” we ask ourselves. We want, no demand, a savior who sees and knows all things and situations, however, our post modern, pre-Christian, North American worldview faith also demands that Jesus sees me, knows my inward parts, and relates to me on a very personal level. What we find may both bless and trouble us.

Book: The Gospels are our primary source for this information. Try reading the Gospel of Mark this week. Be aware of key words such as looked, saw, perceived, and understood.

And Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Mark 6:30-52
Sermon Title: “What Jesus Saw”

Scripture Readings Leading to Sunday February 03, 2008

Read: Psalm 23 & Matthew 6:25-34
Overwhelmed
Fifth of Five Sundays in the Series: Life Changes

So many of our lives reflect the old story of the straw that broke the camel’s back. You remember, the owner kept loading the poor camel down with one straw after another until that one last straw was too much for the beast to bear. I have never personally worked around a camel, much less loaded one with straw. However, I have worked in environments that were almost unbearable. And we have all felt like we have bent under the weight of one too many problems or tasks.

The straw may be damaged family relationships, or job related stressors. We may find our straw to be of our own making or stacking. We may be guilty of piling on, both ourselves and others around us. Can we find a way to rethink the ways we carry our loads? Can we lighten up a little and keep moving forward? What does God have to say about our heavy burdens?

Author Max Lucado does a fine job of re-thinking the 23rd Psalm in a way which allows us to un-pack and un-pile our lives. He maintains we all attempt to lug around loads of stuff, baggage, we were never intended to carry. I think he is right. In addition the reading from Matthew finds Jesus in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount offering the disciples a new way to live. Jesus offers freedom from worry and baggage which is timely and refreshing for us to hear. I read this week that the most suicides occur on the Monday following the last Sunday in January every year. It has been a long cold winter already and we need to lighten up just a bit. Try smiling, even if you do not feel like it.

Book: Traveling Light. Max Lucado. 2001. W Publishing Group. Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear: The Promise of the 23rd Psalm.

And Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Psalm 23 & Matthew 6:25-34
Sermon Title: “The Camel’s Broken Back”

Thoughts Leading to January 27

Read: Genesis 12:1-9 & Matthew 4:18-22 Another Move Fourth of Five Sundays in the Series: Life Changes

Our mobile society moves more than any society in history. This life change carries considerable stress. Moving to a new place carries with it financial, emotional and physical stress. We discount the time involved in finding our way in a new place and as such discount the very people who move with us, say goodbye and hello to us. Moving is regrettable but is currently a large and stressful part of our life change experiences.

Mobility of society dictates that we will be a mobile people, not unlike the tribal nurture of the early patriarchs of the Bible who were tent dwellers and nomadic. Even the apostle Paul in the NT was a tent maker and moved from place to place based on God's call. Jesus calls the disciples who leave family and home to follow him. We consider the many types of moves we will make in our lifetime; new room at home, college or apartment, military service, marriage and family growth and grief, job changes and moves, retirements, assisted living arrangements with or without family. All these moves tend to be frequent and solitary. Biblical moves surely have a word for us. Even moving to a new seat in the sanctuary can offer a glimpse of the stress of moving . We can identify some common stress themes and also some healing themes in just such a silly move as changing where we sit.

Movie: Go see “The Bucket List” and consider how we adapt through seasons of change. Or rent the old movie, “Funny Farm” and laugh about everything that can go wrong when moving.

And Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9 God Calls Abram to Canaan & Matthew 4:18-22 Jesus Calls the Disciples
Sermon Title: “Another Move”

Scripture Reading for Sunday January 20, 2008

Read: Philemon 1 Family Changes - Third of Five Sundays in the Series: Life Changes

Families now have to learn how to cope as fast as the changes coming towards them. Learning to balance this new skill along with the multitude of normal family building skills is possible, but difficult. How can we lower the learning curve and encourage stress reduction by acquiring new coping skills?

Using Philemon to Biblically balance family transitions may seem a stretch, but as we look at the context and focus of Paul's words we find they are very close to offering the same coping skills we will need to keep our families intact in a digital age of change. Life is moving so quickly that families are asked to change their family leadership priorities and skill sets on the fly with little or no accountability from the "experts." However, there appears to be some unchanging Biblical foundations found in Philemon which can give us a place to stand and move from as we embrace some new practices needed to keep pace with a mobile and digital society. Some of those foundations are: willingness to embrace change in others, in self, and a willingness to go home again. Forgiveness and acceptance are key pieces of this foundation as are communication and role identity. Powerful stuff.

BOOK: Families and Change: Coping With Stressful Events and Transitions, Patrick McKenry & Sharon Price Third Edition, Sage Publications Inc. (A text book for college classes, but useful ideas and suggestions)

And Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Philemon 1:1-21
Sermon Title: “Digital Families”

Scripture for Sunday January 13, 2008

Read: 1 Corinthians 13
Beyond Love Second of Five Sundays in the Series: Life Changes

Changes in our relationships, both positive and negative, cause us to feel the stress of this life change. It is easy to forget our Christian base from which all relationships have depth and meaning. We need reminding of these principals to keep them always in view in all our relationships.

...The Greek language has three words for love, which enable us to distinguish Christian love (agape) from passionate devotion (eras) and warm affection (philia). Jesus did not tell his disciples to fall in love with their enemies or to feel for them as they felt for their families and friends. Agape is a gracious, determined, and active interest in the true welfare of others, which is not deterred even by hatred, cursing, and abuse, not limited by calculation of results or limitations, based solely on the nature of God. Love does not retaliate, seeks no reward, and does not insist on it's own way.

We must go beyond what the world claims is love in our relationships, all the way to agape love. This is our task and it is difficult. Our lives will always be receiving new relationships and letting go of others too painful to hold. This Christian focus of agape love allows us to move with less stress in the midst of our life changes by offering a single purpose of life, not based in our personal needs or wants, but a full re-creating of God's love for us.

If you can, review these books to prepare for this topic:
Book: What's Agape Got to Do With It?, L.A. Wilkerson, GOSHEN PUB HOUSE. 2001. Cokesbury $8.80

My hope is you will consider inviting a friend who needs to hear a honest word about relationships and just how we can move beyond what the world calls love. Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
Sermon Title: “Beyond Love”