Singing to the Lord

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Psalm 98:4-6


My husband has always complained that my church does not have a church service but that we sing too much. For me the songs are the great binding thread that runs through each service. Apparently, the woman that gave the sermon today agreed as she spoke of the importance of our church’s hymnal. Tracey spoke of the history of the hymnals in our pews. Our church has been so attached to these hymnals that we have chosen to rebind our hymnals as opposed to changing. Our congregation loves our old traditional songs.




One of the best parts of the sermon was actually a reading which she made directly from the hymnal itself. I have repeated it below for your interest:

Directions for Singing
From John Wesley's Select Hymns, 1761

I. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.

II. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.

III. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a single degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.

IV. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, then when you sung the songs of Satan.

V. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

VI. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing to slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.


What are your favorite hymns? Here is a site with music and words to Methodist Hymns that you might find helpful, if your recall is a little weak.

Faith or Knowledge

Are there times and places in your life when you have no faith, by that I mean you don’t need faith because you know without even a hint of doubt that God is there. You have seen or felt proof of His existence.

The word faith is a tricky word, because to have faith you must believe but it is a belief without knowing. It is not a belief without knowing. It is not a belief like “I believe the mailman came already” Knowing that the mailman comes everyday at 11:00 am and now it is quarter past 12 and certainly there will be proof of his arrival in the form of notes in your mailbox. You can know for sure 99.9% but there must be an tiniest bit of questioning, because there is no proof. This isn’t like questioning the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, where you wish it to be true but know that it is not. It is a deep abiding belief – a belief in tradition that has been handed down age after age, a belief of the feeling in your own heart, a belief in the miracles that you have seen and heard that no one but a God in Heaven could produce. But all that belief ends in a question mark because there is no absolute proof before you. Some believers say they know 100%, but this is not faith. It is knowledge. I admire them for their certainty but I am still just faithful.

There are times when I am certain, like right now sitting on the beach and then there are other times when question arise. It is those times that I have to rely on my faith. The strength that I have built up in the knowing carries me through the times when I am unsure.

American Heritage Dictionary
faith (fāth) n.
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. often Faith Christianity The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.

Mission Mondays - Operation Christmas Child

Ok, I realize it is not Monday today but Tuesday, but I have decided to add a new weekly entry: Mission Mondays. If you have any mission ideas that you would like me to add, please let me know.

Let me introduce you to a mission project that I have been involved with for the past couple of years – Operation Christmas Child. Our church has collected boxes for several years, but it wasn’t until about three years ago when I took over facilitating the program at our church did I fully understand the focus of the program. OCC had always been promoted in our church as a collection of toys for those at need during the Christmas season. And while this is indeed the action of what you are doing, it is not the purpose.


"Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” " Matthew 19: 13-15

But how can the children know of Jesus, if they are never introduced. This is the true mission of operation Christmas Child. Although giving to those in need is worthy, this additional insight for me made this program even more worthwhile. Now in our church, we have included a children’s sermon about OCC, we pray over the boxes that we send, and have whole church activities to emphasize the sending of God’s message.

OCC was founded by Samaritan’s Purse and is run by Rev. Billy Graham’s son, Franklin Graham. I encourage you to checkout their website and if your church is not already involved in a collection for this program to start. There are plenty of materials on the website and that can be ordered to help you along the way. Collection week this year is November 17-24. Our plan will be to kick off the collection on October 5th, announce that collection will end on November 9th (we’ve learned that you get a lot of “oh, I left it at home by mistake” and this gives them an extra week to get it in), and plan a packing party on November 16th. The completed boxes are then delivered to a local coordination office (there is more information on this on the website. As collecting time comes closer they will post collection sites in each state). If you are lucky enough to live near one of their regional offices you may want to sign up to volunteer there.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28: 19-20

The Naked Archeologist

Are you tired of watching people try to debunk your Biblical Beliefs? Are you sick of people scraping away at the very foundation of your religion? Are people constantly ignoring The Word and doing everything in their power to deny the Truth that it presents? Then, you may enjoy The Naked Archeologist on the History Channel.

