To pray is to focus ourselves within God’s presence. Prayer moves us to experience that which is already, but has remained unknown. To pray is to join with God in what God is doing. Therefore, prayer is either always selfish or never selfish, depending on how we understand the outcome.
Real prayer takes time. Thirty minutes every day is a good start. Real prayer offers a conversation with God regarding all the vital details of our lives as well as the mundane seemingly unimportant aspects of our days. All topics are welcome in prayer.
Yet, we do not know what to pray. No one ever does, nor can. We place ourselves in God’s presence and listen. Quietly waiting for God to speak is the hardest work of our praying. By listening, we begin to sense the message, which God has been speaking to us all along. Let us pray.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Scripture Readings Leading to July 29, 2007
John 4:1- 42 The Woman at the Well
The woman at the well did not expect grace. We never do. The woman at the well did not expect a messiah. Nor do we. The woman at the well did not expect cool water to quench her thirst. To drink deeply and be satisfied is a Spiritual experience. How does your life align with this woman? Do you understand her needs, her fears? Jesus understood.
In Luke’s gospel Jesus turned water into wine. In this passage John recalls Jesus turning water into a transformed life. Our lives are also transformed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ who calls us to the well just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 4:7-15
Sermon Title: “Cool Water”
The woman at the well did not expect grace. We never do. The woman at the well did not expect a messiah. Nor do we. The woman at the well did not expect cool water to quench her thirst. To drink deeply and be satisfied is a Spiritual experience. How does your life align with this woman? Do you understand her needs, her fears? Jesus understood.
In Luke’s gospel Jesus turned water into wine. In this passage John recalls Jesus turning water into a transformed life. Our lives are also transformed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ who calls us to the well just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 4:7-15
Sermon Title: “Cool Water”
Thursday, July 05, 2007
A Word on Christian Marriage…
Two people joining together for a lifetime while submitting to a blessing by God is a sacred covenant. Christian marriage is more than an agreement, more than an arrangement, it is a grace-filled bond offered by God. God offers an unseen guest of grace to be a part of the marriage, until death parts the couple. And so, the two who come together actually leave for a life together as three: groom, bride, Holy Spirit.
Christian marriage is always in the moment, it is never lived in the past. When we celebrate a 10th or 25th wedding anniversary we are essentially saying, that as a couple, they have given themselves to each moment for that length of time. We do not simply celebrate the past, we honor the moment by moment commitment held by God’s grace.
Remember, a wedding is not a marriage. Preparing for a wedding should be exciting and inspiring. However, preparing for a marriage holds far more blessings and should receive the lions share of our attention.
Christian marriage is always in the moment, it is never lived in the past. When we celebrate a 10th or 25th wedding anniversary we are essentially saying, that as a couple, they have given themselves to each moment for that length of time. We do not simply celebrate the past, we honor the moment by moment commitment held by God’s grace.
Remember, a wedding is not a marriage. Preparing for a wedding should be exciting and inspiring. However, preparing for a marriage holds far more blessings and should receive the lions share of our attention.
A Word on Gossip…
Gossip is talk which is not intended to confront or inspire, rather it's purpose is to demote others so as to raise the self; so that one's ego may be artificially inflated. Gossip deals, not in the achievements, rather in the defeat of another. We conspire with, and are unwittingly used by, "the accuser" when we gossip. Those who gossip do so with malice, not grace.
Gossip requires talkers who talk and listeners who listen. Consider that those who talk and those who listen are both active, equal, participants. As gossip makes another loop, a new group of good folks invest their energy into spreading a damaging message. What is the worse evil, the original gossip or the gossip loops that follow? I am equally saddened by both.
Lord have Mercy.
Gossip requires talkers who talk and listeners who listen. Consider that those who talk and those who listen are both active, equal, participants. As gossip makes another loop, a new group of good folks invest their energy into spreading a damaging message. What is the worse evil, the original gossip or the gossip loops that follow? I am equally saddened by both.
Lord have Mercy.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Scripture Readings Leading to
Sunday March 25, 2007
Where Angles Fear to Tread: The Boldness of Christ
John 18 Jesus and the Cross
The cross is the focus for all the boldness of Jesus. The cross defines Jesus. The cross defines the followers of Jesus. Jesus moves over the line when he chooses the cross over personal safety. Yes, Jesus chose the cross. The way Jesus spoke to the people who had control over his life assured him a cruel death. Even the angels could not stop this. They must have wept and looked away. You would too. “Surely this was the Messiah, the Christ,” exclaimed the centurion at the foot of the cross.
Boldness can be in our actions as well as our speech. Jesus displayed both. As you review the passage, notice how often Jesus is simply silent. Recall the occasions in your life when the bold thing, the correct thing, would have been to be silent. Next, consider the words of Christ as he moves closer to the cross. Jesus words are combative, yet detached, in a good and righteous stance. The Christ is choosing the cross. Nothing about Jesus death haunts as deeply as this fact. He chose to die for the sin of the world.
Actions can be bold and communicate with more power and clarity than the spoken word. Consider the symbol of the cross in our lives, in the sanctuaries of our churches, representing the action of the Christ. We put a symbol of death and agony in the midst of our worship. We focus on the cross. We sing our love for the cross. Then we wonder why worldly folks think us fools or mindless. At least, we must recognize the bold action of Christ represents something wilder and without limits. This action is so bold, so other, that transformation becomes reality. Our lives represent something bold, something wild, without boundaries.
Let go of fear and trembling, God has entered the world and is doing a new thing, moving us just a little closer to home.
See you Sunday! Dave Weesner
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 18:19-24, 28-40
Sermon Title: “Over the Line”
Sunday March 25, 2007
Where Angles Fear to Tread: The Boldness of Christ
John 18 Jesus and the Cross
The cross is the focus for all the boldness of Jesus. The cross defines Jesus. The cross defines the followers of Jesus. Jesus moves over the line when he chooses the cross over personal safety. Yes, Jesus chose the cross. The way Jesus spoke to the people who had control over his life assured him a cruel death. Even the angels could not stop this. They must have wept and looked away. You would too. “Surely this was the Messiah, the Christ,” exclaimed the centurion at the foot of the cross.
Boldness can be in our actions as well as our speech. Jesus displayed both. As you review the passage, notice how often Jesus is simply silent. Recall the occasions in your life when the bold thing, the correct thing, would have been to be silent. Next, consider the words of Christ as he moves closer to the cross. Jesus words are combative, yet detached, in a good and righteous stance. The Christ is choosing the cross. Nothing about Jesus death haunts as deeply as this fact. He chose to die for the sin of the world.
Actions can be bold and communicate with more power and clarity than the spoken word. Consider the symbol of the cross in our lives, in the sanctuaries of our churches, representing the action of the Christ. We put a symbol of death and agony in the midst of our worship. We focus on the cross. We sing our love for the cross. Then we wonder why worldly folks think us fools or mindless. At least, we must recognize the bold action of Christ represents something wilder and without limits. This action is so bold, so other, that transformation becomes reality. Our lives represent something bold, something wild, without boundaries.
Let go of fear and trembling, God has entered the world and is doing a new thing, moving us just a little closer to home.
See you Sunday! Dave Weesner
Sunday Worship
Scripture: John 18:19-24, 28-40
Sermon Title: “Over the Line”
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