Simcha Jacobovici explores the Bible and its stories in a way that will interest you, challenge the naysayers, and really make you think. On a website for the show, Jacobovici says “My goal is to demystify the Bible in general, and archaeology in particular, to brush away the cobwebs and burst academic bubbles.” And this he does. Jacobovici is to Archeology documentaries as Bill Nye is to Science teachers. The style will appeal to adults and children alike. He not only discusses the issues, but talks to leading experts and travels with you to the places that these stories took place. Some of his episodes include: Who invented the Alphabet?, Jesus, the Early Years, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. I encourage you to check it out. You can check out the History International Channel’s upcoming episodes to see when The Naked Archeologist is next airing.

Redemption of the Apple

I am again serving coffee hour tomorrow. I have decided to serve canteloup melon, strawberries, deviled eggs, and apple muffins. I made apple pies for Friday's Church Baked Bean supper so I had some extra apples to work with. I must say that the idea of serving apples at church got me laughing a little bit, so I decided that I should replace my vision of Eve and the serpent with a more positive vision of apples. So here are some apple scriptures that I found:

"Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about." Psalms 17:7-9

"Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye." Proverbs 7:2

There are also several scriptures in Songs of Solomon, but I'll leave those for you to find.



Now interestingly, here comes the learning part of my blog. As I used the concordence to find apple scriptures, I learned that yet again I have been influenced by outside forces. Genesis did not come up. There is no apple in the Adam and Eve story. I had to google this question. I found that apparently in the Latin translation, the word malum means both evil and apple. People clung to this idea and started to use apples in pictures of this scene, thus our idea of the apple. What was actually eaten? fruit taken from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is no other mention of what kind of fruit it was. I'll bet you it was one of those spiky looking fruits in the produce section of the grocery store.

Does this remind you of the question of the blonde haired, blue eyed Jesus?

The Bible - A book of Real Stories about Real People

Genealogy is not just a great way to look into your personal history. It is a great way to make the Bible real to children. So much of what children read is fiction, I’m not sure that they fully understand the truth in the Bible. Also, children can be very disconnected from the stories of the Bible as the stories occurred so long ago. When I taught 3rd grade, I liked to put up a family tree in the corner which we continued to add to as we read the Old Testament. The tree helped the kids to see that the Bible was a historical book. It helped them to see the chronological development and put one story in perspective to the next. It also helped to make the characters in the Bible personal to them.

I also found having maps and relating stories back to them helped achieve “realism” to the stories. Maps are real and concrete to children. To realize that these characters from so long ago walked in areas that still exist today, made the people more real and in some cases more understandable. Honestly, it wasn’t until I read “The Secret Magdalene” as an adult that I realized that when Jesus went into the wilderness that it wasn’t a wilderness of trees as I would think of it, but a desert wasteland. The more that we can connect the Bible to the children’s lives, the more they will be willing to continue to delve through the book looking for ways to apply The Word in their lives.

A Word about Faith

"Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things." Philippians 4:8 NIV

I was following this verse and thinking on all things good as I came up with the following:

First
Act,
Incline
Toward
Him

Forever
Accept Him
In
Thy
Heart

Focus
Attention
Intently
Toward
Heaven

Finally
Admit
Internally
Thy need for
Help

Father
Almighty,
I
Thank You and
Honor You.

Amen

Can you create a faith statement? Or find another way to live the Philippians’ commandment. Share it with us.

Snippet Verses

Did you notice the new snippets in the left hand column of the blog? I saw these on another blog and had to click the "would you like to add snippets to your blog". The Christian Women Online website has HTML codes to add all sorts of snippets. You can add a daily verse or a snippet that may relate to a particular blog.




Their site also has wonderful articles and interviews. There is blog roll to find blogs of interest for spiritual women. I encourage you to check the CWO site out, to read the snippets on my blog daily, and to try some of these add ons on your site.

Death with a Coffin Nearby

In the series of books that I am reading by Pearl S. Buck, a coffin is purchased and placed near a dying man’s bed to reassure him that all thing are prepared for his death (this happens more than once in the series):

"Beside his bed stood his coffin wish his sons had bought for him and placed there for his comfort” pg 7 Sons

I can’t imagine that my father would be too reassured if I did that. I think that he would think that I was pushing him toward death. In American culture, death has become a fearful part of life. I personally have always wondered why this is so. The Bible says:

John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

And

John 11:25-26 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: [26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Yet, death is still feared. Now I am not saying that we should rush toward death, but instead, we should accept it, perhaps even be honored to be invited into God’s plan.

When my mother passed away in 2001, my father and I planned her memorial service as a celebration of life as opposed to a somber gathering. This idea always befuddled me as a child. Why would you celebrate the loss of someone you love. Now as an adult I understand that we celebrate that the person has fulfilled God’s plan on earth and are now taken to heaven. If someone had explained this to me then, I may have better accepted the losses that I faced as a child.

Also, given that the death of our own physical form is just the shedding of a layer that allows us to enter the kingdom heaven, perhaps Pearl Buck and the early Chinese had the right idea, by leaving the casket nearby we can be reminded of the heavenly journey we are about to take. This will allow us to be less fearful and our loved ones to be less sad.

Leading by Example

My husband has subscribed to Harvey MacKay’s column for about two years. This past week’s was particularly interesting. It spoke of living your example. He shared a particularly pertinent story:

Actor Martin Sheen told this story: "One day a young mother brought her young child to the famous Indian leader Gandhi and said, 'Please, Gandhi, you must tell my son to stop eating sweets.'
"Gandhi thought for a moment, then replied, 'Well, all right, can you come back in two days?'
"The mother agreed and came back with her child in exactly two days. Gandhi took the child aside and said, 'Don't eat sweets.'
"'Is that all?' said the puzzled mother, and Gandhi said, 'Yes.'
"'But why couldn't you have said that two days ago?' asked the mother.
"'Because,' replied Gandhi, 'two days ago I was still eating sweets.'"

I thought this was a great reminder for all of that if we are going to espouse following Christ then we better step in his footsteps ourselves. We are to lead as example and not just by words.

A Map of Your Life Available

DD and I were discussing God's oversight in our life. She is very sure that God oversees our every move and indeed has our life mapped out before we are even born. With that in mind, she posed the question to me, "If everything is indeed mapped out would you like to know what the map says or would you like to live as you do now, blindly."







Without hesitation I replied, "No, I would not want to know." I think that I would miss so many moments as I waited for the "big" events, and I think that I am noticing that it is those little moments that make life interesting and beautiful. I am happy to live life, and not to know what is coming.



How would you have answered her question?

I hear you, God

This is a bit of a continuation from yesterday's post. This morning I read my Upper Room devotional. What was the scripture reading? Romans 8:28. I just looked up, laughed, and said, "I hear you, God".

And what is the snippet verse today, "The Lord hath heard my supplication, the Lord will receive my prayer. (Psalm 6:9)"

It is funny how God can cause certain messages to reach you if you are open to hear them.

Moving Under God's Direction

One of the houses that we have been looking at has dropped by 50k. Now you would think that I would be excited about this, instead my heart sunk. Without our house selling, there is no way that we can purchase the house. What does this have to do with faith? DD saw my response and wrote a blog about faith on our joint blog acupofteawithmomandme.blogspot.com about Having faith as it regarded to the home sale. She reminded me of Romans 8:28


"all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

and of Psalm 139. On the other hand, a joke that I once heard came to mind:

There was a man who lived by a river as the rains came. An announcement came over the radio for all residents to move from the area because torrential floods were on there way, but the man said, “I have my Bible and I pray to God. He will protect me. I am going nowhere.”

The rains came and the water rose on his house. He had to move to the second floor to avoid the waters. A boat of rescuers came around, “Come with us, sir. We are evacuating. It is bad now, but the rains are going to continue. Your house may be swept away”
The man responded shaking his Bible out the window, “I have my Bible and I pray to God. He will protect me. I am going nowhere!”

As the rescuers had predicted, the rains continued. The man was forced out on his roof. Fortunately, the rescuers had not forgotten him. They came by in a helicopter. “Sir, you must come now. You have nowhere left to go. More waters are coming. Please come with us.”
“You don’t understand. I have my Bible and I pray to God. He will protect me. I am going nowhere.” He flagged the helicopter away. The rains continued, eventually overtaking his roof. He was washed away and died.

When he reached heaven and standing face to face with God, he asked, “I don’t understand. I believed. I had faith. Why am I dead? I waited for you to save me.”
God replied, “Who do you think made sure that you were warned and sent the rescuers not just once but twice?”

* * * Would you believe while I was writing this a car just drove down my driveway, checked out the house, and drove away. We have a 200 foot driveway and live on a dead end. You don’t drive down our driveway by mistake!

So please join me in a prayer:

Dear God, It seems to me that my family and I are supposed to move. We asked for your guidance and You provided us with a job, when we weren’t sure that there would be one. Not only did you provide us with it, we were truly blessed with it. Thank you for providing. Now we are trying to follow and resettle, but our home has yet to sell. We have taken our steps, but still we are caught between these two places. We know that You have a plan and that we must learn to relax and trust. And so, I ask you to watch over us and help us to continue to have faith. Do not give me what I necessarily wish, but instead what You know is right. Help us to be faithful and understand your bidding. Amen

Life Lessons from the Titanic

Two things struck me as my dd, my father, and I toured the Titanic exhibit today:

-Small Actions Can Make a Difference
-Things that seem bad at the time can be a blessing

Small Action Can Make a Difference. This idea struck me twice during the exhibit. Once, we read about the band playing even as ship sank. Apparently, without concern for their own life they continued to play to comfort and entertain others. This seems so selfless. And I’m sure to people that realized that they were not getting onto those final lifeboats, the music they played offered some kind of consolation. The second small action was a priest that stayed behind and prayed with the passengers that had been consigned to death after the last lifeboat was launched. Compare this action with president and Chairmen of White Star Lines (the manufacturer of the Titanic) J. Brue Ismay, who bore some responsibility for the sinking and yet ensured his own survival by taking one of the few seats available in the life boats, while so many others were set to die.

What use is it,my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
James 2:14 (KJV)

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:20 (KJV)

Things that seem bad at the time can be a blessing. There were so many stories about people not getting aboard because of sprained ankles, colds, a change in plans, or, the most interesting to me, getting kidnapped. Harold Irwin was kidnapped the night before the sailing and forced to labor on a ship heading to Egypt to pay his gambling debt. I’m sure at the time, it seemed that the worst thing possible had occurred in his life. If he was a religious man, he may have prayed to be saved and not realized that God had already answered his prayer. This made me think of the many times that I may pray for specific intercession by God instead of asking for courage to accept HIS will.

Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.
~Socrates

Lessons can be found everywhere, if we are open to see them.

Praying for Other People

When you attend other churches, sometimes you are introduced to doing things a little differently than you currently do. One of those things which I found different last month at the church we had switched with is that when the prayed for others, they only used their first name. At our church, we normally use the whole name. I found this odd. I thought maybe the HIPPA privacy laws had even reached the church. I felt strangely disconnected from the prayer. Certainly, I don’t know all the people we pray for, but at least John Doe seemed like a specific person. Who was Sam? Cindy? Frank? Or Rob?

A friend had once mentioned that he thought the whole concept of naming people in prayers was odd. Although he might know someone in need, he would hesitate to mention their name as perhaps they preferred to be private in their need. Certainly if that was their wish, perhaps that is a time to use just a first name, but the specificity of a whole name seems so powerful to me.

What do you think?

The Seven Deadly Sins

What is your weakness? 2nd Cup of Coffee turned me onto a quiz that is supposed to identify your fault. Apparently, wrath is my greatest weakness. I think those that know me would find this kind of funny, but I guess the results are not just action but also intent. And there I must admit, smiting those that hurt / harm myself or my family seems to be a reasonable response. Anyway, I have posted my results below. Why don’t you take the quiz and let us know your results. Do you think it is an accurate assessment of your character?

Greed:	Very Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Medium

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com


I did a little extra research about the 7 deadly sins and found that there is no direct scriptural reference. The ideals are repeated throughout the Bible, but there is no specific place that says “And though shall avoid the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust.” These 7 are not the original list, but have been refined and ordered throughout the ages. Coming to the form that we currently know when they adapted by Pope Gregory. It is actually many Medieval stories that engrained the idea into our minds.

A very interesting article on the Seven deadly sins can be found at http://sjmc.cla.umn.edu/stupro/virgil2001/sevendead.pdf

I think that I will need to pick up the Canterbury Tales again.

The Secret to Long Life & Happiness

People have searched high and low for the secret to long life and happiness. Ponce De Leon thought he found long life in the springs of Florida. Will Smith was Oscar nominated for his Pursuit of Happyness. But both still seem elusive to the masses until now. Apparently, the secret has been in front of us all along. The secret according to a couple of studies is religion.

In a study published in the March-April 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, a study at the University of Pittsburg found that people who attended religious services could add 1.8 to 3.1 years to their life. The study compared the affect religious attendance, exercise, and statins (a specific kind of medication) on life expectancy both in time and in cost. The study concluded that, “The real-world, practical significance of regular religious attendance is comparable to commonly recommended therapies, and rough estimates even suggest that religious attendance may be more cost-effective than statins.” It is important to note that the study does say that “there is no evidence that changing attendance causes a change in health outcomes. Furthermore, even if a patient did start attending church to get well, there are ethical, theological, and methodological problems with this instrumental approach to the associations between faith and health.” However, the study goes on to explain that if people made a life change of their own accord for non-health reasons, the authors could not asses if such a change would accrue the positive results over time.

Futhermore though, religion does not just increase your life expectancy, it makes your life happier. According to an article by Michael E. Nielsen, PhD, Religion and Happiness, “people who are involved in religion also report greater levels of happiness than do those who are not religious.” This seemed to be true universally, except for cases of mysticism and times of religious conflict. Nielsen synthesizes studies on religion and happiness reporting that the “extra” happiness may be a result of social support, firm beliefs, and religious experiences themselves.

I encourage you not to keep this information to yourself but to share it. Certainly, one should not come to faith for personal benefit. But if you come because you believe that there is benefit to religion, then perhaps as you look for the benefits, you may find the Truth. For those of you that are already reaping the benefits, albeit as a side effect of your natural behavior, isn’t this better than sit ups?

Great Expectations

Luke 12: 47 -48 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (NIV)

What does this scripture say to us? It calls us to action. I assume as you are reading faith filled blogs and I am writing them, we both fall more into the first group than the last. We are working to better understand the Master’s will and therefore there are great expectations on our shoulders.

This scripture is like the Biblical equivalent of “ignorance is bliss”. While those that are ignorant are not completely cleared. They will not be treated as harshly as those who know the right path but choose to ignore it. This is why confession has its limits. God appreciates that we are sorry for our actions and that we want forgiveness, but like any parent, there is a point where sorry isn’t good enough. I find myself saying this to my children frequently when they continue to harass each other. God must want to say the same to us as well. And while in the long run we both will forgive our children, we are frustrated by their repeated errors. We certainly know that they will err, but to err in the same way over and over leads to the question about the genuineness of the remorse.

What do you think God is demanding of you? As you have been graced by forgiveness, what have you promised to never do again? Have you been able to hold up this promise? How do you plan to hold it up in the future?

Listening to the New Testament

My husband is not a reader like me. One, he just is not a reader by nature, but two,he doesn't have time to. However, he has made a goal of reading the Bible. So as a gift I purchased him this audio version of the New Testament. The nice thing about this version is that many famous people read the parts including Richard Dreyfus, Lou Gosset, and Stacy Keach. This diversity and fine reading makes it interesting for him to listen to during his commute to Mass. It has even intregued the kids and they enjoy listening in the truck. I like listening, reading, and talking about scripture as each time it seems I learn a little more and yet know almost nothing.

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

And my family and I admit that we still have a lot of preparation to do and we are willing to work on it.



Do any of you have suggestions for a good audio version of the Old Testament?

Giving All You Can

Yesterday, when the kids and I went to the hairdresser, I parked next to Lexus. The owner must have been a dealer as the sticker was still in the window, $61,000. I can’t even fathom driving around in it. I would have to drive it, bring it home, park it in the driveway, and never ever move it . . .wait our yard has trees. I would need a bubble. All I thought was – such excess! In the hairdresser, the owner of the car wasn’t there for a haircut, but a tan. The scripture that is repeated in three of the gospels (Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18: 25), “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” came to my mind. Do people hear this? Do they understand? Or is the pull of riches too great? We hear of golden toilets and stars that have more cars than they can drive in a week. But do you know that this is not just a plague of the super rich? We, the middle class, are just as guilty. Do we give our firsts? Or do we withhold and give what is leftover?

It is certainly difficult in this economic time to consider giving anything, let alone giving the best. But comparing our lifestyle to those of the biblical times, it should be easier for us. We are not living in huts. In fact, the square footage of a home has more than doubled since the 1950’s. We are not in a time or place of famine. Yes, our economy is tight and many of us are feeling a pinch that we have never felt before, but do we feel the pinch in our fat or against our ribs?

Malachi 3:8 says, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.” How do we reconcile eating out when people are starving in the world? How do we rest when our children carry cell phones and there are children in the world that don’t have a roof over their head? Can we give just a little more? What can we find in our life that we could forgo in order to make someone else’s better?

If you have ideas of how we can do this, please share them with us? What do you scrimp? How do you help?

Growing Your Church or Closing It

What is the responsibility of a church? I have mentioned previously that my church closes for the month of July. We actually exchange with another church; we go there in July, they come to us in August. Along with this being a strange ritual for the continuity of worship, it is a cash flow problem for the church. In my opinion to correct both of these issues, we should not close at all.

The other day though, I was talking to another member of the church about this issue. She is actually working on an auction to help finance the upkeep of our historic church. So she certainly understands the financial issues, but her next comment led me to wonder about the spiritual side. Her solution to the summer money crunch was to close for the entire summer. I almost choked, “We’re a C-H-UR-CH!” This argument was lost on her though as she felt the non-use of the facilities would be a more cost efficient option – like the four day work week many companies are going to to save money. I personally think that this is a very slippery slope that we are already seeing the results of. Church attendance falls off as soon as spring sun shines and doesn’t really revive until the chill of October. Should we close those days too? How about during February and April vacation? Is this a business or a church?

I think of the work of Rick Warren of the Purpose Driven Church. Speaking from the top of a drive-in roof until his congregation was large enough to need a building. When building the Saddleback church, he always thought about how to develop and grow the church. I don’t think, in fact I know, having read several of his books, he would never close down for a month a year. His plan has built his church to include four campuses and a worldwide sensation. While I don’t believe that we have to do that, I think that we could learn a lot from his ministry. In doing so I think that we could better serve the congregation and would not need to worry about covering payroll either.

How does your church deal with the summer doldrums? What unique and helpful services does your church offer its congregation?

Premarital Relations

Have you heard of promise rings? A ring given by the father to the daughter when she pledges to remain a virgin until getting married. I think the whole concept is a little strange, especially when they are presented in a large ceremony, but on the positive side at least it brings up the conversation of premarital sex. This conversation has been brought up twice today in our teenage household. Once because Tuesday night is the airing of The Secret Life of an American Teenager and two, due to very inappropriate IM’s from her friend’s boyfriend.

Having seen the previews of The Secret Life of an American Teenager, dd has only watched the show with me sitting beside her. The show is based on a teenager getting pregnant. I have now seen 3 or 4 episodes which have entered dd into many delicate discussions, but at least we are talking about it. It certainly doesn’t glamorize teenage relations as it is obviously how the main character, Amy, got into such a crisis. On the other hand, it seems like all the teens are physically involved except for one. The one, of course, is the religious girl, the goody, goody. Although I find this character very stereotypical, I must admit that I hope that over the course of the show she doesn’t relent just for the sake of plot.

The question arises – does being religious really reduce teen pregnancy? I did see in our other situation, inappropriate emails, that the answer to this question may be “yes”. Ok, it may be well too early to say that it will, but at least when bugged by this boy on the IM, my daughter came back with some pretty good retorts. He said something about her wanting it. She said that she wasn’t doing anything until she got married. He tried another tactic, “Well, what if you die before you get married?” “Then I’ll die a virgin.” While I was appalled by this conversation and it let to yet another conversation between my daughter and I, I was thrilled at her insistence of no premarital sex. She was very clear that as a Christian this was her obligation. I’m sure, unfortunately, she will face this question many more times before she is actually married. I think that our influence and openness will help her make the right decision, but I believe her strong belief in chastity as a requirement of her religion will be the real guidepost along her path.

Confess our Sins

O God, you teach us compassion, and yet we practice bigotry. You implore us to trust you while we create idols. You send Christ as a witness that you will not forsake us; yet we fret over matter as though you cared not at all. Forgive our compulsion to control our own destiny. Look kindly upon us when we fear for our future. Have mercy upon us when we mismanage your grace. We are your people; help us to dwell in your promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen

Tears welled in my eyes as we read this Prayer of Confession. I tried to wipe them away at first but then they flowed freely from my eyes. I never think of confession as a big part of my relationship to the church. As a Congregationalist, we don’t have confessionals or a requirement to confess our sins to our priest. Confession is left between you and God, except for during the once a month communion where a joint prayer of confession is read. This one hit me hard. . .”Control our own destiny”, “fear for our future”, “mismanage your grace”. Here lay my greatest faults.

We often think of sin as murder, adultery, lying, cheating, but sin also lies in these much simpler faults: putting our needs before God’s, believing that we are in control of our destiny, silence. It is easier to think of ourselves as good people when we think of the first list and equate sinners with “bad guys”. It is much more difficult to realize that we are all sinners that need forgiveness. We are all sinners that can walk a straighter path. We need prayers of confession and supplication. Step one according to www.allaboutprayer.org is to “recognize that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness.”

Fortunately, after the “prayer of confession” comes the “words of assurance” and then the “invitation of the Lord’s Table”. Sinners as we are, Jesus loved us. God sent him to this earth to wipe away our sin. We do not have to be perfect to come to his table. We just have to believe.

Can You outgrow your Church?

My church has been my church since as long as I can remember. I grew in the congregation and returned to marry and raise my own children within its fold. But lately there is an uncomfortable ache, like a sore tooth that draws your hand to rub your jaw, but not so strong that you call the dentist for help or take a pill to sooth it. An ache that makes me wonder if our church is the place to continue on our journey or is it a comfortable hut along the way that welcomes a weary traveler, but then tricks him into abandoning the journey altogether.

The church has a wonder minister who speaks well and a friendly congregation. The music director teaches us beautiful songs. But where is the substance? Protestants by virtue of the very first protest published by Martin Luther are full of questions. We believe in questioning the very foundations of our religion. But like Martin Luther we must also question if we are crumbling the strength of the whole structure.

The wine is not blood (actually it is not even wine). There may be books excluded from the Bible that we should consider. Jesus’ bones may have been found. The Nicene Creed is a creation of arguing men. Why must our sermons even reflect scripture? We can speak as we wish. Don’t forget to make a donation. All religions speak of truth and can lead us on The Way.

I yearn for something more. I want to converse with the power of God behind me. I want to know His book intimately. I want to understand what He requires so that I may follow in His way. I want to hear His words. I want to speak of the truth as easily as I speak my native tongue.

I don’t want to suppose or guess. I want to know The Way. On the other hand, I cannot follow blindly as men proclaim dinosaurs never existed or that we cannot dance and sing because of the interpretation of one passage. My life is open to God’s direction. My family is ready to move at His whim. We want to be used for His glory.

I think that it is time to get up from the comforts of our shelter and move onward on the path to salvation.

Where are you on your path? Have you ever settled down comfortably and then felt that it was time to grown and move on? What did you do?

Saint Teresa

I have always been fascinated by Mother Teresa. As a Congregationalist, we don’t believe in saints, but if there ever where one, I believe Mother Teresa should be she. Currently, Mother Teresa is on the track toward sainthood, but now apparently a second miracle must be ascribed to her. A second miracle? How about the millionth miracle? Her miracles are the bringing of a thousand hearts to God. Few else could match her record of conversion. Mind you, I don’t mean the people of Calcutta or the nuns of her diocese. I mean the people of the word. So rarely has a person with such good intention touched so many in the world and inspired them along their path God. Even now when her private notes are published and we hear of her own doubts, this does not weaken her case, but strengthens it. She has shown that she is us and that we can be her. What greater miracle can a mortal offer? Mother Teresa’s miracle of conversion is far more spectacular and far reaching that curing a stomach tumor or a crying statue.

As I think on this more, maybe it is right that the Catholic church does not canonize her. Their sainting a person is just an earthly symbol of an eternal truth anyway. Perhaps if we all personally see her as a saint, this is more a truth than sainthood being bestowed upon her. As for now in the Church, she is considered Beatified. She is the Blessed Mother Teresa. But for me, she will be the best example of a saint. She will not be corrupted by statutes or trivialized with prayer to locate lost items. She will be a beacon, showing us what humanity can be if it chooses. She was and continues even after her death to help us toward walking in Christ’s footsteps. She is a Sherpa, who has walked the path and can help us along our way.

picture from http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/mother.teresa/impact/index.html

Dear Pope Benedict, Please consider Mother Teresa’s miracle her impact on others. As this impact has lasted past her death and as she continues to inspire and move people toward Christ, this miracle should be her second miracle and therefore move her forward to be canonized as Saint Teresa.

Sincerely,
A non-Catholic but a fellow Christian, who was deeply inspired,
Dawn